"Back-To-School" Photos

Look at my babies!  I'm in love!  The boys had pictures taken this past Saturday by Livingston Photography, a little back-to-school shoot, and I got them back today.  The boys did so good!  I was nervous they would be little monsters and cry or not cooperate the entire time but they surprised me and did great!  Tyke was excited to wear his new school shoes (Sketchers that light up) and I used that as bribery to get him to smile ("smile and you can wear them today").  Amanda (our photographer) had to keep telling Tyke to NOT smile, which confused him, but when he would force a smile his little nose would wrinkle right up and his eyes disappeared.  We made him hold a straight face and then had him say silly words which resulted in perfect, handsome smiles from my big boy!  Luke on the other hand refused to smile, not even one, but he didn't throw a holy living fit either.  I love their pictures and almost cried as I looked through them.  I love our handsome boys!!

Such a cheeser!

This is the closest thing to a smile that we got from Louie!

Lizards!

We hauled our camp trailer up the canyon last night to save a spot for this weekends big camp out.  We spotted three little lizards playing around in an old fire pit and oh my did we ever have fun trying to catch them.  The boys were so much fun to watch chase those lizards around!  We played with them for a good thirty minutes before finally leaving them alone.  Tyke and Luke were both pretty upset to be leaving camp so soon, they really wanted to stay and camp.  These two little boys sure love the great outdoors and we sure love them!!

Ride In The Rain

We took a ride up Mona Pole tonight, in the rain.  It was kind of a last minute decision and we were iffy on whether to go or not because it looked like we'd get rained on but we went and we got rained on and we had so much fun!  It was a cool night and we're glad we packed our hoodies.  The boys enjoyed every minute of being up in the mountains and loved playing in the mud and looking for "elks."  It was nice to ride up Mona Pole and not be dusted thanks to the rainfall.  It rained pretty good and only let up a few times while we were up there before it finally stopped, as we headed back home of course.  I'm so glad I tagged along with the boys.  It was a perfect night spent in the mountains!

Sick!

Something weird has been going around and we're not quite sure what but the boys haven't been feeling the best this past week.  Luke's problem is his 2 year molars coming in, at least that's what we're blaming his symptoms on.  Tyke has just caught a bug or something.  I have missed three or four days of work in the last two weeks to stay home with sick, miserable kiddos.  Poor Luke has had high fevers and horrible diarrhea resulting in a burned bum.  We have tried everything we can think of to try and heal his poor bum and nothing has really worked too great yet.  We've been keeping him doped up with Motrin and Tylenol to try and stay ahead of the fevers and teething pain.  His poor mouth looks sore, from what I can tell.  It's hard to get a good look at his teeth without losing a finger or two.  Tyke has had some stomach issues too but has been so big and done so great and had no accidents, making it to the potty every time.  We're so proud of him!  We can't wait for this yucky bug/teething to pass!  

Holman Reunion 2016

The boys and I made it to the 2016 Holman family reunion!  It was held clear up in Syracuse this year, giving us an hour plus drive,  yuck!  Daddy didn't go with us because he went south instead to scout out sheep for his big upcoming hunt.  We had fun and the boys LOVED feeding the ducks at the pond next to the building where our party was held.  There were so many ducks and they weren't at all afraid of the kiddos, which made Tyke and Luke a little nervous but they enjoyed it nonetheless.  We ate lunch, visited with family that we don't get to see often, played bingo (Tyke was the first winner of the game and won a Mr. Potato Head!), did the traditional "Ruby's Raffle," took lots of pictures and then left!  We finished off our day with lots and lots of shopping on the way home and dinner at Sizzler with Daddy, Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Terry and Aunts Tiffy and Ashlee!  It was a super long, exhausting day but we had fun and we're so glad we were able to attend!

Juab Demolition Derby 2016

We took the boys to the annual Juab county fair demolition derby!  Chad and I have been going since 2009, when we first met.   Not to sound redneck or anything but it was our first blind date (we did meet earlier in the day first so we could have a better story than the derby haha).  Anyway, it's something that we look forward to every year and it's even more fun now that we have our cute boys to take with us!  They enjoyed it so much right up until about 10 p.m., about an hour after Luke's preferred bedtime, when he got super grumpy and we were happy to leave, beating the crowds out of the packed fairgrounds.  Tyke loved watching the cars crash but hated the loud noise and insisted on wearing both ear plugs and ear muffs to try and drowned out the sounds.  Luke loved it all and absolutely refused to wear anything over or in his ears which really bugged me but we fought and fought and fought and he won.  He is one stubborn persistent little turd!  The derby was great this year and full of good entertainment.  We're so glad we were able to go and so glad that our little family is able to do and enjoy such fun things in our small town!

