The Winterhoff Family

Visitors!

2012-02-10T20:37:00.003-05:00

We've had several important visitors recently, which has caused lots of fun and excitement at our house. First were our friends from Atlanta, who came for an overnight visit last week. Luke was excited to have his friend, Ashleigh, here for a pajama party/sleepover, and as you can see, he was eager to try out her comfy bed:

Ashleigh fit right into our nighttime routine of bath and stories. There's always room for one more in the tub, and Mark was Super-Dad reading books to all 3 children:

The next morning, we took the girls to the Children's Garden in downtown Greenville while Luke was at preschool, and got some cute pictures of them hugging/posing for the Mamarazzi:

This one is my favorite: It makes me laugh and laugh. So much love in that hug!

Ashleigh also brought Leah a special Princess Potty to try when she is ready. Here is Leah proudly sitting like a big girl on her new potty:

I love their secret girl talk here. I think that Ashleigh is giving Leah tips on "How to be a Princess":

Clifford, Luke's classroom mascot, also came to visit us for a couple of days as part of "Clifford's Adventures". I was very tempted to give Clifford a bath in our washing machine, since he visits all of the friends in Luke's class, but I was fearful that I would be the mom who ruins the beloved class mascot and is shunned for eternity. Clifford slept with Luke, read stories with him, and was adored by our little man (gotta love the cheesy smiles below):

Lastly, Bean and Poppy came to visit for a few days this week while Mark was out of town. I usually dread when Mark travels for work, but having B&P here made the week such a treat for me. I was so thankful to have their help with the children, and they gave me a stay-at-home vacation, by giving me company during the day, cooking, doing chores, and baby-sitting. I was even able get my hair cut and go shopping alone! Thank you for the gift of your visit and help, Bean and Poppy. We love you!

(I was terrible at taking pictures during Bean and Poppy's visit, but did get a couple of cute ones of Luke and Poppy together. They are such special buddies!):

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-01T05:33:00.001-05:00

Favorite Things

2012-01-29T21:16:00.007-05:00

The kids' favorite activities this week:

Leah:

1. Climbing on EVERYTHING! Here she is on top of the picnic table, playing with a calculator (which happens to be one of her favorite objects and makes her finance-minded Daddy very happy!):

2. "Organizing" things, including the pantry. She loves taking things in and out of containers, and occupies lots of time with this activity.

3. Reading books. She is such a little cutie, and now brings us books to read with her.

4. Being held. Nutty had a low fever for several days this week, is getting her 1-year molars, and needed a little extra comfort and snuggling lately. This sounds adorable until you realize that she was miserable every time she was put down and screamed until she was picked up again for 4 straight days this week. That's a lot of bicep toning for Mommy. I forgot how fun teething can be.

Luke:

1. Watching Wake Forest basketball with Daddy. The boys looked so serious during this game, quietly discussing sports strategy and cheering for our Demon Deacons.

2. Preschool Pajama Party Day! This may have been Luke's favorite day of school all year. He looked forward to it for weeks, and the children wore their pjs and took their favorite bear to school on Friday. The icing on the cake was that the teachers gave each child a little baby bear to bring home AND they had waffles with syrup for a snack. We've been hearing about it all weekend!

3. Snow. Don't let this picture fool you- We have had no snow in SC so far this year, and it was almost 60 degrees on Saturday when this photo was taken. However, Luke asks us longingly almost every day, "Is it snowing yet?" and by a stroke of good luck, we stumbled upon this huge snow pile outside the indoor ice skating rink yesterday. This facility sponsors indoor "snowball fights" for children every Friday, and this was the leftover snow. Poor deprived Southern kids don't get the real stuff: Instead they get to play outside in warm January without coats. I'll take the man-made snow any day!

4. MONSTER TRUCKS! I had to save this picture for last, because it is so unbelievable. We were lucky enough to meet "Incinerator", one of the superstar vehicles featured in Monster Truck Jams, which came to Greenville this week. Luke wore his monster truck shirt and was completely enthralled watching the men put the big tires on and drive the truck. He was absolutely thrilled to visit such a huge monstrosity, and I was completely out of my girly comfort zone. Leah's expression says it all, but Luke loved this activity so much that it made my heart full of joy to see him so happy.

Hibernating

2012-01-22T20:56:00.014-05:00

We've been laaaaaazzy this January, and are in hibernation mode. There have been many quiet pajama days at home, lots of organizing, purging, and post-holiday cleaning. I've been trying a lot of new recipes: soups, comfort foods, and desserts. Mark and I have been on a recent Movie Night kick, and have caught up on lots of new-to us releases from 2010 and 2011 that we've wanted to see (and somehow couldn't find time to watch last year while caring for an infant). I've been reading lots, thanks to my Book Club and an increased desire in this cold weather to be under cozy blankets, snuggled up with a good book. My hibernation has resulted in fewer blog posts this month, less pictures of the children, and many relaxing weekends at home as a family.

Leah apparently got the hibernation memo, and slept through the night for the first time on Friday! We spent much of Saturday on an adrenaline high, congratulating ourselves on our first full night of sleep in recent history, thrilled about this big milestone. We hoped for a repeat performance last night, However, someone was a bit of a grouchy bear, crying from midnight until 3 a.m., which completely deflated our proud egos. I guess Leah's not interested in hibernating all winter, but you win some and lose some, and those long nights make naps even more appealing (to Mommy).

Luke and Mark have escaped our hibernation to do a couple of neat things this month. Last weekend, they went to a car show together. It was such a fun boy activity, and Luke had a ball "test-driving" all of the new models, climbing in the trunks (which he called "sleeping compartments"), and standing in the beds of all the pick up trucks. This weekend, they went to our Children's Museum, and spent a rainy Saturday morning playing in all of the exhibits.

Maybe it's because our brains are in hibernation mode as well, but Luke is starting to ask us questions that are increasingly difficult to answer: "What are antennas for?", "Why is fire hot?", and most recently at dinner this week: "How does God put our skin together?" Mark and I looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that we had the perfect person to answer this one. Poppy not only can fix anything, but has years of theological training and practice, as well as hundreds of children's sermons under his belt. So, we dialed Bean and Poppy's number, put the phone on speaker mode, and when Poppy got on the line, Luke repeated his question: "Poppy, how does God put our skin together?". We eagerly awaited Poppy's sage wisdom, and instead heard (after a few seconds of stunned silence coming from the Williamsburg end of the phone), "Luke, I have no idea!"

Luckily, Luke didn't seem to mind that his beloved grandfather didn't have the answer to this burning question, and Mark and I were secretly relieved that Poppy, in fact, does not know absolutely everything.

Because I've taken so few photos this month, some of these are actually from December, but illustrate our cozy hibernation lately:

The boys perusing the Sunday paper (Luke stole the car section from Daddy).

A dreary Thursday at home called for mini-golf in the garage (because it never rains on the golf course). Notice the bed-head and footwear!

Chilly day at the playground.

Snuggling with Beanie's dog, Mia, whom Luke referred to as his best friend.

Lounging while watching a video. This moment gave me a preview of Luke's couch-potato teenage years. He certainly doesn't look like he's 3 years old here!

Where's Waldo, I mean, Luke? Naptime today, in his toy box, hibernating with all of his stuffed animals. What a funny kid!

1st Birthday Wrap-Up & 12 Month Update

2012-01-11T22:19:00.012-05:00

We had lots of fun at Leah's family birthday celebrations in Williamsburg and at home. Leah seemed to like her first taste of sugar (smart girl!), and didn't mind being the center of attention. I did a cupcake theme for the party decorations, and bought Leah an outfit and matching bib with a pink cupcake on the front. Because what is less practical and more adorable than a 1st Birthday outfit that is worn exactly once (or twice in our case, since there were 2 parties)? All of the children (Luke and cousins) at the Williamsburg party decorated their own cupcakes, and we played a party game. Leah had lots of help from the older children opening her presents, and received wonderful girly toys and clothes. Here are some of my favorite pictures from Leah's parties:

Birthday Girl!

Leah's reaction to everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to her.

Have a sprinkle, Luke!

Big kids decorating their cupcakes.

The rest of our pictures can be found in this slideshow:

These are the invitations that I designed for Leah's family birthday parties this year. I absolutely loved the pictures chronicling our baby girl changing each month of her first year of life:

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

At 12 months old, Leah:

-Gives the best hugs. When she is tired, she wraps her arms around you, rests her head on your shoulder, and will stay there indefinitely. It's one of the best feelings in the world to have that sweet, warm, snuggly body cling to you so lovingly.

-Doesn’t like her car seat. If Luke is in the backseat with her, Leah can be distracted and entertained, but as soon as we drop off Big Brother at preschool, the screaming begins. The new recommendation that children shouldn't be turned around to face forward in their car seat until age 2 is going to be tough for us to follow. There's no way that my lanky, tall child is going to make it that long, legs all bunched up like a pretzel, staring at the backseat, literally bored to tears.

-Makes a beeline for the stairs every time the baby gate is left open. She giggles and chuckles with delight while climbing up the steps, so proud of her motor skills. Leah turns around every couple of stairs to look at me and grin, as if to say, “Look Mommy, I can do it!”

-Responds to being told, “I Love You”, by puckering up and making a kissing sound. It’s one of the sweetest ways that Leah communicates with us, and really lets us know that she hears and understands so much of what we say. She has a few words, including Mama, Dada, Bye Bye, and Ni-Ni, knows several signs, and now points to objects when she wants them.

-Bounces up and down while seated or on her knees when she hears music. This “dancing” is very cute, and we are looking forward to beginning Kindermusik classes later this month. Leah also kisses her reflection in the mirror and "the baby" in books. This turns me into a puddle every time.

-Rapidly crawls everywhere and pull up on everything. She cruises around in standing position while holding onto things, has good dynamic standing balance, and can let go to reach for objects. Leah likes to "walk" with someone behind her, holding her hands. Mommy is in no hurry for her baby to take steps on her own, but I fear that it won't be long now!

-Loves books. Current favorites are Pat the Bunny, Where's Baby's Belly Button (and other lift-the-flap books), Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (with hand motions), Mirror Me, and books with pictures of babies or animals.

-Plays lots of games. “Where’s Leah?” (peek-a-boo), "I'm gonna get you," Soooo Biiig, Round Ball, and clapping hands are some of her favorites. She imitates putting on lipstick from her toy purse, "drinks" out of her play teacups, puts on and takes off sunglasses, and pretends to talk on the phone.

-Is still the worst sleeper that I have ever met. I sound like a broken record, so I won't dwell on it, but I WILL be celebrating when our Nutty finally decides to sleep throught the night (if I'm not sound asleep, too)!

-Tries lots of different foods, but doesn't have a huge appetite. She has 8 teeth, with one more on the way. Leah's refined pincer grasp is amazing, and much better than her brother's ever was. We've just started introducing a straw cup with whole milk, but she doesn't drink more than an ounce or two each day. We're beginning to wean from breastfeeding, but plan to continue a couple of times each day through the winter to boost Leah's immunity until flu season is over.

At Leah's 1-year MD appointment last week, she weighed 22 lb. 4 oz. (68th percentile), and was 31.25 inches long (97th percentile). It's the first time that one of my children didn't rank at the top of their age range for weight, and although the pediatrician said that this drop in percentile is normal due to Leah's newfound mobility, it was a new experience for me. He did say that she is likely to be very tall and thin.

What a busy, active, fun 12 month-old we have! We're excited to observe all of the fun developments and milestones to come in the next couple of months as our baby becomes a toddler!

Happy Birthday, Leah!

2012-01-04T21:04:00.000-05:00

Happy 1st birthday to our precious baby girl! We love you so much and celebrate your first year of life today. Your smile lights up the world, and you bring immeasurable joy to all who know you. Hooray for turning 1, for cupcakes and giggles, and for your sweet pink presence in our lives, which fills our hearts, today and always. Love, Mommy, Daddy, Luke, and Winnie

South Carolina Christmas

2012-01-02T19:54:00.005-05:00

We were especially lucky this year to celebrate Christmas for a second time this past week when Mimi, Grandpa, Beanie, Mia, and Gawa came to visit. Santa Claus was gracious enough to make a special trip to our house in South Carolina on Tuesday night, and he left an abundance of goodies for our family.

This was my favorite Christmas season so far with Luke. He's old enough to enjoy all of the anticipation and excitement leading up to the holidays, and remembers traditions from years past. Everything is magical to him, and his enthusiasm for all-things Christmas is contagious. Luke received a scooter from Santa, and he looked like such a big boy riding around our neighborhood on his new present:

Each present (from stocking stuffers to the toys highest on Luke's wishlist) was thrilling to this excited little boy:

Luke helped Leah open her stocking, too, and was a very good big brother, telling her about each item and "sharing" in her toys and joy:

Leah's first Christmas was magical, too. My favorite memory of her this year is from Christmas Eve church service, dolled up in her fancy dress and red shoes. Leah stood on Mark's lap, and I looked over to see her sweet profile, with her mouth in a perfect "O" shape, "singing" Glooooooooria, during "Angels we Have Heard on High". Watching my baby girl and listening to her clear, pure, angelic voice is a moment that I'll hold in my heart forever. I know I'll never hear that hymn again without smiling at that memory. Leah received her first baby dolls, a baby cradle, and lots of girly toys and clothes this year for Christmas:

Leah took everything in, was fascinated by colorful, crinkly wrapping paper, and somehow got a bow stuck on her bottom (I promise we did not stage this!), which stayed perfectly attached for much of the afternoon and was adorably funny:

Nutty loves our new Wake Forest tailgating table and is already gearing up for next year's football season:

We're starting our own family traditions and carrying on some from our own childhoods. The children receive special ornaments each year that they'll put on their own Christmas trees when they grow up. They also received their own personalized "Cookies for Santa" plate which we'll use every Christmas Eve for Santa's treats, although Leah had her eye on those sweets and almost got one:

We also read Twas the Night Before Christmas right before bedtime to prepare for Santa's arrival:

What a full, wonderful Christmas holiday we had this year! Here is a slideshow that wraps up the rest of our South Carolina Christmas:

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T19:23:00.003-05:00

Our crazy monkeys didn't want to sit still for a New Year's photo shoot, so here are our funny outtakes:

Happy 2012 to all! We wish you a year full of silly, happy moments with your loves, too!

