Life as we know it...

Kimmy time

2012-02-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

Kimmy came up for a visit over the weekend and Lukas had a blast playing with her-- reading stories, playing legos, horsing around, searching for worms outside after the rain he-- was in heaven playing all weekend long.

Making home made pizzas last night. Yummy!

Reading stories.

On a worm hunt.

It was lots of fun catching up with Kimmy and we can't wait for her to come back and visit us again soon.

Big changes for Papa and Gigi

2012-02-11T15:47:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Papa and Gigi on their brand new home! They bought a big, beautiful, single story house on almost 2 acres nestled in quiet wilderness and surrounded by gorgeous, huge, majestic trees.

Here is a the view of their home from the street. They have a long driveway and it circles in the front of the house.

Their neighborhood. Look at those gorgeous pine trees. The air is so crisp and fresh-- it smells just like Tahoe.

Gigi is happy.

Lukas sitting in Uncle Tim's rocking chair that was his when he was just a wee little babe.

Enjoying lunch at the kitchen table. Papa and Gigi have not officially moved in yet so there is a definite lack of furniture in the house at this point.

Cleaning in the laundry room.

Lukas' room. Lukas has spent a couple of afternoons over at the new house napping in his pea pod tent. He feels super, super special to have his very own room that will be just for him.

Gigi about to make some lunch in her dreamy chef's kitchen.

The new house is 100% Lukas approved. He LOVES it and is ecstatic that Papa and Gigi will be living only about ten minutes away from us.
Saying goodbye to their old house will be hard for us all as we have had so many good memories in that house for the past 20 plus years. I think they bought it in 1983 or 1984 so practically my entire life was spent growing up there. I am so happy for my parents that they now own the dream house they've been waiting their whole lives for.

2012-02-11T14:50:00.001-08:00

Lukas enjoying the sunshine earlier this week and being silly putting his chin strap over his mouth.

Trying to learn how to ride his new trike that Papou and Bunica got him for his birthday. He still hasn't quite got the whole peddling thing down but it will come.

Such a happy little boy!

Playing a new game with the family while trying to bite Papa's ear (it's a thing that Papa and Lukas do with each other).

Lukas with his clubhouse.

Happy Birthday Gigi

2012-02-08T22:20:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Gigi's birthday early this year, last week before Lukas' party even though her birthday is actually on the 9th. Lukas loved singing the happy birthday song with Gigi and Papa and blowing out the candles.

Happy Birthday Mom. We love you and wish you all the happiness the world has to offer.

Lego love

2012-02-05T21:45:00.000-08:00

Christo and Lukas built Lukas' new lego city tonight. I can't get over Lukas' silly facial expression in the above photo...too funny.

He is a lego lover for sure. He has Daddy build him the lego creations and he in turn likes to take them apart.

Our little boy is THREE!!!

2012-02-05T21:27:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to our greatest blessing and biggest joy in life. Three years ago today our entire lives changed for the better and we were gifted and entrusted with our precious little man. He lights up our world and has given us a whole new meaning of what love is all about.

Lukas singing along with us tonight, Happy Birthday, on his real b-day.

He sure is loved. Immensely.

Blowing out the candles and making the same wish he did at his party, for his Mama to get well.

Enjoying cake.

Happy Happy Happy Birthday my little love bug dumpling.

Happy Birthday Lukas!

2012-02-05T20:19:00.000-08:00

Lukas is officially 3 years old today!!!!!!! Yesterday we celebrated his birthday with our family and had a blast. This year it was a John Deere Tractor themed party--green and yellow! Lots of our guests got into the theme and joined in wearing John Deere clothing and hats---what fun!

This is the first year Lukas has ever understood the concept of what a birthday is and was actually excited. Excited is an understatement...he was over the moon, beyond words, dancing up and down excited. All week he talked about his party and asked over and over again who was coming. The morning of he woke up extra early and started his day with a happy birthday dance. He ran up and down the hallway of the house singing at the top of his lungs, "it's my happy birthday" over and over again.

Papou and Bunica made a huge, long drive (they left their house at 3am) to join us for the party and when they arrived at our house gifted Lukas with a John Deere trike, which of course was a huge hit! He loved it! Now we have to work on teaching him how to use his feet to pedal instead of pushing himself around by shuffling his legs.

Honking the horn on his new wheels.

Lukas and Bunica.

Some birthday goodies: chocolate brownie cupcakes with butter cream frosting and little John Deere baseball caps.

John Deere and tractor balloons. Lukas loved playing with them and popping them too.

Lukas with his Papou and Daddy. Three generations together.

Uncle Kenny and Aunt Joanne were next to arrive. We were blessed with such a gorgeous sunshine filled day, perfect for partying outside on the patio---what a treat in February!

Papa, Gigi, Tim, Uncle Randy, and Aunt Patti arrived next.

Hamburgers, chicken hotdogs, and pasta salad were the lunch menu.

Lukas' homemade ice cream tractor cake. We had so much fun making it for him and used my grandmother's recipe of chocolate, vanilla, and coffee ice cream surrounded in whipped cream and bits of chocolate. Yum!

Lighting the candle.

Time to sing the Happy Birthday song.

Lukas loves it when everyone sings together, especially the Happy Birthday song.

He is such a sweet boy, his special birthday wish was "for Mama's owies to go away." What a thoughtful, sweet, empathic little boy he is....

Papou giving Lukas special birthday hugs.

Bunica, Lukas, and Papou.

Aunt Patti, Uncle Randy, and Lukas.

Mama, Lukas, and Daddy.

Gigi, Lukas, and Papa.

Ahhhhh....and here Papa is fostering a very bad habit, one in which he is known for, dipping his finger into the cake! In this picture, he is taking Lukas' innocent little finger and guiding it into the cake----attempting to pass his bad habit onto Lukas!

Uncle Tim and Lukas.

Group picture.

Lukas with both sets of Grandparents. He loved everyone being together.

Lukas loves his family and thanks God every night for all of them in his prayers.

Birthday cake time!!!!

And finally time to open some presents!

Aunt Joanne made Lukas some homemade playdough....can't wait to get our hands into it and have some fun.

Mama giving Lukas birthday hugs and snuggles. Boy is this little boy loved by all. He had a fabulous birthday party filled with family and fun---what more could you ask for? Thank you to all of our family who celebrated with us and made Lukas' day so special and memorable.

2012-02-01T21:18:00.000-08:00

A good work ethic starts young... Lukas worked hard Sunday cleaning windows outside. He actually really loves to help around the house with chores and cleaning but I have a feeling that as he grows older the novelty of it will wear off.

Heavenly sunset.

Christo and Lukas gave Harley a bath the other night and afterwards wrapped him up into a little kitty burrito.

Oscar is such a sweet, docile kitty and allows himself to be carried, smushed, squeezed, and loved on by Lukas.

Lukas wanted to have his picture taken with Oscar while they snuggled together on top of Lukas' bed.

Cuddling.

Lots of lovin' going on...

