3 months

I'm sitting here watching Luke in his swing as he is trying to fall asleep, just in awe of how blessed I am. I am so thankful for my boys (including Carl)! All three of my boys are different, but I love them each the same!

Luke is 3 months old today, and I have to say that I can see him growing everyday! The last week or so he has really started to grow and change. He talks, well coos, a lot, which I can't get enough of. It's so sweet to have a little "conversation" with him. He has also giggled a few times, which is absolutely precious! Last week he rolled from his tummy to his back, multiple times, and today he rolled from his back to his tummy! Wow! He is going to be moving around this house before I know it! He is very strong and does not like to stay still or be confined. He hit a big milestone this weekend, on Saturday night we moved him to his crib in his room! This is bittersweet to me...it means we get our room back, I don't have to worry about him waking up Carl as much, or the dogs waking up Luke; but it also means my baby is growing up. He is a mover in bed, too, he rolls all over the place and turns himself at least 180 degrees every couple of hours. I know this because unfortunately he has had me up every 2-3 hours the last few nights. What's up with that? He has slept through the night many times, but has also had many nights of keeping me up. I sure enjoy the nights when he lets me sleep all the way through! Luke enjoys sitting in his bouncer seat, he kicks and talks as the lights and music play. He also enjoys sitting in his Bumbo seat...and I must say he looks adorable in it! He takes all of his naps in his swing, which I have decided is okay, as long as he is sleeping, right? He still gives some of his biggest smiles to Isaac, he adores his big brother already! He is not a big fan of car rides, and unfortunately has been doing a lot of crying in the car, I think it has to do with being confined in a car seat and not being able to see anyone. His absolute favorite place to be is outside; and during our lake trip we realized outside in his swing by water (pool or lake) is truly his happy place.

Most days are still challenging for me as I juggle the needs of both of my little ones, but I am getting better at it, and I wouldn't change a thing. I am incredibly thankful for the chance to be home with my boys, and love every day with them...even the ones when I just want to cry along with them. =)

Lake Trip 2010

The entire crew.

Fishing off the dock at the house.

Luke trying to fall asleep lakeside...his happy place.

Lunch!

Slip and Slide! (Mason had to show the little ones how it's done, but they decided not to play that way, they just loved the water!)

Go Isaac!

Isaac's Bed.

Hanging out in the living room.

Puddle Jumper buddies Isaac and Hudson.

Pool time was a hit!

Luke taking his best nap poolside.

Dolphin ride!

Luke's bed.

Me and my Sweet Boys!

All the kids!

Feeding the Ducks just before heading out.

We take an annual trip to Lake Placid with a group of Carl's high school friends and their families, this weekend was the trip for this year. This was the third year we've done it and it only gets better every year! The first year there were only 4 kids and this year there were 10! The kids ranged in ages from 12 weeks (our Luke) to 6 years...7 of the kids were 3 years old and under! This sounds like it would not be very fun, but it is a blast! The kids all have so much fun together and the parents all work together to take care of the kids, prepare meals, and of course have fun! The days were full of swimming, feeding ducks, fishing, playing on the slip and slide, and a little bit of napping. We tried to get the kids in bed before 9 every night, last night much earlier, and then we had some good adult time.

I will admit we were very nervous about going this year, having a 12 week old to take with us and all, but we are so glad that we were brave and went for it. The way there proved to be tough, Luke cried off and on most of the way, but Isaac was a trooper! The first night was pretty normal, Luke was up at 3 and then again at 7 am. Unfortunately Friday was a rough day, poor Luke had a tough time adjusting to his new environment...he was very overstimulated, which meant a lot of crying and not a lot of sleeping. Thankfully everyone was very understanding and supportive. Friday night was much better, Luke ate at 7 pm, then I tried to wake him at 11:00 to feed him, but he would not wake up, so I put him in bed anticipating a wake up call after just a couple of hours, BUT no, he slept all. night until 7:00 am! Apparently he was exhausted from the day, as was I, so a full night of sleep was very much appreciated! Saturday was a fantastic day! We all went to the pool to swim in the morning, so we brought Luke out in his swing and put him under the tent by the pool; he went right to sleep! It came time to feed the other kids, but we didn't dare wake him, so Carl, Cory, and Mike toughed it out for us...they stayed in the pool with a few beverages and let him sleep...until 2:30! Fabulous! He was a completely different baby after that...so many smiles! Then he took another nap in the backyard of the house that afternoon, and slept all night again last night! Yay! So all in all, it started out rough, but ended perfectly...we had an awesome first vacation as a family of 4!

Thankfully this year's trip did not end in a trip to the ER...we made it home with out any injuries and all toes intact! Praise God!

