A trip to the Farm

Tuesday for Megan's preschool we went to a farm for pony rides. Megan was so excited. She took a turn riding the pony, had fun being pulled in the pony cart, enjoyed the horsie tire swing, ran around the open fields and through the red barn with her friends and made smores... well, she burnt a marsh mellow till it was black and flaky and then decided just the Hershey's chocolate bar was all she needed for a good snack. She's been asking if we can go back every day since.

Luke was tired and seemingly ready for a nap when I pulled up to the farm, but one look as I opened the van door and he was up for the adventure. He had so much fun wandering around. He's a pretty good walker but these uneven farm fields had him wobbling and falling down a lot. He didn't mind though. He was too interested in the wandering cats and dog, the pony and cart, standing (at a safe distance) in the barn to study the horses, and trying to figure out a way into the circular fenced off pony ride. He was so eager and frustrated that the pony lady was sure he needed a turn. He loved it. When I asked him if he wanted to come to me he just pointed at the horse. After his ride he was even more determined to get back in there. It was a fun morning. Just what we needed... a break from the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season!

Thanksgiving Feast

We had a great Thanksgiving. Chris' parents were in town and Shelley and I joined forces for a great Thanksgiving feast... turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, rolls, jello, creamed corn, sweet potatos, honey and nutmeg carrots, pumpkin cake and raisin pie. We enjoyed the week visiting, shopping, watching movies, going out to eat, visiting Chris at work, playing with the kids, going to Twilight, doing puzzles and even exchanging presents and enjoying an early Christmas. We were spoiled of course. Thanks for everything Grandma and Grandpa! Come back soon.

Thankful for...

Every year I try to do a FHE on what we're thankful for and each time I change it and make it a bit different... I've had them write 100 things they're thankful for... top ten things they're thankful for... categories of things to be thankful for... This year I thought I'd give them some fill in the blanks. They loved it (they always do) and I love to get the responses. There were a few hard ones that they had to really think about. I won't include all of them... but here are a few of my favorites.

Ryan
On the bus I'm thankful for... sisters to talk to and books.
When I'm on vacation I'm thankful for... money.
When I play I'm thankful for... brothers and sisters.
I'm thankful when my family goes... to church.
I'm thankful when my dad... golfs with me.

I'm thankful when my mom... hugs me and has babies and makes smoothies.

Katie
In the morning I'm thankful for... brushing my teeth so they don't fall out.
At breakfast I'm thankful for... waffles and syrup. Yum!
At school I'm thankful for... learning so I can be smart and get a good job.
Late at night I'm thankful for... my mom being pregnant.
When I pray I'm thankful for... missionaries.
When I'm on vacation I'm thankful for... family.

Emily
At school I'm thankful for... my teacher.
At FHE I'm thankful for... FHE.
When I'm on vacation I'm thankful for... the world.
Something that's really hard but I'm still thankful for... ballet.
I'm thankful when my mom... gives me food.
I'm thankful when my sisters... play school with me.
I'm thankful when my family... helps me.

Megan
In the morning I'm thankful for... going potty.
When I play I'm thankful for... carebears.
At FHE I'm thankful for... candy.
At dinner I'm thankful for... chicken.
Late at night I'm thankful for... my bed.
When I pray I'm thankful for... Heavenly Father.
When I'm at church I'm thankful for... my whole class at the nursery.
Something that's really hard but I'm still thankful for... tossing balloons really high.
I'm thankful when my family... looks for something that is lost.
I'm thankful when my family... tickles me.
I'm thankful when my mom... sleeps. (aren't we all?)

Party time

We celebrated Luke's birthday on Monday when Grandma and Grandpa Johnson got here. The kids were extra hyper because of their arrival and the big party. The kids and I had picked up helium balloons to decorate with. Luke LOVES balloons and got so excited pulling on the strings. When the kids pulled the balloons down so he could hold them he would hug them tight and then let go watching them float back up to the ceiling -- and then point to them. The kids giggled. He smiled. If that's all we did he would have had a great party.

When we sat him down to open presents Chris said, "I can't believe we're going to teach him how to rip paper this close to Christmas!" Ya, what are we thinking. Chris did most of the unwrapping hoping he wasn't picking up on some helpful hints. He was thrilled with the boxes and tissue paper. Ryan's present was a Pokemon figurine in a tiny little box. He loved that box the best and kept putting the lid on and off while Ryan almost went crazy because he hadn't noticed the precious Pikachu inside. He loved the stuffed Dalmatian from Kyle & Ashlyn, and the Christmas book from Dan & Sarah. Thanks guys! His present from us was a little race car set. And on exactly the same wave length, Grandma and Grandpa Walton picked out another race track with the same little cars. Both were a big hit.... for all the kids. I had to swat the older kids out of the way just to take a picture of my little guy. He loved them both... thanks G&G.