Red dirt

2012-01-29T09:53:00.000-08:00

One thing we never accounted for when moving up into the mountains was the red dirt. It stains. E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.
Shoes, clothes, doggies, skin, concrete.....yes concrete. The above picture was taken only a few days ago while Gator, my parents 14 year old dog was visiting (he looks pretty good for his age despite his recent balding) but take a look at that red, red concrete. Yikes.

Christo spent 8 hours yesterday pressure washing all the concrete around the whole house....it looks so much better and cleaner. The question is how do we keep it red free? Most likely impossible but for now I will enjoy its cleanliness.

Splish Splash...

2012-01-28T21:32:00.000-08:00

There is nothing like playing in muddy water for a little boy...

I cannot believe Lukas will be three in another week. Where have the past three years gone? I remember his birth like it was just yesterday, it is still all so clear in my mind. Three years gone in a blink of an eye. My little baby is growing up far too fast and I wish I could freeze time and enjoy him as the little person he is now for a bit longer.
He is really excited to celebrate his birthday this year. This will be the first year that he can really talk and communicate with his guests so that should be fun for everyone. He loves talking about his party and who will be attending and is just SO excited!

The joys of toddlerhood

2012-01-23T20:42:00.000-08:00

Today at lunch Lukas got a little carried away eating his yogurt....carried away with silliness and fun that is.

I ran to grab the camera to get this cute little face on digitized film.

Adorable.

And then he decided it was time to dip his hands in the yogurt for a little yogurt bath. Ahhhh he loved it.

Admiring his handy work.

And back to drinking his yogurt. He prefers to drink it and not use a spoon. To each their own.

Snow day

2012-01-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we decided to pack up and head off in search of snow. We found it about 20 minutes from our house and had a blast playing in the frosty white fluff. This was Lukas' second time really playing with snow, the first time last winter which wasn't a huge success (he cried mostly whenever he touched it because it was so cold) but this winter he loved it. He told me "Mama when I was a baby I didn't like snow but now I do."

We brought along his snow shovel that our neighbor sweetly gave him as a gift which was the highlight of his snow experience for sure!

Gazing out at the snow dusted trees and mountains certainly is beautiful and tranquil especially from the warmth of a heated car and seat!

The doggies came along and had a glorious time. Athena enjoyed eating as much snow as possible and Bear just wanted to play fetch. He is somewhat obsessed with playing fetch, in fact I think it in his mind is the sole purpose of his life.

Lukas loved shoveling snow and then throwing it on the dogs. They were great sports about it and didn't seem to mind at all.

Frolicking with the dogs.

And then it really started to snow.....a lot....

We tried to play some more but the snow flakes got so heavy so quickly that it was hard to keep our eyes open.

Lukas brought his trusty bulldozer along to get some snow plowing time in. What fun!

Here's a look at the snow falling.

Back in the truck and starting to get toasty once again.

The drive home...

you can see the progression of heavier snowfall in the above picture to a bit lighter in this one...

and finally less and less white fluff in the air.

We've had snowfall twice at our house, once last week for about 15 minutes and then again Sunday afternoon for about an hour. It melts once it hits the ground but nevertheless it is still exciting to experience.

Father and son

2012-01-23T18:52:00.000-08:00

A couple of nights ago Christo and Lukas spent the evening building tree houses and log cabins with Lukas' roy toys. These two really have a special bond and spend countless hours together playing, cooking, baking, and exploring the world as a dynamic father/son duo. The love they share is a strong one.

2012-01-16T21:21:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since my last post---too long for sure. Time to get back into the swing of things...
Here Gigi, Daddy, and Lukas are trekking up the long and steep driveway where we live for some exercise.

Lukas is getting so big that I feel like I don't recognize him in pictures. How did he get so tall?

Last night we spent an hour watching home videos on my laptop of Lukas when he was a three and four month old little bundle of joy. It brought back so many happy memories for Christo and I leaving us both longing for another baby....too bad my health isn't better but as for now it just isn't in the stars for us. Lukas loved seeing video footage of himself and of all the family members he loves cooing over him. He was especially interested in his baby toys---"Me want those. Where are my baby toys?"

Lukas wearing the very first baby clothing we ever bought. Actually Yianni and Victoria bought this when we visited SF many years ago in China town. I thought it was adorable and wanted to buy it for the future even though at that time I wasn't even pregnant. I thought about it the other day for the first time in a very long time and thought to myself that I better get a picture of Lukas wearing it before it was too small. Good thing I did because he is almost grown out of it.

Too cute!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Can you believe it is 2012??? We spent our New Year's Eve cuddled up at home sipping hot chocolates, playing Lukas' new favorite game Zingo, and watching New Year's Eve firework celebrations from around the world on the internet. Lukas loved seeing the amazing displays of fireworks and kept asking how could there be colors up in the sky. He had a lot of fun banging a big pot around the house with a wooden spoon screaming "Happy New Year" at the top of his lungs and staying up late, late, late until the ripe hour of 10pm.

This morning we headed to a nearby park. Lukas had a fabulous time playing in the fire engine and running around like a wild man.

Sliding down a very fast slide and caught on camera just before he slide off and landed on his bum. Luckily the ground was not concrete but soft, cushy blocks.

At the pond with Daddy, Athena, and lots and lots of geese and ducks.

Such a happy little boy. We told him this morning we would take him to the park and he said to us, "I'm so excited!"

It was such a gorgeous day today. An unbelievable 70 degrees outside, sunny and so nice and warm.

Making silly faces.

Ahhhhh the gorgeous trees, my favorite thing about living in the mountains. I don't think I will ever take their beauty or smell for granted. They are so divine and smell delicious!

Christmas take two

2011-12-27T11:02:00.000-08:00

Papa, Gigi, and Uncle Tim joined us on Christmas morning (the real Christmas day).

There was lots of gift opening and fun to be had by all.

Uncle Tim and Lukas posing with the lego firetruck gift.

Gigi got the surprise of a lifetime, an I Pad!!!!!!!!!!! She has been wanting one for quite some time and Papa decided it was time to get her one. She was so happy and surprised.

And she burst into tears. I don't think I've ever seen her more excited by a gift in her life.

Hugs and kisses to Papa.

Lukas received so many wonderful presents from all of his family. He sure was one happy little boy. He had a blast opening his gifts. It was really cute to watch him open his presents, first he would remove the bows, and then carefully tear off the wrapping paper. His excitement was contagious and so much fun. It was obvious that he loved opening gifts and now officially has the hang of it! No longer does he need help from Daddy or Mama.

An excavator---oh my!

Lukas with his new puppy dog that he named Max.

Books galore!!

Later that day there was lots of lego building going on around here.

And excavator scooping...

Christo and Gigi were hard at work shelling chestnuts. We shared a lovely Thanksgiving style dinner that night and one anothers company. Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas take one

2011-12-27T10:16:00.000-08:00

We celebrated our Christmas Eve and Christmas with Lukas one day early this year. Lukas posed next to the homemade chocolate chip cookies, milk, and carrots (for the reindeer) we left out Christmas Eve for Santa.

