How Poo Saves the Day

The scene: It is just before 7am and Rebekah wakes up for the day. I am groggy after 2 night feedings and Luke up 3 times screaming- first a nightmare, next his covers are not just so, third time- he runs into the bedroom holding up a finer and says, "Daddy, I have a boogie." (Nathan handled the Luke wakings, I handled Rebekah and heard Luke's screams from afar.)

Back to Rebekah- I see her smiling at me as I go to pick her up out of the crib. I picker her up and notice that my hand is wet.... Oh no, a leaky diaper. I set Rebekah down to change her.... Oh no, worse than a leak- its a poo. A big poo that is in her hands, up her back, soaking through the blanket, in the crib. Now I have poo on me too.

I realize that if I wash her up in the bathroom, it will probably wake Nathan up. Nathan has already had his share of waking ups (bless him) during the night, so plan B is the kitchen sink.

I quickly wash out the sink with the hand that has no poo on it, and hold dirty Rebekah with the other. Then I wash Rebekah up and hear Luke screaming in the background. That is how he wakes up these days. So I rush to finish with Rebekah and Luke comes flying into the living room. He is emotional and so I decide to cheer him up by telling him about Rebekah's colossal poo.

L: sobbing
M: It was all over the place!
L:Giggle.
M:She had it all over her back and hands and everywhere!
L: Giggle, Giggle.
M: (to Rebekah)- Oh you little stinky winky! :)
L: Laughing and now in a good mood.

Luke thinks Baby Rebekah is the funniest little girl ever.

I am in a good mood because Rebekah is clean once again and Luke is happy.

That is how poo can save the day.

Stick Horse Riding

These arrived in the mail today:

Working For It

I decided to make Luke work for his snack today:

Also, here are a couple of pictures of my spring garden. Apparently tomatoes do grow in Houston:

Trip to Blue Bell

On Monday, we went to the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory in Brenham, TX. For those not familiar with Blue Bell, it is the best ice cream around! We enjoyed the tour and got a scoop of ice cream each at the end. Luke has a book that talks about a bear who likes chocolate ice cream, so when we asked what kind he wanted, he replied, "choc-o-wate!" Here are some pictures:

Luke with the Blue Bell Ice cream delivery truck:
With the cow and the milking girl. While on the tour Luke asked where all the cows were. Not at the factory. :)
Posing in front of the display that showed all the flavors Blue bell makes (55)!
Grandpa and Luke eating their ice cream:

From...

Luke likes me to tell him where we got different things in our house. He always points out that his Richard Scarry books are from Clara and Grammy, that his blue chair used to be Auntie and Uncle's, etc... This makes the things that we have more special to him. I think it is great!

Today we were sitting at breakfast and Luke wanted to know who gave him the washcloth that he was using to wipe his hands. I told him that his Aunt Susie had crocheted it for him. To this he replied, "Oh. She came in and said, 'Hi guys!' and gave me the washcloth." Well, something like that Luke. :)

Lights!

Last night we drove to a really nice area of town and looked at lights with Luke. He LOVED it and yelled "Christmas lights, real Christmas lights!" Which made me wonder what fake Christmas lights might look like.

Here are some pictures taken by an iPhone in a moving vehicle. They don't hold a candle to the real thing!

Luke says

Some treasures that we hear from our dear little boy:

"Buna buna bo!" - this is what Luke says whenever grown ups are using words that he doesn't understand. Whenever I give him the phone to say, "hi" to someone, this is what he says.

"Moonana" - Lukes word for banana. He know how to say banana, but prefers moonana. Bananas are shaped like moons and are generally a similar color in most children's books.

"Thank you, thank you, dinosaur." - From a book that we read often. One day while I was talking out loud to myself, I said, "Thank you Lord." Luke looked at me sternly and said, "No, thank you dinosaur." I laughed. :)

"Lukey tukey." - How Luke refers to himself right now.

Other favorite phrases: "Der it is!" "Dat's better!" "Clara beara." "Owen has a fuzzy blanket!"

I'll try to write more sayings down as I remember them. :)

Flowers

Fresh flowers for my birthday:

Licking the Spoon

In the Kitchen

What Luke was doing while I made dinner tonight:


Yep, that is one whole kitchen drawer arranged on the counter top. :)

Pictures

Here are pictures from this past month:


1. With Grammy and Clara, reading a book!


2. At dinner while on the Brenham anniversary trip:

3. Getting ready for a swim!
4. More at dinner in Brenham. He just drank some very cold water.5. With a new friend- Mr. Bear. Luke also enjoys the company of Bunny Baby.

