SUMMER FUN 2013

We have been REALLY enjoying this summer. We have loved being back in Michigan. The summer weather is a lot more forgiving, and there is so much to do here that we've just been on the go all the time doing fun things with the kids.
Here are a few photo's of  each of the things we've been up to lately :)

We've been to the splash park...more than once. It's fun, local and free!





We went to the African Drive through Safari in Ohio.
You get to feed the animals from your car. That was quite the experience. lol. The bison and steer are kinda big, slobbery and a bit scary when trying to get their giant heads in your car window. haha.

We went to Greenfield Village. We got a membership for this year, so we'll be going a few more times before the winter. Greenfield Village is a little historic village, set up to display things from the times of Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford etc. It was very hot on our recent trip, so we mostly just took a few rides... we rode on the steam train, and the Model T Ford...and of course the kids went on the old carousel. We'll do more walking and 'looking' next time.

We also went to the Detroit Zoo.

Just last week, Grandma and Grandpa Geddes came to visit and we took an overnight trip to Niagara Falls in Canada.. but that will be a separate blog post later :)

It's been a fun and eventful summer this year. We're enjoying it

LUKE TURNED 4

Luke turned 4, on May 6th! I'm a bit late on the posting, but better late than never right?

We had our usually little mid week play date party for him, only this year we had the party at a local park. Luke wanted a rainbow party this year... an interesting choice for a 4yr old boy, but we went with it. lol.
We all had a great time.

A quick update on Luke:
He is talking soooo much now...some days I literally have to ask him to be quiet. lol
We are so glad he is catching up on his speech so nicely. It has made communicating with him so much easier, and he's coming up with questions and funny things to say. I love watching his little mind learning and absorbing everything.
He is really into his trains right now. We bought him some Thomas train stuff a couple years ago, but it wasn't until recently that he really started to play with it a lot.
In September, Luke will be starting preschool... he'll be going to Mother Hubbard Preschool on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings :)
He's pretty excited about that. I think it'll be GREAT for him.
He loves his little sister... sometimes a little too much...He drives her CRAZY, because he doesn't know how to NOT pester her. He still LOVES getting tickles on his back. He'll do pretty much anything for a few minutes of back tickles :)

Luke is growing up so fast, we can barely keep up.
He is such a special part of our family.
We love you buddy :)

LIFE WITH LUKE AND KATE

The past week or so has been quite something with my kids. They have kept me on my toes, and cracked me up so many times.

Little miss Kate has been into EVERYTHING... absolutely everything. She has the most inquisitive little mind and the cutest, cheekiest little personality. Those things combined, mean trouble, a big mess and a cute smile to melt your heart when you should be mad. lol

That cheeky little face that gets away with just about anything.

Here are some of the pictures I caught this week of Kates little adventures.

She found the baby powder...all over herself and the carpet in her room. Gotta love that cheeky face.

My skinny little funny girl.. she cracked me up sitting with her towel on her head, playing butt naked on the floor after bath. She LOVES being naked.

This was after she got hold of the baby wash and decided to lather her hair (and the bathroom floor)... she had to get a hair wash over the bathroom basin in the middle of the hair.. squeaky clean hair that day. lol

She found my mascara... sneaky sneaky...

On Sunday, we had family home evening, and I was talking to Luke about loving our family, and learning to do things together that make us happy and learning to share better.

I asked Luke if he loves mommy... he answered a big 'YES'.. then I asked him the same question about daddy and Kate... to which he replied "No, I don't like daddy...or Kate"... lol... we had fixed those feelings by the end of our discussion.
I also asked him if it makes him happy when baby Kate shares her pink monkey with him (her favourite snuggle toy that isn't easily shared), to which he replied, "no, baby Kate is a stinker".. haha... Jake and I couldn't keep straight faces. I guess Kate hasn't been sharing very well lately so Luke thinks she is a stinker. haha.

