The Birthday Kitchen

We finally got the kitchen in for Luke's birthday gift (collaboration from all grandparents!).  It was worth the wait, for sure.  I opened and checked it out first, then just put the box over it to hide the surprise.  It is made from pine and smells soooooo good!
Upon waking from his naps, Luke is not the most agreeable soul.  I would have waited a bit, but his big brother was more excited to open it.

Ahhh... the thrill of a new present.  It's a tough life.

Fully awake and busy cooking... 

Big brother getting in on the action.

I have been served quite an array of little boy-prepared cuisine already.  I am holding back from organizing all the food and dishes... for now. :-)

He Did It!

My sweet boy, Sean, does not enjoy reading so much right now.  He starts and usually says he is tired or wants to take a break (after 2 sentences!).  He does, however, love to look through books, piles at a time.  I am okay with taking a laid back approach to learning to read, but am adamant that he will at least work on it regularly.  He has been working through the I Can Read It! Book 1 from Sonlight along with Explode the Code workbook.  Because he is a Lego-loving child, I gave him some incentive to finish this first book.  Upon completion of it, he would get a Lego Hero Factory figure as a reward.  Note to self: He likes incentives.  Without further ado...

Proud boy right after reading the last story.

Not much selection at the store, but he was happy to get what was there!

He got to work right away.  He has taken it apart and put it back together many times already.

Not to be outdone, Luke wanted a "Me smile, too!" picture.

Eli declined the photo OP in front of the tree as he was busy expressing great desire for his night-time bottle. He was probably also wondering why Mama was taking all these random pictures.  Get used to it, kiddo.

But here is some cuteness from earlier in the day.

I still can't believe we have 3 (three!!) amazing boys. So thankful to God... 

Thanksgiving Day 2011

::A quiet day at home::  We had a light breakfast and then mid-morning (one of my favorite parts!) we made a veggie/meat/cheese tray.

This is what the living room looked like during the yummy meal prep.

Ummm... I think this picture is missing something... children, perhaps?

Here they are!
Sean, Luke and neighbor friend, Caleb- ready to defend the feast.
And I'm pleased to see the blocks magically jumped back in the box.

Note: Posing was completely spontaneous by all 3!

Ready to eat!  We had turkey, squash casserole, cornbread dressing, asparagus, 

stuffing, orange-cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie topped with homemade maple whipped cream.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; 

His love endures forever."

Psalm 107:1

Nature Table- Fall '11

Here are some of the treasures we collected during the Fall.  Sean has really gotten into collecting nature when we go out. {It only took a year of walking up and down our road pointing things out to him and gathering on my own!} And because Sean does it, Luke does too!

Lots and lots of leaves. Maybe next year we'll actually classify them.  

The pumpkins were painted at the fall Festival.

Pine cones, dried flowers and some other pod-like goodies.

Shells left over from summer and new baby pine cones.

Clean slate.. ready for winter gathering!

Note: the block of wood is compliments of Luke.  The boy loves random chunks of wood.
 This is the only one to make it inside.

Dough Counting

My little kitchen helper practices counting dough rolls.

 

Quality control taste tester:

Happy boy :-)

This is his "I am smiling" face. 

Organized Legos

On the DVD that came with the Lego Club magazine, they show how all the pieces are stored at the main Lego workshop.  All these cool bins, color coordinated in a grid pattern to easily find the piece you're looking for.  Sean's collection is not quite that big, so we got some cheap white baskets from Wal-Mart.  He was actually excited to get started (that's my boy!!).

And the sorting begins...

Almost done!!

Ahhh....

So nice and organized... until one day, "Mommy, I think I like them dumped out in the drawer."  I can't argue.  It is easier to find pieces when you can dig through them all at once and slosh them all around (there really should be a verb just for the action of digging through Legos). So, moral of the story... I got some cute new baskets for my kitchen drawers. :-)

Luke's 3rd Birthday

We were in Columbus for my sister's wedding (yay!) which happened to be the day before Luke's birthday.  We stayed an extra day to have a small family celebration at the good ol' El Carrizo.  I'm just happy my kids think getting cheese dip is a splurge.

Birthday Boy- too cool for this party

3 brothers and a cake (and a Papa)

Jeff and his mini-me

I see you!

Sneaking daddy's sweet tea

Aunt Nanni- not sure what the boys are staring at!

Sean and Sam

All the grandparents went in to get Luke this kitchen.  It has still not arrived, so the big reveal will be coming soon!

Luke,
You continue to be a passionate little guy.  I knew it from the day you were born and it is so fascinating to see it play out as you grow.  You have a mischievous sense of humor and love to be cuddled.  You copy everything your Bubba does and like to be his little shadow.  You chop everything (people included) and are happy to destroy anything built from Lego, blocks or... well anything.  You still eat books, but are actually beginning to "read" them.  You like dinosaurs, cars and trains.  You enjoy listening to daddy's music any time we travel... especially songs with piano and drums.  Every time I lay you down you want me to sing "You are my Sunshine" or "O God, You are my God."  You are our little Stinka and we love you so much!