Visiting Pop Pop & Grandma

While Chad was away at school a few weeks ago, Nana and I took Abigail and Luke to Summerville, South Carolina to visit Pop Pop and Grandma Giet. It was a LONG drive, but so nice to see them even if just for a short time. We also got to catch up with my Uncle Charles and Aunt Ava who kindly let us stay at their house. They have nine grandchildren so there were scads of toys for Abigail to enjoy at their house. She thought it was AWESOME! Here are some pictures from our big adventure.

Our first visit with Pop Pop was GREAT! It started out perfect in Abigail's eyes because Pop Pop quickly offered her some chocolate.

The picture below cracks me up. It is one of Pop's safe in his room where he keeps all of his important things locked up securely. The funny part is that his chocolate and candy stash is included amongst those important things he locks up!
Luke got in on the Pop Pop love and was really good the whole visit.


Another highlight for Abigail was when Pop took her on a ride in his chair. She was so excited and he seemed to be too!


Checking out the fish in the lobby area.
The next day we went to visit Grandma Giet. Unfortunately, Grandma was in the hospital during our visit so we were not able to spend a lot of time with her. Abigail picked out a pretty balloon to take to Grandma in an effort to cheer her up.


There is not much for a toddler to do in a hospital room so we resorted to playing with the gloves for entertainment.

We made one more stop at Pop Pop's and had to wake him up that morning. He wasn't feeling well that day but did his best to put on a good face for Abigail. (We found out later that day he had shingles - no wonder he felt bad!)
Abigail helped him put on his shoes - so sweet!
Once again, he won her over with sweets and produced a sunshine cookie pop that made her day.
Here she and Luke are getting some love before we left to start our journey home.

Thanks Nana for taking us and enduring cranky kiddos and long hours in the car. It was a week full of memories!

Such.A.Big.Girl!

Abigail is such a busy (and sassy) almost three year old. She loves life and there is never a dull moment with her around. She has had a GREAT summer and seemed to develop so much in a short few weeks. Below is a picture update from her summer:

Silly girl always wearing Mommy's shoes.

The old boots were a hit for a few weeks. Here she is doing her runway walk and glare.
BIG NEWS! Abigail started dance classes over the summer and LOVED it. She gets to do ballet and tap each week while wearing her super cute leotard and tights (her favorite part I think). Here she is on her first day of dance class. Can we say, EXCITED!
In another first, Abigail participated in her first VBS (or PBS as she called it) this summer. Look how cute she is in her oversized t-shirt. (Notice a theme in these pictures - I grab a lot of last minute pictures on our way out the door at the house, hence the back door/trash can scenery.)
Yet another first (this summer was full of them), Chad took Abigail to see her first movie at the movie theater. They saw Winnie the Pooh and she actually made it through the whole movie. Abigail was so excited about her "date" with Daddy and insisted on putting on a dress for the outing. Look how happy she is to be going to the movies with her Daddy! (He gave her unlimited popcorn and Sprite at the movie = SPOILED ROTTEN)
We are gearing up for college football season just around the corner and are beyond excited! Abigail has been practicing MSU cheers in preparation for kickoff. She loves wearing her cheerleading uniform and insists on having her "Go State bell" and pom pom while wearing it. Poor Luke just has to endure these LOUD practice sessions.

Dress up has been the favorite activity of the summer at our house. Abigail cannot get enough of princess dresses, shoes, crowns, etc. We have such a girly girl on our hands. The picture below shows how you might catch her 95% of the time if you were to stop by.
The smile below is one of a potty trained little girl excited about her accomplishments in the restroom. She has been working hard the past few weeks and seems to have finally gotten the hang of it (hopefully we aren't speaking too soon on this subject). The pink scooter was her motivation in the LONG process and she was over the moon at finally getting to ride it.
And finally in the long list of "firsts" in this post, here is the big girl on her first day of "school." Mom's morning out started back this week much to Abigail and Mommy's delight. She loves her new teachers and could not wait to get the year started.
Oh how happy she makes us!

P.S. New post below too!

Luke is 5 Months Old!

Luke - 5 Months Old

Hello Blog World,

Time again for my monthly post. I turned 5 months old on August 10th! I had a busy month and hopefully Mom will fill you in on some other details of the month in a later post.

I continue to grow at a rapid pace. In the picture above (handsome if I do say so) I am sporting nine month pajamas. A few of my six month outfits are a little (ahem) tight around the legs and belly, so Mom broke out a few bigger sizes. I can breath a lot better in those!

Since my last post, the biggest change for me is that Mom started shoving some kind of cereal mixture in my mouth once a day. She felt it necessary to document that first experience, as bad as it was.

Can you tell how I really felt about it that first time?
After giving it another try, and Mom sweetening it up a bit, I now clean my bowl each time. I would lick it clean if she would let me! Hey, maybe that explains why my clothes are so tight?!

Abigail and I continue to get to know each other better. She can make me laugh more than anyone else! I'm still not sure why she has to be so loud, but I'm getting used to it.

Peace out,

Luke