So Very Sweet

For those of you who visit only for the pics, there aren't any today. My sincere apologies. There is, however, a terribly sweet story.
Tonight at dinner Luke made the following statement out of the blue and completely unprompted: "I have a good idea. I bet Mommy's pretty." If I ever doubted my good looks before this evening, I am now a believer. It doesn't seem to matter that it was the end of the day and I was wearing sweats and a t-shirt with hair in a pony-tail. It also doesn't matter to me that the two statements are mildly non sequitur. It was a good idea. And Mommy is very pretty. Just ask Daddy!

Pretending with Daddy

These shots are from Saturday, but they are too cute to not include. Luke enjoys pretending to nap. He will lay down and ask to be covered up. Daddy is very good at this game. They played for quite awhile Saturday morning after Erik came home from BSF Leadership.

Asleep (clearly)

AWAKE!

Good Day, Sunshine!

It was a gorgeous day here today. We spent the morning reclaiming our front yard. Luke and Paul both helped out. It was an awesome way to spend time together as a family. And after lunch the boys fell asleep for three hours! I love spring! :-)

Having your own wheelbarrow makes all the difference. The fire hat doesn't hurt either.

This is serious work.

Later...it was more about the trucks and less about the weeds.

Paul isn't sure what all the fuss is about. Yard work seems pretty easy to him.

Cute Rollers

Luke and Paul spent time together on the living room floor today rolling. No one was steam rolled and everybody had fun. Here are the pics!

BOOTS!

My oldest son has a pair of yellow rain boots, bought second-hand by his grandmother. He loves these boots. I believe the infatuation began when he realized that he could put them on and take them off without any adult assistance. It has only grown as he has discovered that they are not just rain boots. They are fireman boots. They are farmer boots. This morning they took on the role of workman boots as we headed out the door to my BSF Leadership meeting. He had been wearing "normal" shoes. Then I put on my black dress boots. Luke immediately needed to make a change in his wardrobe. Upon our arrival, many of the other leaders commented on Luke's snappy footwear. These exchanges went something like this. Well-intentioned BSF Leader: "Luke, I like your boots." Luke: "Those are my workman boots. I'm not Luke. I'm a workman." These phrases were said in what I call the "Daddy Voice." I believe Luke is trying to make his voice sound as much like Erik's as possible. Adorable.
After BSF, I figured the boot cuteness was pretty much done for the day. Not even close. After nap, Luke spotted Paul's yellow boots in his room. These were a gift from Oma and had not yet been discovered by Luke. Having remedied his previous oversight, Luke felt strongly that Paul and he should wear their boots together. Pictures were a must. Paul's boots didn't really fit - we waited a tad too long. Luke said that was okay because his boots fit fine. Aaah. The logic of the two year old. Maybe Paul will get another pair for the spring rains...

Luke just couldn't be more excited about showing Paul all about boots.

Luke shows Paul how to relax in boots.

Smiling in Boots

Food Fun

Here in BangsundLand we have been paying more attention to what we put into our mouths, mostly due to a wake-up call brought on by a good friend's angiogram. Our new favorites include steamed baby carrots and spinach salad with dinner. Luke has been known to eat both off his plate of his own free will. Wohoo! Because I'm feeling good about our vegetable intake, I've also introduced dessert about once a week. Luke's absolute favorite is a brownie, but you can't ever make just three of those and the whole pan is rather tempting. A good alternative is pudding. Instant pudding is awesome! The small box only makes four servings and they are only four ounces each. I do add a few chocolate chips, hence the names "Bugs in the Sand" for vanilla pudding and "Bugs in the Dirt" for chocolate pudding. I just couldn't resist. Next week is butterscotch pudding. Any name ideas?

Tonight was the dirt variety and the pictures tell the story better than I could. Baby Paul was plenty happy to watch Luke eat his. Those days are numbered.

So Much For Goals

I caught a cold. That's my lame excuse for not blogging every day. And Erik went out of town on business, so I was a single mom for a short while. I still have my cold, but at least Erik is home and my mom is in town creating a much more blog-friendly environment.

Despite being sick, we had a lovely Valentine's Day. We celebrated with another family by dining on heart-shaped pizza at a candlelit table. We also spent time playing games and laughing really hard. It was great. Here's a shot of Luke and playmate drawing on the white board.

Other cuteness occurred toward the end of the evening as Baby Paul spotted the camera. He and the Daddy-Man are looking pretty happy.

In other news, Paul turned seven months today. I took the pictures this morning and he couldn't have been more tickled. He is laughing outloud in most of these shots. Too cute!

