Luke turns 3!

My little buddy is now 3!  And what a year it has been.  I am in awe of how much my little man has grown.  Luke is still my little charmer with plenty of hugs and kisses for his Mommy!  He truly is a mama's boy.  Oh don't get me wrong he LOVES playing, reading, and rough housing with his dad, but he is NOT one to miss his cuddle time with me.  Luke is learning new words and phrases each day.  Although he is hard to understand he gets his point across.  It has been great to see how much he has learned during our little 'preschool' time while Taija is at school.  And this boy loves to make crafts - more so loves cutting and gluing.  Luke adores Taija and puts up with Mika.  He has loved being one of the BIG kids in nursery at church.  Since moving to Delaware we have met some awesome 'boy' friends so Luke has been introduced to the wonderful world of super heroes, and good guys.  I LOVE it!

Luke is so fearless.  It is fun to watch Taija hide behind Luke (or rather convince him to go first) in new situations where she is timid.  It is official as he now outweighs Taija by more than a pound ;).  He is in the 80% for height and weight.  So glad that at least one of my children has hope of being on the taller side!  I can't wait to see what this year has in store for my little man...I LOVE you Luke and am so glad I get to be your mommy!

Tut Tut it Looks Like RAIN

The other day the kids were miserable being stuck in the house due to rain so I figured some puddle jumping was in order!

SUPER HEROES

For the upcoming Halloween festivities I bought the kiddos Super Hero costumes...and here are some pre-Halloween dress-up FUN!

What can I say??  When we get bored in the afternoon we save the world!

Pumpkin Hunting

Since it's Halloween time we decided to go in search of some pumpkins.  Linvilla Orchards seemed like a perfect place to go.  They had their Pumpkin Land up and running and the kids LOVED it.  We went on a hayride, picked pumpkins, walked through the market area and just had FUN.

And while we are discussing pumpkins I will post pics of our pumpkin carving fun...

 Please disregard the fact that my son has no pants on - we are attempting to potty train

Taija is 5!

I am not sure where the time has gone, but it seems as though I now have a 5 YEAR OLD!  How did this happen?!  It seems like just the other day that Justin and I made the decision that I was going to have a C-Section and the following day found us on our way to begin this journey called parenthood.  And what a journey it has been!!  I am not sure anyone really understands what they are getting themselves into when they decide to become parents.  It is one of the most challenging, but rewarding jobs.  I love being a mother, especially to my beautiful, smart, strong-willed, passionate daughter.

Taija has truly grown so much in the last year.  She is still as skinny as ever, but a bit taller, and quite a bit more courageous.  She really does LOVE to learn, and so far enjoys preschool.  She is not a bit shy.  LOVES to sing primary songs and boss her siblings around.  Taija is extremely good at trying my patience!  She gets in her mind that she needs to do something and NEEDS to do it RIGHT then. Needless to say since she has a younger brother and sister who also need my attention we have had a few meltdowns - although they are getting fewer and farther between.

Taija still loves to swim and dance and her new found obsession are HORSES.  Thanks to Pa and Grammy she has been taking riding lessons and is a natural if I do say so myself.  While she doesn't ALWAYS like to share she is really good at including Luke and Mika in any game she is playing - especially while pretending to be a puppy or horse.  It is not uncommon for Taija to be taking care of 'trout' (aka Luke) throughout the day, or 'red' or 'angus' the horses.  Since Pa taught her how to tie knots in ropes, Taija likes to play 'leash' and tie up her brother!

I am so grateful that Taija is a part of our family and look forward to many more years with this beautiful child I get to call mine!

These are the treats that Taija took to her preschool class...

Since Taija had a friend party last year we just invited our friends the Itri's over for cake and ice cream.  Since horses are her favorite it was obvious what her cake would be...

Happy 5th Birthday Taija Ane!

Grammy's Visit

Grammy came to visit us in the middle of September.  We had a ton of fun eating out, playing, and taking Grammy to some of our favorite places.  While she was here Justin and the kids took Grammy to see Thomas!  Luke was in HEAVEN!  He loves anything to do with trains and Thomas is one of his favorites.  Thanks Grammy for a wonderful adventure!

18 Months OLD

My baby is 18 months old!  It is crazy to think that I don't have a baby anymore!  Mika is growing up so fast!  It is so much fun to see her personality come through...especially with Taija and Luke.  Mika LOVES to play with them!  She especially LOVES to bug Luke...she will just wait for him to turn around or not be paying attention and she will sneak over and take whatever it is he is playing with.  Little STINKER!  Mika LOVES to climb on things!  She will pull a chair over to the counter just to get what she wants.  She is always watching to see what the other two are doing so that she can join in.  Mika loves her Daddy and always has a BIG smile and hug for him when he gets home.  She is a pretty independent player, but has to have someone in the same room with her.

Wish I could pause the time so that Miss Mika Mookers would stay this little forever, but look forward to the changes she will make and how much she will grow.  Sure do LOVE this little girl!

Taija goes to Preschool

After much debate, and several mind changes, Taija is finally enrolled in preschool.  She couldn't be more excited...this girl LOVES everything about school.  The weeks prior to her first day she constantly bugged me about going.  We would drive by it and she would start screaming that it was her preschool.  I am so happy that she likes going - it makes it a bit easier for me to send her.  Luke is loving the time he gets to spend with me, but he sure misses his Taija.  As all first days of school call for, here are the pictures before.