Texas-bound!

We are leaving for Texas tomorrow! As you Texans are starting to go to bed, we will be getting up at 3:30am here and getting to the airport for the 1st of 3 flights to Texas. We will be going from 3:30am til 11pm our time, so keep us in your prayers- never a fun day, but lots to look forward to. Additionally, Rebekah has developed (today) a bad cold and is looking rather rough. Pray she can get a good night's sleep (until 4am when we out her in the car) and make it tomorrow. Also pray that Luke will have a good disposition. :)

Here are some sweet shots of my big boy to tide you over. ;)

See some of y'all soon!

I thought this day would never come...

Luke is sort of walking! If you count 5 steps at a time in order to get marshmallows, then our boy is walking! His actual first steps today were from Josh's hands to me in the kitchen- so we both got to be there!

Okay- so not the greatest video, but it's like when they first start sitting and you are torn b/w running to get the camera and staying put in case they fall. So, we had to try to video while still playing a supporting role.



He has been walking back and forth b/w us a few steps at a time lots of times today- mostly for treats, but we'll take it!

Guy Fawkes

So, if you've seen V for Vendetta, you are a step ahead of the game. 5 November is Guy Fawkes night. The sounds you hear are not gunfire, affirming your fears that you live in the Scottish ghetto (last year's experience). In fact, they are fireworks, and the yelling is the revelers' enjoyment of burning things. This year, the kids were old enough to get to see ad experience their very first real fireworks. We decided to accept a friends' invitation to go out to Banchory for their weekend fireworks when we saw how excited Rebekah was about the "polkadots in the sky" that she saw throughout the week. Once again, we are reminded what crazy things Scots get away with. Fireworks are EVERYWHERE and if their are limits, I've never seen them!

We ate dinner (we actually had a full day- thankfully, r slept til 7;30 and Luke til 8:30 b/c we attended a birthday party this morning, had lunch, Luke and I took great naps, then we hopped in the car for the 45 minute drive (it takes 45 min to travel 19 miles here- crazy) to Banchory, where we celebrated Guy Fawkes) at the Zieglers' place, and the second we got there, their oldest boy (Andrew 11) asked for Luke! Andrew is a doll and was so excited to play with him. Luke was a great sport and I was able to eat dinner with him in another room! Then, we all loaded up and drove out the the bonfire- evidently, it's fun to burn this guy- seemed odd to me.

This is a cruddy pic, but you can see "Guy Fawkes" on top of the bonfire.

I love getting the kids treats and presents, so I was happy to see glow necklaces and got one for each of them- a big hit!

Sadly, I forgot to bring an extra battery and this was where the camera died. However, Luke rode on Josh's shoulders and I held Rebekah for the fireworks. Once again, I find myself surprised and very proud- both my children were in awe and not at all scared!!!! The fireworks were wonderful and since there's not exactly a 4th of July celebration here, this will have to tide us over for a while. We brought 2 very tired children home and both were in bed by 8:30.

A tribute to my son

Nothing extraordinary happened today, I just had a fun time with the kids and my husband. Some days are so challenging, and others are just sweet. Today was the latter.

In particular, I am loving watch Luke morph from a baby to a little boy. Just a week ago yesterday I was worried about his speech, and today I laugh. He is picking up new words every day! They are not terribly articulate but we both know what he's saying a lot of the time. He is also getting so close to walking! He took a step toward me at play group today and didn't even realize it. I think the Lord is opening my eyes so that I can see past the not walking (which makes him seem much younger than he really is) to the things he actually is doing.

He is trying puzzles.
He lifts his legs while standing to help me pull off his trousers (I love it when they are actually helpful).
He loves playing and seems to have a great sense of humor.
He tries to "count" the birds in the pictures on his wall and points to each one as he inflects his nonsense babble just like I inflect my numbers.
He knows what to do with a toothbrush, a hairbrush, and a Q-tip- you should see his little chubby hand twist that Q-tip back and forth in the outer part of his ear as he grins for validation. Priceless.
He can drive cars all over the floor and has very good coordination.
He can still do the splits in any direction, tho it's not a position he chooses.
He eats with a spoon, tho often he uses his hands just to mess with me.
He will wave and say "hiiigh" or "buh-bye" on command.
He knows several animal sounds (puppy, cow, sheep, horse, and sometimes a pirate).
He likes to "sing" and stops what he's doing to listen to music.
He knows how to turn on his sound machine and loves doing it.
He pretends to go to sleep by laying down and saying, "Nuh-nigh" and then pops up so you'll say, "Good morning!"
He will "jump" by throwing himself on the ground.
He just found his part that makes him a boy and is enchanted. Yikes. That's toddler if anything is.
He often cries when Daddy leaves and definitely if he forgets to say goodbye.
He loves to cruise around holding Daddy's hand, tho he only humors me occasionally.
He will sit very still for a haircut until you drop hair in his eyes and then he gets very angry. :(
He will give his right leg for a Pringle, popcorn, or a fruit snack and only takes his vitamin b/c Rebekah and I tell him it is a fruit snack. Is that wrong?
He gives the BEST macks (aka kisses) and while we're on his preciousness, he has the softest, whitest skin I have ever felt. (He is so fair that even the Scots are impressed and that's saying something.)


Anyway, he is just darling and it felt worth documenting that fact. I am giddy to see my family get to know him more.

Cuties

I mentioned the other day that Rebekah is my little helper. Here we are cutting the tips off green beans. Rebekah was very precise and cut off as little as possible, but sometimes made the judgment call on if a green bean was a little too icky and just cut all that part off. Good instincts, I must say. We did have to trade scissors b/c she was sure mine were better.

