Luke is 15 months!

I know it's out of order, but I have to skip ahead to this post. I'll go back and cover January soon.

Luke is 15 months old now. He is a healthy and very happy toddler. He engages strangers everywhere we go--so long as they don't get too close or touch him. He is very attached to me, but he has gotten better about letting me out of his sight. Now, he will crawl or walk into another room away from me, especially if one of his brothers is playing there.

Over the last month, he has really been practicing walking. Every day he would take just a few more unassisted steps. Now, he walks almost everywhere in the house. He rarely crawls to go anywhere.

Luke says several words now. His first, and favorite is: Momma! He says it all day long, but I hear the most panicked "Momma! Momma! Momma!" when he has climbed something and can't get back down. He also says "Da" for Daddy and "Bubba" for all three brothers. He meows at the cats and says "woof woof" at any dog he sees. He also says "my" for "mine" and "yucky," which he just learned two days ago. He also says "bye bye" when someone is leaving or we have to put the toothbrush away at night. (Seriously, that is the only way we can get it back in the drawer without a meltdown.)

 

Luke loves to climb. He will try to climb anything available. I have had to teach him how to climb off of the couch and beds feet first. He climbs up our step stools but hasn't yet figured out how to get back down. He has climbed our playset in the backyard (see video) and has even climbed the very tall enclosed play set at our church.

Luke loves water. We have to keep the cat water up high right now because of the splashing he likes to do. When he's fussy in the evenings, one mention of the word "bath" perks him right up. He knows exactly where the bath is and he loves to splash with Joshua.

One small consequence of the stranger anxiety I mentioned above is that he isn't ready to visit our church nursery on Sunday mornings. But, it isn't very helpful to the other worshipers when Luke is trying to hear his echo in the sanctuary during the sermon. So, Luke and I spend most sermons out in the lobby. Luke frequently entertains those waiting for the second service to start and last week our friend, Pam, got several pictures of Luke. He thought the flash on her camera was so funny!

He really is a happy, easy kid--so far--just as he looks in these pictures. He is definitely curious and brave, but knows his limits and readily calls me for help. He likes to stay close to me, but isn't clingy. He seems to handle some change in the routine well, although I try hard to protect his schedule as I have for everyone else. Luke sleeps well during the day (one 2.5-3 hour nap), but still wakes at least once every night--not for anything in particular, just a few cuddles and then back to sleep. Luke makes parenting look easy and for that we are very, very thankful.

Christmas Trip to KS!

Since the trip to KS is so long for us, we try to plan fun and interesting stops along our way. When we found out there was a science museum with a tornado simulator, we had to see it! (Micah was very into weather and was sure he was going to be a tornado chaser.)

 Here, the boys got to make the tornado move.

 They felt the winds of a tornado.

(Joshua was having fun, not begging to get out.)

 We learned about physics

 and had the opportunity to be creative.

 They had a really fun train layout--and train cars to go in.

 Joshua also enjoyed the planes.

 We only had a couple of hours to explore before closing time, but we easily could have spent an hour more there. We will definitely stop again!

 

 During our week with Nana and Papa, we went to Bonkers to get some of the boys' energy out!

Micah

 Eli

 Nana and Luke

 We also visited the children's museum. 

(Joshua)

 Luke

 Joshua liked this "shake shake bridge." (A reference to one of his Thomas movies.)

 Nevaeh & Luke

 One morning, at 5 am, it actually snowed a little. Eli and Micah were up to see it, but the ground was too warm for any of it to stick around.

 Nana puts the Christmas Eve presents for the grandkids in these paint cans. The boys had a fun time trying to guess what was in each one, then building this tall tower.

 We went to Nana's school to play, too!

 I just love all of these handsome men in my life.

 Oops! Caught Penny being naughty. ;-)

 We got to meet our nephew, Jay, on this trip. He wasn't as excited as we were, but he did let me hold him for a while.

 These kids must have been really good this year!

 Joshua loved his new trains and planes.

 The littles stayed inside while the big kids went outside with Daddy, Papa and Uncle Taylor to test out their new toys.

 We had a great trip to KS, but the time always goes too fast. Before we knew it, we were back home and having Christmas celebrations with Grandma and Grandpa Cheney. 

Joshua was a big helper with Luke's gift.

 Luke enjoyed all the tissue paper from our family gift.

Every Christmas, we have the opportunity to reflect on how God has continually provided for us and cared for us. This year was no different, and we are so thankful for the best gift God has given us--Jesus.

Joshua is 3!

This year, Joshua has been obsessed with all things Thomas & Friends. In lieu of a birthday party, we took him to see and ride on Thomas. You can read about our fun-filled day here: http://cheneyfamilyof5.blogspot.com/2015/01/joshuas-day-out-with-thomas.html

For his birthday cake, Joshua only wanted Gator (a newer engine from the Thomas & Friends line) on his cake. When I saw an idea to put railroad tracks on a number 3 cake, I just had to!

Joshua loved it, of course, and kept telling me, "Thank you for my Gator cake, Momma!" Love that boy!

The next day, Joshua took my camera and took a few pictures of Gator. This one is actually my favorite of the ones he took. Joshua has been a hard core thumb sucker from day 1. With prompting from his dentist, we told Joshua that when he turns 3, he can only suck his thumb at nap and bedtime. He has been doing a good job of keeping his hands busy playing and only needs a few reminders during the day. So, this wrinkled little thumb will soon be a thing of the past and I just love this precious reminder of how little my big boy really is. 

At three years old, Joshua...
is curious! He asks lots of questions all day long.
is talkative! If he's not asking questions, he's telling stories.
still likes the color blue--teal blue, especially. (He has been liking green lately, too.)
LOVES HIS DADDY!

loves to play trains, planes and cars. He knows each one by name and often takes them to "parties."
does not like Luke taking his trains or messing up their order. 
enjoys playing outside in the sand or riding scooters.

says "I love you" and "thank you" frequently.
loves all of his brothers and is a very sweet brother most of the time!
wants to do whatever Eli and Micah are doing.

is "proportionately small" according to his doctor.
can now tolerate eating egg whites and dairy products, although he doesn't really like cheese.
loves to eat cereal, oatmeal, and all desserts. 
likes to help out-especially with cooking (licking the bowl is his favorite part!) and washing dishes.

knows and can recognize the first letter of all of our names.
recognizes his own name in print.
can count to 12.

enjoys messy crafts and activities, like finger paint and shaving cream play.
likes to cut paper.
will often give me "gifts" of paper he has cut with the scissors.
is funny and energetic.

Joshua, you keep us all on our toes with your questions and funny stories. We laugh a lot in this house because of the things you say. We enjoy your curiosity and creativity. Daddy and I pray you always keep your sense of humor. We love you, sweet boy!!