Mid-October

I cannot believe it is mid-October already. The fall semester is certainly going fast (as well as this pregnancy). Our family just returned from a four-day vacation in San Diego. While we saw little sun (it was cloudy most of the time), we still enjoyed our time at the science museum, Seaworld, and the wild animal park. We also had the chance to take Grandma on vacation with us, so Luke really had a blast.


Having fun with Grandma


Elmo has me!


Seaworld rides


At the wild animal park


On the tram ride

Luke will have a....

baby brother. I think Luke is excited about teaching his future brother everything he knows. We're excited to meet our new son in January.

Health note: the baby is growing well and looks healthy. He even gave us a thumbs up sign during the ultrasound, so I'm hoping that's a sign that he will be a happy baby. I'm feeling pretty good, too (aside from occasional heartburn due to the baby's position against my stomach). This baby also likes to kick really hard.

Luke's shirt

Yes, it's true. Luke will hopefully be the greatest big brother in 2011. We're expecting a baby in January, so this blog (babyvandegrift) is appropriately named once again. So far, the pregnancy has gone well (no sickness, but some tiredness for me) and the baby seems healthy so far (more ultrasounds this week).

Here are a few more photos of some of my summer fun with Luke:


At Anna's 3rd birthday party (Anna is Luke's best friend)


At the zoo with Luke's friend, Macy


On the zoo train


Riding the train at Oaks Amusement Park...Luke sure loves trains


Riding the car at Oaks Amusement Park

been a while

I know, I know...it's been a while since I posted anything on Luke's blog. I guess life has kept us busy since January. Teaching and preparing my tenure portfolio kept me busy in the spring and into June. We had a very wet June in Oregon this year, so it feels like summer has just started. Our family just returned from a week of vacation at Eagle Crest where Tom, mom, and I golfed a few times and Luke enjoyed the spray park and kiddie pool. Here are a few recent photos:



Luke enjoyed the pool


...and the spray park


Out on a walk


On a bike ride


Watching the Redmond 4th of July parade

Mickey, Pooh, and Tigger

Bounce, bounce, bounce -- just like Tigger, that's what Luke did during a week in southern California for his second birthday. We spent Jan 1 - 7 in sunshine and enjoyed every minute of our trip. Our most expensive attraction was a visit to the ER at the Children's Hospital. Luke had a stomach virus (as did Tammy the day before) and vomited shortly after our plane landed in Orange County. Luke was fine a few hours later, so we continued with our plans. We spent a day at the science museum, a morning at the beach, a morning at a playground, a few afternoons at the hotel pool, and three days at Disneyland and CA Adventure. We were fortunate to visit the theme parks when most lines were 5 - 15 minutes long. We saw quite a bit! Below is the list of the adventures we had at the parks.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Dumbo, It's a Small World, Goofy's House, Mickey's House, Chew Chew Train, Ladybugs, Hot air balloons, Disney playhouse (show), Pixar parade, Finding Nemo, Autopia, Rockets, Toy Story Mania, Bug's Life, Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh, Casey Jr. Train, Storybook Canalboats, Muppet 3D, Monsters Inc, Talk with Crush, animation museum, Carousel, tortilla factory tour, bakery tour, Pixar parade (again), Disney railroad, Mr. Lincoln's movie, Castle walk through tour


The science museum


Learning to play hockey


Mr. Toad's Wild Ride


Goofy's playhouse


With Mickey!


At Balboa Beach


Waiting for Bug's Life


On the rocketship


With Pooh!


Chew Chew Train