Merry Christmas Luke! We have had so much fun this Christmas! Every year after Thanksgiving, Mommy starts working on our Christmas card! I decided to photograph you in your Christmas pajamas, and it was so fun! I had a hard time deciding which photograph to use in the Christmas card! You had a little Christmas party at school, and Mommy was asked to bring your favorite Christmas books to share. We brought The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, The Snowy Day, and Frozen Noses. You loves those books! This year, you and I watched a lot of "Yes, Virginia" and Mickey's "Twice Upon a Christmas!" You really love Mickey Mouse! We watched "The Grinch" the most ...by far, your favorite Christmas Special this year!
We celebrated Christmas with Koko and Bob before they left for Charlotte, NC. We all went to dinner, and then went back to Grandma's house for dessert and our gift exchange. You were a very good boy at the restaurant! Koko and Bob gave you a train set with tracks, and your first wrist watch! It has a green band with footballs on it! You really love this watch! Koko and Bob are always so good to you, baby! On December 23, Mommy took you to get your picture taken with Santa Claus at Bass Pro Shop in Cincinnati! Aunt Sandy went with us, and the three of us spent the day together, celebrating Christmas. We ate homemade fudge and looked at all of the Christmas decorations in Santa's Workshop! You especially loved riding the escalator! It was really a great day!
On Christmas Eve morning, you and I made sugar cookies to put out on a plate for Santa later that night. We went to Aunt Sandy's for dinner in the afternoon. We spent the day with Aunt Sandy, Uncle Joe, cousin Jeff, and the Rigg family. Aunt Sandy makes a wonderful dinner for us on Christmas Eve. Aunt Sandy and Uncle Joe bought you a great red keyboard. You really love your keyboard! The Rigg family bought you an amazing choo-choo train for underneath your Christmas tree! Later that night, we went to a Christmas party, and Santa was there! You had so much fun! He also gave you a watch! This one had a blue band, and red fire engines! We got home very late that night. You drank a bottle of milk before bed, and we put your cookies out for Santa on his plate. You also left him a bottle of milk.
Christmas Morning was so exciting! You ran downstairs to see if Santa had been to our house! You checked the plate of cookies first, and realized he had! You checked out all of the cookie crumbs, and noticed how much Santa had eaten from the plate of treats! You also noticed he drank all of the milk! Santa brought you a piggy bank, a sweatshirt, a tugboat for the bathtub, an Elf on the Shelf Memory Matching Game, Mickey + Pluto, and Mickey Turns 4 Years Old. He also brought you Little Blue Truck's Christmas. Santa filled your stocking with wooden stampers, Mickey Big Coloring Book, new mittens, chocolate treats, and a new box of crayons. Grandma gave you a camera, and you didn't put it down all day! We spent the rest of the day with Aunt Deb, Uncle John, Ashley, Josh, and Aunt Debbie's family. They gave you a great big box of Lego Builders, 2 movies, Matchbox Cars, and The Night Before Christmas. What a wonderful day, baby! You had so much fun, and everyone was so happy to celebrate Christmas with you! I love you, Luke! Merry Christmas!
Happy Birthday, son! You are 4 years old now! You're growing so big, right before my very eyes! I'm so blessed to have you in my life! This year, Halloween was on Friday night and your Birthday Party was on Sunday afternoon, so we didn't have a lot of time to get ready! You and I went shopping on Saturday to pick up your cake and decorations for the party. We had so much fun getting ready for your big day, and you had fun shopping with Mommy! Luke, you are always so much fun to be around, because you're such a happy boy. You find joy and everything, and everyone around you is happy to be with you! You were so excited to be a Panda this year for Halloween, I decided to decorate your birthday cake with a Panda. It was beautiful! You loved it! Mommy ordered Chinese food from our favorite restaurant, New China.
