Early Christmas Gift

So last night I picked up the kids from daycare and I first brought all the bags in the house, then let Hunter out of the car and then went back for Luke. In the time it took to get Luke out of the car and into the house, Hunter had found the Cars watch I bought him for Christmas in my purse.

So he got a gift early. He was really excited about it, and put it on right away. Before bed, he said: "Daddy has two watches, so Santa can still bring me the fire truck watch I want, ok?"

(He specifically asked for a fire truck watch that makes sound, an impossible request so I thought a good compromise would be this Cars watch. Although he likes it, he is still waiting on the original request, great.)

Birthdays Galore

This was a birthday filled weekend. Saturday was my father's 66th birthday! We had a great dinner and delicious birthday cake, Hunter's favorite part.

On Sunday we went to the Softplay Room for Hunter's buddy Eli's 4th birthday. Both Hunter and Luke had a blast.

We have very energetic boys so any activity that burns energy is great.

We also took Hunter to the doctor last week to talk about his tantrums. For the last few months we have been dealing with more than we can bear. Not only has the number increased, but also the duration and intensity. The tantrum below lasted for 30 minutes! Bottom line.....the doctor said that although his are really bad, they still fall in the spectrum of normal for his age and since they aren't impacting school yet, we just need to pick our battles and try to diffuse if possible. If that doesn't work, move him to his room and tell him we will let him have time to himself to calm down.

Hopefully this phase will pass quickly!!

Flying Baby

Notice what Luke does with his arms each time Kerry puts him above his shoulders. How did he learn that?

Thanksgiving 2008

We traveled to State College the weekend before Thanksgiving to visit Kerry's family and watch the Nittany Lions play. It was a freezing cold weekend with snow! Kerry braved the weather and went to the game, while the boys and I stayed in the nice warm house to play. Traveling with Hunter is rough, (started with crying so hard he threw up again in the car on the way up) but we managed and had a great pre-Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday.

We went to my parents for the actual day and had another great meal. It was a smaller group than usual (just my immediate family) but still great company and food. Luke took a nap right before dinner so we put him on my parents bed with pillows around him (forgot the pack n play.) As my father started grace, we heard a boom, Luke fell off the bed! He was ok, just scared and we learned a valuable lesson, bring the pack n play!!

We managed to get a couple good shots of the family before it got dark.

8 months old

Not sure if you can tell by the photo, but Luke has 2 teeth now. He is standing up all the time, can even balance on his own for 1 or 2 seconds before crashing to his butt.

He is such a happy baby (during the day!) He loves to follow Hunter around and give him hugs and kisses. He has started reaching out for you to pick him up (I love that) and will protest if you take something from him that he was playing with or wanted.

The nights are unfortunately another story. I don't know if it is solely from the fluid in his ears causing discomfort, or if he just wakes and can't put himself back to sleep, but he is up a lot. We got a second opinion on the ears and that doctor recommended reassessing the situation in January.
Luke has also started saying da da. Not in reference to Kerry yet, but just to make the sounds. This is really the first babble he has done, he hasn't done much more than yell before, so it is weird to hear his voice.

He is still a good eater, not really showing much preferences for particular foods, eating what you give him (very different from Hunter.) He has started eating cheerios and loves to both eat them and bang them off the tray.

Gearing up for turkey day and his first trip to visit Santa.....can't wait.

Recognize the Dance?

Another milestone

So last night he officially pulled up. He has been pulling up on his knees for a week or so.

This morning I went to get him out of his crib and he was standing up waiting for me.

We are not ready for what comes next!

Election Day

Hunter's class had a mock election on Tuesday. We have talked about the election, but not much so I was interested to see who he voted for......McCain (will make Papa proud!) So I asked him why and this was our conversation:

Me: So why did you vote for McCain?
H: Because I like him.
Me: You know Obama won and he is now our President.
H: Oh, did McCain cry?
Me: Probably a little.
H: Why?
Me: Because he really wanted to be President and he is sad that he lost.
H: I want to see McCain cry.
Me: I don't think there are any pictures of that, he probably did that in private.
H: Well he can try to be President again, right?

So another funny tidbit is when you ask Hunter who is President he says "Gobama"!

Halloween Weekend

Just like last year the weather for Halloween was perfect. I was able to get out of work early on Friday, quickly make dinner and we ate right when Kerry came home with the kids. Then we put costumes on and met up with our neighbors to trick or treat. Hunter and Eli knew exactly what to do and what to expect this year and loved every minute. As you can see from the picture, Hunter was spiderman and Luke was a bee.

Saturday was Hunter's schools fall festival, complete with a moonbounce, petting zoo and pony rides. Hunter was first in line to ride the pony and then ran right back to the moonbounce, where he spent the majority of his time.

Many of the kids in his class where there and he had a blast.

This is Hunter's friend Danny, a bit younger than him, still in the "little" school, but they love hanging out together. We met up with him and his mom again on Sunday for lunch and a trip to the park.

