O-Town

Whew...life has been a bit on the wild side lately.  My brother's family was in town a few weeks back and we were lucky enough to spend some time with them.  They flew into Omaha and spent some time on the Trail for a few days before heading to Ottumwa for a wedding.  It was so nice to all be together, it doesn't happen very often these days.  We miss them already!

Some pool time with these babes.

We had a surprise party for my nephew, Landon, as we won't all be able to be at his birthday party in October.

We spent one morning with Cooper and Paige...Lily LOVED Coop.

Darth Vader and Luke...

Luke is SO into trains these days...we had to make a stop at the train station in Ottumwa.

I don't think they're supposed to do that.

Family picture with everyone!

We all had a fun time playing on the church bus.  Papa Jeff joined in on the fun.

Lily is 10 months...Luke is 2 years 10 months

I am doing a double post today about both babes.  I realized that I haven't posted about Luke's milestones lately...oops!  Here we go with a round-up of Luke and Lily's latest happenings. 

Lily Jo

• This girl is everywhere.  She is standing, crawling (super fast), and into pretty much everything.  
• Lily's third tooth is popping in on the bottom.  Her gummy smile is officially gone.
• Eating is one of Lily's favorite pastimes.  She loves puffs, all kinds of fruit, and yogurt.  You can even catch her scrounging for crumbs on the floor after dinner...
• Lily gets a bath and bottle from Daddy at night.  This is one of her most calm times of the day.
•  Lily nurses four times a day and gets a bottle at night before bed.  I am thinking she is going to drop one of those feedings soon, as she is becoming less interested lately.
• Lily loves getting into all of Luke's toys and anything he is playing with at the time.  Luke has a bit of trouble with this, but has learned to go find her a toy to play with to distract her.  Sibling love!

Luke Edwin

• Luke's biggest change lately is his vocabulary and language.  He picks up a new word, or two, everyday.  He is a talking machine.  Obviously he loves to talk about tractors, trucks, and hitches (obviously).
• Luke is pretty in love with Thomas the Train at the moment.  He hasn't seen the television show and neither have we, but he picks out Thomas books at the library every time we go.
• Harvest season can't come soon enough.  Luke keeps talking about the 'corn turning yellow' so he can see the 'combines working'.  We can't wait.
• Some of Luke's favorite phrases that he uses often and that crack me up: 'Ohhhh myyy goodness', 'Oh, Lily!' (usually used after she knocks something over, spills something, or spits up), 'tractors, trucks, and hitches', 'in a little bit', 'acorns come from the oak tree', 'squirrels eat acorns', 'cows come back' (used daily after the cattle incident).  
• Luke now sleeps with his door open a bit, as he has become sensitive to loud noises.  He likes to know we are close by when there is a thunderstorm a.k.a. 'boomers'.
• Luke adores his Daddy.  He loves riding in his car and eats up every time they do something together.  He especially loves mowing the grass and tractor rides with Daddy at the wheel.
• A few weeks back Luke watched a tractor pick up hay bales with Grandpa Gary and Grandma Diane.  He is pretty obsessed with pointing out all the hay bales when we are in the car and tells me 'the old tractor pick up the hay bales'. 
• Luke loves cuddling and reading books with Daddy after he gets up in the morning on the couch.  He does the same thing with me after his nap.  It is the best.

Colorado

This past weekend Kevin and I spent the weekend in Colorado...more specifically Breckenridge and Fort Collins.  Breckenridge for the hiking and Fort Collins for the breweries.  

We did an awesome hike and also risked our lives for a good view.  We shopped, but didn't buy anything. We ate too much good food and we soaked up the mountain views.  It was a glorious weekend reconnecting with my sweet husband.  

But, we were so, SO ready to come home to our littles.  Luke and Lily did great with both sets of grandparents all weekend, but we missed them like crazy.  We missed them so much, we almost left Fort Collins at 3 in the morning to get home...but then slept a few more hours and left at 6.  That was much more reasonable. 

Here are some pictures from our fun weekend getaway!

A little visit to Gothenburg, NE...hometown of my dear friend, Annie!

Hiking...and hiking...and hiking.

I am married to this guy.

It was a long hike...but so worth it.

Kevin with his pink beer at Funkwerks.

Random Picture Friday

Happy Labor Day weekend, all!  Kevin and I are lucky enough to be headed to Colorado sans kids this weekend.  We have awesome parents that are willing to watch our kiddos...we couldn't be more grateful!  Hope you have a blessed weekend!

Happy girl before her 9 month check up last week

A park playdate with our friends BobbiAnn and Claire!

 Because it's impossible to NOT take a picture of a sleeping baby...

Sabbath Sunday - pizza on the deck is a new tradition.  Abel likes it.

Guys...guys!!!  This one just melts my heart.

She is everywhere and into everything.

We have been sweeping acorns for days.  It's the year of the acorns I guess.

Huge web and huge spider.

Our very own male model...ha!