2011: A Year Like No Other

2011-12-31T10:25:00.012-05:00

Sometimes New Year’s Eve sneaks up on me. I’m so busy wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas that December 31 seems secondary and is overlooked. By this time in the holiday season, I’m ready to embrace new beginnings and skip ahead to the quiet calm that January will bring. But this New Year’s Eve, I’m pausing to reflect on what has been one of the most unique years of my life. 2011 has been a year like no other for our family. Our sweet baby girl was born only 4 days into this year, and I have a feeling of panic when I think about the fact that she will turn 1 in five short days. I feel as though Leah’s first year went by in a blur. Did I have time to blink? Was I able to savor those precious baby days as much as I intended? This was the last year of having an infant of our own fall asleep on our chests, snuggled close to our heartbeats. 2011 was our last year of swaddling, tiny fingers and toes, baby onesies and rattles, and inhaling that sweet newborn scent. It was the final year of baby “firsts” for our family, which are second to none in terms of life highs and moments to be treasured forever.

There are very poignant moments this year that I know I will carry with me for the rest of my life, like the beautiful day this spring that we managed our first outing as a family of 4. Walking through the park, pushing Leah’s stroller, I looked at my husband and son ahead of us, and was overwhelmed by an indescribable sense of euphoria and bliss. They are my entire world, I thought, and felt balanced and full. I felt complete as a family, so incredibly blessed with my best friend as my husband, our two children and the pet that we love, and knew that I had reached a life pinnacle that I had always dreamed of achieving.

2011 contained moments of amazing joy and love. At Leah’s baptism, surrounded by family and friends, we were reminded of how much we have been given, and how thankful we are to have such wonderful support systems and people in our lives. The Saturday mornings where Luke crawled into Mommy and Daddy’s bed, and Leah joined us shortly after she woke meant that we had a special snuggle time as a whole family, warm and cozy, limbs intertwined… and I wanted to remain in those cuddly moments forever. Our family celebrated milestones together, big and small: birthdays, first smiles, first days of school, crawling… with memories constantly recorded in our hearts, minds, photos, and video.

But 2011 was also very, very long. Leah’s refusal to take a bottle means that I have been with her literally at all times since her birth, unable to be away for more than 2-3 hours… and these outings were few and far between, carefully planned and scheduled around her feeding sessions. The constancy of parenting an infant is very difficult, and it’s easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees when you’re breastfeeding for the hundredth time that day, and it’s 3 a.m. with no respite for you, the only food source/pacifier.

I felt on multiple occasions that we were barely treading water this year. Keeping up with the mundane tasks required running a family and household seemed impossible to me. How in the world did people manage laundry, prepare meals, do dishes, and shower all in one day, with an infant in their arms and a toddler clinging onto their knees? Many days I looked in the mirror to see black circles under my eyes, greasy hair, and a wrinkled spit up stained shirt… and that was the best I could do. I stared at the clock on many long afternoons, willing the hands to move forward and closer to the hour that Mark came home from work and I had a teammate to help me with the children. Mark’s mom once told me: “The years with young children go by in an instant, but the afternoons are endless.” Yes, indeed they are…

The adjustment of having a new little sister caused Luke to act out and have behavior issues that resulted in a very long spring and summer. Luckily, preschool started this fall and saved us all, but there were times that Mark and I felt very defeated as parents. We were out of strategies that worked, and were not successful at controlling the tantrums, jealousy, and difficulty that Luke had sharing his parents’ attention with a new little being. There is nothing like children to keep you humble, and all of the things that I said I’d never do (bribery, raising my voice, etc.) went right out the window this year as we tried to survive the “threes” with a very strong-willed little man who tested every boundary and limit that we imposed.

And the sleep, oh precious, valuable sleep! Leah is still waking up every 2-3 hours at night, at 11 ½ months old, which makes for very, very long nights, and constantly exhausted parents. The marathon of this prolonged sleep deprivation made accomplishing anything a little bit harder than usual this year. There were times that the simple act of going to the grocery store seemed overwhelming. I vividly remember sitting in my car in the store parking lot one morning, after a night of very little sleep. I literally had to give myself a pep talk, digging deep to find the energy and strength to get out of my car, and walk into the store to buy food for my family. All I wanted to do was lean my head back and succumb to the exhaustion, and just close my eyes for a minute or two…

But these are the things that will fade from my memory, and so I am writing these memories to reflect on how it is possible that a year can flash before my eyes so quickly, and seem incredibly lengthy all at once. We celebrate this year, and the fact that we made it through those endless afternoons, the sleepless nights, the toddler time-outs, and the daunting chores. We marvel at how one year can contain so many of the memories that make up the moments of a life, those to remember with rose-colored glasses and think, “Those were the best of times.” And we look back at 2011, the year that has passed in the blink of an eye and lasted forever all at once. We thank God for all of the gifts that He has given us this year. We have been richly blessed with a healthy baby and a family so full of love, and for that we toast 2011 and all that it has contained.

Christmas in Williamsburg

2011-12-27T21:50:00.009-05:00

It's impossible for me to put into words how wonderful Christmas at Bean and Poppy's house was this year, so I'm posting my top 10 favorite pictures, along with a slide show, so that you can get a taste of our fun.

1. Cousins:

2. Bear Hugs:

3. Playing with new toys under the tree on Christmas morning:

4. Blue skies, beautiful weather, and fun at the playground:

5. Christmas-clad pajama bottoms:

6. Hair bows and helpers for Baby's First Christmas:

7. Poppy with his special boy:

8. Smiling buddies, checking out their new gadgets. Gabe is grinning here because he knows how to use his IPhone better than Uncle Honey (Mark):

9. Presents and adoration for our furry girl from all of her fans:

10. Sweet, sweet snuggles filled with lots and lots of love:

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T13:23:00.001-05:00

Our sweet angels wish you a very merry Christmas!

Wake Forest Family

2011-12-20T16:05:00.012-05:00

We took a day trip to Winston-Salem, NC, this weekend to go to a Wake Forest basketball game. It was Leah's first visit to WFU, and we were very excited to introduce her to her future alma mater. Luke was thrilled to see the Demon Deacon again, I was ecstatic to get pictures of both children with our beloved mascot, and Mark was happy that the Deacs didn't look too pitiful on the basketball court! Luke and I sat right behind the marching band for part of the game, and he was a little chatterbox, describing each instrument to me and singing along with the fight song. Luke also gave a running commentary of the game, telling me which player had the ball, and repeatedly announcing the score: "Mommy, #11 has the ball... Now #10 has it, he's going to shoot... DOUBLE DUNK!! (Don't know what that means)... and we have 24 points now!!!!" His exuberant joy really was adorable.

After the game and lunch at our favorite restaurant, we visited our campus, where Leah crawled around on the quad, Luke ran through the grass, and of course I took lots of pictures of my sweet babies in front of Wait Chapel. We love being a Wake Forest Family, and spent a wonderful day at this special place that is so dear to us.

New Neighbors!

2011-12-15T20:45:00.003-05:00

We interrupt this month of regularly scheduled Christmas-themed blog posts to bring you breaking news! The new phase of construction in our neighborhood is beginning, which means we have a brand new next door neighbor:

Luke practically gasped with excitement when he realized that the steamroller's new home is the field next to our house. This is only topped by the front loader that now serves as our alarm clock early every morning, as it moves dirt in the adjacent lots under construction. And the icing on the cake: The street sweeper that cleans and sprays water on the road at the end of the day, removing the layer of red Carolina clay that has been deposited by the other 'struction vehicles. This is today's view from our porch:

We literally didn't get out of our pajamas all day, as the day's entertainment was provided for us. One 3 year-old boy is on Cloud Nine, and will be having very sweet dreams tonight!!

Reindeer Games

2011-12-14T21:57:00.001-05:00

My favorite Christmas attire for L&L this year is their coordinating reindeer footed pajamas. It's hard to capture how cute the little reindeer feet are, and how adorable it is to listen to Luke belt out "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" at top of his lungs. We're certainly having fun this week with lots of reindeer games and Christmas festivities. Yesterday, we went to the Greenville Parks and Rec Christmas party, which was held at the same facility where we recently went ice skating. There were snacks, crafts, and inflatable bounce houses, but the neatest feature of the party was the snow that they made for the children in the skating rink. There was a giant "snowball fight", which was Luke's favorite part of the entire morning:

Petey the Penguin is the official mascot of the Pavilion. Both kids were happy to greet this friendly guy:

Poor Leah bumped her chin last week (one of the hazards of being mobile!) and has a big bruise on her jawline now. Hopefully her sweet smile, cute Santa shirt, and matching socks distract from her boo-boo:

Luke has been looking forward to his preschool Christmas party all week. Yesterday, he helped me fill the treat bags for all of his friends:

This morning when Luke woke up, he knew that it was Christmas Party Day. He excitedly proclaimed: "Baby Jesus will be at my party. We will see him in the manger!" Not wanting my son to be disappointed, I tried to use this as a learning opportunity about how Jesus is with us all the time, and we may not "see" him at the party. Luke impatiently waved me away and began playing with his trucks. The party was a great success, and the children's joy and enthusiasm were contagious.

Luke's preschool class singing "Happy Birthday" to Baby Jesus.

Santa left a box of presents in Luke's classroom for the children to open. This picture is of the teacher announcing Luke's gift...

Santa's preschool present to Luke: A Lightning McQueen car!

Comparing loot with his friend, Billy.

Tonight, we went to see Santa Claus. I had very high hopes for our annual Santa visit, and adore this particular St. Nick, but our picture didn't turn out so well. I guess every family needs a "screaming baby with Santa" picture, but Leah is usually so happy, and I'm sad that Santa didn't see her true, sweet personality. No worries, though: Leah is still on the "Nice List", and I'm sure that her first Christmas will be full of presents from the jolly old fellow!

Hollywild Christmas Lights

2011-12-11T11:02:00.008-05:00

We returned to see the Christmas Lights at Hollywild Animal Park this year, and loved it again. There really is no place quite as "authentic" as this hidden Southern treasure, and we had a ball driving haphazardly through the giant field with our windows down, feeding the animals as they approached our car. It was a very warm evening, as as you can see, Luke was sweating and wearing a short-sleeved shirt for our annual visit to the Christmas lights. Gotta love winter in South Carolina! Despite the warm temperatures, we got into the holiday spirit by roasting smores by the fire pit, sipping on hot cocoa, and wandering through the adorable Santa's Village. We love this new family tradition and are still talking about what fun we had with the Christmas "amidals"!

Luke was positive that this was one of Santa's reindeer.

Nothing says, "Merry Christmas" like a wet zebra snout in your face.

Leah was mesmerized by the animals (and even more thrilled to be out of her car seat)!

Horsing around.

Mark's startled reaction here (when he turned around to see a MASSIVE cow poking its head in the window) was priceless. It still makes me laugh to think about how he jumped!

This is a terrible picture, but gives you an idea as to how enormous the cows are, as they tower over all of the other animals (and cars!).

The goat was one of Luke's favorite animals to feed.

Luke bottle-feeding the baby animals in the Christmas Village.

Leah: Take notes. Some babies DO drink out of bottles! (But I guess maybe she would, too, if I gave her red juice like this).

'Tis the Season...

2011-12-09T19:45:00.005-05:00

...for Santa hats, yuletide cheer, and pictures of our Christmas sweets:

We had our very own little Christmas elf help us pick out the perfect (10 foot!) Christmas tree this year!

Santa's helper made sure that all of the breakable ornaments were placed high up on the tree, and out of the reach of his inquisitive, crawling baby sister.

Someone with a sweet tooth is thrilled to have his first Advent calendar. Counting down the days until Christmas is fun, but the best part of this activity is eating the treat hidden behind each day's door (which Luke refers to as: "Number 9 Chocolate", for December 9th, etc.).

Our 'Struction Man's perfect new ornament.

Our sweet baby girl's very first Christmas ornament.

Our special 2011 Family ornament.

We're busy decorating, celebrating the season, and preparing for a wonderful and full month of Christmas fun!!

Ice Skating!

2011-12-04T15:29:00.005-05:00

Now that it's December, we've been getting into the holiday spirit with lots of winter-themed activities. This afternoon, we took Luke ice skating for the first time, and it was a great success! After a few minutes on the ice, Luke no longer wanted me to hold onto him and insisted on using his "walker" all by himself. These large, plastic guides are wonderful invention that give children security while learning how to skate, and Luke had a blast. He wasn't hesitant at all, and even let go of his walker to try to skate all by himself! Here are some pictures from our fun adventure on the ice:

Trying out ice skates for the first time.

Mommy was ready to help Luke onto the ice...

Look at that focus!

The spectators

Getting the hang of it...

All smiles!

Click HERE to see a video of our little ice skater! I wish I had more video of Luke skating by himself at the end of the video (after he lets go of the walker), but I didn't trust myself with the video camera in one hand and my 3 year-old clutching the other.

Thanksgiving Week Wrap-Up

2011-11-28T14:48:00.007-05:00

We stayed here for Thanksgiving this year, and celebrated a quiet holiday as a family. We had a productive and fun week together, went on several special family outings, began decorating for Christmas, and enjoyed the time with our little turkeys. Here are some of the highlights of the week for each of us (and things that we are thankful for), in no particular order:

Mommy: Redeeming a massage that I received as a birthday present (Daddy watching the children was part of this gift), checking off many little projects on my Honey-Do list for Mark during his time off work, going to see the new Twilight movie with my equally-obsessed girlfriends (while Daddy baby-sat), taking a nap (while Daddy took Luke to the park), going to a late afternoon dentist appointment without fussy children in tow (while Daddy made dinner at home with the kids), leisurely shopping child-free at 5 a.m. at the outlets on Black Friday... do we see a theme here?

Luke: Per the bulletin board at preschool, "Luke is thankful for firetrucks and animals." Other highlights of Thanksgiving week for Luke were: acting as Daddy's sous chef to prepare our Thanksgiving turkey, going to the zoo with Daddy, jumping at Gigglebugs with Daddy, playing at the playground with Daddy, watching the marching "vands" on the Macy's Day Thanksgiving parade, and putting ornaments on the Christmas tree (on Daddy's shoulders of course).

Leah: Tasting her Daddy's Thanksgiving turkey for the first time, all of the attention and time she spent with her favorite guy this week (guess who?), "the new, giant tree that just appeared inside our house and is covered in pretty white lights with things for me to grab", and the fact that "Mommy has now put away all of that ridiculous turkey-themed attire that she insisted that I wear"...

Winnie: Sampling all of the dropped pieces of turkey that fell from her baby sister's high chair, the multiple walks that she went on each day with Mark, and knowledge that "it will be an entire year before they dress me up in this ridiculous turkey scarf again and make me pose for pictures"...

