Back in business!!

So after over an hour on the phone with the mac help guy, the problem has been fixed and I am so thrilled that I can post pictures again!

So much to catch up on! I guess I'll start with Easter. I wasn't able to get many good shots on Easter. Luke can rarely sit still these days and Grant will only look at the camera for a split second before he looks away. I have so very few pictures of the boys together and the ones I do have are not very good at all. Here's the best picture I have from Easter morning.



Here's another one that I like. Of course Grant wasn't looking at the camera so I cropped him out.


Thursday after Easter I flew to Pensacola for Hannah's wedding.  It was a small, beautiful wedding on the beach.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  Mike stayed home with the boys and unfortunately got very sick with the worst stomach bug.  It took him 3 days to fully recover, poor guy.  My mom flew back with me on Sunday and stayed until Thursday.  We loved having her here and the boys enjoyed all the attention from their Mia.  She treated the boys to Chuck-E-Cheese, which both boys loved.

We also went to the Aquarium one day.  It had been a while since Luke had been and he absolutely loved it.  His new favorite word is fish, he says "ish", so he must have said "ish" a thousand times.   At the end of our visit at the Aquarium we let the boys play on this great outdoor play area they have there.  Grant loves to run these days so he just ran circles around the place.  It was a hot day so by the time we left his hair was almost completely wet with sweat.     

 Sweaty head Grant

                       We miss you Mia!

boo on blogger

If you are wondering why I haven't posted any new pictures of my kiddos in almost 4 months it's because I CAN'T! For some strange reason, blogger is not letting me. I have been reading all the help articles in blogger trying to figure out what the problem is and I feel like I've tried everything. The latest thing I was told is to switch internet servers. So, I did it and it's still not working. If you have any advice, please share. We have an imac and so it's a little different than the other computers. I've been playing around with mac blogs so I might just have to completely switch from blogger. Hopefully I can get something figured out soon!!

Happy Easter weekend!

Waaaaaaaaay Overdue!

I'm sure you are all sick and tired of seeing my Christmas picture still up. I am too. I am sorry. Hopefully the next blog I post won't be 2 months away! I've got to do better!

Not a whole lot to report. Nothing too exciting has happened since Christmas. Both boys have been sick. Grant had bronchitis and Luke has some kind of crud just about all the time. He goes from one cold to an ear infection to the next. He just got off a 10 day antibiotic last Thursday and wouldn't you know that by Sunday he was sneezing and now he has a full blown cold. Our ped. said if he had another ear infection that she would probably refer him to the ENT. This is exactly how things went for Grant the winter he was 1. But the good news is that since that winter, when he was getting every virus under the sun, he has managed to stay pretty healthy. I'm amazed that he hasn't been catching all these bugs that Luke has been having. So, hopefully once this cold season is over I'll have a healthy Luke too.

Here's some updates on the boys..

Grant is SO much fun. I am loving this age. I wish I could have him stay 3 for at least a few more years. I love how curious he is and how much he is learning and talking about every little thought that comes in to his head. Yes, we have had our moments but overall he's just the sweetest thing. He is starting to learn his letters and is really having fun with it. He'll say, "Mommie, this or that, starts with the letter P." The letter P is his favorite right now. He is loving the website www.starfall.com. So, if any of you other moms have little ones learning letters you should definitely check it out. He is also loving the t.v. show Super Why, which is a great reading/phonics/letter recognition show. He and Luke are interacting more and more. The game they love the most is when Grant chases Luke around the house. Luke can barely run he's laughing so hard. They also enjoy this game... (wanted to put a picture here but blogger is not letting me!)


We've been spending a lot of time outside enjoying this warm TX winter. It feels like Spring. I thought I wasn't going to like not having seasons but being able to play outside most of the year is great when you have kids. We had our small group over to our house on Sunday and the weather was so nice that all the kids were able to play outside while the adults did the study.

