The last few days have been beautful. The humidity went away and a light breeze came. We have been outside sooooo much, playing, eating lunch, and I even enjoyed a hot Caribou Vanilla Latte while out there! We love our backyard.

Helping Daddy Clean the Car

Leighton is a great helper. I'm sure Luke wouldn't have considered it helping since Leighton's shoes were dirty, but he really likes to be involved in helping whenever he can.Hair Cut - By Mommy

Leighton's hair grows fast, and when its long it gets very sweaty outside in the humidity. I have been asking him the past couple of days if he wants me to cut his hair. Yesterday Leighton started playing with his hair and then looked at me and said, "Leighton cut hair by self?" I didn't let him cut him by himself, but I did go in and get the shears to cut it myself. This was my 3rd attempt at cutting his hair and it was successful. I was so proud of it! Leighton liked it too! Much cooler!

Before ...

After ...This is what Leighton does when you ask him to smile! A fresh hair cut and a cute smile ...

Precious McCabe Updates

McCabe is such a sweet boy. He loves to put hige walnuts in his mouth and eat dirt, so he spends a lot of our outdoor time strapped into the wagon and getting wagon rides around the yard by myself and his big brother. You will see plenty of these in the videos posted below.

McCabe also had his year check up! The Dr said he had GREAT reflexes. It is amazing the things that make you proud as a parent. My baby's knee and foot reflexes astonished the doctor! He was 19 pounds, 15 ounces! This puts him in the 10th percentile for weight (officially a peanut!), and he was 65th percentile for height. Lots of shots and a cookie later, we were on our way home with a healthy boy.

Bathing Babies

McCabe got new bath toys for his birthday. These are such a hit. Leighton loves all water animals and loves that these swim and jump in the tub with him. McCabe loves to bite them and absolutely LOVES when one is stuck to his bald head. Intended for sticking to the wall, these toys work on McCabe's head too. He giggles everytime, putting one back up there when it falls down.

Baseball

Leighton and McCabe also like their new tee and baseball bat. Leighton is actually really good. He prefers it when Luke hits the plastic balls really high in the trees. Both plastic baseballs are badly dented, but still seem work well enough!

Playing with Quinn

Quinn came over Monday morning so Meg could take the twins in for their 9 month check up. They played baseball, played in the kid house, and even make a track around the yard (an exact track involving one hill, around the bird bath and in between the trees) to chase each other. The chasing consisted on Leighton in his Big Wheel/Motercyle and Quinn and McCabe followig close behind in the wagon, pulled my none other then myself! Lots of fun! Many Laps!

Here are two videos of the morning!

Great Midwife/Doctor Story

This morning I had a midwife appointment for the new boy! I was all set to go and Luke was going to stay home with the boys. Leighton got the saddest look on his face. He was fitting tears and was so hurt that he couldn't come to the check up with me. He asked very nicely if he could come to the doctor too. So Leighton came along with me to the appointment. I wasn't sure why he wanted to come when the alternative was playing at home with daddy and McCabe. As soon as we got into the car, he said, "Mommy feel better, Leighton go to the Doctor, get cookies, then come home to play with daddy and Cabe." You see, at Leighton's doctor check ups, they give him two small little cookies once he is done with his appointment. He apparently has a good memory and has attached cookies to the doctor which I've taken note of for future doctor visits, though I try really really hard to never bribe! I think he just wanted to come with Mommy so that he could get cookies. Or he wanted to come with me because he thought I wasn't feeling well and needed the doctor to make me feel better. Perhaps, he was along for support. Perhaps, he wanted me to get cookies. I know I sure wanted me to get cookies. Regargless of why he wanted to come, I thoroughly enjoyed one on one time with him. It is somewhat rare to have an outting with just one kid but I got to do it twice today! Once for my midwife appointment with Leighton and once for McCabe's one year checkup.

It is a sweet life that I live. I am so blessed! And although most of the pictures and stories are of the babies, my wonderful husband is a big reason when I am blessed too!

More Walking from McCabe

Tonight McCabe took 5 steps once, 6 steps another time and then 9 steps! What a champion! We are so proud!

McCabe is Talking!

I didn't document the date that he actually started saying his first words, but he has started to use a few quite frequently.

Ba Ba (with the most floppy of waves) = Bye Bye
Da Da = Daddy
Ma Ma = Mommy

I KNOW that he knows how and when to use Ba Ba (Bye Bye). Da Da and Ma Ma he copies and uses randomly but I guess I can't say with confidence that he knows which one is mommy and which one is daddy or even if he knows them as anything more that copying what he hears!

