My Lukie

I realized that there has been a lot of posting in regards to ella recently. I decided to give Luke a little entry all his own.

Why I love Luke
1. He has the sweetest little voice. The way he raises his voice and the emphasis on certain words just makes me smile. I just love to hear him talk and could really do so all day long.
2. He is kind. Recently he has been a bit too rough with his Sister but I hear that is just what big Brothers do... or so I remember.But when it comes to others he never , nor has he, hit or kicked, pushed or shoved. He loves his friends and nothing makes him happier then to be near them. Sometimes to the point where he is almost on top of them, but he just loves to be with his good buddies.
3. He loves to snuggle: Luke has always been a very affectionate boy. He loves to sit right next to you and take you in. I love that he lets me love right up to him because snuggling my kids is one of my talents in this life. I do it well and often.
4. Luke is so smart: Luke has one of the best memories of any 3 year old I know. He has several books memorized and will read them to me often. He knew all his shapes and colors by 21 months, his letters by sight at 3, and a month ago we started his letter sounds... he has them all memorized now. He will say a word like "bird" and then say, "That starts with buh..buh...B!!"
5. He is very spiritual: I love the things he says about things of a spiritual nature. He always talks about being a missionary like his Grammy and Grandpa, going to the temple, and Jesus. When we visit the temple he says that he can hear Jesus and the last time he said "Mommy, Jesus is singing to me" I told him that I was sure Jesus loves to sing just like him ( Luke has the best voice by the way)
6. Luke is sensitive: At times this is a trial for us but I know that it will be a blessing in his life and ours.
7. Luke is a great big Brother: So I know that I just said he is rough with ella but he is still a killer brother. Luke is always so happy to see her in the mornings and always says" Ella!!!! Did you have a good nap?" He often tells her how much he loves her and I always see him hugging her in the car while we are driving. Ella is going to be a better person because she has Luke for a brother. Watching them together is one of my greatest joys.
8. He is funny and silly: Luke makes us all laugh and can do and say the funniest things.

I can not count how many smiles a day are solely due to our little man!! I love you Luke.

Well, I am going to bed. I could type this blog all night and still miss reasons why I love my Lukie. I feel so grateful to have been sent this sweet, wonderful little boy! I cant wait to watch him learn and grow.

This could be really cool

I know that I am not the best blogger. At my best I throw down a few random thoughts and some recent pictures. But for those of you who actually take a lot of time and energy I thought you may like this site.
http://www.blurb.com/home/1/
This is a place that turns your blogs and pictures into a book. Sounds pretty cool to me.
Just wanted to throw that out there. Maybe it will motivate me to write a little more and to be a bit more creative.

Splurge vs. conserve

Regina hit me up with this idea.

10 things I splurge on

1. My kids clothes: I am known to drop a hefty load at my favorite clothing stores. Janie and Jack is one of the cutest places I have found for girl clothes. I always shop sales but I still spend too much.
2. Name brand diapers: Pampers Cruisers are my favorite. Now that Luke is out of diapers this has relaxed a bit. I think it was more important to have the good one's with a boy.
3. Computers: Dave is an Apple man.. big time. We have a few of their products in our home
4. Razors: I can not do the cheap razors... its just not the same.
5. Good PPO insurance plans: I want to be totally in charge of my health care. And the best Doctors just dont take the less expensive plans.
6. Car washes: I like my car to be nice and clean but I am admittedly lazy. Car washes are one thing I have always happily spent my money on. It just feels so nice and makes me happy.
7. Bedroom linens: Nice down comforter, high thread-count sheets, plush mattress. I spend so much time in my bed, I want it to be a heavenly experience.
8. Silverware: I just like eating with good flatware. It needs to feel good in my hand and in my mouth.
9. Birthdays: I spend a lot of time and money on my kids birthday parties. I just love Birthdays and I want them to have a fun theme and be creative. It is so fun to have a big day all about you!!! I tend to get a little carried away.
10. Bath and Body Works soap: I just love the way your hands smell after washing. Its just a treat!