Daddy: Daddy must be so exhausted from his "vacation" that he is probably thankful to be back at work today, and for all of us to have resumed our normal routine. But as you can see from our list above, he is the common denominator that made our week so much fun. We are thankful for you, Mark! Thank you for giving us 110% all week and allowing me to recharge my battery. Love you (and your delicious Thanksgiving turkey)!

Turkey Antics

2011-11-23T19:54:00.005-05:00

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we wanted to show you what our little turkeys have been up to this week.

Turkey Luke refuses to stay still whenever I try to take a picture of him in his Thanksgiving pajamas (aren't they a part of everyone's holiday wardrobe?), but still has a charming grin for the camera:

Fire Turkey in his hat and boots:

Bashful Turkey donning his Native American headwear from his preschool Thanksgiving feast:

Nutty Turkey proudly showing off her First Thanksgiving outfit:

"SO BIG" Turkey covered in blueberry pancakes from head to toe (because bibs are such a nuisance, Mom!):

Winnie Turkey thinking that her turkey disguise permits her to lounge on the couch (which is off limits to dogs):

GOBBLE, GOBBLE!!

On the Move

2011-11-17T20:49:00.010-05:00

Now that Leah is crawling, she is everywhere! The beauty of her being our second child to become mobile in this house is that baby-proofing is a lot easier this time around. We can usually anticipate her moves and often catch her before she gets into too much mischief. However, in the past few weeks, Leah discovered Winnie's water bowl (and splashed around in it as if it were her own bath), removed every book from our bookcase, hid in the dog crate (photo above), and ate several leaves from a houseplant. Mommy just can't keep up with everyone at once, and am surprised by how quickly our little girl can move!

Yesterday, I discovered Leah in our bookshelves. She cleared all of the toys out of the bottom shelf and somehow wedged herself in the small space. Leah happily entertained herself here for quite awhile until she needed me to help her out of this tight spot. I remember when Luke used to play in the same cabinet, right after we had it built:

LeeLee makes a beeline for the fridge every time we open it. These pictures amuse me for a couple of reasons:
1) We had to remove every object from the bottom shelf on the door due to our curious, exploring baby.
2) It looks like an advertisement for Bud Light- In bad taste, maybe, but funny nonetheless.
3) The numerous bottles of wine in our refrigerator door makes it appear as if we are party animals. My one glass of wine consumed each month is really not accurately depicted here, but Leah seems to enjoy the challenge of reaching for these pretty objects:

These days, the only way to contain our girl on the move is in her highchair. Leah has a new favorite food: spaghetti. We have a very messy little diner on our hands, but she's cute, so it's worth it:

Like his little sister, Luke is also on the move. Every Wednesday after preschool, Luke participates in a program called Soccer Shots at his school. It's a half hour of absolute chaos (those coaches deserve medals!), but he loves it and "Soccer Wednesday" is his favorite day all week. His fall soccer season came to an end yesterday, but we loved this first taste of our little boy's participation in team sports. Here's goalie Luke (dressed in red) in action:

A newfound hobby is Luke "driving" his remote control police car. It moves up and down our hallway, driveway, and through the house. Winnie skitters out of the way, Leah giggles in delight and crawls after the car, and Mommy carefully sidesteps yet another moving object on our floor:

Sadly, I think it's our last year of footie pajamas for Luke. He is getting so big, and I'm not sure how practical or cute one-piece pjs with feet are for older children. So we're relishing in the warm, snuggly adorableness of our son this winter, as he proudly moves in his monkey jammies. Luke insisted on climbing the stair railing like a monkey as soon as he put on his new pjs for the first time last week:

Always the ham, he just had to show off those monkey feet:

Of course, being on the move can wear out even the most energetic little monkey. I recently found Luke napping with his beloved train conductor hat on, dreaming of Thomas the train, I'm sure:

BB Weekend

2011-11-13T20:09:00.012-05:00

Leah and I flew to Baltimore yesterday to join my college friends, the BBs, for a girls' weekend. Nutty was a wonderful traveler, waving to people at the airport, sitting contentedly in my lap observing the other passengers, and falling asleep as soon as the plane took off. We had a great visit, meeting the 2 other brand new BB babies, watching Wake Forest football, and catching up. Luke began the next generation of BB offspring in 2008, and since the summer after his birth, there has been a BB pregnant at all times. So far in this 3 year period, there are 7 BB babies and 1 on the way! Needless to say, our weekend reunions have adapted as we've gotten older, and now involve Daddies (a.k.a. BB Coaches) on Duty, lots of baby equipment, and earlier bedtimes, but we still manage to have fun grown up time, too:

Dressed up for our evening out to dinner!

Miller, Leah, and Emmett (the 3 BB babies born in 2011) represented Wake Forest well in their Demon Deacon onesies, but unfortunately couldn't help us clinch a crucial football win yesterday!

As the only girl among all of the other BB babies, Leah has her choice of future suitors:

Cool dude Liam picked us up at the airport, and he wasted no time holding Leah's hand in the backseat...

Leah shied away from Miller's advances, but the onesie says it all!

Wait a minute! Is that my daughter with her hands on the legs of both boys? Maybe she's not as innocent as she looks!

Coach Adam entertains the 3 newest BB additions- this is what triplets would be like! (Insert sigh of relief here...)

BB Sav and Leah shared a little bonding time.

What a fun weekend we had- We miss you BBs (and babies) already!

Leftovers

2011-11-05T20:50:00.003-04:00

After taking almost a week to recover from all of the Halloween-related excitement, we've finally resumed our normal routine. Here are some of our leftover Halloween pictures from trick or treating on Monday night:

Luke thought it was fun to trick or treat at our own house, where Grandpa was passing out candy. We also made it around our entire neighborhood (vs. last year where we only went to a few houses of neighbors that Luke knew) and had a very fun evening.

This was our attempt at a family picture before trick or treating. Luke was NOT interested in posing with us. Finally we just decided to scoot/lean toward him and hope that he made it into the camera frame.

We also took about 82 pictures of Luke and Leah on the front porch in the hopes of getting just one good one of them together in their costumes. Sadly, these are the best few. All I kept thinking about during this exhausting endeavor was how challenging it's going to be to get a smiling picture of my children for our family Christmas card this year:

And here's one leftover glimpse of our cute little ladybug. She was such a sweet, cooperative little trick or treater and served as the caddy for her super-golfer brother's clubs and candy:

I forgot to bring my camera to Luke's preschool Halloween party, which was the cutest thing in the world. All of the children dressed in costume and the parents came for treats, games, stories, and crafts. Oh, what fun it is to be 3, where Halloween is a week-long event! However, I did manage to snap a picture of Leah, as she found our leftover Halloween candy stash in the pantry. She now makes a beeline for the door every time it is open:

Eternally optimistic that Mommy might let her have a piece (which is NOT going to happen), Nutty has tried her best to get a taste even with the wrapper on:

Also in the leftover category, there were a couple of important activities in September that I forgot to include in our recent blog posts. The first was Winnie's annual day at the waterpark. We absolutely adore our parks and recreation department's Waggin' at the Waterpark event every fall, and Winnie had the time of her life. Here's one of my favorite pictures from that day, of Luke in the water with all of the dogs:

Here is one of Winnie with several of the other black lab friends in the pool. They formed a little retrieving pack and chased the balls together:

As always, we enjoyed attending the annual NICU reunion at the hospital in September with Luke, other NICU graduates, and medical staff. After giving birth to Leah who was healthy, full-term newborn, I can now compare my childrens' experiences in the hospital during the first days of their lives. This perspective gives me such an appreciation for the medical team who attended to our firstborn in the NICU, and extra thanks for our 2 thriving children. What a great way to celebrate this every year with a party!

It's hard to believe it's already November and Thanksgiving is less than 3 weeks away. What a busy, fun fall we've had so far!!

Costume Time!

2011-10-30T21:28:00.016-04:00

The kids showed off their costumes for the first time on Thursday night as we attended our first Halloween-themed event of the weekend. Leah debuted as a ladybug for her first Halloween, and there is nothing sweeter than looking at those precious chubby cheeks and bright blue eyes peek out from her hooded, plush costume. Winnie wore her annual devil horns and cape, and this costume always makes me laugh. Dear Winnie truly has matured into the best dog in the entire world and is no longer the impish, mischievous puppy that she was when I first dressed her up as a devil 7 years ago. Maybe I need to look for an angel costume for her next year. Luke enthusiastically called himself a "Super Golfer" the first time he donned his golfer costume. I think it sounds much more exciting and fun to him than a plain, ole' golfer, so we're rolling with it. He looks too cute for words in his little knickers, argyle vest, tasseled shoe covers, cap on head, and golf bag & clubs in hand. He insisted on posing with every mascot that we encountered, and we happily indulged him as he smiled with each character for a picture:

Our first weekend Halloween event was called "Enchanted Tracks", and was held at one of our local parks & recreation complexes. This adorable family festival allowed you to meet classic fairy tale characters while trick or treating through an "Enchanted Forest":

As we approached the Beauty and the Beast area, Luke announced, "Look, it's a buffalo!" Everyone, including the Beast, thought this was hilarious. Poor Luke- he'll learn all about Disney princesses soon enough as Leah grows into that stage. I'm sure our little Super Golfer must have been relieved to spot familiar boy-friendly characters like Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, and he gave them high fives (like the old pals that they are) before introducing them to Leah:

There was also a Mythical Magical Maze, Gray Friar Tavern with yummy treats, and Enchanted Village complete with bounce houses and slides, games, face painting, and balloons. Grandpa is in town visiting us, and our entire family had lots of fun at Enchanted Tracks. It was a fantastic kick-off this evening to our Halloween weekend:

The fun continued as Winnie was invited to her very own Halloween party yesterday with her doggie friends from the neighborhood. It was a riot to see all the pets in their costumes, and our little devil had a blast! The newest canine additions to our street are two 10-week-old puppies. Luke was enamored with these sweet furballs:

This afternoon, we attended the annual Boo in the Zoo event at the Greenville Zoo. It was a beautiful fall day, and our zoo does a wonderful job of setting up cute decorations and Trick or Treat stations for the kids. We had a great time, and Luke already has collected quite a stash of Halloween goodies:

Finally, here are the "snack o' lanterns" that I made tonight in preparation for Luke's Halloween party at preschool tomorrow. I was determined to bring a healthy treat, and I thought that these navel oranges filled with grapes were very cute:

(Thanks to my friend, Carey, for the inspiration for this idea.)

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy, fun-filled day of Halloween festivites at Luke's school, our neighborhood children's party tomorrow afternoon, and trick or treating in the evening. We can't wait!

Pre-Halloween Checklist (according to Luke)

2011-10-28T23:01:00.011-04:00

In order to prepare for a successful and fun Halloween, Luke would like to share his following list of must-dos.

-Wear adorable "Trick or Treat" shirt as many times as possible during the month of October:

-Smile at every available photo opportunity. Your mommy may reward you with extra treats for being so cooperative:

-Drive every tractor that you find during fall outings. This may be the last year that your little sister is too small to drive and willingly lets you to take the wheel:

-Take your sister as your date to your preschool's Fall Festival. You will look like the perfect gentleman escorting her in her stroller:

-When you arrive at the festival, try your hand at fun games. You'll win lots of prizes and have a ball cavorting with your school buddies:

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-During Fall Festival, show off your classroom to your parents at the preschool's open house. They will love to see your artwork, favorite toys, and the place that you adore:

-Serve as the judge for Daddy and Grandpa's annual pumpkin carving contest:

-Supervise the scooping of pumpkin seeds:

-If your baby sister is too little to help carve pumpkins, dress her up as a jack o' lantern instead:

...and don't forget the coordinating socks!

-Create your own Daddy, Mommy, Luke, and Leah pumpkins:

-Remember to pay careful attention to artistic detail:

-Include your furry sister in your completed "family" photo:

-Begin the countdown to your costume debut and all of the fun that Halloween weekend is sure to contain... and most importantly, BRING ON THE CANDY!!

Doozy of a Day

2011-10-25T21:38:00.011-04:00

Today was quite a doozy of a day:

-Leah woke up at 2 a.m. and was awake for a couple of hours last night, screaming her head off, mad at the world. (This in and of itself is pretty typical, but sets the scene for the rest of the day, including Mommy’s level of patience).

-Both children were up shortly after 6 a.m. Now that it’s cooler and still dark at that hour, I’m having a harder time waking up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and jumping out of my warm, cozy bed so early in the morning.

- I planned a fun stay-at-home-with-Mommy day of free play at the train table at Barnes and Noble, followed by story time. It should have been an easy, fun-filled morning.

-When we arrived, Luke decided that he didn’t want to share any trains with the other children at the train table. Setting clear boundaries, I gave him a choice to either share or we’d have to leave the train table. Luke tested me, and off we went, kicking and screaming.

-We made it through less than 10 minutes of story time. Leah was fussy due to no nap yet and her party animal behavior in the middle of the night. Luke was the only child who would not sit still, listen to the teacher, or pay attention to the story. There were at least 10-15 other kids there, ages ranging from 18 months to 5 years, and I had the only children who were the least bit disruptive/misbehaved/ill-mannered. I scooped up Luke (who had a full-blown tantrum), braced him against my hip like a potato sack, and pushed Leah in the stroller with my free hand, calmly stating how disappointed I was that we couldn’t have a fun time today. Exiting the store and buckling everyone into their car seats for the third time this morning was as fun as you can imagine.

-I pressed my luck and made a “quick” stop at Walmart to pick up a few things. Leah sat in the smaller, seated section of the shopping cart, while Luke rode in the back, surrounded by the ever-growing pile of groceries that we collected.

-Suddenly, Luke stood up in the back of cart, shouting, “Mommy, I have to go potty, NOW!” I was really not thrilled with the idea of him using the public bathroom at Walmart, but nonetheless raced in that general direction. Less than 5 seconds later, Luke said, “Mommy, I had an accident.” I looked down to see that his pants were soaked and that most of my groceries were now randomly “sprinkled” with wet drops.
(Footnote: I can count on one hand the number of accidents that Luke has had since he has been potty-trained. This is the kid who refuses to go to the bathroom before bedtime out of sheer strong will, but can hold it for 12 hours until the morning. It makes me wonder if today’s shenanigans were intentional).

-In disbelief, I proceeded to the cashier, wiped each item down with baby wipes from my diaper bag, and strictly told my son not to move or speak. I prayed that the cashier wouldn’t notice his wet pants/think we were absolutely vile/shrink away in disgust.

