random cuteness

just a few random pictures since it's been awhile since i posted... :o)

(love that he holds on... too cute!)

(this girl loves to read!)

yes, it's already time...

...for another monthly update! Luke is 11 months!

His biggest "change" since last month is his mobility... he's been crawling for quite awhile now, but he's crazy fast now. Jeff likes to call him "Speedy" instead of Luke :o) He loves to explore, to stand up and cruise, cruise, cruise, to look at things, to play with any and everything, to put stuff in his mouth (neat), to crawl up the stairs (yes, there's a gate-but if we're there we let him do it - he loves it!), to just go, go, go!

He also loves EmJ (that's not new), and gets crazy giddy whenever Jeff gets home from work. He usually grins huge and says "hiiiiiii dada!" Super cute!

I'm sure there's more stuff that I'll think of later, but for now... pictures. :o)

Love this boy so, so much... bed-head hair and all.

:o)

a, you're adorable

gotta love moments like these... even if they are watching tv :o)

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some emj cuteness...

cutest ballerina i've ever seen!

love this.

emj got to go camping with daddy and papa (this was practice the night before) - they had a blast! luke, nana, and i met them the next day and spent the day on the lake. emj tubed with jeff and me and she even tried knee-boarding (we went super slow, but she loved it!). i didn't bring my camera (i know, i know), but next time i will. :o) good times!

at lunch... a little peanutbutter on the face...

perfect, if you ask me!
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some luke cuteness...

check me out!

we all knew he looked just like jeff but wow...

explorer.

so handsome!

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we are clearly blessed. :o)

...and some fabulous flowers i got for my birthday!
thanks!

Happy 4th of July!

The 4th of July... one of my favorite days of the year!

And this year didn't disappoint!

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First we went to church for an outdoor service, a special tribute to military, police, and firemen (complete with a sweet fly-over of 4 F16s in formation), and an old-fashioned picnic. We hung out there with Nana and Papa... but I didn't get any pictures with them (oops). But we definitely had a fun time!

Luke laughing at Papa

EmJ got to enjoy some cotton candy...

...and enjoy...

...she did!

A "self" portrait ;)
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Later in the evening we went to a barbecue at Mr. B's farm (the owner of the company Jeff works for). This is an annual barbecue and there are lots and lots of people there... and it's super fun! Plus- it has a great view of the fireworks! Well, this 4th was a little different in that it was crazy rainy... but we had lots of fun anyway! We were a little nervous about the fireworks and if they were going to happen... but have no fear! They did and they were awesome!

Luke with Grammy and Grandpa

Grandpa Greg reading to EmJ

Luke and Grammy reading

Typical EmJ picture :o)

EmJ got to sit on some sweet old tractors - we'll have to go back again soon to get some good pictures of that. She also got to chase frogs around the shed... a highlight of the night for her!
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The fireworks started late, but it was worth the wait!

EmJ loved them, of course! Luke slept through the beginning and was a little weirded out by them when he woke up, but once he watched them for a little while he liked them a lot too.

I had a fantastic time getting some sweet pictures of the fireworks... there are kind of a lot cause I just couldn't narrow it down!

:o)

Enjoy!

(Jeff really likes this one cause it looks like a flower)

We hope you had a fabulous day celebrating the birthday of America!

happy early birthday to me!

I got a new lens for my camera for my birthday (a huge thanks to those of you who helped make that happen!) and it arrived yesterday. To say I'm excited would be a little bit of an understatement. :o) Here are some pictures I snapped yesterday and today... they are definitely a super random group of pictures... consider yourself warned! :o)

Awesome hibiscus at my mom's house

Growing tomato in my mom's garden

Jeff's not mad... just captured a funny look :o)

Jeff rockin' out

Bee in flight...sweet!

(click to see bigger )

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A more organized post to come soon... have a fantastic and safe 4th of July!