Luke's Birthday Part II

Have I mentioned before that Luke loves sugar? 
Well he does and he's got the fillings to prove it!
 No matter where I hide anything with sugar in it, he finds it.

I think he can actually sniff it out. While galloping! (refer to #5 in previous post)

So I thought he would love a cake made of sugar, sugar, and more sugar.  And he did! 

He called it his Willie Wonka cake. 

Brent and I loved Garrett's present for Luke. In about 10 minutes he busted out a Wonka bar with a Golden Ticket inside that was good for a sleepover in Garrett's room.  Pretty crafty.  And sweet.  Luke loved it. 

One of our birthday traditions has been that Brent always

takes the kids' birthdays off from work so that he can spend the day with them. 

I love that Brent does this and
I know the kids will remember the birthdays
spent with Dad (and missing school!) more than the gifts they got.


Luke did NOT want to miss his actual birthday at school. 
I mean, his teacher had it on the calendar and everything!

So Brent took him out the day after and after a day of fun
with Dad that included bowling, mini golf, a haircut, and a movie...

...we had a late night the a few of Luke's friends. 
Three girls-apparently he likes the ladies! 
They played and decorated cupcakes with the leftover candy I had. 

Sugar high-crash from sugar high-bedtime!  Done! 

Luke's 7th birthday was a success. 
We're glad you had a good one buddy!

Luke's Birthday

Luke is 7 years old today so in honor of his birthday...

7 things to know about Luke:

#1-He is a funny/goofy kid. 

We laugh a lot at things he says and does. His observations are pretty funny. An example.  I had to go the the school to take something to him.  In the office a little girl was sitting doing homework. 

Luke: "Mom, her is black."  

Me: "Yep.  She is."  

Luke:  "But her not a slave anymore!"

Me:  Silence....Finally manage to say "No, she isn't"

Luke:  "Cuz Abraham Lincoln said (throws his arms up in the air and says loudly) 'The slaves are fwee!'"  and a pause "Weally Mom.  He did."

Me:  "You are absolutely right.  He sure did."  Got to the car and cracked up the whole way home.

#2-He is a good helper. 

Most of the time.  He knows where every single thing in this house goes and if he's in the mood he can clean up better than anyone else, including Brent.  Sometimes he is a little too helpful, if you know what I mean!

#3-He works hard at school. 

He almost always starts homework without being asked.  And even though he's struggling with reading, he works super hard at it.

#4-He loves babies! 

He was a great helper when Owen was a baby, then Max, and now Lucy.  He runs to them the second he hears them crying.  He will do anything to get them to smile or laugh and he is my best helper with babies.  I'd leave Max laying on my bed when he was little, go do a little chore and go back to check on him and there'd have an outfit all laid out next to him with a diaper and wipes all ready to go.  Luke had come in and gotten everything ready for me to get Max dressed for the day, then disappeared like a little magic elf.  He is always doing stuff like that with the babies.  He also says he speaks "baby" and will interpret for us what the babies are saying-"Her says her's hungry" or "Lucy is crying because her wishes she could eat cake too"  Wow.  Who knew. 

                                                                                                                                                          

                                                              

#5-He's bouncy and he's flouncy and he's fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!! 
When he was 2 years old he started galloping and skipping everywhere.  He hasn't stopped.  He prances, runs, hops and bounces.  He can't even sit still long enough to eat a bowl of cereal.  He wakes up at the crack of dawn, gallops to our room and starts talking.  Playing soccer, basketball, Tball-skip, hop, a bouncy jog, mix it up with a little side-gallop...  

#6-He likes to dance, play air drums and air guitar. 

He wanted to be in our ward primary talent show when he was 3.  He danced to "I Like to Move It" with his friend.  It was so stinkin cute!  When he was 4 all he wanted for Christmas was a guitar and a drumset.  He was a rock star for Halloween and he loves a good rock n' roll song and headbangs away while playing his air guitar.  Rock on dude! 

#7-He is persistent. 

Let it die Luke! is what we are always telling him.  He can ask you the same question so many times you go insane.  And you want to be insane because then you can be commited and not hear him ask you the question. Again.  We figure this characteristic will be used for good at some point.   

Luke was a happy, smiley baby and he's been smiling ever since.  As you can probably tell from the pictures, or knowing him for 10 minutes, he was and is mischievious too!  He was also dirty all the time!  We called him Pigpen.  Come to think of it, he still always seems to have food on his face. 

Notice how he is either dirty, smiling, or both in the pictures!

 

A week and a half later...

Happy Valentine's Day!  Oh wait.  That was a week and a half ago.  

Can I still use the "I just had a baby" excuse for being so behind on blogging? 

Didn't think so.  I'm pretty sure I was behind long before having a baby!

I always take pictures intenending to blog about things and I never get around to it-anyone else do that?

Our annual Valentine's dinner. Pizza!  One thing everyone likes!   

This one's dedicated to my friends...

I have awesome friends!  Everywhere I've lived I have been blessed with great friends and, because we never live close to family, I have been especially grateful to these wonderful people who have been like family to us. 

My sweet friend came over to my house today with her kids and started cleaning.  Just because she wanted to do something nice for me.  The kids played and we cleaned and she didn't stop for 2 or 3 hours.  I'm overwhelmed by how kind that was.

When we had Lucy, my friend just took my kids and told me not to worry she'd farm them out and take care of everything.  And that she did for two days.  Friends took turns taking care of my kids and helping out.  They visited me at the hospital and oohed and aahed over my baby.

After we had Lucy people brought us meals for a few days.  Then friends just kept bringing meals, about 2 a week, for a few weeks after that.  Just because they wanted to be helpful.

People have had my kids over to play (Owen's had the rock 'n roll life with playdates multiple times a week), helped with rides, come to visit, popped in to see the baby, and we've receive so many gifts for Lucy from friends, neighbors, Brent's coworkers, and even the kids' teachers.  The gifts have definitely been appreciated but I appreciate the gesture even more.  The fact that they were thinking of us and went out of their way to be so kind and thoughtful and share our excitement about a new baby. 

I used to think I had something to do with having such awesome friends, kinda like I feel like I should take some credit for having such a great husband.  I did choose to marry him afterall. But I can't take any credit at all.  They are wonderful, selfless, fun, nice, thoughtful people all on their own.  It's been like this everywhere we've lived and I'm just luck enough to call them my friends.

So to my sweet friends, old and new, I love you all and thank you for everything you do and have done for me and my family! 

Happy Abe Lincoln Day!

In honor of Abraham Lincoln's birthday (which is today)

I give you a picture of what could, quite possibly be, the largest full body staute of him. 
Ever.

It is on the outskirts of the town where my parents live in "The Land of Lincoln"
(If you don't know which state that is, shame on you!) 

That is Brent and my niece at Lincoln's feet to give you a perspective. 

Try not to be jealous.

This is dedicated to my family for whom this statue is a constant source of amusement.