We are so thankful that we've been blessed with such great friends and have the chance to take this annual trip together...what great memories!

SMILE!

My baby boy loves bathtime!

World Cup

Isaac wearing his Barcelona uniform to cheer on Spain (this was Father's Day).

We hung up The Netherlands flag at our house before the Final game!

Of course we were all dressed in orange for the day!

We all really got into the World Cup games this year! It was so fun watching and cheering for our favorite team, The Netherlands! Isaac has two soccer uniforms for The Netherlands, so he was always dressed for the occassion! He also has a Barcelona uniform, so he wore that on the days that Spain played. He actually did watch some portions of the games and seems to have an understanding of what soccer is now. It was so exciting to have our two teams in the final game, but it meant we had to choose one, so we chose The Netherlands! Unfortunately we didn't win, but it was still so much fun to watch the game and get into the World Cup spirit!

Isaac and his Best Friend

Isaac and his friend Taylor are best buddies! They have experienced so many things together and we continued that this summer with swim lessons. We all did a mom and me class together, which was so fun and educational! They did awesome, of course there were some tears, I mean they had to go underwater, but overall they were such troopers! I think they both learned quite a bit and definitely feel more comfortable in the water. I know that it helped Isaac to have TayTay there with him when he was scared or uncomfortable. Isaac would get whiney and cry some during the lessons, but as soon as the lessons were over he would talk all about everything we did and he seemed like he enjoyed it. They had three classes, and he never once hesitated to go back, so even though he had a tough time in the pool I know he still enjoyed it! I learned a lot of great things to do with him in the pool to help him get more comfortable and to prepare him for really swimming next year.

Isaac was given a power wheels Jeep from some of our amazing friends. It is a two seater, which he thinks is great, and he has already designated the second seat as TayTay's seat! Aaawww, so sweet! They played in it together for the first time this week and both seemed to enjoy it. Unfortunately we can't get Isaac to actually drive it, he scared of it moving. Silly boy! We need to get a brave kid over here to show him how it's done and that it's not scary but fun!

2 months old

Sleeping in his carseat outside while the rest of us were swimming with friends. He LOVES to sleep outside!

Wow, Luke is 2 months already! I am sure I'll start every monthly update this way, but I really cannot believe he is 2 months old already! We starting to get better at juggling the two kiddos and kind of getting into a routine. Luke is doing great! He is becoming quite the smiley boy, which I love! He smiles a lot at Isaac and has even smiled at Cole...he is definitely getting to know his "brothers." He is cooing a little bit, and I cannot get enough of that little voice, it's precious! He absolutely loves his swing! He takes all of his naps in it, which I swore I'd never let my baby do, but he sleeps best in it and goes back to sleep if he wakes up. When I put him down to nap in his bed he cries as soon as he wakes up and won't go back to sleep. So the swing it is! We are on the hunt for a good portable swing, we have to take a swing everywhere we go and the normal swing is quite a pain to take in and out of the truck. He is still on about the same nighttime schedule. I feed him at 10:30ish, then he wakes up to eat again around 3 and again between 6 and 7. Some mornings he will go back to sleep after the morning feeding, which always makes me happy. Although usually Isaac wakes up as soon as I get back in bed and close my eyes. He has been great to me a few times and slept from 11-5 or 6, but unfortunately that has only been a few sporadic times. I keep telling him that he's 2 months old now so it's time to sleep through the night, but he's not buying it. I have to admit though, that even though I'd rather sleep all night, those middle of the night feedings are precious times for us. He is always patient with me as I slowly change him and get situated to feed him (I don't move very fast in the middle of the night). He usually even gives me a few smiles at some point during our time. That always makes it okay to be awake! Some more random facts about him: he enjoys riding in the car (usually falls asleep), he LOVES being outside and will almost always be perfectly content outside and often falls asleep, he has found his hands and makes the cutest faces when he looks at them, he stretches real big when you wake him up...and makes the best faces in the process! He enjoys bath time now, no more crying, yay! He likes to look at the mobile on the pack and play while I change his diaper, even smiles at the animals on it.

2 month stats from the doctor's appointment:
Height: 22.75 inches

Weight: 9 lbs 12.8 oz

He is growing, but he is still quite the little guy, I call him my peanut!

I love my baby Luke so much, and although I'm glad he's growing up for so many reasons, I want to keep him my little newborn for so many more reasons. This time is so precious and I'm so thankful to have my two sweet boys!

SCROLL DOWN

Scroll down to see the Photo Shoot post I just added. I started it a while back, but just finished it tonight...it added it by the date I started it. So scroll down to June 17. It includes some beautiful pictures we took when Luke was only 2 weeks old!