North Pole Breakfast

I knew bringing back our elf Jolly this year would be lots of fun with Luke.  He will understand it so much more this year and take it much more serious!  When Jolly comes he brings a north pole breakfast with him.  We had to do our breakfast this year on a weekday because of other parties so we had to get up early before Mark left for work.  We sent Luke out to the kitchen for him to discover what had been left.  He was beyond excited!  Lukers kept shouting, "She's back, she's back!"  Apparently, Jolly became a girl over the off season.  

Mark read Luke the note that Jolly brought from Santa for Luke and Brody.  While I got the hot chocolate going they read the Elf on the Shelf book to help Luke remember the rules of Jolly.  I can already tell he is going to have a hard time not touching Jolly this year.  We kept catching Luke trying to touch Jolly.  This is so like Lukers' little personality to test things out and see just how true they really are!  Mark got the biggest kick out of how many marshmallows Luke put in his hot cocoa.  He kept saying, "Mmmm, maybe just one more!"

Luke's favorite thing to do lately is to cuddle up in his pajamas, watch a movie, and eat popcorn.  Santa sent Jolly with a movie for Luke!  As soon as breakfast was over he asked me to make him popcorn to watch his movie.  Apparently, the donuts and hot cocoa weren't enough!  

Sleeping Buddies

The other night Mark and I could not get the boys to go to bed.  They were both so wired and ready to go.  I was getting frustrated because I like to cleanup the house before I go to bed and I couldn't until these two little men went to bed.  Eventually, I gave up and decided to just let Brody lay down with Luke until I could get the house cleaned up and go to bed with them.  I came back to check on them a few moments later and they were fast asleep together.  I love that they are already developing a close relationship and hope they stay great friends!  I just hope they don't want to have a slumber party every night!

2012 Ornaments

I always try and purchase an ornament whenever we visit somewhere to help us remember that vacation.  However, each year the boys get a new personal ornament to add to our family tree.  Luke had a really hard time picking his this year.  He was sure he wanted a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle or a Power Rangers ornament.  I want it to be their choice, but truthfully Luke has never even watched an episode or played with either of these toys.  This year he has been obsessed with the Avengers so luckily, when I pointed out those ornaments he made the switch.  I was surprised he chose Captain America since he's not his favorite Avengers, but he was happy and that's all that matters.

I had a hard time finding an ornament that said Baby's First Christmas on it.  However, when Luke and I saw this little rocking horse we fell in love.  It is just too precious like our Sweet Brody!  I hope they like their ornaments this year!

Decorating the Tree

This year Luke has so much Christmas Spirit that we think he might just burst.  It was not easy holding him off on decorating the tree.  I kept using the excuse that Daddy wasn't home and I wasn't strong enough to carry the tree up.  Finally, about a week before December even began I told him I would bring the tree up.  His little face lit right up and he said, "Oh, Mommy that's so great that you've been eating lots of peaches and strawberries so that now you're strong enough to carry the tree."  

We waited until Daddy got home to actually decorate the tree since it is the family Christmas tree.  Luke had more fun unwrapping all of the ornaments than actually putting them on the tree.  Each ornament he would ooh and ahh over and want to know the story behind it.

Brody has been wanting to get at this Christmas tree all day.  He so content to just sit in front of the tree and try pulling the lights or a branch.  We made sure to put the ornaments up high enough...just out of his little reach.  When we were done with the tree Brody grabbed a piece to the nativity and rolled under the Christmas tree.  Brody just laid under there in awe of the tree; reaching his little hands up to touch the branches.  Mark and I were on the ground taking pictures of him and Luke noticed what was going on and wanted in on the action.  He jumped in front of Brods and struck a pose.  This kid is pure entertainment and never misses a beat.  

That night Luke and I had a sleep over under the tree.  It was so fun to snuggle up with him and look up at the tree and all the sparkling lights.  He literally wanted to be under the tree so I had to explain that we probably couldn't fit under there!  The next morning when I started to cleanup our pillows and blankets Luke asked why I was doing that.  He wanted to sleep under the tree every night.  This first Christmas experience has gotten me so excited to enjoy the rest of the season with these two! 