10 things I conserve on:

1. My clothes: I spend a lot on my kids but I dont buy a lot for myself. I am fine with what I have and if I do buy myself something its always on sale.
2. Make-up: I dont wear a lot of make-up so it's a waste to spend a lot of money on it.
3. Cereal: The other one's taste just a s good, if not better
4. Cleaning products: Its all the same to me
5. Shoes: I am usually in flip-flop's so its just not worth it to me.
6. Going out to dinner: I am so picky and simple in my food tastes that it's all the same to me. I can get good chicken strips anywhere. Though I feel bad for Dave on this one because he enjoys lots of tastes and restaurants.
7. Gas: Whatever is the cheapest...it will still make my car go
8. Accessories: I never wear anything other than my wedding ring. I would like to buy more and think it looks so cute but there are just other things I would rather buy then purses and jewelry.
9. Vacations: We always get these grand trip ideas but then always end up pretty close to home. Maybe when the kids are older and can appreciate it more.
10. music: I just listen to whatever Dave has on his ipod (see...apple) or on in the car. I am easy to please musically so I never buy cd's or itunes.

Tutu cute

ella got a new accessory! She saw it and the first thing she said was, " I'm a princess!" She had fun twirling and jumping in her tutu and I had fun watching her be so girly. Did I mention how in love I am with this sweet girl?

Ella update

Just wanted to give a quick update. Dave is already upstairs sleeping but I couldn't resist a late nap with the kids... I am paying for it now.
We took Miss Ella to her long-awaited Pediatric Urologist appointment on Friday. First off, we waited for 45 minutes to be seen and as much as I hate waiting it was almost fun this time. Ella is such a character and she had all 18 people in that room laughing. She was forcing all the kids to play ring-around-the-roses, stealing other's snacks, dancing and chatting with everyone. When we went back for our turn we had people sad to say good-bye to the show. This girl is such a treat!
Anyways. We have decided to do as the Doctor suggested which is set up a surgery date for Ella. This will save us from not only keeping her on a constant anti-biotic for years but every 6 months we would need to do another VCUG. That is not one I want to be making her do so often. Plus with Dave going back to get his PhD next Fall we will be on poor student insurance and we won't be in full control of ella's treatment and Doctors at that point.
The surgery is out-patient and should be over in less then a hour. The Dr. said the recovery is quick and pretty painless. The best part is that we should never have to think about any of this stuff again afterwards.. hooray!!!
We will keep you all posted on how things go, probably late September will be the surgery. Poor ella, 2 surgeries before she is 2. We're going for no more after this one!!

3,000 miles?!

We had a great road trip which totaled over 3,000 miles. This is a major event as a year ago we couldn't even travel 3 hours without major kid drama.
We visited lots of Family and some friends and made a ton of new memories. The kids did so well, I had to keep pinching myself throughout the trip.
Here are some photos of playing outside, at the pool. the Aquarium, the Logan Temple and other fun shots.

Persistence pays off

I purchased this bedroom set for Ella from Pottery Barn Kids, it was on major sale so I went ahead and did it! The only thing they were out of was the sheet set, which really makes the ensemble if you ask me. So I called different PB Kids all morning looking for them. The total time spent on the phone asking and waiting totaled over 2 hours. We finally went out for the afternoon to the Denver Aquarium and when I got home I went right back to my calling. Sure enough, in Seattle, a nice lady came back with the news I had been waiting to hear all morning. "Yes, I have a Pink, twin, "Eliza" right here in my hands. Would you like me to hold it for you?" I asked her 2 or 3 times if she was serious and when she told me the 3rd time that she was I told her I could just kiss her!!! She respectfully declined but did take my payment and said it would be shipped out to me tomorrow.
So, I do believe hard work and time pay off and in this case at a mere $19.99. And I couldn't be happier. I hope ella likes her new set although she wont be getting it till December 23, Happy Birthday!!! Don't tell her though, its a surprise.

Meant to live in Seattle

I know its been a while since I have posted, we've been on vacation for over a week. We started it all out driving to Salt Lake and have been in Denver for 3 days now. On Thursday we will drive to Logan to visit some more family and then Bountiful for a day with one of my best friends. Finally we will drive to St. George on Saturday and then on home. Its been a lot of driving but the kids have been wonderful and we have been having so much fun and making lots of memories.
As I sit here typing it is raining cats and dogs in Denver. We all were swimming, at the best community pool I have ever seen by the way, and in rolled the clouds and out went all the swimmers. I miss these thunderstorms. We use to get them almost daily in the Chicago Summers. I think that we were meant to live in Seattle with how much we LOVE rain.
I will post pictures soon, when we get home. And thanks for all of you that called to wish me a Happy Birthday yesterday. Im sorry my phone was dead, not the best timing on my part.