Luke is 15 months now and is something else. Although he looks so much like his brother, their personalities are so different. He is super strong willed, determined, demanding, and will NOT give up if he wants something. He has decided that the word "no" does not apply to him. Grant said the other day, "Maybe Lukie needs to go to time-out." I told him he was right! I'm wondering how early I can start time-out? I am sure he won't sit down for 2 seconds. He is a mommie's boy though, which I love because Grant is a Daddy's boy all the way. He has recently started to cry when I am holding Grant in my lap. He doesn't want me out of his sight for very long. He loves to read books but ONLY the books he wants to read. If I try to read a book he doesn't want he'll immediately take it out of my hands and throw it on the floor. Not a laid back bone in this kid's body! Grant has always been a very cautious child and I never had to worry about him climbing or jumping off something he shouldn't. I remember being so happy that when at the park I didn't have to be one step away from him making sure he wasn't doing something he shouldn't. Well, God decided to give me a taste of something else so He gave me Luke. :) He loves watching Baby Einstein and just smiles and laughs throughout the whole video. He loves farm animals and says "muu" for cow and "wah, wah" for duck. He also says the words mommy and daddy, ball, light, woof-woof for dog, juice. He also signs "more" when he wants to eat, which is a good part of the day. Recently I took him to the grocery store and it was about lunch time so he was signing more, more, more, up and down the isles. He loves his blankie and is now calling it his "night-night." He has 2 dimples, one on his right cheek and on his left cheek he has a dimple that is further up, right under his eye. I love it. The older he gets the more pronounced it is. That's his adorable little trade mark. He loves to be outside and if the backdoor is open for even a second he darts out, usually without shoes on. Everything, and I mean everything, is still going in his mouth. I'll be so glad when this stage is over!! He hates the taste of cows milk and despite our efforts he only takes a sip before throwing his cup overboard! We've tried it all... soy, vanilla, chocolate, organic. He also doesn't like cheese. So, we are having to be creative in making him eat his calcium.

Mike was off yesterday for the holiday and since he and Luke weren't feeling too hot they stayed home while I took Grant to the aquarium. We got there in time for the dolphin show, which is his favorite. I hardly ever get to spend time with Grant alone so it was a special treat for me. I didn't take too many pictures but here's a couple.

Mike's Dad is coming this weekend so we are looking forward to his visit.

Thanks for checking in on us and hopefully you'll be hearing more from me in the near future!!

** I don't know why but blogger is not letting me post pictures. I'm trying to figure it out so hopefully I can get it up and working soon.

Merry Christmas from the Wallaces!

Ho Ho Ho

This was taken last night. Santa was really great. Grant told him he wanted a bull dozer, which was a surprise to us! I was a little nervous about Luke liking him since it was his first time. No tears at all. So, it was a success. The theme was Polar Express and it was done really well with a train the kids could watch as they waited to see Santa and the movie was playing too!

From the mouth of a child

So, this is the first year that Grant is learning about Christmas and Santa Claus. But, he is still trying to figure it all out so he asks so many questions. You know how there are millions of toy commercials on T.V. this time of year? Of course he says he wants every toy advertised for the boys and he even saw a commercial for a princess vanity and thought that looked pretty cool so he asked for that too! So, after seeing a toy he really wanted he asked me if he could have it. I told him that he might get it for Christmas. Then he asked me, "Does Santa have one of those?" Later I thought to myself that I should have said, "No, he's plum out of those." :) I know this will probably be one of the few years where I see that curious wonder in his eyes and hear those sweet, sweet words come out of his mouth. Before too long he'll have it all figured out. I wish I could freeze time for a little while. They grow up too fast.

Santa Claus & Christmas trees

Last Saturday was the children's Christmas party for the kids in Mike's squadron. Mike was asked to be the Santa Claus. Yep, that's right. I was so worried thinking that Grant would recognize him. He rode up to the party in a fire truck and when he got out and I saw him I was even more worried. Mike tried to disguise his voice but it was nearly impossible. All the kids had to sit in his lap while he handed out presents. THANKFULLY Grant didn't look beyond his red suit and beard and didn't recognize him. So, I had to post this picture...



This picture was taken on our way home from the party. I don't know if I've said this before but Luke sucks on his blanket to help him fall asleep.


On another note, this is our lovely 4 ft. tabletop Christmas tree this year. I decided that I didn't want to spend the entire month pulling Luke away from the tree. He'd have all the ornaments pulled down and probably the tree too!


But, it still doesn't stop him from trying!

Since Halloween....