Uncle John and Aunt Deb brought you a great big Aircraft Carrier with a lot of airplanes! Uncle Joe and Aunt Sandy brought you a backpack full of treats and a Springboro sweatshirt to wear at the football and basketball games. Grandma bought you the 4th car of your Precious Moments Birthday Train. It has a baby elephant riding the train! Koko and Bob gave you an "I Spy" game, glow-in-the-dark stars for your room, Raccoon Pajamas, and two pair of track pants. Our friends, Mindie and Allie, brought you the game "Perfection". You and I have been playing board games ever since your birthday! It's been so much fun for both of us! Mommy bought you some wooden blocks in the shape of castles. I bought you a blue and red rocket ship that you play with in the bathtub. You like it because it reminds you of the rocket ship Curious George rides in. I also bought you a Denver Broncos Peyton Manning football jersey. You and I watched the game when he broke the record for the most touchdowns in the world! 509 touchdowns!
We all had so much fun celebrating your birthday with you, Luke! You had such a wonderful day, and I had so much fun sharing it with you! You have been such a blessing to me, our friends, and our entire family. Happy birthday, baby! I love you so much!
What a fun time of year this is for you, baby! You and I get out your Halloween Pottery Barn Advent Calendar, and hang it on the back of the wooden door. We begin our countdown to Halloween on October 1, and you get a little treat every night after dinner! We have so much fun with this tradition. It's one of the things we really look forward to, and will have fun with for years to come! In early October, I asked you what you wanted to be for Halloween this year. You told me, without a doubt, that you wanted to dress up as a Panda this year! I asked you the same question quite a few times, just to make sure. Each time I asked, you told me that you wanted to be a Panda! Mommy bought you a Panda costume, and you loved it! You participated in a Halloween parade at school, and your class went across the street and spent the daywith the senior citizens living at the retirement village nearby. I took you trick-or-treating to the neighbor's houses later that night. You had a great Halloween!
Your first dog was Tommy. He was the most beautiful Chocolate Labrador that Mommy had ever seen! Tommy was born in Colorado, and he became my puppy while I lived in Colorado, a long time ago. Tommy became your puppy when you and I returned from China! He loved you so much! He followed you around the house, always making sure that you were safe and sound! He always laid down next to you while you played! You loved to play with Tommy, and lay on his belly, and pull on his tail! You were little then! You would read to him, give him your toys, and talk to him all the time. Tommy always slept under our feet at dinner, hoping for a treat! You always laughed when you were playing with Tommy! Tommy went to heaven on this day, and we both miss him very much. He was 11 1/2 years old.
What a wonderful day we had, Luke! This is the day we celebrate your adoption. And August 10, 2012 you when I left China got an airplane to fly to the United States. When that airplane landed on United States of America soil, you became an American citizen, what a proud day for both of us! Grandma, Koko, and Bob picked us up at the airport. It was very late in the night, and you and I were very tired. August was the first day that we were all together as a family. We celebrate that day every year, and call it Gotcha Day! This year, you and I went to the aquarium in Cincinnati, to see all of the beautiful fish. We spent the entire day at the aquarium, and had lunch together while we were there. We had so much fun! When we got home, we made smoothies! Grandma gave you a pirate memory game! Mommy gave you an airplane to play with in the bathtub! I love you so much, Luke! I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am for the opportunity to be your Mother! What a day of celebration!
What a big weekend for you, Luke! We had so much fun this 4th of July weekend! Koko and Bob came over to our house for dinner, like they do every year. You love it when Bob and Koko visit, because you always blow lots of bubbles with Koko, and draw on the front porch with jumbo sidewalk chalk! You got a big splinter in the palm of your hand, and Koko got it out with tweezers. You thought that was pretty cool! Grandma bought sparklers for all of us... for after the sun went down. You were a little too young to hold the sparklers this year, but you loved them! You and I stayed up late this year, and listened to the fireworks from your bedroom! We had a great night, baby!
The next day, we went out to Uncle Joe's and Aunt Sandy's. Joseph is your middle name because of Uncle Joe. We had hamburgers and hot dogs off the grill, and you loved washing dishes with Uncle Joe at the sink! Your second cousins played with you, and took a lot of pictures with you. Uncle Joe and Aunt Sandy are their Grandparents. You and I just called the the big boys because they are 6'2", 6'5", and 6'7" last we all checked! They are just very big boys, and you love to see them when they visit! The best part of the weekend, for you, was riding Uncle Joe's tractor with him! Oh, my goodness! You just loved that! Uncle Joe always found fun things to do with you!
