Catching Up

Will I ever get back to Christmas and Thanksgiving? Will I ever get caught up? Probably not.  *sigh* So I’ll give a few snippets and hope for the best.

What I should be doing: Grading. Grades are due on Friday. Yikes.

What I am doing: Blogging. And Blog-stalking.  Feeling guilty that I should blog more frequently, but feeling guilty that there’s a pile of grading stacked by the door that will simply travel back to school tomorrow.

I will blog. Then sleep.

January:

Luke and his most best friend Jake had an ice cream and movie night.  Luke just loves his buddy.  It really is about the sweetest thing.

They watched Cars 2. I fell asleep.

Luke still has Sally and his thumb. Thank goodness.

We went as a big ol’ family to Tahoe in January. On the way we stopped in Fairfield to tour the Jelly Belly Factory.  Free! Yay!  We had to wear silly hats.  I was impressed Luke was agreeable.  These days, it doesn’t seem to matter what I say – if I say it, he doesn’t want it.

With Gramma and Papa – I love my happy boy!

Patiently waiting.  I was surprised how interested he was in everything.  He liked the giant factory robots. Imagine that.

We stopped at a place for lunch known for their “cheese skirt” burgers.  I have eaten a great many greasy, unhealthy things, but even this was a bit much for me.

I have never been to Tahoe in the summer, only the winter.  So I have certainly never seen a snow-less Tahoe.  Freaking BIZARRE.  We still walked around . . . in the sand. Papa and cousin Collin.

Me and my Mom. Me in all of my “I’m-on-vacation-so-I-don’t-wear-make-up” glory. Yikes.

Playing “Hi Ho Cherry-O” with Gramma and Papa.  It was good to have some quiet time activities.  We still hunted out the snow and went sledding in a few places.  Those pics are on my other camera, so they will be later.  Let’s just say, my child is a daredevil and I’m so happy that we made it through in one piece.  He was bound and determined to ski this year, but we were able to put it off until next year.

For Luke’s birthday, we let him pick out a big-boy bike.  I had a few coupons and a few bikes were on sale, so we went for it.  Surprisingly, did not pick out a Spiderman or Cars bike, but chose a “Shark” bike, which is really a Jet Fighter bike that has the shark on the side.

Didn’t take him long to really get moving.  Todd runs next to him now.  I walk behind and at the end of every block, he stops, jumps off and runs back to me.  Then we walk back to his bike together, where he hops on, speeds off and repeats the same process over and over again. Noella = not running.

I swear, he was just a baby . . . now he’s a big boy pedaling as fast as he can. I certainly can’t keep up!

Which then brings me to part of the reason that I have disappeared and been so exhausted . . .

Baby Bickel #2 expected to arrive this summer: August 22nd! We are thrilled beyond words (Luke a little less so) and are looking forward to our new addition. 

Happy Birthday, Luke-pie!

I solemnly promise I will not begin this post with an apology about how I fell off the face of the planet. I’ll save it for another post.

This post is about my big boy – turning four on January 31st. I will definitely blog about his birthday party, but this post is about the joy he puts in my life everyday. 

Nana and Luke made cupcakes.  He might have enjoyed it. A little.

I swear, he was just two.  Now, all of the sudden, he’s four and I have no idea where the time went.  Luke is so incredibly determined and outspoken.  He is still full of energy and is loving soccer.  We found a coach who “gets” him, which has made all the difference.  He loves his friends passionately – he has his very best buddies, which is so fun to watch. Cars is big, Thomas is big, Spiderman is big. 

Luke is still practicing “good choices” and he tucks them into his pockets before he leaves every morning when he leaves for school.  Right now Luke loves to sing “Slippery Fish,” “Baby Beluga,” and “Brighter than the Sun,” by Colbie Caillet. Luke loves to make jokes . . . his sense of humor always makes Todd and I laugh.  He demands a schedule.  He likes to be a big boy: getting dressed by himself, showering by himself and putting himself down for a nap.  “I do it myself” is a common phrase heard around our house.  We have finally gotten to a point where Luke will occasionally eat mac and cheese, but we are still pretty far away from every other type of pasta.  There’s always turning 5…

He is into bike riding now – Luke got a two-wheeler (with training wheels) as an early birthday present and has been tearing around the neighborhood almost daily. 

I am so proud of my Luke-pie – his my sweet, darling, incredibly active little boy who is becoming a big boy before my very eyes.  Happy Birthday, Sunshine!

Pumpkin Patch & Carving

As the theme of the year is “Ack!  (insert holiday) is almost here! We have to get (insert needed holiday accessory) right now!” 

And so it was, we rushed out the weekend before Halloween to get some pumpkins. By the way, the pumpkins were buy one get one free – procrastination does have its benefits.  Please note the date of this post.  Please also note we do not have a Christmas tree yet.  Like I said, “Last Minute” is definitely the theme of 2011.

We went with Grandma and Papa Rosbrugh to the big ol’ pumpkin patch, which is always fun.  Though I missed out on the corn on the cob.  Dang.

Getting taller, bigger and older. No way to stop it, it seems!

Running and jumping.  Theme of the day.

Picking out a little pumpkin.

 

Getting ready to ride the train! Love my boys!

My boy sure loves trains!

Watching giant pumpkin carving.

Finally time to pick out the perfect pumpkin.

Nope, just time to run.

Always trying to recreate “It’s a Hat.”  Never quite the same.

My handsome boy. 

 

I used to be so on top of things I would send out Halloween cards.  Not this year.  Though this was our Halloween card pic. There. Enjoy.

Luke was disturbed by the scarecrow with the beehive on his head.

 

We sent Luke to bed and started our carving.  This is the first year in I don’t know how long, that we carved pumpkins.

Our pumpkins: Mine (Maniacal Laughter – left) and Todd’s (Death from Above – right)

Todd made most epic sunflower seeds.  Left: sweet (cinnamon & sugar) Right: savory (Santa Maria seasoning)

Coming soon: Halloween Photos!

Labor Day BBQ

 

 

Wow, I am going way back, aren’t I?

We went over to the the Rosbrughs for a BBQ.  The kids had a great time playing in the huge sheets of Styrofoam and making forts.

 

 

Luke practiced his hammering skills. Although he practiced with a dust pan broom and not a hammer. Oh well.

And he finally got the hang of the tree swing. He was so happy!

 

Every time I turn around, Luke just seems to get older and older.