Day Three

Yesterday's work was the pipes (plumbing).

Isaac in front of the pool as they were shooting the gunite. (Day 3)

Day 3's finished product.

I still can't believe this is all happening in my backyard...

Yesterday, was not an exciting day, they did the stub out plumbing. It's not exciting, but I included a picture.

Today, however, was a fun day! Today they did the gunite, which makes it look more like a real pool! They drove three big trucks over, which were the gunite trucks, I guess you'd call them. Isaac couldn't decide if they were concrete trucks or tanker trucks. They were loud, so he was scared of them at first. Eventually he came around and was brave enough to go out. Those trucks stayed in the street and they ran a big hose to the backyard and into the pool. It looked like such an exhausting job! It took them about 4.5 hours to do today's work, they worked diligently. Isaac is ready to fill it with water and start swimming, but sadly he will have to wait a little longer.
Carl has been gone for the first three days of the pool process, so he has missed all of the fun stuff. I'm so bummed for him, I know he would have loved to see all of this. I tried to do my best to help him feel involved, I took lots of pictures which I e-mailed and texted to him.

Day One

This is what it looked like at the end of the day!

It was a big day over here today, and they were all very curious about all the activity going on in the backyard. It was funny to watch them look out the window and keep an eye on what the workers were doing. I can't believe how fast they worked and how much they got done today! The hole was dug in 3 hours! And the steel was laid in about 3 hours! It's so exciting to see it all coming together...I am still in disbelief that it is happening in my backyard...I am so thankful!

Milestones

Climbing up the rock wall...

...ready to slide down!

This has been a big couple of weeks for Luke, he is growing and maturing daily, and in the last couple of weeks he has hit some big milestones. The first thing is that we lowered his bed to it's lowest level, which is crazy that he's already to that point! We have limited the pacifier to only at nap time, which has gone easier than I expected, but I know he misses it. He hangs on tight to it when he wakes up from his nap, but eventually gives it up. And just this week I weaned him from breastfeeding. I had planned on going to his first birthday and then stopping shortly after, but I got sick with the flu this week, which meant I was forced to take medicine and while I could still pump and dump to keep up with my supply, I decided it would be a good time to wean him. He was away from me for two complete days because I didn't want him getting sick, and while that was hard for all of us I think it helped with the weaning. Tonight he finished his last bottle of my frozen supply, so as of tomorrow he is officially done...only cow's milk for him. Wow! Of course this is a day I've been waiting for, the day I get my body back, and other people can meet his nutrional needs, but it's been harder for me than I expected. I am sad to not share that special time with him any more, to not be the one he needs for food (I know that is contradicting what I just said), and knowing that I may never nurse again (we are still undecided on baby #3) is making this time more difficult than I expected.

One more thing he has conquered this week is the slide and rockwall in the playroom. I know it's not a big deal in life's big scheme, but he loves it and I can't believe he's climbing and sliding all by himself already!

Special Day at School

All dressed up for the special day!

School Egg Hunt

Driving the truck on the playground.

Thursday was a special day at Isaac's school...they got to wear their Easter best, instead of their uniforms. Isaac was a little confused by this, but he went with it. They had pictures first thing in the morning, and then an egg hunt on the playground. I volunteered to help hide the eggs, so I got to spend some time in the classroom with Isaac while I waited for everyone to bring in their eggs. It was fun for me to see him interact with the other kids and to see how the morning goes at school. Then another mom and I headed out to hide them. It took us about 3 times longer to hide the eggs then it did for them to find them, but it was so worth it and so fun! I'm so thankful I was there on that special day!

*A funny side note...Carl came to pick me up from the school because we were headed to a meeting, unfortunately, the pictures ran a little behind, so Isaac was out front taking a class picture when Carl got there. He quickly parked, and texted me, I told him we still had to hunt, so he decided he'd go run a quick errand and then come back. He waited for Isaac to go in before he left. One of the first things Isaac said to me after school was, "Daddy came to school today, too. I saw his truck. Why was Daddy here?" Oh goodness, the boy knows his vehicles!

Easter Weekend

Pancake Brunch at the church.

Church Egg Hunt

My Sweet boys...their first Easter together!

All 4 of us!

Luke loves his new lamb!

Easter morning

The hunt is on!

Luke found his first egg...and he's content with just one.

So many eggs to find!

Luke and Mariah got a few eggs and they are happy on the porch...if only they could keep Tex from eating all the cheerios!

Happy Birthday Daddy! (a week early, I know)

Boys and their toys!

Carson loves hanging out with my little one, and as you can see Luke loves him!