(Pics to come...)

22 Months Old

I can hardly believe how fast this past month has gone by.  Summer is pretty well over and fall is on its way.  Luke is growing and learning and just getting more and more fun and uncontrollable, ha!

Our little guy thinks he's so big and tries his hardest to imitate everything his big brother does.  He wants to be included in all things whether he's big enough or not.  He is finally big enough to help Bampa Terry with chores now and oh my does that ever make him one excited, happy little man!  He got a taste of chores one night while out visiting and ever since he has had the privilege of going with Bampa and Tyke every morning to feed the cows and move the sprinklers.  He LOVES it!  It's the cutest thing ever to see Mr. Lu hurry to get his cowboy boots on to go do chores when it's time.  He loves it so much he now exclaims to us, "tows!" (cows) which is a new word for Lu.  If we ask if he got to do chores he excitedly exclaims "tows!"  It's the cutest thing ever!

Luke loves bikes!  Pretty much anything he can sit on and push his way around he enjoys.  The bigger the better too!  He's always looking for opportunity to steal Tyke's big wheel from him.  Luke is pretty darn fast riding his bikes.  His little legs can go!

Luke takes good care of himself!  He knows what he wants and does his best to get it by himself.  He helps himself to what he needs in the pantry, bathrooms, laundry room, closets and whatever else he manage his way into.  If he can't get it he throws a tantrum like we've never seen before!  This kid is seriously a little monster when he is mad and pretty much uncontrollable and inconsolable when he gets in these moods.  So, we try our best to keep him happy.  He loves getting into the pantry for applesauce pouches, granola bars and chocolate milk mix.  He can't open these items by himself, yet, thank goodness but oh my does he try!  It's pretty cute to watch him be so independent.  Why do my babies have to grow up so fast?!

Luke still loves bath time!  All we have to do is say the word bath and his little face lights up and he runs as fast as he can to the bath tub and tries to jump in, clothes and all.  He can't wait to get in the water!  He loves to kick and splash and stick his face under water.   He has started getting brave and lying on his back to "float."  When bath time is over he refuses to get out of the tub willingly and whe we go to get him out he dives and lays flat on the tub floor making it extra hard to get his wet, slippery little self out.  He's a goofball!  He loves bath but he still hates everything about the routine afterwards (comb hair, clean ears and nose, brush teeth, lotion, diaper, jammies.)

Louie is a trouble maker and looks for things to do that he shouldn't.  He loves to throw the pillows and cushions off of the couches in the front room so that he can have easy, safe access to the large paintings hanging on the wall.  He then will stand on his tip toes and push the frames back and forth making them rock on their nail, scraping the paint off of the wall, grrr.  He also likes standing on those same couches and banging as hard as he can on the glass of my curio cabinet.  He gets in so much trouble for all of this but it doesn't really phase him at all.  He also likes to climb things.  His favorite spot to be is standing in the window sills!  I am really surprised that this little monkey of ours hasn't hurt himself yet with all of the dare devil things he does.  He's wild, and that's all there is to it!

Words at 22 months old:

• "Tyke" (It's the first and last word he says every day. He loves his brother!)
• "Tows!" (cows)
• "Mil" (milk)
• "Beee" (blanket)
• "Dad?" (Ever since cherry season if Daddy isn't in view Luke constantly asks for him.)
• "Wha-ta?!" (What?! It's the response I get from Luke after answering his question of "dad?")
• "No!" (He's getting sassy in his old age!)
• "Baa!" (Bath! He loves bath time!)
• "Bike" (Luke loves to ride his bikes!)
• "Knah!" (Knucks, as he puts his fist out for knucks and then he immediately pulls back and replies, "Ow!" in the cutest, tiniest, most innocent little voice ever.)

