7 months old

Luke is 7 months old. He is smiley, sweet, silly, determined, curious, a bit stubborn, aggressive, and also laid back (when he wants to be). He is also known to be a severe mama's boy...it's true, there is no denying it, he wants Mama around and if I'm not around he lets everyone know he isn't happy. He still will only let any one other than mama or daddy hold him for a few minutes, then it's over and he cries until he's back in our arms. I told you he was stubborn. Luke is also so sweet, he smiles so big when he sees Isaac, Daddy, or Mama...even others, as long as they don't try to hold him. ;-) He is so silly; he has started doing a fake cough, and if you copy him he does it more and more and laughs about it. He loves to be tickled, that will get him laughing so hard! I like to play the "I'm gonna get you..." game with him, he laughs the sweetest laugh when I do that. He smiles so big when playing peek a boo, singing song, or watching his brother swing. He also enjoys swinging outside, he is so tiny in that big swing, but he is so happy in it! He loves reading books! His aggression comes out in this situation, he grabs for the books, he wants to hold them and be in charge. I try to take them to the library for story time as often as possible, he is mesmerized by the stories and songs. He is trying so hard to crawl, our prediction is that he will be crawling by Christmas...we'll see! Luke can sit up alone now, that is a big accomplishment, and we are so proud of him! He got his first tooth last week...yay! Thankfully he wasn't too badly effected by it. He is a good eater, he seems to be really enjoying solid foods. I gave him a Baby MumMum the other day, it was his first one, but he ripped it out of my hand to hold and feed himself like he's been doing it his entire life. It was so funny. He just sucked/smacked away on that thing until it was all gone. Luke is very curious about his surroundings...he wants to see everything that is going on around him and he reaches for the things that really interest him...he wants to check it all out! When Isaac is pushing around his trucks Luke works really hard to get to the trucks to check them out; unfortunately that doesn't always end well. We've already had to start working on sharing and taking turns.
He is still my little peanut, I can tell he's growing, but he is so small. He still fits in some 3-6 months clothes, and the 6-12 month clothes are way too big!

Family Weekend

Happy Boy!

Telling Sinterklaas how old he is, "Twee."

Isaac was so brave! Luke couldn't stop staring at Sinterklaas.

Opening his present...a tanker truck!

He loved his new toy!

Cousins (apparently my boys were too into their new toys to look at the camera)

Playing on the motorcycle

Jumping on the trampoline with all the boys.

This weekend we had a great time, doing family things and just hanging out. I am so thankful for my boys, and I know this time is so precious, so I'm trying to make many memories and cherish everyday.

Yesterday we started the day by going to see Sinterklaas (the Dutch Santa). In the Dutch tradition Sinterklaas comes on December 5, so the Holland club of Houston holds a special event for the children to come see him. I still have my own memories of doing this when I was a little girl, so it means so much to me to take my boys there and let them form their own memories of this tradition. Rudi's family went as well, so it was fun to see all the cousins together. I was a little nervous about how Isaac would do...when I took him to see Santa Claus at the mall he was scared and had to be bribed to sit on his lap. We got there early yesterday, so we had to wait for a while for everything to get going. This worked out great because Isaac was able to play and watch all of the other kids as they visited with Sinterklaas. When he finally called Isaac and Luke up Isaac was fearless! He walked right up, spoke to him (in Dutch!), and accepted a gift from him. Then he even sat in his lap for a picture! Luke came up there with us as well and he smiled at him the entire time we talked to him. I was so proud of my boys! They both received a special gift from him and both boys lit up when they saw them. Luke got a little blankie with a rattle and teether on it; he smiled so big at it! Isaac got a little wooden tanker truck! He loves tanker trucks, so this was the perfect gift to him. He had told Santa Claus that he wanted a new truck for Christmas, so I guess he told Sinterklaas. ;-)

After the celebration we headed over to California Pizza Kitchen to have lunch with the family (Tante Soo Jin drove all the way downtown just to join us for lunch). It was a great to all be together and to eat at a restaurant we never go to. I have to mention that we put Isaac in a diaper before leaving the house because we weren't sure he was ready to wear underwear for such a long adventure...he proved us wrong! He wanted to go potty after lunch at the restaurant, so Aunt Melissa took him, he went on the potty and his diaper was dry! We were amazed!

After lunch we went to a friends' house for a fish fry. There were 7 kids (including ours), so it was a great time! The kids all had a great time running around, jumping on the trampoline, and playing on the toy cars/motorcycles. Isaac loved sitting on that motorcycle and pretending like he was driving. We are so grateful for our sweet friends and for the time we get to share with them. Thanks for having us over Hrobar family!

Today we stayed home all day, just getting things done and playing with the boys. I think Luke needed a quiet day at home...he took a 4 hour nap this morning and then another 1.5 hour nap this afternoon! I made him some new food today, Acorn Squash. He really liked the squash, this was the first food he ate on the first attempt without any dramatic faces. Isaac played hard all day...he just recently started driving his power wheels jeep, and today was a big day for that. He drove it all over the yard, over and over again! This was the first time he's used it so much, and he is already such a great driver...he goes forward, backwards, turns corners, and even maneveurs through trees and other things. As I mentioned before, it was a fabulous weekend full of time with the ones I love!

!

Runaway Horse

As you all know, I really enjoy running. I run a few times a week, through the neighborhood, with the boys in their double stroller. Seems safe, right? I always thought so. Our neighbor that lives behind us has two beautiful, huge, horses...they are very nice people who we talk to occassionally, and often see out riding their horses when we're out running or walking.

