Walking in the Woods

"mommy Mommy MOMMY! Need to go walk in the woods. Puppy doggie needs to run in the woods." ~James

The boys just come alive walking in through the leaves and mud of the soggy woods around our house. Guess I am going to need to toughen up so I can keep up with my little adventurers.

I love this picture of Luke, he is looking so old lately. When did my baby grow up?

James runs through the woods, walking is just not fast enough.

Luke and I like to stroll and feel the wind whip around us.

James slid down a hill face first in the mud. The fall only upset him momentarily because he got mud on his hands. A quick wipe on his pants and we were good to keep running.

Dirt and snails and puppy dog tails...check, check and check. That saying makes a little more sense every day!

Doctor Day

"Does he ever smile?" is a very common question that the doctors and specialists ask when they first meet Luke. Probably because he looks at them all with his very serious face. See below.

He can hold that face for the entire visit. Sometimes they are able to make him laugh and then they get to see his big sweet grin. Today, no one was able to get a grin out of him. Very serious boy ALL morning until he got his lollipop on the ride home. Then out came the smile.

15 month stats
Height: 36.25 inches (off the chart)
Weight: 25 pounds 10 ounces (66%)
HC: 18.5 inches (45%)

Mr. Luke continues to be really tall, and he is gaining weight like a champ! Plus with all his wonderful progress we are going to continue to delay a more invasive test. But we have one more specialist to add to our list to see. Ahh, the ever growing list of people that tell my that my child is "normal". If you ask me, he is off the charts for personality and cuteness...but that's just my opinion.

Jumping House

This is a house. A jumping house, where everyone is JUMPING!

"Want to play with Katie Grace!" ~ James

Winifred Kilgore Samoden

Our beautiful Ma (John's Grandmother) went to be with the Lord this past weekend. She was a lovely and generous woman, and we will miss her so much. Her son Tom said it best, "She was 94 years young and up until the end could still do the crossword puzzles from the newspaper (in ink, yet). She will be missed by many, but heaven is a much livelier place now."

Brothers

As much as these two can drive me crazy, they sure can be sweet sometimes!

Luke and James snuggling.

Playing piano together.

James tickling the ivories...he sure is getting better at playing (as opposed to banging) the keys.

Twilight Zone

Today the potty seat somehow made it from the bathroom into James' room. A very unused potty seat...might I add. Luke was first to climb in. He wasn't too sure about it, as you can see.

But then James said something I never thought I would hear...."Luke all done potty. James want to sit on potty."

Is it just me, or does it look like the potty chair is too small. Is that possible?

Berenstain Bears

I grew up reading the Berenstain Bears, so I am really excited that James really loves them too. We have the whole collection of books and even have little bear figurines to play with. My favorite is James' "bear" names that he has given all of us.

Daddy-Bear, Mama-Bear, Luker-Bear, James-Bear and Puppy-Bear. He giggles every time he uses these silly names, and thinks he is so clever. Too funny. Maybe I should start wearing a blue and white polka-dot dress and hat. What do you think?

Learning New Tricks

Uncle Mowg and Aunt Julia stopped by for a quick visit. James was absolutely distraught this morning when they were loading up their car. He and Uncle Mowg really bonded and he was not about to let him just walk away. First he ran out into the arctic temperatures barefoot to try and convince Aunt Julia to stay. She reported that he turned back to the house, said "Bye bye Mama bear, Bye Bye Luke" and then proceed to run and jump into their back seat. Poor guy, he really misses his Uncle Morgan and Aunt Julia! Come back soon!

Helping Uncle Morgan open a Christmas present.

Reading to Uncle Morgan. It's one of James' favorite books about potty training. I am sure Uncle Morgan learned a lot from that one. =)

Uncle Morgan got to take a turn reading....James thought it was very funny that the Uncle Morgan could read upside down.

Love you Uncle Morgan and Aunt Julia and Clover!

Dressing Up

Little Bunny Luke

James the little prince
(He won't take the crown off at all, and insists on wearing it all day! Auntie Julie you rock!)

Big boy James

Blocks, Chairs and Zion (Oh my!)

The boys had so much fun building a tower with Daddy. Build tower, knock it down, repeat.

Luke figured out how to sit himself in a chair. Lots of balance and precision needed for that job. He thought he was pretty cool figuring all that out!

Zion continues to be such a sweet doggie with the boys. He and James even cuddle on occasion, it is so cute!

Cheese!

Well that is what we did to ring in the new year! Happy New Year!