Christmas in Louisville

Joseph
Luke
Grande Nona and JosephRonan Daniel LehockyGrande Nona with Joseph and Ronan Susan with Joseph, Ronan and LukeJeremy, Catherine, Joseph and RonanUncle Ron, Aunt Peg, Joseph and RonanUncle George, Barbara and JosephJay, Megan and JosephHeather, Dan, Joseph and RonanUncle Ron, Joseph and RonanFireman Luke

Thanks Uncle Ron for the Pictures!

Merry Christmas!

We have had a very fun and exciting Christmas. We left Tuesday afternoon driving through the freezing rain and headed to Reese's, my mom, in Mississippi. The weather got better and the boys did great the entire 8 1/2 hours in the car. We arrived in Oxford around 11:30 pm. Luke was so excited that it was impossible to get him or Nebo, my dad, to calm down and go to bed. Finally around 2:30 am everyone crashed for the night.

Christmas Eve we had a wonderful dinner with the entire family. My family has gotten so big in the past two years that we now have a kid's table in the kitchen. That night we put cookies and milk out for Santa. Luke was very distressed that he couldn't have any of the cookies. He hasn't grasped the entire Santa thing or that Christmas morning is when we open presents. Christmas morning he came running down stairs. Jeremy showed him that Santa ate the cookies leaving half of one. Luke grabbed the cookie and started eating it wondering where the rest of the cookies were. Still not understanding today was the day to open presents. So we were able to wait for my sisters, brother-in-laws and nephew to get there without holding Luke down.
OK! Finally, Presents! Santa was very good to Luke bringing him what he asked for. He asked for a Batman, Superman and Spider man. Batman being the one he really wanted. He also got snow boots, hat and gloves, seat belt (belt) and Superman pj's. He was so excited about the pj's. They went straight on and stayed on for 2 days. He really didn't care about Batman but has replaced his "B" and "Duck" blankets with Superman.
Day 2 as Super Man! We all had fun watching him open and play with his presents. We also had fun hanging out with my family and catching up with my aunt and cousin. We got to spend a great deal of time with Hayes. He is the happiest baby and oh so cute. He is five months and three times bigger than Joseph. Which is good for Joseph because he gets all Hayes' hand-me downs. After spending 2 days loading the car and driving 8 hours back, we are still trying to take down decorations, unpack and find homes for all the toys. We are so blessed with a wonderful and loving family. 2008 has been a wonderful year with many blessings. We thank God every day for everything he has given us. We look forward to all the adventures and blessings that the new year will bring. Happy New Year!

Really Behind!

OK! I am really sorry that I am SO behind on updating. I also need to apologize for the lack of pictures, but those will come later.

Joseph is 5 weeks old! He is becoming more alert, tracking our voices and following us with his eyes. He has grown to 6 pounds 14 ounces. He has a great appetite and is eating copious amounts compared to his brother at the same age. He continues to be very laid back and sleeps wonderfully. Yeah! When Joseph was born, Reese helped us out around the house and had fun with Luke. One of Reese's activities for Luke was slicing and baking cookies. Luke loved it, so I decided to try it as well. I got the step stool out, the dough, rolling pin, flour and cookie cutters. OK, we are ready. Luke climbed up on the counter, which eliminated the need for the stool. I explained process of rolling the dough on the flour to prevent sticking, and Luke seemed to understand that alright . He then asked for the knife because he needed to cut the dough. I eventually convinced him that was the purpose of the cookie cutter. After a few licks and bites of the dough and getting flour everywhere, we still managed to cook a dozen cookies. When it came time to decorate the cookies, he just ate the icing off the cookies and asked for more. It snowed on Tuesday. Luke stayed home from school and went sledding in the neighbor's yard. Despite the bitter cold, he really enjoyed himself. When Thursday came around, Mommy needed to get some errands done, which meant Luke needed to go back to school. It was a fight to get him there, but I am glad he went. When I picked him up, he was so excited because Santa had come to school that morning. According to his teacher, Luke knocked his friends out of the way to be first in line to sit on Santa's lap. I was shocked. Normally, he abhors people in costume and was scared of Santa last year. Not this year though.

Luke has been pretty reasonable with his Christmas list this year. He told Santa he wanted toys for Christmas. Easy enough. Jeremy asked Luke what he wanted for Christmas, and Luke replied, "snow boots, hat, gloves and a seat belt (belt)." When I asked Luke, he said he wanted Spider man and Batman. I guess Luke is making sure that he doesn't get the same thing from everyone.

When we got home from school on Thursday, Luke decided it was time open presents since he saw Santa. Sorry Hayes but he got your present. I did re-wrap it.

Thursday night, Jeremy and I had our first date since becoming parents of two children. We braved the crowds at Toys-R-Us to Christmas shop and then went to dinner. Wild night out!

Friday, Luke's friends came over to play and have lunch. There were six children ranging from two to three year olds and five babies ranging nine months to five weeks old. It was so much fun and every toy was out. While every toy was out, I saw toys I had not seen in months. We decided to give these neglected toys away to some kids that might give them more attention. As an added bonus, we made room for Luke's new Christmas toys.

Friday night, we went to Jeremy's firms Christmas party, and then went out to an Irish pub with some of Jeremy's co-workers. Surprisingly, Jeremy and I made it out to 11:45. That is pretty good for us these days.

Saturday, we went to Louisville to celebrate Christmas with Nona and visit with Luke's Great Grandmother, Aunts, Uncles and cousins. Everyone met the newest members of the family. Not only was Joseph introduced, everyone got to see and hold Dan and Heather's one week old baby boy, Ronan. I forgot our camera, so pictures will be coming later compliments of Uncle Ron.

It has been a fun and busy week. Now, we are headed south to Mississippi to Reese's for Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Understanding Christmas

Christmas time is my favorite time of the year. I love the season, decorating and being with family. I decided that we would not decorate, maybe put out the wreath, this year since we were having a baby. I tried to do some shopping before Joseph's arrival but didn't succeed. Jeremy hates shopping at Christmas, so I normally do all the shopping. But this year he has helped tons by shopping on the Internet. He and Luke even went out on Black Friday. I thought he was crazy but he called 20 minutes later and said they were on their way home. It was unbelievable out there.

We are still trying to get back into routine and figure how Joseph fits into the schedule of the day. So, Jeremy and I decided not to get a tree. But Luke is at the right age to understand Christmas and is very excited. Every tree we see or walk pass, Luke has to touch and smell it. He has really enjoyed the tree at his school and all the ornaments. Most of them are super heroes, which means Luke wants super heroes on his tree. He knows that Christmas is something fun, exciting and has presents. He knows that we are going to Oxford for Christmas but he is having trouble understanding the time frame. He ask everyday several times if we can go to Reese's for Christmas today. We have put up the advent calendar and open a window each day and talk about how many more days until Christmas.

Last Thursday he asked me some questions throughout the day. "Do you want Christmas?" , "Do you need Christmas?" and one more. So that evening Jeremy and I decided to get a tree for Luke. On our way racing to the tree lot, Luke asked "Do you buy Christmas?" We then talked about how Christmas was Jesus's birthday. He said "No, it is my birthday." We will continue to teach Luke the meaning of Christmas but for now he is just very excited. We helped Luke pick out a tree and tied it to the top of the car. We decorated the tree on Saturday. Luke really loved looking at all the ornaments and hanging them on the tree. This was such a special moment. I am glad that we decided to decorate and enjoy the season.