More Pumpkin Patch Pics

4th Annual Pumpkin Patch Outing

A few weekends ago before the heavy rains hit, we made our annual trek out to Jubilee Farms Pumpkin Patch. Colin was so excited to get to ride the hayride, which was pulled by a tractor. When we arrived at the patch we took a few quick pics and then Colin spotted his own pumpkin.

This was a super fast trip to the patch, as it was very windy and a bit chilly, and Luke was not amused by our attempt to photograph him in his first hunt for a pumpkin with big brother.

Blog Maternity Leave

Hello, yes, it really is me! After composing many a blog post in my head at 3 am when nursing a hungry child, I finally decided to download a few of my thoughts. I have taken some "maternity leave" from my blog, and during this time I have debated how much I will continue to write. It is indeed fun to go back and read stories and to share them with you, as well, so I have decided to keep writing....for now.

These past 6 1/2 weeks have gone really well in some regards. Luke now sleeps from 8:30 or 9 pm at night and wakes for a 2 am feeding (which my wonderful husband does....) and then he wakes around 5 or 6 for me to feed. At that point I am up for the day, and sweet baby Luke goes peacefully back to the land of nod. We give one bottle a day so that Luke will be able to take a bottle. He doesn't really like it, but I REALLY don't want to be his only source of food. I don't want to be tethered to him in the evenings for the next year. A girl needs to get out every now and then, even if it is just to run to the store.

Son #1 has been, well, lets just say....he's been a huge challenge for Mommy and Daddy. Fortunately he adores Luke and is so cheerful when he gets to see him. He hasn't retaliated in any way related to Luke, but he is indeed 110% 3 years old. I'll leave it at that, as I am starting to see glimmers of my former sweet big boy. Other veteran moms tell me that the pleasant child eventually re-emerges, so we are hopeful. And needless to say, God blessed our sanity with 4 morning-a-week preschool for this little guy.

Speaking of preschool, Colin seems to be doing really well. He now comes home and tells us some of the things he has done at school that morning. This preschool is part of our local school system's program, so it academically prepares them for kindergarten and combines ages 3-5 in the class. I was sceptical at first, but I have seen how well he does at home with things like his letters, letter formation, counting, and colors. They also work with him on social interactions related to sharing and turn-taking, which I think all 3 year olds struggle with! He also has time in and out of class with his speech therapist, and he is progressing really well. He tells us things now that sometimes really astound me, especially his use of various phrases that I think, "where on earth did he learn that?" Things like protesting following directions by indicating, "I can't do that....it makes me tough that way." (What??)

Fortunately during this time Matt has had very little overnight business travel, and he has been a huge help in the transition to having 4 family members. We were also fortunate to have my mom here a few days before Luke came and then for about 5 days afterward, and then my mother-in-law came out for another week. And the meals from friends after that have been such a huge help. I think I'm going to have to actually start cooking again soon. It's been a nice break from weekly meal planning!

So that's a quick recap. Next I'll post some pics (if blogger cooperates; Facebook is MUCH easier) and a few other stories, as well.

Welcome Baby Luke!

Thanks, friends and family, for all of your prayers and support!

As you know by now, baby Luke was born at 2:42 a.m. yesterday morning. And yes, he does indeed have a cool birth date that will always be easy for his wife to remember!

I kept many of you up-to-date even when we were waiting for the doc to arrive at the hospital, and then complete silence through last night, so here's a bit of what transpired during that time.

Baby didn't come all on his own, so my doctor broke my water to begin the "eviction" process. He was 12 days past his due date, and we decided it was time to move on!

The laboring process itself went extremely well, and by 7 pm I had the pleasure of seeing once again the anesthesiologist who gave me the epidural when I had Colin. Funny how I recognized him immediately! With his assistance, I was a happy woman through the remainder of the process of bringing Luke into the world.

