"Happy.. Burday.. Grandbo- Yeaaahhhh! CLAP."

Today is not Grandbo's birthday but if you ask Luke if today is HIS birthday he replies "No" followed by the above phrase. The command to "CLAP" and all.

I made the mistake of teaching him that when it was Grandma Stephanie's birthday in February and it stuck. So, today we celebrate Luke's 2nd birthday with a little shout out to the grandmas as well.

Our little guy is 2 years old today. It hardly seems possible. I cannot believe that our little miracle, who couldn't even sit up by himself (unless propped up against something) this time last year, is now not only sitting up (by himself from laying to sitting) but scooting EVERYWHERE and demanding assistance in standing. And by "demanding" I mean 100% words- "Stand! Oh, stand please!" So sweet of him to throw in the "please" (he also adds "Oh" to a lot of words because he gets so excited- I'm now "Oh Mommy.") We say this often but it seems appropriate to repeat today- we could never be more proud of our sweet, patient boy. The strong-willed, extensive-vocabulary-ed, booty-scooting handful that he is. Just looking at him continues to make my heart joyously ache and his smile just takes my breath away.

And now, for your tear-inducing pleasure (Jim Hersom- I am talking to you) here's a succinct photo collection of March 27th over the past TWO years.

Luke's birthday party will be next Saturday (April 4th) with our immediate family and some local friends. Our niece Maggie's 7th birthday is tomorrow so we didn't want to celebrate Luke on Maggie's special day.

Thank you to all our friends and family for your continued love and support. Raising any child is an adventure but Luke definitely poses some different challenges. Matt and I couldn't continue to thrive as his parents without a strong support system that of which has been unwavering since March 27, 2007. We love you all.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY LUKE!!

A Life Well Lived.

Eunice Lorraine Elliott, also known to many as "Grandma E". There are many Grandmas but as she always said, "There is only one Grandma E". She entered this life to Robert and Caldonia Watts on November 19, 1909, and Jesus welcomed her to eternal life on March 8, 2009 at the age of 99. She passed to her new life at the Tulare Nursing and Rehabilitation Center with her loving family by her bedside as she was listening to her own music she had once played for the enjoyment of many others. Her family visited her daily and it was a place she once visited weekly, among other establishments providing musical entertainment. She never knew how to read music, everything she played was by ear and she could play almost every instrument. She played first with the band known as the Rythmaires and then the Jolly Strings Band. She and the band received many awards and recognitions during the thousands of hours volunteering for no other reason than to bring joy into the lives of others.

Grandma E never missed a loved one's birthday, she always called and sang her birthday greeting followed with a special yodel at the end...oh how that will be missed by all.

Eunice and her late husband Luther Dean Elliott moved to Tulare in 1934 from Texas. He was a self-employed house painter and she worked side by side with him painting and repairing houses. Eunice was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Caldonia Watts, husband Luke of 52 years, in August of 1977; granddaughter, Janice Irene Martin; five brothers, three sisters and two son-in-laws, Harland Henard and John N. Cardoza Jr. and daughter-in-law Geri Elliott. Eunice is survived by three daughters, Wanda Elliott, Donna and husband Ralph Martin of Tulare and Jeanette Cardoza of Tipton; one son, H. Dean and Francey Elliott of Oregon. She leaves eleven grandchildren, 29 great grandchildren, 20 great-great grandchildren, 14 extended grandchildren; 13 extended great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.Her family celebrates her departure with tear stained eyes, but is consoled by God's grace in knowing she is rid of the confinement of her once spirited and active body. She will once again play her music, dance the Irish jig and tend the flower gardens of Heaven. - Obituary from the Visalia Times-Delta (March 14, 2009)

Great-Great Grandma E, Great Grandma Wanda, Papa Gailand, Daddy and Luke. Five amazing generations. (June 2007)


Great-Great Grandma E meeting Luke being held by Great-Great Aunt Jay (June 2007.) We were told that even in her weakening health, Grandma E always wanted to know how "Little Luke" was doing.

These are some pictures that I took at the reception following Grandma E's service. I wish I would have known her prior to the last 10 years. She was truly an exceptional women and we can only pray that we do justice to her legacy. Luke will be, without a doubt, as well versed in stories of Grandma E (she roofed her house at 82!) as the rest of the family. She may be physically gone but her spirit will remain with each of us as well as a testament to a life well lived.

Luke with Great Aunt Susan Henard.

Luke with Great-Great Aunt Donna Martin and a cousin (?)

Luke with Great-Great Uncle Dean Elliott.

Dad, Luke, Uncle Dean and Aunt Francey Elliott. Luke's practicing being elusive.