-I stripped Luke out of his wet clothes in the parking lot (yes, we lived up to every Walmart stereotype that you may have), very carefully buckled my naked child into his carseat, and placed my cart in the cart return that was right beside our parked car.

-Unfortunately, an elderly woman took this exact moment to return her cart, too, and looked into the backseat of my car (the car door was still open). The look on the lady’s face changed from one of polite, sweet admiration of my darling children to one of horror as she saw Luke, all of Luke, in his birthday suit. She quickly averted her gaze, squared her shoulders and raised her nose high up in the air, in righteous indignation.

-I sighed, got in the car, completely exhausted and defeated, and looked at the clock. It was only 11:25 a.m. I called Mark, relayed our morning to him, and he chuckled. I retorted that it was only funny because he was sitting in an office surrounded by fully-clothed, continent grown-ups.

-We came home, hosed down Luke in the tub, fed him lunch, and counted the seconds until Quiet Time. In the 5 minutes that I was putting Leah down, this is what Luke did to his room:

How a three year-old can so quickly and effortlessly overturn his mattress, remove every book from its basket, and destroy an entire bedroom is beyond me. What you can’t see is that the rest of Luke's bedding, his pillows, and every single stuffed animal that we own was hastily stuffed into the window seat/toy box. I officially gave up at this point and realized that it was just a dud of a day.

And then the miraculous happened. My son, who no longer naps, completely redeemed himself by sleeping for 4 hours this afternoon. It was beautiful, necessary, and gave me that ability to regroup and be thankful. The best part is how and where I found him:

And in that one, adorable instant, all was forgiven.

Leah's 9 Month Pictures

2011-10-24T14:34:00.005-04:00

Here are some of my favorite poses of Leah's 9-month photo shoot. Enjoy!

Confessions of a Preschool Mom

2011-10-22T20:58:00.006-04:00

I forgot about Show and Tell yesterday. I didn’t even realize it until I glanced at Luke’s monthly preschool calendar on our fridge this morning. There it was, in cheerfully bold printed letters, in the block for Friday, October 21: “Show and Tell!”

I had a brief moment of denial- Surely I must be looking at the wrong month. My former self (the Carrie who was organized, orderly, and who was a stickler for schedules, appointments, and list-writing) NEVER would have let her son go to preschool empty-handed for his monthly Show and Tell day. I felt absolutely awful. I quickly fired off an apology e-mail to Luke’s teacher (yes, it was before 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning), stating how sorry I was that I forgot about Show and Tell, that hopefully it didn’t cause a problem that Luke had nothing to share/show his classmates…

Next I sent an e-mail to my friend who also has a child in Luke’s class, which said something like, “What an incompetent preschool Mom I am! I didn’t realize yesterday was Show and Tell… What did you send in with Emma?”

When Luke woke up an hour later, I gave him a good morning hug, snuggled with him on the couch, and gently asked, “Was it Show and Tell Day at school yesterday?”

“Yes, Mommy,” he nodded solemnly.

“Did all of your friends bring in their things to show the class?” I inquired.

“Yes, everyone brought something,” he replied.

“Did anyone else forget about Show and Tell, honey?” I prodded.

“No Mommy, only I”, he earnestly replied, looking up at me with big brown eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Baby." I replied, heart breaking. "Were you sad?”

Luke paused, pondering this for a minute. “No,” he earnestly answered, and scampered away in search of Daddy, who was making pancakes in the kitchen.

Oh, the Mommy guilt! How could I have let my little guy down! We were so wrapped up in the anticipation of the preschool's Fall Festival last night that Luke didn’t mention Show and Tell at all yesterday (when he endured the usual 20 questions from Mommy about how his school day was). I should have been appeased by the fact that Luke didn’t seem to care today, but I wasn't.

Mark tried to make me feel better, and in vain, I tried to explain to him that it would be similar to him failing at a crucial task at work.

“Being a stay-at-home mom is my JOB,” I wailed. “HOW could I forget one simple task of putting an item in my preschooler’s bag?”

Mark nodded, hugged me, and searched for the right words to validate the apparent life-threatening seriousness that forgetting a Show and Tell item involved.

Then I glanced at my e-mail. The first item in my inbox was a reply from my friend, Kelly.

“Well, that makes two of us,” she wrote. “I had no idea that Show and Tell was yesterday. Emma didn’t take anything either…”

I breathed a little sigh of relief. Ok, I wasn't the only mom who forgot...

The second e-mail was from Luke’s preschool teacher (I guess we’re all up early on Saturdays):

“Please do not think twice about Show and Tell.” she wrote. “We had many that forgot to bring something. I usually send a reminder the day before, and I forgot, so really it’s my fault!”

Next followed a paragraph about how well Luke is doing at school, how happy he seems, and how he is adjusting beautifully to the daily routine and reaching out to the other children.

As if I didn’t adore Luke’s preschool teacher enough before this e-mail, her absolution of my faux pax made me fall completely in love with her. My spirit lifted immensely and my mood changed in an instant.

Completely guilt-free and happy once again, I had one remaining issue to tackle:

“LUKE, did EVERYONE bring things in yesterday for Show and Tell? What about Emma? Conner? Alex? Ava?” I rattled off several other classmates’ names…

Luke, unfazed, responded to each name with an fictional item that I now knew was completely fabricated.

LESSONS TO MOMMY:

1. Don’t believe everything that my 3 year-old tells me. Sometimes, he’s completely full of it… (or is a genius and was hoping to manipulate something from me in my weak moment of guilt).

2. Post the preschool calendar in a visible location and make sure to look at it every school day, to avoid future catastrophes caused by my forgetful "Mommy Brain".

3. Keep a random train/car/toy in the car, just in case the November Show and Tell date sneaks up on us, and we need to scramble in the carpool line and stick something in Luke's bag.

Back to the post-it-notes, checklists, and external memory aids it is. Oh, organization, how I love thee...

Mommy's Pumpkins

2011-10-19T04:59:00.009-04:00

One of my favorite fall activities is our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. I love the rows and rows of bright orange pumpkins, all sizes and shapes, the autumnal decorations and harvest-themed festivities. Hayrides, apple cider, bales of straw, farm animals- it all screams October fun! This is the time of year where my family endures my attempts at endless harvest recipes: soups and pasta made from butternut squash, pumpkin-flavored breads and muffins, and sweet apple crisp. I love the warm fall colors, the crisp cool mornings, and bright blue skies. And yesterday, my sweet little pumpkins cooperated and endured a photo shoot to appease their Mommy when we visited a new pumpkin patch. Luke carefully selected his own $1 pumpkin, paid for it with his own money (a ziploc bag full of nickels from Poppy's house), and counted out the change required (20 nickels is a lot when you're 3!). He proudly placed his treasure on the front porch beside our other pumpkins, and checked on it this morning, asking me: "Is it Halloween yet?" (He's been asking me that question every day for 3 weeks- I'm not sure what he thinks is going to happen to those pumpkins on Halloween). Here are some of my favorite pictures of my little pumpkins:

I always adore the "Baby-in-the pumpkin-patch" shots:

Luke must have walked around for at least 20 minutes in search of his perfect pumpkin, while Leah supervised:

Finally, he found it! These pictures make me laugh, of Old Man Winterhoff posing with his pumpkin:

My sweet angels:

Mimi's Visit

2011-10-16T19:08:00.002-04:00

Mimi came to visit us over Columbus Day weekend, and we loved having her here. We kept her busy with a picnic at the park, GE Family Day carnival, trip to the pumpkin patch, and playing with lots of toys at home. Luke especially revelled in his Mimi's attention, and chatted with her non-stop, asked her lots of questions, and earnestly told her all about his trains, construction vehicles, and books. Leah showed off her tricks like "So Big", Peek-a-Boo, and waving, and gave her grandmother many hugs, kisses, and sweet cuddles. Mimi even baby-sat for us so Mark and I could go out to breakfast with friends. What a treat a child-free meal at a restaurant was! It was our first venture out to eat by ourselves since Leah has been born, and we loved it! Mimi was able to see Luke's preschool classroom on Monday and meet his teachers, and then the girls enjoyed a morning of shopping while Luke was at school. We went out to lunch with Daddy on Tuesday before dropping off Mimi at the airport, and it was tough adjusting to our empty house without her. Come back soon, Mimi! We miss you!

Leah and Mimi at the park.

Luke shows Mimi the "portable crusher plant" on his dump truck (I have no idea what this means, but I'm learning that many construction terms are above my head).

Reading one of our favorite baby books...

Watching fireworks together.

Crawling!

2011-10-13T20:11:00.009-04:00

As of the past 24 hours, we officially have a crawler! Leah first crawled last night, straight to Daddy, shortly after Mark came home from work. Today we enticed her by placing my cell phone on the floor, and captured her newfound mobility on video. (We have a very similar video of Luke when he first learned to crawl, as he motored toward our remote control. What is it about my children and electronics?) Our little girl is on the move, and I know that the next season of her babyhood is going to be very busy!

Click HERE for the video of our newly crawling baby!

I received an e-mail recently, entitled, "Your 39-week old"... and it absolutely blew my mind. 39 weeks is the precise amount of time that Leah spent gestating inside my body before she was born, and this marker of her turning 39 weeks old means that she has now spent an equal time outside in the world. In some ways, I feel like she has been a part of our family forever. It seems ages ago that we were parents of only one child (plus dog), and often when Leah is asleep and Mark and I are playing with Luke, we feel a noticeable absence without our Nutty in the room. Along the same lines, it seems like years since I have slept through the night (ok, it's been years when you add up Luke and Leah's amazingly terrible infant sleeping habits), and I can't really remember a time that I wasn't the mother of small children.

However, when I think about all that has already occurred in Leah's infanthood, I am amazed that 9 months have passed already. The milestones are flying by faster than we can blink, and many sweet moments and phases are fleeting. I am so grateful for the joy that Leah brings to our lives with each of her precious smiles. There is sense of familiarity in parenting a second child, and we are much more comfortable trusting our instincts this time, sitting back and enjoying each stage, and not rushing too quickly toward the next.

Our happy girl!

Never enough baby-in-the-bathtub pictures!

Look at that mischeivious smile (as she discovered how to open the "baby-proofed" drawer)!

Leah is growing and thriving. At her 9-month well check last week, she was 21 pounds (84th percentile) and 30 inches long (99th percentile). She is pulling up on everything, is curious and sweet, and is our happy little angel. Luke makes Leah smile and laugh more than anyone else. The following video illustrates how funny Leah thinks her big brother is. Luke was trying on fire hats, and Lee Lee found it incredibly funny. Hope this video brings a smile to your day, too!

Click HERE for contagious giggles!

GE Family Day

2011-10-11T20:02:00.012-04:00

On Saturday, we attended Family Day at Mark's work. GE's carnival theme was complete with amusement park rides, games, bounce houses, entertainment, and treats. Luke absolutely loved it, and ran gleefully among the activities, eager to try everything. His favorite part was a 2-story tall slide that he and Mark rode at least 5 times. We had so much fun enjoying the festivities, which ended with fireworks and two tuckered-out kiddos! Here are some pictures from our day:

My guys on the slide:

Our little athelete tried his hand at skeeball, batting, and pitching:

Planes, trains, and automobiles (or motorcycles!):

Looking so grown up:

And boys will be boys:

NASCAR pit crew training.

A lesson in how to eat cotton candy.

Big Foot and Little Foot go down the tunnel slide!

Fall Williamsburg Weekend

2011-10-04T20:33:00.011-04:00

We traveled to Bean and Poppy's house last weekend for our annual fall weekend in Williamsburg. As usual, the semi-annual Children's Consignment Sale at their church was wonderful, and I got lots of clothes and Christmas presents for L&L. We enjoyed some of our favorite traditions: a visit with Great Grammy and Great Granddad at their assisted living facility, riding the city bus, strolling through Colonial Williamsburg, spending time with aunts, uncles, & cousins, and shopping at the outlets. Luke returned to Busch Gardens this year, where he and Poppy rode the train (and Luke received his own conductor hat), visited Sesame Street characters, interacted with animals, and went on rides. We also did a few new activities, including a ride on the Jamestown Ferry. It's such a great weekend getaway for us every year, right in the middle of our summer beach trips and Christmas holidays, and we look forward to our mini-vacation each fall. Here are some of our favorite pictures from the weekend:

Gabe, Luke, and Lauren adore Poppy's sand table:

Leah had fun playing with Aunt Sara and Uncle Brian during our visit:

Our family on the Jamestown Ferry:

The "Jelly Bean Store" is one of the sweetest parts of Colonial Williamsburg, and is quickly becoming a "must see" for Luke each time we visit:

Walking through the Colonial Village:

Riding the "City Bus" is always one of Luke's favorite activities:

Here is a slideshow of more pictures from our weekend in Williamsburg:

September Snippets

2011-09-24T06:47:00.015-04:00

September has been a fantastic month for us. Luke is thriving at preschool, and has begun a soccer program there once a week after class ends. I am really enjoying the increased productive time that I have now to run errands, cook, and spend time with Leah during those 3 mornings each week, and it makes me so happy to see Luke love his teachers, new friends, and preschool happenings. We've done several fun weekend activities with Luke this month, including going to see Sesame Street Live. He absolutely loved it, and we had great seats just a few rows from the stage:

The boys attended another "Touch a Truck" event last weekend, and this time they had a "brown truck", Luke's favorite! Every time the UPS truck drives through our neighborhood, Luke thinks that there is a present in the back for him. Needless to say, driving the "brown truck" was this little boy's dream come true:

There was also a helicopter at the Touch a Truck event, which landed in the field for all of the children to explore, which was really neat:

Our zoo continues to be a fun place to visit. Luke especially likes Baby Bob (an orangutan) and his family, and was thrilled with Bob's mommy came up for a close visit last week:

We had our first Family Movie Night with Luke this month, and watched the Disney movie, Cars. When I pictured watching Disney movies with my children, I had visions of The Little Mermaid and Snow White, so this was a growing experience for me. Thank goodness Leah will indulge my Disney princess fantasy in a few years. I think the highlight of movie night for Luke was having popcorn for the first time, but he and Daddy seemed to be entranced with the race car scenes, too:

This is a typical example of Quiet Time at our house in the afternoons. Luke takes every stuffed "amidal" out of his closet, sits in his cozy green chair, and reads books aloud to them. I find this quite adorable:

Our little man keeps us entertained at home, too. A current favorite activity is "fighting fires" in our yard. The hours of fun with a plastic fireman hat and our garden hose are countless:

Luke also constantly reminds me of the joy and silliness that can be found in being 3 years old. He decided that this would be the outfit that he would wear to our friend's house for dinner recently. It was 80 degrees and sunny, but apparently rain boots, band-aid as accessory on knee, and no pants were the required dress code. Luckily our friends have young children too, and didn't mind the interesting wardrobe choice:

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September has also been a big month for Leah. Her 6th tooth came in, she is starting to be mobile, and she now eats tiny pieces of many solid foods. Leah learned how to wave "Bye Bye", does "SOOOO Big!", and consistently goes to bed at 7 p.m. (although she still doesn't sleep through the night). She is almost crawling, and gets into quadruped position and looks like she is ready to take off! Leah has mastered sitting up from a lying down position, and we've spent many nights this month putting her back down in her crib after she sits up in the middle of the night and gets stuck. She is starting to try to pull up on things, too, and has graduated to her "Big Girl" car seat and is out of the infant carrier now.

