Luke is now 2

This past Monday my baby turned 2 years old. It seems like this last year has flown by so quickly. We had a wonderful day together as a family. As tradition dictates, Brandon took the day off and we went out early to get pictures taken at JCPenny. We get pictures taken there every year because I'm a sentimental freak and I have to do what my Mother did for me.

After pictures (which turned out horrible BTW, because, hello, 2 year olds are cute, but they don't hold still), we drove up to Pleasant Grove and went to Kangaroo Zoo. Luke loved every moment we spent there while poor Peter was in misery because of diarrhea problems (his bowel problems are too numerous to even mention).  We all paid admission so we could all climb around which turned out to be best since Luke couldn't climb up the slides himself. Here is a picture of what it looks like at Kangaroo Zoo.

Luke loved all the animals that were on top of the bouncy areas. He thought it was great that he could go from the octopus to the elephant and then back to the octopus.Thank goodness there were only two other families there so Luke could roam around to his hearts content.

We ended up eating lunch at the kids favorite fast food establishment - Wendy's. Like always Luke inhaled his cheeseburger with reckless abandon. Similarly, he spilled his fries all over the floor with similar enthusiasm. Oh....my......children.

This year I took a trip to DI the week before his b-day and I was totally shocked with the good things I was able to find. It has been especially exciting to seen Luke enjoy the toys I did buy for him. For once, I got things right this time. I bought him the Tigger riding airplane at DI for $3, plus a bunch of books and some clothes. He loves Elmo so when I saw this shirt at Sears I just had to buy it.

I also found another Fisher Price animal toy that works with a similar animal toy I bought him for Christmas. I swear this boy is going to work at a zoo or something (or be a Animal Vet), because he loves animals so much.

I caved in this year for his b-day and I had the local bakery make him this cake. He thought the Elmo toy on it was so awesome. Truth be told, he only ate three bites of the cake. Ah well, at least it was cute even if Luke didn't think it was very tasty. Brandon's parents came down that evening and gave Luke a darling outfit and two additional books. It was so nice to see them and have time with them on Luke's special day. I appreciate all the things they give our boys for their b-days.

I can't imagine what Luke will be like this next year. I'm crossing my fingers he doesn't turn into a terrible two-year old. I guess only time will tell.

Being a Good parent

Over the past couple of months I've notice the relationship between my two boys is not what I want it to be. They are constantly fighting over toys and pushing/shoving each other when they don't get what they want. It's been a constant source of concern for me.

A few weeks back I awoke during the middle of the night for a routine potty break. However, my mind was very alert and I decided while I was up I might as well say a prayer asking for specific direction in regards to this particular problem. The thought came to me that I should make a jar for each child and then when they did something unkind to each other they would have to put something inside to symbolize their unkindness.

The next day I got busy and made jars. A few days after that I went to the craft store and bought a variety pack of colored pom poms. Then, the week after, I sat down with the boys and told them what we were using the jars for. Unfortunately, the jar idea was a failure. Honestly, I think it's because I was always threatening them with putting a pom pom in the unkindness jar. So once again I went back to prayer and had the idea of praising the boys for their kindness instead. Talk about a complete change in behavior. We've been doing it a few weeks now and Peter has already filled up his jar twice.  Every time a jar is full that child gets a special treat. The first time Peter got some of these:

 

The second time he filled up his jar he got a bag full of Green Army Men. As a side story Peter is obsessed with Toy Story and anything related to Toy Story. He has Buzz, Woody, Hamm, Rex, Mr & Mrs Potato Head, and Bullseye. He uses an old pound puppy of mine for Slinky Dog and he uses some green blocks to make the Space Alien Babies. So, when he filled up the jar this time he really, really, wanted Green Army Men. I thought they would be so easy and cheap to find. Turns out I was totally wrong. None of the Dollar Stores had them, neither did Walmart, Shopko, or the grocery stores around here. We finally were able to find a bag at KMart. Thank goodness, because I didn't want to have to order them from Amazon.

Anyway, Peter is about 1/2 thru filling up his jar for the third time and once it is full he wants me to take him and Lukie on a picnic to Daddy's work. Not exactly sure how we are going to make that work since it will be February and there will probably be snow on the ground. I have a feeling we will end up in Daddy's office eating on a blanket with Daddy's office door shut. LOL, what a fun memory this jar has been. 

Here are a couple of fun pictures of Peter getting his pom poms and filling up his jar.

