Ten Months

Luke is ten months old!

Pardon the lack of pictures for this post.  Essentially all of the pictures from the last month got corrupted in the transfer from memory card to computer.  Barring some techie miracle, those pictures are hopelessly lost.  But if anyone has a suggestion about fixing corrupted raw files, please send it my way.

Despite the lack of visual evidence, it was a fun month.  Truly, each month just gets better than the one before. 

Luke is noisy!  He has been experimenting with even higher sounds and lots of squealing.  Sometimes he sounds upset, but he's actually just perfectly content working on his vocal range.  He responds to music and bounces when it's playing.  His favorite toy right now is Noah's electric guitar.

Luke started making a truck sound when he's playing.  How does he know that already???

He's also making other sounds.  He'll babble out lots of 'da da da,' and 'ma ma ma,' and sometimes I think he might actually be talking about his dad or mom.  He definitely knows who we are, because when we ask him where mom, dad or Noah is, he finds the right person.  He's even making an 'Uh-wuh' sound, which sounds an awful lot like 'Noah.'

Luke claps now and gets excited when we cheer for him.  He is constantly on the move.  I love the pitter patter sound of his hands hitting the wood floor.  I wish I knew what he was thinking about because often times as he's crawling around he's also got the giggles.  It sure is cute.  Noah is trying to teach Luke to chase and often gets down next to him and says, "Come on, Wukie, play get you Noah."  Luke continues to love being wherever big brother is.

Though these boys are just little, I have come to realize the importance of teaching them to love each other in action and word.  It's a lot of work, but I already see some big pay off in the way Noah talks to and interacts with Luke. It's just another reason I am so glad to be home and the one primarily responsible for teaching our boys.

This standing up business is great, except for when it comes to sleep times.  At the beginning of the month, Luke became quite the fighter when it came to going to sleep for naps or at night.  As soon as I laid him down he'd roll over, stand and scream.  It took a week or two, but finally he started getting used to laying himself back down and naps were pretty much back to normal.  But nighttime was still often so hard.  Was he extra tired? Was it teething? Does he hate the dark all of a sudden?  Maybe, but I really think it's just that his daddy was home, and he wanted more dad time.

As Nate started to work late the past few weeks and miss bedtime, Luke has gone to sleep easily.  On the occasional night when he's home a little early, we battle again.  He sure loves his dad.  It's pretty cute when he waves good bye from the kitchen window every morning when Nate leaves for work. 

Saturday

We had a little (like, really little) rail fair in Folsom on Saturday.  Nate was working, so it was just me and the boys.  All Noah wanted to do was ride the train.  He didn't care about the fire trucks that were there.  He ignored the tractor rides being offered. He did pause to look and listen to the brass band playing, but only for a few seconds.  He was determined to get on that train.

But of course, he was the anti-camera child, and wouldn't for ANYthing actually look at me.

Keeping two little ones in check on an open train car was a bit of work, but it was worth it.  For me it wasn't just about taking my little boys to see trains.  There was much more purpose behind it.

On the day we were later going celebrate my dad's birthday, we were doing something he loves and, for most of his life, did not pass up an opportunity to participate in.

My Grandpa Hall was a steam engine conductor, engineer, repairman, parts manufacturer...and the list goes on.   My dad grew up around trains and knows just about everything there is to know about the old ones.  I love this picture of him as a kid.

I felt such a mix of emotions: happy that my boys were getting to do something that these Hall men treasured, and a bit heartbroken that my dad wasn't right there with us.  I literally could hear his voice in my head sometimes. Oh, how he would have liked to teach Noah about the inner workings of these trains.  In good health he would have dropped everything to be there and ride with us.  I miss that part of him dearly.

After a storm rolled in and the boys took their naps we met up with Nate and the rest of the family to celebrate my dad's 67th birthday.  We had planned to go to Farrell's, but a two hour wait at four o'clock in the afternoon caused us to reroute to Leatherby's.  As long as my dad could get a chocolate malt, he was happy.