I can't wait to start communicating with him more!

Another Leighton Prayer

Last night, I gave Leighton his Scrambled Egg dinner and Bannana, then walked away to get everyone elses food. From the kitchen, I heard Leighton praying all on his own. He was missing the LORD (begining) and AMEN (ending), but he did say, "Thank you for Mommy and Daddy, thank you for Mommy and Caby, thank you for Mommy and New Baby, thank you for Mommy's tummy." Immediately afterward, he just nonchalantly started eating!

It was precious!

Zoo Trip 3 and 4

Leighton talks about the Zoo a lot! Lucky little guy got to go to the zoo Thursday and Friday this week. Thursday we went with Grandma Julie and Friday we went with lots of moms from the Downtown Church: Meg Rude with Quinn, Rex and Myla, Carla Richey with Kaisa, Jenny Schreiner with Owen, Jill McGargill with Hannah and Josiah, and Bethany Geiken with Malachi.

My sweet boys in their new stroller.

McCabe likes his new stroller. He loves this postion, with his feet up on the bar!
Watching Sea Lions in the Sun!

NEW STUFF

1. Seeing Giraffes REALLY close up in the look out area. We have seen them every trip but they were so close to us today. They are very cool looking animals.

Leighton and Quinn enjoyed watching the Giraffes from the upper lookout deck.

2. Little Penguins. It took 4 trips for us to see the little penguins. I am not sure where they were the first 3 times, but I was glad they were here. Leighton was happy to meet them too. He loves any and all things that swim in water.

3. Riding the BIG Red Train! Leighton rode the train with my on Thursday while McCabe and Grandma Julie hung out. He rode it again with friends on Friday. He likes to tell Daddy all about it when he gets home!

4. The Lion Feeding was cool too. His story of the day was about how he saw lions eat meat! These pictures are terrible but it was incredible to see this animals stand up on their back legs. Their paws are huge, their head is huge and their bodies are huge. It was nice to be there for the feeding because the animals actually come close and you get a good idea of their massive size.

McCabe's First Steps

I forgot to report on McCabe's birthday post that he took his first steps. He took 2 steps. It was great that all the family got to see it!

Since his first birthday, he has taken 2 more steps two different times, one with much encouragement and prompting and one totally on his own. Oh Boy was he proud when he did it on his own initiative!

I can't wait till he is walking around! Hopefully he is champion at it soon so that I don't have to smash poor baby 3 by carrying McCabe so much! Perhaps this is why I have carried my babies low ... more room to hold the current little one ... or maybe the current little on pushes my tummy down!

Yeah for McCabe!

Sleeping on the Couch

Luke slept on the couch last night. No, we wasn't in trouble. I slept on the other couch.

Our power went out in a big strom and we were way too hot upstairs. It was 84 degrees and humid out (our room hotter) and our air conditioner and fans were not working.

Thankfully the kids had no idea. In fact, the continued rainy weather has made their rooms just dark enough that they are sleeping in right now!

Father's Day

On Father's we had brunch at the Hukee's house. It was fun to all be together. Leighton and McCabe got to enjoy their dad and Luke and I both got to be with our dads too. A few comments I want to make: egg bake is good, Luke is an extraordinary father, cinnimon rolls are good, and spending time with family is good too.

Happy Fathers Day Luke, Gramdpa Phil, and Grandpa Bruce!

By the end of the day, Leighton got really good at saying, "Happy Fathers Day!" It is so sweet to see him say that to Luke. As a family, ee ended the day with a long walk together! Luke and I love to get a hour of talking time and the boys are great riders! We almost went to BBops for a chocolate shake, but turned around before we saw the temptation!

Enjoy this picture of Luke, the greatest Daddy in the world!!! :)

McCabe's 1st Bithday

We are so thankful to the Lord for bringing McCabe into our lives.

We enjoyed a wonderful birthday party at our house this weekend. We grilled, played outside A LOT, enjoyed cake and opening presents. McCabe was a little over stimulated but Leighton was happy to take all the new toys off of his hands to play with them himself. Here are some of the highlights.

McCabe bring really precious ...
Riding on what we call the, 'Motorcycle' ...

Snuggling with Daddy ...
Leighton putting the ducks in the bird bath ...

