Look What I Discovered!

Luke discovered his belly yesterday--he walked around all day lifting his shirt up and showing it off. :) Here's some video of his recent discovery.

After we got home from the grocery today, Luke decided I needed some help putting the food away. He's so thoughtful!

And finally, here's some video of Luke going down the stairs. He's a pro at it now!

Luke's Dedication

On Sunday, we had Luke's dedication service at church. We've been wanting to do it since he was first born, but for various reasons, weren't able to, so we were thankful to finally have the chance to do so.

Yes, I did get my haircut--and I love it! :)

Fall Break

Last week was Fall Break for my dad and brother, so they, along with my mom, came up Wednesday night to stay through the weekend. It was so nice to have a long, relaxed visit with them! Emily headed up after classes on Friday, so we were able to see her too.

Emily carved a pumpkin while she was here (if you're wondering, it's Cinderella's castle).

Grandma brought Luke a new book, which he read numerous times during their stay!
Grandma's trying to get some kisses.

Luke was so sad to see Auntie Em go.

Luke is definitely a grandpa's boy!

Monkeying Around

Here's a sneak peak of Luke's Halloween costume this year!

This little monkey loves to read!

He is definitely the cutest monkey I've ever seen!

Luke gets up on the couch and reads every day~he loves it!

Two peas in a pod~Luke and cousin Julia.

Here's some video of Luke and daddy monkeying around with Peyton.

Luke's 15 Month Update!

Luke went to the doctor today for his 15 month check-up. He is 23.2 pounds and 30 1/2 inches. He's healthy and growing, so there's nothing to complain about there! :) At 15 months, Luke:
*walks all over the place and is experimenting with "running" (more like speed walking, really)
*stands by the fridge when he wants his drink
*knows that the marshmallows are the best part of Lucky Charms~the first time I gave him Lucky Charms (earlier this week), he immediately picked out all the marshmallows and pointed to the box for more!
*loves to read (he always wants to join me on the couch when I am reading; if he tries to take my book, I will tell him to go get his and he will get down, go over and get his book, and come back to sit next to me and read!)
*has quite the vocabulary now~new words include up, walk, book, no (my favorite--ha!), juice, shoes, clock, amen (so cute!), hi, and the (lately, he prefaces a lot of his words with "the", i.e. "the puppy")
*has to be watched more closely around Peyton; he loves her to death but also enjoys pulling her hair, ears, and tail!
*can be entertained for hours with a laundry basket full of clothes! He will push the basket around and take all the clothes out, then put them all in, then take them all out....
*is a little OCD~certain things have to be a certain way. Whenever he crawls down the stairs, he must close the child gate--he will not go down the stairs if it is not closed, and he must be the one to close it!
*is my little Dennis the Menace. For any of you that have seen the movie, that scene where Dennis wants to push the button that opens Mr. Wilson's garage door but he sits on his hands so that he won't push it, but in the end can't help himself: this is my son! He must push every button, turn every knob, pull every lever--he's a little investigator!
*can melt my heart with his hugs and kisses. He will be playing with his toys and then all of a sudden get up, come over to me, and give me a kiss! This is why I love being a mom!!

p.s. That's jelly all over his face in the picture! :)

Christmas in October

Jonathan and I have been scoping out Little Tykes cozy coupes for Luke's Christmas present. He loves anything with a steering wheel and when I took him to Playworld, those were the only things he played with. We found one on Craig's List and decided to give it to him early since he can put it to good use now and since he hasn't grasped the concept of Christmas, presents, etc. I think he was pretty excited about it, but you can judge for yourself:

Pulling over to make an important call...

Some video of Luke testing out his new coupe. You can enjoy some of his vocabulary, too! :)

This is just a pretty picture I took tonight. The moon was gorgeous and I just had to snap a shot of the backyard.

A Perfect Fall Weekend

The weather this weekend was gorgeous--warm and sunny, with the leaves starting to change colors. It was perfect for being outside, which is just what we did. Saturday we met up with my college roommate, Heather, and her family. The last time I saw Heather she had just had her first son, Shad, and he just started school this year. Needless-to-say, it's been awhile! And we just recently found out we only live an hour apart. Who knew?? We met up and went to an apple orchard where there were pony rides, hay rides, free apple cider, amazing homemade donuts, and lots of fun things to do. Unfortunately, because the weather was so warm, there were also a ton of bees!! We were lucky to get away with only one sting, but we left early and I didn't get any pictures from there. We found a park to sit and chat at and the kids were able to play. It just so happened that a hot air balloon took off from the ball field we were next to! It was really cool to see them blow it up and then take off! I did get some pictures of that. Enjoy!

Heather and I

Luke running from the giant balloon!
The sun was starting to set, which made for even prettier pictures!
I didn't realize how much work goes into getting a hot air balloon off the ground!
Up, up, and away!

IWU Homecoming

We headed to Marion this past weekend to enjoy IWU Homecoming. Jonathan didn't have to work Friday, so we were able to spend the whole day Friday and most of Saturday there, which was fun. We got to stay with our good friends the Mowats and had a great time playing games and reminiscing with them. :) My sister Emily showed us around campus (it's changed so much, it's hardly recognizable!) and let us mooch a few meals off her, too. (ah, Baldwin--the food hasn't changed much!) Saturday we headed to Farmland to see the rest of the fam and finished off the weekend there. All in all it was a terrific time! Here are some pictures; I can't believe I didn't get any pics with the Mowats, though--sorry guys! And Emily didn't make it any pictures either, even though we saw her more than anyone. Oh well. I'll do better next time...

Luke was not too sure about this slide!

Luke and Grandpa look so handsome in their shirts and ties!

Goofing around with Grandpa and Uncle Jacob.

Is he not the cutest??? :)

Luke had fun with Grandma, too!

Peyton got to see her best friend, Buster, which was a nice surprise. They had the whole yard to play in, yet this is where we found them--whining to get in the house with everyone else!

Camp Fire

Last Saturday night, we had a family camp fire. It was fun to hang out and enjoy the cooler weather. It's beginning to feel like fall here!

Okay, so I know that Luke is committing a fashion crime in this photo by wearing socks with sandals, but the poor boy does not have any other shoes that fit him now besides his church shoes! I apologize to those who are offended by this. I am normally one of them! :)

Luke crawled up here all by himself. I guess he was still hungry!

"Mmm, this looks good."

Luke and Bullet ready to raid the food table.

"At least Grandma will feed me if no one else will!"

Homemade Applesauce 101

My mom-in-law called me earlier this week and asked if I'd be interested in doing applesauce this year with her and Jonathan's sister. I've only done it once before two years ago, and I must've forgotten how much work it is, because I said "Sure!". I forgot that last time I didn't have a toddler to keep busy. :) It was still a lot of fun, though, and after 12 hours of cutting, mashing, pouring, and boiling, I have 20-some jars of yummy homemade applesauce!!

We did just over three bushels of apples! This isn't even all of them!

First, you have to wash all the apples...

Then it's on to cutting...

And cutting some more...I thought my hands were going to fall off by the end of the day.

Once the apples are cut, you gotta cook 'em down til they're nice and mushy.

Next you grind them up and then add LOTS of sugar!

After you melt the sugar into it, you simply pour the applesauce into jars, boil it for 20 minutes, and--voila--homemade applesauce! Piece of cake!

Luke was such a great helper! He sorted the good apples from the bad apples. :)

The picture is blurry, I know, but that's what happens when you're chasing a one year old. haha