freedom

I saw this quote on my friend Cami's blog - here - and it resonated with me.
I thought it was worth sharing.
Not to mention that Ronald Reagan is the man - and Reagan is the name of my soon-to-be niece!

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the
United States where men were free."
Ronald Reagan - 40th president of USA (1911 - 2004)

translation please

Luke has gotten to a point where he is learning at least one new word every day.
However, these new words don't always sound the way they are supposed to.

Here are some examples:

sass: please
(imagine "sass" being said with your tongue sticking all the way out of your mouth, and the "s" sound only coming through the gaps in your teeth)

inky: stinky
(said while waving his hand through the air. Thanks Cor for teaching him that one)

sees: keys

duck: stuck or duck

shoot: hoop or shoot
(basically he wants to play basketball some more)
If it is said while handing you the ball - it means he wants you to shoot.

ock: could be Rock or Lock
depends on which is around / he is pointing to

ball-OOON: balloon - always said with much excitement

fwy: french fries / hamburgers

ice: could be ice or rice
depends which is around / he is pointing to

amp: stamp
(said while holding his fist in front of his face)
He gets stamps at the end of his gym class - it sometimes is the only bribery to
get him to behave the rest of class

rog: frog

Buke: Luke
(imagine it being said with a little bit of an "m" sound along with the "b" sound)

wook: work
this is where everyone is, when they aren't within eye sight.

izzit: usually means Bink.
Sometimes he says bink, but usually it's "izzit" I think he picked this up because he used to always lose his binkie and so we'd walk around saying "where is it?" when looking for it.

Bye: anything he wants to sit on.
chairs, benches, tables, the kitchen counter, the shelves at the store that are just his height....anything.
And I have no idea where this came from. I think it might be because if he wants a "bite" of something, he has to sit down in his chair. But that's the only possible explanation I can come up with.

Ib: his gf Libby.
He LOVES her. almost an obsession. Everyday he brings me my phone and says "ib ib ib" because he wants to see a picture of her. Or when we are at the computer, he grabs the mouse and says "ib ib ib" because he really loves her.

Dy: ty - anytime I'm on the phone and it isn't dad, it's dy.
He brought me my phone yesterday saying "dy dy dy where is he?" and when I said I didn't know where ty was, he said..."oh, wook."

was-at: What's that? said 500 times every day.

oink oink: (except really it's the oinking sound that is impossible to type) is a pig

eeeeeeee: is a horse. because that's the sound they make, duh.

Back: every time someone walks back into the room, he finds something he couldn't see before (such as a ball hidden behind a pillow, or a frog on a different page of the book is BACK when he finds it again) or anytime someone walks through a door - they are BACK!

Am: Amber

pa: grandpa

beebee: anyone being carried / every time he sees a car seat
it doesn't matter how old a person might be, if they are being carried - they are a beebee

Also, when asking a question (usually where something is) he simply states the word (like "ball" or "dad") with his arms raised out to the sides. Makes it difficult to know what he's saying unless you are actually looking at him.

Or if he knows he isn't going to get something he is asking for - like his bink when he isn't sleeping - he says "bink" while shaking his head no.
or "more" while shaking his head if he knows he isn't getting more of something.

He is turning into quite the little character. He has so much personality, it cracks me up every day. He makes me laugh so often. It is so hard to imagine my life without him here to brighten it up every day.

lukes pictures

So like I mentioned previously, my friend Janica took some fantastic pictures of luke a week or two ago.

Here are some of my favs.

Let's make this count a little as an 18 month update too...one post, easier!
Here are some great things Luke has been up to lately:
*learns a new word every day. sometimes I don't even know how he learns them
*he has found his loud voice...and his opinions
*he still loves basketball
*and fish. oh he loves fish. We frequent Cabelas to see their aquarium
*every animal with wings and/or a beak is a duck and every animal with four legs is either a pig, dog or horse.
*he gets crazier every day. cracks me up all the time.
*could "shoot" all day every day. oh wait...he does.
I think my favorite thing he says right now is "shootballshootballshoot" all really fast like it's one word. He just walks around saying it. Funny funny.
I'm sure there's more, that's just all I can come up with now.

Dear Luke,
It amazes me, and kind of makes me sad that you won't remember these first few years of your life. They have been monumental, and had such incredible impact on my life, as well as so many people around you. We have so loved having you around and having you to teach us so many important things about life, and what really matters. You are a great little boy; full of curiosity and a desire to learn things. You say "whatsat" ALL the time. It almost makes me crazy, until I think about how much I love that you love to explore and discover new things.
You are still my little buddy, regardless of the power struggles we tend to find ourselves in on an all-too-regular basis. You have a hard time accepting when I tell you no, but are great with asking please when you want something. You have learned to say I Love You - which sounds more like "ah-looo" but I know what you mean and it makes my world so happy.
Thank you for being such a nice boy. You are great at sharing and being a good friend. Let's keep that up ok? Ok.