This month, our playgroup started getting together with just the little kids, now that all the older siblings are in school. These 4 are EXACTLY the same age as their big brothers/sisters were when we started our original playgroup in January 2009. We have a picture of the big kids on the same step when they were this age. Somehow the second time around, it's just as hard to get everyone to look at the camera & smile:

Nutty has enjoyed cruising around in her big girl stroller this month, and looks so long to me these days:

She also loves "Peek a Boo" and is such a smiley, silly girl:

Here's our sweet angel, all snuggly, soft and pink:

We love that toothy grin!

Sky Top Apple Orchard

2011-09-17T10:03:00.004-04:00

Last weekend we spent the morning at Sky Top Apple Orchard on our annual apple picking adventure. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and it was so much fun to bring Leah with us this year on what has become a fall family tradition. Our time was full of treats, as we tasted many yummy apples, indulged in delicious apple doughnuts, and enjoyed hot apple cider. We also went on a hayride through the orchard, which is nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina and has beautiful scenic views. Luke was cooperative and helpful, posed with the tractor, climbed the giant pumpkin and apple structures, and loved playing on the playground. Leah was an easy, sweet angel and happily rode in the Baby Bjorn all morning. What a wonderful family day it was, and we had such a great time together!

Here are more pictures of our apple picking day, also found in our Winterhoff Family Photo Albums:

Little Blue Car

2011-09-13T19:17:00.008-04:00

I've been having lots of flashback moments lately as I watch Leah playing with her brother's infant toys. I vividly remember creating Christmas and birthday wishlists for my firstborn, the care, time, and love that went into selecting and buying each toy, the eager anticipation of introducing them to Luke, and the entertainment and joy we experienced as he learned how to play with his first toys. In particular, Luke received a blue ride-on car on his first Christmas as a special present from Grandpa. Luke was just over 8 months old, exactly the age that Leah is now... and when I think about that, it takes my breath away. I never thought I'd be nostalgic about a toy (you know how I feel about all of the giant, brightly colored plastic that has taken over our house/yard)... but there's something about that car that I can't shake. Maybe it's the hours that Luke spent cruising around our neighborhood in it, greeting all of our neighbors, honking his horn, looking like such a big boy. Maybe it's because that silly blue car epitomizes my babies' infant/toddlerhoods- it's a visual, concrete symbol of how fast they change and grow. Or maybe it's because when I realize that Leah is already as old as Luke when he started riding, it makes me panic a little bit. As in, where did the past 8 months go? How did we arrive here already? And before I can blink, is she going to be a 3 year-old preschooler too? I want to stop time... or at least slow it down. It makes me thankful for my babies, for each and every day that I spend with them, and for the blessings that can be found in the most unsuspecting places... like a little blue car.

January 2009- Luke at 8 months old.

September 2011- Leah at 8 months old.

My loves.

Preschooler!

2011-09-07T21:15:00.003-04:00

Luke's first day of preschool was a huge success! He was so excited to go to his "Clifford Class", and ran right up to the building without ever looking back. Luke immediately found his classroom, sat down at a table, and started coloring. There was no hug, kiss, or good-bye for Mommy, which may have been a really good thing, because it didn't allow me to have an emotional moment or tears. Our house seemed much too quiet this morning without my big boy, so after a quick grocery trip, Leah and I went on a girls' shopping spree at the mall. When we picked up Luke, he happily relayed all of the highlights of the day, including playing with the lawn mower on the playground and having animal crackers and "orange puffy things" for snack (I'm guessing that these were cheese curls, which Luke has never seen). We got a great report from the teachers, and Luke has been talking about school all afternoon/evening. Hooray for a great first day!

Literally running up the path to the preschool entrance.

Walking right in...

Mommy's peek in the window after dropping off Luke. (Note the red tupperware containers in the foreground of this photo. It's my now-infamous play dough, which I proudly dropped off this morning after a much more successful 2nd attempt at making it last night!)

First-Timer

2011-09-05T21:26:00.009-04:00

Nothing says “First Time Preschool Mom” like:

1) Choosing the 11:40 a.m. “Meet the Teacher” slot (one of the last in the day, leaving only the least desirable parent volunteer sign-up options remaining), and therefore signing up to make play dough for the entire class for the first day of school.

2) Losing the play dough recipe in the mountain of essential forms and paperwork that I was given, and humbly e-mailing the teacher to ask her to send it to me again (and there went my dream of making a good first impression as an organized, put-together mom).

3) Asking Daddy to make an emergency run to the store tonight to buy play dough ingredients, including red Kool-Aid packets and Cream of Tartar (because who really has 8 tablespoons of that stuff lying around?).

4) Realizing that the recipe called for 4 cups of salt, not teaspoons, and thus emptying every salt shaker in the house to gather the necessary amount required to make the play dough (since I couldn't ask Mark to go to the store yet again for this project).

5) Making the play dough at the 9:00 tonight, and ending up with a mammoth bowl of red goop, which was full of tiny white powdery specks and practically required a cement mixer to stir.

6) Deciding that Mommy and Daddy kneading the play dough by hand for 15 minutes would surely help dissolve these balls (which it didn’t), and discovering that our hands are now stained bright red from the Kool-aid as it dissolved in the warm mess.

7) Swallowing my pride and accepting that I will have to start all over again tomorrow, where I will remember to mix all of the dry ingredients together before adding the boiling water.

8) Wondering if wearing gloves to hide my red-stained hands when I drop off Luke for his first day on Wednesday will draw more or less attention to what will henceforth be known as "The Play Dough Incident".

9) Hoping that Luke’s preschool teachers will accept that I’m a first-timer, and don’t have high hopes for the Christmas party this year (which surprisingly was also left on that volunteer sheet, and will also be run by yours truly).

Summer's End

2011-09-01T17:11:00.002-04:00

As our summer draws to a close, here are some of the ways that we've been spending our time:

We've enjoyed these last summer days outside, playing with our new beach ball sprinkler. As you can see, Luke thinks it is also a water fountain:

Late summer evenings bring cooler weather (in South Carolina, this means it's actually bearable to be outdoors without oppressive heat), and we took in one last baseball game over the weekend:

Since Luke has attended a Greenville Drive game every summer since he was 2 months old, the above picture makes me quite nostalgic. This year, he found a seat in the bleachers all by himself and sat quietly, watching the game, and taking it all in. He even tried pitching, as you can see below. What a big boy I have now!

Last week was full of festivities, as we celebrated 8 years of marriage and Winnie's 7th birthday:

Happy Birthday to our sweet princess Winnie! You are truly the best dog in the entire world, and we love you to pieces.

Those of you who aren't dog lovers may not find this photo quite as endearing as we do, but it completely encapsulates Winnie's sweet, gentle nature with her siblings, as she willingly shares her new birthday toy with her inquisitive baby sister.

Somehow I didn't manage to take any picture on our anniversary (amidst our "romantic" carry-out Italian dinner shared with our kids), but we are planning big things for our 10th anniversary in a couple of years. Mark thinks this means a date night out without children. I'm thinking more along the lines of a fancy vacation.

The end of summer has also meant the end of Luke's naps. I mourn the loss of this afternoon rest, and we are all adjusting to the change in our routine. Luke (and Mommy) has literally collapsed a couple of evenings lately after long days without a break, and I have discoverd him asleep in the most unlikely places:

Sound asleep in the upstairs hallway, after sneaking out of his room to see what was going on downstairs.

"Reading books".

We have implemented a "Quiet Time" for about an hour each afternoon, which has been successful with a sticker reward chart as an incentive for Luke to stay in his room and have some downtime.

As always, my precious family makes me smile:

Daddy stealing a kiss from his girl.

I came home from Book Club one evening to find my boys sitting in the darkened family room, wearing 3-D glasses and watching a movie. In typical guy fashion, they couldn't be bothered with my camera, conversation, or presence while they were zoned out in front of the tv. But it was too cute not to photograph!

And the end of summer also means a huge change in our lives, as Luke begins preschool next week. Although we are eagerly anticipating this new beginning, it's the end of an era for me. The days of having my babies all to myself at home are over, and my firstborn will enter the big world without me. But that's another blogpost all in itself...

STRIKE!

2011-08-27T19:05:00.003-04:00

We've discovered Luke's new favorite activity: Bowling! We took him for the first time when we were in Pennsylvania last month, and he absolutely LOVED it! I hadn't been bowling in years, and had foggy memories from childhood of smoke-filled, noisy bowling alleys, with primitive blow-up gutter bumpers. However, the bowling alley near Mimi's house was clean and family-friendly, with high-tech automatic bumpers, touchscreen computers, and special "slides" for young children to use, which help the ball roll quickly down the lane. And my favorite: Adorable velcro shoes for all. Luke had so much fun that he decided to bowl for me, too, which meant that I literally didn't touch the ball once during the entire 40 frames of our 2 games. I had one tired little boy afterward- all that running back and forth, lifting and carrying heavy balls resulted in a super afternoon nap! We had an absolute blast, and a bonus perk was that the entire day only cost us $1.20, after some creative couponing and joining kidsbowlfree.com. Enjoy our pictures!

First bowling lesson.

Perfect form.

Wish I could capture the squeals of joy in this moment...

Fancy footwear!

Littlest fan.

Luke placed his ball on the special bowling slide...

...and down the lane it rolled!

Our scores for Game 1. (Luke more than doubled "Mommy's" score, although he bowled for both of us!)

Having so much fun can be exhausting!

Questions, Questions

2011-08-21T20:24:00.004-04:00

Luke asks questions ALL the time. At first, I marveled at my son’s curiosity and interest in the world around him. What a fun, inquisitive 3 year-old trait this was, and what a wonderful way for me to provide educational opportunities during our daily conversations! But now, the questions are endless, and absolutely exhausting, as I never seem to have the right answer. This is what the first page of Go Dogs Go sounded like tonight:

Mommy: “Big Dog, Little Dog…”

Luke (interrupting): “Mommy, what is Little Dog doing?”

Mommy: “He’s pulling Big Dog.”

Luke: “Where is he pulling Big Dog?”

Mommy: “Maybe they are going to the Dog Party at the end of the book.”

Luke: “No, they are not going there. They are going home.”

Mommy (sighing): “Ok, they are going home.”

Luke: “What is Big Dog riding on, Mommy?”

Mommy: “He’s riding on a special cart with wheels that Little Dog is pulling…”

Luke: “No Mommy, it’s a wheelchair.”

Mommy (taking a deep breath): “Ok, he’s pulling Big Dog’s wheelchair.”

Luke: “Why does his chair have wheels?”

Mommy: “The wheels help Little Dog pull it…”

Luke: "No, Mommy, the wheels make it go. Why is Little Dog pulling Big Dog?”

Mommy, VERY patiently replies: “Because Big Dog is too tired and needs help.”

Luke: “Why is Big Dog so tired?”

Mommy: “Because Little Dog refused to nap for the 3rd day this week, is very grouchy and argumentative when he doesn’t get enough sleep, and never stops asking questions. This makes Big Dog very, very tired.”

Mommy attempts to turn to Page 2…

Luke shuts the book and states: “Mommy, that’s not right. Let’s start at the beginning again. Why is this book called Go Dogs Go?"

Mommy closes her eyes and sighs. It’s going to be a long, long 8 months until Little Dog turns 4…

7 Months

2011-08-15T20:26:00.009-04:00

Our little peanut is 7 1/2 months old, and is such a joy! At 7 months, Leah:

-is still at the top of the charts for height and weight. At her 6 month appointment in early July, Leah was 28.25 inches long (99th percentile) and weighed 19 pounds 4 ounces (98th percentile). She is now officially in 12 month clothes and is our roly poly girl!

-loves the men in her life. Luke entertains her more than anyone else does. Her big brother makes her giggle and smile all the time, and she watches his every move. Mark has turned completely to mush somehow as the Daddy of a little girl, and it's quite amazing how Leah has wrapped him around her little finger. She is definitely a Daddy's girl, as you can see:

-sits up on her own to play! We no longer have to place a pillow behind her for support, and she looks like such a big girl sitting by herself. LeeLee likes the exersaucer as long as Mommy is in sight, and has outgrown her bouncy seat and infant swing. She loves taking baths and playing on her tummy, too. Here she is showing off her newfound sitting balance:

-still is not a great sleeper. She takes 2 naps each day. Her morning one is usually on the go, as she is toted around with Luke/Mommy on errands, to the park, or activities for her brother. Leah's afternoon nap is variable in length, and we have phased out the evening "catnap" in an attempt to get her to bed at a reasonable time. We started sleep training Leah in June, but took a break during our vacation last month. Leah cries anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours each night when we put her down, which is hard for everyone, but it is improving. She wakes up several times in the middle of the night, and usually eats and goes right back to sleep. She has slept through the night exactly 1 time in her life so far (Luke didn't do this consistently until he was 18 months old), so I have just accepted that my children are terrible sleepers as infants and will hopefully make up for it later in life!

-has 5 teeth: 2 on the bottom, her top 2 middle, and 1 top right. Her toothy grin is quite adorable, and she does this funny thing sometimes where she sticks out her chin (resembling Jay Leno) when she smiles at you.

-has recently starting playing with her hair to self-soothe when tired or nursing. Luke began doing this when he was exactly the same age, and I was shocked when Leah did it for the first time. Her fine blonde hair is growing in, but it will still be quite awhile before I can put all those cute barrettes to good use! Click here for a funny video demonstrating Leah's new habit (although I still think she was covering her ears in response to Daddy's singing).

