Tis' the Season to be Jolly...

The holidays are so much fun with kids! This is our second year of holidays with Luke and it's exciting to think about another little one being around next year at this time. After Luke and I spent a week up north visiting my family, we enjoyed Thanksgiving down here in San Diego with my parents. Now we are enjoying the Christmas season.  Our house is decorated for Christmas, presents are under the tree, and we are looking forward to a new year as our family welcomes a new member!

Now that we are parents, it is our job to create traditions with our little ones as well as carry on ones that we loved growing up with. It's so fun to create new memories for Luke and see the world through his eyes-everything is pretty exciting to him right now!  Most importantly, we want Luke to know how important it is to remember our blessings at Thanksgiving and have a heart of gratitude, and celebrate the birth of our Savior on Christmas. Joy comes not in the things we may have or receive, but in being completely & utterly satisfied in what the Lord has given and entrusted to us. He is our provider and it is only through Him that we can experience peace and joy.

Riding on his new scooter from Auntie Abby & Uncle Adam (early Christmas gift)

Celebrating cousin Liv & Shea's birthdays

Celebrating Auntie's birthday

Cousins!

Reading a story with great-grandma

Thanksgiving community dinner at church

Zoo with my parents

Celebrating daddy's 32nd birthday!

Posing with mama for her 30 week picture :)

Hanging with cousin Willow in the backyard-these 2 are besties now!

Decorating the Christmas tree with mama

We have so much to be thankful for and celebrate this Christmas season! As we look back on 2012 we can't help but be humbled and overly grateful for what the Lord has done in our lives. To Him be the glory.

Hello Fall!

We are finally out of the 80's/90's/yes 100! degree temps and it's finally feeling like fall...fall for San Diego anyways. :) Last year we went to a little pumpkin patch on a street corner near downtown mainly so we could sit Luke on a pumpkin, take his picture, and say we had gone to a "pumpkin patch" with him.  But growing up in a farm town, it was not a true pumpkin patch experience!  So this year we drove 45 minutes northeast to a cute farm that had a huge pumpkin patch, hay rides, hay maze and a petting zoo. Luke loved it and it was so fun to watch him explore-one of my favorite things about having a toddler.

It's almost the middle of October which means we have FOUR MONTHS before baby arrives! I am soaking up every minute of having only one child, but preparing and getting excited for our family to grow.

Luke's Favorites

I wanted to document a few of the things Luke can't live without these days, because I know over the years these cute obsessions will become distant memories and I don't want to forget them!

1. Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star
We have apps on our phones, ipad and have even found a great video on youtube that he watches on a daily basis! We know he wants to watch this song when he puts his pointer fingers in the air and dances back and forth-it's adorable!

2. The Wheels on the Bus
Another favorite song and yes, we have apps on our phones, ipad and have found a gigglebellies youtube video. His favorite verses for us to sing are "the horn on the bus goes...", "the wipers on the bus go...", "the babies on the bus go...", and "the mama's on the bus go...".  He knows the hand motions for these as well and quickly switches to the next verse before we have even finished singing the last verse!  I love how this song entertains him and calms him down in the car when he is getting restless.

3. Dr. Seuss's The Foot Book
This is absolutely his FAVORITE book! We read it several times a day after we hear him repeatedly saying "eet, eet, eet," (feet) over and over again while holding the book.

4. Push carts
Luke was given several push carts for his first birthday but only recently has he really fallen in love with them.  He has a lawn mower my sister-in-law gave him, a wooden flatbed cart from his godparents, and another pushcart from my parents with different gadgets on it.  He is constantly pushing one of these around outside, in the house, or down the street. He has even requested to bring them in the car...which, not wanting to create a melt-down when we are in a hurry to go somewhere, I've put in the car right next to him!

One of my greatest joys as a mom, is watching his personality grow and develop. It is so fun to see him become attached to certain things and form preferences. I love how much he loves music and reading-two things that are near and dear to my heart as well!  I truly am seeing character traits that I prayed for in him while I was pregnant, begin to develop.

This is his "cheese" face :)

Baby BOY #2!!