Grandma trying to keep McCabe on the blaket since he wanted to eat rocks and mud the whole time ...

Grandpa and Leighton putting together the new playhouse ...

Leighton using his drill ...

Grandma and Grandpa Hukee get a pose with the birthday boy ...

The boys took many laps around the yard on the wagon. Despite their expressions, they really did love this ...

Cake ...

Presents ...

It was a great day. They boys played hard and slept hard. During their nap, Luke and I were off to our second wedding of the weekend!

I cannot believe that we have celebrated two first birthdays and one second brithday already. In a few weeks, Luke and I will celebrate a thrid anniversary and then we will have the birth of baby number three. The Lord has been so good to us and we are so thankful for our boys!

Happy Birthday McCabe!

What should Baby 3 be named?

Luke and I, as usual, are having trouble thinking of a baby name for baby 3!

If you want to participate in our quest to find the next great name, leave a comment to this post with your suggestions.

You will be given credit, should your name be chosen!

Crazy Jeans Day and Other Random Things

This morning, Leighton was sitting on my lap and went pee all over my jeans. So I changed into other jeans.

Then I put all my fitting jeans into the wash, with the pee jeans, so do some much needed laundry (sorry Luke for getting behind!).

Then I sat down on the couch and discovered that Leighton had not only peed on me, but also all over the couch, so now those jeans were unwearable, and my wearable jeans were in the wash.

So I put on a older-ish pair that are like my favorite! Well warn and much loved! There were a little small but I was enjoying them all the same.

We went to Wee Worship music class. While getting back into my car at the church, I totally split a HUGE whole in a very inappropriate location. So sad, my favorite jeans and first expensive pair has officially warn out completely.

Now I am in my original jean choice for the day since they were all clean for my once I got home.

Other Happenings of the Day:

1. I had a great lunch with my babes on the porch. See McCabe lovin' it too ....

2. Planted tomatoes, bell peppers and jalapenos. It must be documented that I tilled the garden with Leighton's bright green plastic toy rake. I broke it in the process. And I dug wholes with his tiny plastic shovel. We don't have gardening tools or gloves, so it was pretty funny make it all work with Leighton's toys and my trying really really hard to keep the dirt from penetrating under my nails.

3. Talked to my good friend Julie Weeks on the phone. I just love her and wish we could talk way more often.

4. Saw Anna Judd for the first time in 5 weeks because she was away in Indiana.

5. Laundry. I even put them ALL away on the same day that I washed, dried and folded them!

6. Ate leftover goulash! Delicious! It was such a hard choice because I had leftover goulash with spicy italian sausage and I also had leftover Honey Ham with Basil and Pesto mashed potatoes from Dinner with newlyweds, Darrin and McKenna last night.

7. Watched a good message from Chip Ingrahm's r12 series. Our bible study watched it monday and while I was physically present, I was trying to keep both boys quiet and still and was unable to take notes and let it transform my mind! Lckily my husband is the owner of the DVD series so I got to watch it today!

8. Went to Wee Worship and learned a fun new song to sing with Leighton! We practiced it at lunch and due to hand motions, he ended up getting his goulash all over his face! It is priceless to watch him sing, "Ive got the joy of the Lord," while spreading goulash all over his smiling face.

9. Listen to Leighton call from the other room, "Mommy Help Leighton get down. I'm way up here!" It turned out that he had just climbed into McCabes crib and could get out!

And some randoms happenings for which I have pictures ...

1. Their last bath ....

2. Leighton needed to get a breathing treatment at the Drs. Office due to having a bad cold. He handled it soooo well. And those painted nails and big hands are not Leighton's. Rather they are mine, holding the machine for him. :) Poor McCabe was stuck in the car seat so that I could properly help Leighton. Can you find him in the picture?

Until next time ....

Brothers

This morning while I was getting ready, Leighton was singing Bless the Lord with me. Although this morning his singing was more like yelling, it was cute nonetheless. Enjoy him singing. Before the video I have included the lyrics as they truly are and in parenthesis, the lyrics acording to Leighton.

Bless the Lord (bless the yord)

Oh my soul (oh my soul)

And all that is with in me (dolphin in me)

Just before nap time, my two sweet boys where being quiet affectionate. I guess a little rough too, but it was all cute. Leighton and McCabe love to play together. Leighton is still learning his boundaries with how rough he can be, but they love to make each other giggle.

