Sunday, April 17, 2011

Two!

Wow, does time fly! It is crazy to think that we are the parents of a two-year-old already! That's right, Luke turned TWO last Tuesday. We had a good time looking back down memory lane, celebrating Luke and all that he has brought into our lives. Over the last two years he has brought us so much joy, such love, such fun... along with times of frustration, annoyance, and headaches... but we're choosing to remember and focus on the joy, love and fun stuff. We love our (not so little) Luke. Happy Birthday big boy!

We decided to use Luke's birthday as an excuse to have all our friends over for a little BBQ. It just so happens that all our friends are the parents of Luke's friends, so it worked out perfectly! The house was packed with people we love and who care about Luke. I know I've said it before, but it is SO amazing to have such a great circle of friends. When we live far away from family and relatives can't be here to celebrate with us, it is awesome to have such great friends who, in many ways, are family to fill that gap.
Look at all those booster seats!
Luke and his buddies
Chowing down on hot dogs- classic toddler birthday food.
Don't forget the cake!
Who needs forks when you can just shove the entire piece in your mouth at once?
More please!
On Luke's official birthday we were much more low-key. We had a nice little birthday dinner and brownies for dessert then skyped with both sets of grandparents so they could watch Luke open up the gifts they had sent him. He was quite excited about the pile of presents this year, especially those in Buzz Lightyear wrapping paper!
Trying to get him to smile/say 'cheese' for a good picture while standing next to a pile of presents was too much to ask for.

Skyping with Grannie and Pops in IL, then Grammie in WA. Gotta love this technology that allows Luke's grandparents to still participate in his birthday while being miles apart.
A new Elmo book that Grannie (Nee-Nee) and Pops recorded themselves reading to him- a fast favorite.
More puzzles from Grammie! He loves taking all the puzzles apart but hasn't quite gotten the hang of putting them back together again yet.
And a bike from Mom and Dad!
This was not my best 'mom' moment when it comes to thinking ahead. I didn't realize how much assembly there actually was involved in putting the bike together. And I didn't think ahead that a two year old doesn't have the patience to wait for his handy-man-handicapped dad to try and put the thing together. Whoops. Buzz Lightyear to the rescue! - seriously, we just put on Toy Story and Luke was entertained long enough for us to figure out the instructions and assemble the new bike. Lesson Learned.
Luke 'helping'. Love the look on Matt's face. :)
The finished product!
(Luke was too busy watching Buzz to be bothered to smile for me... oh well)
We realized that this was the second birthday that Luke opened presents without any pants on. I'm not sure why that was but maybe we're starting a new tradition here...I suppose we'll just have to see if he can stand to wear pants on his 3rd birthday!
Thank you to everyone who helped make Luke's birthday special! We love you all.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Obsession

To say that Luke is obsessed with trucks/cars could even be an understatement. He loves trucks, buses, cars, vans, trains, planes, motorcycles, bikes.... anything with wheels really. And we're talking he REALLY LOVES these things. He has pointed out all trucks, buses and planes while we're driving for months. I honestly never realized how many trucks and buses are on the streets until Luke started pointing them out, nay, screaming them out! His collection of toy trucks and cars has grown over the past few months. He likes to drive them on the coffee table, line them up, knock block towers over with them, even sleep with them. Some children prefer soft, cuddly teddy bears or blankets. Not Luke. He needs to be surrounded by his cars. Such a boy! Sleep tight.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Chocoholic

I have an enormous sweet tooth. I'm pretty sure I helped myself to a bowl of ice cream nightly when I was pregnant with Luke so it's really no surprise that Luke inherited my love for sweet things, especially chocolate.
Brownie mix was on sale a few weeks ago - chocolate on sale! Like I could resist! Luke always enjoys 'helping' me in the kitchen and was especially thrilled to help make brownies. Mmmm.

Licking the bowl clean
Gotta love the chocolate goatee
Last week Luke discovered hot chocolate is pretty tasty too... in powder form. He had taken the box of hot chocolate out of the pantry, into the living room and behind a chair to indulge his craving. Do you think he knew he wasn't really supposed to be eating that? Stinker.
The pictures are of him going back for seconds after I took it away and put it back in the pantry. I know, I probably shouldn't have taken pictures, which only reinforces the behavior, but I couldn't help it! It was a true 'terrible two's' kodak moment.
Since then the powdered drinks have been relocated to a higher shelf.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Madness

March may officially be over but basketball madness is still going strong, at least in the DeBoer house. Every year Matt gets completely into the NCAA tournament. He loves filling out the bracket, picking his upsets, watching the games, listening to the commentary.... And every year his enthusiasm is contagious. He succeeds in getting his class and his family excited about the tournament as well.

This year is particularly fun because Luke is very much into basketball. He points out all the basketball hoops he sees and is constantly pulling on our arms (mostly Matt's) to have us shoot hoops with him.

He is getting better at shooting from a distance and actually has decent form, according to coach dad. He's definitely a lefty, pushing the ball up with his left hand and following through with a snap of his wrist. (not shown in this picture) I have a video of Luke and Matt playing basketball but blogger won't let me upload it, or any other video, for some reason. puzzler.
Studying the bracket and picking his teams. We all filled out a bracket this year - Luke did the best during the first round, picking ALL of the upsets.
I'm pretty sure the basketball madness in March will only get worse as Luke gets older. Heaven help us. :)