Buckle

This past weekend we all went to Brenham, TX to spend a night away for our anniversary. We had a very good time together and especially enjoyed picking blueberries at a local farm on the way home.

Today I made Blueberry Buckle. Luke loved it and learned to ask for it by name. :)

Late Spring in Houston

Well, the Houston weather is beginning to feel like summer to me, but I am trying to keep thinking of it as "late spring," so that I am not shocked when the humidity and temperature goes up. So far, we have had a lovely Spring. We have been outside nearly every day. The mosquitoes are beginning to put a damper on going out into the backyard, but there are still ways to get outdoors. One is to go to Bethany and Evan's house. They don't seem to have as many mosquitoes, and of course there is the added bonus of having cousin Clara to play with. :)

With the warmer weather, has come a change in wardrobe for us all. Here is Luke in the "overalls without shirt" look:
Aren't babies cute in summer?

Houston has really adapted to the heat. Today, Luke and I went to Hermann Park again. This time, he walked all the way from the car, down past the water feature, around the pond and to the playground. (Yes, lots of water here! Best place to be when its hot)

Since it was nearly ninety degrees this morning, we had an impromptu romp in the splash park area and Luke loved it. He splashed all over, giggled, and chased the birds away. Here is a video to show you what the splash park is like. There are several free parks like this throughout the city.

Know Anyone who Wants These?

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http://cgi.ebay.com/NWT-New-Anthropologie-Maeve-Cream-Lace-Dress-Size-2-/130385442829?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_CSA_WC_Dresses&hash=item1e5b93f80d

New Venture

I am moving into the world of resale... and it is fun!

For the past few weeks I have been stepping up efforts to make a sort of business out of my deal finding abilities. So far, it is going pretty well. I have had a few successful eBay auctions and sales from Amazon. My specialty is children's clothing, shoes, and gear- along with some DVD sales.

Today my first big auction day ends- I am just so excited that I had to post! :)

Festivities and the News

Yesterday, Nathan and I took Luke to a Mediterranean Festival (think Greek Festival with more Arabic food) at a local Orthodox church. We all had a great time. There was an abundance of tasty food, great music and entertainment, and Luke's favorite- a giant blow-up obstacle course.

Luke was in top form- walking all over the festival grounds, dancing to the music, and eating lots of pita bread. He kept wandering over to the "Amazon family obstacle course," which was a giant inflated obstacle course made for children obviously older than him. That didn't stop him though. After pulling him away from the course several times, I gave in and we went through it together. Luke surprised me with his braver, and I surprised myself with how strong I have become after carrying him around so much.

To make it through the course, you had to climb up two different walls just by hanging on to a rope and gripping your feet into a ladder built into the wall. When you got to the top, there was a slide on the other side. I held Luke with one arm and trudged up the wall, holding on with my other hand and both feet. When We got to the top, Luke wiggled out of my arms, turned on his belly and slid down all by himself. (note to grandparents: remember this was all done in a heavily padded blow-up arena).

Oh, and one unhappy thing. Luke got a bite on his ankle from something in the grass and it is red and swollen. I think it was a spider, but am not sure. We are watching him closely and have put a rub on it. Please pray that it does not get any worse. He went to church today without shoes on because it was so big. Poor baby.

Here are some pictures of our day:

Pita baby:


Dancing to the music
A view of the grounds:

Yard Sale Heyday!

Yesterday was the best day for yardsales in recent memory. Here are a few things that we found:

Things we needed-
-dining room table and 4 chairs (absolutely beautiful and light hardwood) $100
-like new Dutailer Glider and Ottoman $50
-Chicco side-by-side double stroller (for a pregnant friend) $25

Just for fun:
-a pop-tent outdoor maze $7
-set of interlocking foam alphabet blocks that can be made into a large floor mat $5

It was such an exciting day! Here are Luke and Clara playing in the pop-tent maze and enjoying every minute of it!

Luke's Idea of Laundry

Sweet

This afternoon, I went to Baskin Robbins to get their new 88c soft serve ice cream cone. I was holding Luke in one arm and the cone in the other. The cone was very large and it fell. Sad, I thought. Well, it was 88c.

As I put Luke into the car, a man came out of the shop and asked if he could please buy me a new ice cream cone. I declined, and then said yes when he persisted. He came back out with the bright, shiny new cone and said happy Mother's day.

That was unexpected and sweet. It reminded me how far 88c and a few kind words can go.

Free Ice Cream!

Don't miss out on your free Ben and Jerry's ice cream!