Pumpkin Patches

Luke at Ebert's

Luke at Cozy Nook

Leaf Pile with Nana

Nana came to watch Luke and they had a great time running through the leaf pile. Once Nana came, Luke thought of every reason for me to leave. He said... "Mommy go to work, mommy go to church, and mommy go to store," and he pushed me out the door. It is great to know that he loves my mom. These actions are especially significant because he has always cried when I left from when he was 8 months to 2.5 years, so I am glad he can leave me without crying.

Fire Trucks and Football

Luke loves anything with wheels so he loved his trip to the fire station. He rode in all the trucks and inspected the hoses and gages. We went with my 94 year old grandfather who couldn't resist buying Luke a fire helmet.

Dave and I went to the badger game while they still had a winning record. We watched them play a game at the end of September. It is always great to be back in Madison.

Two and one half years old

I love Luke so much. I really love this age. I enjoy that everything is exciting and new. We have fun all day long doing the most common things. We take the long way to church or the grocery store just to go over the rail road tracks. We go to the grade school and middle school at 3:45 just to watch the buses. Luke also will watch cars in downtown Delafield or Hartland for an hour as I just sit there and kiss him and tell him how much I love him. Every trip outside he enjoys looking at the leaves, rearranging rocks, looking for apples, playing on the swing set or sitting on his bench. He lines up his trains, toys, or pillows in all different patterns and finds great interest in it. He is also becoming a great helper... he can pound in fertilizer spikes, cleaning drips, sweeping, and delivering things. Here are some pictures of him at 2 1/2.

Camping with Family

Every year we go up north with Dave's Family. I wondered if Luke would get stir crazy being on a 50' x 50' campsite for 5 days but he loved it. He could do all of his favorite things and see all of his favorite people. Luke's playmate, Jacob, was camping also. Every morning Luke would wake up and ask to go see him. We are looking forward to next year already.

Up North

Every year we go up north with my family. This year we got to spend 5 days with my extended family. Luke loved waking up and asking for "Nana, Papa, Ethan, Andrew, Aaron, Sam, Bennett, Boden, Bryce, Beth." He wanted to make sure they were all still with him. We would start every day with breakfast with all 22 of us. We biked, had a hot dog roast, played games, went for a boat ride, played at the park, and many other things. Every day my family starts the day with a 7:30 am dip in the lake, including my 93 year old grandfather. He is always the first one in the cold water.

Here is part of the family breakfast; the kids are at another table on the porch. Luke enjoyed the gourmet muffins each day. We can't wait to go back next year.

Family Trip to the Beach

The blog might start to look familar to last year. Every summer we take three trips with our family. Our first was with my family this year. We had a great time walking on the beach, flying kites, riding the radio flyer, and playing with the cousins.

The above pictures show Luke's first trail run. He normally jogs around the block, to the school, to the play ground, and on nature paths by our home. I took him to a near by state park and had him jog up steep hills and over rocks and roots. Again, I love sharing my days with Luke.

6th Anniversary and 30th Birthday

Dave and I have enjoyed some time together. We have been planning to enjoy things before baby two arrives. We spent our anniversary at a wonderful bed and breakfast. It is great to spend some time only with my first love.

I also have progressed from 29 to 30. It feels good to be "experienced." For my birthday we went for a bike ride without the trailer and went to a romantic dinner on the lake.

Chicago Trip

We went to visit the Vandixhorn's in Chicago. We stayed at their condo in the south loop. The view from their patio has a great view of the traffic and the trains. Luke has asked to go back here almost every day. He really liked seeing Jake, Julie and Tom. We also went to the Shed aquarium and saw the belugia wales and penguins. Both days we were there we biked along the lake front to navy peir and beyond to the beach. We also got to enjoy the Taste of Chicago while in town.

Luke's Favorite Thing

Luke loved driving to Green Bay to see a real Thomas the Tank Engine. He loved the model trains and would have watched all day. We rode Thomas for 25 minutes around the railroad museum. Grandma and Grandpa came with to enjoy the day. The funniest thing is that Luke has watched the home video of the day out with Thomas almost every day.