Luke hates corn on the cob. Just hates it. Or does he? You be the judge:

No Corn Left Behind

My stepmom took this picture of my niece and I love it. Not simply because it’s a super cute picture, but because of the message I got the moment I laid eyes on it. I think it’s a great motivational poster. It says to me ”Aim high! Don’t settle for the easy road!” Or drinking fountain, if you’re taking it literally. It also says to me that if I’m not having to get on my tippy-toes to reach my goals, I’m not setting them high enough.

Always go for the tall spout.

There are some perks to unemployment (besides getting to spend all your time with two adorable children): my husband remodeled the half-bathroom in our bedroom, and now we actually use it

You can click on these thumbnails to get a closer look at his handiwork:

It’s official. Natalie is mobile. She made her first forward motions a couple weeks ago while we were up north on vacation. While those first moments are exciting, it doesn’t even compare to seeing the look on her face every day as she’s cruising down the hallway or across the living room rug; she’s all full of smiles. She is accomplishing so much and she knows it.

For the record, she is now eight months old and a day. She is still ginormous. She’s just shy of 20 pounds and who knows how long. We estimate her to be around 29 inches. She’s growing out of her clothes very quickly and thank goodness it’s sundress weather so we don’t have to worry about the length of pants and such. Dresses work fabulous but they do make crawling a bit more challenging for her.

She is starting to show some personality and while very different from her big brother, they have some similarities as well. They are both pretty laid back, happy kids. We do not deserve this rich life we live. Thank ya Jesus! 

Luke has a new toy. His cousin gave him a really cool book for his birthday but it happened to be one he already owned. So we’ve been holding onto it all this time and finally took it to the store to exchange it for a new toy on Monday. For the past 30 hours all I have heard about is Buzz! Buzz Lightyear to the rescue! To infinity, and beyond!

This kid loves Buzz so much, he prayed for him five different ways last night before bedtime. And then he inserted his name into every other person’s name he prayed for: “Thank you Buzz Mommy, thank you Buzz Daddy, thank you Buzz Natadee…”

Luke talks to Buzz, and Buzz talks back. Buzz helps him find lost toys and rescues him when he’s falling off the couch. He’s a real friend, that Buzz.

This kid absolutely loves his new Buzz Lightyear doll action figure and he doesn’t want to go anywhere without it. Yes, just like Andy did in Toy Story. In fact, I almost think that Buzz has taken Blanket’s place in Luke’s heart. (Almost.)

I can’t think of anything I’m motivated to blog about (for some reason I’m losing my taste for the internet, gah!) but I can’t just leave the last post as the first one you come to. Let’s leave on a happy note. Not to say that I’m leaving, just that I don’t know when I’ll be back in the swing of blogging.

Anyhoo. We’ve been having a lot of fun lately. It’s a good life.

Luke got soaking wet playing water guns with Grandpa and LOVED it.

Then many days later (today, in fact) he thoroughly enjoyed some french toast with Opa.

We actually let him draw in his pajamas, but only because Oma did it first

Natalie practiced her flying.

We’re still hanging out at my Dad and Stepmom’s house until Memorial Day. My sister and her whole fam damily are here and we’re all just having a good time!

Luke is officially three years old. Now he can stop saying he’s “almost three”. It’s been a long and glorious three years, but if you compare it to the seven we spent hoping and praying for a child, it has gone very fast. We are having so much fun with this guy. He makes us laugh out loud every day. He does like every other three year old and pushes his boundaries, but we relish the challenge to stick-to-our-guns and we are all learning as we go.

We threw a party to celebrate. I will say for the record that at the moment I do not plan on ever having another children’s birthday party. I am just not cut out for it. However, I do know that as time passes I will come to my senses and I will just have to come up with creative ways to make the situation less stressful. I hate the stress but I do it for my kid. Luke absolutely loved having “the kids” all over to celebrate and I think his most favorite part was when they sang “Happy Birthday” to him. Twice. Fact: I overheard him in the bathtub singing that song to himself earlier that morning.

So Luke had a great time. His friends and family had a great time. Momma had a great time after she recovered from her meltdown (more on that later). All in all it was a great day and extremely fitting for celebrating a little boy’s three years so far on this earth.

It’s a little late to post about it now, but I just wanted to share that we had a successful Walk MS 2010 here in Lansing, Michigan. The Griddle Bandits team raised $2500, which I say is pretty good for the first year! It was a great chance for my friends and family to get out and do something for the greater good. Multiple sclerosis sucks, but with fundraisers like these it will help researchers come that much closer to finding a cure.

It felt good to be doing something to help the cause but it also felt good because I know that my family and friends were doing it to support me, to let me know that I’m not alone. They all wore runners tags on the backs of their jackets that said “I’m walking for… Mindy, my daughter, my sister, my wife.” I felt extremely loved and supported. I’m so glad that my brother brought up the whole idea. It was a wonderful experience and I do hope we all participate again next year.

My big brother and me, proudly representing the Griddle Bandits team!

I have so many fond memories of building forts with my brother and sister when I was a kid. So when Luke started acting kind of bored this lazy Sunday morning, I had an idea. We need to teach this kid how to build a fort! We pulled the cushions off the couch, dragged out the sheets and kitchen chairs, and in minutes had a cozy little hideout. This fort kept Luke occupied and engaged for a full hour. That’s a miracle if you ask me. Yup. We spent an hour hiding out in the fort, only coming out for a potty break and to check on the sleeping bear nearby (Daddy). Luke made food for us in the kitchen, we took a bath in the tub, we even took a couple of naps.

I love that Luke is at that age where his imagination is coming alive. He loves to pretend and make up stories. He has been telling us all day about some “farmer guy” who yells, “I don’t wanna eat pancakes!” and some dog that pants and runs outside. We have no idea where any of this came from. It doesn’t sound like any movie we’ve watched with him and we’ve certainly never introduced him to any farmers. I wonder if he dreamt it all last night. A few weeks back he spent a day telling me all about the dinosaurs that were chasing him. Little boy dreams are fun.

Is this the picture of a mom reunited with her children? Yes it is. I had not seen Luke since Tuesday night but was reunited with him on Saturday. He spent a few days at my sister’s house with her three children (Thank you Kari! That was a huge sacrifice and helped us out so much!). Friday night felt like a sort of reunion for me and Natalie too. While I’ve still been with her for the past week, until the steroids kicked in I was not able to pick her up and walk with her. I felt so useless having to have Mike bring her to me any time I wanted to spend time with her or feed her. So this picture is definitely a picture of a mom reunited with her children. And thankful to have them in my life! I spent seven years hoping and praying to have children of my own but I had no idea what indescribable joy they could bring to our lives.