- Does not eat much baby food. After we started her on rice cereal at 5 months old, Leah began gagging and was quite dramatic in her refusals to eat any solid food. She didn't like oatmeal, any fruits, and seemed to dislike anything sweet or mushy. Green beans have narrowly replaced carrots as her "favorite" food (how bizarre is that?), which means she will tolerate up to a couple of bites of a Stage 1 jar at each meal/feeding attempt. After talking to our pediatrician and several of my friends who are speech & occupational therapists, we have decided that Leah has a hyper-gag reflex and some oral motor/sensory issues that we are tackling at home. I have hundreds of dollars worth of baby food in my pantry that I bought whenever there was a sale (in an attempt to stock up before we started feeding Leah solids). At this rate, we may get through these jars by the time she goes to college. In positive news, Leah is still breastfeeding like a champ (no, she still doesn't take a bottle), and is chunky enough from her Mommy milk that we are not worried about her nutrition/growth at all. Here she is "wearing" her green beans:

-is truly the most laid back, happy, adaptable child in the entire world. We are enjoying her so much, and she is such an easy baby. Leah is really starting to show us her personality, and has an incredibly sweet disposition. I love this honeymoon stage of her interacting, cooing, and playing, but not being mobile yet, and thus not getting into things/requiring close, constant supervision. I am also realizing how wonderful her January birthday is, because having a 7-month old in the summertime means that there is so much fun to be had by dressing Leah in sundresses, bathing suits, and onesies, and showing off her chubby, kissable rolls. She is our sweet little Nutty, and we love her dearly!

Renaissance Man

2011-08-12T07:29:00.005-04:00

Always the Renaissance Man, Luke showed off his many talents yesterday as he wooed Brooke at the Hands-On Childrens Museum in Hendersonville, NC. Since the site of their "date" was about an hour from home, the Mommys served as chaperones and escorts, with the baby sisters also in tow.

First, Luke demonstrated his manly man side at the car racing ramp:

Leah cheered her big brother on in his quest to win the race (and the girl!):

Next, Mr. "Fix-It" tinkered around with tools and the ball funnels. What a catch!

Luke also showed Brooke his softer side at the vet clinic, by caring for the animals:

Painting a masterpiece always wins over the ladies, right?

He even planned and shopped for the ingredients to make a romantic meal:

The happy couple checked out of the "grocery store" together:

And just for extra points, Luke thought he'd send off a love letter at the "post office":

By the constant hand holding and this expression of adoration as we left the museum, I'd say he got his girl!

Vacation Wrap-Up

2011-08-07T21:49:00.009-04:00

A brief wrap-up of some of my favorite things about vacation last month:

-Having another adult to talk to during the day, and an extra set of hands to help all the time is pure heaven for a stay-at-home mom. I can not stress enough how much I valued all of the grown-up conversations that I was able to have, and the tremendous help that I received from our families while we were away.

- I didn't need to clean my house for almost 3 weeks (although those of you who know me well realize that I may have gone through slight vacuuming withdrawal)!

-Thanks to a wonderful mother and mother-in-law, I was relieved from planning and preparing almost 60 meals, and only set foot in the grocery store once, voluntarily (and without 2 resistant children in tow).

-Showers at home: Purely a necessary functional activity, completed as quickly as possible. They consist of plopping my 3 year-old in front of a video and entertaining my infant (by peeking my head out every 30 seconds or so, dripping wet, doing some crazy song and dance) to prevent her from screaming.
Showers on vacation: My equivalent of a spa getaway. While my children were busily playing with grandparents or Daddy, I took luxurious, lengthy, relaxing showers (and even had time to shave my legs!).

-Every single day during our 3 weeks away, we planned an exciting excursion for the children. These outings were so much fun, and Leah was such a great age this year to be toted around in the Bjorn or in the stroller. Not yet mobile and very flexible with morning nap schedules, our Nutty happily came along for the ride, while Luke was old enough to really enjoy and participate in new activities.

-Vacation = different sleeping arrangements, and this meant that Leah slept in bed with me for most of our time away from home. There was something very sweet about this change in our routine, and for one of the weeks, Luke and Mark slept together in a second bed next to us. Having my entire family snuggling so closely, and contained in one room together was quite wonderful and dear.

- Leah positively beamed at everyone all the time. She was a delightful, happy baby, who charmed all of her extended family with her constant smiles, sparkling eyes, and delicious, chubby rolls.

- I took Luke to his first movie. We saw "Winnie the Pooh", and were the only people in the entire theater. He called it the "cinema", which was adorable, and held my hand for most of the show. Luke was fascinated by the projector, the big screen, and the retractable seats, and sat still for most of the 1 hour and 9 minute film. It was my first movie "date" with my son, and was a perfect first show for us to see together.

-Unfortunately, I caught some sort of nasty virus in the middle of our last week of vacation (while in PA), and literally couldn't lift my head off the pillow for almost 2 days. Mimi took Luke to the zoo, brought Leah to me when I needed to nurse her, and gave me chicken noodle soup in bed. The recurring thought in my head was, "If you have to be sick, even at age 32, the best place to be is at home where your mom can take care of you (and your children)."

-Discovery of the Year: Luke's "Telephone Heads" (headphones). We plugged these into the portable DVD player or laptop while Luke watched his DVDs and we heard... blissful silence. For the past 3 years, we have listened to hours of Elmo's World, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Bob the Builder while traveling in the car, and finally, we got smart. There were wonderful periods where Mark and I had real, adult discussions in the front seat of the car while Leah napped and Luke watched his DVDs while wearing his telephone heads. (For the record, out of the 20+ hours we traveled in the car over the 3-week period, the children only napped at the same time for a grand total of 3 minutes. No, I'm not exaggerating. This is 100% true & we timed it. Therefore, the telephone heads were even more welcome than ever, so Mommy and Daddy could enjoy some peace and quiet!).

-Most of all, Mark and I felt so blessed that our families provided us with 2 distinctive wonderful beach vacations, with so many treasured memories and traditions for our children to embrace and anticipate each summer.

And now that we're settled back in at home, I've finally organized our pictures from Part 3 of our vacation: our annual week in Harrisburg. We did some really fun activities this year, including a day trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore:

Mimi and Luke check out the fish.

Our expressions watching the dolphin show.

-We also returned to one of our favorite traditions, Chocolate World:

Greeting the Hershey Kiss.

CHOCOLATE!!

He's an equal-opportunity hugger.

Kid in a candy store... literally.

Daddy's favorite candy!

-Of course, there was lots of fun to be had around the house, too:

The guys and their 3-Man-Band.

Grandpa's girl!

Here's a slideshow of more of our pictures from our fun week in PA:

Day Out with Thomas

2011-08-01T21:35:00.005-04:00

Yesterday we took a day trip to the Bryson City, NC to spend the day with Thomas the Train at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. What a charming little town it was, surrounded by gorgeous, lush mountains on all sides! Luke was overjoyed when we told him that we were going to ride on Thomas, and the excursion proved to be lots of fun with live music, story-telling, tents with games & activities, and Thomas & Friends paraphernalia everywhere. Riding the train was a highlight that we hope our Thomas-crazed little boy cherishes and remembers for a long time!

As our train pulled out of the depot, Luke waved to everyone in the station.

Our family riding Thomas the Train.

Playing at the train tables.

Meeting Sir Topham Hat!

Leah was delighted to be on her first train ride!

Enjoying the Thomas-themed festivities.

Daddy and Luke pose on the quaint main street of this railroad town.

Home, Sweet Home

2011-07-30T06:57:00.003-04:00

We’re back home in South Carolina after 19 days away, thousands of miles traveled, and 3 separate destinations visited. And the grand finale of vacation this year was me flying alone with the 2 children yesterday. Gulp. I actually received gasps of horror from several of my mama friends when I told them this as we were planning our trip. The idea of being confined on an airplane with an unpredictable infant and an extremely energetic 3 year-old without another adult/set of hands was daunting, but a couple of my friends who had flown with their kids before assured me, “It’s never as bad as you think it’s going to be…”. Comforting, I know. Still, the idea of flying seemed so much more appealing to me than the looonnng drive back from Pennsylvania, where the children and I spent last week with my family (and Mark had to come back home for work). In my mind, the advantages of the plane were:
1) It’s a direct flight. 2) It’s only 1.5 hours from take-off until landing… 3) I can try anything once, and 4) I will (hopefully) never see any of the passengers again if my kids are screaming the entire time and I am “that mom”.

And the end result was: The kids were GREAT. I actually received compliments from several people about how well behaved my children were, which is comical considering our current challenges with Luke’s behavior (but that’s another blog post). The most difficult aspect of the experience was planning all of the logistics (how to pare down 3 weeks’ worth of needs into 2 suitcases that could be checked, and what to send home with Daddy, etc). I continue to be amazed how the tiniest person in our family requires the most “stuff” and that the amount of space needed for each family member’s items is directly disproportionate to their size/rank in the family. (I think Mark ended up with about ¼ of a small suitcase for his wardrobe/shoes/toiletries for our entire vacation)…

With Mimi’s help to lug all of our gear through security(stroller with carseat, laptop, and carry-ons full of diapers, outfit changes, and snacks) and escort us to the gate (the Non-Passenger Escort Pass may be the best invention in the entire world besides the epidural), we boarded the plane with no problem and the flight was quick and easy. Luke was so excited to meet the pilot, who gave him a handshake (I guess pilots aren’t really the “high five” type), his own set of wings (which I loved, and remember having a pair of these when I was little), and a cute coloring book and activity set. Luke was delighted by the beverage service (and called it “magical apple juice”- not sure why), turned up his nose at the free peanuts, and watched a Bob the Builder DVD on my laptop. We stretched out in the front row and had plenty of room, Leah fed discretely under my nursing wrap and fell asleep for most of the flight, and Daddy picked us up at the Greenville airport, which is less than a mile from our house. Admittedly, I breathed a big sigh of relief when I plopped into Mark’s car, and had a momentary sense of victory and accomplishment that now I could probably do anything.

The funniest part of it all was that Luke’s blue potty (which is not exactly a tiny item) was one of our carry-ons. He is frightened by public toilets and there was no way that I was going to risk an accident on the plane, so I chose to have his potty securely in tow for the trip. And he sure did sit down and use it in the middle of the terminal at BWI… Ahh, we are classy these days. When we pulled in our driveway yesterday and the temperature on Mark’s car registered 119 degrees (it wasn’t quite that hot but you know how the thermometer on cars always is a bit higher than actuality), I thought, “Oh, summer in South Carolina… Take me back to the beach!” But we’re home sweet home, with new memories from our adventures in the sky.

Rehoboth Beach Vacation

2011-07-23T08:26:00.013-04:00

The above picture says it all: The best part about the beach is FAMILY! Mark's grandparents started the tradition of a family vacation in Rehoboth Beach, DE, many years ago, and their legacy continues. Their 4 children now bring their own families, and this year we spread out in 3 beach houses (Absent in the above photo but also at the beach were Bean, Leah, Sara, Nancy & Mickey, Rick, and Bethany.) Our Winterhoff Beach House consisted of 6 young children (5 of whom are age 4 and under), so you can imagine the energy, excitement, and enthusiasm. Poppy and Bean provided another wonderful week for us, and our kids ate up the attention from their cousins, aunts & uncles, and grandparents. Luke has been talking about going to the boardwalk (Funland) since last summer and was thrilled to return to his favorite rides. Leah rode on a playground swing and the merry-go-round for the first time, we stayed busy and the pool and beach, and the Beach Fairy left clues every evening to lead the children on treasure hunts and find prizes. What special memories were made during our Rehoboth week this year! Here are some of our photos:

The Girl Cousins (Maya, Leah, Alexis, and Lauren).

"Baby Gabe is a big boy now!" Luke proclaimed.

One of my favorites...

These children bring us so much joy.

Look how excited Luke is to be driving his favorite Funland car again this year!

Grandfather, Grandson, & Son.

On the bridge at the duck/turtle pond.

At the pool.

Backseat driver.

First carousel ride!

Below is a slideshow of some other favorite pictures from our Rehoboth week:

Patriotic Pride

2011-07-20T10:21:00.004-04:00

Ever since July 4, Luke has really enjoyed waving the American flag and showing off his patriotic pride. His favorite new song is "America the Beautiful" and he has created his own unique words for the tune. Below are the actual lyrics as well as Luke's own rendition, along with a video of our patriotic little man. Enjoy!

America The Beautiful Lyrics:

America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Luke's Interpretation:
"Ah-nerica!, Ah-nerica!
God shed his Grace (Leah's middle name) on Lee (nickname for his baby sister)
And crown da' good with Brotherhood (because he's her big brother)
From C (dramatic pause)...to (another pause)...Shi-Ning (big finish here)... C!!!!!!"

Click here for Luke's patriotic video!

Topsail Island Beach Vacation

2011-07-17T09:31:00.012-04:00

We had a wonderful time at Topsail Island last week, and Leah had her first beach vacation! The weather was beautiful and we loved spending time with our family. Here are some of our favorite pictures from our time at Topsail:

Leah with her Uncle Jef

Nutty was always smiling for Aunt Molly

More of our beach pictures (also in our Winterhoff Family Photo Albums ):

Precious Cargo!

2011-07-11T14:17:00.003-04:00

Mommy has had a little helper packing for our summer vacation. We certainly don't travel light anymore, but will have a very well-dressed baby on our trip!

Bring on the beach!!

Blueberry Festival

2011-07-09T14:37:00.010-04:00

This morning, we went to a Blueberry Festival at Roper Mountain Science Center. There were booths of delicious treats, blueberry-themed games and crafts at the Living History Farm, and the Natural Sciences building was open to the public, featuring lots of exhibits, animals, and educational displays. It was summer at its best, with live music, freshly baked pies & farmers' market stands, and of course the abundant blueberries everywhere = yummy! We all enjoyed the festival, but Luke's favorite part by far was the "city bus" (shuttle ride from the parking lot to the festival). He could have ridden the bus all day long and been perfectly happy. Here are some pictures from our day:

Playing with old-fashioned toys

Blueberry girls

Stamps with blueberry ink

Watermelon snack break

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In other funny 3 year-old news, Luke spotted a bottle of Hershey's Syrup in the refrigerator door last night and asked us, "What is that?"

Daddy poured a little bit into a cup, added milk, and told Luke to say the magic words to make "magical chocolate milk".

Luke shouted, "ABRACADABRA!"

Daddy stirred the milk, transforming it into a delicious chocolate-brown concoction.

Mommy nervously bit her lip, fearful that Luke would never want plain old, boring white milk again once he realized we were able to create such a tasty treat at home.

Daddy handed the cup to Luke.