Luke joined us as such a big boy! At 9 lbs. 4 oz., I learned that babies over 9 lbs. are automatically tested in intervals for blood sugar levels, so poor little guy has endured having his heel stuck numerous times, and his levels are just fine. He was just in the cooker for a long time making him a big boy!

Immediately after he was born, I begin to have the chills. That can be normal, but they got uncontrollable and I had a fever reach 104 which they couldn't get under control with some simpler measures, so I ended up with iv antibiotics and ice packs on my body. We still don't know the cause of my infection, but my fever is now gone and baby seems to have had no impact. As a precaution, however, we are both being held until tomorrow (at least) for observation.

So, mom and baby spent much of yesterday being poked and prodded and trying to rest while a parade of people came in and out of our room. And we fully welcomed baby's invitation to the nursery last night so we as parents could rest after our first all-nighter.

And here we are today with a gorgeous, sunny day in the PNW, and baby is sound asleep. He seems to be a fairly mellow lil' guy (and thus was in no hurry to leave mommy's tummy!) and we feel so very blessed! Thank you again for all of your prayers and support!

And now you know.....the REST of the story!

Humbled by a Pair of Socks

I decided this week that if baby wasn't coming, I wasn't just going to sit at home and wait. One morning while Colin was at school I ran a few shopping errands, which included scoring some fabulous deals at Old Navy.

As I was checking out, the woman in line behind me was waiting simply to buy a pack of size 6-12 month Halloween socks. I listened as she talked with another lady in line behind her. This woman explained that her grand baby, her first, turned 6 months the following day. The other lady commented how tough those first 6 months can be. The grandma replied that, yes, her daughter had had a tough pregnancy and the baby barely hung in there and was so little, but that he made it. It had been a long road.

Her daughter would have given anything for even two extra weeks with baby in her tummy, and there I stood, humbled that this grandma was just so grateful that she was able to buy a pair of size 6 month socks for baby's first Halloween.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of this extra time!

In Case You Were Wondering....

....Still here!

Colin's First Day of School

Colin was so excited this morning, as he got to ride the school bus to preschool! His preschool has a special transport (some with special needs) and they each have their own seat belt -- it was cute to watch him get on board. His driver, Sherri, was sure to make him smile and I got a cute pic of him all settled in. I also had a great pic of him as we waited down the hill at his bus stop and I somehow deleted it. I gotta figure out what I did wrong before I delete a baby picture in coming days on accident! We have a newer camera with some sort of spin dial which I am not too fond of...

Colin went to this same school for the last 6 weeks of the previous school year with the same teacher and 5 other of the same students (4 others are new for a total of 10 kids in his class), so he's going back to a familiar place with people he knows, or I might have been a little nervous about sending our 3 year old off to school on a bus with a stranger!

I woke up several times last night dreaming vividly/having night mares that I would go into labor during the night before his first day of preschool school. Whew! Avoided that one!

Knock on wood, but here in a few hours I think we can all safely agree that baby has decided to be a September baby and thus he will certainly enter Kindergarten one year later, since Sept. 1 is the strict cut-off around here (smile!) He wants to be a football season baby and not a pool-party baby, I suppose! That outta make Grandaddy proud! Thanks for giving us an "extra year" to save for college, kiddo! Hey, someone has to be practical about the matter!

So, my big fluff ball, Elliot, and I are resting all morning while "Big Brother Colin" is off at school. I go see the Dr. again this afternoon and will keep you all posted. And for now, the baby car seat is installed, the pack-n-play is up, and my wonderful husband has the house all ready for the newest family member. He even pulled an ugly bush from the front yard yesterday....(though attaching a chain to the truck and pulling out anything at the roots is probably a great stress reliever....)

Last day(s) As An Only Child

I thought before the craziness hits of baby arriving I would capture a bit of what Colin is like BEFORE baby brother joins us.

