55 inches of Excitement

We finally updated from our brick of a hand-me-down 1990's TV. We decided-mostly Kevin, to go all out and do a 55 inch LED
Smart HGTV with 3D. I don't think I've seen kevin so excited before-I'm sure he was just as gity as he was when he was a little kid on Christmas morning. I wasn't sure of the whole 3D thing at first, but once we had it all set up we put in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie and it was FUN! Luke was thrilled to see everything so bright. Kevin and I have always been a movie watching couple so this was a great investment for us-when you're busy with work, school, and parenting its sometimes the only ay to have a date night!

4 years ago...

4 years ago I was released from severing an 18 month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Oregon Portland Mission. The decision I made to serve a mission was the best decision I ever made and mapped out my life as I know it today. I have been able to accomplish a lot within those four years of being home, but my love for the people I served in Portland hasn't dwindled. I'm truly greatful for the oppertunity I had 4 years ago to serve in Portland. I love that Kevin and I both can not only relate to each others mission experience, as we both served in Portland, but I'm grateful that we sat the example of serving missions for Luke and our future children. Portland Oregon will always hold a special place in the hearts of our household. Miss you Portland and more importantly the people of Portland! (picture taken in my last area of Forest Grove, OR-can't beat Portland in the fall.)

Luke: 9 months

Our little monster is just that, growing so fast! Its so amazing to watch how fast he has developed in the last 9 months. Its truly a miracle seeing him become little person and develop his own personality and characteristics. Its always fun going places as a whole family and having people comment on how much he looks like Kevin-I see so many little things of Kevin in Luke, the saying "like father, like son" is so true with them two. I also see a little of myself in him, but I'm happy that Luke is such a Daddy's boy and that they have a special relationship already.

Here's Luke at 9 months:
- Weighs 21 lbs and is 27.5 inches long (surprisingly he's only in the 20th percentile for his weight...what does the 100th percentile look like...yikes!)
- Crawls! He got that one down quick and he's a speedy one!
- Wears 18-24mnth clothes.
- Has started pulling himself up to stand up, still needs to hang on to things for balance.
- Loves watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
- Loves the "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" song, best "stop crying" tool!
- Him and Roxy (our Boxer) have a special bond, he loves playing with her paws and her "jingles" (tags on her collar).
- He loves having daddy tickle him every night
- He's eating more solids and he started eating "crunches" (little puff snacks).
- He graduated from the infant car seat (thank goodness, he was getting so heavy) to the "big boy" chair.
- His pouty face has gone from just the bottom lip sticking out to both lips, its hard not to laugh at his cute little duck face.
- Diaper changes have become challenging, he gets excited to be nakey and crawls away while trying to put the clean diaper on him.

Finished...well, almost

So our table is finally useable! It took a lot of hard work from Kevin and I but it was worth it! We are currently using the old table top with a table cloth to disguise the ugliness. Hopefully we can get the new table top made soon and be completely done with this project.

Trunk or Treat!

Luke's first Halloween was celebrated by going to Kevin's family wards Trunk or Treat. While at target we let him pick his costume and we thought it very appropriate that he picked the Monkey costume, we call him our little monkey and he loves all his monkey toys!
He had a lot of fun taking in the sights of all the costumes and the Halloween decor. It was a fun night had by all!

Luke Monster: 8 months...going on 9 (already?!?)

Luke has been so much fun lately, not that he wasn't before. He can army crawl and on occasion does a normal crawl. He's bigger then ever, a month ago we weighed him and he was 20 lbs...which means by now he's most likely closer to 25 lbs. We all survived the first stages of teething, Luke has his two centrals on the bottom. He loves eating broccoli (didn't get that from me), sweet potatos, summer squash and bananas. His most recent discovery happened earlier this week...he has found out he has a tongue and loves sticking it out. He gets so happy when Kevin comes home from school, he loves his daddy!