Cheering on Aunt Paige

When we heard that Aunt Paigey was going to be playing soccer for BYU there was no doubt in our minds that we would cheer for BYU Women's Soccer.  We are obviously Utah people, but we love our Paige and we were converted BYU fans for the season.  Luke thinks it's great that we have two teams to cheer for.  Little does he know how divided those two teams are!

We refer to Aunt Paige as our Rock Star.  To she is such an amazing soccer player.  Already as a freshman she starts and plays the entire game.  When her season ended it was heartbreaking, but we know we can cheer her on for three more years!  It was fun to hear Luke cheer for Paige.  Generally the cheers went like this...Go Paige, Go Girlies, Yeah Sports.  He also wanted to know where Paige was on the field at all times.  However, I think the highlight for Lukers was always the popcorn.  

One particular game was memorable for our family.  Poor Brody had about three blowouts and went through all of his clothes.  We ended up running to Shopko right before closing to grab him an outfit.  While I was in buying an outfit Mark realized we had a completely flat tire.  Luckily, we found a dealership that was about to close but they gave us some air to get by.  As we were driving back to get Jeff to help us change the tire we noticed someone in a little auto shop working late.  We pulled over and gave him $20 to change our tire...best $20 we've ever spent!  All in all we were still so happy to support Paige and get a W!

Thanksgiving

This year we were at the Velasquez's house for Thanksgiving.  Before we got ready to leave Luke asked who was going to be there.  When I told him cousin Emerson would be there he said, "Can he walk yet?"  Poor Luke has had to wait so long for a cousin to play with and waiting for Emerson to grow up this past year was torture for sweet Luke.  Luckily for Luke, Emerson started walking on Thanksgiving.  A little Thanksgiving present for Lukers!  It was fun to see Luke and Brody finally interacting and having fun with a cousin.  They looked at books, played with toys, and growled at each other!   

When dinner was ready Luke was determined to sit by Uncle Max.  He thought it was pretty cool that he was allowed to use a knife for the first time.  Luke took it pretty serious...now we're all in trouble with Luke armed at the dinner table.  Brody refused to eat his sweet potatoes I had packed for his dinner, but he didn't turn down the regular mashed potatoes off my plate.  I thought this was so funny because at Luke's first Thanksgiving it was just the opposite.  Ate sweet potatoes and puked regular potatoes!  

After dinner we had a nice time just hanging out and watching football with the family as Lukers ran wild and Brody slept in my arms.  Words cannot express how thankful I am for Mark and these boys.  They mean so much to me and I don't know what I would do without them.  Mark does so much and works so hard for our family and these two little boys light up my life and bring me endless joy!  I have a very blessed life and I need to do better about remembering that all year long!

Jr. Dart

When I saw that there would be Jr. Darts basketball for three and four year olds I knew we had to sign Luke up.  I knew he would love it and that it would be pure entertainment for us!  When it comes to sports I am just happy that they're out there doing it and having a good time.  Mark on the other hand, takes it pretty serious.  He kept reminding Luke to focus and listen to his coaches.  I love this picture of Luke playing around with the ball and Mark trying to get him to focus.  

His first day, Luke was pretty nervous and not sure what to expect.  He kept coming over to me on the sideline to get a kiss or love.  By now he is a pro and has made a few friends. I am amazed how well he does at dribbling and shooting.  They received a basketball and t-shirt the first day which Luke thought was awesome.  He wants to take his basketball with him wherever we go.

Each practice they wear name tags so the other parents and coaches know their names.  One day Luke went over and asked for his name tag all by himself.  He came walking over to us and we knew right away there was something wrong.  There is a little boy there named Lucas and they had given him that name tag.  Luke marched right up to us and said, "Look, I don't have a c, a, or s in my name.  I tried telling her it was wrong."  Nothing gets by this little guy!  

I think Luke has really enjoyed going to basketball and hanging out with his dad.  It makes me excited to sign him up for more sports!