18 months

Dear Luke-

You turned 18 months old yesterday! And to celebrate, we went to Disneyland! Okay, thats not really how it went. But we did go to Disneyland! For Thanksgiving we planned on going to California with Grandpa and Grandma Gatter and uncle Brandeis and aunt Jerilyn. We wanted to go to Knotts Berry Farm to see Snoopy and Charlie Brown and after a day of fun there, we thought, "Why not go to Disneyland tomorrow?!" Well...it was really fun BUT super super crowded. Needless to say, we will need to go back soon to do more stuff and meet Mickey! You did get to see Mickey in the live "Disney Jr." show at California Adventure. (But he was a puppet which is not as cool as the REAL LIVE Mickey.) We have had such a fun couple of months and LOTS has happened since I last wrote to you when you turned one. You are such a big boy now and I call you my toddler instead of baby. We had an eventful summer and were almost traveling the whole time. We went camping with the Jones family to Capitol Reef. We went to Moses Lake, Washington where you first learned to walk! And, we went to Heber multiple times to visit the cooler weather. Oh, and Grandpa and Grandma Jones. ;) I got a job part time as a Medical Assistant so you go to your friend Landon's house 3 days a week and you LOVE it. You love him. You pretend to call him all the time with any phone you see..."Hi landy..." It's the cutest. I miss you when I'm at work, but it's good for both of us to play with people our own age. For Halloween you were Elmo, and after the first house of trick-or-treating you totally caught on and knew what you had to do to get candy. You thought it was pretty cool! You have changed so much in the last 6 months. Here are things you love:

-Yo Gabba Gabba, Mickey Mouse, Elmo, and Toy Story!

-Grapes, quesadillas, chocolate milk, raisins, and pop tarts.

-Balls, blocks, slides, balloons, blankets (hide and seek/peek a boo), phones, and books

Words you can say:

-No No

-Nigh Nigh

-Bye Bye

-Di (Drink)

-Nak (snack)

-Uh-oh

-Mama

-Dada

-Bapa (grandpa)

-Maama (grandma)

-Landy (Landon)

-Play (plane)

-Ba (bath)

-Baba (Yo gabba gabba)

-Bee (Mickey...for some reason, we don't know.)

-Was tha (Whats that) or Wasis (What's this)

-Staw (Star)

-Choo-choo

- And your FAVORITE word (and everyone else's around you because it's so funny) "Oh oh oh!" When you are excited or see something new or exciting, you point and say " oh oh oh oh!" Like a monkey, It's funny. :)

You still are our best buddy even though we have our moments. You get time outs now, and you know what they mean. Which is sad. I don't want to have to start disciplining you because you are still my little baby but in reality, you aren't so we have to start sometime. You know what "no" means and you know when you shouldn't be doing something, so you are old enough for time outs. We are finally getting around to making a cute room for you. You've never really had a "put-together" nursery or room since you've been born since we have moved so much and have had other house projects that needed done. Once we re-do your room, we will probably put you in a big boy bed because you know how to get out of your crib, and it's by falling out! Not a very good idea, buddy!

We love you so much, Luke! So much has happened in the last 6 months and I know the next 6 will FLY by and you will be 2. So crazy. Here are some fun pics from the weekend and halloween!

Playing silly faces with mommy at Red Robin

And peek-a-boo with Daddy

Looking handsome for church

Painting your pop pop (pumpkin)

Cutest elmo I've ever seen...





Helping daddy put up our Christmas tree! (Or our "tea")

And playing in the halloween costume box...this picture is funny.

Waiting in line to ride the train in Knotts Berry Farm

Posing with all your toys that Uncle Brandeis and Aunt Jeri won for you.

First carousel ride :)

Thanksgiving night 2011

Sleeping during Charlie Brown on Ice

In line for the haunted mansion

DISNEYLAND!!!

Riding the Haunted house ride, not sure what to think.

In line again...LOVE the decor.

This is your "pig face" super cute.

And once again posing with all your goodies!

