Halloween 2011

For Halloween this year, Lukas chose to be Iron Man, and Corina was a fairy. This years celebrations included Fall Festival at Webb Chapel Church of Christ, Trunk or Treat at Singing Oaks Church of Christ, and our family Halloween party at home. Pictures from SOCC T or T will have to come later since I haven't gotten them from Aunt Ashley who acted as the kids personal photographer.







Family Party: This year's family party included making cookies, making crafts, a jack-o-lantern pizza, cheesy bread, and watching various Halloween themed cartoons. Needless to say we had a lot of fun!

Conversations with Lukas

As most of you know, Lukas can provide some interesting insight to things we never thought about. He is also not afraid of sharing his opinions with anyone. Over the past couple of months, I've written down some of the conversations (or parts of conversations) that have proved the most interesting. Enjoy!

Lukas: "Corina, do you know why laser beams aren't scary?"
Corina: "Why?" (or at least a sound that sounded like why)
Lukas: "Because they're just lasers."
Corina: "Wow!"


This was heard after passing a WinStar Casino billboard.
Lukas (to Corina): "If we go there, we can be made of cash. I want to be made of cash, so then Mommy could just get cash from me."


Lukas: "Corina, do you know what a legend is?"
Corina: "What?"
Lukas: "It's a made up story from a long time ago."


Lukas: "Sometimes you need to get on the ground and curl up. When you make your back round, you'll be safe."
Mommy: "What are you protecting yourself from?"
Lukas: "Oh you just do it for fun."


Mommy: "I need more hugs."
Lukas: "Mommy, you shouldn't be greedy."
Mommy: "Mommies are allowed to be greedy with hugs because we can never get enough."
Lukas: "Oh Mommy." (said with a huge resigned type of sigh)


We were having a conversation about the meaning of the word pale.
Lukas: "Grandad's hair is pale. It lost all it's color."


Lukas: "When I make friends, I just go ask people their name. Sometimes I remember, and sometimes I don't."


Lukas: "Giraffes live in the savannah because it's big. The south pole is big enough for giraffes too, but it's too cold." (I have no idea where this comment came from. It was completely out of the blue for me.)

Pumpkin Patch 2011

We went to The Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch today (10-8-11). It was very windy and dusty because of the dry ground, but we had so much fun.



Lukas and his friend, Joshua, that we ran into while we were there.



Corina thought climbing through the pumpkins was so much fun!





Riding the hayride.









Giving Baby Bop a hug.



He loved the cutouts with a face hole.



Corina trying to pick up a pumpkin that probably weighed almost as much as she does. And she tried really hard!



Lukas had more success at picking up pumpkins.



We came home with one large pumpkin, one small pumpkin, and two mini-pumpkins.

4.5 Years Old

Lukas is getting so big! He is 4.5 going on 15 with his attitude and brain power. I'm trying to hold on as tightly as I can to this last year before kindergarten.

Lukas at 4.5 years:
- weighs about 33lbs.
- is about 43 inches tall.
- amazes me at his strength for being such a string bean.
- is such a BOY! There's no other words to describe it than that when he manages to find dirt everywhere (even when the other kids are being clean), thinks everything involves running and action at full force, and enjoys some rather gross things.
- constantly amazes us and everyone else with how smart he is. He understands and applies concepts that are hard to understand as an adult much less a 4 yr old. I am constantly wracking my brain to find ways to explain things. So far I can usually come up with answers, but I know the day is quickly coming in which I will have to research before I can adequately answer his questions.
- loves to learn. If he doesn't know it, you'd better believe in about 5 min he will, and he has no problem asking the nearest person to answer his questions. I have seen many complete strangers looking utterly lost that this 4 year old is asking them the question in the first place, and then at a loss as to what to do about explaining.
- gets frustrated when things don't come easy because so much does. These are usually activities that involve fine motor skills.
- would be ecstatic if everything involved a version of the computer (actual computers, smart phones, etc).
- enjoys music, dinosaurs, cars, animals, books, mysteries, art, exploring, games, and being outside.
- is still very much an asthmatic. We did a med trial over the summer (when he has the least flare-ups) to wean him down and determine what meds he could stop taking. His daily meds are Rhinocort, Dulera (twice daily), and Singulair. We got him down to Dulera only once a day and Singulair. But when we tried stopping the Dulera altogether (still taking the Singulair), he flared up and lost his energy. Now that school has started he's back on full doses of everything.
- likes to watch documentaries, anything about dinosaurs (documentary or kid show), Magic School Bus, Veggie Tales, Backyardigans, Scooby Doo (although not the scary ones), and Saturday morning cartoons (in which it's sadly hard to find stuff appropriate for him).
- has discovered (and really likes) super heros. We've had many conversations about fantasy super heros, and how anyone can be a super hero in one way or another. I'm actually amazed he knows as many fantasy super heros as he does because he doesn't watch the shows with them.
- is currently testing his boundaries like never before. He is the ultimate negotiator and tries constantly to make everything go his way (to the point of his punishment sometimes).
- is extremely social. He knows everyone and everyone knows him. Watching him at school is so funny as he has a word for everyone he sees.
- loves being an older brother! He really enjoys the fact that right now Corina absolutely dotes on him and will usually comply with whatever he says. He does get really upset if she doesn't want to play with him, and he's also so concerned when she's sick or upset.
- is such a ham, and loves being in the spotlight.
- loves his Mommy and Daddy more and more every day!