Colin is 3 years and 3 1/2 months old and, as I had suspected would happen, has figured out how to throw some really good temper tantrums. These peak when we want him to nap or go to bed and are mixed with lots of yelling and "No, I won't do it!" as well as lying down and kicking and screaming. Sometimes I am able to laugh, knowing that this too shall pass, but when you are this big an pregnant it takes a lot of energy to think of creative ways to get him to his room for some much needed rest.

We have started taking toys away (favorites, like ALL cars, pirate ships, and his castle) and in recent days he is working on being cooperative (having a "happy heart") to earn back his prized possessions. And he's quite the negotiator and will even tell you which item he wants you to take next when he is planning to be disobey.

On the more cheerful side, Colin is making greater strides with his language and articulation, though we still have a ways to go. He uses longer sentences and does quite a bit of pretend play on his own with his Veggie Tales pirates and pirate castle. He saw "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" over the summer at the Regal Cinemas Free Kids Movie Day and now talks non-stop about the storyline.

His passion for anything from the Cars movie is quite intense and Cars have been a huge motivator. He potty trained this summer quite easily with the motivation of receiving a car for his success. At least one thing was easy, right? We didn't push him, and it just seemed to happen. I count this as a blessing, as many of his friends a few months older are still wavering between pull-ups and the real McCoy. If you had asked me in April if I thought this was possible I would have doubted you, but we have been very fortunate.

He played soccer all summer with a buddy from his PEPS group, and each Monday after soccer we would go to lunch with his friend and his mom. It has been such a blessing to watch their friendship blossom, and a Colin has spent all summer watching his buddy adjust to being a new big brother, giving Colin a sense of what to look forward to. These unexpected blessings of friendship for both Colin and me (with his buddy's mom) are such great gifts from God that help encourage us along life's way.

Colin had his first swim lessons earlier in August (without me in the pool with him) and though he had great 1-on-1 time with the instructor, he needed someone who woukd push him a bit more to put his face under the water. On one of the days he had a more mature (older) substitute instructor push him a bit more and he had his head under water several times, so I know he can do it! We will do lessons this fall, as well.

And last week he had his first day camp experience -- our local swim and recreation club had a dino camp-themed week and at the end of the morning each day he got to play in the wading pool for 30 minutes. He loved it and the weather was great! We'll definitely be signing him up for camp again next summer.

I'll close on this recap as I remember a tender moment with Colin the other night. I am not much of a sappy crying type of person, but I was having a bad night. Colin said, "Mommy's sad and needs blue blankie." He went to his room and got his beloved blankie and took the corners of the blanket and gently blotted the tears from my cheeks as if to say, "Mommy, it's gonna be all better." This tender, sweet side makes me so proud of his sweet and giving heart! Ahhh, the power of the blue blankie!

40 Weeks and Counting

For my entire prenancy, as with any other women, people ask, "when are you due?" Friends and family, and so often complete strangers! Each time I would say, "August 27" as though that date had any meaning. And here we are, August 27, and I am resting in bed, waiting for any sign that baby wants to enter the world. Nothing; zero; nada! I have come to nick-name him "Mr. Snug and Happy!"

I'm actually not that impatient, as I'm not uncomfortable (by pregnant standards) AND I actually slept almost 7 1/2 hours straight last night. Usually my bladder isn't that cooperative! In just a matter of days I will be so bleary-eyed from a newborn that I will long for this quiet and rest. I will beg for it! So again, no recommendations of "just be patient!"

However, there is a little green monster named high blood pressure who is attempting to lurk his ugly head. I am only borderline high, but we'll see how things go at the doc tonight. Unfortunately I also suffer from white coat syndrome, so this isn't too helpful. So while I am patient for baby to come on his own, I would only prefer him to come sooner if it means beating an induction to the punch...

I have mostly packed my bags and have done most everything on my to-do list (if that is ever really possible.) The slow leak in my tire will just have to wait to get fixed some other time. We have my Grandad's air compressor in our garage, so it's no big deal to give the tires a bit of air every 2 weeks (I have never been happy with the tires Mazda factory put on this CX-7!)

