Baseball Season Begins...GO STINGERS

Andrew and Luke had their first baseball practice last Saturday. Luke was old enough to play this year, so they get to be on the same team. Daddy is helping coach and I am the team mom. Our team was assigned to be the Gold team. We were not so excited with our color, but once we decided on our team name, things got a little more exciting. We named our team The STINGERS. We are going with a bee theme, which has been a lot of fun for mommy to plan :) There should be many more STINGER posts coming in the next couple weeks.

Allie & Austin

Here is what Allie does to her friend Austin when he comes to our house. He's such a cooperative boy with this girl.

Oh Andrew..

Last Sunday morning daddy left for a 4 day work trip. While we were getting ready for church Andrew came running down the hall with this little post it note and snuck it in daddy's suitcase. He was clearly very proud of himself for keeping it hidden from daddy. I MELTED!!! No one told him this would be a good idea, he just thought of it. It was funny because about five minutes earlier I had written Andy a little card and hid it in his suitcase as well. I was so proud of Andrew and I love his gentle and sweet side. I know daddy treasured his note and he will for a very long time.

COWGIRL ALLIE

Our little cowgirl is 21 months old...can't believe we are almost 2. Allie is a character!!! She knows what she wants and is very vocal about it. She also has a sweet little side that gives giant hugs, kisses, yells "hi" and "bye", and says "please." We often just find ourselves laughing at this girl and the things she does. She loves to dance and sing and her latest favorite is to roll her hands around like you do in patty cake. Allie loves to clean and tries to do whatever mommy does. She has to sit on the kitchen counter while I make very meal. She keeps us busy and I seem to forget with each child how much chasing around and constant energy this stage is.

LUKEisms.....

LUKE.....our very unpredictable boy!!! This boy keeps us wondering all the time. We have learned that he is very SHY!!! We are slowly learning how to work with this and help him feel confident. He is so unpredictable because you're never quite sure what he is going to do, or what his reaction will be. Last week he decided one afternoon while playing outside with all the neighbors that he was ready to ride his bike, so he wheeled it down the driveway and off he went. This wouldn't be such a big deal, but we have been encouraging him to ride his bike for a year and half. We've tried one on one time with him, riding with others, and tightly holding onto him while trying to ride. He was only going to ride when he was ready.
He has had a really hard time going to other people's houses or being left with a babysitter. Sometimes he cries, hangs on me, and makes it very difficult to leave. Other times he runs right in without a problem. I'm never sure what to expect.
We started baseball and Luke is playing for the first time this year. Luke hates to wear socks and shoes, so he lives in his crocs. I have been dreading...I mean dreading getting this boy to wear cleats and socks. So this week we headed out to find the perfect socks and cleats. What do you know the boy was excited to wear them and had them on his feet almost all day on Saturday. I also wasn't sure how practice was going to go...he started out great, but hung close to daddy. All of a sudden when his group switched out of daddy's station, he lost it. I mean hysterical sobbing, digging his face in my shoulder, and hanging out in the dugout kind of episode. All of a sudden he recovers and heads out to finish the practice and doesn't even need to be super close to daddy anymore. You just never know with this boy.
Luke also has the greatest comments. Last night we were watching the Olympics with the boys and every time we told them the athlete's name, Luke had a comment. Here are some of them. Andy and I were laughing so hard at this boy who was laying on the floor on his fleece sleeping bag, hands perched behind his head, and feet crossed.
Daddy - His name is Peter Luke - Oh, like Peter Pan
Daddy - His name is Ted Luke - Oh, like Teddy
Daddy - His name is Manny Luke - Oh, like Manny Harris on Michigan's basketball team (daddy was proud)
Daddy - His name is Warner Luke - Oh, like worm
Daddy - His name is Mario Luke - Oh, like Mario Brothers

Love this BOY and all the unpredictable moments that come along with him!!

San Francisco...

