Daddy and Luka time!

After we got home this afternoon we took the kids for a walk in their red wagon. Of course, we had to stop by the neighborhood playground. Luka was having a blast with his Daddy.

My precious boys

My Daddy is the BEST!
The SUPERMAN RideRacing

Little Helper

BYE,BYE Momma!

Taking care of sissy

Another shot of the Superman ride :)

The weather is nicer...so is our mood :)

Well, I am happy to share that our little man was in a much better mood today. He was in a great mood after he woke up and was an absolute angel while we were getting everyone ready for church. No tantrums during diaper change, no tantrums while putting clothes on...So proud of our Luka Bear. We made it to church for the second Sunday ON TIME..well, to brag a little we were actually early. :)

Luka was not a happy camper when we dropped him off in the nursery but we counted on that. We love the people that take care of Mia but have not been too impressed with the ladies in Luka's room. We know our little guy needs a lot of attention since we just started going back on regular basis and they do not seem to understand that quite yet. We will keep trying and hopefully after we are consistent Luka will start doing better.

Luka managed to stay in his room for 45 minutes...then we got the page "Luka needs you"... we picked up sister and played while waiting for our Sunday School class to finish so we could go back in and grab our things. Overall, I would say that this Sunday was much better. Luka took some time to calm down but was more "lovely dovey" upset than "meltdown" upset like last time. Mia did fine.:) Actually our sweet girl just might appear on the church's website soon. Two people were going around taking pictures for the website and just fell in love with Miss Mia. She smiled and posed like a big girl. The lady taking pictures must have taken at least 20 pictures. I thought she was done after a few shots but apperantly she was behind me still taking pictures of Mia as I was checking her into the nursery.


After church we grabbed some lunch and headed home for Luka's nap/ while he napped we took our time and had some "Mia Love".

She loves her daddy and I was able to capture quite a few shots while those two played and acted silly in the playroom.

This afternoon we spent sometime at Daddy's softball game. This would be the third Sunday for us to go to Justin's games. The first two kids were pretty out of it, tired and sleepy. Today, Mr. Luka had a BLAST! HE actually watched the game and was really into it. He cheered, gave everyone bumps and intensely watched players bat and run. It was too cute. I had a hard time believing how focused he was the entire time. We had fun hanging out with Alix, Ang, Sara, Emma and Laura while all the Daddies played.

Watching his Daddy :)
Bumps for Daddy before he is up to bat
Showing Emma his M&MsLuka, Emma & Alix wathcing their favorite guys play

So let's talk about Mr. Cranky

Luka woke up this morning and is an absolute little terror. He is not in a good mood at all and every little thing sends him in one meltdown after another. Everything started with his diaper change which he absolutely hates these days. It literally took me 15 minutes to put clothes on my child this morning and by the end of it we were both crying. Not kidding!

I feel so bad for him but there was just nothing we could do to make our poor little guy feel better. I know some of you are thinkg "Maybe he doesn't feel good?" Nope...he feels just fine. Terrible Twos - hmmmm??? As I hear "terrible twos" is really not the most appropriate name since the stage sometimes lasts through the threes and fours and fives....OUCH!

As Mama is taking a few minutes to herself,Mia is sound asleep (uh-oh...never mind) while Luka and Daddy are hanging out with Uncle Z at Dick's Sporting Goods. I am really hoping Luka feels better after his nap.

This is a picture of Mr. Cranky at 10 months old...I remember this day like it was yesterday...his stubborn side started developing at full speed when it was time to get out of the community pool...This is pretty much like Luka's face this morning...just add the rolling on the ground, hitting his head...and oh of course how could I forget PINCHING!!! :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love,
The Cranky Family of Four :)

Sweet baby girl

As my friend Kristi would say "Goodness Gracious Sakes Alive of America" HOW MUCH DO I LOVE MY LITTLE LADY! When I think of Mia- I seriously cannot think of words to describe her sweet personality and loving spirit! I cannot believe she is about to be 7 months old! WHAT? It seems like it was just yesterday that I heard her first cry and held that little 8 lbs 13 oz body in my arms for the first time. We are more than half way through her first year!