What else does he know?

We were sitting on the couch last night when Hunter randomly said......

What else does he have stored in that head of his???

Another fun fall weekend

These weekends have been so action packed, fun but tiring. This weekend we went for an early dinner to Rachel and Todd's house. Hunter loves to go there, they have sooo many toys, their living room is one of two playrooms. He disappears the minute we get there and isn't heard from again. He also loves their son Reagan, as you can see from the picture, they have a great time together.



Sunday was the annual Halloween parade which has just gotten huge in recent years. After the parade there is a big cookout with a band etc and is a great time for the kids.

My parents came for the day and babysat last night while we went out for a great dinner to celebrate our 6th anniversary. Thank you so much!!

7 Months Old

Luke is 7 months old! Many new developments in such a short time. He now can officially clap (although he actually started at 6 months, but since I was the only one to see it, and everyone gave me a hard time since only the mother saw it I am only mentioning it now,) and crawl, and he got his first tooth on the bottom left.

We also took him to the ENT and the doctor recommends tubes. He has fluid in his ear that isn't going away. He also said that since the fluid can cause discomfort we shouldn't try any sleep training like cry it out until that is resolved. So......Luke isn't sleeping well, still up every 3 hours at least. I am going to get a second opinion regarding the tubes, this doctor just seemed a little too nonchalant about putting tubes into a 7 month old for my taste.


Now back to the crawling, so he isn't in full on sprint mode yet, but in the last couple of days he went from mainly crawling backwards, and always ending up under the couch, see pic, to being able to make forward progress. Hunter thinks it is cute now, but he is already tired of Luke stealing his trains from the track and messing with his things!

Luke is still a very happy content little guy....yeah!

He cracked the system

So Hunter begrudgingly puts on his school uniform without much fuss most days. He has found that he can wear what he wants as long as it is under the light blue polo shirt. So he usually chooses to wear another t-shirt underneath (something he would want to wear.) Today he pushed the limits, a striped t-shirt, then his Penn State football jersey, then the light blue polo. He looked huge! But he was happy, and that is the bottom line.

Can I be any cuter?

Life is about to change

I think we are weeks away from our life getting much more difficult, Luke is determined to crawl and is already pulling himself to reach anything Hunter has. This morning he was up on his hands and knees.

Great Fall Weekends

Two weekends ago Patty came to visit and was treated to an action packed weekend. Saturday was the Delray Arts Festival, which is always something we look forward to. Hunter had a great time and we spent a good part of the day there. On Sunday they went to the Union Station Centennial Celebration and got to tour current and historic trains. Unfortunately, Luke was battling his ear infection and reacting to the medication, so we had to stay home.

This weekend we went to a great block party where one of Hunter's friends from school lives. They had 4 bands, great food and so many friends for Hunter to play with. I told him that there was going to be music and dancing and he said "I'm going to get crazy!" Sure enough he was dancing up a storm with all his friends.

On Sunday we went to the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins and apples and take a hayride. The weather was perfect, hot for this time of year and sunny.


We then went to the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary for their annual open house. They care for rescued farm animals and wildlife. We got to see pigs, cows, goats, sheep, turkeys and chickens up close. Since Hunter is afraid of dogs, having an adult pig next to him was a bit much for him, but seeing the animals from behind a fence was great fun. Fall is such a great time in this area, there is so much to do!

Ants

We have had a tough battle with ants this season...all the toddler crumbs aren't helping. We thought we had them beat until last night. Kerry and I were eating dinner and noticed ants crawling on the kitchen table. I followed their trail which led straight to the plantation shutter where Hunter typically sits. I opened it only to find a half eaten quesadilla stuck between the shutter and the window. He is always working against me!!

6 Months Old

Happy 6 month birthday! You are such a smiley, happy boy and we are so blessed to have you in our life.


Luke has learned to sit up and has started scooting himself on the floor to capture any of Hunter's cars left in close proximity. Tomorrow is his 6 month checkup so I will update this with his stats, but he is a chubby boy and is already wearing 6-9 month clothes without much extra room. He has tried sweet potato, apples, pears, and avocado (his favorite.) It is hard to believe that in the next six months he will crawl, pull himself up, start to talk, and walk!

Update: Luke had his doctor's appointment today and has another ear infection, that explains the sleepless nights, so we were referred to an ENT, his stats:

• 27" long - 70th percentile
• 18.3 lbs - 70th percentile

For those of you who still think our boys look alike, here is a side by side.....

Our Skinny Minny

So yesterday I picked Hunter up from school and he was wearing his change of clothes due to a pee pee during naptime issue. As we were leaving I was trying to figure out what shorts he had on and it occurred to me, he was wearing a pair of Luke's 3-6 month pants! I must have folded them and they ended up in Hunter's drawer by mistake. Too funny that our 3 year old can even pull up pants a 3-6 month old can wear.

