The Celebration

Last Thursday we celebrated Luke's birthday at school. Mrs. Jenny invited me to come for the little party and I'm so glad I did.



Here's Luke while the class sang to him. So proud. He and another little girl in his class both turned 5 on the same. Seriously. What are the odds of that?


Mrs. Jenny let Luke pick a surprise out of the birthday box. He said, "Hey Mom, is there a DS in there?"

The morning of the school party, we went to the grocery for cupcakes ingredients. Luke spotted the already prepared Superman cupcakes and begged for them. I told him they would be better if we made them (likely a lie) but he insisted he needed the Superman ones. There were only 6 Superman ones though, so we also got some Madagascar cupcakes. And he was right, they were a big hit. I loved helping Luke pass out cupcakes to his friends.




And last week I finally got our playroom/therapy room cleaned out. Since we no longer have ABA therapists coming to the house, and the "therapy" we do is very much just built into regular daily activities, the therapy room was pretty much going unused. And had become quite a junk heap. So after donating a lot of toys to church, a couple to school, and taking a lot of clothes and toys to Goodwill, Luke was all set to move into his new room. And I am very excited to have a guest bedroom again.





It's pretty packed in that little room, but works well for him. We kept the very utilitarian shelves for toys and games.



The bed needs work. I was planning to do kind of a sports theme, but then the sports phase kind of faded. And I'm not going to do a game show room. So likely I'll just find a stripe or plaid or something like that.

We made the room moves just in time for Grandma and Grandpa's visit. They came for Luke's 5th birthday bash. And they were happy to make his very special cake. Well, they at least acted like they were happy I roped them into making his cake. :)


Grandma and Grandpa were in Arkansas on Thursday watching another grandchild perform in a play. They arrived at our house around 7:00 p.m. on Friday and were a whirlwind of activity. They brought all their supplies with them, including a Kitchenaid mixer. I know everyone is simply shocked I don't have one given the vast amount of baking I do. Ha!





Luke had been asking and asking for a Deal or No Deal cake. The pictures don't really do it justice. I did make the little Howie sign there. My one contribution.




He was a little bit pleased with the cake.


The masterminds behind this creation.


Luke begged to have his party at Pump It Up. This is the first real birthday party Luke has ever had.


The first time Luke went to Pump It Up was for his friend Maggie's birthday last May. He cried a lot of the time. He didn't want to try any of the slides. He eventually went into a couple of the jumpy things.


We've been to several parties there since then, and with each one his confidence grew and loved it more and more.


And at his party when they opened the door to the first playroom and Luke charged in like he owned the place, I teared up.



First trip down the slide with Andrew. Andrew is his very favorite friend at school. And Andrew is so brave on the inflatables it really helps Luke to follow him and try new things.

While jumping and sliding, Luke saw Mimi come in and ran over to give her a hug.

More birthday fun and silliness.

I actually went through this obstacle course with him, but threatened the life of anyone who attempted to photograph my trip.

The party crew, minus Camden and Scott who had to leave early. Look how red Luke's face is. He played so hard.

I really wanted to invite Luke's entire class and more church friends. But I know that Luke doesn't handle huge parties really well. And every person we invited was able to come. Wow! I suspect that's because Christmas festivities are over and January is usually a slower month. But I prefer to think everyone wanted to celebrate with us.

Just a few months ago, Luke was pretty terrified of blowing out candles and everyone cheering. But he marched to the front and had this little shy expression on his face while everyone sang.

He blew out his number 5 candle with gusto and smiled when everyone cheered. He hugged my legs at the loud noise, but was so brave. More tears from me.

Luke and his best buds, Andrew and Cooper. I was attempting to get everyone to look at the camera. See how well that worked out? I think this is cuter anyway.

Ready for some present opening. Love this photo.

That's Luke head you can barely see through the crowd. I just think it's pretty amazing everyone crowding around did not bother him in the least. He loved it.

Luke and his new prized possession. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa. He was very clear that he wanted a gray DS. Grandma and Grandpa had to return their first purchase, a blue DS. And thank you Mimi and Papa for the great party at Pump It Up.

I've made many comments about birthday parties being overly extravagant. But watching his little face, seeing all the kids having so much fun, I think I kind get it now. It was one of the happiest days of his life. And to see my boy understanding and loving his party and his friends was one of my greatest joys too.

How can it be?

Five years ago today . . .



our lives changed . . .



in every way.

