Good (Great-Taste-in-Music) Genes

A quick story from a few weeks ago.  Adam, Audrey, Luke, and I were out and about, running some errands.  We had gone to a few different places, and before we knew it, dinnertime was upon us.  We had to do a quick Costco run, so as we drove that way I called in for a pizza order, so we could just pick that up with the few other things on the list.  The kids were a little tired, so I just decided to run in on my own, while Adam did a few laps around the parking lot.  I guess, when I got out of the car, the kids started to whine a bit.  Adam was doing his best to drive and try to calm the frazzled nerves.  He began to radio surf.  Audrey quieted and was doing fine - with the soothing aid of her thumb.  Luke's mood was only deteriorating.

And then, Adam changed frequencies again.  And this song came on:




Luke's reaction was instantaneous.  As he heard the opening bars, his whiney-cry turned into a
Butthead-esque breathy chuckle.

Apparently, the kid already has fantastic taste in music.  Just like his mom (if I do say so myself).

I was really sorry that I missed that particular instance.  But, I did enjoy hearing about it when I got back to the car.

(Why are you surprised?  What else were you expecting?)

Chase Each Udda

Our kids love to run around.  They love active games - anything that involves lots of running, crawling, climbing, swinging, and jumping.  Usually, Audrey will say, "Mom, let's chase each udda."  So we do.  Or sometimes, completely spontaneously, one of my two cuties will simply start to run around and the other will soon follow suit.

Most of the time it's when we are downstairs, in our play room/guest room and they will end up doing laps around the big bed, chasing each udda.  It's awesome!

And they just go.

And go and go.

And the whole time they are giggling and laughing and screaming!

Sometimes they panic a little as their chasing partner comes up faster than expected.

But most of all, it's just fun, fun, fun!

Just as a side note - check out Luke's, like, totally awesome high tops!  I found 'em on clearance over a year ago and I could not NOT buy them for Luke.  I've been (rather impatiently) waiting for him to grow into them!  And they finally fit and they look so cute on him, as an added bonus he has a cool way of stomping around in them that makes it even better!

Sometimes, mid-chase, Audrey will pause and give me a cute smile!

And other times, mid-chase, Luke will stop and give me a mischievous look and then the tables are turned and I become the chased...

or the tackled... depending on how quickly I move!

3... and 31

Adam and I have some happy news.


A few weeks ago, we found out that we are expecting our third child!


Yes, Christian Baby #3 is on it's way!  And we are thrilled!


It was kind of funny when we first found out because I didn't really believe it.  I didn't believe it because I didn't feel any of the typical pregnancy signs and symptoms - I kept thinking that I was just really late or that the positive home pregnancy tests were just false positives - I just couldn't accept that it was possible that I was actually pregnant because of the absence of all of the junk that typically accompanies a growing embryo! I have since switched my feelings of disbelief into feelings of gratitude for this being a much easier pregnancy than my previous two.  I am trying to remain grateful that I am not feeling so miserable physically and enjoy this new-not-so-sick kind of pregnancy!

I am coming up on 7 weeks along.

The Web MD site says this about the baby's development at week 7:

"Your embryo makes great strides in size this week, growing to between 0.44 inches and 0.52 inches from crown to rump by the end of the week, or about the size of a small raspberry. Leg buds are starting to look like short fins, and hands and feet have a digital plate where fingers and toes will develop. The heart and lungs are becoming more developed, as are the eyes and nostrils, intestines and appendix. By now the brain and spinal cord are growing from the neural tube."


A small raspberry!  Isn't that amazing?!  It is incredible how much happens, and how quickly everything develops and grows into a perfect, beautiful little miracle of a baby.  We have enjoyed wondering if this new little one will be one like this: 

or maybe more like this:

Either way, we will be ecstatic!

It's number 3 for us.  It is also number 3 grandchild for Adam's mom, but it's grandchild number 31 for my parents!  And we are pleased to share the news with you!

Luke and Our Driveway

Luke is a funny kid.  First of all, he loves to be outside.  Like, loves it.  Like, L-O-V-E-S it.