And the rest of us were happy too.  Luke, actually, was hilarious.  I'm not sure what gave him the squeals and giggles so bad, but he was Mr. Happy.

Dad, I love you.  I wish more than anything that your body could be restored to what it was even five years ago.  It's hard to watch your body and mind fail, but I'm sure it's even more difficult for you to be experiencing it.  You don't complain though...at least about that. :-)  Our family is committed to loving you and seeing you through this deeply difficult challenge until the end.  I am so glad we celebrated you.  You deserve it, and you've earned it.  Keep fighting a good fight and your reward will be great.

Fairytale Town

Every time we go to the zoo with Amy and Mads the boys look over longingly at Fairytale Town and ask to go.  So, today we decided to grant their wish.

These boys have perfected the act of NOT looking at the camera.

And they think it's so funny.

There are lots of slides at Fairytale Town.  We started with the old woman who lived in a shoe.

It was a pretty big ladder climb going up, but both boys handled it great.

Mads had a hard time believing us when we told him the steep slide was actually painfully slow, but he went down eventually.

We walked the crooked mile, and then explored Owl's house.  Both boys needed a little convincing that this slide was going to be a good time...and was also much slower than it looked.

And then it was off to more slides!

Wherever they went, these two bundles of energy were laughing and smiling.  They are so good at including each other.

   

 

Fairytale Town was fun, but I think both boys prefer the zoo.  As we left they were definitely unhappy that we weren't crossing the street to go see the animals. Next time boys!

Labor Day

We spent Labor Day weekend up at the cabin with my mom, Kristina and Jason.  On our last day there, I finally pulled out the camera.

And even then, I only took a few pictures.

Noah.  This boy is a wonder, and he's growing up too fast for my liking.  Sure, he has his moments of testing boundaries and being impatient. He is two after all.  But usually those things are far overshadowed by so many good qualities.  Often times when Noah gets a treat he offers to share it before he takes some.  He's learning how to teach Luke to do things and is embracing it wholeheartedly.  If Luke has something in his mouth or is headed in a direction he shouldn't be, Noah is quite the little babysitter and lets me know right away.  He loves the role of big brother, and I think he really likes being taught how to love that brother of his.  Oh, how I love him.  He will always be my little miracle.  At some point I would imagine that he's not going to want to be smothered with kisses or snuggle with mommy like he does now.  My heart will break a little when that day comes.  So, for now, I'm just going to hold him tight and get in as much as I can.

Saying Goodbye...Again

This picture has become far too common in our family this year:

Since February Nate has served as a pallbearer for three of his grandparents.

These pictures were actually taken in February at Grandma Boyce's funeral.

I just never got around to writing about it.

Grandpa Boyce watched Alzheimer's disease gradually erode Grandma until she was just a shadow of her former self.  Once she died, he just wanted to be reunited with her, the true her, without all of the physical maladies.  I can't help but wonder if he's thinking about that in this picture.

It actually didn't take him long to join her.  He kind of lost his will and desire to live once she was gone and passed away on July 28th.

So, all of the family gathered again to celebrate Grandpa.

My memories of this sweet couple go back to childhood because they were in my ward growing up.  Nate and I took piano lessons from the same teacher as kids, and Grandpa and Grandma were always at recitals.  Way back in the fall of 2004 Grandma Boyce approached me at church and asked if I would be willing to go on a date with her single, attractive grandson.  I said yes, and Nate took me on our first date during the Thanksgiving holiday.  It took another two years for a second first date, but that's a story for a different day.  I will be forever grateful for her boldness and consideration that I seemed to be an equal match for her grandson who she dearly loved.

We've declared a moratorium on funerals for grandparents, so we're expecting Gram and Grandma Pebley to stay active and strong for quite some time.  They're all we've got left, and we'd like to continue building great memories for a LONG time. :-)