Better Behaved Boy and Other Blessings

Luke had such a better day today, beginning, middle and end. Considering all the activity that we packed in, we are very thankful to God. Luke's first comment this morning was that his sheets stayed dry and that was a gift from God. :-) I love that my toddler thanks God for the simple, mundane, yet totally meaningful small gifts. Dry sheets! We should all be thankful!

We headed to church and Luke enjoyed his time in Kidzone. Baby Paul was quarantined in the port-a-crib and didn't seem to mind at all. We are blessed to attend a satellite service held in an elementary school where everyone knows us and loves us. Hence when we show up with a snotty, coughy baby, our friend Jean just smiles and takes him anyway. So you don't worry, his fever was totally absent today. I'm actually thinking it was more connected with his teething than his cold, but I'm still taking him to the pediatrician tomorrow. It's been three weeks and I want antibiotics. Enough is enough.

After church we came home for lunch and super quick naps. We actually had to wake Luke from his nap to head out the door again. We lead a small group on Sunday afternoons, but it meets in a house that is roughly 40 minutes north of us. That probably sounds nuts, but we love these people and feel blessed to spend time with them. It's not always convenient, but it is always rewarding.

We arrived home and had a very smooth transition to bedtime. I love it. Here are the cute pictures.

Before church Luke was reading to Elephant from one of his current favorites. This is all taking place in Paul's room because Luke really wanted to be reading to Paul who was unavailable at the time.

This evening before his bedtime, Baby Paul was showing off his sitting skills. Those are 9 month jammies and they are fitting a little snug. Oh dear.

My Goal

I have set myself the goal of blogging once a day for the next three weeks. It keeps me off the streets.

Today was a beautiful day and we would have spent more of it outside if Baby Paul weren't sick. He's been coughing and sneezing and runny nosing for almost three weeks now. Today was the day he spiked a fever (finally). We will go to the doctor on Monday for some antibiotics. I won't take him in until that fever arrives because they'll just send me home. I'm thankful that the last time he was sick our insurance bought us our own nebulizer. Now whenever he wheezes, I pour in some albuterol and neb him. Regardless of how sick he gets, he can always breathe. I like that.

Luke had a great day with a horrible ending. Being two is tough. Tomorrow is a new day. He did enjoy time playing with his fire engine and walking around the block with Mommy. It was after dinner that he melted and needed to be wrestled, literally, into his pajamas. Poor guy. I didn't get any pictures of that, but here are some cute shots from earlier in the day.

Drop leaf tables are excellent for hiding. You can't really see me if I can't see you

There he is!

You would never know he's sick. Such a happy boy.

Playdate

We had a play date this morning which is always a delight. For those of you not in the Mommy Realm, a play date is when two mothers hang out and use their children as the excuse to sit, chat and drink coffee. It's beautiful. This particular get together is a somewhat regular occurrence and often involves coffee cake. Pure bliss. Luke also enjoys the time and the mothers were especially entertained this morning as the two year olds serenaded us from the other room with a rousing rendition of "Old McDonald." It got a little confusing whenever the time came for someone to choose the animal. (In unison - not the same key) "And on that farm he had a" (yelled loudly by two separate voices) "SHEEP" "COW" (In unison once more) "E-I-E-I-O! With a..." You can imagine the rest. The mothers laughed a lot. This is a good thing considering that when clean-up time came my two year old chose to throw a tantrum. You win some, you lose some.

Part of today's brand of fun was the wearing of hats. Luke brought his fireman's hat and kindly allowed his playmate to wear it. I was amazed. Luke is wearing a helmet backward. Reason unknown.


These guys were born six days apart and I am so excited to see them grow up together.

Paul's play date experience. I'm so thankful for port-a-cribs.

Special Gift

Baby Paul received a special gift in the mail today. When the package appeared on the porch, I just left it there because Erik gets SO MANY packages for work. I didn't even bother to look at it. When Erik got home I rolled it into the house and found it addressed to Paul! We opened it and found the most lovely, homemade baby quilt! We have been wanting to decorate Paul's room (no, it hasn't happened yet!) using a Beatrix Potter theme. This blanket, made by wonderful Cousin Betty, is the perfect thing to inspire us! It is so beautiful. Here are the pics of Paul checking out his new blanket. Enjoy!

Hi Everybody! This is my new blanket. I really like it a lot. And I look like my mom when she was a baby in this picture.

Here I am rolling around and chewing on a plastic ring. And I'm adorable.

Thanks, Cousin Betty! You rock!