Easter

We celebrated Easter with both sides of my family last weekend but unfortunately I didn't get any pics of the Bartel get together. I did get several at the Regier gathering because I didn't have to go to work that day and Luke wanted to be outside all the time! There are tons a Luke and few of everyone else once they came outside too.

When we got up that morning Luke was still a little sleepy so I asked if he wanted to go see Grandma and Grandpa Regier and he said, no he wanted to stay in bed! Then I asked if he wanted to see his cousins (actually my cousins) Eli, Addy, Kaitlyn, Austin and Erin and he got really excited and popped right out of bed! Eli was the biggest hit of the day and Luke even figured out how to say his name!

It was really nice outside, but pretty windy. Luke had a lot of fun playing ball and with bubbles with whoever he could snag. Then it was time for the Easter basket hunt and he grabbed Addy and Eli to help him find his basket.

Found it! How exciting!!! A whole basket fully of chocolate!

Enjoying the spoils!

My basket was a little harder to find, they are building a new shed and mine was hidden in the rafters. Greg's was also pretty hard. His was hanging from the rear view mirror in Grandpa's truck but the keys to the truck were hidden too, I think in the little door to the gas tank! This year several of the boy cousins hid everything and they had a little too much fun!

Back to play!

Boy it's hard to get these bubbles out!

These cousins were trying to recreate a photo from when they were Luke's age. Addy is filling in for my brother Wes who got sick that morning and had to stay home.

Then they wanted to add the rest of the small cousins, but Luke wasn't very happy about being pulled away from playing basket ball and pretty much just sat there and cried until everyone got up and went to play with him again!

Everyone stayed outside for a while after the baskets were found and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

You can see the shed in the background of this pic. It still needs some walls and doors but they have gotten a lot done in the past few weeks.

We left soon after that because Luke was so tired and ready to crash at the slightest disappointment.

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Luke also has a ton of candy and Eggs at home from his Myers grandparents that he has really been enjoying. Some of it we have been using for when Luke gose potty in the potty chair, and he is going pretty frquently now. Right now it is still just when I suggest it and happen to catch him at the right time, but I think that once he figures out how to tell me when he needs to go he won't take long to potty train. For now we are just very relaxed and having fun with it.

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Happy Easter!!!

WOOOHOOO!

I just found out that this bill that I signed a petition for has become a LAW under Obama's health care reform package. It is in support and protection of working breastfeeding moms and among other things it requires that all businesses that employ at least 50 people provide reasonable break time and clean space (not a bathroom) for breastfeeding moms to pump!!!! It suggests that smaller businesses do the same but doesn't require them to if it causes undue hardship. Since I have some personal experience related to these issues this is an especially sweet moment for me. I feel like running out and shouting in the streets! Hurrah!

Time for a new post, but unfortunately no new pics. I need to dust of the camera, probably literally since Greg and a man named Kevin have been busy sanding and staining all the wood work in the downstairs of our house. It looks beautiful but it is far from complete and most of it isn't back up yet. It looks a million times better than when Greg was trying to do it himself, and Kevin is helping us out for a very minimal fee. He is an expert at it and has figured out different mixtures of stain for our three different kinds of wood so that they all end up looking pretty much the same color! Pretty awesome!

Luke is SOOOOOO two!I am still having fun with it, figuring out how to help him through a world where he is still very limited but in which he wants and demands to be more independent and self reliant. I delight in his successes and puzzle over how to help him through the things which are either not safe or which he is incapable of doing at this point. He is changing and learning new things everyday and becoming such a little boy, sometimes I want to give him a big squeeze and tell him to slow down a little, but I know it is impossible. Thank goodness he still loves to snuggle with me and Greg. I don't know what I will do when he tells me not to hug him anymore!

We have had some really beautiful weather this week and for once I didn't have to work when it was nice outside. I spent one afternoon at the zoo with Luke and we got to see the elephants being bathed and going through their tricks. That was really fun for both of us. Then we went to the chimp area but we only got the tail end of the zoo keeper talk there. Luke still really enjoyed them. Next we went to the Amphibians which was also supposed to have a keeper talk shortly but when we got there Luke did well for about ten minutes and then suddenly wanted to leave right away!!! I tried to get him interested in all the snakes and frogs and turtles but I only had minimal success so eventually I gave up and let him lead me to the Jungle, where they were feeding the fish. I don't know what happened there but from the moment we walked into the building he was scared of everything. I got him to calm down and enjoy the birds or the golden lion tamarinds a couple of seconds here and there but for the most part he hated it and was freaking out. We went home after that and took a good nap together!

He has never been scared of things like this before, I guess it is part of his growing up. He is also now afraid of big trucks, tractors and machines when they are moving anywhere close to him. He still loves his toys and he likes to watch them from far away but nothing close up at all. He is also scared of our dog Sam now, but at the same time he has a desire to interact with him. He tells me that we need to feed Sam or let Sam come inside or put Sam outside, etc. and he wants to help me do all of that, but whenever Sam comes near him he gets scared and starts crying or clinging to me.

The second day I thought it would be fun to go to the park, and that it would be fun to do something with Ben and Andrea. Fortunately they were free for something last minute so we got together and grilled hot dogs and ate outside on their porch. I got a bunch of cheap bubbles that Luke had a blast with and later we walked to the park close to their house and Luke got to play with a bunch of other kids who happened to be there. He really loves all the slides. Ben became a hit with a group of about four little boys who saw that he had brought along a Frisbee so he got tied up pretty good for a while doing that. It was so beautiful outside and so nice not to have to worry about cars ten feet from my front door. (Ok, that is an exaggeration, but they are definitely way to close for us to play outside at our house.) It was nice to catch up with Ben and Andrea too. To just relax together. We don't do that nearly as often as we should.