Luke just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  I mentioned to Chad the other day that in probably a year or so both Luke and Tyke will be wearing the same sized clothing.  It's crazy how big my baby has gotten!  He's not huge by any means, just solid and losing the baby/toddler features more and more each day.  Luke is currently in size 24 month/2t/3t shirts, 24 month/2t jeans (24 month size seems a little too small and 2t seems a little too big, go figure...), Luke is in a size 8-9 shoe if he even wears shoes at all.  We were told his feet are too wide for the shoes we own but we haven't been able to find him new ones without forking over major money (which I refuse to because he just kicks them off too!).  He loves to wear his hand-me-down boots that are size 9's and way too big but he keeps them on the best so that's what he wears.  Luke is in size 6 diapers with tons of room to grow.  Size 5's were getting too snug and size 6's are too big.  It's too bad there isn't an in between size for diapers...  Luke has 16 teeth with no signs of new ones coming (that I can see, he has been showing symptoms of teething, or maybe he just caught a bug, who knows?).  Luke is super blonde in the hair department and finally somewhat likes getting his hair cut.  He has been so big the last two haircuts for Aunt Stephanie (Long) and hardly cried at all.  She has been cutting his hair into a mo-hawk style and it has been so fun for me to play with!  He isn't so much a fan of it (I don't think his Daddy is either but Tyke is and wants his hair to look like but his hair is too thick for a mo-hawk cut).  Once I get Luke's hair styled he immediately pats it back down and scowls at me.  We fight back and forth until the hair gel sets and his mo-hawk is in place.  It lasts a good thirty minutes or so, ha!

We love this little sassy Lu so dang much!  He keeps us on our toes and always guessing what he will do next.  He's adventurous and fearless and goofy and so lovable.  We love you Bubba!  Happy 22 months buddy!

Cherry Season 2016

Cherry Season 2016 is officially over for us, thank goodness!  The boys (and me!) missed Daddy SO much while he was working so hard at two jobs.  Daddy enjoys it but it is hard to be separated for nearly a month like we were.  The boys were excited to get to go and visit him at work and on the farm.  Especially because they got to drive the awesome cherry shakers with Dad!  Luke wasn't too sure about it because the machine was so loud but Tyke loved it.  It's neat to go and watch Daddy and his coworkers work the orchards.  Thank goodness cherry season only lasts a month!  We're so ready to get back to our normal schedules and the boys are ready to have their Daddy back!  For the record, I think this year was the hardest on poor Luke.  He really had a hard time missing Daddy.  Tyke did too but he's old enough to understand what's going on somewhat.  Poor Luke would cry for his Daddy every night.  It was sad.  We are seriously so grateful for our hard working Daddy!  Thanks for all that you do for us!

Fat Feet

Luke hates shoes!  Well he likes them alright and enjoys playing with them but he refuses to leave them on his feet.  It's so frustrating!  He takes them off within seconds of having them put on.  He usually takes his right shoe off first and will walk around with one shoe on for a while before ditching the left one too.

The other day Grandma Cheryl questioned if maybe there was something wrong with his right foot that was making shoes uncomfortable?  I didn't think there was but that night as I was getting Luke ready for his bath, I took all of his clothes off and stood him on the tile and from the angle I was standing at I noticed that his baby toe had rotated outwards and tucked under the next toe.  No wonder he doesn't like shoes!  I played with his feet after bath time and realized that both of his feet had the same problem: the baby toes are literally rotated outwards at a ninety degree angle and tucked under the next toe.  Chad and I debated on if we needed to take him to the doctors for this just to make sure that everything was fine with his feet and to see if this was normal or not.  We couldn't decide if we should see the pediatrician or the chiropractor.  We decided to check with the chiropractor first and we're glad we did.  He adjusted Luke's ankles and then checked every inch of Luke's feet (we're paranoid about our boys having healthy feet because Daddy's aren't and it's possible that it's hereditary).  Dr. Carroll assured us that Luke's feet are perfect and there is nothing to worry about.  In fact, Luke's feet are wide and fat and his shoes are too small for him!  They're not too small length wise but his feet are so wide that he's uncomfortable being squished into his gym shoes!  Dr. Carroll told us it's perfectly fine if we want to just let him run around bare foot for a while, otherwise we need to buy new, wide shoes for him.

I took Luke shopping for some new gym shoes last week and he immediately kicked them off which made me think, "I'm not paying $40+ for good wide shoes just so he can kick them off too, he can run around bare foot!"  And so Luke has been wearing his big brothers hand me down cowboy boots that are two size too big but he loves them!  He thinks he's so cool wearing them.  Eventually we'll look into new gym shoes again but for now he can wear the boots.