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Tonight I went to Target with the 2 kids. Luke was in a crazy talking frenzy...like a thousand words a minute I'm sure.. my brain just couldn't keep up. Things went something like this:
Me: Luke, buddy, can you be quiet for just a minute cos you're talking so much, my ears are going to fall off soon.
Luke: Ok mommy...

For the next 10 minutes any time either Kate or I made a peep Luke put his finger to his lip and said, "Ssshhhh, you're going to break mommy's ears"

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A few days ago, Luke comes to me and says, "mommy, I need your keys.." so I ask him what he needs them for, and he says, "I'm riding my bike to the mail box to get the mail.. I'll be right back!" LOL
And so off he went... around the corner, to the backside of the apartments to get the mail (I had to follow behind him because I know he can't reach the mail box and unlock it) It all made me laugh though.. I started envisioning the future when he gets his drivers license and says a similar "mom I need your keys... I'll be right back" lol

Off to get the mail...

He just cracks me up.. funny boy!

How SERIOUSLY GORGEOUS is this face?

We ran into a little dilemma a couple weeks ago.
We were in Babies R Us, and Luke who is VERY into rainbows (of all things) right now, spotted a fairly hideous rainbow tie-dyed outfit in the girls department. He's just recently started developing an opinion about his clothing (no more just buying him what I like... he refuses to wear it if he doesn't like it and I have to return it) Anyways, he was dead set on getting this rainbow outfit (not that we were even there shopping for clothes)... we tried to explain that it was a girls outfit, and that we weren't buying clothes that day, but he was just distraught... he SOBBED about this rainbow outfit. Jake and I couldn't help but giggle about it (obviously not while he was looking at us)...
We managed to get him out of the store in one piece, after allowing him to pick out a treat from the checkout... and we have since settled on a rainbow themed party for his 4th birthday. LOL.. yup... my 4yr old boy is having a rainbow party. (there are worse things, right? haha)
He is so funny sometimes, and it's great (and often challenging) to see his little personality and strong will start to shine through. Love this kid... lol

The infamous girls department rainbow outfit

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Luke is finally starting to fight nap.. given that he'll be 4 next week I'm not surprised.. in fact I feel super lucky that nap lasted this long.. and most days he always napped willingly.
With his recent refusal to nap, I've started allowing him to quietly watch a movie while Kate naps... so she goes to bed, and he gets comfy on the sofa for a movie (I still need my quiet time during nap, so this was our compromise)... the funny thing about it all, is that he rarely makes it very far into his nap time movie, and this is the result. LOL... He wants to be big and not nap anymore, but really I think he still needs his little siesta. I've just gone along with it...


On a lot of days, Luke and Kate just drive each other crazy.. she gets in his way, he pesters her.. she bites him, he pushes her etc etc... It's pretty frequently a battle ground in our home with these two struggling to 'play nice'... BUT, there are days when they are just sweet as can be together... today was one of those days. 

My babies being sweet together. Luke helping little Kate down the curb.

More sweetness...some days they play so well (others..not so much. lol)

And that is life in the Geddes home right now.. we have so much fun with these two little monkeys.. they're hilarious (and exhausting) and we love them SOOO much!

EASTER 2013

Our Easter 2013 photos...

BIG GIRL *mommy over share*

This is a mommy overshare post which I'm posting more as a  family journal entry than anything else because I'm too proud to not "record" it..

Kate, at only 18 months old has used the toilet like a big girl for the first time. We recently bought a toilet seat insert so that she can sit on the toilet without falling in. LOL. She'd been showing interest in the toilet and recognizing that she'd been peeing in her diaper so i thought, why not... She's been pretty excited about it and asks to sit on the toilet periodically... Tonight after bath she sat on the toilet and a few minutes later i heard the little trickle...what a big girl she is. I'm sure it'll be a while still until she's potty trained, but I'm pretty excited she's already starting to figure it out.. Smart girl.