So sorry that it's taken me so long to give an update. I apologize to all my faithful readers...all 4 of you! Especially you, Tesney! :) I think I've decided that I can only manage a monthly update. A lot has happened this past month! First big news...on November 16th, LUKE TURNED 1! We just had a little party at home for him. I cooked a favorite meal and I made cupcakes. Grant loves birthday parties so he really got in to it. We let him blow out Luke's candle and he opened the presents. He also wore Luke's birthday hat since Luke wouldn't keep it on his head. Might as well been his own birthday! He even enjoyed playing with Luke's new toys. Luke devoured the cupcake and I'm sure he would have eaten another one but it was close to his bedtime so didn't want to overload him with sugar. Watching Luke eat his cupcake made me think of how different he and Grant are. When Grant turned one, he didn't want to touch the cake because it made his hands messy. So, I had to feed it to him. Luke, on the other hand, has no problem being messy. Luke decided to give us a little gift on his birthday and took 7 steps! A week or two prior he had been taking a couple steps between our couch and ottoman but that was about it. Ever since then he's been walking more and more. His balance is getting much better and now he can pretty much walk wherever he wants to go. Once he falls down he can't get back up without pulling up on something but I'm sure that will come soon enough. He doesn't like to wear shoes but I recently bought some Pediped shoes that he likes and won't try to take them off. They are so light, it's like he doesn't even know they are on. At his one year check up he weighed 20 lbs and is 30 in. long. He's below average for his weight but average for his height. He's always been a little fella. He has 12 teeth (including 4 molars) and is eating just about everything. He still will eat baby food but would rather have whatever we are eating. He rarely turns anything down. Thankfully he has come out of his needy stage and will play on his own much better these days. I think just the fact that he's walking now has made him a happier baby. He says "bye-bye" and waves. He says "uh-oh" after he drops something and just recently, "mama." I think he knows what he's saying but Mike begs to differ. He says it's just another sound he's making.



We flew to Memphis for Thanksgiving and spent it with Mike's family. It was SO nice to enjoy some cool temps and leave this 80 degree weather down here. The night we got there it dropped into the low 30's so it was cold! Although Grant wanted to spend most of his time outside it was almost too cold for him to stay out for long periods of time. He still got plenty of time doing his favorite things... riding his bike, little tractor, riding the 4 wheeler with Daddy, riding on the tractor with Grandpa, playing with the dogs. The only thing he didn't get to do was ride the horses. Mike's parents place is just made for little boys! This is the first time Grant was really able to enjoy it all and I know he's only going to love it more and more the older he gets. We also enjoyed spending a good bit of time with Bryan and Jenny and they were big hits with Grant and Luke. Jenny dragged me to Jazzercise with her the morning of Thanksgiving. Then I was in pain the rest of my time there. Thanks Jenny! :)






The next big news is that Grant turned 3 on Monday, December 3rd. We had a birthday party for him on Sunday afternoon. I rented a bounce house and it turned out to be a lot of fun. 13 kids came and including parents I think there was 24 people there. The weather was in the 80's so the kids spent most of the time outside bouncing and playing our the playset. Grant got a ton of presents. Among his favorites were the digital camera he got from my Dad and Jennifer and an airplane and air craft carrier that Mike and I got for him. He really doesn't need anything for Christmas! I guess having a December birthday isn't that bad! Happy Birthday Grant! You and Luke are the greatest joy of our lives and we love you very, very much.



Let's see, what else? My brother, Nathan, is going to be a Daddy! His wife, Armine, is pregnant and due in July. We are thrilled that our boys are finally going to have a cousin!

My best friend, Hannah, since I was in second grade, is engaged. Congratulations Hannah!!

Happy, happy December everyone!

Halloween fun

Last weekend we went to a fall festival at the church where Grant goes to MDO. I invited a couple friends of mine and we all had a lot of fun. Grant especially liked his first pony ride and holding hands with Elizabeth, my friend's daughter.


Sunday was trunk-or-treat at our church and Grant had a great time playing all the little games at each trunk. Unfortunately Luke wasn't too happy and so my hands were full and not many pictures were taken. I had ordered Luke's scarecrow costume a couple weeks ago and as of Sunday (the trunk-or-treat) it still hadn't come. So, I had to put him in Grant's old frog costume. He hated it and I ended up taking him out of it half way through.

The afternoon of Halloween we went to a neighborhood party. Grant was more interested in eating all the sweets that were there while all the other little boys were running around. The boy LOVES to eat. He also enjoyed watching the other kids bob for apples. He wasn't too interested in giving it a try himself. I enjoyed meeting some of my neighbors and they all are super nice. We did go trick-or-treating down our street. I think we were the first ones out because I knew Luke wasn't going to last too long since it was getting close to his bed time. Grant loved the trick-or-treating experience and after going to each house he would say, "Mommy, can we go to another house?" Poor little guy is studdering really bad these days and he couldn't get out the words "trick-or-treat" or "thank you." He tried though, bless his heart. I was shocked when he went right up to this ghost. He's seen it for weeks and always says, "That's scary Mommy."

