FINALLY

SIGH...

Finally I made it through my long month of being a single mom while Lance worked in Lisbon.

And finally I got to go on vacation with Lance and only Lance (yes, no kids!)

And finally I made it back to Portugal after 7 years.

And finally I am posting our pictures from our trip!



As many of you know, Lance started out his summer this year by working at the biggest law firm in Lisbon for a little externship. I first agreed to this plan because we decided I would bring the kids over after two or three weeks and hang out there while he finished up his work, then we'd all tour around a bit. So plans were made. Then after much consideration we realized how much better it would be without trying to drag two little kids through 18 hours of flying and layovers and then all over Lisbon. This was, in fact, a much better plan. The one drawback was that my plan of 2 1/2 weeks alone with kids turned into 4! Oh well. I made it through and then got to meet up with Lance for a great vacation! So here we are. There are a lot of pictures here, all of which are of us just posing in front of different backgrounds. Sorry if they get boring after a minute.



We started off by visiting The Algarve since that was all we ever heard about as missionaries in the summer. Everyone kept telling me I should go to The Algarve! So we went. It was beautiful, though we didn't exactly have perfect weather. At least we got a little sun :)

We got to do a little diving while we were there. Aside from the cold water and nauseating water swells it was great.

This is in Silves in the Algarve--a cute little town with a castle (like most little towns in Portugal :) That's why they're so awesome)

Silves Castle entrance

Lance would have been quite useful in defending the castle...

...especially with THAT sword

You can't go to Lisbon without going to Sintra. Okay, well we actually didn't go into the biggest attraction, Palacio de Pena because it was too late and it was closing. But we have both been there so we went through the Moors Castle which was new to us both. It was very cool. We climbed the stairs of two very tall battlements. This is me at the top of one battlement--you can see the top of the other battlement we climbed and Palacio de Pena in the background.

Before the climbing began. See? I'm still smiling :)

Lance was really disappointed that they didn't have any sort of layout or description of what the castle had looked like before falling into ruin. He was pretty sure he got this one room right, though.

Trying to get in? Trying to get out? I don't know.

Just some room. We have lots of these pictures. Us standing in front of some ruined part of the castle. It was really cool to see, though.

See? More standing in front of ruined castle.

And still more....
But that's the last one I'll share. Just imagine more of the same of that stuff.

Of course we had to see the Torre de Belem. Cool as always.

This is what happens when you don't have more than two people in your party. Two pictures exactly the same with each person.

Descobrimentos--Lisbon's shout out to all the Portuguese explorers. Also always cool. BUT, what was different from the last time I was here was that we could go to the top!

And here is the view from the top. See that tiny person at the bottom of the map? That's me :) Lance waited at the top while I sprinted down... yes, I said sprinted...

The elevator was broken so we had to hike the stairs. The good news? It was half the price to get to the top. :)

And Jeronimos--what an amazing cathedral! I recently read a historical fiction novel (Pillars of the Earth) about cathedrals being built in the 11th century so I had a whole new appreciation for this (not that this was 11th century, I think it was 16th). It's amazing what they were able to build so many hundreds of years ago.

Gardens at Jeronimos

More gardens at Jeronimos.

This was right outside Lance's office. I just liked the little pond/stream, the trees and the statues.

Campo Pequeno. This is where they do all the Bull Fighting! Sadly, we missed being able to attend a fight by one day. Poor planning!

More cool pracas (squares) with cool fountains and statues.

This is the "shopping" district/center. Translation: lots of crap stores (you know the stores I mean--rows and rows of magnets, pens, figurines and mugs and all that stuff that magically changes from souvenirs into crap as soon as it enters your home) and restaurant owners chasing after you with a menu.

And this was our last day. It just so happened that one of Lance's colleagues at the law firm was also a pilot and had some connection to the right people to be able to schedule a little flight for us with less than a day's notice to take a little tour over the coast. So we did it! It was the first time for both of us up in a small private plane.

The view was amazing! Of course pictures don't do it justice, but we got a lot of these anyway.

I thought of my dad the whole time and wished he could have been there. (Back in the day he flew his own little plane) He would have loved the whole thing.

This was one of our cute pilots

And this was the other pilot. They were both so cute and nice.

Okay. All done.

I feel like such a mom

Mom, Mikey and Luke get in the car. Mom in the driver seat, Mikey in car seat facing forward behind driver seat, Luke facing backwards in the middle. Here is how it typically shakes down:

Mikey: Mom! Lukey is kicking me! Luke's foot is on me! Can you tell Luke to move his foot?!
Mom: Mikey, Luke is too little to understand.
Mikey: Tell Luke to stop! Tell Lukey to stop!
Mom: Luke, stop putting your foot on Mikey.
Mikey: His foot is still touching me!
Mom: Luke, please stop touching Mikey.