He likes to go to the glass door that connects our kitchen with our carport and look outside, if he really wants to go outside, he'll knock on it.  What's funny about Luke loving to be outside is that most of the time the bulk of what he does is run from the back wall of the carport all the way to the very edge of the sidewalk - which absolutely drives me crazy because he stops at the very edge and I'm never positive if he'll actually stop before barreling into our very busy residential street.  Then, once he's reached the very last inch of sidewalk, he turns around and runs back to the back wall of the carport and back and forth.  And back and forth.  And back and forth... you get the idea.

So, to combat my fears of him running into the street, I end up playing goalie - Luke is the ball and the street is my net.  I pace and shuffle and get ready to change direction at the last second to keep him from going into the street.  He can't get past me.  It's actually a pretty fun game.

For the record:  I am fairly certain that he knows not to go in the street and it's been a rare occurrence when he has left the sidewalk, but I play goalie all the same.

Better to be safe than sorry and all that.


Luke is a pretty wily competitor - he tries to zig and zag his way past me, and he's faster than you'd think!

Here, he's trying to fake me out:

(He's thinking, "If I look to the left she'll think that I'm going to go to the left...

Oh!  Ha ha ha!  Psych!  I looked to the left and then I went right!  Fooled you, sucka!")

He proceeded to run down the sidewalk in front of our house, then he turned around at the corner and came right back - as if to make sure we were still having fun with our game.

And we were.

And that's it.  He sticks to the driveway for most of the time - he only traverses the grass to get to the swing we have in the corner.

What can I say?  The kid loves swings!

And who can blame him?!

My Cute Audrey

Yesterday, Audrey wanted to watch a movie, so I put one on for her.  I left the room for just a few minutes.  When I returned, Audrey had crawled under a blanket and her head was lying on her fluffy pillow - watching her movie, looking all comfy cozy.

She was also sucking her thumb.  It was her right thumb.  It's always her right thumb.

She looked so cute, tucked into her blanket and snug as a bug, so I blew her a kiss from the open doorway.

What was cute about it, is she blew a kiss back to me... while continuing to suck her thumb.  So, her right thumb was in her mouth, she lifted her left palm to her thumb-plugged mouth and did a kissing sound and pucker around her right thumb and onto her left palm, and then she blew me the kiss while her right thumb was still securely in her mouth.

And then I went on to the various little household tasks I had on my list, laughing all the way down the stairs!


Later that evening, I was at my More Than Words class and Adam told me that while I was gone, Audrey kept "calling" people and telling them that she couldn't go because she had to go with dad to pick up mom, or that no they can't come over because she would be helping dad to get mom... and so forth.

It was the usual people that she was calling - you know:  Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, and Sleeping Beauty.

She's such a fun little girl.  I feel so lucky to be her mom!

Dress Up with the Girls

A little over a week ago, my sister Dawnette came down for a quick visit.  She brought three of her kids with her too:  McKayla, Malachi, and Talea.  Audrey had so much fun with her three cousins!  Especially Talea and McKayla!  

It didn't take long for Audrey and Talea to get into the dress up clothes bin!

And McKayla is always so great about playing with the girls and helping out!  (She was so nice and even went above and beyond and cleaned Audrey's room for her!)

I'm so glad that we live near enough to get our kids all together so my kids can be close with their cousins!

Sleepy Boy

Earlier this week, I had been playing with the kids downstairs when I realized that lunch time was upon us, so I went up to the kitchen and made some grilled cheese sandwiches.  While I was in the kitchen, I could hear the kids continue to play and then for a while Luke started making some slightly whining noises.  By nature, Luke is pretty laid back, meaning that he doesn't get worked up unless there's a reason - so, I just figured that he was, indeed, hungry and ready for lunch.  As I finished preparing lunch, I realized that Luke had stopped making the whining noises.  As I rounded the corner of the hall to go downstairs, I saw Luke kneeling on the stairway, with his head resting on his folded arms, leaning on the step above.  I was confused for approximately 2.5 seconds - the time it took me to pick up on the very slight, very quiet snoring noise coming from my sleepy boy!

And it was another 2.5 seconds to know that I just had to take a few pictures!

Can you imagine being so tired that you fell asleep, mid-stair?

Apparently, the whining was only a little bit about being hungry and more about being kinda sleepy.

Sleepy enough that he couldn't move himself to a more comfortable spot - and gave in to the weighty pull of slumber, right in the middle of the stairway.

The best part about it was the snoring!