Yesterday was one of those days. We went out for a run, and there she was on her horse, riding down the street. We ran up behind them, then passed by (on the opposite side of the road), and said hi as we passed. I got a little ways ahead of them and then heard the horse start galloping...strange I thought, why is he galloping? I turned around and saw the rider slowing down the horse. A minute or less later I hear him start running again, but faster and loudly, I turned around to see this huge horse running towards us without the rider! Needless to say I was terrified! I was coming up on a turn to the right, I went right, into the ditch, but the horse was coming that way, so I quickly turned left and crossed the road. There were some people outside putting up lights, watching this happen, they were yelling at me to stop running, to just stop. Hello!?! I can't stop and let this giant horse run into me and my boys (that's what I was thinking), but I think I yelled, "I don't know what to do!" Thankfully, when I turned left the horse continued right and turned the corner...apparently heading home. We have no idea what happened, why he did that...maybe spooked by an inflatable Santa Clause, although the owner doesn't think that would scare him. Maybe just a little crazy...I don't know.

Even as I type this I can feel my heart beating a little faster. It was a very scary experience, but one that ended with nobody seriously injured. The rider was okay, she is definitely bruised and sore, but overall okay. One of the things I am so thankful for (besides being safe) was that Isaac didn't see any of it and has no idea that anything strange happened. I am incredibly thankful for this because I know he would have been traumatized by it, especially by seeing the rider fall. So for the last 24 hours I have been praising God for His protection, for keeping us safe.

Thoughts

Isaac has started having his own thoughts, well vocalizing them, and it is so awesome to hear what he is thinking...

• Everyday before Luke takes a nap Isaac turns his music on for him, and he almost always says, "That makes Luke happy." Yesterday, when he said this I asked him, "What makes you happy?" He quickly replied, "Mama makes Isaac happy." My heart melted. Today while driving he got back on the subject of what makes people happy, and he said, "God makes Isaac happy." Oh, how I love that!
• He is also very into talking about what God makes...the first thing he always says is, "God makes rain and thunder." Then we talk about what else He made.
• For some reason he has woken up in the middle of the night a few times lately, this is extremely rare for him, he has only woken up in the middle of the night about 5 times since he was a couple of months old...when he wakes up he always says, "Mama come make Isaac happy in Isaac's chair." This means he wants me to come rock with him in his chair. It's such a sweet moment, just wish it didn't happen in the middle of the night.
• He talks a lot about the people in his life and lately he says he misses the people he hasn't seen in a while. It's always very random and very sweet.
• His latest truck obsession is the Cement Mixer trucks, or concrete trucks. He points out every one that we see and he wants to hear it say, "Pssst." (The noise a truck makes when it stops.)
• One of his favorite comments these day is, "That's niiice." He will go up to something decorative in the house, like a new candle and say, "Mama, that's niiice." On Monday Carl bought me some flowers for our anniversary and upon seeing them Isaac had to tell me, "Mama those flowers SO niiice." And of course when he saw the Christmas tree the first time he had to mention that it was nice, too. He got a haircut last week, as she was getting ready to style it he looked in the mirror, ran his hand through his hair and said, "Isaac's hair looks niiice."

Seven Years!

Today Carl and I are celebrating our 7 year anniversary! I am so thankful for my sweet husband...he is my best friend, my protector, my love. The past seven years have flown by, they've been full of ups and downs, but through it all we've stood side by side while we celebrated or cried. There is no one I'd rather do this life with; I am eternally greatful that God gave me Carl. As we celebrate today we look back at where we thought we'd be today, where we are now, and where we think we'll be in another seven years.

We watched our wedding video tonight, which we haven't watched since shortly after the wedding...wow, it was fun to watch and think back on that amazing day! It was so great to see all of the special people in our lives and to see everyone so happy! It was the start of us and a day I will never forget! Thank you to all of you that were there with us that day, we look back fondly on those memories and cherish them forever!

Happy Anniversary Baby...here's to many more!

BIG Day!

Today is a big day here at our house...Isaac wore underwear all day, for the first time, and stayed dry all day! I'm so proud of my big guy! He was thrilled to wear his underwear instead of a diaper, and he did great!

Thanksgiving

Dinner!

Our first Turkey!

He loves his Tante Soo Jin!

just finished his Thanksgiving dinner

My Turkey Boys

Gumby with his big boy.

Isaac taking a very short break to watch some football with Daddy.

Sweet Kacy

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you all! This year we celebrated differently than we ever have, but it was so special! We actually hosted a dinner over here, for Carl's parents, his brother and girlfriend, and my sister. We split the cooking duties, which was a huge help for us, besides this way we had delicious food (if I had made it all we might have ended up eating Mac and Cheese or something...heehee). I am so thankful for Soo Jin and Catherine cooking so much to make the meal so yummy! Carl and I were in charge of the turkey, which made me a bit nervous...I've only cooked one before, in college and it wasn't anything to brag about. Carl and I worked together and the turkey was great! We didn't burn it, it wasn't frozen, and it was actually good!

We had a nice meal together and then we had a quick birthday celebration for me. Catherine made me a cake, so they sang to me and I got to blow out the candles. It was a special time. After the birthday celebration it was football time...UT versus A&M...thankfully for me the Aggies came out with the win this year! The Hendersons came over to watch the game with us, and the kids all had a great time together; they played hard! Isaac finally crashed at 10:00! (On a side note, Luke slept through most of the festivities...the meal and the game.)

I am so very thankful for my Lord, my precious family, sweet friends, and all of the many blessings in my life. I pray that you and yours had as great a Thanksgiving as we did!