Happy Birthday "Bichael"!

Thursday we celebrated Michael's 27th birthday! In the evening my parents, his mom and his brother joined us for dinner, cake, and presents. However, we almost didn't have a birthday celebration because Michael forgot about his own birthday and scheduled an appointment that evening. Luckily, it was one that he could easily reschedule and he was able to join us for his birthday:) Weston enjoyed helping Daddy blow out his candles and would have put his face right on them if Michael didn't hold him back.

In fact, Weston liked the candles so much that he insisted on eating his cake using the candle instead of his spoon. A little wax never hurt anybody, right???

Michael's birthday, of course, is right before Valentine's Day. This means that I have to plan for two special occasions right in a row. I never used to be the Valentine's Day planner in our relationship, but this time last year I attended a book study to help me grow in my role as a wife, and it was at one of these meetings that my friend Mary's mom, Elaine, shared some information that really made so much sense to me. She told us how in their relationship she planned Valentine's Day every year because she enjoyed doing it so much and liked surprising her husband. Up until that point I had it in my head that it was the man's job to plan Valentine's Day, but (not trying to insult Michael here) this almost always lead to some disappointment. It wasn't until this meeting that it hit me that I too enjoy, and have more fun, being the surpriser rather than the surprisee! So, last year I planned Valentine's Day and it worked out wonderful for both of us. I had so much fun planning the day and Michael enjoyed having a pressure free Valentine's Day that he got to simply enjoy and not plan:) This year, I again had a blast planning Valentine's Day and was so excited I could barely wait until the day got here! This year, the highlight was playing a game I created. Michael and I are both big game people, so it was very fitting for us. The game involved answering questions, like those found on the Newlywed Game Show, or competing against each other to do certain tasks. We laughed lots and had a good time learning more about each other. (Yes, we still have lots to learn about each other after 5 1/2 years!)

Our Valentine's Day also involved solving a mystery. For weeks now Weston has been saying "bichael" and we couldn't figure out what he was trying to say. He never said it pointing at anything and said it in different situations. Well, we were over at my parent's house for supper when it hit us what he has been saying. As he walked around the house talking on Daddy's phone saying "bichael" over and over we realized he was saying "Michael, Michael, Michael!" DUH!! Once we realized it, it seemed totally obvious! (And I am sure it looks obvious when I type the word out like "bichael".) Weston has heard me say Michael (especially on the phone) many times and was repeating it. I might also add that when he says this word, he usually says it loud and I am sure that is because most of the time when I use Michael's name I am trying to get his help from another room:) I don't think he understands that Michael and Daddy are the same person, but it sure is cute to hear him say it:) Oh, and after a couple times of emphasizing the "m" in Michael, he now says "Michael" and not "bichael":)

Colors

It seems like since Weston has turned 1 1/2 he is learning something new everyday! Michael and I are enjoying this stage very much and love to watch him absorb new information like a sponge:) He has been working on his colors and is beginning to recognize them:) He still gets confused, but definitely has a concept of what colors are. When he has to name a color on his own he mostly says orange, but he is getting good at picking out what color is what when we say it. Check it out!

Feeding Tory or "Toreeee"

Weston has a new favorite chore that he gets really excited about and that is helping feed Tory:)

Oil Heat

Michael and I were both unfamiliar with oil heating when we bought our house, but feel like we are learning lots about owning a house with oil heat.  Last week we learned an important rule- make sure the guage on your tank works so that you know when you are about to run out of fuel!  Our heat went out at night (which also happened to be one of the coldest nights this winter) and we woke up to the house being 50 degrees and dropping.  In the middle of the night we brought Weston in bed with us and we all stayed cozy under the covers, but when it got time to get out of bed it sure was cold!  Weston and Eli had no problem keeping on their winter hats and layers until the oil man could come and fill the tank.  I usually don't let the boys watch TV, except for 1/2 hour while I make lunch, but that morning I turned on some cartoons so they would sit on the couch under blankets.  Overall, I think they enjoyed having no heat until later morning:)

Luckily that was the only day Weston had to experience being cold inside the house, but I think he has a new appreciation for winter clothing after experiencing his first Wisconsin winter.  At the beginning of winter he wasn't to fond of his winter apparel, but lately he has liked putting on his boots, hat, and mittens.  When cousin Gianna was visiting he couldn't get enough of her boots and mittens either:)  Actually, most of the time Weston would wear one boot and Gianna would wear the other. 

Toddler Activity #2- Piggy Bank

This is a simple activity that has been one of Weston's favorites and he has yet to get sick of it.

Activity: Piggy Bank

Materials:

-clear disposable tupperware container with a slit cut in the lid (I put some tape on the sides of the slit so that it wasn't sharp and made the slit easier to see)

-poker chips

Skill/concept development:

fine motor development

hand/eye coordination

counting

Extension: The poker chips also make a great dump and fill material with cups.  Both Eli and Weston enjoy filling up a cup with the chips and then pouring them out.  Weston also really enjoys dumping them back and forth between two cups. 

If your container is big enough, you can also use an old deck of playing cards to put in the bank.  I found that this created a little more of a challenge.

