Circus!

February 21st our family joined the Stephenson's (Geoff, Kristi, & Alec) to go see the circus! Alec is Luke's best buddy that he met at his preschool. Ringling Brother's was in town and we were hoping Luke would enjoy it (and not be scared as is his usual M.O. around large real or pretend animals).
We made the outing even more fun for the boys by riding MARTA down to the arena.

Clowns sure have become less scary as I have gotten older, and not because of age, because they no longer wear ridiculously oversized clothes and shoes or shoot water out of a flower at unsuspecting children. Just look at this friendly clown with Kristi and Alec. Ok so Alec looks a little frightened and Luke wouldn't get close enough for a picture, but I thought the clown was nice, especially when he later fixed Kristi's hair when Alec was on her shoulders :)

Luke on my shoulders

Pictures of Luke and Alec enjoying the show, sharing popcorn, clapping, and dancing!



Some of what we saw (most of my pictures were blurry)
Elephants!




The high wire act

Cannons, which really did shoot out two women

Tigers!

This act was our favorite, these guys spun around on these circles as the whole thing moved around and around. They jumped up and down it as well.

By the end of the show the boys had climbed on Geoff and Kristi's laps

The grand finale!

Thanks Stephenson's! We had a great time.

February pictures of Luke

No surprise, I am again far behind in blogging! Here are some pictures of Luke from February to hold you over until I find time to post about our next adventure, the trip to the circus, which was in mid-February!







Hmm, we might need to do something about that pacifier.

And, here is the best thing we bought this month!

It is so much better at getting Noah's hair than our Roomba. We haven't used the Roomba since.

I also tried this:

It was ok, but I prefer the current version of Pepsi.

Coke Museum

In January, Uncle Neil and Ansev visited us and we all went to visit the Coke Museum. Luke had a good time watching the machinery move all the Coke bottles around and he did really well sitting through the movies they have you watch. He tried his very first taste of Coke (as well as a couple other international flavors which were...interesting). I'm glad to report he thought Coke was gross. So now when he wants a sip of my drink, I tell him its Coke and he squishes up his nose and says "Ew, gross!" Wouldn't it be wonderful if he always thinks it is gross :) The other thing Luke did NOT like at all was the large alive Polar bear that you could take pictures with. I really wanted us all to get a picture with the bear who was really funny, but Luke wouldn't get near it. Surprise suprise, right? Josh held him off to the side while Neil, Ansev, and me got our picture taken with the bear.
After the museum, we had lunch at the Varsity. Thanks for visiting us Uncle Neil and Ansev!

Remembering my Mummu

Today the Lord called my Mummu home to be with Him. Mummu (Finnish for Grandma) is my Mom's mom. I am thankful that she is at peace and restored in Heaven. A few of my fondest memories of my Mummu are her sense of humor and her laugh, our shared love of green jello and cottage cheese, and how she used to play with my hair when I was a little girl. I love you Mummu and await the day I'll see you again!

Mummu pictured here with Luke and my Dad in August 2008.

Requested by Uncle Neil

Luke's uncle Neil has been pestering me for a new video of Luke. This was bathtime tonight. This is for you Neil :)

More from our visit to FL for Christmas

While home for Christmas we kept busy! It was too bad that Josh had to go back to work, but the rest of us (me, Luke, and Noah) got to stay for a few extra days in the warmer FL weather! We went to Parksdale Farms in Plant City to enjoy strawberry shortcakes (a Lustila tradition). I couldn't get Luke to eat any of the one we were going to share, so I had to eat it myself, bummer :) I did manage to get him to sit on my lap for a picture on the strawberry throne!

Luke and I took a trip to Orlando to meet my friend Melissa and her son Logan. This was the first time I had a chance to see Logan and I was so excited! After we got stuck in I-4 traffic going by Disney World,we made it to the Mall of Millenia and got to have lunch and visit for a bit. So fun!

Luke was helpful around my parent's house
And he did a bit of modeling for the camera
Wrapping up the trip, here is a picture and video of Luke riding the "tractor" that he was fascinated with the whole time we were home. He was in heaven riding with his papa!

Ed rocks the accordion

Luke's Papa (Josh's Dad) has played the accordion since he was a young child. I have known Ed since 1996 and this Christmas marked the third time that I have seen him play it! Although he thought he was rusty, the small crowd he performed for on Christmas day thought he was great! He played several Christmas carols for us and then played his special trick...Lady of Spain. This is special because it is a difficult song by itself, but Ed plays it blindfolded, wearing gloves, with a cloth over the keyboard! Luke thought it was awesome! He watched with much excitement and cheered like the rest of us for his Papa. Here is the video I promised of Ed playing Lady of Spain:


Thanks for the treat Ed! Hopefully it won't be so long til we hear you play again!