Colin starts school on Monday, so the timing of his return to some structure (and 4 mornings a week out of the house) is ideal. He went to an open house to see his teacher and school friends today, so he is all excited to head back!

Baby Sturm will indeed be here soon, though, and we will keep everyone posted!

Meeting Frank the Combine

Any Cars Movie-lovin' preschool boy knows of and is enamoured with Frank the Combine from the tractor tipping scene, and Colin is no different.

On the 4th of July we ventured just north of town and found a red combine which looks just like Frank. Wow! Colin was so excited, but a little scared to see it up close and in full sized dimensions (unlike his 7 inch long version at home.) Matt also scared him a bit by whispering, "Don't wake Frank" as he got out of the car to "meet" Frank.

Visit to Texas and Colorado

Last month we made a brief, 2 part trip down to Texas and then up to Colorado. Our visit to Texas was mostly because of the O'Neal family reunion. It was good to see lots of my cousins and their kids, and Colin got to experience West Texas critters, such as HUGE toads and bull snakes. He had fun chasing around his cousins Halee and Tristin, as well.
I enjoyed a girls lunch outing to celebrate Jama's 35th birthday. Pam, Tulle (3), Jama, and I all went to lunch at Napoli's over in Amarillo, did a little shopping afterwards, and then had a cherry limeade at Sonic happy hour. I miss Sonic, which we don't have in my neck of the woods (though I hear rumors there is one about an hour away....)

Our trip wasn't complete without the small town experience of a 4th of July parade. Colin thought it was fun to chase after the candy tossed into the streets and thought all of the old cars in the parade must have names (from the Cars movie...) He also got to see cousins on the Walker side of the family and got to have some Grandparent and Great Grandparent visits.

We ended our trip to Texas with lunch with one of Matt's fraternity brothers and his family. His wife is pregnant and due a few days after me, so we had many stories to share and ideas to toss around while the guys got all caught up from their Baylor days.

After a delayed trip to Denver (due to thunderstorms looming south of Denver) we finally arrived for another 2 nights of visiting. We went to the Butterfly Pavillion and Colin also got to go fishing at the Kids' Pond in Boulder where he caught a few trout. We're not sure who had more fun -- Colin or Grandpa (Pa Pa).

This was our last travel as a family before our new family member arrives.

The Great Carrot Harvest

The second week in July we decided that the carrots in our garden were ready for harvest. Matt loosened up the soil around them and then our "Colin bunny" had so much fun plucking them from the ground. He was then anxious to come in the house and get them all washed up. I wish he has this much zeal when it came to washing dishes.

More pictures from San Diego

This was the view at sunset from the balcony of our beach house. Imperial Beach is about 4 miles north of the Mexican border, and is a quaint SoCal beach town.

Here is a statue of a prehistoric mastodon at the zoo -- you can see how huge he was!

Colin was super excited to ride the top level of the double-decker bus at the zoo (here he is waiting in line.) You can see who came to the zoo with us (in his left hand.) "We" don't go much of anywhere without a car in hand, and this was Lightning McQueen with night vision goggles, which he proudly earned right before the trip as part of potty training.

San Diego '09

In June we enjoyed a 5 day trip to San Diego to celebrate Rick and Marilyn's 40 year wedding anniversary. Matt's brother joined us all, as well, and we had a good time together.

We hit Sea World our first full day there and had a yummy buffet breakfast next to Shamu's practice pool. It was incredible being so close to these huge animals! Colin enjoyed seeing the sharks, watching us feed the seals (such beggars!), and playing in the Sesame Street Area. He's still afraid of large mascots, and thus when we stood by Shamu (Shampoo, as Colin calls him), Matt had to stand between Colin and the whale.

We then hit the San Diego Zoo for the next two days -- there's just too much to see in one day! Colin requested we do a family "self portrait" while at the zoo -- it turned out pretty well. The new Elephant Odyssey area is great prehistoric animal statues that are life-sized (and huge!)

