More pictures!

Here are some more pictures from the summer. Some from Epcot, Antonia and Sarah's visit, etc.

Okay, so once again....Jocelyn pointed out that fact that I have not updated the blog in forever. Summer got very busy and now that school started again, time has slipped away. We had a wonderful summer filled with fun trips! We went to Myrtle Beach with the Crosby family and had a blast. It was the first vacation in a while and was well worth the trip. Trenton loves the beach and the water so he was easy to entertain. Luke, on the other hand, hated the beach only because he wasn't walking yet and whenever he crawled through the sand he got covered in it. I think it will be better next year, at least I hope. Macey was a joy to watch as she explored the beach, played, and ATE the sand!!!

After our trip to the beach, Trenton stayed with Grammie at the beach, Jonnie drove home, and Nana made a drive up from Florida to pick up me and Luke! We had an 11 1/2 hour drive back to Florida but there was never a dull moment. Luke and I spent about a week in FL and we got to go to Disney for one of the weekends! Nana, Papa and I took him to Epcot and got to meet some of the characters. We visited Las Olas, the beach and of course shopped during our time there.

By the time Luke and I flew home summer was almost over. Trenton stayed three weeks at the beach with Grammie and had some time with Grampie there too. He had a hard time adjusting when he came home but we all survived.

Towards the end of the summer we had a visit from the Raukers (Sarah and Antonia) and the Greenfields also came by briefly. Luke had a fun time with his future wife, although I think he scared her a few times with his aggressiveness. Nana also returned at the end of the summer to spend some time with the family before we all got back into the routine of the school year. See below some pics from the summer time!

Oops....

Thanks to my sister for pointing out the fact that I haven't updated the blog in quite a while. I do have to tell you that even though I am home for the summer with the kids there has been no time to spend on this blog! It makes me mad because the intent was to keep the family updated and Jocelyn hasn't seen Lucas since April and Trenton since Christmas!!!!!!

So, here's to you, Auntie La La.....

Luke turned 1! Ah, it breaks my heart but it's a good milestone. My baby turned one.... Thanks to Dad and Toonces for holding the party at their house the night before we left for the beach. I can't imagine trying to fit our family and friends in our house, especially to clean up and leave for the beach the next day. It was so nice and we all enjoyed our time. Luke turned one in style with a "prince" party and it was sure something we will never forget. We can't thank you enough for all of the love and joy shared with our wonderful friends and family, especially those that traveled and those that made the trip out to West VA!

Catching up AGAIN!!!

Kim's Graduation
Corn on the Cob.....Yum!!!










Truly there
are no excuses for not posting new pics and info on the kids! I am officially out of school for the summer time as of this week and have nothing better to do then chase the kids around all day!!!!

Well since the last posting Trenton is 9! (May 11, 2000) Actually, probably before the last posting but I am still working on getting some pics from that day. He was sick as a dog and we ended up taking him to urgent care as the guests were arriving at his house. Not to mention the fact that since baseball season was in full swing and the rain caused so many cancellations and postponements, we kept pushing back his party every day! The good news was that he got to stay home with his Uncle Nickie (Thanks Nickie) the next day and catch up on some well needed rest. I will post pics of that special day sometime soon.

Luke continues to grow, he is definitely 25 lbs or heavier by now! He has had three, count them, THREE haircuts already-before his first birthday! It is so sad but true....... I have never seen a kid with so much hair and if he was a girl I would just let it grow but since he is a boy I feel bad that his hair is hanging in his face. He is now pointing at objects and babbling like crazy. Some words are understandable while others are not. We are trying to get rid of the nuk except for at night and nap and he is now "taking it out and throwing it away" after night sleep and nap time. He is still not walking but he is definitely standing on his own at times. He has grown so much and I almost tear up at the thought that my baby is turning one next weekend!!!!

I am posting random pics of the kids from recent events....Cousin Kim graduated from High School -go Kim! Also, shots taken here at the house and pics of Trenton finishing his first swim class!

What we would call....Chillaxin

Luke is at the age where he is growing and changing every day! He enjoys pulling himself up on everything he can and "cruising" through the house. He is a joy to watch as he moves and explores every day. He is starting to say little words, although not directed at anyone in particular, like Hi, Mama, Daddy, Adyie (his girlfriend at the sitters), and baba. The following pictures are of him chillaxin (chillin and relaxin). This morning he pulled his legs out from under his high chair and rested them on his tray as if he was sun bathing! And....he thought it was hysterical! Enjoy the pictures.

Baseball Season!

Well baseball season has officially begun and now, it is almost over! I can't believe it! We signed Trenton up for baseball this year during the spring season since he aged out of the summer ball program. Trenton has made so much progress this year and has gotten really good at his striking skills! He has been able to hit the ball on most pitches (machine pitched) with good force. We are still working on his skills in the field but they have also improved. His team has won all of their games except for one so that has also been a plus this season! Here are some pictures of him up to bat and playing catcher (a great position for him because he has to focus every pitch). We are proud of his progress and hard work this season!

