THE FIRST SNOW FALL

Though a little early for a typical North Carolina winter, we got our first snow storm last night. We had about 2 inches stick by morning, so this morning we made sure to get ready for church a few minutes early so that we could take Luke out to 'play' in the snow before heading to church. (It was almost melted by the time church ended) We did take him out in it a couple times last year, but being that he was only 8 months old, it didn't mean much to him. This morning, he looked so cute in his new winter coat, and the winter boots that his Gogga bought for him. He was quite intrigued by the crunchy white stuff that covered the ground, though I do think it fascinated him a little more yesterday when I took him over to the neighbours house with me, because then the snow was still falling. He laughed when snow flakes hit his face, and had his hand stretched out trying to catch them. I think our little boy, might take after his daddy, and grow to love a good snow storm.

DUCKY DIAPER CAKE

I have been to a few baby showers in the past where I saw beautiful diaper cakes. I thought thought the concept was so smart, and soooo cute! It makes for a great centerpiece on the table, and a great gift!

Today, I am attending a baby shower, that my friend Rachel and I planned together. We needed a centerpiece for the eats table, so I decided to try my hand at a diaper cake... I already had the diapers, as part of her shower gift, so I just turned my gift into the centerpiece.

Inside the base of the cake, I put the other gifts I purchased... a set of 3 bibs, and a bottle of Johnsons Baby Bedtime lotion.

I made a tag to hang on the side, that includes an 'ingredient list' so that Jen will know when she sees that cake, what's inside too!

It was fun to put together, and I am really happy with how my first diaper cake turned out. I think I may do more of these for future showers!

So, here is my first ever Diaper Cake! :)

18 MONTHS AND GROWING

Luke turned 18 months old on Saturday. Where has my baby gone? He is such a little boy now... it's so fun to watch him doing silly, and smart boy things!

Sunday was his first official day in Nursery at church (18 months is the starting age for nursery)
I left him with my friend, Tricia (she's the nursery leader) and left him cold turkey! My heart was breaking hearing him cry so hard, but Tricia felt it would be easier to get him used to being there if I didn't hang around! He cried for a LONG time, and insisted that Tricia hold him the entire time (nursery is just under 2 hours), but he survived... hopefully in just a few weeks, he'll want to go willingly, and my heart won't be left at the nursery room door!

Yesterday, was his 18 month check up and shots at the pediatrician!

He is still growing strong, though he has become more average size since about 1 year old. In his 1st year he constantly topped the growth charts at the 90th and 95th percentiles!

His 18 month stats are:

Weight: 26lbs 12oz (50th-75th percentile)
Height: 33 Inches (50th-75th percentile)

Here are some photo's of our 18 month little monkey!

Being Silly. Luke climbed into his old infant car seat that I keep in his cupboard. He just chilled there while I did some tidying up in the cupboard. LOL

A little Thug tried to steal our car on Sunday! lol

Playing Peek-A-Boo under his Beanie.

For Sale at Target Stores! LOL

Riding a Race Car at the mall!

LITTLE HELPER

Luke has always liked the vacuum cleaner... strange, cos most babies and young children are afraid of the loud noise it makes, but Luke never was. He loves the lawn mower too, and insists on being in daddy's left arm, while he mows with his right arm, so he can get in on all the mowing action. LOL...

Anyway, this morning Luke went to the playroom closet, and pulled the vacuum out... yes, my house DID need to be vacuumed, so perhaps Luke was trying to tell me to get with it and clean things up a bit. LOL
Well, we were out all day, so the vacuum just stood in the playroom where he left it.
Tonight, after dinner, (he always makes a mess on the floor), he got daddy to help him pull it into the living room, and proceeded to try vacuuming (it wasn't plugged in), so I plugged it in and switched it on, and there he went..
We were quite impressed to see him actually doing the forwards and backwards motion you tend to do when vacuuming, rather than just pushing it around the room! He did a pretty good job at cleaning up his dinner crumbs. LOL.

Never to young to start chores! hehehe

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween!

This is our first OFFICIAL family Halloween. Last year we didn't celebrate because we had just moved to North Carolina days before.

Last night we all dressed up and headed to church for some good food and 'trunk or treating'.

