Two things......

1. Things kids pick up: Luke informed me last night that if you take your pillow and turn it over then the hot side would be gone and you could then lay on the cold side..........lol.
2. I was laying in bed next to Bill when I could not for the life of me figure out what a whistling noise was or where it was coming from. After many ideas didn't pan out I figured out it was coming from a SNORING 19 month old! It was coming in through the baby monitor. I have a grown man on one side of me snoring at night and a little guy in my other ear snoring! I need earplugs! lol.

Rude Awakening

This morning I sent Luke into Kai's room to wake him up so that I could head out the door to work and take them to my niece's. Poor Kai Kai. I came in and Luke not only had the light on, but he was actually in Kai's crib. He didn't even have to use a step stool! I don't think I really want to know how he got in there. Further more......I don't want Kai to learn how to EXIT his crib either!

What's in our names?

So I thought it might be fun to actually not only tell you about how our names came to be, but what they mean.

I spoke to Bill's mom today and she said that she wanted to call her baby Bill if it was a boy. She never had any intentions of making his name William. She also said that his dad was okay with whatever she decided to name him. She told me that they started to call him Billy when he was very little. Often people still refer to him that way. He was not named after any one and he does not have a middle name. BILL MEANS WILL OR DESIRE. I think both of those describe him. He has many specific ideas about things and how he wants to go about getting them done. Often I am on the opposite page as him on how to accomplish the task, but in the end love the outcome and results!

My mom told me that she had picked out the name Casey, as a girl name, when she was about 15. She said it was off of some television show that some guy's wife or secretary or something was named Casey. She did not know that she was having twins until she was 33 weeks pregnant (we were born 6 days after she found out.) They picked the name Carey in case it was a boy. They picked the name James as his middle name and then came up with Janelle (my middle name to match his.) Janelle was the name of one of my mom's high school friends. CASEY MEANS BRAVE AND PEACEMAKER. Those of you that know me I think that describes me to a perfect T. By peacemaker I mean that I cannot stand to have peace in my relationships. Sure we all get upset and vent, disagree, or even end up in an argument, but I am quick to fix-it, forgive it, and forget it. Quickly. Like within the same couple of hours if not day. If something goes on longer than a day I am a mess personally. I just need to get the air cleared.

Luke's name came from my old boss, Brian Luke Miller. He is/was an amazing boss, father, and husband. He puts Christ first in all that he does. I learned so many wonderful things from him during the 5 years I was his Executive Assistant. I cannot say enough good things about how highly I regard him. Luke's middle name Russell is from one of Bill's best friends. Russ lives in Hawaii with his family. He too is an amazing Christian father and husband. We enjoy every minute we spend with their family whether it's here in California or in Hawaii. After I had left ARAMARK to go back to school to teach I decided that I wanted to name a son, if I had one, Luke. When I was 20 weeks pregnant, we confirmed that it was indeed a boy, his first name was set. Russell was not decided upon until almost delivery day. Bill picked out his middle name. LUKE MEANS BRINGER OF LIGHT. He definitely brought light into our lives the moment he arrived and continues to do so each day!

Kyle is our youngest little guy. Since I got to pick Luke's first name, Bill claimed he got to pick baby #2's name! I literally went page by page through the baby name book writing down anything I thought I liked. I went to Bill with 40 names and he said no to all of them. The problem was he didn't have 1 name he even liked! Slowly over 10 months we said names left and right. He decided he really liked Kyle. I really didn't. I wanted a cool, hip name. A 1 syllable name to match Bill and Luke. One day we were sitting on the beach at Camp Pendelton and I was looking at a surfing magazine. There was a professional surfer named Kai something or other! I loved it. I ran it by Bill and he said great. Let's name him Kyle and call him Kai. Ugh. I hated that idea. As a teacher I am a firm believer you name your child what you want him or her to be called! So time went on and I figured it was the closest I would get. So he was named Kyle and we call him Kai. We will have him called Kai in school as well. His middle name was never really a topic. Once he was born I still had my list of names I liked hiding away. Bill said he didn't care and so I looked at my mom and said how about Aidan. Aidan it is! KYLE MEANS BELOVED AND KAI MEANS OCEAN IN HAWAIIAN. He certainly fits the bill for both. We adore him!

What is the story with your family names?

Happy Birthday Luke

Today is my baby's 4th birthday. It's hard to imagine how our life was without him. He has brought so much joy to our life. He is a loving son and a great big brother. Kai is constantly striving to do and be just like him. He is really good at sharing (or basically giving things up completely - like a drink) to his little brother. His biggest excitement about turning 4 is being able to ride the school bus (shuttle) at church. His dear friend Matthew was able to do this 2 months ago. It has been so hard to be patient. This past Sunday he was able to ride the shuttle with not only Matthew, but his other friend Luke as well! He also decided that he did not need to bring his blanket with him. After all, he is 4 and is a big boy now!

He currently is very interested in basketball and has begun to request to watch non-animated children movies. He loves the Chipmunks movie. He says he wants to take a trip to Las Vegas and the River this year! We just switched his bedroom with Kai's this past weekend. He is handling it very well. I needed to get some of those toys out of my living room and it is easier with the baby's crib rather than Luke's queen size bed! He definitely has a mind of his own and is independent. He is still very particular about his clothing. He doesn't like seems in his socks or tags on his clothes. He hates it when his pants are too long (which is often when he initially switches sizes.) He prefers not to wear any jacket or sweatshirts. I think he would live in shorts and short sleeve t-shirts if I would let him. I think that he has Bill's disposition (generally happy, but sometimes moody) and my temper. Quick to anger and lash out, but also quick to forgive and forget. He is a door slammer just like me. This upsets Bill very much. He hates that. It makes my dad laugh on the other hand! He still doesn't like preschool! He reminds me of this every Tuesday and Thursday! Little does he understand how much more schooling he has in life. :0)

WE LOVE YOU LUKIE!!!

Luke's 4th Birthday Party