And in the blink of an eye . . .

we have an amazing . . .

and crazy . . .

five year old boy!

Happy birthday to my Luke! How can he possibly be five years old?

GSN

Look what came in the mail the other day. Our final book from the Imagination Library. If I were a good blogger I would post the link for all Tennessee residents to sign up for the Imagination Library started by Dolly Parton. But I'm still on my ancient slow computer and I won't be getting a new one anytime soon at the rate were going with expenses this month. But I trust all readers could type Imagination Library into their favorite browser and sign up. We've gotten some great books, many of Luke's favorites were Dolly's picks (I prefer to think of the books as coming directly from Dolly herself). There was an odd bi-lingual potty training book that had some duplicate pages, but all in all they've been fabulous.

I teared up reading Dolly's note inside the book about how big Luke is now and how he can do anything he tries his best to do. Clearly I am a wreck about this upcoming birthday. Four has been such a magical year for Luke. I hate to see it go. I know big things are ahead in year 5, like kindergarten. Ugh.

But it's too soon to think about next fall. I want to soak up every moment left of preschool days. We've had a little snow recently.


We tried to catch snowflakes on our tongue.



Luke had a pretty bad cold this day.

Pitiful snowballs, but Luke declared it a snow fight.

During our snow days, just on the heels of Christmas vacation and then followed by a couple of sick days, Luke truly discovered the Game Show Network. My friend Emily warned me this was a mistake, but it was too late. He can read the name of every show and loves to scan the guide and check out the day's line up.

One morning this week I was in the bathroom and Luke came in. He told me he needed to whisper something in my ear. Then he whispered, "Your offer is sixty eighty thousand dollars. Deal or no deal?"

The revamped Newlywed Game is a big part of the GSN line up. Luke wants to watch it so badly. He frequently tells me, "Look, the Newly-o Game is nice. See, they're happy. It's nice." He is also a little obsessed with the new host, Carnie Wilson. He talks about her frequently. And he would really love to watch her new reality show, also on GSN.

Tonight in the car he informed us we were on the Newly-o game. He said, "Mom, which do you like, kittens, eggs, or pink?" I picked eggs, curious how he was going to play this game he'd never seen. Then he says, "OK Daddy, you answer, does Mommy like kittens, eggs, or pink?" Lamar picks pink (I'd say this was to further Luke's game but likely he wasn't paying attention to what I'd said). Luke said, "OK Mom, show us what you said! Aw, too bad. She said eggs." Seriously how on earth does he know how the game is played? He's seen the commercial a couple of times. Has he figured it out?!

So to further my nomination as Mom of Year, one of Luke's very favorite shows is Biggest Loser. I watched some of Biggest Loser last season for the first time. And we have the Biggest Loser Wii workout (which is a REALLY good workout). He was so excited when he saw commercials for the new season of Biggest Loser. Shortly after the season premiere Luke was hanging around while I was on the exercise bike one morning. He came over and said, "Hey Mom, I'll be Bob and you be a contestant." I agree and Luke starts yelling at me, "Faster!!!! FASTER!!!!!!" I ride faster and he said, "Cry Mom! Cry!" So I cry and say repeatedly I cannot do it. After I finish riding Luke tells me it's time to get on the scale. The scale was his bathtub. He was the first to weigh in (I guess he switched from Bob to contestant). He told me he had to take his shirt off to weigh. He did and climbed in the tub. He instructed me to announce his previous weight, make beeping noises, and then announce his current weight. It was then my turn to weigh in (I refused to remove my shirt though). I won because my current weight was twenty eighty pounds. Great.

Trygg Christmas and a Rockin' New Year

We traveled home from Virginia under clear skies. We were tired, but so glad we made the trip even if it had to be short.



Erik and Jeanie flew here Christmas Eve night, though they barely escaped the bad weather. They left Oklahoma in a blizzard, missed their connection because of all the time it took to de-ice the plane, but thankfully got a later flight, one of the few that left DFW that day. A toddler and a flight delay. Big fun for them.



Luke woke up Christmas morning to find all that Santa left. I can't really decide how to do Christmas. In the past we've displayed unwrapped gifts under the tree. That's how Santa delivered the goods to me when I was a child. But I thought I'd try wrapping things this year. He did love the unwrapping. And I think it was a little less overwhelming seeing one thing at a time.





