Thursday, July 25, 2013

Eight Months

Luke is eight months old!
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;

Truly his cuteness just keeps on growing with the rest of him. 
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;

Luke ditched the baby bath now that he's a solid sitter and loves being a big boy in the tub.
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;

He still loves to eat, and we are yet to find a food that he'll refuse.
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;
Thankfully he has, for the most part, become a little more patient at meal times too.
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;
I think it helps that his little hands are finally coordinated enough to help with the feeding.  I love watching those motor skills noticeably improve every day.
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;
Still no sign of teeth, but who needs them when you've got a big smile like this?

Luke is starting to crawl.  His big brother was an army crawler, so it's a fun change for us to see our little guy up on his hands and knees already.
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;

His favorite position is standing.  Of course he requires some support, but standing is his 'happy place.'
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;
Luke is especially chatty and likes to engage in 'conversation' when he's standing.  We hear lots of babbling, and while we were at the cabin he shouted out a very definitive 'mom.'  Aunt Brittany thought it was Noah talking.  I can't wait until he's saying it for real.

He still likes to be smashed up against the crib bumper when he's sleeping.
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;
I'm not sure how to convince him that he has a whole crib to spread out in and doesn't have to sleep squished into the width of his bed.

Luke still has lots of love for his mama.  He sometimes gets a little shy when someone says hello and, after smiling, buries his head into my shoulder.  It's pretty cute.  He also likes to squeeze my forearm when I'm holding him. 
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;
Sure love this guy and feel blessed beyond measure that he's a part of our family.

Cousin Cuteness

There's somethings sweet and very special about the relationship these kids have.  They definitely know it's more than just friends.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
As the girls are getting older they are like little moms to our boys.  It was so nice to leave snacks with Olivia and have her feed them to Luke or to have Sammie holding Noah's hand to cross the bridge in the back yard.  Abby was my errand girl and would do whatever I needed, even if it was just to sit by Luke and make him laugh for a minute.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
Noah loved watching a movie with Abby downstairs while the bigger kids were watching something a little scarier.  There was no place else he would have wanted to be!
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
"Cousins?" was the first thing Noah said every morning when he woke up.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
A few days before we went to Tahoe we had the cousins over for a movie night.  Luke had no complaints about all the attention he was getting.
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;
I loved looking over at Noah and seeing him snuggled up next to Olivia, holding her hand.
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;
I'm so grateful for these sweet relationships and love seeing how they're changing and growing as our kids get older!

From East to West

On Friday morning we packed up and left Tahoe.  We were home long enough to unpack the car, start some laundry and put the boys down for a nap.  Then it was off to San Francisco, without the kids, for a Giants game with all of the adults in the family.
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;

The Giants won, and, once again, we all had a great time. I loved wearing a coat and drinking hot chocolate in July!

We detoured a little bit on our drive to San Francisco and made a stop at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford to meet baby Camille in the NICU.
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;
Our friends Jared and Lindsey are troopers and sweet Camille is one tough girl.  She's working hard to get healthy and get back home to Folsom and her brothers.  It was great to see our dear friends, and we were so happy to spend time with them before heading up to the game.
Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;

(And Heather, I thought of you when I saw those little red wagons at the hospital. :-)  Such a good, hopeful feeling there, especially given all of the serious and critical needs that so many of the little ones have.)

Fire Station

Just like every little boy, Noah loves fire trucks.  Any time we drive by a fire station he says, "Fire trucks wake up. Open gwage (garage).  Fire trucks still sleeping."  He'd give anything to have those doors roll open as we're driving by.

Later in the afternoon on Thursday, after hiking to Angora Lakes, I decided to take Noah to the fire station just down the road on Highway 89.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
The staff there was so excited to have a visitor.  The first thing they did was give Noah his own fire hat.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
 It was hard to get pictures because Noah was on the move and always seemed to have his head peering into a door or opening.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
Firefighter Ron was awesome.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
He showed Noah anything and everything.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;

Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
He opened up any door or compartment that Noah asked him to.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
And he also listened when Noah wanted to 'teach' him something about fire trucks.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;

 I think Noah was most impressed by the ambulances and water trucks, but, really, he loved it all.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
He got over his initial shyness quickly, and he and Ron became good buddies.  We don't want to wear out our welcome at the fire station, but I have a feeling that as the years go by we're going to get to know this place and these fire fighters very well. 

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Angora Lakes

We discovered Angora Lakes last fall while on our very first visit to the cabin and immediately made plans to go back this summer.  It did not disappoint.  While everyone hiked the one mile trail up to the lake, Luke and I hung out in the car until he finished off a nap.  After waking up he was a happy hiker and seemed to like being perched up in the backpack. (Thanks Havicans!)

Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;

Luke sure loved being up there.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
Grandma and Grandpa rented a rowboat and kayak for everyone to take out and explore the lake.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
The grandkids all loved piling in and taking a ride.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;

Nate and Noah kayaked while Luke took another short nap.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;

Nate, and a few of the other 'big' kids also used the kayak to get across the lake and go cliff jumping.  Sammie and Olivia showed their bravery too and jumped off a pretty big rock closer to the shore.

Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;


Noah didn't exactly jump, but he was o.k. with me dropping him off the edge down to Nate.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
That's right, might as well learn now that we do hard, sometimes scary, things in our family. :-)

I loved every minute of being up there.  Well, the part where my arm was going numb while holding a napping Luke wasn't so great.  But, watching everyone play in such a beautiful place made up for it.

Nate Boyce: ND Boyce 2013 &emdash;

And to top it all off, I got to hike down the trail with four little darlings.  We laughed, sang songs, made up silly songs, and laughed some more.  It couldn't have ended more perfectly.

Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;

Tahoe Lake

After Luke's memorable meltdown at Indian Valley, I decided to stay at the cabin, stick to his schedule, and skip boating on 'Tahoe Lake' (that's what Noah calls it) the next day.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
Grandpa rented a boat for a few hours, and everyone had a fun and relaxing time.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
 
Grandpa gave each of the grandkids a turn driving the boat.  Silly Noah didn't want to drive and passed on his chance.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;

Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;


Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;

All of these happy faces tell the story of a fun family day.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;

Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;

Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;

Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;

Boating on the lake was definitely a good time.
Nate Boyce: Tahoe 2013 &emdash;
Luke and I missed out on some fun.

But it was really windy, and they were gone for a long time. His almost three hour nap and my two hour nap were sorely needed.  We definitely made the right decision to lay low at the cabin.