We ate dinner at Casa Guadalajara in Old Town San Diego and listened to Mariachi Bands play while I ate one too many fajitas. They were so yummy I couldn't help myself. We also enjoyed dinner the Edgewater Grill in Seaport Village (with views to Coronado Island), as well as nice Mexican Seafood restaurant in Imperial Beach, which is where we stayed during our visit.

Our last day there Colin figured out how much fun it was to jump in the waves on the beach. He loved the sand and water and keeps asking when we will go back to the beach and ocean. As much fun as the cold water was, though, he loved going back to the beach house and having Dad put warm shower water down his wetsuit from the outdoor shower -- ahhhhhh!

Our Lil' Baseball Player

Colin is enjoying playing with his new baseball t-ball set. He is learning that you have to face a certain way to hit the ball NOT at the BBQ grill or the house, and he seems to have little care as to whether he bats right or left handed.

The Death of Mommy's Camera

My camera made it 3 1/2 years, faithful to take tons of pictures of each little Colin and family activity. It survived several drops (oops!) and many snorkel trips in the ocean in it's special water case. But for some reason and without warning, the digital screen decided at the end of May that it was done.

I took it out while in downtown Seattle to snap some pics while on a date night with Matt and nothing. Nada.

So, with another trip in sight, we ventured out for a mommy proof camera -- this new thing is shock proof and waterproof to 3 meters. I had fun taking some pictures of my roses, which are so thrilled that we gave them some plant food late this spring!

More from Grandma's Visit

Colin enjoyed spending time with his Grandma for a belated birthday celebration.


And while she was here, Colin beat the heat in the yard while Dad watered the garden. Sprinklers are SO much fun! He ended up in his "skives" this particular evening (below) because he was soaked. A few days later while it was still hot outside in the evening, he just went ahead and stripped down to his birthday suit and frolicked in the water. Ahhhh, to be three and without a care in the world!

Beach Heat Playtime

Colin enjoyed a visit from his Texas Grandma the last weekend in May. Grandma brought some hot weather with her, so we hit the beach! Colin had fun playing in the water and sand!

Memorial Day

We enjoyed a relaxing Memorial Day BBQ with friends and Colin's favorite lunch buddy and soccer pal. I decided to have a little fun with the dessert (you can't go wrong with a fruit trifle) and finally got around to fixing the salad I had last summer, recipe compliments of my MOPS and Bible study friend, Carly. Here's the recipe (it's absolutely delicious!):

Dressing:
2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil, mixed with canola oil
1/3 c. rice vinegar
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp oregano
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper

Add to romaine lettuce torn on platter:

green onions
avocado
dried cranberries
candied pecans (2 c pecans, 1 c sugar, constantly stirred over med/high heat until sugar is melted and nuts are golden brown. Spread immediately over foil and let cool)
pears
blue cheese
optional: tomatoes, jicama, orange slices

Colin and his friend had fun playing outside with the golf go-cart and other fun outdoors toys. So nice to relax and enjoy the fellowship!

Beach Exploration

Catching up from the third week in May, we made a trip over to West Seattle and visited a beach at low tide. Colin was not pleased that he was expected to walk over that slimy seaweed ("Yuck, seaweed, yuck! Daddy hold me!")

When Dad and Colin walked over a particular patch of large seaweed, I saw it starting to really move and out came a HUGE eating-sized dungeness crab, followed by 2 others. They had rafted in at low tide and wanted to make a quick escape from us. Colin had talked all the way to the each about seeing crabs, and boy did we ever!

No starfish on this trip, though. We'll have to check out a different beach next time.

Zoo Fieldtrip

Colin started at his new preschool last Thursday and on Friday they had a fieldtrip to the zoo -- what a great way for Colin to think, "this school rocks!" Since the buses were mostly all full, we drove and met them for our outing.

For much of the morning, we explored the safari animals on our own, and I was so glad I had the stroller because he decided it was more fun to sit/snack/watch animals than to walk. I definitely got my workout for the day! Right before lunch Colin watched the old-fashioned caroussel ride and quickly pronounced, "My turn!" You can see from the smile on his face how much he loved it!

