LUKE TURNS TWO

My baby has turned TWO

Last Friday, May 6th, was his birthday.

I decided to have a much smaller party this year, and just do a 'moms and tots playdate party' on Friday morning... so we had 7 toddlers and their moms in the back yard, enjoying some sunshine, snacks and playtime.

Jake and I decided to get Luke some fun outside play items for his birthday... perfect for the spring and summer months. I looked on Craigslist, and found a great climber/slide that is in great condition, and a little turtle sandbox... then I had my family and Jakes parents contribute to the climber in lieu of a separate birthday gift. It worked out really well, and I think Luke will get a lot of fun out of his new play equipment. He LOVES his sandbox and spends lots of time sitting in it playing with the sand and shovels.

Lukes new climber

His new sandbox

Time for candles and cake

 Party picnic on the porch

 Our little spread

 Opening Gifts

Grandma and Grandpa Geddes arrived for a visit the day after Lukes birthday, so we decided to have a little family BBQ, and more cupcakes afterward... Luke loves having happy birthday sung to him, and trying to blow out his candles... and of course, the BEST part, is eating the cupcakes :)

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Yesterday was Lukes 2 year check up at the pediatrician.

He is growing really well...

His stats are...

Weight: 30 lbs (13.6kg) - 75th percentile

Height: 2ft 11inches - 75th percentile

I don't have a small kid. LOL... I laughed when I realised that at 2ft11, he is more than half of my moms height, and he's only 2. LOL... He's going to be taller than his 5ft Gogga in no time at all. :)

His language is still a bit behind, but he is slowly getting there.

He does animal sounds...moo, meow, woof and occasionally quack.

He says...hey, yeah, oh yeah, uh-oh, 'Daisy' (the neighbours dogs name), No, Let's see... and he also says one Japanese word.

He also sings 'ee i ee i, oh'... as in from 'Old Mac Donald'

He loves cars and trucks, his sandbox, changing the DVD in the DVD player, he loves to mow the lawn with daddy, get the mail, and throw away trash. He loves his snuggle monkeys, and yes, still his pacifier. He loves to flush the toilet.

He also has a little plastic step stool that he loves to carry around the house and use to reach things he shouldn't be into... I call it his 'troublemaking stool'

He has a very big sweet tooth, and is a compulsive snacker (not much of a meal eater)...favourite snacks and foods are Nilla Wafers, fruit snacks, cheese, grapes, anything candy and grilled chicken.

After a shower, he likes to be wrapped up tightly in a towel, and have some chill time propped on pillows on mommy and daddy's bed, before getting a diaper and clothes.

He still loves to watch Baby Einstein DVD's... and is starting to enjoy Toy Story, but not many other Disney/animated movies yet. He has a favourite picture book that he likes to look at, and point to the pictures for you to tell him what they are.

There are so many funny, sweet and quirky things about my little Luke, and we just love every one of them. He has been such a joy in our lives for the last 2 years, and we are so grateful that he is ours. I love my little monkey...

Happy Birthday my Sweetheart... mommy loves you xxx

A DAY AT THE ZOO

Yesterday we decided to do the 2.5 hour drive to Asheboro, to go to the zoo.
We'd heard that the zoo here in North Carolina was a nice one, and we wanted to do some fun outdoor things with Luke before the weather gets to hot, and before the baby is born.

The zoo here is HUGE... so big that there is a tram that takes you between the two sections of the zoo, and a shuttle that will drive you from one parking lot to the other if you start and finish on different sides of the zoo... I've certainly never been to a zoo with any of those 'services'

Luke wasn't as interested in the animals as we had thought he'd be... he was loving the new environment we'd brought him too, and the freedom we gave him to run and walk at his leisure, but he more frequently pointed to plants and water than he did at animals. LOL.... I guess everyone has their own interests.

His favourite animal though of the ones he did pay attention to was definitely the otters... yes, I know... 2.5 hours to the zoo to be fascinated by river otters. LOL...
They had a big enclosure, where you could go 'underneath' and look through a glass window into the water that they were swimming in... kinda like if you were at an aquarium I guess.
The otters were very people friendly and not at all shy about coming right up to the glass to entertain the people. I wish I could have caught on camera the moment when Luke had his face right up to the glass, and an otter swam right up to him and put his face at Lukes... Luke got a bit startled and took a quick step back. LOL...

 

 

POOPED after a long day... barely made it back to the car without falling asleep in the stroller

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Today I am 19 weeks 1 day, and we went to the OBGYN for my mid pregnancy ultrasound.

As the title says, "IT'S A GIRL"!
We'll be naming her Kate (though we haven't decided on a middle name yet)

I'm sooooo super excited.

Everything looks healthy and well with her.. she has all her limbs and 10 fingers and toes, and we are feeling so excited to meet her. Jake still needs a little while to completely wrap his head around having a girl, but I think she'll end up being daddy's little princess before he knows it. :)

 Trying to Suck her Thumb

Here is a little video clip of her... she was trying to flip over when we were watching the ultrasound. LOL

It feels quite surreal to finally have seen her, to know that she is a girl, and to be feeling her move.. in no time at all I'm going to be the mommy of TWO...
I'm so blessed, and I can barely contain my excitement for this new addition, soon to join our family.

LIVING ROOM MINI MAKEOVER

I decided that my living room, which is my 'stay at home mom' office, needed a mini makeover... I hated the decor, and I wasn't a fan of the colour.

So, for my birthday, Jake bought me some oil canvases I wanted, and I used a gift card from my family to buy a few accessories.
Then, we (to Jakes absolute despair) repainted the bottom portion of our living room walls for the THIRD time since moving here... (Who knows WHAT we were thinking, painting our walls green in the first place....???)

We didn't make any major changes, but small ones can make a big difference, and I'm much happier with the living room now, than I was before.

We've since ordered a couple of faux leather recliners to create more seating space. They should arrive later this week. I'm excited to have a more fully furnished living room, with decor I like :)

16 WEEKS

I had my 16 week prenatal appointment today, and everything seems to be going well.
Nice strong, fast heartbeat, and I'm in pretty good general health.

I was excited to be able to book my '20 week' ultrasound, which will be on April 29th... I'll be just over 19 weeks by then. I'm SUPER excited to know what we're having.

I think it's a girl.. Jake thinks it's another boy.
This time around, I am less phased by what we get... i'd be equally happy with either... a brother for Luke would be awesome, and a little princess for me would be super exciting... so I'm gonna be smiles either way, as long as he/she is healthy.

I've also in the last few days, started to feel 'rolling flutters' of movement in my lower tummy... It's exciting to feel the baby so early this time... it was still a few more weeks until I felt Luke. In no time at all, I'll be feeling full fledged kicks, and that oh so unpleasant boney butt in my rib cage. LOL.

In other news, Luke has learned to say, 'NO'... not my favourite word, but it's been so fun to have him actually verbally responding to things or protesting with words... I'm sure the novelty of 'NO' will wear off quickly though. LOL

Yesterday I had a funny moment with him.
He took my hand and pulled me to the kitchen, and pointed to the fruit snacks (fruit gummies).
I opened a bag, but before handing them over to him, I bent down to his level and asked him,
"Can you say Fruit Snacks?"
He just looked at me, and very matter of factly said, "no"

LOL... well then, that's settled...
And so he went on just to eat his fruit snacks.
May not seem so funny to you, but considering I've gone for almost 2 years with a child that uses no verbal communication, it was a sweet, and funny moment for me.

And that's all our news for now.