Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Luke is 16 months old!

Luke is 16 months old!

I can't believe it has been four months since he turned one! That means we have been in the US for almost four months.

It sure feels like longer than that.

But this little guy...


Time just needs to pause for him. He is growing and changing too fast for my comfort!

Luke is:

Wearing: Size 12-18 month clothes but is ready to move up! Too bad his next size is packed away in our storage unit!

Size 5 shoes, but he's ready to move up to size 6!

Size 4 diapers. Also, ready to move up. I'm sensing a trend. Perhaps I should move our little guy up. At least it's not because of sentimental reasons. At least it is because of the chaos of an international move!

Eating: Any sort of fruit or yogurt. He's had a bit of a food regression with the cutting of teeth #9-12 right now. We had to switch him back to formula after being on full milk when his stomach had some issues. I haven't had the energy to try switching him back. He likes feeding himself but won't use a spoon if its handle is too short and gets messy. Funny kid.

Sleeping: Through the night, for the most part. Poor little guy has been moved around every 3 weeks for five months now! It takes him awhile to settle in and then we move him! Plus, every time he cuts a tooth his sleep is a disaster. He is definitely the worst teether we have had. Luke also still naps two times a day, for 2 hours each, from 8-10 am and from 1-3 pm. He sleeps from 7pm until 6-7 am.

Saying: Eggs, Moon, HI!, Eyes, Trash, Bubbles, and he signs about 2 dozen different things, his favorite being fish and milk. He is not saying very many things yet but has sounds or signs that he uses to communicate and can usually let us know what he wants. He does love making different animal noises and recognizes 10 or so animals.

Reading: Goodnight Moon! All three of our kids have gone through a phase where they are obsessed with this book. Luke is right now and he asks for it before each nap and bedtime, points to some specific things and wants me to make all of the sound effects to go along with it.

Playing: Luke LOVES cars and cooking in a play kitchen! Balls, chalk, and bubbles are his favorite out door activities. Plus, pressing anything with a button/that makes noise.

Luke has loved living with the grandparents and makes himself right at home. I think it will be so good for him to have his own space, and a routine that he can count on! We can't wait to see how he blossoms and his first little friends that he will make when we settle in to our new life in Annapolis.

Slow down, little guy! We are so excited about each new thing you learn to do and your (usually,) joyous attitude!

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Priorities When Moving

We're moving!

Again!

Ian's accepted a job in Annapolis, Maryland, so we will make our way north of the Mason-Dixon line in the next couple of weeks. (which I'm sure will be an experience all by itself.)

We are so excited to be on our way to being settled after months of unsettled life.

Poor Grace is rather confused about our current status. She's either crying about missing Abu Dhabi or asking where we are living right now. "Are we in Tennessee? Or Minnesota? Or Florida?" It's high time we get ourselves an actual address and start to figure out the whole "Where are you going to kindergarten," thing.

Plus, we've been living out of suitcases and the space in our parents' closets for FOUR months. Crazy.

As we wrap our heads around moving to a place we've never lived in before (though Ian did vacation there as a two year old, so there is always that,) there are the normal questions you ask yourself:

Where are we going to live?
What are our neighbors going to be like?
Will Grace make friends?
What church will we go to?
What will day to day life look like?

But then there are the random, but oh so important questions that you look to Google for the answer for, such as:
Where is the nearest Target?
How "cold" is cold in this city?
What are taxes like? (and let me tell you, that moment when I first remembered about Federal taxes was a hard one! None of that when you work overseas!)
Do kids wear uniforms to school?
And OH MY WORD, GOOGLE, IS THERE A CHICK-FIL-A in ANNAPOLIS?!

Priorities, people, priorities.



Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Happy Birthday, Grace! Part Two

 Grace's fifth birthday happened to fall on the Saturday after Easter this year. In what can only be construed as mom guilt, I felt it was necessary to have an all out party since my child had no friends to celebrate with on or around her actual birthday (due to the move.)

At her first birthday party, in Florida, I had talked her out of a hodge podge princess/dirt cake situation, and instead took the dirt cake inspiration and threw her a garden tea party. It all came together rather quickly. I sent Ian and Grace out to the store in the morning to pick up fresh flowers and balloons and had my parents set up a small table out in their back yard. I'm pretty sure it's just a folding table resting on some crates, but either way it was a great set up. We had colorful paper plates, mugs for hot cocoa (it was a cold and very windy day!) napkin bunnies that my mom folded, and some of Grace's favorite treats.


 Doesn't every little girl ask to have dates at her birthday party?
 Beautiful flowers and cute little bunny ears peeking out of the cups!
 We had towels to sit on and warm, fuzzy blankets to wrap around us to keep cozy.
 We chowed down. Luke LOVED the fruit and made a mess of himself with all of that melon.

 After we ate we played a couple of rounds of an egg/spoon race.
 Around the tree and back!
 Grace and Sophia were pretty excited,
 But their little personalities quickly showed themselves. Sophia followed the rules exactly....
 While Grace found a way to make it happen quickly and to her advantage!
 Afterwards Grace opened a few small presents, including her first Adventures in Odyssey! That makes this momma's heart proud (and to feel really old!)

 We all just love our Gracie girl so much!