Fun times in the snow with Daddy!

A few days ago we got somewhere between 3-5" of snow - pretty exciting! Fortunately it didn't disappear before Vance was able to take Luke out to play. (I got to stay inside and take pictures - lucky me!)

Here's Luke in his new snow outfit - he's got the snow overalls, coat, hat, boots and mittens. The coat and pants are a little big, but hopefully he'll be able to wear them next winter too. He wasn't quite sure how to walk around in the boots at first.

He was definitely ready to go out and play though!

Once they got out there, Luke pretty much was just standing there. He didn't know exactly what to do. And he kept falling over and couldn't get back up again.

So Vance got out the sled we have in our garage to see if we could get Luke to ride on it. This was his first attempt...

...and he went all the way down the hill by himself without falling off! He thought it was very fun.

Climbing back up again wasn't as fun.

Then Vance tied a rope on to the front of the sled and pulled Luke around the yard. He definitely liked that, more so when he had the wind at his back. He had some problems sitting up on the sled though, so after a few times around he laid on his stomach again.

That seemed to work much better, and he was able to stay on the sled. Soon after this they came inside - the wind picked up, it started snowing, and we were (still are!) under a wind chill advisory. It gets very windy up on our hill, and they were able to fit in their outdoor adventure just in time before the bitter cold!

On an unrelated (but cute!) note, this is what came around the corner the other morning! Luke likes to think that everything is a hat. So naturally he put this tin on his head. I snapped a few photos, and then when I attempted to take it off, I discovered why he came to find me in the first place - he couldn't get it off his head! It was easily fixed, the can bent a little and I was able to take it right off, but it was still pretty funny!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Luke's First Hair Cut

Luke had his first hair cut today - after only 19 months, he finally had enough hair to cut! I apologize, I'm still looking for a really good "before" picture to show how long his hair was getting - sometimes he looked like he had wings sprouting from the side of his head!

We went to see Carly at Head 2 Toe this morning - braving the first real snow of the season (which has mostly disappeared already). Luke did awesome - he was pretty tired, so he basically just sat there, I think trying to figure out what she was doing to him.

Before the haircut started.

Carly cutting his hair - he really liked the fish cape he got to wear!

Back home again after a successful trip! Not so shaggy anymore!

Play Area Fun!

Luke and I took a trip to Topeka today and stopped at the play area at the mall. He really enjoys running around and going through all the tunnels, though until today he really didn't do much else. But he FINALLY figured out how to go down the slide by himself - it was a big accomplishment for him! Last time we were there he only went up and down the stairs, he wouldn't actually go down the slide unless I put him at the top and let go. But there were other kids there today, and I think they inspired him!

Headed up the stairs...

And going down headfirst!! I'm not sure how we went directly from not going down at all to going down face first, but he was having a great time! He must have gone down 20 times!

All that sliding and running around wore him out and this is what I saw when I looked behind me, before we even got on the highway to come home!

Luke's First Art Class

Before Thanksgiving, Luke and I went to his first ever art class through Parks & Rec. He had a great time painting, especially the handprint turkey. I'm sure if I had let him, he would have had paint all over the place!Here's his turkey - with hand prints for the feathers.

Painting with feathers.

"Dot" painting leaves on the tree...

...and the finished tree.


And at the end, the four kids decided they were going to jump on the couch. They were having so much fun we couldn't bring ourselves to make them stop, till they almost fell off a few times! It was definitely a fun end to the class!

Weepublican!

Luke's first Presidential election day didn't turn out like we'd all hoped, but it was still an historic day for the country. Luke even had a "Weepublican" shirt for the occasion. The school bond issue that Vance and I have been campaigning (very hard) for did not pass, but we'll try again next time!

