I owe you some pics...

I always feel bad when I don't post pictures, so here are some semi-interesting ones.

We took Little Missy and her fussy brother to the park and out to lunch on Tuesday. She was very excited to climb this hill and I just liked her determined little walk, as she yelled out, "Daddy! Daddy! Look at me, Daddy!"

Next door to our restaurant we saw this sign and were pleased with our heritage.

On Wednesday, my sweet little boy emerged again- yes! He gradually got happier throughout the day, and I attribute his sheer delightfulness last night to the fact that he got popcorn!

You mean I can hold the bag?

How much is in there?

Seriously??? This stuff is amazing!

It was fun to see them playing together again. Yesterday or the day before I heard Rebekah calling out, "Lukey? Lukey? LUKE! Come out and play!! I miss you, Lukey!" That is more than wonderful.

Luke is a helper, like his sister. here is petitioning me to turn on the water.

Here he is showing me how cute he can be, as a manipulative tool for me to go ahead and turn on the water.

Here he is trying to pout that I have not given in (I was taking pictures, you know.)

Here he decided to just eat the quesadilla I took off his plate b/c he wouldn't eat it (b/c I wanted to eat it), at which point, he grabbed it back and hoarded it until this moment in which he gobbled it right up.

Check out my basil- growing quite nicely!

Exciting news!!! (Updated)

If you thought I was going to say I am pregnant, you don't know me (or Josh) very well. :) No, it's not that. We are going to Germany next month for 5 days!!!!! Ever since January, I have been dreaming of celebrating Josh finishing his 2nd master's degree with a bigger trip. With his class load and our only off-time dedicated to going to the States, we were not able to do much outside of Aberdeen this past year. Even prior to moving here, we had never taken a 4-some (or 3-some for that matter) family trip because we always use our vacation time to visit family. Our theory is if we don't travel now while in the UK, we're idiots. However, we also do not have a lot of (or any really) disposable income. So, I realized that Germany is a hop, skip, and jump away and I have some wonderful family there. Today, Josh found tickets for 8 pounds (about $12)....for all of us. That's right, for a mere $3 apiece we are visiting my family next month!!!!! So, with crazy cheap tickets and a free place to stay, we are so, so excited for our first family vacation! Yea!

Update: To answer the obvious question I didn't actually answer, we are flying into Frankfurt, and we will stay a little over an hour away in Ramstein. My mom's cousin, Linny, is married to a chaplain in the Air Force, so they have lived all over the place!

Phyllis- yes, Luke will just take one nap. I limit him to a 45 min or 1 hr one in the am's as it is, and for this trip, we will sight-see in the am and hope to keep him distracted, so that he can rest in the pm....? He is on the verge of not totally needing it, but it's hard to keep him distracted all morning, esp if he's in a funk. :) I can easily hold him off until 11 any day, so another hour or 2 isn't reallt that big of a deal on a trip. I imagine what will happen is just a weird adjustment as he drops the nap, then I believe he will lengthen the one nap, as well as maybe sleep in a bit more in the am- like maybe 8-ish? I felt like when we dropped the 3rd nap he just added to his other sleep instead. However, I think this will be a process and not overnight, knowing him. :)

Wednesday

You can tell it has been a couple of hard days when I don't have any pictures to post!! :( Yikes.

Poor Luke has just not been himself- lots of things really, but we seem to be making some progress today. When he grinned at me as I got him this morning, I knew it would be a better day! There are still some kinks, but overall he is doing better. His molars are kind of funny- the first 2 came in fairly quickly and there was quite a bit of pain, or so I deduced from his fussiness. However, molar #3 started ages ago and is only halfway through, meaning one side is all the way thru and the other side is still beneath very swollen gums. Evidently it is pushing a bit more through at the same time as #4. Today, #4 feels quite pokey (meaning it is through), so I think he's getting a break from the actual cutting part. Such a strange process. I still wonder if they really need 20 teeth?

Luke also has been standing a lot, which is very exciting to watch. Maybe he'll walk soon? :) I think he is frustrated with not being able to walk, and I know he is irritated with me- he babbles at me all day, so confident in what he is saying and I just don't always understand. You should see his look of triumph when I finally get it. He just giggles in relief...unless he still doesn't get what he wants...like a bath last night- "Ba! Ba! Ba! Ba!" I was like, "Do you know me, kid? We do not do extra baths, and it is not bath night." Very sad. I did tell him I would give him a bath if he walked to it. It was a no go. :)

We got to go to Kate's for play group this morning- I have been trying to walk more and she is very close- in fact, Angie walked over with the twins and we walked together. Very fun. :) Luke played a little, and did a lot of laying on the floor and putting his head down...yesterday he barely took naps, so maybe it's catching up with him? He even rested his head on my shoulder some, which is my favorite. Rebekah, on the other hand, was her usual bossy self. :) She and Lily are hilarious together and take turns being naughty. :)

Some new linguistic acquisitions-

I am just curious about whether I could catch the bus with this stick.

Did you not realize that I already had milk, Mom?