Lukas was really excited that Santa was coming to bring him presents. This is the first Christmas that Lukas really understood what was going on. He was full of questions about Santa and worried that Santa would forget to bring him presents.

Enjoying the lights of the Christmas tree.

No ornaments on the tree? There is a story behind that... this is not our first tree but our second one of the season. The first tree we had died and turned a nice shade of brown about a week before Christmas. Christo and Lukas had to trek out and find another tree to replace the brown one. They did an excellent job and choose a fine tree.

Lukas snuggling with baby duck and baby duck's new friend baby Rosie.

Santa's goodies.

Happy.

Lukas woke up early Christmas morning ready to open presents!

Papou and Bunica really outdid themselves this year getting Lukas a German made LGB train. These trains are really amazing and this particular one makes noise and smokes too. Lukas was in love at first site and so excited! My brother grew up with almost the identical train as this one so for me it brought back a lot of childhood memories. We are excited to add more train cars and accessories to this set in years to come. This will be something Lukas can have his entire life and pass down to his children one day.

It was a magical morning for Lukas and for Christo and I to watch the joy and wonderment on his face.

2011-12-21T14:24:00.000-08:00

Taken last week of Lukas splashing in the rain water that was on top of the garbage can. His sidekick Athena is always nearby, she sure loves her boy and is never far from him.

Pushing the wheelbarrow around and loving it.

Oscar's new favorite place to hang out these days is Lukas' room, either on top or underneath the bed. Lukas takes full advantage of it and loves to spend time petting, talking to, and smushing Oscar to death. Oscar's nickname around our house is Smush because he is so tolerant of being held and cuddled. He actually likes it and seeks out my lap to lie in all the time---such a little lover he is!
Here Lukas is holding his nanny and tag in one hand, sucking his thumb with the other, while watching Oscar sleep peacefully.

Happy Birthday Christo

2011-12-15T20:08:00.000-08:00

Today is a very special day, the day that my beloved husband was born 31 years ago. He brightens not only my life but Lukas' as well each and every day. The beauty,joy and light he brings to our lives compares only to God's awe springing paintings in the sky. I love you Muffin, now and forevermore.

We celebrated two nights in a row. Last night we enjoyed chocolate mousse. Yum!

Lukas loved it.

And tonight chocolate cupcakes with a buttercream frosting. Yum again! And a third celebration to come on Sunday with more family members. Birthdays are most fun to celebrate not only once but many, many times.

A cute picture even though it is a bit fuzzy.

For his special birthday dinner Christo wanted Indian food--it was Lukas' first time to taste some spicy curry. Not his favorite. I'm thinking that enjoying spicy food is definitely an acquired taste so the verdict is out whether Lukas will one day appreciate it or not.
Happy Birthday to the best, sweetest, most kind and loving husband, father, and best friend. We love you Muffin!!

Victorian Christmas

2011-12-13T18:08:00.000-08:00

We joined Papa, Gigi, Uncle Kenny, and Aunt Joanne for some Christmas festivities on Sunday.

Christmas carolers...

Lukas loved walking around with Uncle Kenny and Aunt Joanne and checking out all the goods for sale.

The picturesque view of downtown.

Father Christmas and his wife posing with Lukas. The woman remarked how she would like Lukas' eyelashes and he kept saying very quietly to himself, "no you cannot have my eyelashes."

Aunt Joanne and Lukas.

Our little family.

In the nearby church Santa was visiting so of course we had to check that out and had an impromptu Santa take two visit. This time it was wishes for jet planes and excavators. Ahhhhh the list is always growing with Lukas telling us "me want, me want, me want."

Hugs for Santa. Lukas sure loves Santa Claus.

Gingerbread cookies

2011-12-04T18:06:00.001-08:00

Last night Christo was inspired to make gingerbread cookies so he and Lukas found a recipe and began baking.

Lukas was very excited. (haha, is that an understatement or what by the look on his face in the above picture?)

Then it was time to roll out the dough and use cookie cutters...

Unfortunately, we used a recipe for gingerbread that wasn't intended as the decorating/rolling out kind---so the dough was too sticky and not chilled. It was a no-go last night. After Lukas went to bed Christo whipped up a new batch of gingerbread cookies this time from the right kind of recipe.

And early this afternoon we finally had baked cookies ready to be decorated with a homemade buttercream frosting.

There were christmas tree cookies, gingerbread people, stars, bells, and trains....such fun!

Lukas loved decorating.

Even a handmade mickey mouse cookie!

Lukas loves to cook and is a very good helper in the kitchen.

The plate of cookies we took to our neighbor.

And the finished result....lots of cookies!

Christo and Lukas admiring their cookie creations.

Here comes Santa Claus...

2011-12-03T13:29:00.001-08:00

Just as we were about to leave for the museum I snapped a picture of Lukas and I in the truck excited and ready to go!

Today we headed to the local train museum for some Christmas fun and for a chance for Lukas to sit in Santa's lap. This was the very first time Lukas has EVER sat on Santa's knee and whispered Christmas wishes into his ear. Last year I felt like he was too little and I think it would have been a scary, tearful experience for him at that time as he wasn't too keen on strangers. Waiting until this year turned out to be a huge success!

As you can see from the pictures he wasn't scared or nervous to be held by Santa at all. We made sure to talk to him all about Santa and what to expect beforehand and Lukas handled the entire situation like a pro. No tears for this little boy, only smiles and joy.

Upon seeing Lukas, Santa said "Hello curly hair!"

Santa handed out gifts to each of the children---what a special treat!

Here Christo is translating to Santa what Lukas' wish for Christmas is---an excavator. Santa wanted to know if he wanted a big or little one and decided it was best for Lukas to start with a little one.

The entire event at the museum was free. Free pictures with Santa, free gifts for the children, and even free cookies. The museum is ran by volunteers and off of donations. We made sure to leave a donation on our way out. It was a really fun event---what isn't magical about this time of year and to see young children with Santa?

Lukas sitting on top of the narrow gauge engine and loving it!

Lukas made sure to give Santa a big hug. He told us afterwards that Santa is a very nice man.

Lukas received so many compliments from all the volunteers at the museum on his train vest (thank you Aunt Patti)---everyone LOVED it!

Daddy and Lukas were all smiles.

Mama and Lukas.

A steam engine the volunteers built at the museum.

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-01T11:00:00.001-08:00

Lukas last night enjoying the glow of the Christmas tree. There is nothing as magical as a lit up tree at night.

The Polar Express

2011-11-29T08:40:00.001-08:00

The Polar Express was quite an adventure for all of us as it was our first time to the North Pole. The tickets for this train ride sell out within a couple of days and only members of the train museum even have access to buy the tickets. If any tickets are left over after members' first dibs, then they will go on sale to the public but we've been told it is very rare for any to be left over after the member access days to purchase them. Purchasing the tickets was quite a hassle and took hours upon hours and battling the museum's website and their dysfunctional server. We were so happy to get tickets at all!!