Since I have shared quite a bit about Luka the past few days I did not want to leave out my darling daughter out of the updates this week. Mia is doing a great job sitting by herself and is now even getting up on all fours rocking back and forth. She moves around pretty well and even though she is not officially crawling she moves like a worm around the room. Still no teeth but we know they are coming...

She is absolutely the sweetest, most cuddly little girl. We love our sweet Mia and the funny personality she is developing. There are days I think "My goodness she is so much like her brother at this stage!". They took their very first bath together in the big tub few nights ago and they had a BLAST! She is cuh a big girl already! Mia is all about eating, smiling and having fun. We have been truly blessed!

• I love her smile
  
• I love how she loves to cuddle
• I love how much she loves her big brother
• I love that she sleeps in her crib :)
• I love her chubby tubby rolls
• I love how much she loves to eat and how excited she gets when she sees food
• I love her little whimper and pouched out bottom lip when she is upset.
• PURE SWEETNESS!!! :)

Interesting facts about our precious baby boy!

Here are some of the other interesting things about Luka at 20 months:

• LOVES his Duda - Croatian for paci :)

• decided that he loves peanutbutter and jelly sandwich
• still wakes up in the middle of the night whining for something to drink
• crazy/rough sleeper
• does not eat a lot of different foods; he pretty much eats the following all the time :chicken, bananas,cheese, pineapple, bread,cheese sandwich, yogurt, pancakes, muffins....YEP that is about it!
• L.O.V.E.S Oreos - Hmmmm? Who does this child sound like? Maybe Daddy?
• always wants to eat a cheesestick and a banaa while we are Target.
• goes to time out for 3 minutes
• bangs his head against the kitchen island when he is in time out
• as soon as he sees you crying or being upset he rushes over to first kiss you until you stop and then "gently" pats you on the head. Justin and I of course always pretend we are upset to get all the extra kisses
• Favorite toys are his shopping cart, lawn mower, balls, bubbles
  
• Loves to read
• Plays well and entertains himself for short periods of time
• Comes to Mommy and Daddy's bed each night...sometimes when we are lucky he stays in his room for the most part...:)
• Loves to step on Thor and Abby's paws
• As soon as he gets in trouble he rushes over to Mia to pop her on the head
• Smacks his head with his hand when you get onto him about something
• Has the cutest CHEESE smile when you ask him to give it to you...this is always followed by grinding his teeth on purpose because he knows mommy freaks out
• LOVES our neighborhood playground; more specifically throwing rocks down the slide
• LOVES being outside
  
• LOVES hanging out in the front yard with all of his toys
• LOVES to look for the moon at night (Thanks Aunt April!)
• falls asleep on the couch with Daddy every night
• LOVES his sissy even though they are starting to have their moments
• CRIES when sissy pulls his hair - Oh So SAD!
• is getting really good at swinging his bat (Thanks Aunt Sara, Uncle James and Emma)
• LOVES to play Wii baseball - swings at the right time and actually does a great job of following through :)
  
• LOVES to pretend he is batting when baseball is on TV...he actually only does it when the pitcher is pitching and he actually swings around the correct time - I KNOW ...Such a SMARTY!
• hates to get his diaper change
• hates being told what to do
• loves to color
• loves to wear his hats backwards like Daddy and Papa

OH.... how could I forget to mention Luka LOVES to open Mommy's car door as she is driving on a busy road)

Oh...there is more...he learned to get out of his car seat in the midde of driving.

I know there is a lot more that I just can't remember right this second...:)

WORDS

I figured since my oldest child is almost 20 months it might be a good time to create my very first list of all the words Luka Bear says at this age. I know, I am awful! I should have had this list started long time ago...So here it goes...These are Luka uses during the day(meaning -says them without being prompted)...