 

Snowmen, snowmen, everywhere

This past Friday I hosted our weekly neighborhood playgroup. We had a chance to have some of the older kids come to playgroup since school was not in session for the day. I thought it might be fun for the older kids to do a little craft. So I gathered the supplies to make snowmen out of used glass jars. The kids had a blast and got quite messy. In the end, the snowmen turned out to be very cute.

That same day I pulled out my paper doll collection. While the kids played with them a little bit, I found that Peter enjoyed these particular paper dolls a lot more during the next few days. He thinks Barbie is pretty neat because she is on the Toy Story movies. Sadly the lamination on the dolls isn't the same as it was 20+ years ago so Peter used poster putty to put the clothes on Barbie. It was pretty fun to watch him play with this set. 

Our year in pictures

Since it's been such a long time I've posted I decided it might be fun to do a quick recap of 2012 in pictures. I love taking pictures and I have plenty of funny ones to share. This first one was taken on January 5th last year. We were happily playing with sidewalk chalk in short sleeves. What a warm day that was. Both Peter and Luke love playing with sidewalk chalk and bubbles. Those two activities alone can keep them occupied for a very long time.

This is just a typical day at the Thomas house. Dad is searching for yummy food in the fridge, Luke is sitting patiently in his highchair, and Mom is busy doing random things in the kitchen. This photo was taken by Peter and I think he did a good job at capturing an everyday moment in our home.

One day in March the boys begged us to make a fort. Since Brandon was home on that day he decided to go all out for this fort. We gathered every blanket and chair we own and made a fort big enough to fit all of us inside. Peter and Luke were thrilled and they loved hiding in it. They loved it even more when Mom and Dad got inside of it with them.

Last Christmas (Christmas of 2011) Peter got this Woody from a neighbor boy who had outgrown it. Well, in April, Peter decided it would be fun if he painted Woody with fingernail polish. He quickly learned that was a bad idea. He was literally bawling when I found him in my bathroom trying to get the polish to come off. Needless to say, I had a serious talk with him about playing with mommy's nail polish.

This picture was taken on Mother's Day. I really wanted to get a cute picture of me and the boys on this special day. While I got some other ones that show us all looking at the camera, this is my favorite because Peter looks so, so happy. I hope we will always be a happy family.

I love Luke's facial expression in this picture. So, classic. He is attempting to get off my lap while I attempt to squeeze him tighter so he will stay on. By the way, both Luke and Peter love Mickey Mouse. Today I heard Luke attempting to say Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse and it was the cutest thing ever.

Peter felt so grown up on this day after church. Brandon let Peter help him drive home. Just look at that face - pure happiness right there. I remember my Dad occasionally doing the same thing with me and my sisters when we were young. Thank goodness the road from the church to our house is not very busy. If we let him,  he would always let us drive home from church.

In August we were lucky and got to go with Brandon on a business trip to Logan. Although it's only 2 hours away, we made a nice vacation out of it. While Brandon was in meetings the boys got to play in the huge tub that was in our room. They loved it so much!

In September Brandon used a vacation day and we took the boys the zoo. The highlight of the trip was seeing the boys get so excited about the Polar Bear and Grizzly Bear areas. Luke loves animals so he was in heaven. I was just thankful that Brandon was able to come with us.

In October my parents decided to host a family get together which we are now having every month. This is me and my sisters (Lisa and Amy). Lisa is holding her baby - Ben. I love this picture of us because we really do a lot to help each other out. I love that Amy is feeding Ben a bottle and I'm scratching Lisa's back. I feel so lucky to have such great sisters.

In November Peter memorized his first book. He and Luke both love the Gerald and Piggie books and we kept this one long enough for Peter to memorize. It was adorable to see him turn the pages, look at the words/pictures, and then read what it said. It makes me so excited for the time when he really can read books on his own. In an attempt to teach my kid the importance of reading we go to our local library every week. I feel very fortunate that we have a great local library.

In December we did lots of fun things. This picture is my Mom helping Luke weave his annual paper heart to hang on the Christmas tree. After all our hearts are on the tree we all hold hands and dance around it while singing a special Danish song. I love this tradition and I'm glad I captured this precious moment of my Mom and Luke.

Looking back on this past year it's been fun to see all the adventures we do have. When it comes right down to it, I don't feel like I do very many fun things with my kids. However, these pictures otherwise. Go me!