Luke's First Day of Pre-K

A week after Jimmy and Ben started school Luke started Pre-K. He loves it! But he definitely loves the playing part more than the learning part! I guess that doesn't make him any different than most other kids. :)

First Day of School 2011

We had a great summer but like all good things it had to come to an end eventually. Now the boys have all started another year of school. Jimmy is in 3rd grade this year and Ben is in 2nd. Luke started pre-K but he started a week after Jimmy and Ben. My little boys just keep getting bigger and bigger!!

Here is Jimmy with his friend Josh. They are really excited to be in the same class this year.

Here is Ben with his friends Kaleb and Jacob. They were in the same Kindergarten class last year and now they are together again.

When they got home from school I surprised them with a back to school pencil cake. I kind of got the cake decorating bug this summer. The cake looked a lot cuter online but the kids enjoyed it regardless of the mistakes I made.

End of the Summer Bonfire

Last weekend before school started we decided to go to the beach and have a little bonfire as a family. It was so much fun. We've been here for 3 years and we totally should have done this before now. It was a perfect end to the summer. You really can't go wrong with a beautiful sunset, the ocean, and s'mores. Oh yeah, and a raging fire to keep us warm.

The boys liked to pretend their roasting sticks were guns or spears or something violent and grotesque like that. Oh well, at least they weren't poking each other.

I think I have a little pyro on my hands. He couldn't get enough of the fire. I'm in trouble - or maybe I should say his scout leaders are in trouble. ;)

I don't think I've seen my boys this dirty before. This picture doesn't truly capture it. It was pretty bad. I had to scrub my tub really good the next day to get it all out. But it was totally worth it. (I can't remember why Ben is crying but he really did have a good time while we were there.)

Breakfast in Bed

I think I am seriously the luckiest mom in the world. I have three of the sweetest little boys. One morning my amazing little boys decided to make me breakfast in bed all by themselves. Jim had already gone to work so I figured that they would make me something simple like cereal. But these resourceful boys made me strawberry waffles with whip cream and mango orange juice. Jimmy loves to cook with me and he has helped me make waffles before but when he told me that he wanted to do it all by himself I was a little skeptical. But I relinquished control and let them have at it. I wasn't expecting much but it turns out that they made me the best strawberry waffles that I have ever had. When I said that to Jimmy he said, "Do you know why Mom?" I said, "no, I don't know." He said, "because they were made with love." That melted my heart and made me cry. I was so proud to call those boys my sons. I think they are the best!!

Bike Riding

A while back in the spring our kids bikes got stolen (one of the many joys of living in LA). Our neighbor gave us a bike that is just the right size for Ben and it didn't have training wheels so we thought it was time for him to learn. He is doing a great job on his new bike and seems to really like going fast. Unfortunately, we don't have many open places to ride our bikes (yet another wonderful thing about LA) so we have to go to the church parking lot. Recently, we discovered that the UCLA campus is also a great place to go. We went on Labor Day because there was hardly anyone there and the campus is beautiful. Much better than the boring church parking lot. One day I hope we will live in a normal neighborhood where my kids can ride their bikes. I can dream anyway.

Ben doing a victory jump for his new found success of riding a bike!

The other two wanted to join in on the celebration. I love how excited my boys are about life. I really hope that they never lose that spark!

Luke got a new bike for his birthday. He loves riding his bike and he's been riding it around so much that his legs are getting really strong. He can climb the hills really well.

Luke the Ladybug

Grandpa Garfield had some fun with Luke at the beach when they were visiting this summer. If you ask me, I think he's the cutest ladybug ever!

Happy Birthday Luke

I can't believe my baby is 4 years old!! He is just growing up way too fast for me. Because of his older brothers, he has a serious obsession with Star Wars. It's kind of sad that he skipped the cars, trains, and planes stage and went straight to the violent stuff. :( But I guess that's what happens when you have older brothers.

I tried to talk him into letting me make him a Diego cake or a jungle animal cake of something suitable for a 4 year old, but he insisted on Star Wars. So I made this Death Star cake. It took me 10 hours, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (well not really any tears), and a few cuss words (mostly just in my head though). It was very challenging but also very fun to make. Luke was happy with it and that's what counts. The sun was a little bright. That's why no one seems to be looking at the camera.

Luke is an amazing little boy. His beautiful blond hair and blue eyes elicit comments from so many people when we are out in public. (Especially from cute little elderly Hispanic ladies.) He is a little shy but becomes friends with almost everyone he meets. He loves to wrestle and play with his brothers and can actually take them down pretty good. He learned every character and ship in Star Wars before he ever learned his colors, alphabet, and numbers. (Don't think I'm a bad mom for that one. He got most of that from legos, his brothers, and books - not the movies.) His favorite food is ramen noodles and if I can get him to eat a vegetable I am lucky - it doesn't happen very often. He loves his brothers and always sticks up for them. Last but not least, he gives the best hugs ever - the kind where he wraps his little arms around my neck and holds on like he doesn't ever want to let go. It melts my heart!!

We Love you Luke!
Happy Birthday!