Papa Gailand's siblings and mom. From left: Great Aunt Nancy Gimlin, Great Aunt Gena Graham, Papa, Great Grandma Wanda, Great Uncle Greg Henard and Great Aunt Kathy Wilcox.

Luke attacking Cousin Laura Barcellos and her water bottle.

Our immediate Henard family (minus our nephew Brennen.)

Our little Henard family.

Bonding with Baron.

Our friends, Matt & Heidi Werner, where in town for the weekend (babymoon!) so since we got back from our vacation in a timely manner, we were able to go out to dinner with them on Saturday night.

Their little bundle of joy is due the end of May and Luke is very ready for his new buddy (a boy) to come out and play.

We sat Luke next to Heidi but the hand on the belly was all him.

Admiring (and "petting") Heidi's sweet baby belly.

Never one to be outdone, Luke shows off one of his sweetest features- "Feet!"

Hello, handsome.

We look forward to meeting baby boy Werner (aka until birth "Baron Von Werner" said with a thick German accent, please) very soon.

Admiring LAKE Tahoe (Tahoe '09- Day 4- Part 2)

After our sledding adventure, we headed down to the dock to check out the water and take in the views. I still can't get over how much snow there was everywhere and the air was so delightfully cold and crisp. If it wasn't such a pain to get all bundled up every time you step out the front door, I could definitely envision us living in this type of climate.

Ducks are very proficient ice skaters.

The blue of the lake & sky against all the white was breathtaking.


Mommy's little frog.


The one family picture from the entire trip.

The view looking back from the dock.

We left the next morning and did a marathon trip back to San Jose (to pick up the dogs) and then home. An almost 9 hours trip total. Luke was a total trooper and we were so happy to get home on a Friday and have the rest of the weekend to regroup.

Our first family vacation was a complete success. Special thanks to my mom for providing the wonderful accommodations. We look forward to doing it again soon!

Hitting the Slope (Tahoe '09- Day 4- Part 1)

Thursday morning we woke up to the sun shining and a strong will to take Luke sledding. We were able to track down a clearance sled at Big 5 in Carson City ($12.99 well spent!) so we were all set. Except we had no idea where to go. We drove up to the Heavenly parking lot (rumored to be a sledding spot) but the parking guy told us to head over to this place- just make a right and a left and then another right and look for this sign, then turn around.... yeah. We drove off, found a very snowy, slightly hilly spot and we made our own. Actually, Matt did 99% if the work but taking pictures was hard work too, darn it! And Luke couldn't get pulled in that sled by himself!

I have tons of pictures that I managed to somewhat par down. I've posted a really sweet one bellow but I've also included a link to the album.

Our Little Snow Angel.

Sledding in Tahoe

Reno Adventure (Tahoe '09- Day 3)

The amount of snow that fell overnight was amazing! I remember the Marriott roof tops starting to peek through Tuesday afternoon but by Wednesday morning, they were hidden under so much snow we never saw them again. Fortunately, the weather did not effect our plan to head up to Reno for the day and visit with the Clark family. My mom's youngest sister, Aunt Christine, her husband, Uncle Mike and their two boys, Liam and Aidan. moved from San Jose to Reno back in 2007 and I had not seen my little cousins since Christmas '06 and the boys had never met Luke. A visit was definitely in order.

Before our visit with the Clarks, Matt had gift certificates to Cabela's burning holes in his pockets and Reno is home to the massive store (I have no clue if there are any in California and if there are- no where near us.) Cabela's is a outdoor sporting goods store (hunting, fishing-type stuff) and it's like Disneyland for men that enjoy those types of activities. Complete with "stuffed" animal exhibits one of which includes an elephant. Slightly disturbing but pretty impressive.

Cabela's also has a grill that serves all different types of meat. We had lunch there and Matt and I ordered buffalo burgers that were quite tasty. Luke assaulted us with "bite?" requests and seemed to enjoy it as much as we did.

No picky eaters live in our house.


Buffalo Burger Delight

After Matt got his fancy new tackle box (it's a backpack with a detachable cooler- awesome) we headed over to the Clark home. We spent a few hours there and Aunt Christine made us a delicious dinner. It was so great seeing them and it makes me sad that they live so far away. Hopefully we'll get to see them again relatively soon.

Luke and Aidan


Luke and (Great) Aunt Christine


"Clap- Yeeeaaahhh!"- Luke


Doing some serious listening.

Matt, Aidan and Uncle Mike. Aidan is quite the accomplished Mario Cart racer.

Luke (almost 2), Aidan (4) and Liam (9). My baby and my baby cousins. Such sweet boys.