Christo and I boarded the train first, we were in a group of handicapped people with first boarding rights. Not that I am at all happy or proud to be within that group but I was as my physically condition is very poor and I would not be able to stand in line for an hour plus as other passengers did.

Here comes the group.....Lukas and Papa make their way onto the train followed by the rest of our group...

Kimberly, Tim, Aunt Patti, and Uncle Randy getting cozy in their seats. They sat directly across from us.

Here we are, Christo, Gigi, Papa, Lukas, and myself.

Mama and Lukas excited for the train ride to begin!

Waving goodbye to people near the Old Sac train station. We are off to the North Pole!

Aunt Patti with her peppermint patty.

Gigi was very excited!!!!

The tap dancing waiters with a platter of cookies and hot coco.

The tap dancers were great fun to watch. We also read the Polar Express book while riding along and listened to Christmas music.

The "ghost" walking about our train.

Hi Uncle Tim!

Lukas was in awe of everything. He really enjoyed holding onto the train tickets.

Getting a little sleepy but doing his best to stay awake and alert for our arrival to the North Pole.

Gigi was very happy.

Ohhhhhh......we start to see lights and are nearing the North Pole!

The first glimpse of the North Pole.

Waving to the elves and Santa!!

Wow!

Lukas had snuggle time with everyone.

Uncle Randy being silly.

Bye-bye North Pole!

Leaving....back to Old Sac now....

Kisses.

Lukas' first glimpse of Santa...just look at the expression on his face in the following pictures.

Here he comes!

Lukas receives his first gift of Christmas, a silver bell from Santa's sleigh.

He was very pleased with his bell.

I think he was in awe of Santa.

Bye-bye Santa!!!!

Everyone with their bells.

At the end of the train ride, Lukas gave one of the cooks a big hug. All the people who work at the train station, museum, and aboard the Polar Express are all volunteers.

Our group photo with everyone. We were the only group I saw in which we all matched with coordinating pajamas. We received a lot of compliments too. Thank you Aunt Patti and Mom for the pajamas. I think it is safe to say that everyone had a great time riding the Polar Express and we would all love to do it again next year. It would be a great tradition to start. Lukas especially loved it and told us on the way home that he had a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday Papa and Uncle Tim

2011-11-28T22:08:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was a fun-filled day for us. We headed to Kimberly's house in the afternoon to celebrate Papa and Uncle Tim's birthdays---yes both of their birthdays fall on November 27th!

Does this birthday party look somewhat like a pajama party? The pajamas had a purpose for later in the evening when we would embark on the Polar Express train ride to the North Pole to visit Santa. If you've read the book or seen the movie then of course you know that you must ride the train in your pj's. With Aunt Patti's and Mom's shopping skills we were all decked out in matching pajamas.

Here Papa is convincing Lukas to wear a different pair of pajamas, red ones to match the rest of the family...

Singing "Happy Birthday!"

Blowing out candles...

and eating Pop's favorite rum cake which can be purchased only in SF.

Christmas tree

2011-11-26T11:10:00.001-08:00

Our family has made it a tradition to get our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Yesterday we went to a real tree farm, one in which you scour acres and acres of trees for the perfect one. Lukas had more fun running around picking up tree branches than actually picking "the perfect tree"--so Christo and I ended up deciding on the tree. Once we had picked out "the" tree and Christo went off to find the owner to cut the tree down, Lukas stood in front of the tree claiming that it was his favorite tree, HIS tree.

It is so much more fun to be able to pick out your tree fresh from the ground rather than going to the traditional Christmas tree lot.

Lukas was a great helper carrying the tree with Christo and the owner.

Once we got home, we put the tree in the stand with water right away. Here Christo is cutting the netting off of the tree.

Lukas made sure to measure the tree---he had to make sure it was big enough.

Later, Papa and Gigi showed up and it was a Christmas tree decorating party. Complete only with brandy eggnog.

Lukas loved decorating the tree. This is the first year he has been interested in what was going on. He was so excited to unwrap each ornament and place it on the tree. I think he was unwrapping toys for himself as he wanted to play with all the ornaments.

Lukas favorite stuffed animal, who is currently "baby duck"--the favorite animal changes every once in a while, but for now it is his duck---was placed ever so carefully into the tree by Christo. The little duck didn't stay there for long though as Lukas cannot be without his favorite furry friend.

The finished tree!

Lukas jumping for joy!
(If you are wondering why Lukas is only wearing underwear---I have an explanation-- we began potty training about a week ago and it has been a huge success! Wearing just underwear is easier as it allows for quicker access to the potty when he tells us he needs to go to the bathroom. Starting potty training was not Lukas' idea. I decided that I was just going to give it a shot with him and stripped him of his diaper early one morning. He was not happy about it---there were tears involved as he told me he wanted to be a baby and not a big boy. He had accidents for only the first two days and after that it has been clear sailing. He had done SO well!! Every morning he is so excited to put on his big boy underpants and is very proud of himself telling us what a big boy he is now. He hasn't had an accident in at least five days now. When he is napping we do use a diaper or if we go out somewhere, but even when we go out he holds his pee and waits for a toilet. What a good little boy! We rewarded him with a new toy for being such a big boy and learning to use the potty ---a new bruder tractor. )

Thanksgiving recap

2011-11-26T11:04:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! This post is a little late but we hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with family and good friends.

Lukas looks adorable in his new choo choo train sweater that Aunt Patti and Uncle Randy bought him.

Mama and Lukas.

Uncle Tim with Lukas.

For Thanksgiving this year we celebrated at Uncle Kenny and Aunt Joanne's house. Here is Christo with Lukas and Papa after we just arrived.

Preparing the dinner feast.

Playing with legos.

Papa and Gigi with Lukas.

Uncle Kenny and Aunt Joanne have the best legos ever as they are the old ones from way back when-- our childhood days.

Sitting around the table enjoying each others company.

Uncle Kenny.

Aunt Joanne and Lukas being silly.

Joy riding

2011-11-21T12:10:00.001-08:00

Lukas out joy riding this morning on his tractor. Notice his cool new boots? Snow boots with tractors---too cute! He of course loves them!

Gobble Gobble

2011-11-21T12:07:00.001-08:00

Lukas is getting ready for Thanksgiving, the biggest turkey day of the year!

This morning, he and I made a turkey hat in with Thanksgiving spirit in mind. I love doing crafts with Lukas and am always trying to think up new and fun projects.

Here is his best "turkey face."

Gobble gobble to all! Wishing you a wonderful and blessed turkey day.

Lukas' first gingerbread house creation

2011-11-19T21:14:00.001-08:00

Tonight was Lukas' first time building a gingerbread house. We bought a kit about a week ago and he has been SO excited to make his gingerbread house. Even though it is early in the Christmas season we figured why not especially since I started decorating the house early in November with Christmas decorations. I just love Christmas-- it is definitely my favorite holiday of the year. Living up here in the mountains makes this time of year even more magically. The cold, crisp air really brings out the fresh scent of the pine trees and reminds me of childhood memories of Christmases long ago in Truckee at Uncle Kenny's and Aunt Joanne's cabin. We are awaiting in eager anticipation of snow and are hoping for a white Christmas.

