WORLD CUP!

Being the huge soccer fan that Luke is, we've been watching a few of the matches when we run across them. He loves it when a team scores a goal - I really think he just loves all that screaming and enthusiasm. So he was running around, lifting up his shirt and screaming "GOOOOOOOALLLLL!" Hee hee.

So of course I had to record it. And of course, since Luke is Luke, he loves to watch his videos. He laughs at all the right parts and wants to be recorded again, then watch it again - it is a vicious cycle.

Yo Gabba Gabba!

Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party Fun Extravaganza! Woot! Luke loves a good birthday party and had a blast at this one. Well, only until meltdown.

Unfortunately, Todd was out of town the weekend of the party, so I was on my own for this one. Yikes!

The master painter at work. He stayed amazingly clean - didn't even need to touch his second set of clothes. Luke really does not enjoy getting dirty or messy. When he got glitter on his hands, he made a sour face and said "wash hands, Mama, please."






There were tons of fun art projects set out for the kids, some of which he participated in (painting, see pictures) and some of which was disinterested in (play-doh, etc.).

Dude - 2 year old birthday parties are crazy.

Napa Wedding

To the happy couple!

Grandma Bickel was kind enough to come up to visit Memorial Day weekend and watch Luke which allowed us to make a break for it and head up to Napa. Our good friends, Ryan and Brook, were getting married and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of it.

Their location was gorgeous, they rented a small winery for the weekend, which allowed everyone to stay there and be a part of the whole wedding weekend.

Ryan and Todd played football together in high school and coached football together after high school. They have been friends for a long time and Ryan's family is a second family to us. They are truly kind, wonderful people and we were so happy to celebrate with them! It was a small, intimate wedding and it was truly beautiful. Best of all, we were able to hang out with a bunch of our friends, many we don't see often. Some we haven't seen since I was pregnant with Luke. (Yikes! I need to get out more!)

Dave and Anny - both in our bridal party.

Todd and the happy groom, Ryan.

We are some fun people!!

We ate and drank and DANCED. If you haven't been to a wedding with the Bickels, well, you just haven't had fun yet. Todd, as always, was a dancin' machine. I often start off strong, but I can't keep up. I try, it's not out of lack of effort, but he is the Dancing Energizer Bunny. The wedding guests were all such wonderful people that everyone danced with everyone and we all had a blast dancing into the wee hours of the night.

Now, I didn't include all the pictures I have of Todd dancing, but I picked a few of the quality shots.


Dancing with the lovely Barbara, the groom's mother.

What a pair!
The next morning, we all met again at the house for brunch before sending the happy couple off into the world. They were heading to South America. Jealous, anyone?!?

Thank you to all the families, especially Ryan and Brook, for having us -- we had a ball!

You may ask - did Luke miss us? The answer: No. Not particularly. I guess that's a good thing :)

Cupcakes

or . . .
Conversations with Luke.

I love the age that Luke is at now. And by love, I do mean occasionally get frustrated. A lot. But these moments are really nice to have recorded because he is so talkative and so funny.

Even more than the video clip, Luke is so funny because he loves to watch videos of himself. Being funny on video makes him laugh as he's watching it. It's Luke in surround-sound.
Enjoy the videos as I upload all these tons of photos that need to get off the camera!

Clearly . . .

I have a kid who just needs to be different. We can't just sit and watch tv. How boring.

Sometimes I think he knows how much he stresses me out and enjoys seeing how he can freak me out. I had gone off to do something and came back to this. I have no idea how he even got into this position, but I laughed and he laughed till he fell down.

50 Nifty!

At Grandma's house, she has 7 or 8 magnets shaped like different states. Luke loved to play with them and learn their names, Tess-as and Foor-dah! Oh and Wee-zee-yanna!

Getting down with the Bollywood!

Grandma Linda works frequently (understatement!) with many people from India and has even had the opportunity to visit. She was given this beautiful traditional ensemble and of course, it fit Luke perfectly. And of course, he had to "perform" - getting on his stage (slightly elevated fireplace hearth) and dance around.

And then we took cutie pictures with Grandma. (and his cars. of course.)