18 Months Old!

Corina's life so far seems to have FLOWN by! I really can't believe my "baby" is 18 months old...even though she sometimes acts like she's 3.

Corina at 18 months:
- weighs 23.6 lbs.
- is 32.5 inches tall.
- has more words than I can keep up with in her vocabulary. She is currently using one word "sentences".
- has almost as many facial expressions as words, and these are used on a daily basis to convey thoughts and emotions better than any true sentence could.
- loves to color! She also really likes other people to color with her.
- is extremely demanding and persistent when she wants something.
- enjoys watching The Wiggles, Barney, Sesame Street, Veggie Tales, Backyardigans, and Yo Gabba Gabba. Her absolute favorite is The Wiggles.
- likes to play tea party, babies, cooking, music, and pretty much any other game Lukas is involved in.
- really enjoys reading, and has started to "tell" the story herself.
- goes to school two days a week and LOVES it!
- is an extremely picky eater. She will eat grilled cheese, PB&J, goldfish, fruit, fruit leather, soy yogurt, mac and cheese, refried beans, any cheese filled pasta, eggs, pizza, and assorted snack foods.
- is very independent, but not afraid to ask for (ok, demand) help when she needs it.
- is very opinionated, and not afraid to tell you what she thinks of your actions. The other day she even told one of her teachers to be quiet when she started reading along with her second teacher. I guess in her mind only one person can read a book.
- enjoys cuddling, but on her terms of course. Whereas Lukas verbally tells you "I love you" throughout the day, she will give out hugs (and sometimes super long cuddles).
- LOVES Lukas!! I absolutely love watching the two of them play together. As with anyone, they have their differences, but the moments of them walking around holding hands or playing so smoothly together are far greater. When I pick her up from school, she will run with the biggest smile on her face to help pick up 'ooKUS'.
- loves her Mommy and Daddy more and more every day!

Family Vacation 2011

This year for our family vacation, we decided to visit San Antonio, TX...mainly for the purpose of going to Sea World. We left Sept 15th and returned Sept 18th. The short version of this summary is: It was a BLAST!! We splurged on our hotel room, and booked a 2 bedroom suite (complete with kitchen and living room). It was completely worth the extra expense (which wasn't even that much). When we arrived on Thursday, we checked in and went to eat at the Riverwalk. Can't say that was the smartest choice because we were all tired and cranky from the drive. Friday we headed out to Sea World. When we pulled into the entrance, you'd have thought Lukas had been given the moon he was so excited. Other than Christmas, I've never seen him glow with delight the way he did. We arrived in time to hear the Star Spangled Banner played before they opened the park. The first thing we did was go see and feed the dolphins. After that we headed over to the kids area to see a Sesame Street show, ride the carousel, and let Lukas ride his first roller coaster. Then it was lunch time, and time to book it over to see the Shamu show. I couldn't get pictures of the kids faces as they watched due to keeping Corina from going down to see Shamu even closer, but lets just say they both LOVED every minute of it. After that we walked over to see a show Mommy and Daddy wanted to see. The kids enjoyed bits of this one, but were really done with sitting still. Then we saw penguins, sea lions, the souvenir shop, sharks, and the dolphins one last time. By the time we left everyone was EXHAUSTED, but we got everything out of Sea World that we could have (in one day that is) so we were happy. For dinner, we went to one of Eric and my favorite restraunts....La Fonda on Main. Saturday we woke up to rain. After it stopped we headed out to the San Antonio Zoo. This trip was fun, but it was so hot and muggy outside (in addition to still being kind of tired from Sea World) that we didn't stay very long. We made sure and rode the train before we left, but then headed back to the hotel for lunch and rest. That evening we went to The Market for shopping and dinner. That ended up being more fun than I expected because Lukas really enjoyed looking at all the stuff. When we woke up Sunday, we were glad it was "going home day". The kids were wild, cranky, and ready for their own house. On the way back, we stopped in at The Aquerena Center in San Marcos for a glass bottom boat ride. Lukas loved it, but Corina hated it. It ended up being a long 30 minutes. We were all very glad when we finally pulled into our driveway that evening. Small side note to mention that Lukas was on breathing treatments (and inhaler while out) the entire weekend due to an asthma flare. Poor kid does not tend to do well in extreme humidity.

For chasing around two kids, we actually managed to get quite a few pictures. Here's some of the batch.

Ready to go on vacation!!



Sea World!













Some nice lady offered to take our picture. While the picture itself is horrible, at least it documents that we were all there.







San Antonio Zoo!

The fog is due to the humidity fogging up the camera. Didn't realize or I'd have wiped it clean.