Lukas was extremely focused the entire time and was a great help putting the house together. He lovingly put each piece of candy on the icing, only after lining up the candies in order of type first. We had to help him along a bit as the icing was drying up and becoming hard before Lukas could make up his mind of which type of candy to put where. Decisions decisions!

Look at the happiness and joy emanating from Lukas! He is hoping he'll get a chance to make another gingerbread house this season with some family members.....hint.....hint......

In the end it turned out to be a lovely masterpiece and definitely a good looking gingerbread house especially considering it was Lukas' first time creating one!

Gingerbread house for rent. Built in 2011 by Lukas Construction. Gingerbread slab with gingerbread, icing A frame, modular design. Comes with family and dog made entirely of sugar. Available December 26th.

Fall colors

2011-11-15T08:57:00.001-08:00

Lukas and I are enjoying sunshine filled mornings in the backyard. The crisp, clean air is very refreshing for our bodies and our spirits.

The red leaves on this tree in our backyard is really something! It is just so beautiful here. Never before have I lived somewhere with so many trees so it seems for the first time I am experiencing the fall colors of autumn and it is breathtaking.

Lukas pointing at airplanes in the sky.

Tug-a-war = ripped up and shredded frisbees. We just can't seem to keep any frisbee in tact.

Happy doggies.

Sunset

2011-11-13T21:21:00.001-08:00

This was our sky tonight as the sun dipped down and darkness began to fall.

Such a beautiful site to behold tonight, the purples, and pinks, peaches, oranges, and yellows....ahhhh it was something magical.

It always amazes me how quickly the colors change just in a matter of mere minutes.

Roy toy building logs

2011-11-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

Last night Lukas and Daddy built some cool log masterpieces, one being a "water tower" according to Lukas and the other a tree house. For Christmas last year we bought Lukas these earth friendly lincoln log type toys but he hasn't really gotten into the building spirit until recently. Lately life for Lukas is all about Legos. He loves, loves, loves to build new creations every day and the building process entertains him for hours and hours.

Doesn't Lukas look just like his Daddy?

Snuggling together just before bed.

"I have an idea!"---Lukas' new phrase he likes to say to us all the time now.

Admiring his masterpieces. It was Lukas' idea to move the ladder from the tree house to the water tower.


Lukas is really into tractors, airplanes, and trains (in that order as he tells me), and legos. He loves reading books all about tractors and in the process I am learning about them too--excavators, bulldozers, scrapers, loaders, graders, backhoes, mobile rock crushers, vactors, asphalt reclaimers, and on and on and on. The best tractor of all is a green John Deere tractor! He loves to read. This little boy can spend hours on end reading books with me. Books that are quite advanced and all words with no pictures. He just loves being read to. We just started seriously working on the alphabet with Lukas. Yesterday I quizzed him and he knew half of the abc's when asked to identify them! Yay! Some of his favorite delicious and decadent treats that he loves right now include buttery popcorn, hot chocolate with whipped cream, and any type of chocolate bar. He is growing like crazy and is growing out of all his clothes and shoes before I can blink it seems! It is hard to keep up with his ever changing and lengthening foot. His last shoes only lasted one month! Lukas also loves animals. He enjoys chasing our kitties around the house although I can't say that they enjoy that game at all! His favorite dog is Bear and according to him Bear is HIS dog. He likes to play with bugs but knows to stay away from spiders since we have some pretty mean looking ones around here. Lukas is just such a happy, joyful little boy. His Daddy and I feel very blessed to share our lives with this amazing little man.

2011-11-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

Truckin' along on his John Deere this morning...

Trick-or-Treat!

2011-11-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

Fireman Lukas is ready to go and start trick-or-treating!

Posing with Lukas before we leave the house.

We had to drive to a residential neighborhood this year since we live out in the country and trick-or-treating where we live is not possible. Here is little man right after we got out of the truck.

Posing with Daddy.

We prepped Lukas on what to say when the door opened and such things as saying "I am a fireman" or "I am two." --(if they asked his age). This is the first house we went to last night. Lukas did a great job trick-or-treating. He was a little bit shy, talked in a very, very quiet voice to most people but had a lot of fun. After each house he would say "next house!"

Walking hand in hand with Daddy as the sun sets.

What a cute little fireman! His outfit was a big hit and he received a lot of compliments and extra candy for being a fireman.

Waving to the camera!

Walking with Mama.

It was Lukas' second year trick-or-treating and I think this year he had the whole drill down and loved every minute. We went for about an hour and a half, trudging up and down pretty steep hills and he was a real trooper. I think he could have gone even longer but it was getting late, about 8pm so we decided to call it a night.

The streets were packed with hundreds of people in this on neighborhood. A lot of people did what we did and drove there and parked along the sidewalks. I have never seen so many people out before! Unfortunately, where we went not too many people were actually handing out candy so we had to walk quite a lot to get candy.

Fireman Lukas being silly when we got home.

Showing us his candy!

He was really excited to eat his candy and started ripping open candies and shoving them into his mouth.


A little slice of pumpkin pie but it held no interest for Lukas compared to all that sugary candy.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

Fireman Lukas wishes everyone a very Happy Halloween!!! Happy trick-or-treating to all!

Lunch at the lake

2011-10-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

Christo and Lukas skipping stones in the lake.

Today we enjoyed our lunch at a local lake, basking in the autumn sunshine and enjoying the peaceful sounds of nature....ahhhhhh that is the life!

Gathering rocks.

Serenity.

Happiness is feeling the squishy mud between your toes.

What a beautiful fall day. Sunny and just the right temperature outside.

Found a little ladybug.

Daddy and Lukas built a sand castle.

Overall it was a wonderful afternoon in which family memories were built. I was just thankful we didn't have any bear encounters! The park ranger informed us that there are many bears in the area and of course they are attracted to food, especially marshmallows.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

Today was Lukas' first visit to a pumpkin patch. I am embarrassed to say but in years past we've just bought our pumpkins at the local grocery store figuring he was too young to really reap the rewards of a patch---but am so glad this year we made it to an actual pumpkin patch! Kimberly organized for the family to meet up at a local pumpkin patch she found, followed by carving pumpkins at her house, dinner and dessert. It turned out to be a terrific day and we all really enjoyed ourselves! How can you not have fun with all the family gathers together for some fun, festive holiday fun?

One of the coolest things about this particular patch that we visited is that the train runs right alongside the patch. We happened to arrive just after the train arrived to the patch and all the passengers departed so of course being as train obsessed as Lukas is we headed straight for the train.

Papa and Lukas actually went inside the train where the engineer drives---pretty cool!

Next was a picture with one of the farms tractors.

And then off the the pumpkin patch itself...

Aunt Patti, Gig, Papa, Christo, and Lukas (but you can't see him) in the hay maze.

Tim with a smile!

Kimberly looking like she is having way too much fun!