NAMES:

1. L-ka (Luka)
2. Dada (the absolute sweetest word that comes out of his mouth)
3. Mama
4. sissy
5. Mina (Mia) she also used to be Meow for a while
6. Thor
7. Coco - my sister's dog (also often means Landon in Luka language :)
8. Mimi - Justin's mom
9. Papa - Justin's dad
10. Baka - my mom
11. Deda - my dad
12. Keka (tetka) - my sister
13. Tetak - brother in law
14. Tono - Tony :)
15. Muno (from Yo Gabba Gabba)
16. Foofa (from Yo Gabba Gabba)
17. Bob-Bob - Sponge Bob
18. Patrk - Patrick from Sponge Bob

Other WORDS:

1. bite
2. more
3. please
4. dog
5. shoe
6. key
7. tic-toc (for clock)
8. ot (hot)
9. bananana - banana :0
10. Maaaaaaa - muffin
11. duda - Croatia for paci
12. baybeee - baby
13. ball
14. balloon
15. moon
16. sun
17. monkey
18. car
19. hi
20. bye-bye
21. night-night
22. book
23. guitar
24. nose
25. buba - Croatia for insect/bugs
26. gone-gone
27. sit
28. this
29. that
30. cheese
31. bubbles
32. NO
33. cookie :)
    
34. KAKA - for something he doesn't like...
    

Luka has started saying more words each day and definitley repeats a lot.This week he has been trying to say hekikoter (helicopter) since cousin Ivan is playing with his new one...I also am pretty sure he said door and ice cream but I did not include them to the list since he just started a few days ago and we have not heard him say those too much. Of course, sometimes other people probably wouldn't understand him :)

Luka also uses sign language ALL THE TIME to say:

Love you
More
Thank you

Justin and I are just amazed at how much Luka has learned over the last few months and how smart he is getting. Tonight he did not want to eat dinner in his high chair and was extremly cranky. Justin finally took him out of the chair and let him sit on the couch...Few seconds after he finally calmed down Luka pointed to his dinner and said BITE!!!! as he pointed to his lap....he wanted Justin to put the food tray in from of him...What a little stinker!

He definitley has times when he makes some funky noises as well as talks yibberish from time to time.

STRESSED!

This picture is what got me through the day today. SWEETNESS!I was so sad this morning when I had to leave for work...I hated leaving my babies...Today was by far the hardest day to leave in the morning...I couldn't wait to come home to see them!

School....I have been feeling pretty good about TAKS this year...not stressing...just telling myself that I am doing everything I can....I should have known that the stress would pile up sooner or later. So it is officially two weeks before the big Math TAKS and based on the practice test my kids took the week before Spring Break - OUCH!!! I am talking about 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s! I will be doing a lot of praying in the next two weeks! It seems that the kids are lower each year but this year tops all the previous ones for sure!

I just had to do something to forget about the stress... so after picking up Miss Mia we headed to Target for what else but....some de-stress shopping! We found lots of cute stuff for brother! By the time we made it to the check out I convinced myself that I was going a little overboard. We had four different balls in the basket, clothes, toys...Yes, we decided to look through our selection more carefully and decided to put some stuff back.

It is so fun to shop for Luka (toys I mean) now that he actually likes certain things and gets excited when you give him a new toy. To clarify we do not buy new toys all the time... By NEW I mean something he has not seen in a while. Last night as I was cleaning up their bathroom after bath time Luka managed to open the closet door and WHOA! He found all the toys I ended up putting away to de-clutter their playroom. My intention was to replace the toys every few months so that the kids would get excited about things they have not seen in a while. Man Oh Man...was Luka Bear excited! He couldn't decided what to get out first!

So today at the store, Mia and I got him a new SpongeBob ball....the kid is obsessed with balls these days. We also picked up a huge bottle of bubble making stuff....and TA DA - the best of all: Yo Gabba Gabba stuffed characters: Muno, Plex, Foofa, TooDee and Brobee! They are so goofy looking but my kids LOVE,LOVE, LOVE them some Yo Gabba Gabba and DJ Lance :). That is Luka and Mia's favorite show it's Mimi's fault!) on TV and as much fun as Justin and I make of it...we know all the songs and yes we do sing along. :) When Justin and Luka walked in, I had all the little guys lined up on the couch and Luka was SUPER excited when he realized they were there. Justin's face was pretty priceless too! He knows to say Muno and Foofa and I am sure by the end of the week will learn the other three. This is such a special day because our little man just got his FIRST toys that he actually is really into and adores! We took all of them outside in the backyard and they sat with sister as Luka played with the bubbles and his new ball. It is so fun seeing him so excited about everything. He played with the bubbles until they were all gone.. Needless to say Mia and I were wet from Luka trying to do everything on his own...He was so excited and would not stop saying " MO BUBBL Mama" (more bubbles).