Swimming in the Snow (Tahoe '09- Day 2)

We woke up Tuesday morning to a dark gray sky and lots of white. The forecast called for snow all day so we decided to just hang around the condo and lay low. Marriott has a giant outdoor pool (heated to 85 degrees) as well as two hot tubs so that was our big plan.

The condo has a full kitchen but he had no groceries yet so we headed out for breakfast. This ended up being our one and only trip into the casinos. We walked down the street, ducking into first Harrahs (they didn't have a cafe) and then ending up at Montbleu. They had a great breakfast place so we ordered and Matt played the slots between that and when our food arrived. Low and behold- he won $50! We are not gamblers so being up $30 was huge. Totally paid for our breakfast. Unfortunately, I quickly blew through $10 on the way out but still, our combined 10 minutes of slots left us $20 ahead.

The big question- what did Luke think of the snow? He was unimpressed and annoyed. We bundled him up in his stroller and let the snow fall where it may. It was cold and slightly windy so there was a lot of cold air and snow in the face. He didn't cry just kind of had an odd expression and was uncharacteristically quiet. Much happier once we got indoors.

Luke's first foray into snowy terrain. Dad's expression tells the whole story.

Much happier taking the snow gear off. Just thought this picture was cute. Matt became a master of getting Luke efficiently in and out of his layers.

This is the view from our 5th story room. Thanks Mom/Grandma!

Luke went swimming in this pool (and the bottom hot tub) moment later.

The swimming event was different. Hard to have all of your gear (clothes, towels, shoes, etc) out and near you when it's snowing outside. We had to make a covered nest with the hotel towels and then move quickly once out of our clothes. Luke was absolutely terrified at first. Poor kid hasn't been swimming in 6 months (1/4 of his life so far!) so I'm pretty sure he had no memory- and it was 30 degrees out! I took him into the pool first and he cried and cried until I dunked myself underwater. Mommy torture always cracks him up. We hung out there for a while and then moved as fast and safely as possible into the hot tub. Again- terrified- but the site of my head popping in and out of the water turned him around. It ended up being very relaxing and a lot of fun. Plus, not often you get to go swimming and have snow nestling in your hair at the same time.

You can't tell but it's snowing really hard in this picture. We had to ditch the glasses because they kept fogging up.

Pictures were hard to come by because of the snow situation- didn't want to ruin the camera. We ended up swimming again later in the week but of course, the moment we stepped outside it started snowing again. Oh well.

We had gone grocery shopping earlier in the day so I made a big spaghetti dinner and then we had bath time for Luke. No pictures of that because the condo has a giant tub and I had to take one with him (in my bathing suit of course) so I could reach him. As cute as Luke is naked, mom isn't so that's that. The day went by so quickly but all and all it was very relaxing.

Hooters & Highways (Tahoe '09- Day 1)

Matt, Luke and I headed up to South Lake Tahoe last Monday, March 2nd, for a little sleep, snow and sledding. What we ended up with was little sleep (darn dry high altitude air!) CONSTANT snow (many, many feet) and one blissful, exhausting hour of sledding. More posts with pictures of all these activities (except sleep- that would be weird) will be up (hopefully) throughout the week.

We didn't leave San Jose until late morning on Monday so we planned on stopping in Sacramento for lunch. We ended up having our greatest adventure of the day trying to find a restaurant in the nasty weather and then ultimately where we decided to dine- Hooters.

I had never been there and was curious and we figured Luke would enjoy the attention he would get from their extreme friendly female waitstaff. We were right on the mark.

Luke started off with some crayons and was happy. But that was nothing compared to the arrival of...

AMANDA!

I could not get him to even acknowledge me/the camera. All eyes on his new friend.

This was 100% not staged. He took it upon himself to kiss her. What you can't see is his mouth full of (very dry) chicken tenders. What a very special moment for Amanda.

So if you're ever in the Rancho Cordova area, stop into the Hooters off highway 50 and say hi to our future daughter-in-law, Amanda. The food completely sucks (I felt bad for Luke and Matt and my chicken sandwiches were no better- so so dry) but now I know- nobody really goes there for the food. Go figure.

We got to Tahoe around 5pm and it was quite the journey up there. It basically rained the whole way alternating between pouring and then sprinkling but on already snowy roads. Matt did an amazing job of driving and we didn't even have to use chains (thank God for 4 wheel drive!) Luke was a happy camper- he travels well during daylight hours but turns into a gremlin at night- but we were so happy to finally be there without incident.

My mom has a timeshare condo at the Marriott next to Heavenly so we got settled there and had dinner downstairs. By the time we got done eating, it was snowing. I was so excited (I'm a snow novice) but little did I know that falling snow would be all we would see for the next 24+ hours.