Luke has gone to Sunday School twice now and has stayed all by himself both times. I am very proud of him for this, but I'm not sure if he is completely ready for it or not because I have gotten reports from the teachers that after I am gone he won't interact with the other kids and acts sad, putting his head down on a chair and sitting by himself, which is not the way he acts around other kids normally at all. I'm not sure if it is the rules, "Now it's time to sing", "You have to eat your cookie at the table", or if it is the fact that I am not there and he is starting to get more fearful. He doesn't cling to me or anything when I leave him, just gives me a kiss and says bye like normal, but he does look sad and he is extremely glad when I get back, more so than normal when I go some where. I guess it might also be that he is just needing time to gain trust that I will always come back to get him from this new setting, and to get to know the teachers better too. I think the first Sunday he actually did better than the second but the first Sunday my Aunt and Uncle were teaching and he does know them a bit. Anyway, it's one that I will have to figure out with him. I am going to ask his teachers for a list of songs they sing so we can sing them at home so he can learn them. Maybe if he has a hard time again I will stay one Sunday with him so I can see what he does if I am there, if there is something in particular that he is bothered by or if there is anything I can do help the teachers understand him better.

Luke is also using the potty chair a lot recently. He still hasn't figured out how to tell me he needs to pee, and he doesn't really care if he goes in his diaper or not, but he does really like candy! He has gone in the potty chair as many as three or four times in one day and I always make a big fuss about it. Usually it is when he first wakes up or right before his bath, but occasionally he goes at random times through out the day. Even if he can't go he likes to try because he knows if he goes he gets a little piece of candy. (M&M's are great!) I think he might still be a ways off from being completely ready to potty train, but he is getting a lot better and more interested in it than he ever has been before, and it is fun to see him be proud of himself.

Well, I need to go to bed. I'll try to take some pics and put them up soon.

Visitors from a far off land... Indiana!

My mother and father in law came for a quick visit for about five days over last weekend. I think the moment they stepped in the door they started working on the house!

They got a LOT done. Most of the time they were painting and finishing up projects that we had started a long time ago. Above Dennis is starting to work on the rest of the painting in the dining room. It was a big job with three different colors, a lot of furniture to move around, several doors and windows, and of course bead board around the lower half of the room!


Greg also worked on things whenever he was at home, I just took pics and tried to keep Luke out of the paint and stain everywhere!

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Mimi and Pawpaw brought out this Lego play table that Luke though was fun to turn over, from his cousins in Indiana who are too grown up to need it anymore!



Mimi did a lot of cleaning as the men painted and moved stuff around, but she also spent a lot of time with Luke and I playing. Mimi went shopping down town with Luke and I one day, he was terribly excited about shopping and could hardly wait for us to get our coats on and get out the door!


King of the mountain!

Also brought out a couple of new shirts she had found on sale and the moment he saw them he decided he had to change clothes! Too funny! So this is the one he chose to put on. The other one is red and he wore it a little later in their visit.

With all the wet paint you gotta keep the wet rag handy for any drips! Dennis is really good and aside from our messed up bumpy walls the paint job looks professional!

Greg finished up staining this room so that it would be ready for carpet!

I guess all that work made Luke tired just watching and he decided out of the blue to take a rest, on top of a hard plastic drill case! He was so cute with his little pillow and his blanket that we took several pics.

While Mimi and Pawpaw were here we decided to have Luke's birthday party. We had it Sunday evening at church and invited a lot of adults and only two or three kids! I guess when he gets bigger we will invite more kids, but for now his world is filled primarily with adults. Here are a few pics of the friends and family who were able to make it. We had pizza, pop and chips for supper!

The kids ate fast and then were ready to play.

When the grown-ups were done with their pizza we decided it was time for some cake!

We could hardly keep Luke from blowing out the candles as they were being lit but we managed to get out a quick "Happy Birthday To You!" song before turning him loose!

He knows just what to do, here he is telling me he wants to EAT!

Yum!

I think he actually only ate the frosting and ice cream and left the cake. Then it was time for presents!

He was so excited about his first one that he didn't want to open any more, but we coaxed him back and eventually they all got opened!

From Greg and I he got two tractors with a wagon and a disc and a set of hot wheels cars.

The biggest gift was from Mimi and Pawpaw!

Pawpaw has made a barn or a doll house for each grandchild in turn so far, and this year it was Luke's turn. It was and still is a huge hit! He also made another one for the youth group at their church to auction of and it went for $200! It is such a cool barn!

Luke also got several other things, two books, a Dora the Explorer video (he calls her Dori which I love since that is my friend's name!), a green dump truck, some finger puppets and more.

Here is most of his haul!

Afterwards Glen, Amy, and Derrick came over to our house to give Glen a bath before heading home to Derby so the boys got to play together a little bit longer before it was time for bed. It was a really fun day.

Here is the new carpet in the small future office room. Luke really likes playing in here, even before he got the barn!

The bathroom is a little closer to being done, still a few small things and one bigger thing (the shelves, which Dennis said he might be able to do from Indiana).

Probably my favorite thing is that the closet now has shelves and a bar to hang coats on!!! No more piling them on the floor!

Greg already has it full of games, but I think I might move them back onto the shelves after we move the shelves into the office room. I think it would be nice to have a little more room for things like the dust buster or a mitten/hat basket!

Dennis putting on a few finishing touches before they head home. They also painted the living room but I don't have a good pic of that.

Before they left they took us out to eat and then we had to go back home and play just a little bit more.

Look at that grin!

Bye-bye Mimi and Pawpaw!

It was such a short visit but we had a lot of fun with you!

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In other news Luke has been talking up a storm! My favorite new word is battery, which he is somehow able to say with out any t's or r's. It seems like everytime he opens his mouth I hear a word that he has never said before.