PS...a funny story that I don't want to forget:

We got a bunch of fast passes the whole day because it was SOOO busy and we were there really late Friday night. As we were waiting in line to ride Soarin' Over California, daddy went to get you a Mickey Mouse balloon because you had been pointing and squealing at them all day. He came back with one and you couldn't contain your excitement and just started shaking and saying "ooh ooh ooh!" You loved it. Sadly, when we were trying to tie it to the stroller, you got mad and thought we were taking it away and yanked it so hard the string came off. Luckily, we snatched it before it floated away. Daddy tied the string back on to Mickey's bow tie, and gave it back to you. You started SOBBING. (You were extremely tired at this point so we thought that was what was wrong.) So I took you out of the stroller and walked over to a water fountain and you were fine. The instant we took you back and you saw your balloon, you started sobbing again. When we handed you the balloon you pointed to the string with your lip quivering. You KNEW it was broken! Haha...we couldn't believe that 1-you would notice something like that, and 2-it would bother you so much. You must have some of your daddy's OCD in you! After a while you forgot and loved it again. :) But it was pretty entertaining!

Murder Mystery Party #5

Drew and I started a FUN tradition our first halloween together, and have continued that tradition every year since! If you haven't ever been to/tried a Murder Mystery dinner or party, YOU NEED TO! They are a blast.

If you haven't heard of one or don't know what it is, here is a little run down. It's basically a "scripted" party where everyone is assigned a character and they come dressed as the character. There is a "script" that you follow that reveals certain clues and points of conversation and "evidence" that points to multiple characters as the "murder". (I am going quotation mark crazy right now....haha). Every year we get better and better at figuring out certain clues and paying attention to little details. But we still have a hard time figuring out who the murder is. Everyone gets really in to it and Drew and I have a blast planning the menu and decorations. (And choosing who is going to play who.) This year it was an Alice in Wonderland theme and was probably one of the most fun ones we have done, if not the FUNNEST! (I know it's not a word but there is not another word to describe the excellence of the night!) Here are some pics from previous years, and then from this year. Thanks again to all our friends that could make it! For those of you who couldn't, we missed you this year! See you next year hopefully!

This was our very first year when Drew and I were dating, 2007. The theme was winter ski resort.

This was our first Halloween married, 2008, and we didn't get a group shot :( The theme was a Luau.

This was in 2009 when I was first pregnant and not feeling great, but it was still super fun! It was a masquerade! Obviously..haha...


Last year, in 2010, was a Haunted House "workers" theme. We were all some type of monster. We held it in Drew's dad's barn in Cedar City. Super spooky and fun! :)

And finally, this year's pics! 2011, Alice in Wonderland. We all met in St. George at my parents home they just bought. Thanks again mom and dad! Enjoy :)

The tea party....there are cards and christmas lights and lanterns hanging...

Another view...

17 months

Just thought I would give a few quick updates.

Luke-

Luke will be 17 months old tomorrow. Can't believe he is almost a year and a half! We took him to nursery and he did so well, we left him and I'm happy to say we probably will/can from here on out! Church was a whole new experience without him. Haha...I love him and am sad my baby is growing up. But I am also happy that Drew and I can enjoy church again without passing our terrorizer back and forth. :) He is talking like crazy, sometimes (well most of the time) he doesn't make sense to anyone but himself, but atleast he is talking! He can say lots of different words and he understands almost everything we ask or tell him. He just has a hard time pronouncing things the right way. He'll get there, though. I think getting tubes has helped him hear the way things are pronounced better. So that should help. He is into everything and running around crazier than ever before! He loves to play outside and would rome around the whole neighborhood if we'd let him. He LOVES his best buddy Landon (his babysitters's baby who is just a few months younger than Luke) and they are learning to share and play together. Luke wont eat like he used to and I am hoping it's just a phase. He is picky now and only likes to eat at certain times of the day. Which makes sense because he is now a little person instead of a tiny baby who eats almost all day every day. It's just so hard figuring out a schedule when he is constantly changing! But we just adapt and change with him. He is so fun :)

Drew-

Drew is busy planning the Halloween Carnival at East Tech which is this Wednesday. (Those of you who live in Henderson/Vegas, please come!) Last year it was a huge success and this year will probably be even bigger! Go Drew and the Event Planning classes! He is loving teaching again this year and will start his Masters program in January. Hmm...what else.... :) He is still the cutest hubby ever! He bought these shower crayons and leaves me cute notes in the morning for me to wake up to.