...moments later

Mikey: Ahhh!!! Lukey scratched me! Can you tell Lukey to stop scratching me!
Mom: Luke, stop scratching Mikey.

...moments later

Luke starts crying
Mom: Mikey...? What did you do?
Mikey covers his face
Mom: Mikey?!
Mikey: I just, I just put my foot up on him like this (Mikey puts his shoe up on Luke's head and face--again)
Mom: Mikey! Do not kick your brother in the face!

...moments later

Mikey: I don't want Luke's cup! He keeps putting his cup on me!
Mom takes away Luke's cup.

...moments later

Luke starts screaming
Mom: MIKEY! What did you do?!
Mikey silent
Luke still screaming
Mom: Mikey...? Did you hit Luke?
Mikey: I just, I just pushed him like this (poking Luke's face with his finger--again)
Luke still screaming
Mom: Mikey, stop touching your brother

Is there anything more mom-like then telling your kids to stop touching each other and to leave each other alone?

So Saturday morning, months of this finally broke me down. I had both kids in the car and went back inside to grab something. When I came back out Luke was crying... The result? Luke graduated early. Just one week early (and he's been over 20 lbs for months now). I couldn't handle them touching each other any more! Since Luke's car seat only works rear-facing in the middle...

...I turned him around!

I love seeing his cute little face in my rear view mirror now.

And he loves it, of course--being able to see where he's going instead of where he's been. And best of all, no more kicking, scratching and screaming.

Only problem is that he is much less reclined and so sleeping is not quite as comfortable. (But look how cute!)

Bath life without the bath seat

As I mentioned a little earlier, we have had to get rid of the bath seat for Luke as he is now too agile to stay in it. Prior to getting rid of the bath seat we had a bit of a splashing problem with Luke. Basically he wouldn't stop splashing. We finally had to turn his bath seat backwards since the bather (mom or dad) preferred to not get drenched. Also, since Mikey freaks out when even a drop of water lands in his face he doesn't appreciate the water flying everywhere.

So now that we don't have the bath seat anymore, what do we all think happened with the splashing.






Yes! WAY worse! Now he's all down in the water and gets a much deeper splash. And this video is from the first time without the seat. It gets worse every time! At first Mikey was able to stop the splashing momentarily by dumping a cup of water on his head--now it doesn't even phase him. Luke just splashes harder and faster throughout the whole bath. I can't even get his hair washed without getting completely drenched. At first Mikey actually thought it was funny when Luke would splash while facing backwards and get me and the floor wet, but now there is no escaping the splashing (I know, funny to be worried about the one who is actually in the tub and already wet). So my options at this point are to either hold the shower curtain or towel around Luke to shield Mikey from him so as to allow him a little splashing time in the tub (he loves it so much I can't bring myself to pull him out right away) or bathe the two boys separately. Sigh. Oh and of course have plenty of towels on hand to wipe down the bathroom.

Olá from Portugal

It's time for another Daddy post, though no cute Mikey sayings this time. I just wanted to say hi and let everyone know that I'm having a great time in Lisbon. I miss my hot wife and my chubby boys, but I'm past the halfway point, so I'll see them soon enough.

For those who don't know, I'm doing a legal internship with the largest firm in Portugal. I've had a LOT of work in both English and Portuguese, and they've been very good about letting me be involved and keeping me here 'til all hours.

Just to share a few funny things about Portugal that I had forgotten since my mission (8 YEARS AGO!). Every morning I walk by a nice lady who is mopping the sidewalk in front of the building where she works. Seriously, mopping the cobblestones...with a mop. This morning I saw a bunch of guys doing some kind of work on the side of a building, suspended by mountain climbing ropes and harnesses while using jackhammers and such. It was like watching a weird, giant puppet show with 9 or 10 of them dangling around up there. I also just saw a fire truck pass under my office window, and laying on top of it were two wooden ladders, like what we use to put up Christmas lights. In a city full of very few buildings less than at least five or six stories high, I'm not entirely sure what they're planning on doing with those ladders. Christmas is 7 months away.

Love, Lance

Never leave your kids alone in the bath...

Some of you may remember at Christmas when we got Luke a little bath seat so that he could easily bathe with Mikey and sit up and be safe. Well despite his now plentiful skills in all sitting, balancing, crawling and maneuvering, we have continued to bathe him in his seat just because it keeps him in place and I felt he was safer and more contained. So while bathing Luke, I don't really leave him ALONE, alone, but I usually do things like put laundry away in the rooms on either side of the bathroom and therefore walk back and forth in front of the bathroom.