Unfortunately Mike has missed all the festivities but he'll be home tomorrow (hopefully)!!

What's going on?!

I don't know what is going on with Luke. For a little over a week now he has NOT been himself. I'm not exaggerating when I say that unless I am holding him or at an arms length away he is SCREAMING crying. If by chance he happens to calm down it's only for a minute and then he comes crawling over to me, while crying of course, for me to pick him up. Yes, he has a bit of a cold and yes he's teething but believe me when I say that this is different. It is out of control. I wonder if it's some major form of separation anxiety but that still doesn't make much sense because most of the time he can see me from across the room and is still screaming his head off only because I'm not holding him. This is also so strange because ever since he was born I never held him a ton (mainly because I couldn't not because I didn't want to) so it's not like me not holding him is unusual. He also goes to MDO 2 times a week (which by the way they say that he's been doing well there... also weird) so it's not like he's never away from me. That's why I'm doubting the whole separation anxiety thing. I can't figure it out but I do know that if he doesn't come out of it soon I'm going to loose my mind. I really do need some prayers. And of course there's my 2 year old who adds to this screaming house around here these days. Oh, might I also add that I am dealing with this alone! Mike left last Friday morning and was supposed to be back on Wednesday but now, I just found out today, that it might be another week and a half until he's home! Lord help me. Anyone else out there with an 11 month old with the same "symptoms" as mine? Grant did not go through this so I have no idea with what I'm dealing with. I'm seriously about to take him to the doctor and ask for some medication... for both of us :)

Just for fun

If you have nothing else to do... this is fun to check out! Just type in your zip code and find out some informational facts about the ones living around you!

http://zipskinny.com/

This past long weekend we had my Dad's wife, Jennifer, and her two kids, Jake and Alli, come out for a visit. My Dad was supposed to come but something happened at the last minute and he couldn't leave. It turned out to be a good thing because last week Pensacola had this super strong tornado blow through his neighborhood! After it was over it didn't look there was anything damaged on his house but it wasn't until the next day that he woke up to water on the kitchen floor and some roof damage. Also, my grandparents, who live in the same neighborhood, had a window blow out... and they are in Italy. It was a terrible storm. We were glad Jennifer, Jake and Alli ended up coming anyway and we had such a fun time. Grant was in heaven having Jake and Alli to play with. They are both so good with Grant. Luke also loved the extra entertainment around the house.

I'm sure missing Virginia this time of year. Fall was so beautiful there and seemed to last forever. We JUST got out of the 90's here in South Texas. We had a bit of a "cold" front blow through and I was thrilled to be able to dress in something besides shorts and sandals (which I hate to do after Labor Day). Yesterday I was finally in the mood to take the boys to the pumpkin patch. Something about wearing shorts to the pumpkin patch just made me not want to go! I did this by myself so it was a little challenging. Luke is going through MAJOR separation anxiety right now. He's not happy unless I am holding him and the second I set him down he immediately looses it. It's been very challenging to keep my sanity at times but hopefully he'll snap out of it soon. Therefore, he cried most of the time when I sat him down for pictures. There were a few very brief moments where he chilled out for me to snap a couple shots. I'm hoping to go back for round 2 when Mike can go with me.

Grant's been saying some pretty funny things lately so I've got to record it so I won't forget. He's been saying, "Mommie, Daddy, Luke, friends at school, boy he meets at the park for the first time, Jake, Alli... the list goes on...you're my best friend." Last night he brought his best friends to a whole new level. I gave him corn bread and butter to eat. He first said, "Butter is my best friend." Then he said "Corn bread was his best friend." I agreed with him. He sure does have good taste in best friends doesn't he?! :)
Then we went outside to take a walk after supper and he saw our neighbor across the street on his riding lawn mower (which Grant calls a tractor). He saw it and yelled, "Mommie, come quick, look (he says nook)!" I come and he says, "Nook at that tractor, it's amazing!" Sometimes I don't want him to get any bigger. He's too cute right now. Oh, that also reminds me... this morning I told him that I didn't want him to grow any more, that I was going to put bricks on his head. He looked back up at me, so serious and said, "but that would hurt mommie."

The Little Mermaid

So, finally I've gotten a picture of my cousin who is Ariel at Disney World this Fall. She looks different to me because she has blue contacts in her eyes, when normally she has big brown eyes. She is saying that it's been quite an experience and honestly, not at all like she was hoping it would be. She's a trooper though and is making the best of it. Tesney, maybe she can let you borrow her costume for Halloween! :)