MD Wine Festival 2008

This weekend we went to the MD Wine Festival, it's 25th anniversary (I think I have attended since the beginning.) It is always a great time, good food, sometimes good wine, and good friends. This year Maryclaire and David were in Bermuda, so it was just their girls, Lara, Claire and Marie. They were missed, but we still had a blast.

They got to meet Luke for the first time and he loved all the attention.


Hunter had a great time at the train play area and visiting all the animals. The weather was perfect and we can't wait for next year.

Look what I can do!

State College Weekend

We went to State College this weekend to visit with Mick and Joyce and see Penn State beat Oregon State. The ride up was a bit long as we were driving in considerable rain thanks to Hanna. Both boys were pretty well behaved though.

Hunter loves visting Mickey and Joyce and playing with all the new toys!

Since TJ is also in school now, he was nice enough to spend his weekend with us and play with Hunter and Luke. Hunter was in heaven.

We have been having a really difficult time with Hunter lately on a number of fronts. The worst has been bedtime. He is determined not to sleep and will either throw a monster tantrum or just sit at the top of the stairs until it is time for us to sleep and we turn out all the lights. Kerry was traveling this past week and I had my hands full. One night he only fell asleep on my bedroom floor after I went to sleep at 10pm. Friday night he threw a tantrum and by 9:30 I was exhausted and went to bed. Kerry got home around 10pm to find him asleep at the top of the stairs.

So at Mick and Joyce's we tried to get him in his pjs at 8pm when he started a tantrum. It was horrible and didn't end until 9:30 when he finally fell asleep on the floor (without pjs on). He slept there until 12:30am when he woke again, screaming (I believe it started as a night terror) and didn't end for 30 minutes. I have a doctor's appointment for Luke at the end of the month and I am going to talk to the doctor and see if I should schedule an appointment for Hunter. This situation is just completely out of control, he isn't getting the sleep he needs and neither are we!

We ended our trip with the drive home, and we learned an important lesson, no dairy during road trips. Hunter got sick yet again in the car after a trip to Brewster's ice cream in Gettysburg. This time though we had the left over milk shake cup and we put it to good use.

What a weekend!!

My 1st Day of Preschool

Today was the official start to Hunter's "school year." When he moved to the big school they were in the middle of summer camp. So this was also the first day he had to wear a uniform......with buttons. We have had a few dry runs with buttons to prepare him, but this morning it still took some persuading to get him in it. I had to use the line, "All of your friends will be wearing it." We also had to bring another shirt just in case.

Hunter does look cute, but I still don't see the reason a 3 year old needs to wear a uniform.

Our Labor Day Weekend

We had a fun filled Labor Day weekend. We spent many hours at the park, went to the zoo, road bikes, and had a great dinner at Gigi and Papa's.

Hunter was really excited this time to go to the zoo and see all the animals. We got to the elephant exhibit right as they were showing how they care for them and the tricks they can do. It was great . He also loved going to the kids farm and petting the donkeys.


They have misters turned on throughout the zoo and Hunter loved running in and out to cool off.

Luke was a great baby, took a few naps and happily sat in the stroller.

5 Months Old

Hard to believe that Luke was 5 months old this weekend. He is really developing quite the personality....and voice! He is sooooo loud, I guess trying to compete with his older brother. He can now roll from back to front which provides additional sleeping difficulties since he manages to get his legs stuck in the crib rails most nights.

He also prefers to stand rather than sit. I guess demands is a better word. If you try to get him to sit on your lap, he makes his body rigid and slides right out of the seated position. The exersaucer has come in handy and he has started spending a lot of time in it.

Hunter still is the best at getting him to laugh and stop crying and seems to like the role of Luke entertainment. I love the pictures where they are both looking and smiling at each other.

Brotherly Love

Family Resemblance

As the months are passing Luke is looking less like Hunter at his age and more like my dad I think.

My dad at 3 months with my Grandpa


Luke at 3 months

1st Ear Infection

Well the teething turned out to be Luke's first ear infection. We got a call from daycare about 15 minutes after we dropped him off that his ear was red and crusty. After a trip to the pediatrician, turns out he had a perforated ear drum. Hopefully we aren't headed down the same path as Hunter with 5 months of continuous ear infections!

Our Weekend

There were several activities tailored to Hunter's interests this weekend in Old Town - a model train exhibit and Fire Truck Day. We went for the trains not even aware that their were fire trucks on display 2 blocks away. While the train exhibit was packed and a bit underwhelming, the fire trucks were fabulous.


Hunter got to ride in a fire truck, ambulance and fire rescue vehicle, and try on the helmet and face mask. He was in heaven.



Luke found his feet this weekend and also spend a lot of time practicing his new skill of blowing raspberries.
Unfortunately, he was up crying for most of Saturday night, we thought from teething, so we were all pretty exhaused Sunday.

We ended the weekend with a celebration dinner for my parents 38th anniversary. Congratulations!!