Tournament in Newcomerstown

I took Luke to another martial arts tournament yesterday. This one was in Newcomerstown, OH, which is officially the middle of nowhere. The drive would have been beautiful if it wasn't pouring rain and windy. I took Luke by myself because Matt had to stay home to run Michael's tee ball and he kept Justin with him, too. I couldn't keep up with Master Circle and the other caravaners, but we found our way and actually beat the rest of the group because they missed a turn (served them right for going too fast!). This is Makayla. She's 13 and a black belt. She performed a sword routine and won her division.

Vili is also 13 and a black belt. She lost to Makayla yesterday, but she still did really well. Both girls do martial arts with their dads (which is really cute, I think) and are on the Demo Team with Luke.

Luke and his friend Cameron waiting somewhat less than patiently.

Luke's Little Dragons division (yes, there were only 3 of them).

Luke competing in his form.

Getting ready to spar. The other boy was the same boy Luke competed against in Zaynesville. He's also 5 and his name is Samuel, which I think is hilarious!

Trophies! Luke won forms and sparring and got second in weapons. Because there were only three of them, the organizers didn't name a grand champion. He said something about mailing them all plaques, but I don't think he got our address and really, Luke got plenty of hardware. Did I mention the organizer owns a trophy shop on the side?

More tee ball pics

Here are some more pictures of Michael at tee ball care of Poppy.

Poppy and Nan got Michael his own bat and tee for his birthday, too, so he can practice at home.

The Last Supper

It's not DaVinci, but this is Luke's rendition of The Last Supper. Jesus is saying "Share this" and his apostles are saying "yes." I just thought it was really cute.

Half-Orange Belt

I don't think I've posted that Luke was promoted to Half-Orange Belt at Martial Arts a couple of weeks ago. Poppy got this nice picture of him at practice on Friday.

Easter Egg Hunt 2011

It was the annual Easter Egg Hunt at my friend Allanya's yesterday. Last year, Justin was only a few days old. This year, Justin was crawling around and into everything! The weather was great, the food was great, the company was great! Awesome afternoon.

A Walk With Poppy and Nan

Yesterday was a beautiful day and it was Poppy and Nan's last morning with us, so we went to Bob Evans for breakfast and then to Innis Woods for a walk. Napless Justin was exhausted, but the park was lovely!

Birthday Party!

Ok, so throwing a party for 2 of your 3 kids at the same time does not leave a lot of time to take pictures. Hopefully, Poppy got some more that I can post later! We rented out the playground at Westerville Christian Church. It was lots of fun and the boys made out like bandits!

Tee Ball

Michael and Matt finally had their first tee-ball practice yesterday! It was chilly and muddy, but the Sand Gnats are off to great start. That's Michael in the red hoodie.

First Haircut!

No more Bieber. No more baby curls. But he looks so handsome and he did so well. He's even more kissable than he was before.

Happy Birthday, Michael!

My goodness, how is it that my Baby Michael turned 4 years old today? Easy labor. Angel baby. Not-so-bad toddler. I'll admit that the 3s have been a bit of a challenge, but it's been so wonderful to see Michael coming into his own. Michael loves animals, dinosaurs and monster trucks. He loves "sets" and things that are small. He loves games and sports. He has a massive and quirky vocabulary that includes a number of terms he has learned from playing Wii with his brother. Today, while playing stuffed animals, he asked Luke what they were "versing" (as in vs.-ing/battling) and wanted to know if they had all their "upgrades" or if they needed to "unlock" them and if they needed to change their "profiles." Michael counts to 100, does simple math and can pump on the swing--at least a year earlier than Luke. But, like Luke, he's had no interest in writing and is just now starting to write his name. He's enthusiastic and happy and quick to recover when sad or hurt. He asks for one of his many monkeys and in a few moments, I always here "I'm all better now." He's just a great kid!

Very happy to get his Koo Koo Birds Clubhouse!

We went to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner. Luke and Justin enjoyed the rides.

Getting some drive time.

Cake!!!

Tomorrow, Poppy and Nan are coming. Then it's the big party on Saturday!

Theme Days

Michael and Luke had theme days at school this week. It was the annual SYC pajama day for Michael. To be honest, this is my least favorite day of the year because it means lugging sleeping bags, pillows and various other things along with all of the usual school stuff (and the 25 lb baby).

And Luke had a "crazy dress day" in honor of April Fool's Day today. This is his jammies/bathing suit/winter hat ensemble. Sorry for the crappy pictures. Our camera died and I am using the phone.

First Birthdays

Luke's first birthday was pretty low key. I think his party was a couple of days later. He was walking and had 5 teeth. He loved his cake and ate the whole piece and then some.

We threw an impromptu party for Michael because the weather was beautiful. Michael was scooting and cruising. I think he only had two teeth. He wanted nothing to do with his cake. He wouldn't even smash it.

Justin's party will be next weekend. Tonight we had cupcakes and pasta. Justin loved the pasta, but like Michael, was not impressed by the cake. He actually tossed the whole plate off the high chair shortly after the picture was taken. Luckily, it landed on the mat as I imagine that green icing would not be fun to scrub out of carpet. Justin is crawling and cruising and teething like a madman. He's about to cut his eighth tooth.

The Requisite Birthday Video

Happy Birthday, Justin!

One Year Ago . . .

A few days ago, Ali sent me these pictures she took last year when she came to watch the kids on the day Justin was born. I had never seen them before. I am still so thankful that Ali and David came to take care of our kids. It looks like the kids gave them a run for their money.

Our last picture as a family of four before we left for the hospital.

Apparently, after we left, there was tree climbing and mud wallowing.

Which resulted in this . . .Caleb stuck on the tree.

And this . . .a bath for four.

And this . . . four tired kids.

At the hospital the next day, playing in the closet. After so much fun, why were they at the hospital again?

Oh yeah, that's right.

Brothers

So I have this new gadget on my netbook that randomly cycles through all of my photos. This one just came up. Aren't they cute? And doesn't Luke look like Justin in this picture? I'm really proud of Luke and Michael. They've become much better brothers as of late. They're finding they have more common ground with each other than with some of the kids in the neighborhood. Luke even turned away one of the neighbor boys the other day because he wanted to stay in and play dinosaurs with Michael. We also caught Luke helping Michael onto the swings and pushing him the other day. Don't get me wrong, they still fight all the time! I know some of you have been lucky enough to have siblings that have enjoyed each other's company from day one, but this is new territory for us and we are really enjoying it and hoping it lasts!

Homemade Pizza!