Love you lots,
Mom & Dad

disappointment

There might not be anything worse that can happen to me in a day than walking into the store and seeing this.....

27

On Friday, we celebrated this guy turning 27.
That's right,
TWENTY SEVEN.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband and Luke's wonderful dad!

Thanks to the Daley's for a great dinner Friday night, and all the friends that gathered Saturday for a second chance to party.
We had a great time and are lucky to have such great friends!

pink ladies

I love Grease just as much as the next person, however this post is regarding THESE pink ladies:

Eating these apples is like eating candy.
Luke will eat an entire one, in the cart, while we grocery shop.
Which means I have to always carry an extra un-touched one around, so that when they weigh them I'm not ripping off the store. Cashiers probably think I'm crazy.
Convenient really.

They are delicious.
I recommend you try them.
Pronto.

politics

Disclaimer: this blog is not meant to be a forum for political news or the debate of individuals views on international, federal or state laws. I am simply posting this because it's reeling in my brain and might not stop until it's out.

As most people know, Arizona recently passed a state law that requires local and state law enforcement to question people about their immigration status if there's reason to suspect they're in the country illegally, and makes it a state crime to be in the United States illegally.

A surprising 60-70 percent of Americans support this law.

There have been many people voicing their opinions and outrage towards this new law. The City of Los Angeles actually supports a ban on all Arizona-made products.
I feel the need to clear something up.
Arizona law enforcement will not be allowed to stop every Mexican they see on the street and have them show their proof of citizenship / green card / visa or any other identification.
If a person is suspected of committing a crime, and have no proof of their entry into the United States, they will be arrested and sent back home.

Mexican law - the Reglamento de la Ley General de Poblacion (General Law on Population - est. April 2000) - states that illegal immigration is a felony, punishable by up to two years in prison. Immigrants who are deported and attempt to re-enter can be imprisoned for 10 years. Visa violators can be sentenced to six-year terms. Mexicans who help illegal immigrants are considered criminals.

The Law also states that Mexico can deport foreigners who are deemed detrimental to "economic or national interests", violate Mexican law, are not "physically or mentally healthy" or lack the "necessary funds for their sustenance" and their dependents.

With this as Mexico's law, shouldn't we be surprised that the President of Mexico Felipe Calderon has denounced Arizona's law as "racial discrimination" and a "violation of human rights"??
He can't be serious.

All Arizona is trying to do, is protect it's citizens, jobs, economy, hospitals and streets from being overtaken by those people (of any nationality, ethnicity, creed or gender) who are breaking the law simply by existing where they do.

I am all for people immigrating to the United States.
I feel proud that immigrants feel the hope that the American Dream has to offer.
I simply believe they should follow the laws of the country they want so badly to be a part of. And I don't believe that is too much to ask.

love.

Can we take a minute to talk about this guy??

PUH-LEAZZ???

This picture so perfectly captures the essence of this crazy boy.
And his obsession with basketball.

My cute friend Janica (check her out here) braved the hurricane-esque winds to take some pics of this little fella.
This is the only one I've seen (and stolen from her blog) and I can hardly wait to see the rest.

I mean seriously.

morning musings

Musing #1:

I stop at my local Maverick (almost) every day. And every time I am there, usually a few other cars keep mine company while I am in the convenience store.
However I have noticed that my car is the odd one out.
And no, not because it is 15 years old, has a cassette player and a missing headlight.
But because it is the only car not left running while the owner/operator is inside.

This poses the question - am I the weird one for turning off my car? Or are they the weird ones for keeping theirs on?

I mean, I don't consider myself and entirely "environmentally conscious" or "green" person
(hey, it's something I'm working on. don't judge. i do actually own and (usually) use my reusable grocery bags. and I buy the "green" cleaning products. and i digress....)
and normally I turn the car off mostly out of paranoia I guess. I mean, not to be stereotypical here, but keep in mind this is all happening at 445am.
Not many normal people (besides myself of course) are out and about at 445am.
No way I'm letting one of those goons steal my car.
Or my purse.
Or the sandwich I made myself for brunch.

Musing #2

Does anyone actually eat these "sandwich" crackers like a sandwich?
This is a real question. I mean, the peanut butter-to-cracker ratio is all off. Seriously.

Typically I open it up, eat the peanut butter, eat one of the crackers and throw the other one away.

Another option is to open it up, eat the peanut butter and then eat both crackers
(waste not, want not, right?)

Does anyone really just open the package, take a "sandwich" out and take a bite?
Just like that?

I don't think I could bring myself to do it.