Project Table

I've been complaining that we don't have anywhere to eat when we invite people over (not like we entertain often). So for my birthday Kevin bought me an amazing antique table. Its been a long term project with work, Kevin's school schedule, and of course Luke. When we baught the table someone had painted it white, because its solid wood we wanted the original beauty to come out. Finally, we got done with stripping all the old nastiness off this week! Below are the before and after shots.

To complete the table we have to build a new top for it and stain it. Woo Hoo for finally being one step closer to completion.
When we baught the table it didn't come with chairs, but thanks to a neighbors yard sale and $5 we are the proud owners of 4 chairs. After some black spray paint and a trip to Hobby Lobby for some fabric and a quick lesson from Kevins' mom on reupholstering- we have cute chairs! Another before and after picture below.

Uggg....im turning into my worse fear-Help!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love dressing my best for whatever occassion...i was taught at a young age by my fashion savy mom that your outward appearance makes a difference. Lately, I think I would shame my mom,sorry mom. As much as I love getting pretty or feeling pretty~i almost feel I have lost the touch to do so. Anyone who has held our son knows why his nickname is "pukey Lukey." Ive almost said wearing my comfy-non attractive-puke proof clothes is a must for that reason. However, I think my husband can attest that my oregon shorts.and mismatched tshirt are not the most amazing look. Sadly i've turned into the fropy mom that I swore I never would, whats next-driving a mini van (no offense all you mini van drivers)?
So here is the question I post-how do you women not fall into the fropy mom lifestyle-espically with doing dishes and laundry everyday(and theres only 3 of us-not sure how you bigger families dont go crazy with always having to do dishes and laundry), having growing children that need bigger size clothes monthly which means not much extra money for moms appearance, and going to the grocery store is the highlight of your week.
I guess at least im not sitting watching soap opera and eating bon bons...hopefully I wont fall that deep in the fropiness.

Our baby is 6 months old!

I can't believe that 6 months ago yesterday I was sitting in church not feeling good and then after our Sunday dinner is when the contractions started-at first i thought my Luke didn't agree with that nights Pot Roast, but then the contractions kept getting stronger and before I knew it, it was 3 am on Monday morning and I was crying in pain while in the crawling position on our bed telling Kevin, " I think we should go to the hospital." Two hours later I was told to go back home. Kevin and I were exhausted...I tried to relax and lay down, but that made the pain worse. While Kevin slept on the couch I was upstairs pacing back in forth during contractions. All day I tried all the tricks they teach you- breathing, taking a bath, going on a walk...yada, yada, yada. The contractions just kept getting stronger and closer together. Finally at 6pm on Monday (a whole 24hrs from when the contractions began), I was admitted to the hospital by being dilated to a 5. I finally got my epidural and was able to sleep for the 1st time-sadly not for long. The Dr. came in and broke my water and after that came the waiting game and being checked every so often didn't allow me to much time between checks to sleep. Finally Tuesday morning rolled around, my progression had SLOWED down-Luke didn't react well to Pitocin. With me having a fever and Luke's heart rate lowering the Dr. told us a c-section would be the best idea. Both Kevin and I were nervous but knew we had to think of Luke-before I went into surgery Kevin and my dad gave me a blessing which made me feel at ease, knowing everything would be fine. After 36 hours, I finally heard the cry of our son Luke Aston Bias. He has from that day forward brought such joy and happiness to our lives. I am grateful daily that Kevin and I have been trusted to raise one of Heavenly Fathers children.