I must say that getting a few new things for Luka defintiley made me forget all about the work stress this evening :)

Spring Break Fun

I had a great time this Spring Break with my sweet babies. Well, one of them (hint, hint)had quite a few huge tantrums but we still managed to have lots of fun.Luka and Mia are starting to interact more as Mia is getting to the really fun stage. It just warms my heart seeing them together. Luka is having a really hard time understanding why Sissy loves to pull his hair. Poor little guy!

Last weekend we celebrated going to church for the first time as a family of four. Needless to say, we have had quite a crazy few months and it was great to finally be able to go back to our ABF and do things as a normal family. Yes, Mommy had to pack all the bags the night before and we had to start getting ready about three hours before leaving the house but we managed to make it to church early enough to drop the kids and be in time for ABF. :) Luka Bear had a rough time after we picked him up from the nursery . our Sunday was ROUGH!!! He had never had that many meltdowns in row and we realized that it probably had to do with the fact we left him with people other than our families for the first time EVER!!!Poor baby! Mia also suprised us...she was fussy in the nursery too but managed to fall asleep on some sweet man's big belly. When we asked how she did...as one lady was telling us she started getting fussy the man that was holding her said "Then she found the fat guy and all was well". :)

On Monday we enjoyed a fun day with Haley (and baby Reid) and Landon. We went to Lakepointe and had the kids play in the indoor play area for the little ones. Afterwards we went to Kid to Kid to get Mia a few new bows (my new obsession) and finally to lunch. Thanks Haley and Landon for hanging out with us. We had a blast!

Tuesday - we spent the morning at Kids Kingdom with Jill, Brendan, Jenn and Cole. The kids played, we had a picnic lunch and had a really great time catching up. Jill, Jenn and I worked together at Shugart and I really miss seeing those two on daily basis.

Wedesday - Mia and I cleaned the house while Luka spend the afternoon at Baka's house. That evening the kids had some much needed time with their favorite guy - DADDY while I had my Growth Group.

Thursday - Cassi and Korben joined us for another playdate. The kids did great and Mommy's of course got to enjoy some mommy talk time. Thanks Cassi and Korben for coming out to see us! Later that day we went to get some Spring/Summer clothes for the babies and spent time outside having some "chalk fun". I am sure our HOA loves our sidewalk art. :)

Friday - I spent the day at school getting some TAKS stuff ready and afternnon with my sweet family. Justin made it home early and we just hang out at home. It was nice to relax!

Saturday and Sunday - busy, busy, busy. We had our first Home Depot family trip...bought a new lawnmower (YAY DADDY!) and some flowers to plant in front of the house ( YAY MOMMY). Luka had so much fun with Daddy at Home Depot...the boy loved the big push cart. Later we ran errands while Daddy cleaned the garage and did yard work. Luka and Mia were not feeling too well so we stayed home for the rest of the day. We followed Daddy from one window to the next while he did yard work outside. Luka adores Justin so much and had a blast following him around. When he realized I was trying to get some other stuff donw while he was busy watching Justin, he came to me and said " Mama...sit" and pointed for me to watch Daddy with him. We also went to Justin's softball game and enjoyed a nice family evening. Since finding out we were having a boy while pregnant with Luka, I always looked forward to seeing our little man watch Daddy play sports. Today Justin and I were both excited to see Luka enjoy watching his favorite guy play softball. He was so cute and totally looked like knew everything that was going on. We went out to eat with the kiddos after the game and got some ice cream after dinner :) YUM!


I am not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow AT ALL ! I had so much fun with Luka and Mia this week. Yes, two little ones are a lot of work but all the smiles, giggles, kisses, morning love, and even the tantrums - I would not trade it for any Spring Break vacation. :) I hope you enjoy the pictures :)

Love,
Tamara

Finally...

Hello- the wonderful world of blogging! Since I am pretty much obsessed with reading blogs these days, I decided the time has finally come to create one for our little family. I absolutely love the fact that at the end of the year I can send our blog to a company who actually creates a book including everything you add to your site. What an awesome way to document our life journey! Luka and Mia are growing up way too fast if you ask us and we want to be able to look back and remember all the small details with our precious babies.