So a few days ago I was doing just such a thing and needed something downstairs. So I looked in on him happily splashing away and sprinted downstairs for a sec. Well as soon as I got downstairs I heard a little "something" happen upstairs so I turned around and sprinted up. Now the bathroom is right at the top of the stairs and as you come up the stairs his little chair is centered in the door and normally you see his little face peaking over the bath looking back you. But his little face wasn't there! Even more panicked I reached the bathroom finally to see this:

The little stinker got out of his chair and was just standing there grinning at me as if he knew perfectly well he accomplished something new and something he maybe wasn't supposed to have done!

Being relieved, I started laughing at him and he quickly joined in. Well no more bath seat for this kid!

Walking?

I think we're still a little ways off from the real thing, but we're practicing and so cute doing it!

R&R in the Sun

One day, a few weeks ago on a particularly nice, warm day, the whole fam went outside for some R&R. It was fabulous and I was able to lay back and read a little while Lance played with the kids (as seen below). Well Mikey pays close attention. He immediately thought that was a great idea.
So he spent a good part of our time outside "relaxing" with his drink trying to lay just like mama--sunglasses and all.

The funny thing is, though, that now every time we go outside he starts pulling on two chairs for himself and asks for a drink. He insists that I join him which is great except that the boy has no sensitivity to cold--his mother is quite the opposite--and these requests often happen in the cold, wind and rain.

Mikey is quite the poser and hams it up for the camera. But here the swing had slowed down and Mikey didn't even notice that Lance and I were watching him. He just sat like this with his leg crossed for a good long while--contemplating something, I guess.

11 Months!

Little Luke is 11 Months old!

Luke just keeps crawling and climbing and cruising along furniture. He never wants to be alone and follows everyone around everywhere. The only problem with that is when someone goes up the stairs then back down Luke gets stuck up the stairs. He doesn't hesitate to let us know he's stuck.
He's a little like Bam-Bam. He loves to hit anything in his hands on any surface (including your face), but he especially likes things that make loud noises when hit.

He is the happiest little guy and frequently likes to show his now 5 teeth! Okay, the top front left and side left are barely showing, but they're there (and sharp!)

He especially likes to drink how we drink. He wants a cup if we're using a cup, wants a straw if we have a straw and wants Mikey's sippies when he has sippies.

Luke and Mikey definitely have a brotherly love relationship...meaning that they love each other, but sure get in each other's way often enough. Mostly Mikey is starting to get more demanding as Luke gets louder and more mobile. He demands that we tell Luke to be quiet, not put is foot here or his hand there and give back his toys (that's when Mikey's in a reasonable mood of course--other times he just grabs, pushes and yells himself.)

Couldn't love my boys more!

From the Mouth of Mikey

Kristy is still asleep, and I'm up with the boys, so it's time for a sneaky Daddy post. I was feeding Luke some breakfast, and Mikey was in the family room playing with his Noah's Ark flannel board. He called in and said the following:
Mikey: Hey Dad?
Me: Yeah?
Mikey: How come Mama keeps leaving her hairs all over my Noah boat?
Me: I dunno. I guess you'll have to ask her.
Amazing how much he and I are on the same page...Girls.

My Baby is Three!

I can't believe Mikey is three. On April 17th (and 18th) we celebrated Mikey's third birthday. Lance was in the middle of finals and Saturday (the 18th) was going to be a warmer day so on his actual birthday it was mostly just Mikey, Luke and me. Since blowing out candles is one of his favorite parts, he got to blow them out at every meal.

Lance had to stop studying long enough to eat, of course, so we all went to dinner (because Mikey asks to "eat at the restaurant" for every meal--should I be offended?) Then we had a few cupcakes since the big cake was coming the next day for his party.

I gave Mikey a few choices for his cake. He narrowed it down to a Fish cake or a Safari cake and went back and forth every 30 seconds. Once he decided on the safari cake (for longer than a few minutes) I had to hide all pictures and evidence of any thoughts of a fish cake so he wouldn't change his mind again!

He ended up being very happy with the Safari cake. (There's always next year for fish :)

On Saturday lots of Mikey's cousins and one of his good friends came for the party. The weather cooperated beautifully and we all had so much fun.

Here is the final cake. It was all I could do to stop Mikey from either adding even more animals or trying to make the alligator actually swim in the river.

Getting ready to blow out candles!