Kylie-

I am loving my job more and more as time goes on. It is super fun and now that I know what I am doing I think I'm actually good at it! Haha. My boss and co-workers are all amazing and I am lucky to be a part of the company! They treat us very well! I was right about my head ache meds slowing down my weight loss, because as soon as I went off of them, I started to lose again. BUT THEN, my time of the month came around and caused another short stall. So total, I have lost 8 pounds. Which is good, but I am kinda stuck now. I keep fluctuating between 6 and 8 pounds lost and I can't seem to break it. So I am going to try a couple different things this week and hope to kick start another 8, and then one more set of 8! I have to admit the days I lose I feel awesome and so motivated, but weekends like this where I am STUCK just totally get the best of me. I don't even feel motivated and I just want to quit. But I know in the end, it will be worth it. So I'm going to try and stick it out. I really want to lose as much as possible and feel as good as possible before we start thinking about another baby...which honestly I hope is sooner than later. :)

And a quick update on Garrett. He saw the neurologist, who said he will need surgery, but it would require more testing to determine when. We all assumed that meant he should come home asap and continue the testing, and then decide where to go from there. My parents almost had their bags packed to go get him, and then his cardiologist in Salt Lake decided to get on a conference call with all the Docs that have been seeing Garrett in Cali. They all decided together, that his case isn't severe enough to make him up and go asap. He will need surgery, and will need to be watched closely, but another 2.5 months wont be a huge difference. My parents were able to talk to Garrett a few times, and I was able to over email, and we are all happy he gets to finish out his mission. He was very sad and discouraged that he might have to come home. So hopefully he will be okay and be able to tolerate his headaches for a little bit longer! I can't wait to hug him and tell him how proud I am of him!

Anyway, that's all for updates! We are going to St. George this weekend for our annual Murder Mystery party, so next post will be entertaining, I am sure. :)

October Happenings

I LOVE Fall. I just realized that this week. I usually am a Spring-time-lover but I think I might love Fall just as much. Maybe just because Fall in Vegas is wonderful because the weather is so so nice. All week it's been in the mid-70's and we have enjoyed going on walks and to the park and I finally started running again. Speaking of running...we had a lot of fun at the St. George marathon this year. We always have fun, though. :) My dad's shirt said this:
"25th and Final (and the final has an asterick by it that means "not my final if Kylie will run it with me next year..haha) Heart-check, lungs-check, knees-not so much. PR 2:42 1996 Favorite: Today"
And here is the one and only pic I got of the whole weekend of the kids. Haha. Jett was sharing his snow cone with Luke.

We have been super busy the past couple weeks so it was nice to have a night off from our busy schedules on Monday. We took Luke to a pumpkin patch a couple miles from our house. It had little kid rides and a petting zoo and lots and lots of pumpkins. Luke was in heaven running around looking at all the "ba"s (He thought they were balls. Actually, he calls anything that is round a ball..we're working on it. :)) Here are some pics from that:

And since I failed to blog about my weigh in last Saturday, I guess I can give the update now. I lost .8 last week, which I was happy with because I found out that my headache medication is known for causing either weight gain, or problems losing weight. SO, that being said, I am going to my doctor today to find out what other options I have. I have stayed EXACTLY the same this week, every single morning I check and the scale isn't moving. It's frustrating because I'm doing everything right and even started exercising more this week. So we'll get it figured out. And last but not least. Please keep my little brother Garrett in your prayers. He is on a mission in California right now, and has been struggling for a couple months with severe migraines. He has Marfan Syndrome, which he was diagnosed with years ago. To read about it go here. Basically he has lots of elastagen in his body (heart, veins, limbs, etc.). That's why he is so tall, and that's why he has to closely monitor his heart to make sure his aorta stays within normal limits as far as stretching and size. Well, his migraines got so bad that his mission president finally set him up with an MRI. The MRI found something called Chiari Malformation, which can sometimes happen in people who have Marfans. Not always, but of course, my little brother (since he is such a strong human being) has yet another trial to deal with. Chiari Malformation basically means the back of his skull is too skinny and long for his brain, and his brain is escaping and causing pressure on his spine and skull, causing headaches. He will have to have surgery, which will entail having a piece of his skull cut out to relieve the pressure. He is seeing a neurologist next week who will determine if the surgery can wait until he gets home in 2.5 months, or if he needs to come home now to have it. He is such a strong person, and has been such a great missionary. I know he is in good hands, and what needs to happen will be for the best. We love and miss him so much. I just wanna give him a hug! I can't wait to do just that. Whenever that time comes. ANYWAY, that was long. :) Just please pray for him! And here is a cute video of Luke and Drew playing.