Luke's Half Birthday

Yesterday was Luke's half-birthday, not that we did much in the way of celebration. Unfortunately, everyone is sick, yet again, so we stayed inside and hunkered down. It didn't help that we got a snow storm. However, Luke is certainly something to be celebrated, and he's made our lives so happy over the past six months. Here's what he's up to lately:

• Sleeping is sporadic at best. Some nights he'll only wake up once, the next night he'll be up every hour. Ugh.
• He's eating solids, but we're still mostly sticking with banana and cereal. He seems reluctant to start eating, and the aftermath of solids really upsets his little tummy. We're taking things slow but steady.
• He's finally enjoying sitting up in his bumbo or high chair, but he can't sit up on his own yet. I think his lack of stability may have something to do with his cloth diapers. They tend to offset him slightly.
• Toys are his 24/7 constant companion. He's gotten very good at reaching for things, and he has to have a toy in his hands to be happy. Gotta say, his fine motor skills are excellent for his age. 
• He has the happiest, most easy-going personality of any children I've ever met. He is smiley, content, easy to soothe, and all-around wonderful. I love his sweet disposition and gentle nature. What a good, cute little man :)

We love our baby boy, and he's been such a life-affirming addition to our family. It's funny that he fits in perfectly and yet is so different from his older brother. Their temperaments are almost polar opposite, and yet they actually play together almost all day. The fastest way to make Luke laugh is to put Max in front of him. It's heartwarming to see that they've taken such an early liking to each other, and I'll enjoy it while the peace lasts. 

I'll post Luke's 6 month stats after he sees his doctor next week, but in the meantime, we are taking this week to celebrate our baby boy!

Honey-Do List

I decided that, since I finished our taxes already, we should treat ourselves with a little present. Kind of a spend some of the money before it gets here kinda thing. Not so sure Darreck loves my idea of a treat :)

We have been doing some minor updating. Over Christmas break we painted the front door red, and the pictures do not do it justice. I love it! We also whitewashed the brick on the fireplace, and it instantly made the living room seem so much bigger. It's one of my favorite projects so far.

In our latest trip to Home Depot, we also bought tile for the bathroom, and Darreck is going to start putting it in tomorrow. If I haven't totally run him off yet, I'm also thinking about making him take the wall dividing our kitchen and dining room down to a half wall. We'll see if I get my way, but we all know I usually do! So far all these projects have been one day, hundred dollar or less projects, and it's amazing the difference they have made. I'm really starting to feel like our house is our own. It also soothes my constant need for things to be changing. Every time Darreck gripes about my latest project, I remind him that it's either home renovation or moving. His attitude usually improves after that :)

In case you were curious, here's the much-needed new faucet. This was a project that I can't believe we lived for 2-1/2 years without doing. Trying to rinse dishes before was ridiculous. This will actually make my life much easier.

Domestic Diva

No, I'm not professing to be a domestic diva, but I did pull off some pretty amazing feats this week. Yesterday I managed to make Darreck ribs for dinner AND make myself a skirt. That's like some kind of new record :)

The skirt is cute and worked out pretty well, in spite of not having any idea what I was doing. My favorite part of sewing is that I get to make something perfectly chosen and tailored for me. Every time I walk into the fabric store I find something new that I just have to have. Now I just have to learn to sew better so I know what to do with it! My next project is going to be scarves and headbands. My default is to go to the store and buy stuff, but I can't ever find exactly what I'm looking for and, if I can, it's way expensive. My default is slowly but surely turning to make it instead. It's been fun!!!!

Here's the skirt I made, along with one of the two cutest things I've ever made- Max :)

And, one more picture where I don't look chunky because I'm pushing my hip out to hold Max. Just for good measure ;)

Week in Review

I'm not exactly sure why this week felt so busy, but it seemed to fly by! Last Sunday Max started Sunbeams at church, and I cannot believe he's big enough to be in big boy primary already. It seems like we just sent him to nursery for the first time, and here we are sending him off to class already. We got him a new set of scriptures to mark the transition, and he was excited. However, I think they've been more of a distraction in class than anything :)

Luke is doing well, and really starting to enjoy eating real food. He's tried banana and avocado  but he still likes his cereal best. I get super nervous trying out avocado with the boys the first time, like I did last night with Luke, because my dad is allergic. However, he handled it like a (somewhat reluctant) trooper. Max loved trying out new foods all the time, but Luke, so far, has been much more content to stick to his favorites. That should make him pretty easy to feed!

Love my boys, all three of them. Love my life! We're doing good and enjoying life in the slow lane right now.

Back to Normal

I am so completely exhausted right now! Darreck went back to work after Christmas break on Wednesday, and I've been playing catch-up ever since. Every year I'm convinced that the house will never be clean again after Christmas, but after a few days we return to life as normal. However, normal does not necessarily mean easy. It takes pretty much all I have to keep up with Max these days; he never, ever stops! His new trick is jumping from our nightstand, taking a huge hop on the bed, and doing a flying somersault onto the floor. The kid is fearless, and he has a limitless amount of energy. I wish he could share some with me :)

Luke, for the first time every, has started playing with Max this week. It's super cute! Max will throw his blanket over Luke's play mat, creating a fort, and they'll hide in there together and giggle. Cracks me up every time. It's nice to see them spending real time together, just the two of them. However, and don't tell Max, but Luke's best friend is actually Tana. He's totally obsessed with getting to pet her, and they'll lay together forever, just hanging out. Lucky for us, she likes him too.

They're cute, I'm tired, and I'm enjoying them both being in bed right now. I see big things coming for this year~ more brotherly love, lots more messes, a fun summer together, and hopefully some short family trips. Also, we're kicking up our Total Money Makeover this year, and we're looking forward to taking a huge bite out of our five year financial plan. We also have great goals to have a weekly date night, as well as a weekly father-son outing for Max. Above all, we're looking forward to making some great memories and having tons of fun :)

P.S. Check out the new white brick and mantle behind Max. That was our Christmas project this year, along with painting the front door red. This Christmas break project thing is becoming a tradition, a tradition that I'm not so sure Darreck likes. Poor guy!