This past week we learned we would be having another BOY!!  We are absolutely thrilled. While it was fun to browse through the pink tutu's and hair bows and dream of a little girl, I am so excited to pull out Luke's newborn clothes that I once cried over as I packed up. I have loved having a little boy and feel so blessed to be having another one.  Luke is going to LOVE having a little brother to play with, share a room with, and become best buds with.  We can't wait to meet this little guy in February-we are due on my birthday, February 14th! Baby, you are loved more than you know!

WORDS

Luke will be 17 months in a week and a half and I want to document his vocabulary thus far!  Over the past few weeks it seems he has become a little "parrot," trying out several words we prompt him to say.  Here are his words so far:

Mama
Dadda
Nana (my mom)
Papa (my dad...he gets the P out then the rest is a little unclear :)
Nate (his cousin)
Kai (his friend)
Up
Help
Down
Cheese
Keys (pretty much sounds the same as cheese but he knows the difference!)

He is great at signing as well. It's so fun that he can communicate his needs with minimal whining...or so we're working on!  By 18 months children are supposed to have approximately 20 words in their vocabulary so we have 9 more to learn in the next month and a half. :)

I love this little guy!

Summer!

We have had a great summer so far, enjoying two vacations.  The first one was to the Oregon coast with my grandma, parents, brother, sister-in-law and their four kids. We had a great time exploring the tide pools, aquarium, enjoying the beach, and spending time together as a family. This was the first time in awhile we had been on vacation with my family, so it was wonderful to spend a whole week together!

Luke enjoying the chilly Oregon beach

Cousins!

My amazing sister-in-law and my inspiration for having 4 kids some day :)

The Johnson family

Exploring the tide pools

Braving the pool in 65 degree weather!

Beautiful coast! Alivia, Jesse, and Luke

Our second trip was just the three of us-camping in Yosemite. Jesse grew up camping every summer with his dad and sister and was anxious to begin creating those memories with our family.  We had a blast and Luke loved EVERY minute of it! His favorite thing to do was chase (and almost catch!) squirrels. :)  We hiked, biked, swam, and created wonderful family memories.

Helping daddy set up the tent :)

Yosemite falls

Our daily view on our bike ride-beautiful!

Bridal Veil Falls

Half dome shot

Ready to hike Vernal Falls!

Making s'mores!

It's been awhile...

I've neglected our blog the past few months but that's because...we've been busy!  I finished up teaching on June 1st and said good-bye to my classroom and profession for a little while. I had many mixed emotions as I walked out the door for the last time and handed in my keys. Overall, I am SO grateful for this opportunity to be home full-time with my little boy and know it is absolutely the best decision I could make for my family. I am so grateful to Jesse for wanting to work so hard to allow me the luxury of staying home.

Last field trip with my class

A week later, Jesse graduated from seminary and also became ordained! Both of our families made the trip to San Diego and several friends were there as well. It meant so much to us to have those we love celebrate his 6 hard years of studying coming to completion.  I could not have been prouder watching him walk on stage and receive his diploma.  We are looking forward to more nights as a family with NO studying!!

Yay!! We're so proud of you!

Jesse and his friend, Keith

The Jacobs

The Johnsons

That same night after graduation, Jesse flew to Thailand for a 2 week missions trip. They worked alongside an organization called Compasio, building a soccer field for street kids, holding babies at an orphanage, and ministering to families who live in a trash dump (literally). It was very eye-opening and humbling, but the organization is doing some amazing things to reach out to at-risk children.

While Jesse was gone, Luke and I flew to Kansas City to spend a week with my brother and his family. We had a great time and Luke was loved to pieces. :)

Enjoying his cousins at the petting zoo

Sweet cousins: Alex, Kaylan & Emma

My sister-in-law, Branka with the kiddos

Kansas is beautiful!

A week after Jesse returned he and I went up to Cambria on the northern California coast for a 2-night getaway. Luke stayed with our dear friends Lucy and Serge. It was so nice to have time just the two of us and is something that we want to do at least once a year.

We are loving this new season of life, summertime, and being together again as a family!