Summer Fun

Let the summer fun begin! We are so excited it's finally warming up so we can spend some time outside. We've been outside every night this week and LOVE IT!

Hot tubbing at Grandma & Grandpa's...in our UNDERWEAR! That's right...for two straight weeks Colton has been in his underwear with only one day that he had accidents!!! SO proud of him!


The kid who hates water in his face in the bathtub LOVED it when Grandpa splashed him!


Grandpa has a new pet project and Colton 'helps'


Meet George


Pickles are for hamburgers, relish trays, and MORNING SNACKS? Only at Grandma's!


All of this, while Kyler watches from the sidelines with Grandma...someday little girl...

Twins...

Cousins actually...but hopefully this is as close as we ever get to having twins in our house! Today Jace came over to spend the afternoon with us while Jed & Angela went boating. Are we crazy? Probably, but we already knew that! Truthfully, it was not that bad, but if Derek wouldn't have been here, I'm not sure it would have been so easy...

Kyler & Jace napping


Hangin' out after naps


Colton even sat still so I could take a picture of all three of them!


His infamous "cheese"

Emails...

My kids are geniuses. Yes, I'm aware that every parent probably thinks this about their child, but this is true in our case... Both of my children started emailing and texting me at work at a very young age. I'm not kidding! Oddly enough, they always seem to do this from Grandma & Grandpa Boos' house.

For example, Kyler sent me this one last week with a message "Dear Mom, Can I please have both socks tomorrow?"


Colton showing off his muscles


This one came with a message letting me know Grandma bought her a new dress. Pretty sure Grandma couldn't wait for me to leave that morning so she could try it on her...


For some reason, Colton wanted to go shirtless for pictures...



I told you my kids are geniuses...or Grandma just thinks she's really funny! :)

Videos...

If I can figure this out, this blog is about to get a LOT more entertaining! It's no secret that we like music around our house. We like to play it loud and sing along, sometimes even dance to it...not very well, but we're at home so who cares, right? Until I decided it would be fun to put it on the blog anyway...

Colton (and Derek off to the side) "jammin" in the kitchen

Sundays...

are for relaxing and spending time with family...

Derek and the kids 'watching' cartoons


Colton demolished a dried up hot dog bun with his "hoe"...


He spent forever moving his "dirt"... That's what the vacuum cleaner is for!


Colton "helping" put clothes away


Colton's favorite game right now is to wear everyone else's shoes...the bigger the better!



Aunt Brook was here for the weekend to see the new babies. We had a great weekend with her...an adult day of shopping, out for pizza Saturday night, had Sunday lunch at Kent & Barb's, and spent the afternoon with her before she had to go back to Chicago that night. Thanks for coming to visit!

Here she is with Kyler

And the first time we've been able to get all five of the Luedke grandkids to sit somewhat still for a picture...



What a great day!

Happy Mother's Day!

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

"Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."

God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it's life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

"You will simply call her, 'Mom.'"

- Unknown

Some Mother's Day Humor...

Before I was a Mom -
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom -
I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life
so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom

Pictures

Every day Colton is less willing to stand still so I can take a picture of him...





But when he does, say "Smile!" or "Say Cheese!" and this is what you get...



Needless to say, it will be a while before I try to take him and Kyler to get their pictures taken!

A New Nephew!

By the way, for those of you who haven't heard, we have a new nephew! Derek's brother Blaine and his wife Tarin welcomed their first boy early Monday morning. The littlest of their three kids, Jayger Bryce was 7lb. 4oz. and 21in. He has two big sisters, Taylea and Brynna, who I'm sure are helping take great care of him! I don't have any pictures of him yet, but will hopefully have some to post soon!

Bath Time!

So we were a little adventurous at bath time tonight and decided to give Colton & Kyler their baths together... Derek was even home to help!







Not the best pictures, but you get the idea. Derek tends to lose patience with me when I have my camera in my hand instead of paying attention to what we're doing...

And just because this was too cute not to share....

Love those smiles!

Yes, I'm starting a blog...

My sister Angela has inspired me to create a blog. I get such a kick out of everything she posts that I wanted to be able to share all of the fun things going on in our house too! Hopefully, this is something we'll keep up with and try to post regularly, but since I'm going back to work full time, we'll see how much free time I have, but hope to be able to update weekly.... We'll see!

The peace and quiet

These days, I really look forward to nap time, either because I really need the sleep or just to enjoy the peace and quiet. Today, enjoying the peace and quiet....


The scene in my living room today


Kyler, who is almost always ready to take a nap...

Colton, who was not-so-ready to take a nap today, but finally gave in an hour later than I originally planned...

>
And yes, even Angela & Jace came by for nap time!