MarioKart racetrack. For some reason the box said, "MarioKart DS" and Luke thought it was an actual DS. That might be why he looks so delighted in the picture. (Luke just came by while I was typing and said, "That says DS. Are you saying I want that?")




Uno Flash. Too hard for him, but if I would really work with him on it I think he'd get it. He needs to learn regular UNO first before being timed for his turn. But he was sure he wanted this after seeing the commericals.




Press Your Luck for the Wii. Fun game. Same cheesy graphics as the original game show. Luke loves it. He obviously needs help answering the questions.

I think I might be doing something wrong with the Santa thing. We've talked about Santa and read Polar Express. But he's kind of not buying it. Several times he's referred to his Santa stash as "those things you got me at Target." But he was not with me for any Christmas shopping.
I digress . . .

After a little playtime (apparently I neglected to upload those photos) we headed to Mimi and Papa's for more present opening fun.




Santa left stockings for the little kids at Mimi's. Maggie was SO pleased with her princess dishes.


Hooded towels are the best.



All the Tryggs and those married to or offspring of a Trygg. Our wardrobe selection was completely unplanned.



After a yummy Christmas dinner, some serious Wii play began. My hot-natured boy shed his socks and sweater within moments of arriving. I was lucky he agreed to wear the sweater for a photo.

Luke is pretty much unstoppable at Wii Sport Resort Swordplay. It's all in the flick of his wrist I think. Sometimes he beat Erik while not looking at the screen.


Erik really tried to beat Luke. But Luke is unstoppable. Maggie seems to enjoy it.

And then Luke turned on some music and he and Maggie led us in the some dancing. No one was allowed to not participate. This is "10 in the bed and the little one said 'Roll over!'"

We had a great few days of playing Wii, a little shopping, trying to take the kids to a movie but it was sold out (but they had a blast at McDonald's play land).

Then on their way from Virginia to Arkansas, Maddie and her family stopped by and spent the night with us. Luke loved having some serious playtime with all of them, particularly his very favorite person Maddie.

Luke shows off Haley's new hat.

And then just 4 days after Christmas I entered by mid 30's. I stretched the early 30's out as long as I could, but I think 34 is definitely mid.

A little help with the candle. Awesome cupcake from Naticakes. I highly recommend them.

Maggie and her Pretty Princess cupcakes. This girl is so into her princesses. She knows all of them and talks about them all the time. She is so incredibly verbal. It really just boggles my mind. During a snack one day she looked at her sippy cup and said, "Hi Cinderella. Hi Snow White. Hi Sleeping Beauty. I like your dress Cinderella. I like your dress Snow White. I like your dress Sleeping Beauty." She's not yet 2. Amazing. AMAZING! And she understands everything. I was in awe.

After Erik and family headed back to Oklahoma, we enjoyed a quiet couple of days just the three of us. It's been great to have so much time together over the past weeks. I'm so thankful Lamar now has more time off at the holidays than in years past. I'll really miss our time together as we resume our normal schedules this week.

New Year's Day we enjoyed the evening with friends. We'd been trying to get together before Christmas, but schedules get crazier every year and we just couldn't find a day. We finally settled on New Year's.

And Luke discovered Rock Band . . .

And he's asked for Rock Bank about 100 times since then. He wanted me to buy it for him on our trip to the mall for shoes today. Or get him a DS. He asked for both at least 100 times. I was so frustrated at the end of our trip and Lamar goes, "Don't get mad at me for saying this, but I think this is typical." Seriously? And do all almost 5 year olds beg for things that cost over $100? Lucky for him he does have a birthday soon. I just have to decide which of his extravagant gift ideas is appropriate for a 5 year old.

All the friends gathering for our second annual group photo. Luke gets almost as excited as I do about group shots using the timer. Thankfully I had a tripod this year.

In other news, the game show phase continues. On New Year's Eve we had a exciting night out to dinner at Moe's at 5:00 p.m. Luke pretended he was "Johnny Hurley" (aka John O'Hurley) and Lamar and I were feuding families. My first question was "Name something you eat with." Fork was the #1 answer.

On the way to church today I was a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He asked me, "Name something you do. A)pizza B)grumpy old troll C)a bridge D)play Wii. I correctly answered D. Later he asked me, "Name something you do. A)red B)blue C)yellow D)green. I stated the question didn't make any sense as they were all colors. Luke replied, "What is your final answer!!!!!!?????" I said, "Uh, A." That was correct. I won $19,000.

Happy New Year!