Leighton's Prayer

I am not making this up ... to the best of my memory, this is what Leighton's prayer sounded like tonight. Keep in mind I gave him no help, just listened!

Thank you basketball
Thank you day
Thank you mommy
Thank you daddy
Thank you boat
Thank you cross
Thank you sins

Here is my translation:

Lord,
Thank you for my basketball hoop (and the sport in general),
Thank you for today,
Thank you for my mommy,
Thank you for my daddy,
(I'm sure in his heart he is also thankful for his brother McCabe),
Thank you for my boat room decorations (this one threw me for a loop),
Thank you for dying on the cross to forgive my sins.
Amen

Oh my goodness it was so sweet and wonderful. We love our prayer times at night with him. He is really catching on. Or perhaps, he is really good at copying and wants to do what mommy and daddy do. Either way, he is on a good track.

Pool in the Yard

I think this is the sweetest picture of McCabe I have taken in a while! Isn't his smirk precisous? In the pictures below you can see Leighton and McCabe enjoying some time in the pool this afternoon. McCabe actually didn't like it very much all. In the bottom picture, Leighton is trying to make McCabe feel better by giving him a huge kiss!

I love my boys so so so so much.

Zoo with Daddy!

We went to the Zoo on family day. Leighton seemed to like it just as much as the first time. We even got to see a few new animals. He thought the Lemur was pretty cool.

And he was much more brave in feeding the animals this time, but still threw some food threw the fence so he didn't have to get licked!

We also had a Midwife appointment before the zoo. It was exciting to hear the heartbeat again and my usual list of questions! We are excited for the new babe in about 4 months!

McCabe's Bucket Hat

McCabe loves when we put toys on his head! He now knows how to put these buckets on his head all by himself and does it a couple of times per day.

Our Easter buckets and eggs may stay out all year round!

New Pipes and Yard Work

I am so proud of my husband.

In addition to working a lot and being busy all the time, he and his friend fixed our galvanized pipe the other night! Our bath tub has slowly gotten worse at draining since we moved in. For example, half of your leg gets a bath every time you shower and you could step into some cold, dirty water for your morning shower that never drained from last nights bath for the kids.

Anyway, my handy (learning more all the time with an old house) husband and his friend sawed off portions of the old pipe to discovered that minerals and corrosion had built up and totally blocked movement of water. Then they successfully replaced the pipe and trap!

This morning was my first shower since the pipe was fixed and it was great!

I cannot believe that my husband helped fix a pipe! I am grateful for the money this saved us, but also for his willingness to work so hard and get so dirty even after his long busy day.

Since he was working on the pipe late I cuddled with Leighton until he fell asleep! At least that was my plan. I ended up sleeping in his bed for about a half hour until Luke came and found me when he was done in the basement. It was so sweet! I was tempted to stay there and cuddle on his tiny bed, but Luke would have been too sad! :)

We also had friends of ours come over last night to work on anything we wanted them to do. It was weird to be the boss, but there were 7 people from a bible study at our church that just wanted to serve us so they came with work gloves and wanted to work! They helped us haul away our old water heater and furnace, old windows, cement stairs, thousands of sticks that had fallen during the crazy and icy winter (Leighton loved helping with this job and talked about it for hours afterwards), they cleaned the garage, and they scrapped the paint in our porch so that we could repaint it.

So in 24 hours, our house got a lot of loving! I am so thankful for their labor. They really saved Luke a lot of time and energy and gave us a jumpstart to some of our projects! We hope to get the porch painted soon and I would love to hang some potted flowers in there! We also want to either make a sandbox or an herb garden in the location that those guys cleared out for us!

Man we are so blessed ...especially me! Blessed with that bible study's desire to serve us, blessed with my husband being so wonderful, and blessed by my amazing kiddos who bring life and joy to this house!

Clapping Game!

When McCabe touches something he isn't supposed to touch, Luke gets his attention by clapping. McCabe will then look at Luke, and clap right back at him while giggling. After that sweet moment, McCabe goes right back to the place he isn't supposed to be. Luke will clap once again. McCabe will clap back at him once again and giggles louder. After 4 or 5 times with progressively louder clapping and louder giggling, McCabe finally stops; Sometimes he stops trying to disobey, sometimes he just stops litening to Luke's clapping!

It is very precious to see him clap back to Luke.

Leighton Riding a Bull

Leighton and McCabe love playing with Daddy on the floor. Tonight Daddy was a Bull.