Cake=Good

The boys and I made a cake for Valentine's Day. (If you read our blog regularly, you'll notice that we use any kind of occasion as an excuse for cake, including the end of Daylight Savings and sometimes days that end in 'y.') Luke was a big fan of the cake.

He sucked every last morsel of frosting off his fingers.

But he forgot about the back of his fists. And he couldn't reach (or see) the big glob on his nose.

Still, he knew he was darn cute and posed willingly for his close-up. "Cheese!" :)

Portrait

I completely forgot to share this digital portrait a friend did of the boys for my mom's birthday. She used one of the photographs (taken by another fabulous friend) from our Christmas shoot and turned it into a painting with a computer program. Cool, huh?

Luke's Redecoration of Our Kitchen

Just look at that sweet face! Don't let it fool you, even for a second. He's working you, even now. Notice where he's sitting? That's right...ON the kitchen table.

How did he get up there, you might ask? Well, it all starts with a simple piece of toaster strudel. He doesn't seem to like his high chair anymore, preferring instead to sit at the table with the rest of the family. So we give him a few bites of breakfast to get him started.

The minute we look away, though, he moves up a level, desperate for one of Cody's mini-pancakes. Don't try telling him there was one right in front of him that he's now kneeling on. That's not the point!"Hey look at me! Ta-Da! I'm up on the table! "
"Gimme a pancake!"
So now, this is what our kitchen looks like when we're not sitting down for a meal. Because if there's a chair upright, even if it's wedged in close to the table, he's going to climb up on it and get stuck. He knows how to get up there, it's the getting down part that's the problem.
Looks pretty pleased with himself and his decorating scheme, doesn't he?

Nothin' Doin'

We've been lying kind of low in the last couple of weeks, not up to much at all. Luke had bronchitis, which was a low point, but other than that we've been enjoying the mostly temperate weather and spending a lot of time outside.

Luke got a big kick out of his first experience with bubbles. I've never heard him cackle that way!

My little daredevil has also begun going down slides on his own. He walks right up, turns his back to the slide, gets down on his belly, and pushes off!
Forgive the scary hair and the scabs, and admire the bright blue eyes! And then giggle at the "separated at birth" that follows. LOL
Cody just loves playing at the park!

And just to finish up, here's a picture from when Luke was sick. He got very upset when Cody was sitting on my lap and insisted on climbing on board, too. You can see from his little red cheeks that he was feeling really puny, and he just couldn't handle not being in on the snuggling. We're all looking forward to Valentine's Day this weekend. :)

Ice Day 2009

After school got out early on Tuesday due to the inclement weather, it was canceled altogether on Wednesday because everything was covered in ice! The boys were thrilled with our Winter Wonderland and immediately wanted to go out to play. I made them get all bundled up first, and then off they went.

This was the one picture I was able to get of them together outside. They were so busy unearthing big chunks of ice and trying to skate on the sidewalk that I had a hard time convincing them to pose for me, even for a second. I was able to get a few of them in passing, though...think they're having fun?


One of our trees with a lovely coating of ice.

Jacks came back inside with a cup full of the ice he had collected, insistent that we needed to keep it in the freezer. I'm not sure what he's planning to do with it. Maybe he'll make some cool, fruity drinks in mid-July when it's 100+ degrees outside? Note to self: pick up some little drink umbrellas. :)

On to cocoa. We had fun counting out marshmallows. It takes exactly 17 to cover the whole top of the mug.

Then Jacks came up with the idea of poking a straw through the bigger marshmallows because that would make the cocoa taste better. I'm not sure I entirely understand the mechanics of that, but he and Cody both got a big kick out of it!


The boys also made a fort out of chairs and blankets as a place to watch movies, but then were thwarted when they couldn't see the TV from inside. Teehee!

So they ended up on the couch for some Lego Batman fun. Nothing like an ice day to make you enjoy snuggling up inside!

Need a Necktie?

Luke's got one you can borrow! We had just gotten out of the shower and while I was getting dressed, Daddy decided to get Luke ready for the day. :)

Strategically placed hand, color-coordinated guitar in the background...he's a professional poser already!

I mean seriously, how can you get any more adorable than this? Wait, I think I've got it...

This should be the promotional poster for that great new series, "Baby Apprentice." He's SO much cuter than The Donald.

Jackson's Snowman

Jackson had a homework assignment to decorate a snowman any way he wanted in preparation for a school writing project. He came up with the idea of using planets, and after a bit of discussion with Daddy about moon craters and shading, he created the above snowman all on his own. I just love it!