Halloween

"Charlie Brown" had a fun Halloween! Grandma and Grandpa were up to visit, and we all went to trick or treat at the hospital. Luke really likes going to visit Daddy at work, so that's always a fun time. Plus he got to eat candy, which he really took a liking to. Later in the day our friends Chris, Jenny, Andy and Alex stopped by to say hello, as well as Clint, Kristy, Kylie and Carter. The weather was beautiful - all in all it was a great day! Maybe next year Luke can go trick or treating for real, I know he'll love that!Charlie Brown and Snoopy

Ever since we found Luke's football, he loves playing with it!

Luke and Carter (the monkey) - it's so hard to get them to stand still for a picture anymore!

And a blast from the past - Luke the scary skeleton from last year!

18 Months Old - Trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

Luke is 18 months old today! While Daddy and Dr. Clint headed to the KU game (where KU unfortunately is currently losing horribly to Texas Tech!), we headed to Renyer's Pumpkin Farm with Kristy, Kylie and Carter. It was a bit chilly when we got there, but a very fun time. It's about 20 minutes NW of Holton, a very scenic drive. Arriving at the farm.

Carter, Kylie and Luke

Mommy and Luke

They had quite a few farm animals: turkeys, chickens, goats, a mother pig with lots of piglets, horses, and a donkey, but Luke's favorites were the cows, and he mooed at them the whole time we were in the animal area!

Headed out into the pick your own pumpkin patch - Luke was very excited. It was very muddy out there!

He had no trouble finding a pumpkin!

They were a bit big for him to pick up though!

Pushing the wagon with Carter in it - Mommy's little helper!

This one is more my size!

I think he picked this one out for the new baby.

Pushing the wagon again - the pumpkins were heavy!

And the aftermath - Luke fell asleep after only about 5 minutes in the car! It was a fun day! We also took a hay ride, but Kristy has the picture of Luke and I on her camera, so we'll have to wait for that one!

Leaves and Bubbles!

This weekend Luke played in the leaves and with some bubbles for the first time at Gramsie and G-Daddy's house. He had a lot of fun, though he thought the bubbles tasted pretty yummy. I don't think I'll ever be able to wash his mouth out with soap! Here's some pictures of the fun.

Checking out the leaves.Bubbles everywhere!There always seems to be a ball somewhere around!

We also played with crayons for the first time. He seemed to have fun scribbling. (would you believe me if I told you that he wrote his name by himself? I didn't think so!)

We hope you all had a fun weekend too!

Luke really enjoys his new playroom!

When daddy was on vacation a few weeks ago, we finally got the playroom completed! Luke loves playing down there - the first few days he would get upset when it was time to go back upstairs!

Here's a few pictures of him playing down there:

Enjoying a snack at his new play table. (Still learning how to smile for the camera!)

Shooting hoops on his "big boy" basketball goal.

I informally measured Luke while we were at the clinic yesterday visiting daddy, and he is almost 3 feet tall when he's wearing his shoes - I think he had another growth spurt!

Also - I have told some of you this funny story, but his vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. Among some of his other words, he now says "Apple" - however it apparently is a big secret, because 90% of the time he insists on whispering it! He saw a poster the other day of "All I needed to know I learned in Kindergarten" with a big apple on it, and from across the room I hear this whispered "a-pple"! It's pretty amusing.

How to Subscribe to our Blog

If you read what this post used to say - ignore it! :-) There is now a subscription box to the right where you can enter your e-mail address and it will automatically notify you of changes made to the blog. Please let me know if you have any problems with this!

Thanks for reading!

Finally - an Update!

Hi everyone,

We have now set up a Blogger account, in the hopes that we will actually update everyone on the goings-on of the our family on a more regular basis. Right now we'll have a link to this off of our other website, but in the future, you might get here directly when you go to vanceanderin dot net.

I thought I would share with everyone Luke's experience with his first-ever ice cream cone.

What is this mom?

Yummy!

You mean I can eat the cone too?

You should be able to "subscribe" to this blog so you're updated when we make a new post. You also are able to make comments on our posts, we look forward to hearing from you all! Coming soon - photos of the 99.9% completed basement!