#5

Luke turned 5 on Sunday, which also turned out to be Mothers Day this year.  It was awesome to share that special day with my little man.

He asked for a carrot, chocolate chip cake (his own concoction) from Aunt Sarah, but we weren't able to make it up to Eugene for the weekend, so he settled for a monster truck, triple chocolate cake from me...

                                                                                                                                                    

Things I've been loving about Luke lately:

-His excitement about being strong and tough (just like Dad) that he will do just about anything, such as eat a tomato.  As in, just take a bite out of it.  Let me point out that Luke HATES tomatoes.

-How amazing he is at playing Shrek Cart on my ipod.  I totally agree that this is nothing to be bragging about, but really, you should see this kid.  It's amazing.


-How much he loves Makenna and Jared.  And Jared just idolizes him and will do anything Luke tells him to (or better yet, shows him).


-What an absolute "bringer of light" he is.

Happy Birthday Lukey Dude!  We love you!

tender moments

My Grandma took a turn for the worse on Sunday when she fell...twice.  It was a hard day filled with pain, tears, and (get this) Momma pride.

While talking with my mom downstairs, we both heard Makenna's voice upstairs but assumed she was singing to herself (which she does ALL the time).  After a few minutes, I finally went up to check on her, and she was sitting on the ground reading to my grandma.  The Little Mermaid.  The long edition.

And grandma was sweet enough to let her, through all her pain. When I caught sight of them the tears came good and hard.  What a sympathetic, darling girl to find something that she knew how to do.  Something to make someone she cared about feel better.

I've never been more proud of my sweet cheeks (yes, nearly all of Makenna's nicknames have something to do with her big, kissable cheeks).

conversations with a preschooler

On the way home from preschool today Luke and I had the following conversation:

L:  Did you ask my teacher how I was today?
M:  No, would you like me to ask you how you were in school today instead?
L:  Oh, yes!
M:  Okay.  Luke, how were you in school today?
L:  after a lengthy pause and a confused look..."Mom, that was kind of a dumb question.  I don't know how I was at school today, you have to ask my teacher."

for the love of jam

This is what Makenna and I have been up to...

It doesn't look like a lot of jam, but those containers look deceivingly small!  At least that's what I'll say to make myself feel better about how long it took to make all that jam.  It was one full afternoon of washing, stemming and mushing to make our beloved jam!  But in the end, it's always worth it.

the start of a love affair

Luke had his first t-ball practice tonight.  Well, parents meeting really, but it was at the Little League Fields, so he was all geared up for it!

So geared up in fact that he won't take off his uniform, so they became his jammies tonight.  And it's  complete with his cap on his head and his mitt next to him. Here's to t-ball and the many ball games ahead of us.

i will survive, hey! hey!

As we are approaching the half way mark through day one of Spring Break , I find this song running through my head.  Not so sure this is a good sign.

Surprisingly, it's feeling like a good day, Luke and Jared have had a great day, discovering a new (and fantastic) park and eating chocolate chip pancakes for lunch, yeah- I scored major awesome mom points for that one.

The not so hot moment of the day, though, was when Luke was helping me make said pancakes and left the room abruptly.  I followed him a minute later, you know just to make sure he wasn't off in the corner with a handful of chocolate chips.  No.  Not a handful.  And not in his mouth.

I did find Luke in the corner however, and he looked a bit bashful.  Upon further questioning, he reluctantly told me that he needed to sneeze, and his nose hurt. Turns out our pancake batter was one chocolate chip shy.

I thought my almost 5 year old sweet boy was way too old for the nose trick...turns out he wasn't.  It took about 30 minutes to dislodged it from his nose.  I don't know that I'll ever look at chocolate the same again.

my love bugs

I  love today, filled with simple acts of love. Sometimes I get annoyed at the commercialization of holidays, but with Valentines Day, I am glad for it.  What a great in your face message to stop and enjoy some love?!

Luke gave his first talk in Primary today, and did great!  I was so proud of him, thinking back to a year ago, and the amazing progress he has made!  Last year he was having a hard time adjusting to Primary and not chillin' in nursery, playing with toys and munchin on snacks (can you blame him?).  This year he has become such an amazing little guy, his confidence has grown and he is not a shy, timid little boy anymore.

Here are pictures of Luke sporting his new "I gave a TALK in Primary" sticker.

 In honor of Valentines day...

This is what Luke gave as Valentines to his school buddies this year.

I left the table for seriously 30 seconds, and this is what Jared did to the freshly made valentines

 

  

But how do you get mad at a face like this, though?  Those brown eyes have

his mama wrapped around his finger.