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson got Luke a little motorized jeep. We didn't have it charged so that first night he just climbed on and off and loved every minute. He only knew how to climb on with his right leg so if he approached the jeep from the wrong side he sat on it backward. Too funny. Once we got it charged he learned how to push the button and smiles as he goes a couple inches at a time. No steering yet... but soon he'll be a pro. Thanks G&G!

Luke was stunned at his cake. He stared at it for quite a while before he reached for the flame. After it was out he sat starring at us and at it not quite sure what to do. Chris helped him get his fingers white with icing but he immediately made a face and pulled away. When Chris helped his fingers to his mouth he was even more disgusted. 'What kind of game is this?' he thought as he quickly wiped both hands on his shirt. After a few minutes of torture Chris cut him a piece of cake and handed him a plate. 'Ah, this is better'. He ate cake and really made a mess. It was a fun night for everyone. Happy Birthday Big Boy!

One Year

This little boy warms my heart. He is such a sweetheart and now he's ONE! Here is a little about Luke at one...

He's 23 pounds now. (58th percentile) and 32 inches (88th percentile).

He walks almost everywhere now. He's slow and careful unless he knows exactly where he's going and then he goes full speed practically collapsing at his destination.

He loves eating. We had a scare for a while when he was sick and didn't want to eat anything. Chris and I looked at each other and said, "What do we do? We don't have one like this!" But luckily now that he is better he's back to eating everything and lots of it. Whew!

He likes little cars and makes a 'Brrrrr' sound when drives them across the floor. How adorable.

He loves balls.... holding them and throwing them.

He says a few words. He points at most things and says 'Dada' but he does know that his Daddy is 'Dada' and gets so excited when he sees him. He loves to say 'Uh-oh' -- now he says it BEFORE he drops things over the side of his high chair. In the stores he says 'Hi' to everyone he passes. If I walk into the room he's in, he looks up and says 'Hi'. Those are his three big ones. He tries to say 'All done'... at least Ryan thinks he's saying it.

He loves playing with the kids and being with Chris but if I walk into the room he starts whimpering. When I say 'what's wrong?' everyone says, "He was fine before you walked in." Now I walk around the house avoiding main hallways and ducking behind couches to avoid him seeing me when he's playing happily.

He loves playing outside. Even though it's pretty cold here these days, he still loves playing with the basketballs and riding his little cars outside while the kids ride their scooters and Chris and Ryan play basketball.

We just switched his car seat around. He loves to be able to look out the window and especially watch the movie in the van.

He loves balloons. He points and says 'oooohhhh' when he sees them floating around in stores.

He LOVES his baby Einstein movies. If I say "Luke do you want a Lukey movie?" then he completely freezes and then points up at the TV. Then he crawls until he is directly under the TV. (and our TV is pretty high so he can barely see it). When the little Baby Einstein caterpillar crawls onto the screen Lukey goes crazy. He starts bouncing up and down and pointing at the screen and saying 'ooohhhh' and screeching. We all get a kick out of watching him. He is so excited. Then we pull him all the way back so he has a better view and he sits and watches for a long time... especially if you sit near him so he can look at you all through the movie and point to the screen several times a minute. We love it.

He wants so badly to climb up the stairs. We have a gate at the bottom so for months when the kids go running up the stairs and close the gate behind them Luke crawls to the bottom, stands up to the gate and screams. He is pretty ticked off that he can't go up too. Every once in a while he squeezes in before they've shut the gate and he feels like a King. He can climb up the whole thing but can't climb back down so the gate still remains in force... only now he's learned how to stand at the gate and violently shake it open. Not good.

He can climb onto the couch now and loves to crawl around on top of the couch and stand up and peer over the edge. He's dangerous. He usually gets off the right way but occasionally crashes to the ground.

He's still super wiggly when I change his pants and get him dressed.

He goes to bed at about 8:30 and wakes up at 7:30. Unless Chris is in charge of putting him to bed... then he's up till 10:30.

Smarty pants

I am finding Emily's pictures and letters all over the house. I just can't get enough of her cute hand writing, creative spelling and little stick girls with flippy hair and bows and I am saving almost everything!

One day in church she put her piece of paper in front of my face and told me to read this word...

"punkuwashenmarek"

Any guesses? I'm sure you'll get it if I give you the whole context.... Her paper said... "Thar is three thing's you can put at the end of your sentet's. Thay are pereid kwoshtenmarek and punkuwashenmarek." Tranalation... There are three things you can put at the end of your sentences. They are period, question mark and punctuation mark. (I think she means exclamation mark since that's what's pictured at the bottom of her paper... but you get the idea.)