Catching Up!

Luke and Macey in Michigan

Auntie La La and Luke in Minnesota at the Zoo

The boys on Easter

Since it has been a while I am posting some pictures from our trip to Michigan in early April, my trip to Minnesota with Luke in late April, and Easter with the boys! Enjoy!

Luke's "Fake" Haircut

I have never had so many people question why I had let my son's hair grow so long! It was really bad when two of his doctors spoke about the length of his hair. Numerous times when we were out in public people ask about our little "girl"????? So, against my wishes of waiting until he was one to cut his hair, I gave in! Miss Tammi (who cut Jonnie's hair when he was a kid) and Grandma were so kind to carefully take their time and "trim" his hair. However, I requested that a picture be taken and since it took both of them to cut it (one to hold, the other to cut) I took a picture when I came to pick him up that day. Here is the "fake hair cut" picture.

A Sick Baby

Well, it has been a while since I have written anything but things have been crazy! I finally finished my last grad class of the program I was in-yea! So, I truly vow to take more time to share photos and memories in the making. I am posting a recent picture of Luke as he continues to grow. He is now scooting across the floor, crawling (only a few steps at a time), and attempting to stand up! He also has six teeth and it looks like more are on the way. It is unbelievable to me how fast they grow at this age and the amount of things they can discover. Trenton was with his mom on this day so again, no pictures of him.

The day after this picture, Luke got really sick. He has been wheezing and when we went to the Dr. they put him on an inhaler. After that didn't work they put him on the nebulizer every four hours and found that he had a double ear infection. We went back again, and his ears were still infected (three days later) but his breathing had improved. So, that is where we are now. We leave on a flight to Michigan to visit Auntie Kristy, Uncle Chris, and cousin Macey so we are hoping his health improves quickly this week.

More on the boys to come......

Rubber Ducky, You're the One.....

You make bath time so much fun! Well, Luke is at the age where he is transitioning through many things like car seats, strollers, and yes-the bath tub! He grew out of his infant tub at four weeks because he was so long. Then, he began using a bath cradle in the big tub but has outgrown that as well because he prefers to sit up. However, since his sitting ability is not up to par, he often slides all over the tub and trying to bathe an almost 7 month old while holding on to them with one hand can be extremely difficult.

So, while using up some of my left over gift cards at babies-r-us, I found the Munchkin Inflatable Safety Duck Tub which as you can see from the video, he loved! It may take up a lot of space but I think it's worth it considering the fact that he enjoyed it and he can be more independent during bath time.

A play date!

Well, this week started off good when Luke had a play date with Will! Renee and Will came over for lunch and even made the trip through the first snowfall of the season. Things went well and the boys hit it off-from pulling at hair, taking off socks, to just staring at each other-they seemed to enjoy themselves. Trenton missed all the action because he was with Grammie but he was getting anything he wanted so I don't think he missed much at home. Overall, a nice day enjoyed by all.

As for the end of this week, this house has the sick bug again and it's been tough! I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband who is the love of my life because I couldn't do it without him. I was so sick on Wed. night that by Thurs. morning I could hardly get out of bed. He took care of both kids in the morning and shipped them out for the day. Then, he made me a Dr's appointment, since I had no voice, and even came home in the middle of the day to drive me to the Dr's! What a wonderful hubby! He's the best.

Something he gets from Mommy?

So, in attempt to load the first video, I took a clip of Luke in his exersaucer. He also had the hiccups and while he looks just like Jonnie I realized that perhaps he gets one thing from me. The loud obnoxious hiccups that seem not to want to go away. And the hair??? We are not totally sure where he gets that from but it's always out of control, even from the day he was born.

Why the Four J's?

So, you may be asking why the four J's? For those of you who know us well you know that we all have names that start with a J but our children are called by their middle names, thus confusing all. When Trenton was younger and we traveled by plane for the first time, I kept reminding him that if they ask if he is Joseph, he needed to respond with a resounding "yes" so people didn't think I was kidnapping him! Now, with baby Jonathan in the picture, it makes us the four J's but he too goes by his middle name-Lucas.

The next question may be why the blog? I have been so jealous of my friends who have them and always wanted to create one of my own but never had the time. I still don't have the time but I have vowed that after my last grad class is over, I will have more time to blog. Besides, my family is far away for the most part, except for my Dad and Toonces (I'll explain that name later too), so I thought this would be a good way to keep them updated and let them see baby Luke grow into a young man as Trenton has! So, wish me luck and I hope that there will be much more for you to read in the future! Now I just have to figure out how to post videos and pictures and we will be well on our way. Good thing I can type pretty fast!