Luke took a big sip of milk, crinkled up his face in disgust, spit it back out into the cup, and proclaimed, "I DON'T like it! I want PLAIN milk."

Mommy smiled to herself and breathed a big sigh of relief that her little boy is such a creature of habit and routine, and won't know what he's missing for a little while longer!

All-American 4th!

2011-07-04T23:09:00.001-04:00

Our Fourth of July Weekend Checklist:

-Baseball Game: Check!

-Pictures with Patriotic Mascots: Check!

-Ice Cream: Check!

-Red, White, and Blue: Check!

-Pool Party with Birthday Cake: Check!

-Fireworks: Check!

Happy Birthday, America!

Summer Days

2011-07-02T15:37:00.000-04:00

Grandpa's visiting and we've been enjoying some hot summer days this week! Here's how we've been spending our time:

Someone is a big boy now and rides down the water slide beside Daddy- no longer on his lap!

Speaking of big, do you think we've outgrown the baby pool?!

Leah and Grandpa staying cool in the shade at the waterpark.

Miss South Carolina Swimsuit Competition, here we come!

It's actually Grandpa's birthday cake, but you wouldn't know it from this picture!

Because two people blowing out the candles is twice as lucky!

Another Friday at the Farm, and Luke spent the class picking and giving flowers to Raquelle instead of participating in the lesson... What a charmer!

The girls relax in the kitchen...

...while Big Brother helps Mommy "cook".

Wearing as much brownie batter as he tasted = 100% Mommy's child!

Grins and Giggles

2011-06-23T19:57:00.005-04:00

Last week, Luke asked to hold Leah on the couch, and the children were in great moods and allowed us to take their picture. The results were just too cute, and I wanted to share the photos here.

I've also been meaning to post this video from last month of Luke making Leah laugh by saying: "I love you!" Click HERE to see these adorable sibling giggles.

Here's another sweet picture of my big boy. I really don't know when he grew up, but is looking like he's about 7 years old in a lot of these:

Luke is currently OBSESSED with Thomas the Train. He has always liked playing with train tables, but has a new, all consuming interest in the Thomas characters. He sings the songs, plays with his Thomas and Friends figurines, reads his Thomas books over and over again, and even has multiple pairs of Thomas the Train underwear (which gives me new appreciation for that cute "caboose"!). The following pictures illustrate how much Thomas the Train makes Luke grin:

Luke belts out the Thomas theme song at the top of his lungs, and it makes us laugh and laugh. Click HERE for a video of Luke singing along, and below are the actual lyrics that he is saying, so you can translate his very unique rendition of what he calls "The 6:08 Song":

"They're two they're four they're six they're eight
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
red and green and brown and blue
they're the really useful crew

Thomas he's the cheeky one
James is vain but lots of fun
Percy pulls the mail on time
Gordon thunders down the line
Emily really knows her stuff
Henry toots and huffs and puffs
Edward wants to help and share
Toby, well let's say, he's square

They're two they're four they're six they're eight
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
red and green and brown and blue
they're the really useful crew"

The best parts about that video/song in my opinion are:
1) Luke's serious, serious face.
2) That he uses the word "shunting" appropriately in his vocabulary now,
3) At age 3, he is calling something "cheeky".

(And, FYI, I cut off that video after the first verse... He sang the song about 7 times in a row without stopping.)

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Leah is sleeping better since my last update. She is officially in her crib now (after 5 months in our room), and is still waking multiple times each night, but it's a big improvement. She remains such an easygoing baby, who smiles and is happy all the time. Here she is posing with BB Emily, during Em's recent trip to visit us:

Leah is starting to appear so big to me, and I am getting brief glimpses of the child that she will become. It makes me excited to see a glimmer of all that lies ahead as she turns into a big girl, and breaks my heart at the same time, as her infant days are flying by faster than I can process it all. She's grasping toys and interacting with us, and is the most delightful baby that I've ever met:

So I'm going to drink up all of those sweet grins and giggles, and enjoy my two little happy sunshines!

Our Week with Mimi

2011-06-18T21:25:00.008-04:00

While Daddy was away, Mimi came to play! We had such a wonderful week with her, and did lots of special things. Here are a few examples of what fun a Mimi can be:

Mimis are especially good at giving kisses and sharing giggles:

Mimis know how to play games and create "magical colored flowers":

Mimis are great at taking pictures of Chuck E Cheese's, the waterpark, and silly times in our backyard:

Mimis appreciate the ridiculous adorableness of their grandchildren:

(Looks like someone missed his casting call for the remake of Gilligan's Island...)

(Because nothing says you're in swimsuit shape like the 27 rolls peeking out from under your baby bathrobe!)

And most of all, Mimis love us! Thanks for sharing the week with us, Mimi!

Italia

2011-06-15T13:29:00.011-04:00

Mark spent the past week in Italy for work, and was able to spend some time sightseeing amidst his "important meetings", which contained fresh pasta, Chianti, cappuccino, and gelato. I was so excited for Mark to return to Florence (where the GE facility is located), as it is one of the cities where we stayed when we vacationed in Italy several years ago. It was fun for Mark to revisit many of the sights that we toured then, and also see some new places on a day trip to Pisa.

Vedute a Firenze (View of Florence).

Palazzo Vecchio: A well-known Florentine landmark.

Nighttime rooftop view of Ponte Vecchio (Florence's famous bridge across the Arno).

Real pizza, Italian-style.

Photo taken from the Pitti Palace.

Train ride through the Tuscan countryside.

Lasagna al Forno.

Duomo and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Pisa's impressive Duomo was once the largest in the world.

Fresh Bruschetta. (Don't the food pictures just make your mouth water?)!

Luke proclaimed several times this week, "I am the Man of the House...I will take care of Mommy!". I think he and Daddy had a heart to heart right before Mark left for his trip, and Luke took Daddy's instructions very seriously. Leah's first tooth officially broke through yesterday, and Mark returned home late last night in time to congratulate his big girl on this milestone.
Welcome Home, Daddy- We missed you!

Leah's 5-Month Pictures

2011-06-11T20:05:00.004-04:00

Here are a few of my favorites from Leah's portraits taken this morning. Our little baby is changing so much every day!

Milestone Monday

2011-06-06T21:47:00.005-04:00

Leah had a huge weekend of firsts! On Friday, I found her eating her toes for the first time. I absolutely LOVE this baby stage, of contently lying on her back and snacking on those tasty tootsies.

Another first for our Nutty was rolling over. On Saturday morning, I placed Leah on her blanket with some toys. I turned around to find that she had rolled from her back to her tummy- and no one had witnessed it! I felt so guilty and sad that I did not see my baby's first roll, until we realized that it was a game to Leah. She rolled over 2 more times later in the day, but always did it when no one was looking. When we watched her, she remained on her back and just smiled sweetly at us. However, as soon as we left the room, she rolled onto her tummy again! We tried to trick her by walking out of her sight, but she knew we were there, and wouldn't roll. What a stinker! Leah's rolling is opposite of Luke and most other babies, who go from their tummy to their back first, to escape dreaded "tummy time". Our peanut loves being on her tummy, and hasn't tried to roll onto her back yet. I hope to post a video of Leah rolling, but haven't been able to capture it so far.

Our last important milestone to document was Leah's first solid food on her 5-month birthday on Saturday. She ate her rice cereal with lots of enthusiasm (I somehow forgot what a messy endeavor feeding an infant is), and we are very proud of our little chunk for being such a good eater her first time!

Leah has a very sweet disposition, and is such an easy, fun baby. She is smiley and happy all the time, babbles and giggles, and pleasantly tolerates being toted around in her infant carrier/stroller. Her personality is really beginning to emerge, and I am enjoying her so much. She's recently gotten more hair (her fine, blond hair makes her appear bald in pictures!), and has grown quite a bit in the past couple of weeks. Leah's first teeth (the 2 bottom middle) are about to poke through and I can't believe how quickly she is changing. She has been going through a terrible bout of sleeping for the past month, which has escalated to her being unable to stay asleep for longer than 15 minutes unless she is held or I am right beside her. I think we're more exhausted than we've ever been, and this awful sleeping is even worse than Luke as an infant (which I thought impossible), but I know it will pass. And since it's really the only area where Leah is not practically perfect (in my completely unbiased opinion), we can tolerate it, despite our bleary eyes and sleepy yawns!

Touch-A-Truck

2011-06-04T21:37:00.004-04:00

This morning was Touch-a-Truck Day at the downtown Greenville Farmer's Market. 23 different vehicles were displayed, including construction equipment, police cars, fire trucks, school & city buses, and trolleys. Children were allowed to climb, drive, and play on all of the trucks, and Luke thought that it was the best activity in the world. He gleefully ran from truck to truck, trying out the driver's seat of all the vehicles and climbing up into all of the displays. Mark and I were really excited to discover this activity, and it was so much fun for all of us because it brought so much joy to our son.

Luke absolutely LOVED being behind the wheel of the construction vehicles!

Even Leah, dressed up in her frilly pink, got in on all the fun!

In the scoop of the backhoe.

Adorable trolley passengers.

Watch out! There's a new Meter Man in town!

Fire Chief Luke.

Pointing to the ladder (Luke's favorite part of the fire truck).

Trying on his SWAT Team helmet,...

...getting in the driver's seat,...

...and taking Daddy for a spin.

Our girly girl could only take so much, and let her brother be the star of the show while she napped!

Of all the vehicles displayed, Luke proclaimed that the "yellow truck" was the one that he liked the most.

What a fun morning!

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-30T17:08:00.013-04:00

How we spent Memorial Day Weekend this year:

Playing:

Sibling giggles.

William and Emma entertain Baby Leah.

Posing:

Luke was too busy playing with the big kids to join us for this photo.

No one was thrilled that Mommy was taking this picture...

Peeking over the top of her sunglasses- What a ham!

Partying:

Nothing kicks off summer like a barbecue/cook-out with good friends!

Looks like someone partied a little too much!

Peacefully napping:

So much love in one little bed.

Being such a fashionista requires a lot of beauty sleep!

Patriotism:

Red, white, and blue girls.

Poolside:

Luke now can kick and "swim" by himself (with the help of multiple floatation devices.)

Leah made her pool debut today. I still can't get over the cuteness...

Family photo at the pool.

Potty:

This will forever be ingrained in my head as one of the looonngggest 3-day weekends ever. It's Day 3 of Potty Training Boot Camp, and although all is well, I'm soooo sick of potty talk, potty prizes, and all of the associated potty drama.

Happy Memorial Day!

Potty Training Boot Camp

2011-05-28T17:39:00.008-04:00

We interrupt your relaxing Memorial Day weekend internet browsing with this important update:

Potty Training Boot Camp began this weekend at our house. After a flawless beginning last evening where Luke "mailed his diapers" to all the babies who needed them, today's statistics are as follows:

Number of minutes spent pleading, bribing, and negotiating with a screaming child (who is EXTREMELY resistant to changes in his routine) to try to go potty and put on underwear first thing this morning: 30+

Stress/Anxiety level of Mommy during above conflict (on a 10-point scale): 10

Number of times Daddy contemplated nixing this whole potty training idea and digging the hidden diapers out of the closet during above conflict: Multiple

Number of extra trips to the store made by Mommy/Daddy to buy extra potty prizes (once Luke figured out that he could get anything he wanted if he went pee pee or poo poo in the potty): 3

Number of Accidents: 2; Both were within 30 minutes of returning home from the pool this afternoon. This leads me to believe that A) Luke inadvertently swallows A LOT of pool water and B) He doesn't pee in the pool- Hooray!

Number of pairs of big boy underwear worn: 4 (because deciding among construction vehicles, rescue vehicles, aliens, and dinosaurs was too tough and multiple wardrobe changes were requested)

Number of times today that one of us asked Luke, "Do you have to go potty right now?": 525,600

(Click here, if you, too, now have the RENT soundtrack stuck in your head.)

Number of times Luke successfully went on the potty today: 7 (I think this is pretty amazing!)

And with those latest numbers in, we have decided that we will all survive another day of Boot Camp tomorrow and are officially declaring Day 1 a success!!

We'll spare you the "sitting on the potty" pictures, but here are a few cute ones from our kick-off party last night:

Luke proudly takes his diapers to the mailbox!

Uh-oh!

That's better!

Making sure the flag is up for the mailman!

How to Be a Baby (according to Luke & Winnie)

2011-05-23T14:55:00.011-04:00

Being the youngest in the family means that Leah gets LOTS of advice and help from her big brother and doggie sister re: all things baby. Here are some of my favorite examples:

Professor Luke teaches Leah how to play with the toys on her Exersaucer.

Winnie demonstrates proper posture for sitting in the Bumbo seat.

Of course Big Brother has to try out the Bumbo, too!

Just in case Mommy and Daddy need a reminder how to use the Baby Bjorn, Luke practices with his bears.

Leah plans to thank her brother for that helpful Bjorn lesson as soon as she's done catching flies.

Our little peanut is close to rolling over! Winnie models a relaxation pose as if to tell her baby sister, "What's the rush?"

Luckily, our little Nutty takes all of this helpful advice with a smile!

Fridays on the Farm- Part 1

2011-05-20T17:26:00.005-04:00

Our local science center holds day camps for children and this morning Luke and I attended our first class at their living history farm. Today's theme was "Peep Peep" and we learned all about chickens. The children harvested eggs from the chicken coops, ground corn and fed the animals, read books with chicken themes, and best of all, were allowed to pet the new baby chicks! The program was very well done, we had lots of fun at our first Friday on the Farm. Here are some pictures from our morning:

Luke and his friend, Raquelle, get up close and personal with the farm animals.

Gentle touches!

Grinding the corn...

...and feeding the chickens their breakfast!

Storytime in the barn. See, Leah, you were there, too! (in the stroller at the top left corner of the picture)

Farmhouse (this may have been Luke's favorite part, because this is where the kids ate their snack!)

Living History Farm.

Flowers in the Butterfly Garden.

Weekend Excitement

2011-05-16T21:03:00.008-04:00

Our weekend started out with a low rumble early on Friday morning, followed by a thrilling, "Beep, Beep, Beep" sound. Luke's eyes widened and he ran to the front door. He shouted, "MOMMY, there's a CEMENT MIXER in our front yard!!!". Nothing could have been more exciting to my little boy, who is obsessed with all things contruction-related. The next hour was spent on our front steps and driveway, as we watched the "Beep Beep Man" (aka contruction foreman) direct his crew in pouring the cement footers for our neighbors' new back porch.

Asking Luke to show me how old he is (My new trick to get him to smile/look at the camera).