Mikey and Kate

And of course there was no shortage of helpers when it came to opening presents

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and presents and all the fun. It was a great celebration. (Mikey cried a few days later when I broke it to him that his birthday was now a year away.)

EASTER

A few days before Easter we did an Easter egg hunt at the park with some kids from the neighborhood. It was a little colder outside than I would have liked, but it could have been snowing and Mikey would have loved it just the same. After all the hunting, Mikey and Boston wanted to make sure none of the eggs had fallen into the river or anything.

Mikey contemplating the true meaning of Easter...or maybe just how to get that egg open.

EASTER MORNING

And here are just a few from Easter morning. Mikey loved it, Luke didn't notice anything was different. All in all, it was a good day. Happy Easter!

10 Months!

Okay, so if you're paying close attention, Luke was actually 10 months old almost a full month ago now (March 29th), but I'm obviously way behind. Now were this only for the viewing pleasure of others I would likely just start from here and continue forward, but since I consider this a journal-type thing for posterity purposes, forgive me for catching up when needed.


Well Luke continues to be the cutest thing in the house (as Mikey gets quite upset if you call him "cute." Warning to all, per Mikey, Mikey must be called "big," while Luke is to be called "cute.") The day after I posted Luke's 9 month entry, I was fishing something out of his mouth during church and discovered a little (razor sharp) tooth--front bottom right. I had no idea! (He had been sick the week before so it probably masked some of those signs.) He quickly got that second bottom, and then the top right followed shortly after that. So he's a three-toothed little biter, but still just so cute.
I really can't adequately explain how much Luke loves dad. When dad comes home he is literally bouncing of the ground (it's really something to see him "jump" while sitting flat on his bum as in the picture above.) It's just another reason why I love it when Lance comes home--seeing Luke's reaction.

He continues to work on his eating and drinking skills. He doesn't really get a ton of liquid out of a sippy on his own, but he loves to hold it by himself and he's getting better.

His crawling the two stairs to the kitchen quickly turned into more. The first time I found him, it had been quiet for a little too long so I ran around the corner to see this....

He is FAST now and he does a great job, but I never stop worrying because it's hard wood floor at the bottom of these stairs and I just keep imagining him falling all the way down! We didn't have stairs when Mikey was in this stage so this is new to me. He really is great at it, though. We love, love, love Luke!

Best one yet

Yes, we have shown many pictures of Mikey and Luke falling asleep in funny places and funny ways. I've decided that it is because our kids absolutely HATE going to bed! They push and push until they collapse. And here Mikey has done it again. He was supposed to go down for a nap, but insisted on eating something first. He sat at the counter and ate his food and then started to climb down the stool. This is as far as he got....

We laughed at this forever before we could move him. He was so out that we were even able to slide the stool around in order to get the best angle for the picture. So funny.

9 Months!

Luke is 9 months old!

As mentioned earlier, this month he learned to crawl. And as of three days ago, he can also climb the two stairs from the family room to the kitchen (see below).
On a less good note (well, less good now, more good later--yes, more good) he suddenly decided that he hates binkies. For the first 8 months of his life, he loved them! Then suddenly he was absolutely offended when offered the thing. So getting him to sleep at times is much harder than it used to be. But hey, no weening later, right? (That's what I keep telling myself).

The stair climbing, while cute, of course now makes things a little more tricky for me...meaning I have to watch him more closely. Once in the kitchen he goes straight for the dog food and water or turns back around and looks like he wants to head back down the stairs. Sigh.

Brothers

Mikey and Luke never seem to tire of each other (okay, rarely seem to tire of each other). Mikey loves entertaining Luke and Luke loves to be entertained. I never tire of watching them. Love my boys!

Oh great. Mikey's nakedness is rubbing off on Luke. But cute picture, right?

From the Mouth of Mikey

We haven't had a Daddy entry in a while, so I thought I'd make this contribution. This was awesome. This morning Luke was being particularly loud and Mikey particularly messy in our bed, so I took them both downstairs a little before 7am to let Kristy get a bit of sleep. We ventured out into the hall, and Mikey started down the stairs, at which point the following conversation ensued:
Mikey: "I can't see anything. It's dark all over the place"
Daddy goes over and turns on the hall light
Mikey: stops in his tracks and says, "Wow. These are really nice stairs. Daddy, these are really nice stairs!"
Daddy steps back into the bedroom and tells Mama what Mikey said. When he comes back out in the hall, Mikey is at the bottom of the stairs.
Mikey: "Daddy, these are really pretty nice stairs. That's why Mama had to make these nice, pretty stairs."
Daddy: "Did Mama make these stairs?"
Mikey: "Yup. She sure did."

Priceless, this kid.