Wesley is really getting to where he talks almost nonstop now. He memorizes all the books we read to him & loves reading them back to us. He can sing his abc's and count to about 20. My dad said when he was going on a walk with him on Christmas, he stopped at a stop sign, and said "stop," & pointed to every letter and spelled out S-T-O-P. The other day, Wesley was eating lunch & I was sitting at the table with him while I was feeding Luke his bottle. Alot of times Wesley will say, "Look baby Luke, I'm eating." Well, when he said it this time I said, "Baby Luke is eating too," to which Wesley replied, "No, he's not eating, he's drinking." He told me! He got one of those John Deere tractor's for christmas that's battery operated. Well, he was telling me how he wanted to go outside and ride it. I said, "You want to go outside & ride your tractor." He said with a confused look on his face,"no, its not a tractor, its a JOHN DEERE tractor." He told me again.

Luke slept for the longest he ever has on christmas eve night. He slept from 11 to 7 and then christmas night he slept from 11 to about 5:30. I'm going to start trying here, probably in January, to start putting him down about 7:30 or 8, to try to get him on a schedule. He's still in the room with us. I moved Wesley out at 3 months, which now, I can't believe I moved him out that early. Well, I'll probably move Luke out at about 4 or 5 months.

I just had to post this picture of Luke and his mohawk. I tried to get Wesley to look and when he did, the camera delayed, as it always does.

 

Christmas

We had a good christmas day. My mom,dad,grandma, & uncle were at our house. Wesley is starting to enjoy it more & more now & starting to understand it more too. I don't think he quite understands the fact that it is Jesus' b-day. We sang happy b-day to Jesus & Wesley looked real confused as to why we were singing happy birthday to someone who wasn't "physically" here. It will probably take a while for him to understand it completely, but I know it will be something that he always remembers.

Wesley went ice skating for the first time the week before christmas at a park we have here called "the parks at chehaw." He was very reluctant at first but once he got out there, he loved it. My dad was out there holding his hand(he didn't skate but had his tennis shoes on).I went also, & hadn't been in years, so I had to get the hang of it, but still wasn't completely as confidant as I use to be. We also went on a train ride afterwards but Wesley said he would rather skate than go on a train ride. When he said that, I knew he really loved it. Not many things can compete with a train ride.

At a christmas parade. Luke was all bundled up b/c it was very cold.

 

Wesley & my dad ice skating. It was warm outside & of course had to be cold in the area the skating was to keep the ice from melting, thus creating the fog around it.

 

This is of Wesley and his new tractor he got from pa & grandma. He was giving Tiger a ride.

 

In our backyard. It's very hard to get a family picture of both boys looking at the camera.

 

Luke's dedication

We dedicated Luke to the Lord last Sunday. Mark's mom & dad were here,my mom & dad, & my grandma. Brother Gillespie dedicated him, our associate pastor. He actually married my parents back in 1978 so we've known him for many years. My dad and Mark's dad actualy dedicated Wesley, but we thought it would be meaningful for brother Gillespie to do it. He's a special man. Here are some more pics.

This is of Wesley in Moultrie, Ga. riding the ponies.

 

Pops, Wesley, & Luke. As you can see, Wesley was not in the mood to have his picture taken.

 

My grandma,ma,holding Luke. This was the first time she had seen him.

 

Luke getting dedicated by brother Gillespie.

 

Adventures in pottytraining

Last week, we got home one night from somewhere, & Wesley told me he had to go pee pee. So, I asked him if he wanted to go sit on his potty and he said yes. He was very enthusiastic about it. So, he went to sit down and immediately peed. We were so excited and made a real big deal out of it. We gave him candy, stickers, he even got to push a button that plays music as a reward. Well, he seemed happy and I keep telling him if he starts going, he can wear big boy underwear with CARS, Thomas, or Go Diego on them. We even looked at them at Target one day. Well, now he gets real upset if I ask him if he needs to go sit on his potty. He says, "don't go potty anymore." He doesn't like having a wet diaper and can't stand having a dirty one. I guess he's just going to have to go when he's ready. Either that or he'll still wearing diapers when he's 18. Here's Wesley giving a thumbs up right after he went.

 

We had a good Thanksgiving. Mark's mom & dad came Wednesday night and stayed through Sunday afternoon. While they were here, Mark & his dad worked on a swingset for Wesley,& Luke, in the backyard. (I always tell Wesley its not just his but also Luke's in hopes that it will prevent future fights). Actually, it was a used one from someone at our church and just needed to be fixed up a little. That night, we went to Moultrie, Ga. for their christmas celebration in the downtown area. They have it every thanksgiving night. They have pony rides, santa, santa's reindeer, and a bunch of light displays. The line to sit on santa's lap was ridiculously long so we didn't even attempt it. Wesley said he didn't want to sit on his lap anyway. We'll try the mall later:) He also said that he didn't want to ride the ponies but as we were about to leave, he decided he wanted to. Here's Wesley ringing the bell on his new swingset.

