september catch-up...

hi there! how's it blowin'?

i've really been into being a superhero lately (again). i still don't really get what a superhero is because i don't watch any shows about them, but momma dubbed me "nearly-naked man" and my special talent is... well, that's still to be determined, but i know that i won't need any special outfit to accomplish it - just my cape and some clean underwear. i do get bloody noses a lot and i now see that the kleenex hanging out of my nose does take away from my superhero-ness a bit, doesn't it? i'll have to remember that next time.

moving on...

luke is just growing up so fast and really thinks he's such a big boy now! here he is the other day at the table. he had been waiting patiently in his chair until lunch was ready, but then realized he could just barely reach the bowl of grapes, which he inched over to himself and started munching on - hilarious!

and we've been hearing a lot of comments lately about how luke has slimmed down quite a bit. momma is not yet ready to part with her chubby baby and wanted to show everyone that this really isn't true after all. well, he maybe has slimmed down some, but there's still plenty of chub left to get some lovin' on... (sorry luke - i know this will be embarrassing to you when you're older. we'll have to take this post down when you're a tween.)

a few weeks ago we went to hang out with our cousins and friends from the houston area and had a great time driving around their power wheels tractors. we are definitely going to need a couple of these at our house!!!

i drove around the single passenger one most of the time, but our friend, dean, drove luke around in the double! check out how we all had our texans shirts on that day - cute! and they had the greatest backyard ever!

i also have been going to a gym once a week for tumbling, which for me means jumping around on their bouncy floors, jumping around on their trampolines, swinging on their bars, and occasionally following my teacher's instructions, if i'm interested in what she's asking me to do. i love it!! this is not really a good picture at all, but momma wanted to put one of the gym on here so lauren could see it and remember her awesome gymnastics days and be excited that i'm going to a neat gym too!

the other day we went to target and had a special treat of eating junior mints in the (ridiculously huge children's) cart while momma shopped. this picture doesn't do it justice, but luke started eating his toes in conjunction with the junior mints and that made for a very hilarious (and chocolaty!) situation. but really, what can ya do?

we also had the recent pleasure of visiting the houston zoo on one of daddy's fridays off - yes! we had a great time. actually, it was more like this. luke had a super awesome time watching the animals and could have stayed at each exhibit all day. i loved seeing all the animals, but only for approximately 15 seconds each. i spent the rest of the day pushing around our empty double stroller and asking about snacks. we didn't get great pictures because momma was loving the animal-watching too, but here are a couple...

after the zoo, we did an awesome bonus activity - we rode the train right next door at hermann park, and let me tell you - this, i loved!! i could have stayed on this train all day. it had a real, working crossbar, bridges, a whistle, a conductor - it was perfect! it made my day.

momma even bought me this awesome conductor's hat and wooden whistle, and then the next day we found these overalls at target - meant to be!!! i love my outfit and now split my time between being a superhero and being a train conductor. it's busy being me, but somebody's gotta do it...

in conclusion, momma didn't get to plant her vegetable garden like she had wanted to this fall, but it turns out that we do have some beans plants growing right next to the back patio. i had been playing with dried pinto beans in a "sensory box" this summer, and there was a spillage incident a few weeks ago that resulted in us being farmers. by the time this post will go live, i regret to report that the plants have already died, but they did last a couple weeks and it was fun to watch them grow.

that's all for now. OH - except to update that luke is doing much better now! we're not sure exactly what was going on with him, but he no longer looks like an alien and has mostly stopped scratching, so things are getting back to normal around here. see you back here (relatively) soon with some pictures from our october so far. bye!! :)

help...

grampee, is there a test for this?

peek!

hello there! it's me, luke. here's what we've been up to lately... nothing too exciting, just having some fun around the house...

and here i am even making myself useful outside some. i love sweeping!

i do not, however, love walking in the grass - can you believe that?? well, the grass here is really dry and crunchy, and it just doesn't feel good on little baby feet! take a look at this incident a few weeks ago... we love playing with the balls outside, and here was a typical reaction when my ball rolled into the grass (click on the picture to enlarge it and really get a good look at my face if you need to)...

i was so irritated that the ball had rolled out there but was determined to not actually step foot in the grass to retrieve it...

and i succeeded. yes!

truth be told, that was a few weeks ago and i actually am getting better and better about that now. i finally started sucking it up and will now get out there in the grass like a regular kid, most of the time. i do not like the fire ants that always manage to find my little feet though - rude!

anyway... just like ben, i really love pushing around anything i can get my hands on. i don't ride on things too much yet, but i sure can push them around to keep up with my big brother. here i am with the "train" we made a few weeks ago...

and here i am pushing around momma's vacuum. you might be able to tell from the look on my face that i realize i'm not allowed to push around this thing (too bad it looks like a toy but costs more than i did), but i just find it really tempting and tried to sneak in a quick tour around the downstairs. as usual, i was busted, but tried to make an escape (with the vacuum)...

here i am having to navigate around a childish push toy, oh bother...

and next thing i know, ben is after me with our toy vacuum. oh my, the hilarity...

vacuum wars. this could be a reality show...

eventually momma reached her limit and decided to put a stop to the show, right after i discovered the cord and realized it would be even more fun to pull it around by that! good times. too bad we don't have any good toys to play with around here to keep me out of trouble...

we have a lot more pictures and updates coming up again soon, but right now we have to go because the 90's called. they want daddy's doc martin's back...

see you again soon! :)