The group minus Kathie.

The group minus Kimmy.

Family photo.

Walking through the corn maze...

Searching for pumpkins in the field...

Kimmy posing with her choice.

Posing with a pumpkin.

My hubby and I.

Aunt Patti was having lots of fun picking out pumpkins.

Lukas loved every minute !!!!

Papa and Gig with Lukas and their pumpkin selections.

Ahhh....some shade. It was pretty hot out there and picking the perfect pumpkin isn't easy work.

Little man is pretty strong. He carried his choice for quite a while.

He also took a break sitting on his pumpkin.

What a handsome little man he is.

I wanted to search for another couple of pumpkins with Lukas before we left.

He gave the giant pumpkin a hug all on his own without any prompting on our part.

I picked the pumpkin on the left, the white one, Lukas picked the small orange one, and the big orange one was Daddy's.

Back at Kimberly's the pumpkin carving fun begins!

The end product---five gorgeous pumpkins fit for a magazine cover!

The owl was made by Christo. The face was made by Uncle Randy.

The kitty cat was made jointly by Aunt Patti and Uncle Randy.

The haunted house was made by Kimberly. The ghosts and bats were made by Papa, Gigi, and Tim too.

I think everyone had a really great time today. I am so happy that Kimberly organized such a fun family event for us all. Hanging out with family is the best and we wish we did it more often!

Happiness is...

2011-10-22T21:04:00.001-07:00

time in the sandbox with Papa and Gigi.

2011-10-18T22:19:00.001-07:00

Little man had a ball playing in his sand box this morning.

The dogs had fun racing around the yard playing with one another. Bear is obsessed with fetching and playing, Athena not so much. She just likes to chase Bear down, not a ball or frisbee. Lately her new thing is to take Bear's toy and run around the yard with it to get him to chase her. She loves it and he happily lopes behind her like the big oaf that he is.....too funny to watch!

Lukas posing with the dump truck or as he calls it the "dump die" truck and tractor that Daddy built for him with Legos. He sure loves legos and tells us all the time he wants more, he needs more. He likes to say that about any and all toys now. "Mama I want that, I NEED that." Oh boy---we are in for it as the wanting of anything and everything has already begun.

And some more playing in his sand box later on in the evening just before dinner. He was excited because he was able to bring some of his inside toys outside to play in his sandbox, something we don't normally do as Athena loves to eat all of Lukas' plastic toys. And Lukas is no help in the matter as he likes to voluntarily give Athena his toys to eat.

Lake Tahoe

2011-10-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

We decided that we were long overdue for some fun. Our entire year has been spent preparing our house for sale, packing, cleaning the house constantly for our 30+ showings, and then moving and unpacking. It has been an action packed year but all work and no fun! Lukas has never been to Tahoe before and Christo and I haven't been there in three years, since Lukas was in my tummy---so we were really long overdue. We love Tahoe, it is one of our favorite places--we even went there for our honeymoon! And now that we live so close we just had to make a day trip out of it. It took us about an hour and a half to make it to Tahoe City. We left early this morning so we were able to enjoy the lake before the clouds rolled in too much. It was a lovely day of basking in the sunshine and enjoying the beauty around us.

It was really cute to watch Lukas approach the waves at the beach. He has seen the ocean, last summer when we took him to Fort Bragg but I am sure he doesn't remember it. Today as we walked toward the waters edge and he held my hand I could feel his reluctance to go forward close to the water because he was unsure. It was really special to experience the lapping waves with him as he experienced it for the first time.

Of course I forgot my jacket (brilliant right?) so I borrowed Christo's jacket to warm up a bit.

So so pretty.

I think Lukas loved Tahoe just as much as we did.

He was very focused in on something in the distance.....what could it be?

Of course---a TRACTOR! And one of his favorite types, an excavator! He told me that he wants to ask Santa for an excavator for Christmas.

Christo video taping.

Handsome little boy.

Handsome husband and daddy.

Family picture! We don't have too many of those, so each one we do take is always special.

Christo climbed the rock wall in the play park.

He loved riding the sea horse.

Beautiful.

Lukas enjoyed kicking the pebbles into the water, picking up handfuls of pebbles and tossing them in, and touching the water with his hands.

Lukas learned about some new animals today. One being a seagull---something he hasn't seen in real life before. They surrounded us once they found out we had food so that was pretty exciting for Lukas to watch.

We enjoyed our chocolate peanut butter cake on the beach.

Yum yum!

Running after the seagulls.

Our friendly duck that we affectionately named "Baby Duck."

I have never in my life met a wild duck that was so friendly and not afraid of people. This duck swam up to us out of the water, and walked right up to us with no fear and begged for cake crumbs. Baby Duck was within an inch or two of each one of us. I think if we had wanted we could have just scooped her/him up and taken her/him home. We were tempted....I mean who wouldn't love to have a friendly duck as a pet?

After the lake we headed to a local cafe for some sandwiches and then off to the Truckee River to enjoy them. That is where Lukas had a chance to meet a chipmunk for the very first time. They came flying out from every corner around us it seemed and surrounded us. They were very daring and came extremely close to us. They are cute little things but best to keep your distance since they can carry the plague, or the fleas on them can and that wouldn't be good for us!

The sandwiches were really tasty! I had an avocado, hummus sandwich with some other veggies, and Christo and Lukas enjoyed a turkey with gouda and cranberry mayo. The little chipmunks had some too of course.

If you look closely you can see some chipmunks off the the right of Christo.

Lukas is such a cutie pie and really poses for a lot of pictures. Too cute!

We had a great time in Tahoe today. It was nice to make it up there on a nice sunny, fall day before it is loaded with snow. I am so glad that Lukas had the opportunity to see Tahoe and hopefully it will one day have a special place in his heart just as it does in ours.

Peanut Butter Happy Cake

2011-10-15T16:35:00.000-07:00

Lukas loves "happy cake." He has been wanting to make a peanut butter birthday cake for quite a while now. Every time we ask him what type of cake he would like when it is his birthday, he always tells us peanut butter. Christo and I figured we have our work cut out for us as we have never in our lives made a peanut butter cake or for that matter even eaten one. So we talked about some ideas we had to create one and here is what we came up with...

A two layer chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and peanut butter cups on top of the frosting in the middle layer. 100% organic, home-made cake.

Lukas was convinced the entire time we made it that it was my birthday cake and he kept telling me he was making a happy cake just for me.

Excuse my poor frosting skills, really I have none. It turned out pretty well. Next time we are thinking peanut butter frosting would be best only in the middle of the cake and perhaps frost the outer part of the cake either in chocolate frosting or some sort of whipped cream. Oh and we are definitely thinking more peanut butter cups inside the cake. You can never have enough of those.

2011-10-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Lukas taking a bath last night in the big tub. He loves baths---well he just loves water!!!!

Oscar, our loveable kitty.

Christo's eyes up close and personal.

Our little man and his tractor. He is sporting his new helmet that matches his wheels. Very fashionable!

Christo with the doggies.