Before having a little boy of my own, I don't think I really noticed how they all assume this exact position to drive cars around. Here Luke is all boy- driving the octopus, sound effects and all. My, he loves sound effects- maybe one of my favorite things about boys is all the noises they can make and giggle about. :) (Yes, he is losing his pants again- same day as the video- sadly, they are 12-18 m trousers, but the sizes here are huge. Josh kept the kids for me while I got my hair trimmed yesterday and he made the executive decision to change his pants. :))

Such a ham.

This morning at the grocery store.

At lunch- we are so lucky to have Josh come home for lunch every day! I did actually take this picture to show off my hydrangeas. They were so hugely in bloom that the whole plant was listing to one side, begging to be trimmed.

Luke was playing with clothes pins- loves to collect and organize.

Aren't they gorgeous??? I LOVE hydrangeas and could not be happier that we have a plant of our own. They are so ultra low maintenance- what could be better?

In other news, this is day 3 of no morning nap for Luke. Long story short, his morning naps have been good and his pm naps not to so good. This has been true for a while. I noticed in April when my mom was here that napping him later in the day had the reverse effect I wanted- he was getting up later, but was grumpier. I shifted things back and he was much better. Now, I think his body really only needs 1 nap and it's the first one he takes. So, I have been shocked how easily he has dropped it- my first real clues he might be okay were in Germany where he managed just fine and was actually very chipper almost the whole trip. So, he has been rising about 7, maybe 7:30, each morning (sadly not 8) and I make him come snuggle with me in my bed (Josh is up and at 'em at 5:30-6 most mornings). Then, we get Rebekah when we hear her- sometimes I hear her first, so we reverse that. Anyway, I feel so much more relaxed, not feeling like I have to squeeze everything we need to do and a meal in to a 2 or 3-hour window. Knowing we have until 1-ish makes me feel like we can just take it easy. The result has been much better time with the kids and a very happy little boy. He has been delightful, and I am loving it. I know we'll have to adjust in Texas, but it is encouraging to see this development all the same.

side note- he has been napping 1 1/2-2 hours, which is decent for him. I honestly think once he settles into this new routine, we'll either see later sleep-ins or longer naps. I imagine he might be the kind of kid who regularly takes a 2 or 3 hour nap. We'll see. I have come to the conclusion that if I had to choose b/w a mostly happy kid who doesn't sleep terribly long or a fussy kid who sleeps really well, I'll take the happy one!

side note 2- Rebekah doesn't really nap anymore. Of course, we are fine with it if she needs to, but mostly she just plays with toys on her bed. She pushes her mattress away from the wall and has created a little cozy area for herself and her dolls. She calls it "downstairs" and that's where the girls have to sleep at nap time. My biggest issue is keeping her in bed. I need to work or get caught up on stuff and I think it's good for her to rest, so I do like her to have some time by herself. However, she is eager to find reasons to come downstairs, which unfortunately is very loud for a sleeping little boy with no door! So, we are working on getting all the pottying done prior to the nap and not coming down!! Sometimes, if it's nice out, I'll make a phone call out back, and I'll hear a little hand knocking on her bedroom window glass and see my precious one waving at me and blowing kisses. Very sweet.

Rebekah "hugging" Luke

I promised more pics, but I am posting a video instead. i just love seeing my 2 interact happily!

Not that exciting...sorry.

I don't really have any new pics (shocking, I know), but we are doing well and are looking forward to our trip home NEXT WEEK. :) I haven't seen most of my side of the family for a year and will get to meet my brand new nephew!!!!

Rebekah is cracking me up- she thinks thru everything and still wants to know how everything works. She is my little helper in any way possible and mostly enjoys doing it. :)

Luke is talking more and more- I was worried he wasn't saying much, but...

Mama
Dada
Baba/Bah-Kah (Bekah)
bah (ball)
bow (bounce/up b/c he wants to bounce and has to get up to do it)
Uh! (up)
dow (down)
saaaaaw (sock)
sue (shoe)
mah (more)
puh (please)
woh-oh-va (roll over)
baaaa
neigh
moooo
siiide (outside)
ca-cah (cracker)

I'd say that's 6-8 (which is what an 18 month old should be doing, or so I hear). :) I was surprised how many he does try to say when I actually started counting. We are really working on it so he can communicate more. He doesn't say all these at all the right times, especially please, but we're trying. :) He has been a happy little bug the past few days- a new friend commented how cute and fun he was yesterday when she saw him and I inwardly laughed b/c I thought to myself that's because you've only seen him fuss! We are trying to drop the morning nap and we'll see how it goes- I imagine we will resume it when we jet lag and they're up at 4am b/c it feels like 10am! Oh well- I know he can function and it has been fun! Luke really likes to organize things and put them inside containers. He also loves to hand you things- he will not just drop it- he makes noise until you realize what's he doing, then he is so happy to hand whatever it is off. he also has just discovered light switches and, I kid you not, his whole face lights up too as he sees the cause and effect- he is all boy like that- loves seeing how what he does affects what something else does. Thus, he loves all those buttons and gadgets on toys/books Rebekah never noticed at his age.

I'll work on more pics tomorrow!

Wind

We are experiencing 50 mph wind right now...it sounds like crying children- not my favorite sound. The kids' play house is in a totally different place in the backyard and I had to anchor it down with our pumpkins and a big rock. Yikes.

I can't wait to escape to TEXAS!!!