Motivation

Ever since Luke was sick a few weeks ago he's really been into watching Clifford on PBS. It's slowly turning into an almost daily activity.

When he asked to watch it Monday morning we told him he could watch it after he got dressed and ready for school. Now normally he comes straight out of his room after he wakes up (still in his pajamas), but on Tuesday morning we noticed the light was on in his room before he came out. The door opened and he said "Mama, I got dressed all by myself. Can I watch Clifford?" We were so excited, how could we say no? He even had on matching clothes that were weather appropriate! The same thing happened this morning.

If Clifford helps us get out of the house a little faster every morning we're happy to use the show as an incentive!

Back to Work

I haven't had much time to post anything since I went back to work. Here are a few recent pictures of the boys.

Luke and I made cupcakes for Brad's birthday

 

 

  Charlie playing peek a boo with his bib.

He recently started to suck his thumb.

Luke's letter to Santa. I think we'll have to keep this one. 

Halloween with the Boys

Luke's daycare had their annual Halloween carnival this year and Charlie and I went to check out the festivities.

When Charlie and I arrived Luke and Ellie were at the cookie decorating station.

The fire chief and Minnie Mouse had a great time at the carnival. Thanks to Lyndsay for some of these great pictures!

This year we took Luke trick or treating.

Our first stop was our next door neighbor's house and after that he said he was ready to go home. We convinced him to go to a few more houses, but we were back home pretty quickly.

He was pretty excited about the few pieces of candy he got in his pumpkin. He still doesn't like ice cream or cake, but he's definitely into chocolate!

Fall Weather

A cold front came through and we finally got to experience some Fall weather.

We took a walk to the duck pond and a nice lady gave Luke some sunflower seeds he could feed to the ducks.

On Sunday afternoon we took a quick trip to the zoo. It was decorated for Halloween and many kids were in costume.

Of course we rode the train. It was a little nippy out there in the country! Luke was pretty excited and kept yelling "All aboard!"

Two Months

Charlie is two months old. He's 10 pounds 12 ounces and 22 1/2 inches long.
 

He's a happy little guy, but this is the biggest smile I've been able to capture so far.

 

Here's an interesting statistic: 2 months = 685 diapers!  Thanks Baby ESP :)

October Activities

We had a short cold front last weekend so we all went out for a walk. Luke insisted on taking the calculator on the walk. It stayed safe in the cup holder while he pushed Charlie.

On Thursday the Monkey and Owl classes took a field trip to the fire station.  You can imagine how excited Luke was as he LOVES fire trucks and any story about them or firemen. They were going to have lunch outside so Luke had to bring a sack lunch, but it rained so they had to eat inside.

Luke said they got to see a big fire truck and they watched a movie about fire safety. He reminded us of when Granny was here and the smoke alarm went off because we burned some bread.

Recent Pics

Today Charlie is 6 weeks old. We've seen a few smiles sneak past his lips. He's spending more time awake now, but he still has very sleepy days.  

Much to my dismay and compulsion to go by the book, he doesn't quite follow the 2-3 hour feeding schedule that babies are supposed to adhere to.  I'm trying not to worry he's not getting enough to eat when he has a 6 1/2 hour stretch followed by a 4 hour stretch overnight and can barely get through 3 ounces in the middle of the night. I can't wait for his 2 month appointment when we can see how much he weighs!

Here are a few recent pictures of the boys.

 Looks like it's time to retire the newborn sleepers, so I guess he's getting enough to eat

Brothers getting along nicely

Friday Treat

I'm trying to get out of the house and do something each day.  We've been waiting for the new TCBY near our house to open for months and this week it finally did! This was our big outing today.

This is not the TCBY I grew up with - it's one of those new self-serve yogurt places. That's just fine with me because you can mix whatever flavors you want and try out all kinds of toppings. Thankfully they haven't changed the yogurt recipe.

I think this is going to be a frequent outing for us. Luke might even get into this when he hears about the grapefruit sorbet and sees all the toppings he can have. 

One Month

My real maternity leave began this week. My family has gone back home and Brad is at work.  Up to this point we've been less stressed than we were with Luke and I've ventured out with him on my own to a few places. We don't want to jinx anything, but at one month old Charlie has a good disposition and is a pretty laid back baby. 