She is the top 'popcorn' reader in the whole kindergarten class. That means she passed off all 250 'words Kindergarteners need to know' FIRST. She is super smart. Now I guess we need to focus on spelling.

Walking... but only with cheering.

Luke took his first two steps on October 18th, when he was almost 11 months old. It was at a ward party when he was standing beside his little friend and without thinking just took the two steps to be closer to her. Yep, a ladies man. Chris was so proud.

The next day, with the whole family watching, we practiced. (pictures above) With each step the kids clapped and cheered and Lukey could feel the excitement. He's learned that his actions could elicite such a response, but this was something else. He beamed as he took 9 steps. Whenever he lost his balance and landed on his padded bum the kids exploded with cheers, and Lukey, unable to contain his own excitement clapped for himself. It was adorable.

Since then Luke has been working on beating his record. Just yesterday Lukey made it34 steps. Why keep counting? Because there are a few in this family anxious to keep and beat records (big brother Ryan)... and because Luke still prefers crawling. He walks the four steps from the table to the chair and a few steps here and there but mostly he likes to fall down and clap for himself or just get where he's going faster... by crawling.

He is definitely a walker... he just saves it for big audiences and lots of cheering.

oh, the thing in his mouth? We gave him a toy to hold to distract him. He put it right in his mouth like a dog. What a boy.

October catch up

Chris' sister Ashlyn came for a week during October. Unfortunately I was a rather pathetic host but since she is pregnant as well I think she was understanding. We had a fun week playing Carcassone, visiting Chris at the hospital, going out to eat, taking her to church to meet our friends, playing with the kids, and talking non-stop. We feel spoiled that she would want to come!

One afternoon we went downtown Columbus, dropped Katie off at ballet, and walked part of the RiverWalk while we waited for her class to finish. We took pictures by the Chatahoochee River and then more of the kids sliding down the hill. Several times when we have gone there the kids have found cardboard boxes laying against the railing. Now it's a tradition to slide down the steep hills and tumble off onto the grass. Ryan wanted to go from the very top... even Emily and Megan wanted to go over and over.

So if you come to Georgia, we may just have to take you sliding on the hill by the Chattahoochee. We couldn't get Ashlyn to do it for some reason.

Peek-a-boo

These pictures are from mid October when playing peek-a-boo was Luke's newest trick. He carefully placed his hands over his eyes and kept them there waiting for the perfect moment to surprise us. Of course he always had a cheering audience and an encore performance! -- Luke at almost 11 months

Year of the Cowboy

We had a rootin' tootin' Halloween!


Most of Ryan's pictures have a mean tough cowboy look to them... but this one captures how happy he was to be a cowboy. He loved his spurs, his gun, and his Sheriff's badge.... and had a great time posing for all of his pictures. More on his blog.

Katie was most excited about being a Cowgirl. She actually wanted to be one last year but I told her if she waited until this year then she would have an almost one year old brother that would be the cutest cowboy ever. She agreed it was worth the wait. "I just think I look so good." she kept saying all night. She wore her cowboy boots all weekend long and is even wearing them to school today. Check out Katie's blog for more pictures.


Classic Emily, she was super smiley for the camera. But tonight for some reason she kept laughing hysterically. Chris kept asking, "Emily, what is so funny?" which would only make her laugh more. She's so funny. She was super excited about being a cowgirl, especially because she could have braids 'just like Jesse from Toy Story 2'. She even called herself Jesse all night.

Megan wanted to be a ballerina, which she was for her Preschool Halloween party, but when she saw the hat and boots, she was definitely game for being cutest cowgirl in the posse. Megan loved trick-or-treating and looking in her bag frequently to check out her loot. When I was tired and ready to be done she was happy to quit the door to door and start the eating. She and Emily divided all their candy into piles and went at it.

Luke had absolutely no idea what was going on. Chris kept making all the kids laugh when he told them that Luke really thought we had all turned into cowboys and cowgirls and would keep saying 'Howdy Partner!' for the rest of our lives. Luke loves being outside so he was happy to just hang out, crawl around and scuff up his cowboy boots during our photo shoot. Luke only made it up to a couple houses for trick-or-treating. He held his bag with his few pieces of candy and didn't think much of it but loved watching the kids run and being held by Dad. When he tasted his first sucker back at home then he probably wished he did a few more houses.

Sheriff Ryan and his Deputy, Luke and three beautiful cowgirls.


***Thanks Chris for being the best Halloween Daddy ever. Like always, he comes home from work early, helps get the costumes on, entertains the kids for endless pictures while smiling the whole time (seriously, he's amazing), and after half of us are tuckered out he takes the big kids trick or treating until they decide they've had enough. He always makes it a great night for the kids AND for me. Your the best, babe.