The only thing that could top the cement mixer excitement was the arrival of my college friend, Nicole, who came to visit us for the weekend. Luke was beside himself to go to the airport to pick her up, and had a great time showing Miss Nicole all of his toys and taking her to our zoo. Leah and Mommy enjoyed a much needed girls shopping trip with Nicole on Saturday, and our entire family loved having her spend the weekend with us. Here are some of pictures from our fun weekend:

Monkeys at the Zoo

The girls!

Sidewalk chalk

Leah and Nicole

And just for fun, here's the same picture taken with Luke when he was Leah's age (his hair makes me giggle):

The Doctor is In

2011-05-11T22:12:00.000-04:00

In preparation for Leah's 4-month check up this week, Dr. Luke D. Winterhoff made a special house call, in order to show his little sister what to expect at the pediatrician's office:

Someone looks a little nervous for her "practice" shot.

Another vaccine?! Gosh, it's tough to be a baby!

LeeLee volunteers to have her blood pressure taken next!

Checking out those peepers...

Now accepting new patients for our "Teddy Bear Clinic".

A Band-Aid always makes everything feel better!

The actual stats from Leah's MD visit are:
Weight: 17 lb. 5 oz. (99+ percentile)
Height: 27 inches (99+ percentile)

We're so proud of our thriving, growing girl (who is already into 9-month clothing)!

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T20:00:00.006-04:00

My favorite part about Mother's Day this year wasn't the presents (although good things DO come in large AND small packages!):

It wasn't the pampering, the flowers, or the giant surprise declaration on our driveway:

It wasn't the fact that I received my first homemade Mother's Day craft from my 3-year-old (which I will keep forever and ever!):

It was the soft, sweet voice that repeated over and over again, "Happy Mudder's Day, Mommy!", the delicious snuggles from my baby girl, and the wet furry kisses from Winnie... relishing my first Mother's Day with all 3 of my children, and surrounded by so much love!

Click HERE for Luke's Mother's Day greeting!

We're wishing a Happy Mother's Day today to our beloved Mimi and Bean, and to all of our friends and family members who are also moms!

Adorableness of the Week

2011-05-01T21:07:00.012-04:00

One of our children has been very busy practicing his golf swing this week, playing on his very own mini golf course in our backyard. It's the first thing Luke asks to do in the morning, and he has spent hours perfecting his putting skills on his new 3-hole course:

Surveying the course.

The spectators.

Teeing off.

Big finish.

Meanwhile, our younger child has recently mastered the art of wrapping Daddy around her little finger. I think Lee-Lee is officially a Daddy's girl now!

Sweet smiles.

In Daddy's arms= The best place to be!

Heart to heart.

And as you can see, our third child, Winnie, is never far away, keeping a close eye on her brother and sister, and being a part of all the cuteness as well!

Party Time!

2011-04-28T14:02:00.009-04:00

All good things must come to an end, and this past weekend officially concluded Luke's 3rd birthday celebrations. Mimi came to visit, and on Thursday night, we had a family party for Luke. Saturday was Luke's party with his friends, and we held it at our neighborhood club house. We did a Kindermusik party, and Luke's teacher, Miss Dianne (who he's had since he was 9 months-old), led the fun with an Away We Go theme, with songs and dances about things that go: planes, trucks, cars, buses, and boats. The kids and parents had a great time, but I fear that we have now created a birthday monster. After almost 2 weeks of celebrating Luke's birthday, he wakes up each morning with the request: "I want another present!". Below are pictures of our latest parties:

All in blue for our birthday boy.

Kindermusik circle.

Parachute fun!

Magical bubbles!

Opening presents.

Happy Birthday to You!

Top Ten Easter Moments

2011-04-24T21:29:00.014-04:00

10. The patience that our own Easter Bunny had when it came to posing with the Easter baskets:

9. Magical Easter Bunny footprints (and a basket of goodies left on our front porch!):

8. The thrill of watching our 3-year-old come out of his room on Easter morning and discover that the Easter Bunny has visited:

7. Finding out that one of the perks of being a big brother is that you get to open your baby sister's Easter basket, too:

6. The joy of dressing my infant daughter in a gorgeous pink smocked dress, bloomers, an Easter bonnet, tights and booties:

5. Enjoying a kid-friendly brunch after church:

4. Accepting that the only way we could coax someone into smiling for a family picture was to hold a ladybug in our hands:

3. Adoring my matching boys:

2. The gift of grandmothers who skip on stones and gummy baby grins & giggles:

1. How after hearing it once, Luke proclaimed over and over again on Easter Day: "Jesus is Risen!"

And of course, because I couldn't narrow down our memories into only 10 pictures, here are some other Easter highlights:

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-22T21:54:00.007-04:00

We had our annual Easter Egg Hunt with Luke's play group this week, and it was amazing how much the kids have changed in a year! With the addition 4 new babies since last spring and a couple of friends who joined us for the egg hunt this year, we certainly had a busy, fun group. Here are a few pictures of the day:

The kids line up with their baskets, ready to look for eggs.

Luke wanted to open each egg as he found it to eat the treat inside.

Found another one!

Our group!

Luke was obsessed with his friend's play tractor, and toted his Easter basket in the trailer.

Pizza and cupcakes- what a great party!

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Here are my favorites from our neighborhood Easter party last weekend, too:

Our own little Easter Egg.

Decorating an Easter cookie.

Basketful of treats.

Such serious business!

Letter to My Birthday Boy

2011-04-20T06:20:00.004-04:00

My dear Luke,

Happy Birthday! You are 3 today! I love the picture above because, to me, it captures the unbridled enthusiasm that you have for life. You literally skip through the world with such exuberance and joy, and bring such a positive energy to all that you do.

Your third year of life was full of so many amazing moments, but my most treasured memories are our weekdays together. This was the last full year that I had you home with me every day before you begin preschool next fall, and you truly are my little buddy. From our unstructured pajama days to our mornings at the playground or music class, we had so much fun together, just Luke and Mommy. You transitioned to a big boy bed this year, which meant that more often than I planned, I fell asleep “snuggling you” at naptime, and we spent lazy afternoons dreaming together.

Two-years-old meant unharnessed energy, contagious giggles, an incredible memory, a vivid imagination, and a vocabulary that astounded most adults. Two was Mickey Mouse, discovering ice cream, adoring things that go, and playing in the dirt & sand. Two was all things boy: Firemen, tools, balls, and bulldozers. However, Two also contained many gentle moments: Cuddling to read books, quiet times singing and rocking together, and knowing that Mommy’s kisses still heal a boo-boo almost as well as an Elmo Band-Aid.

You introduced me to the joy of rescue and construction vehicles this year, reminded me how much fun exploring and playing can be, and gave me the most precious gift of sharing each day with you, my beloved son. You challenged me with your strong will, too, tested boundaries, and are your own little person with definite desires and opinions. As my firstborn, we learned how to survive Two together, and you were incredibly forgiving for the mistakes that I made along the way. You helped me to grow immensely as a parent this year, and I am so thankful.

Most of all, you welcomed your baby sister into our family and learned how to share your Mommy and Daddy’s attention with a new tiny being, surely a huge challenge for any two-year-old. You make all of our lives so full and rich, and really are such a special little boy. I thank God for this day, 3 years ago, when you came into the world, and celebrate you today. Happy Birthday, my sweet boy! You are so deeply loved and cherished.

Love, Mommy

Easter Bunny Sightings

2011-04-18T13:16:00.000-04:00

News Alert:
The famous E.B. has been spotted in Greenville, SC this week. When one particular almost-3-year old was asked about this creature, he responded that the Easter Bunny would do the following:
-Come to my house
-Bring me presents
-See my big boy room
-Play with my 'struction site
-Eat pizza with me

Adults in the home remain skeptical that all of the above will happen. Other Easter Bunny sightings have also been reported, involving a much smaller version of the adorable character:

Please be sure to report any Easter Bunny sightings in your area, as well. Thank you!

The Birthday Begins!

2011-04-16T14:07:00.011-04:00

Luke's 3rd birthday festivities began this week during Bean and Poppy's visit. Luke is so excited to be turning 3, and as you can see in the above picture, he ate up all of the attention that he received during his celebration. We had a fun family party with birthday cake, Mickey Mouse decorations, and lots of presents. Luke even practiced posing with his cake earlier that day, and gave me this cheesy face when I asked him to smile:

The temptation of waiting to taste delicious cake was almost too much for our birthday boy:

Finally Poppy and Bean arrived and the partying began!

Winnie helped her brother open presents:

Hi Ho Cherry-O was a big hit!

Our attempt at a family picture:

Bean and Poppy took Luke to the park every day that they were here, and they had a lot of fun playing together:

Leah also showed off her new giggles for her grandparents, and was a sweet snuggle bug:

Here is a slideshow of some of our other favorite pictures from Bean and Poppy's visit:

Second Child

2011-04-12T14:18:00.005-04:00

This is where Leah fell asleep for her afternoon nap today. She's right in the middle of our family room floor. I put her on a blanket on her back to play so I could get some things done, and heard her quietly fussing for a few minutes. When I went to check on her, she was sound asleep. Poor, neglected second child. I NEVER would have allowed Luke to be alone long enough to let this happen. With my firstborn, I would have been in tune to his cues of fatiuge and taken him up to his nursery where we would have completed our very structured routine of reading books, swaddling, nursing, and bedtime. However, I did learn something the first time around: Let sleeping babies lie. And at least I took a picture to document it and am writing about it on our blog. Precious little girl- It's not her fault that she's such an easy baby and that her parents are so much more relaxed this time around, leaving her to be plopped down anywhere. Sweet dreams, little one!

Mini-Mark

2011-04-11T17:05:00.008-04:00

Luke loves to help Daddy do everything. He's such a mini-Mark in many ways, and I took some pictures of them this weekend that capture their similarities:

Washing the car was a favorite activity on Saturday.

The boys fired up their grills on a beautiful spring evening.

Another picture of our little griller- I love his shadow in this one!

Luke was doing such a good job grilling that Daddy decided to relax and have a beer. When we told Luke that he was in charge of making our dinner, this is the face that he gave me. (Also note that he has to have his red checkered napkin tucked into his shirt whenever he "grills".)

Watering our veggies!

After all that work, the guys needed to relax on the hammock. I love those boys so much!

The Gift of an Ordinary Day

2011-04-08T20:35:00.008-04:00

My blog post title is stolen from one of my favorite books, The Gift of an Ordinary Day, by Katrina Kenison. Kenison is a mom who writes about her own experiences raising her children and finding beauty and grace in the mundane aspects of motherhood. Today was a perfectly ordinary day for us. The children and I didn't leave the house, stayed in our pajamas for most of the day, and spent a lot of time outside in our yard, playing in the beautiful spring weather.

We needed a day like today. We're all getting over a cold that has passed its way around our family, Mark's recent promotion at work (hooray!) means that he is working long hours as he begins his new role, our toddler is having a hard time adjusting to the idea that he is no longer the star of the show, and we're not sleeping much as parents of an infant. After many days of feeling like we are barely treading water, today was a perfect reminder that the fog does lift and that ordinary days can be a gift. Luke was cooperative and sweet all day, Leah wasn't fussy, and we had so much fun together. I took a few pictures of the kids, which show how we spent our time:

Luke woke up this morning asking to play with his new Moon Sand demolition vehicle. Since this is an outside-only toy, we were all out on the back porch by 7 a.m., busy contructing and knocking down sand blocks. Even though the sun was not fully up yet, Luke insisted on wearing his sunglasses, which he calls "Bee Shields". He has a new phobia of bees and decided that these shields would protect him from bees flying in his eyes.

Later this morning, Luke found 2 caterpillars which he adopted and now live in his bucket (although 1 has been "sleeping" since this afternoon when Luke squeezed him a little too hard). He spent hours petting them, putting grass in the bucket for them to eat for lunch, and talking to them. "You're a Cutie McTootie", he cooed to one caterpillar over and over again. When I went inside to get my camera, Luke called out, "Mommy, I gave my caterpillar a kiss!" I am proud of myself for not freaking out about the amount of time and close contact that we had with these creatures today.

Thankfully, Leah was surrounded by all pink that brought me back to my more comfortable girly girl roots.

And what ordinary day would be complete without dressing up our sweet baby in some sort of adorable outfit?!

Here's the best part: It's Friday night, just shy of 9 p.m., both children are sound asleep, and Mark and I are able for the first time this week to relax on the couch, watch tv, and have a real conversation without competing with a crying baby. Ahh, life is good!

Easter Happenings

2011-04-06T13:48:00.004-04:00

We're preparing for Easter a little early, since Luke's birthday falls so close to Easter Day this year, and we want to spread out all of the fun. This weekend, Luke decorated Easter eggs for the first time, using the traditional PAAS kit that reminds me so much of my childhood (with the colored tablets that dissolve in vinegar/water). I wasn't sure how well Luke would do waiting for each egg to absorb its color (patience is not his strong suit), and if we'd be successful at not spilling anything, but it went very well and Luke had a lot of fun. Here's our big boy in action:

Leah sat on our laps and watched her big brother, and it was a fun family project that put us in an Easter mood. Luke even asked to eat one of the eggs for dinner, declared that he didn't like hard-boiled eggs after tasting a bite, and decided that putting stickers on the them was much more fun!

March Madness

2011-03-31T13:46:00.007-04:00

Our family loves college basketball, and March Madness is an exciting time for us as fans. However, this year, Wake Forest's performance in the regular season was so abysmal that they didn't even make the tournament. I almost didn't post pictures of us in our WFU attire, but Leah has so many cute Wake Forest baby outfits, that I'll just say that we are true fans who are looking forward to next year and better times ahead.

The boys console each other after yet another WFU b-ball loss...

Check out those chunky legs showing off the Wake Forest socks!

We created our own March Madness this past weekend when 2 of the BBs (my college friends) came to visit. The weather was 20 degrees below normal and rainy (a South Carolina get-together in late March sounded so warm when we were planning it!), so we decided to have some indoor fun and teach Luke (who was the first & oldest BB baby) how to play flip cup. Hopefully, the BBs will continue to pass on their love of this college game to all of the BB children, so that the next generation will have a full team to compete against their parents someday!

Luke takes it all in, as he has his first flip cup lesson...

"Cheers!" with BB Ang to begin the game.

He's a natural!

Here are some other pictures of the BBs' visit:

Leah loved the lullaby that BB Sav sang to her (the Golden Girls theme song).

Leah joins 5 BB Baby Boys as the first BBBG (BB Baby Girl)!