 

Thursday night, after I had read Wesley his books and tucked him in for bed, I heard him saying "mommy,mommy," over and over again. So, I went in his room and he said "made a big mess." I turned on the light and he had thrown up all over his bed, his stuffed animals, everything. He has never done that before. He has had a few upset stomach's since he's been born but not this much. He hadn't wanted to eat hardly anything that day. So, Mark and I cleaned up everything and he woke up at 4:00 with a REALLY BAD diaper. He never threw up again but had diarrhea and a bad diaper rash from it. It's getting better now. It's never fun when their sick.

Here's Luke laying on our palm tree pillow.

 

Mark, his mom, & Luke in Moultrie.

 

Flu shots

We all got our flu shots on Tuesday, except Luke, who is still too young. You have to be at least 6 months. Wesley did real good and cried just a little until he got stickers and a sucker, then he was fine. Every once in a while during the day he would whine and say it hurt. Then he wanted me to kiss it and he would be fine. Kissing his boo boos always seems to work.

Well, its starting to get really cold now. Even though I don't particularly like cold weather, it makes me get more in the "holiday spirit and mood." Pops and Nana(mark's parents), are coming down for thanksgiving this year. Then, that Sunday we are going to have Luke dedicated. I'm sure I'll have some pictures to post of that. We're having a thanksgiving dinner at our church this sunday, which we do every year. This time of year always seems to be so hectic, crazy, and busy(I couldn't think of just one good word for it)! I think we have something going on every week in december. I ask myself, is all of this in celebration of Jesus's birth or something else? I always tell Wesley that all the christmas decorations are for Jesus's birthday. Now, whether that's true or not for some people, I think its very important for us to instill in him, at such a young age,& Luke too, the true meaning of Christmas.

Wesley before church one Sunday morning.

 

I posted in an earlier post of Wesley in the washer. He has always been hesitant to get in the dryer for some reason. He finally was brave enough to risk it :)

 

I could not belive that Wesley put his arm around Luke for me to take a picture. I was so happy.

 

I thought this was so funny how Wesley is looking at Luke. He is like "that's enough."

 

Alot has happened since my last post. We went trick or treating on halloween and had a great time. I don't know who had more fun, Mark and I or Wesley. Luke came along too but slept the whole time. Our church had a fall festival and had a bunch of games and stuff like that. I went on the hay ride with Wesley, which he really enjoyed. His favorite things were the bouncy thing with a slide, and the putt-putt game. We also went to our local fair here Thursday night and had a great time. My dad watched Luke and then our friend from church came and watched him the rest of the time, so my dad wouldn't have to travel home late. This is the first year where he could really ride all the kiddie rides.

Luke had his 2 month check up today and got his first shots, which I hate. He is not a big crier, and when he does cry, its just a little cry here and a little cry there. Well, today was the most I had ever heard him cry. I felt so sorry for him. I hope he doesn't have any major side effects from it. Well, anyway, we were shocked to see that Luke weighed 15lb. 4oz and was 24 1/2 inches! Wesley, at 2 months weighed 13lbs. 8oz. and was 24 inches. So, Luke is heavier than Wesley was at this age and just a half an inch taller. He's a big boy. Here are some recent pics.

Luke in a hat that use to be Wesley's.

 

Wesley on a ride at the fair.

 

I'm making a sound here that always makes his eyes get big & he looks all around, wondering where its coming from.

 

Thumbs up on the ferris wheel.

 

Halloween Costumes

I just had to write about this. I've seen several news stories this year about halloween costumes for little girls and teen girls becoming "too sexy." I'm dumbfounded at the absolute stupidity, yes stupidity of people who make costumes for this age group. Now, I don't agree with grown women wearing these costumes out in public either but right now, I'll just talk about young girls. There is so much wrong with this that I don't know where to begin. People wonder why we have so many sex offenders, child predators, rape, & child pornography. Duh! Because this kind of mess continues to go on. No wonder some grown men are attracted to little girls b/c they are not even allowed anymore to be "little girls." Women now are suppose to look like girls and girls are suppose to look like women which means there's a hard distinction between what is a child and what is a grown-up. It's also going to put in young girls minds that they are always trying to impress men and that if they wear a certain thing, no matter the age of the man, he will think she's cute thus resulting in the possibility of dire consequences, i.e.,rape.

I know that this is an issue that I'm sure God is very, very sad about. God did not create women to be mere sex objects, but women are created in the image of God. Is this what the image of God looks like? Women are called to a higher calling than this and I wish that all women, & men for that matter, everywhere could take a stand against mess like this. In the meantime, I guess the only thing we can do is to pray. It's as simple as that, pray.