Luke has been doing great with him and hasn't shown too much jealousy (yet?). He is, however, quite attached to Brad right now because I haven't been able to spend as much time with him.

We've been having a hard time trying to figure out who Charlie looks like. Then the other day we were showing Luke baby pictures of himself and were very surprised to see how much they look alike at this age!  

Charlie

Luke

 

We're very curious to see who Charlie will look like as he gets older!

Outing to the Oasis

My sister Ana Maria was in town last week to help with the kiddos and my dad and Terry came in one day to see all of us.

We went to the Oasis for lunch and the weather could not have been more perfect for sitting outside.

Luke kept busy by roaming the decks and taking pictures.

Monkeying around

Yesterday Luke moved up to the Monkey room at school. He's now with the 3-4 year olds in a bigger room.  

He got a short new 'do for the start in his new class.  He's been doing great so far and likes to try on the other kids' shoes.

Week 2 with Charlie

Charlie had his 2 week check up earlier this week and he's doing great. At that point he should have been back to his birth weight and he was 10 ounces above it and had grown .75 inches!  

This week he's been a little more alert, but he still sleeps most of the time. We started doing tummy time with him, but so far he's just been laying there looking pretty comfortable.

Brad went back to work this week so my mom was here and was a great help with Charlie and Luke. She did all kinds of things around the house so I could get some rest and run a few errands. 

Luke started his new swim class session so my mom got to see him in action.

Play Date

Over the weekend our friends the Waldens came over for a visit.  Ellie and Luke got to have a play date and Lyndsay brought her camera and took some great photos of the kids.

Luke and Ellie had a ball running and screaming through the house.  Then they ate half their weight in snacks.

Family of Four, Week One

Week one with Charlie has been a whirlwind. I can't believe it's already been 7 days since we got to meet him.  A few days ago he was almost back up to his birth weight and he's grown .25 inches.

We forgot how much newborns sleep. I think they must do that to give you one last break before everything gets really crazy.  We caught a couple of photos of him awake.

Brad has been home since he was born so it's been nice for us all to spend this time together. 

Charlie arrives

Charles Evan Simpson arrived as scheduled on August 15th at 7 pounds and 19.25 inches. His birth was uneventful and went according to plan.

 Grandma brought Luke to the hospital so he could meet him right away.

Daddy was happy to have a tiny baby again.

Brad said he didn't like his first bath too much, but he was quite happy afterwards.

He's got the new baby smell!

Luke was very excited to hold his new baby brother and did a great job being very gentle with him.

 

Gramps, Grandma Terry and Grandma came to meet Charlie at the hospital too.  So far he's doing well and is a champion eater!

Ready for Baby Brother

Over the past few months we've been preparing for baby brother. It feels kind of strange to be ready for this little guy to arrive. For the first few months he'll sleep in our room so his real room will also be the guest room.

Luke is very excited to welcome him. He likes to sing Frere Jacques to him and give him kisses and hugs. 

 Sometimes when he gets a boo boo he wants baby brother to kiss it.

According to Luke, Brad and I will have it made with this baby. He says he's going to brush his hair, give him a bath and feed him.  Oh and he's also going to help him walk.

We'll see how it all turns out in a couple of days!

Summer Time

A few pictures from this summer

 Last day of soccer

Watering the grass

 Snip, snip, new haircut!

Fun with daddy in the backyard

Three!

We celebrated Luke's 3rd birthday at My Gym. This was his first birthday party he got to invite friends to, not just family.

 

 He was very excited about having a birthday party and kept asking who was coming.

He really enjoyed getting out of the ball pit head first.

"It's my birthday!"

We finally got him to try a plain cupcake the day before his birthday and he liked it! But, at the party he filled up on drinks and goldfish so there was no room for pizza or a cupcake.

We waited until after naptime to open gifts. He was thrilled because just about everything he got had wheels.  This one was from mama and daddy.  It has a speedometer and according to Luke it goes up to 19!

Special thanks to my dad and the Waldens for some of the pictures and video!