Summer Already?

With Scott out of town for a few weeks, I had to think quick to keep Luke entertained all day. Dad is so good at playing with him on Sunday afternoons while mom finishes her school work...not today!

With the sun beating down and pollen covering the car, I thought, why not wash the car and the boy at the same time! Luke loves getting the hose out and it sounded like lots of fun. He was entertained for over 2 hours spraying everything in sight. I'm glad that we have good neighbors that don't mind the fact that Luke doesn't have very good aim yet. He ended up washing their cars as well. He also watered all of our bushes and tried to make the "flowers" come back to life. He actually just watered a pot with dirt in it but, I didn't tell him that. The best part was that I could actually talk on the phone with my friend from Germany with only a few interruptions.

After he became tired of all the work, Luke decided it was time to ride his bike. As soon as he saw the neighbor riding his scooter he came back to get his scooter and away he went. This boy never stops moving until bedtime.
Summer is almost here and I can't wait to see what Luke will be doing by then!

National Air and Space Museum

We had a great family trip to the Air Museum. Sarah loved having a chance to use her video making skills and explore the video camera. She's getting good at making her own movies. Luke really loves airplanes and is fascinated by each and every plane that flies over our house. He also loved taking a ride in the elavator to the control tower. He does such a great job with traveling and it's fun to see how excited he gets about the little things in life.

Easter Morning

It was so much fun seeing how excited Sarah was for the Easter Bunny. Can you believe that she still believes in all of this? Scott and I were a bit skeptical until she set up this elaborate spread for the bunny. Check out the photo above...she had to have all of the "floral" accents, along with a salad, and ice water. Too cute! She was also very excited for Luke. We tried to explain that he really didn't understand all of this and she didn't really listen to us. She got his basket ready and even put signs on them so the bunny wouldn't be confused.

She woke up first and wouldn't touch a thing until little brother was up. She ran upstairs to get him up and couldn't make him budge. Mom went to get him and he was sitting at the top of the stairs in a bit of confusion. When he heard that the Easter Bunny had come, he had a huge smile and plopped down the stairs. It was a great surprise for him and he didn't quite know what to do. Sarah helped open his eggs and he loved it all. In true "Luke Cleaning" fashion, he quickly cleaned up everything and put it all back into the basket. I've got to find a way to keep this good habit. Both kids had a bit of candy before Scott packed them both up for the long haul back to South Carolina. Mom stayed home to finish up report cards and enjoy one last day of break before work begins again tomorrow.

We are truly blessed and thankful for two wonderful children.

Adoption Video

Easter Fun

Our first Easter with Luke was lots of fun. He had no idea how to dye an egg or what the dye actually was. He wanted to drink it because it reminded him of dill pickles! He loves the smell of vinegar and it was funny watching him try to drink it. Scott helped out by showing him that it turns your finger the color of the dye. Sarah was also great with Luke and showed him how it all worked. The eggs turned out great and I love how dark the colors were. Next year we'll have to try a few different kits because it's nice to compare how they all work. Sarah had a Tatoo Kit and it didn't work at all. We all got messy and had some fun laughs. It will be different next year when Luke understands it all.

Luke's Week of "Firsts"

"FIRST DAY of SCHOOL"

Luke has been a busy little boy and he had many "firsts" over the past few weeks. I am amazed each and every day at how resilient he is. He has grown so much with his speech and he uses very few Russian words anymore. Just this week he has started saying "yes" and "no" and he repeats everything we're saying.

He started school and he loves it so much! What a blessing that is because he could have had difficulties with going with strangers for an entire day and he didn't. The teachers told us that he fit right in and it was like he'd been going there for the entire year. He loves to help and his specialty is cleaning up the tables and pushing the chairs in. He's slowly beginning to interact with other kids. Because of his limited language skills, it's been a little hard for him to make friends. This will come with time.

"FIRST TASTE of PANCAKES"

My favorite thing to do is just sit back and take the world in through his eyes. Today he heard a lawn mower and couldn't figure out what it was and where the noise was coming from. He went right out the front door to investigate. When he found the man with the mower he just laughed and couldn't believe that the grass was being cut with that loud machine.

He's still transitioning to our rules and wants to touch everything-at least 10-20 times! At least he's stopped flushing the toilet 10 times each time he goes. He also knows the remote controls are off limits and he tries very hard to touch them "accidentally" as he runs past them. The kitchen is almost too much for him to handle...the refrigerator light, the fire on the stove, the microwave that beeps. He loves it all and wants to know how it all works.

We have Sarah here this week and this will be a BIG first, meeting his sister! Hopefully it will run smoothly and we'll get through the growing pains of adding a new brother to the Dierlam family.


"FIRST CUPCAKE"


"FIRST TRIP TO THE HOSPITAL"