We met up for lunch in the meadow with his classmates and I got to meet an assistant teacher in his class, as well as a few other students and parents. Colin then decided we should join a few of our friends to check out the rest of the animals, including the new penguin exhibit. And as I was pointing out a little fish swimming in the penguin tank, he quickly became penguin's lunch. Well, glad Colin's a boy and that he thought that was cool to see lil' fish get gobbled up!

They are talking about animals all month in his class, so this helped jumpstart his thoughts about his favorite animals.

Fishin' Fun

This past weekend we took Colin to a local fishing (or rather, catching) trout farm to have his first experience with a fishing pole. No sooner than Dad had baited the hook and helped place the little bamboo pole in the water, a little trout would quickly nibble, nibble. We caught 2 trout (which Colin wasn't too sure of when they were flopping around in the bucket) and called it good. It was a good first fishing experience.

Stepping Stones

Because Colin turned 3, he no longer qualifies for his special Stepping Stones class and will begin classes next week at the local school district preschool program. For his last day, he enjoyed having his friends sing him Happy Birthday and enjoyed one last hug from all of his great teachers! It was a bitter sweet morning -- we have spent a ton of time at the Kindering Center, which is where he went to class and speech therapy, and now it's time for us to move on.

Mother's Day Tea

At Colin's preschool last week they had a special event for Moms. We joined our kids in class for a special breakfast treat and then they sang us 3 different songs (including, "Jesus Loves Me, Skinamarink a Dink a Dink, and I'm a little Tea Pot). It was fun to come to his class for a special morning!
Colin is doing the "Little Teapot" motions with his friends.

Campfire Fun

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from last weekend's fun -- Dad had been talking to Colin about camping, so he then promised him a campfire. We have a fire pit in our backyard, so I headed to the store for marshmallows and Dad got the fire going after dinner.

Ooooh, this marshmallow is yummy! I'll have more of these!

Yummy delicious!! And now Colin has nicknames for the family: Colin Marshmallow (barshnellow), Daddy Campfire, and Mommy Flower. He decided later that baby could be nicknamed "Baby Hotdog!"

Mothers' Day

We celebrated Mothers' Day by going to church and then heading to brunch at the local Hilton. It was a special day since it was also Colin's Grandma's birthday! We ate ourselves silly at the buffet and then enjoyed a family picture together at the event. And I actually got to hear the words from Colin's mouth today, "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!" -- that was the sweetest treat of all!

Happy Birthday, Colin!

Colin turned three and had fun celebrating with a Cars party. As you can see he had fun wearing his birthday hat, as well. Here he is, happy to kick off his party with Doc and the rest of the gang!


We had anticipated taking Colin to Top Pot Donuts for breakfast on his birthday, but birthday boy slept in and Dad and "Pa Pa" went to Starbucks and brought him a chocolate Top Pot donut home to enjoy while we prepared for friends to arrive at the party.

I prayed for a non-rainy day, as the days leading up to his birthday were cold and super wet! God answered our prayers with a clear, sunny, warm day -- yeah!! I sent the boys outside and we played red light, green light (with a Mater light, which meant going backwards!) Here the boys all are holding their race car steering wheels.

The boys all had fun playing with cars, decorating cars shaped cookies (including those shaped like Mater and Mac), and munching down hot dogs. Colin was so tickled to have his friends join him!

Colin was thrilled after the party to get a cars scooter, which he has had fun taking for a spin in the cul de sac. And going down the driveway fast and over a bump is lots of fun, too!

Grandma and Grandpa (Pa Pa) came to town to help Colin celebrate, and we enjoyed lots of sunshine during the afternoon while he played with new toys and opened one last present before nap -- a Lightning McQueen plush pillow (perfect for heading off to the land of nod to dream about his fun cars party.)

Thanks to everyone who joined us for this special day!