Monday we headed to San Francisco to visit our friend Ann and little Liam at UCSF Children's Hospital. It was so good to see them and give hugs and encouragement during such a difficult time. We knew we couldn't visit for a long time, so we thought we would plan a day in the city with the kids. We went from the hospital to Golden Gate Park for a picnic lunch. We took a bus and walked quite a ways (we're not so good with city life and transportation). After our picnic we were planning on taking the kids to the Academy of Science Museum, but the wait to buy tickets was over an hour. We quickly made a plan as a family and decided to just head to Pier 39 to see the seals and hang out. Since we had trouble with the buses on the way to the museum we decided to walk back to the car. It was a couple mile walk and we ended it walking up a giant hill. We were all sweating as we were not in proper attire for such a long walk...but we made it to the car. We headed down to Pier 39, saw the seals, went on the carousel, had ice cream cones, saw enough interesting people for one day, and then headed home.

Valentine FUN...

We started our Valentine celebrations on Friday with Andrew's class party. The kids were so excited to open up their Valentine's...so CUTE!!! On Sunday we had a yummy breakfast, went to church, had a picnic lunch, and then went on a family bike ride on a local trail by grandpa and grandma's house. Luke just started riding his bike, so he was really wanting to go on a family ride. It was a SLOW ride and walk (not quite ready to ride up and down hills, so there was a lot of walking the bike), but it made Luke's day and he was very proud of himself. We ended the day with some outside playtime with neighbors and a yummy dinner at Plutos.

Valentine Boxes

We got to stay up late the other night and make Valentine boxes for school. I just let the boys be creative. They each made a very unique box. Andrew chose white and yellow for his paper color, put some flower stickers on it, drew some snowmen, and glues two white crosses on the box....very Valentineish if you ask me. Luke used all the farm animal stickers on his and he went with red, purple, and pink paper...a little more Valentineish than brother. They are so proud of their boxes and can't wait to put Valentine's in them.

Andrew's Kindergarten Community Helpers Field Trip

Andrew's class went on a field trip this week to a local shopping center. They got to ride the bus there, which is always a favorite. Once they got there we visited a piano shop, a bike store, the Nugget grocery store, and a Chinese food restaurant. The kids enjoyed getting to see the behind the scenes at some of the stores. They were able to eat lunch at the Chinese food restaurant, which was an experience. They had a huge buffet that all 60 Kindergartners were trying to make their way through. Most of the food was not too kid friendly, but they loved having the independence to make their own plates. I was glad to be able to go along and hang out with my boy!!!

Our Little Writer

Allie loves to sit at my desk and write, make a mess, color, and try and do whatever she sees me doing. The other day she was carrying around this card and writing on it. After she would write, she would pretend to give it to me or Andy. She really looks like she is writing a note, which is my favorite part. I found her on the kitchen floor busily writing away. I really can't get enough of this girl.

T.T's Birthday Hike

Last Saturday we celebrated my sister's birthday by heading up to Auburn to hike and play at the river. The kids LOVE doing this. It was a beautiful day with huge puffy white clouds and the sun was shining. My favorite part about this day was watching Luke. He has been in a stage lately that we have discovered has to do with him being very shy. We wouldn't have guessed this a year ago, but we have a boy who loves being with daddy and mommy and gets very shy around others. I always say, he's getting in his shell. We have been working on helping him feel confident even when he wants to be shy. Anyways, the boy came out of his shell at the river. He was running, smiling, talking to people, asking to hike more, and just having a great time. It was so fun to watch him in an element where he felt super comfortable. Looks like we have a little outdoorsman on our hands. I love the picture of him sitting by the river, he looks so cute and I feel like he looks so happy and content.

It was so fun to get out with the whole family to enjoy the beautiful river and hiking trails. The kids could throw rocks in the river all day. Uncle Jesse helped them build a dam in the river, which caused some excitement and some intense working. Allie enjoyed throwing the rocks in the water and eating the snacks from the snack bag.

Happy Birthday T.T.....we love you!!!