Our Easter weekend was full of rest, fun, family, and friends. It was a fabulous weekend to celebrate our Risen Lord. I struggled with explaining Easter to Isaac; I don't want him to think it's all about the Easter bunny and Easter eggs, but I do want him to enjoy the fun traditions of the holiday. I finally decided to give him a basic explanation, which I don't think he understood, but I tried, and then we enjoyed the bunny and egg hunts.

Saturday morning we started the weekend off with a Pancake brunch and Egg Hunt at the church where he goes to school. We weren't sure what to expect, and Isaac was really confused about going to his school, but not seeing his teachers or going to the classroom. It turned out great though! The event started with a yummy pancake breakfast, then a talk about the meaning of Easter, and an adorable puppet show about Easter and preparing for the Egg hunt. Isaac really enjoyed all of that. Of course, the Easter bunny made an appearance, and Isaac did great with that, he didn't want to go near him, but he waved to him and wanted to know where he was at all times. Luke enjoyed people watching and munching on a banana and even had some nibbles of a pancake. Next, we headed outside or the 4 year old and under egg hunt. I had planned on letting Luke down to grab some eggs, but it was too crowded, so he stayed in Daddy's arms and watched the bigger kids swoop up the eggs. Isaac found a friend from his class, so they stood together waiting for the hunt to start...while waiting his friend reached out to hold his hand, it was precious seeing them stand together like that. I'm so thankful he has made some friends at school! The hunt was fast and furious, but Isaac came away with a few eggs, and he enjoyed it. After the hunt we let the kids run free a bit, and found 4 more of Isaac's classmates! It was fun to see them interact and see who Isaac was drawn to. It was also great to meet some of the other parents.

Saturay evening we went to the Crews' house to celebrate Samantha's 5th birthday! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the big party, but it was a fantastic time! Isaac ran around, played with the other kids, adults, and jumped his heart out in the bounce house and trampoline. He also drove around in her power wheels car as much as he could, he had to share and was too shy to ask for his turn. Luke had fun crawling on the patio, the trampoline, and watching all the fun. I can't believe sweet Samantha is 5, gosh the years fly by! She is such a good hearted, spunky, fun, all girl, princess! I love her and am so thankful we get to watch her grow.

Sunday we decided to sit out of the church service due to Luke being a little under the weather and I wasn't feeling too great, either. We had planned an Easter party at our house for that evening so we spent the day at home preparing. The Easter bunny did suprise the boys with a basket for each of them, which included a book, some bubbles, and a toy. Sunday afternoon all of our family joined us here for an egg hunt, a yummy pot luck type dinner, and a celebration of Carl's upcoming birthday. It was a wonderful evening, the weather was perfect so we sat outside and let the kids play. I'm so thankful to live so close to family and get to spend the holidays together.

First Bike Ride

Isaac has gotten really good at riding his tricycle, so this evening I decided to take him for a walk/ride. He did great! He pedaled the entire way and I never needed to push him. He was so excited to be biking in the street. I'm so proud of him...he is growing up so fast!

11 Months

For some reason he was not interested in sitting with his bear yesterday.

Running away from the bear in his bed. Learning to walk! The auto is his favorite toy these days! It's so hard for me to believe that Luke is already 11 months, he will be one next month...it's just crazy! He has developed and changed so much this month, his little personality is showing more and more, and he has grown some, too!

• Luke went to the doctor last week and was up to 16 pounds, which means he gained a pound in about 6 weeks...yay!


• I still nurse him twice a day and he gets a bottle twice a day. He is drinking more milk these days, and has increased the amount of solids, too! The last few days we've been giving him more real food things, like pieces of cheese, peas, and bites of bread.


• He still adores Isaac, and of course wants to do everything big brother does. This is so cute, but doesn't usually end well...when he tries to get what Isaac has and Isaac doesn't give in Luke screams, which usually make Isaac scream, and although it's annoying it is also kind of funny. ;-)


• He crawls everywhere and fast! He even climbs the stairs, he would go all the way up if I let him.


• This week he has become very interested in walking, he holds our hands and walks, but if we let go he can stand alone but doesn't want to, so again, he screams. Ha! He walks behind his walker toy, Isaac's auto, and anything that will hold him and move.


• I've tried teaching him sign language, but so far he just laughs at me when I tell him to do it. Although one day last week Carl randomly asked him to do the sign for more, and he did it (well his version of it)!


• He is adventurous, yet cautious...and always has to have me near by when out and about. He is a mama's boy, but I am not complaining...one day I'll wish for these days back.


• He loves to hug and kiss. When playing he will crawl over to me, hug me, and then crawl back to his toys...so sweet!


• Luke's favorite toys are cars and trucks, he pushes them back and forth, over and over. He also enjoys reading books, and dancing to music.

My Luke is such a sweet, fun, and silly boy. I love watching him learn, grow, and try new things.