Jake dressed up as a hockey referee, I was a witch (not very original, but I was totally sold when I saw some awesome purple and black leggings. LOL) and Luke was a pirate as you've already seen in my early post!

We decorated our trunk and gave out more candy than any dentist would approve of, and of course took Luke around to gather up his own stash, which like any good parents would do to save their kids from obesity, sugar addictions and tooth decay, we then divided up between Jake and I. LOL (don't worry, Luke isn't at all deprived... he eats more sugary junk than any 17 month old should)

All in all it was a fun Halloween!

In other events... today Luke pointed out by taking a tumble out of his crib that perhaps he will be ready for his big boy bed sooner than we had planned. Jake and I had decided that the big boy bed would happen at his 2nd birthday... after hearing a hard thud and finding Luke crying and lying on his back on the floor in his room, we will probably get that bed sooner! My heart didn't stop pounding for quite some time after his topple out of his crib.. it's a long way to go, and his room isn't carpeted either.

He is also getting so smart and so cute. Jake was loading the dishwasher tonight, and then walked out of the kitchen, leaving the dishwasher open for a minute. Next thing, we hear Luke making some clinking, clanking sounds in the kitchen... the smart little cutie pie had gone and opened the silverware drawer (we have 7 drawers in our kitchen to choose from) and was getting all the spoons and forks etc out of the dishwasher and putting them into the drawer... albeit they were the dirty ones that Jake had just minutes before loaded, we thought it was hilarious, super smart and so totally cute that he had known which drawer to pack it in! Our little boy is growing up so fast and surprises us with his intelligence and cute face everyday! We love him so much! :)

A PIRATE LIFE FOR ME

Last October, would have been Lukes first Halloween, but we moved to North Carolina just days before Halloween, and getting together a costume and attending Halloween events wasn't very high on our to do list quite then! After the chaos of the move, when things settled down, I felt a little guilty, that we didn't get any cute '1st Halloween' pictures of baby Luke dressed in something adorable, like a snuggly little monkey, or something equally cute... Halloween pictures are so typical for the growing up years of every American child. lol.

So this year, I decided to make sure that Luke had a costume, and a really cute one at that. At first I was just going to buy one, but then I decided I would like the challenge of making a costume myself. I decided to start simple... a Pirate Costume.  Jake bought me a sewing machine just a few months ago... I was completely clueless how to use it... he had to read the manual, and then help me figure out how to even thread the thing, let alone actually sew something on it. LOL.. I did not come from a 'self sufficient' family... my mom generally stops wearing something if a button falls off... so needless to say, sewing was not a skill I inherited! But, here I am, proud of my first official sewing project (not included the pants and curtains I hemmed... I hardly think hemming in a straight line counts)
I made Luke the red and gold vest, the black pants and the stripe sash he is wearing! The bandanna and shirt were borrowed from a friend! Luke usually refuses to wear anything on his head.. so was pretty sure that a hat or bandanna were going to be out of the question, but I was able to do things smartly... I didn't even attempt the the bandanna and earring on, until right when we arrived at the party, and got out the car... Luke got so distracted by the other kids and new environment to wreak havoc in, that he didn't even realise he was wearing them. LOL


Don't you just love the pirate earring. lol

Yesterday, was the first Halloween party of the season...



School was out for the day, so my friend Rachel, the 'Martha Stewart of Kids Parties' threw together a fun Halloween party! Rachel has a great talent and amount of patience for organizing kids parties. She picks a theme and runs with it, full force.. from invitations, to games and activities to themed food... everything fits the theme. It looked so great yesterday! I don't have the patience to do all of that... making Luke a themed birthday cake was about as far as I have patience to go. LOL...

WITCHES BREW: Green slushy punch stuff with a sour worm in it


MUMMY PIZZA'S

BUGS ON A LOG

BLOODY FINGERS


MONSTER MOUTHS


SCARY GHOST 'SWEET CAKE ROUNDS'
My friend Sandy, makes these, and they are so yummy! She makes just about any flavour and colour/decoration you want, and you can get them either on or off of a stick. They are a cake of whatever kind, mixed with frosting, then dipped in chocolate. SO DELICIOUS!

It was the perfect day, and such fun! All the kids costumes looked adorable, and the themed food was just brilliant! Thanks Rachel for such a fun first ever Halloween party (first for me and Luke. lol)