Intense concentration on the face of this little guy as he races around the yard.

He sure loves his John Deere tractor. LOVES it!

Our pretty Bear Bear.

Athena.

Bear.

Lukas.

Kitties. I found them snuggled up together sleeping.

How cute is that?

Quiche and ice cream

2011-10-11T19:05:00.000-07:00

Helping Daddy make quiche a few nights ago.

Lukas loves to help in the kitchen, especially if he can play in the sink and fill cups and bowls with water. He is fascinated with the faucet. The quiche turned out great and they are SO easy to make. Lukas is enjoying having quiche for breakfast in the morning. We added spinach, feta, and a bit of jack cheese to our quiche and it has been a huge hit.

Nothing better than playing in the kitchen sink!

Tonight we enjoyed a special treat, ice cream on a cone! We made a quick run to pick up Lukas' favorite flavor, coffee, his Papa got him hooked! Breyer's has a new, improved coffee ice cream and it was quite tasty!

Coffee flavor is the best! Looks like Papa created another generation of a coffee ice cream lover.

Cheers to creamy goodness.

I was really excited because for the first time I found organic ice cream cones! Yipee!

Nothing better than a little treat to put a smile on your face.

It started to drip all over his hand (see picture below to how he ate it) so here he is convincing his Daddy to take hold of his cone.

Daddy ended up helping feed Lukas bites of ice cream and cone. Lukas doesn't mind having his hands covered in dirt but boy, if gets food on his hands it is the end of the world!

On a side note: we took Lukas to a doctor last week, just to get established with a new doctor and he is a whopping 33 pounds (84%) and 38 inches (91%). So he is a very healthy and big boy for his age! Must be all that good quality organic food.

Fun at the park

2011-10-10T22:47:00.000-07:00

2011-10-07T17:15:00.000-07:00

How we make the perfect hot chocolate

2011-10-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

First off you must have good quality, extraordinary cocoa for your hot chocolate. If your cocoa isn't good, neither will your hot chocolate. We have tried countless hot chocolate mixes (usually too sugary and not dark enough chocolate for our liking) and cocoas and actually this particular baking dark chocolate cocoa sold at Costco has ended up being one of our favorites. We try to buy everything we consume "organic" so the milk and heavy cream featured here are naturally organic. We usually try to only buy Organic Valley dairy products or Straus as their cows are grass fed and raised by local, small family farms. The co-op that we shop at didn't have our brands so we bought Clover instead.

Okay, here we go---ready to begin. We have all our ingredients--milk, cream, cocoa, and sugar.

First off, pour milk into your mugs to measure out how much you will need.

Then pour the milk out of the mugs into a pot.

Start heating the milk on low heat on the stove. While the milk is warming up, start on your whipped cream. Pour the cream into a mixing bowl.

Employ the help of a little one to mix the cream.

Whip until soft peaks form and make sure you let your little one taste the cream for approval.

Go back to your warmed milk and add cocoa. Christo does this by taste. He doesn't measure.

A bit of organic cane sugar, just a bit, not too much.

An excited little boy awaiting his hot chocolate.

Mix the chocolate and cocoa into the milk. Make sure it mixes in well.

Once well mixed and at the perfect temperature for your liking, spoon or pour the chocolaty decadence into your mugs.

Add the whipped cream.

All finished. Look at that happy little helper in the background!

Getting ready for his first sip. Isn't his little horse mug adorable? Aunt Patti and Uncle Randy bought that for Lukas before he was born. It is precious.

Oh yummy!!!

It's a hit! He loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yum yum!

Yum yum yum!

Cheers!
And that's how it is done folks!
Our first hot chocolate of the fall season and in our new house was a big success. Many, many more to come over the next few months....

2011-10-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

Our family room last night. Love the "fake" candles Kimberly gave me for my birthday. Any ideas for decorations for our mantle place???

We just recently purchased a new camera, an upgrade to our 6 year old DSLR, and let me tell you the difference is truly amazing. These are some of the first photos taken with the new camera (Nikon D7000) and they are straight out of the camera with no touch up. With our older Nikon (D70s), before I posted to the blog I would first have to touch up each photo as I always found the pictures to be too dark or lacking in color. The new Nikon is exceptional and I know that I will be doing much less touch up! Yay!

My handsome husband.

Christo making one of Lukas' silly faces.

Waking up in the morning.

Toaster pastry in hand watching Mickey Mouse on TV.

Being silly.

Bundled up for his walk down to the mailbox.

It feels like winter---been in the mid to high 40's during the day---burrrrrrr!

Our front yard----pretty gorgeous, don't you think?

Dinner time!

Oscar begging for food.

Lukas proudly showing off his big boy meal of chicken nuggets, a fish stick, and broccoli. We are just now getting him weaned off of baby food for dinner and eating real food. Late, late I know but it has been a slow process of weaning one baby food meal at a time. Lukas is a very slow eater and can often take up to an hour to eat a small plate so partly it was our fault, out of convenience to keep him eating baby food for dinner, and partly due to the fact that he liked it so much


Cheers!

On a side note: yesterday Lukas passed gas and Christo and I said something like, "Oh what was that Lukas?" and he responded with "that's my engine, it makes me go!" Too funny! We laughed and laughed over that one.

Narrow Gauge Railway

2011-10-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Papa, Gigi, Lukas, and I went to a new railroad museum yesterday and had a blast! This museum featured a special kind of train, a narrow gauge. Operations for the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railway, affectionately known as "Never come, Never Go"began in 1876 to provide year round transportation to the mining districts of western Nevada County and ended in the 1940's.

A docent guided us throughout the museum as our personal tour guide. Lukas did really well the entire time considering the tour lasted well over an hour. I thought that he wouldn't have much patience listening to our tour guide give us so much history and information but he stood there and took it all in like a big boy.

I think one of his favorite parts was when we headed out to the shop and had a chance to see actual trains being repaired and renovated.

Our tour guide was so nice and even let Lukas get inside of a steam engines and blow the whistle.

Here is a great example of a standard sized railroad track vs. a narrow gauge. The tracks that are the furthest distance apart are the standard size track whereas the track in the middle and the one to the very right represents how much smaller the narrow gauge railroad tracks and cars were. So a narrow gauge railroad has a track gauge narrower than a standard sized railway. An advantage with this type of railway is that it is cheaper to build and operate particularly in mountainous or difficult terrain.

Checking out the wheels of the steam train.

A carriage on the left and the very first "car" ever built (built on the frame of a horse carriage).

Lukas checking out and pointing to the school bus in the glass case.

Standing with a piece of history, an 1875 Baldwin engine.

Posing with the train. He is such a ham and loves having his picture taken, giving his Mama a big smile, and saying "cheese."

The car/carriage. Check out the bar that was the steering wheel!

Sitting in one of the horse carriages and as happy as can be!

2011-10-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Papa and Gigi surprised us yesterday with a visit and while they were here Gigi gave Lukas a much needed haircut. We are so lucky that Gigi cuts Lukas' hair as I think we'd have a hard time taking him to a barber as he doesn't really like to sit still for very long. Gigi does an excellent job and Lukas loves getting his hair cut from his Gigi.

