Hello

Just a short hello and a background change for today. Note: I am not the butterfly type. Just the only thing I could find that kind of goes with our banner. I need a complete blog overhaul. In November that photo up there will be a whole year old!!

June Swim Lessons

The summer is quickly coming to an end and I haven't shared many photos of our summer. Jack took swimming lessons in June and this about sums it up..

Sometimes he went willingly.

Sometimes not so willingly..

He was not a natural in the water and was terribly afraid of putting his head under water.

He was definitely one of the younger and smaller kids in his group!

Overall, Jack did a great job. And we are proud of him. He went everyday and he got in the water each day. He attempted everything that was asked of him. It was rather humorous watching and listening to him negotiate head submersion with the instructor. :-) He is quirky kid and we love him!

My Office

This is my home office. Not really. But it is some of the stuff that would be in my office if I had one. :-) I don't often blog about myself but I thought I would take a little break from studying to solicit prayers. I have preliminary exams the week of August 2nd-August 5th. I am in the trenches right now. The above picture is the material I am responsible for knowing. If you are a friend or family member and you wonder why I haven't called or emailed you, it is because I have my nose in the books right now. I promise to emerge back into the world once this is over.

Please keep Todd and the kids in your prayers too! He is playing the role of Mr. Mom right now.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The Latest and Greatest..

Since I last posted (which was only 3 days ago) Luca has displayed some new tricks. :-)

He is mimicking us.. and combing our hair.

When asked where his belly is.. he grabs and gestures to his belly.

He is walking around with his push toy.

And he has made the connection that shoes go on feet and has been helping me put mine on..

He is at a super cute and fun age right now!

Our Little Luca Turned One!

Before his haircut

At one year Luca:

1. Is not interested in cake

2. Points to everything

3. Enjoys playing with adult eating utensils.. particularly forks

4. Stands and cruises furniture

5. Just this past week has started to walk while holding onto our hands

6. Likes taking naps with a burp cloth in hand/mouth

7. Nods his head yes and no

8. Likes to open and close doors

9. Likes to turn lights on and off

10. Gives really sweet and big hugs to stuffed animals

11. Can throw a ball back and forth to us

12. Has a few favorite toys.. some of Jack's plastic golf clubs, Daddy's drum sticks and mallets and a little orange paper panda face...which he has totally destroyed.

13. Has a few favorite books.. Pat the Bunny and The Foot Book.

13. Is practicing using a spoon to feed himself

14. Still takes a morning and evening bottle..we will cut those out after seeing the doctor next week.

15. Has been referred to as a she, her, sister multiple times in public and for that reason we went ahead and gave him a hair cut prior to his one year birthday. :-)

And... we still don't know what color his eyes are..

Post-haircut

Not interested in cake at all

We love you Luca!

Wow!

A whole month without any blog entries. I even missed Luca's 11 month update. Summer school, swim lessons, birthday parties, and a vacation has been keeping us very busy! We are living and enjoying life with a little layer of stress of course. Hope to be able to share this summer's adventures when things slow down a bit. :-)

Jack at 4 Years

Favorite Foods

watermelon, broccoli, oatmeal, black olives, penne pasta

w/ alfredo sauce, chicken w/ cream of chicken on white rice,

cheese, banana pudding, banana bread, bacon and coffee cake

(Despite his food allergies he eats and enjoys a lot of food. These are just the stand outs.)

Favorite Restaurants: Gratziano's, Chuy's, Chipotle,

chick-fil-a, and Starbucks

Favorite Show: Lazy Town

Favorite Activities: Geotrax, playing with his friends,

playing in the backyard with water, dirt and shovels,

playing with Luca, going to the park and the children's

museum, Mom or Dad reading him books

Favorite things to wear: His green beach hat, sunglasses

and his watch

Jack's General Dislikes

beans, potatoes (including fries!), hamburgers and corn

going to the bathroom...he avoids it until he can no longer

avoid it!

going to church :-(

getting a haircut

cleaning up after himself

Firsts for this year: class field trip, walking on the school's

"wibbly wobbly bridge," actually playing at the spray park and

a wasp sting

Jack really enjoys going to his preschool. We are proud of all

the progress that Jack has made this year. He knows his letter sounds and can write and sound out short vowel words.

We love his teacher and he has a good little group of friends at school. He has been much braver this year and has

attempted things that he would not of attempted in the past. He will start swimming lessons next week and we hope he continues to be brave. :-)

There are not enough words to express how much we love this guy. We learn daily from him and through him about our heavenly Father. Since having children we have had new revelations about how much God loves us and about His patience and unconditional love for us. There are times when Jack and I are dealing with some "growing pains"and I see a total reflection of my relationship with God. We thank God for him and we pray for continued guidance in raising him.