Cousins!

I just can't get enough of these sweet boys!

Fire Station

Yesterday, Andy, John and I took the boys down to the fire station while Sarah stayed with Dad at the hospital.  They were having an open house that day and had lots of things for the kiddos to do.  They had fire trucks and ambulances you could get into, a bounce house, face painting, free food and goodies, and firemen demonstrations.  They even had a real fire hose that the kids could use.  We had a great time and we especially loved that it was all free -- can't beat that!

Three and a Half

Luke is now officially 3.5 years old!  I wanted to stop and soak him up for just a moment :)

Luke weighs in at ~36 pounds and is about 41" tall which puts him in the 75th percentile for weight and 80th percentile for height by my calculations.  He wears 3T shorts, 4T shirt, and size 9 or 9.5 shoes. 

Luke is a thinker.  He is my solution man.  If he is presented with a problem he will come up with a plan.  He is a rule follower and sometimes wants to be the rule creator and enforcer, especially when it comes to his brother.

Luke loves Benjamin.  Recently Luke was sick and could not go to school.  His heart was broken when he realized that he would not be there to comfort Ben at drop off.  This melted my heart and I want to remember that sweet love forever.  Luke is also the instigator when it comes to his brother.  He knows Benji's buttons and I am pretty sure he enjoys pushing them :)

Luke really loves trains and superheroes right now.  We play with his Thomas the Train tracks and engines most days of the week.  If he isn't playing with trains he is asking to watch Thomas or Chuggington on TV.  As for superheroes, he likes Batman the most.  Jacob gave him some old Batman t-shirts and these are Luke's favorite things to wear to bed.  He is going to be Batman for Halloween and is wanting to have a Batman birthday party next year.

We are so thankful to have big brother Luke in our life.  He is smart, funny, and loving.

Luke, we love you to the moon and back!

Great Wolf Lodge, Part 3

Here are a few quick videos from Great Wolf Lodge.  The first one is Benji "jumping" off the edge of the pool.  The second is Luke going down the slide. The third is Benji jumping to Daddy.  I am already looking forward to taking them again next year!

 



 

 

Great Wolf Lodge, Part 2

While we weren't swimming at Great Wolf Lodge, we were having fun enjoying friends and family.  We spent time hanging out in our room, which happens to be one of Luke's favorite things (he really, really likes staying at hotels).  We also let the boys play at the arcade.  They won enough tickets to each get 1 piece of candy :)  I am soaking up the simpler days because I know it won't be as easy or as cheap in the future.

 Ben thought the mallet was a microphone :)

 All of my boys!

 Luke and Colin planning their day at the waterpark

 Colin was a champ with his sour candy

 Luke's sour face

Great Wolf Lodge, Part 1

We recently took the boys to our annual visit to Great Wolf Lodge with the Johansens (check out past visits 2011 and 2012).  We stayed one night in the middle of the week and we had a great time.  The crowds were minimal and it almost felt like we had run of the place.  The boys really took to the water this year and literally swam all over the toddler pool.  Luke has turned into such a fish and Benjamin just followed his lead.  Luke spent a fair amount of time on the slides, but Benji only wanted to go down a couple of times.  I think he is still ruined on slides from his bad experience on the slide last month.  Here are a few pictures of my water loving babies!



 This is how Luke got from one place to the next.  I love it!

 Sweet Friends, Luke and Colin

 Ben's favorite place, the stairs!

I am pretty sure he was saying "cheese"

Ben also really enjoyed the spray portion of the pool

Pepito

Earlier this month I took Luke to Mattie's just because party.  The theme was Madeline and Reecy made little costumes for everyone.  The girls dressed up as Madeline and the boys dressed up as Pepito.  It was a fun party and I loved seeing my superman morph into a little Pepito. 

A Trip to the Mall

Sarah, John, and Jack came up last weekend for Sarah's 10 year high school reunion.  Saturday morning she decided to take my dad to the movie so that left us (Andy, John and I) up to entertaining the boys.  We decided to head down to the mall and ride the train and play in the indoor play area.  We had never done this before, but I think the boys enjoyed it.  I was a little surprised to find out that the train cost $3 per person for a quick ride around the mall, but I suppose it was worth it ;)

 Luke was pretty pumped that he got to sit in the way back of the car with me

 This is best I could get of the both of them

 John and Jack rode in the caboose

Mini Session with Angela

Last month we had a mini session with Angela (of Angela Riles Photography), a former co-worker of mine.  Given that it was >100 degrees outside AND the boys cheeks were red before we even got started, I think she did a wonderful job.