Nesting

So, apparently I am "nesting." I don't remember doing this when I was pregnant with Weston, but I have these incredible urges to get things done before Vance gets here! Although his arrival is probably still at least seven weeks away, I feel like we are going to run out of time! I am tired most of the time, but somehow there is still some motivation to get things done. Here are some of our latest projects that we have intended to do since we moved in and have gotten done in the last two weeks.

1. Michael finally finished painting my paintings for the living room! No more empty wall space waiting to be filled above our couch- yeah! The the paintings symbolize the Trinity. (The pictures are not really crooked hanging on the wall- I am just a bad picture taker.)

2. We finally found and purchased a van to accommodate our growing family. We have been searching for one in our limited budget since we moved and we feel like it was worth the wait because we got a great deal on a good van:) Here is a picture of what my van looks like, but isn't a picture of my actual van. When I sat down to do this post I realized I had yet to take a picture of my van, and since it was dark and cold outside I decided this internet picture would have to do. It is a silver 1999 Chrysler Town and Country.

3. We painted Weston and, soon to be, Vance's room blue. Then, I wanted the same thing on the walls that we had in Weston's room in Texas. This time, however, we omitted the clouds. Michael wasn't too fond of them to begin with and I decided it would be too much on the wall space that we have now. We also added Vance's name to a plane:)

4. I made some valances for the windows in the boys' room. I wanted something similar to the bedding that is currently on the crib, but wasn't having much luck finding what I wanted. Then I thought, why not not just cut off that parts of the bed skirt that nobody sees and create great matching window treatments.

5. I finally got all of my photo albums updated. I only had to get almost 500 pictures printed to catch up! This means that I also finished updating Weston's album, which hadn't been updated since he was three months old.

In addition to these projects, I am also currently working on making a valance for the living room window. Then the only other big project I want to get done is painting our living room trim white. Oh, and ideally I would like to get Michael and my bedroom painted, but I think that may be a little too ambitious.

Michael's to do list is a little different than mine. Here is what he has felt an urging to do-

building a snowman with Weston:) I had a great time watching from the window:)

Merry Christmas!

Okay, so I have been a blog slacker lately, but I have good excuses! One, there was so much to do to get ready for Christmas; two, our internet was down for a couple days after Christmas; three, we still had lots of visiting/visitors the week after Christmas; and four, Weston got his first case of the stomach flu that he so lovingly passed onto me! In fact, I am still recovering as I sit here typing this, but at least now I have some time:).

Okay, with that off my chest, where do I begin? Our Christmas was busy, but nice. We had Santa come to our house on Christmas Eve morning and Weston was pretty clueless about the whole thing. One of my best presents, however, came that morning when I learned I passed the glucose screening test! I failed that test when I was pregnant with Weston and was sure the same thing would happen again. Needless to say, I was NOT looking forward to another 3 hour glucose test. However, the nurse called that morning to give me the good news and I was very happy:) (Oh, sometimes it is the simple things when you are a tired, uncomfortable pregnant woman.) After our little family celebration, we enjoyed seeing lots of extended family and didn't let the weather ruin our plans. We did, however, have to do some rearranging of celebrations, but in the end it all worked out. Christmas Eve evening we went to mass and then to my Grandma Luebke's house. Then Christmas Day, we started off at my parents house, then headed over to my Grandma Thompson's house, and finally ended the day in Necedah with Mike's family (I forgot my camera for the last two celebrations). Weston got lots of presents, but by the end he really didn't care about opening them. He was content with the first thing he opened. Next year, however, I am sure will be a different story.

Grandma Luebke's House

Christmas morning at Mom and Dad's house

After Christmas we got to see our friend Susan, who now lives in New York where she is a canidate to enter the Fransican Sisters of the Renewal (I think that is right). She seemed so happy and it was wonderful to see her! (Sorry, no pictures.) Andrea, Andy, and Gianna came back for the visit and Andrea and Gianna then stayed with us for a few days. Then, as they left Beth came back into town. I enjoy having my sisters around so much that everyday I wish they both lived in LaCrosse! At least, however, we aren't as far apart as we used to be:) Knowing how much I love having sisters, makes me very glad Weston will have a brother soon (only two months to go), and I truely believe one of the best gifts you can give your children is siblings.

Our New Years was nice, but us LaVoys are not big New Year celebration people and we were all sleeping at my parents house (where we went to bring in the New Year) before the ball dropped. In fact, I was out with Weston by 10:30pm. I will blame it on being pregnant, but I don't know what Michael's excuse was- oh, that's right, he is one hard working guy and he is taking care of a tired pregnant wife and a very energetic toddler!

Finally, Weston seems to be exploding in his use of language and he now tries to repeat lots of things that we say. Michael and I love his little voice! Here is a video of him saying "baby" for one of the first times. He loves to point out real babies to us and pictures of them on things and in books. What a great word association to know when he meets his new baby brother:)

Oh, and one more video just for fun. Before I started taping Eli was laughing at Weston everytime Weston threw the slinky down. When Eli stopped laughing out loud, Weston felt the need to fill in with his fake laugh.