Mom- there were polkadotty things in the grass- little white circles, that look like eggs! What do you think they are? (I thought this was impressive circumlocution- they were split open nuts)

It's not working- how am I eeevvvveeerrrr gonna do this? It's driving me crazy! (Wow- that's all me- good thing I don't curse.)

Great conversation with Josh the other day: Somehow they started talking about theology- shocking. It was very funny, but I can't remember how it came up. Anyway, she told him, "Daddy, I don't like theology." He asked why. She replied, "Theology doesn't have any toys." Stifling a laugh, Josh told her that theology has a lot of toys- they're just for the mind instead of the hands. Josh might be the only one who will be able to keep up with her.

We have been borrowing Leap Frog "Letter Factory" b/c R has been somewhat interested in letters. However, it is Luke who watches it intently and repeats the phonetic sounds- perfectly! For example, he will say "buh" and "sssss" and "tuh" and "uh", etc....it has been very endearing. Rebekah just likes the scene where Tad gets sick. Go figure.

Sunday morning

The kids were amusing me yesterday morning...thought I'd show you the various things we do before 11am church.

We feed Mickie outside, in sun glasses and pj's.

We are sad about molars coming in, and we watch way too many movies for distraction.

We have play dates with Frodo. Seriously, doesn't she look like she's about to meet the hobbits for a cuppa? This shirt is from Nana (as well as Luke's precious onesie, and both are from Gap, my favorite! That awesome dino sweatshirt is her handiwork, too- Thanks, Phyllis!)

We are sad that Mommy no longer allows us to walk/crawl on top of the window sill.

So we sit in front of it, hoping for a change in heart, and drop magnetic letters inside the radiator. We also try to put them on Mommy's face and are very disappointed when they don't stick.

We jump, I mean bounce, on the couch.

We play with the truck Mamama brought for Luke's birthday. It has been a favorite, so thanks, Mamama! She also gave him the great dino jammies and brown cords.

As happy as Buddy looks here, he had a hard day yesterday. He is pushing thru his last 2 molars (for the first set anyway) and ended up inconsolable except in Mommy's arms watching a movie with a 102.5 fever. He had shots 2 weeks ago that can give this kind of reaction 10-14 days later...? We see the Dr. at 4:40 this afternoon. He has been clingy and fussy today, but consolable. We'll see. I'm trying to take him in any time I think it could be ears, so that it's on the books. Not sure how many times he has to have ear infections to warrant tubes, but if tubes are possible, I'm all for it. Tubes in and adenoids out really, really helped Rebekah. :)

FAB weekend

We have already had a dreamy weekend, and it's not even Sunday (which means fun church times for all and usually family naps!)!

How is this not precious?? This answers why he always has funny sleep lines on his face.

Josh had the idea of having a "Master's Soiree" for the guys who did the Master's Program with him this year. We provided a delicious brisket which josh made in the crockpot, as well as corn casserole and party potatoes (Rachel Green's recipe which is an instant hit anywhere we go). Sam and his wife, Sarah, brought a delicious seafood and veggie dish pictured below.

Tom Scott, aptly named as he is in fact a Scot (and a retired civil engineer) brought this fascinating and exciting assortment of beverages- all different kinds of juice or ginger beer.

The illustrious group. From left to right: Tom (a Scot), Troy, Ben, Josh (all Americans), Sam (and his wife Sarah who are from Hong Kong). Interestingly we were the only ones with kids, and our kids loved all the attention.

Doors Open Day

Today was a day that Aberdeen opened its doors to the public. Places like the Fire Brigade, the Police Station, museums, and judicial courts welcomed visitors. We opted for the Fire Brigade, which was awesome.

Rebekah got to help operate the fire hose.

She also enjoyed putting out fires in this play house.

She even got to get in the fire truck with Daddy!

This was crazy...we watched as this small house fire burst into flames due to water being poured on it...

Rebekah was the only child NOT enchanted by this- she semi-shrieked, seemingly shocked that we would put her in such close proximity to danger. Bless her heart, we were at the fire brigade!

Josh lifted her to slide down the pole, too!

This was the old Fire Brigade.

We then went to the Performing Arts theatre- not sure what it's actually called...

But Rebes got to get on stage, which was a big hit!

We tried the Police Station, but the tour was booked. So, we simply said, "Look! Police! say hello to the police officers..." Kind of anti-climactic.

I've always liked this corner- it is where King Street turns into Union Street (I think anyway!) It is on a bend and I just like it.

Then, we got to go inside St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. I was so impressed by how well-staffed the church was and how strategic they were. They had very friendly greeters and snacks and even an art table set up for toddlers. That is a winning combination for our family.

We loved all the states represented on the ceiling.

Iowa had its own place...

And, sadly, Texas just had its star...?

Rebekah was duly entertained and very sad to leave (they ushered us out due to a wedding) this art table.

We came home, all napped, an then had friends over for an impromptu BBQ. Everyone just brought what they had and each family did their own meat.

Kate, happy Callum, and Rachel O.

Josh, Brannan, and Mark

You really have to keep a keen eye on Luke...

I'll zoom in for you, in case you missed it.

After playing in the sand and dousing themselves with everything imaginable, it was communal bath time. They might as well all be related!

The girls modeling their jammies.