This morning we went for a little nature walk around the property. It is really starting to get chilly up here. Yesterday we found out from our neighbor that last year he was snowed in for a few days with no electricity and couldn't leave due to the iced over driveway---oh boy sounds like fun times to come this winter! Time to start stockpiling supplies.

A view of our house and front yard. It sure is beautiful here. I still can't get over how gorgeous our surroundings are and how fresh and clean the air is. The crisp,cold air mixed with the smell of pines is just intoxicating! Gods country for sure.

Look how happy Lukas is exploring!

The pond at the entrance to the property we live on....home to several ducks and apparently the watering hole for coyotes, deer, and raccoons.

The driveway that leads up to our house---see all that shade? This is exactly where our driveway will ice over when it snows, meaning we will be stuck in the house! Yikes!

Lukas loves riding his John Deere tractor. Lately Athena likes to join in the fun and run after Lukas.

He is really good about posing for pictures and smiling. He actually likes to have his picture taken and then wants to see the pictures afterward. Such a little cutie pie.

S'more fun

2011-09-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun roasting marshmallows the other night that we decided to do it again, just the three of us. We had a fabulous time feasting on s'mores and star gazing. The stars really seem so much bigger and brighter here. Looking at the immense mass of stars out there certainly brings about a sense of smallness in the grand scheme of everything and all the worries and stresses of every day life seem silly. The night sky is such a breathtaking masterpiece and gazing up into it lets all my worries melt away so I can just "be" and be in the now.
Lukas had fun picking out the airplanes in the sky and guessing their destination. His guess was Sacramento almost every time. He is starting to become a very inquisitive little boy and has entered the state of his childhood of asking questions about everything. Where are we going? What are we doing? What is that for? What does that do? What is it made of? What, what, what? It is so much fun to hear his thoughts and what is on his mind these days.

2011-09-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

Took this picture of Christo and Lukas a few days ago when they were making me my birthday cake.

Lukas enjoyed feasting on chocolate.

He was an excellent helper and got chocolate all over himself.

Being silly wearing the gardening gloves Aunt Patti bought him.

The "play with me" look.

Bear Bear.

Tim and Kim visit!

2011-09-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Lukas enjoying Aunt Joanne's delicious torte (or torta as my family has always said). He loved it!!!

Kimberly and Tim came up to our home for a visit this weekend. We had a great time hanging out with them and Lukas really enjoyed playing with Kimberly.

Shopping.

Kimberly is so much fun!

Gigi, Kimberly, Lukas, and Mama.

Trees. Ahhhhhhhh it is so gorgeous here. The beauty around us is truly amazing. I still cannot believe we live here!! Snapped this picture while driving in the truck from one town to another.

If you look closely you can see the buck that roams our property. He is huge and his antlers are so BIG! The man who knocked on our door several weeks ago asking if he could hunt this buck showed up again yesterday asking again. We told him no.

Tim relaxing.

Preparing dinner.

Kimmy making a caprese salad.

Gigi, Christo, and Kim posing for a picture.

Christo asked me to take a picture of him with my dad and then out of the blue leaned over and gave him a big smooch on his cheek. I think he was hoping to get a smile out of him and looks like it kind of worked.

Tim and Christo.

My mom and I.

Our refreshments for the evening.

Little one is starting to like pizza!

Athena checking out Tim.

Roasting marshmallows for s'mores.

It was great fun!

Eating s'mores. Yummy!

Marshmallow/chocolate mouth. Lukas is really becoming such a big boy. Just yesterday he started saying "water" instead of "awa." He also knows his birthday now too and can tell you what month and day he will be turning three! He is just picking up on everything now, listens to every word Christo and I say and will repeat our conversations back to us later.

Happy Birthday to Mama!

2011-09-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful time celebrating my 31st birthday today with my amazing family! My parents treated us to a terrific dinner, Mexican food of course, our favorite! We found a great little place here in town and I am sure we will eat there many more times in the future as it was excellent!

After dinner we came home to two homemade chocolate cakes. One that Gigi made for me with a delicious chocolatey cinnamon frosting, and one that Christo and Lukas made--a flourless chocolate cake. Our first time ever attempting to make a flourless cake on our own and wow it was complete chocolate bliss---like eating a dark chocolate fudge candy bar.

31 candles on one cake, and the other cake artistically decorated by Lukas.

Lukas working hard on blowing out the cake with less candles.

He needed a little extra help from his Mama.

Yay----all the candles are blown out and wishes wished!

Papa and Gigi snuggling up together.

Yum, eating chocolatey cake---the best part of any birthday!

Lukas loved his cake too---he takes after me and loves anything chocolate.

Thank you to all my family for making my birthday such a special and memorable day!

My Muffin

2011-09-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

Christo and I at the birthday party dinner the other night. I sure do love my husband. He is a wonderful, loving man and very good to Lukas and myself. I couldn't have asked for a better partner in life. Love you Muffin!

Lukas' room

2011-09-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Grandma Gigi bought Lukas these adorable abc flashcards. We hung them on his bedroom wall with twine and clothespins. Super fun, cute, and educational too!

Some of his stuffed animals....he sure loves his animals.

Photo tour of the new house

2011-09-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

Lukas with his new foam bed and bedding!

Master bedroom.

Lukas relaxing on our old beat up couch. We've been searching for a new sofa for a while now but haven't had any luck finding one as comfortable as this one. Unfortunately our cats have ripped up the sides of the couch so it is not the prettiest site.

The family room.

The kitchen.

The eating area.

Lukas relaxing with his "nannies."

Christo hard at work. Yes thats five computers surrounding him!

Daddy and Lukas posing with the house.

Mama and Lukas.

The dog run and kennel.

The backyard.

The doggies.

Back patio area.

And that's all folks!

Tractor driving

2011-09-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

The very last day at the barn before Ulysses left, Lukas had an amazing opportunity to drive the John Deere tractor with Vernon. Lukas was actually able to steer the tractor around the barn and had the ride of a lifetime. He was very, very happy and all smiles!

Tookiss

2011-09-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

Some fun pictures of Lukas that Christo took with his phone over the past couple of weeks, "Tookiss" as Lukas would say.

Happy 30th and 31st all rolled into one big party!

2011-09-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a wonderful, fun-filled Happy Birthday dinner in downtown Sac with family and friends to celebrate my cousin Kimberly's 30th birthday, her best friend since childhood Melissa's 30th bday (coincidentally on the same day as mine!), and my 31st birthday. Uncle Brad, Aunt Mary, Uncle Randy, Aunt Patti, Tim, Dennis (Melissa's father), Melissa, Caralina (Melissa's daughter), Christo, Lukas, and myself all had a grand time eating, drinking, and being merry! It brought back fond memories of when Kimberly and I were young and used to celebrate our birthdays together. It has been a very long time since we have been able to but now that we are living so close together once again I am sure there will be many more wonderful birthday memories to come!