Luke at 6 months:
-Weighs 19 lbs
-26 inches long
-Loves his monkey toys
-Rolls over from belly to back mostly
-Loves eating his cereal with a spoon
-Wears 12 month clothes
-Loves cuddling with mommy and daddy in their bed in mornings
-Loves story time and bath time every night
-Has already been to 3 other states other then AZ : Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming
-Loves being in just a diaper
-Loves to laugh

Cody,WY & Yellowstone Trip

This last weekend we decided to take what we thought was a day trip to Cody, WY. Because of road detours and 4 of us having to stop to do work, we made it to Cody in perfect timing for the nightly 6pm reenactment of a gun fight with the infamous Buffalo Bill, who was from Cody. Though the acting was a bit corny it was still fun to see and the man who played Buffalo Bill (man with the white hair) did an amazing job portraying him, looked just like the real Buffalo Bill. They performed the gun fight in front of a Wyoming historical sport-The Irma Hotel, built by Buffalo Bill and named after his daughter.
After the show we walked around the cute shops and had dinner at the Irma hotel. We realized that we were too close to the East Entrance to Yellowstone to just turn around that night and go back home. After dinner we all checked in to a local hotel and made a late night Walmart run for tooth brushes, contact solution and all other needed personal necessities for a random-fun-unplanned overnight adventure. Thank goodness for 24hr Walmarts ; )
The next morning we woke up and were ready for a fun adventure filled day of beautiful scenery, animals and even nicer weather-you couldn't ask for a prettier day to go through Yellowstone National park. It was a beautiful drive through the Park seeing the green hillsides, wildflowers and waterfalls. As for animals we saw lots of Buffalos, Elk, and at the exit of the Park near Jackson Hole we even got a glimpse of a Bear crossing the road! All of the geysers looked amazing, you could feel the heat rom the steam when he wind blew, pretty amazing what the Earth can do and the power it has. It was a great trip! By the time we got home all of us were pooped!

New Toy!

While visiting my parents my dad got a new camera and we got lucky enough to have his other one. A Canon 20D. I've been wanting a nice camera to capture our families adventures and now we got one...now we just have to figure out how to use it ; )

Muhlenkamp Reunion & 4th of July Wyoming Style...

Its been two years since the Muhlenkamp family has gotten together and a lot has happened for all of us in those two years, for myself alone...I've moved to Arizona, met and married my hubby and can't forget the other big event in my life...gave birth to our wonderful Luke.
It was great to catch up with those who came and to introduce Kevin and Luke to those who haven't met my two men in my life. We had the reunion during 4th of July weekend in Dubois, Wyoming at my parents cabin. It was weekend of catching up, marshmallow gun fights, water balloon wars, snowball fights, the Dubois parade, fireworks, oh and lots and lots of yummy food.





Because Kevin and I have been so busy with work, school and Luke we decided to take advantage of this trip. We made the journey in two days to Dubois-stopping for a night in Provo,Ut. We will have spent a total of 3 weeks away from the blazing Arizona heat to enjoy time with my parents as well as my brothers family who have also taken advantage of the reunion as an extended Vacay. I'm sure I will post more of our Wyoming adventures in the coming days.

To My Fellow Mothers....

I'm not sure if I can have any more kids. Don't get me wrong, I adore Luke-I absolutely adore him, he is so fun, cute and such a joy and blessing to have in my life. But lately I feel that I would go nuts if I had another child, I know thats kinda a selfish thought but its true. How do you mothers do it? I mean how do you do the feedings, the cleaning, the cooking, the bills, diaper changes, play time and all the other demanding tasks of being a wife and mother and not feel the following statement: "what about me?"
I've been avoiding writing this post/talking about it because I feel bad for thinking this-like I'm being selfish or ungrateful for my circumstances. But, I found myself waking up this morning in an ALMOST resentment-like attitude to Luke wanting to be fed at 6 am like any other morning while my husband (who could sleep through ANYTHING) is sound a sleep after I've had to wake up several times in the night to give Luke his paci or something of that sort. As I was feeding him I couldn't help but think-"what about me?"
When do "I" get to sleep in, when is it "my" turn to be taken care of instead of me taking care of everything? See it sounds selfish,but at the same time I can't help thinking it.
So, my question to my fellow mothers is this...do you ever ask yourself those same questions and have you come up with any solutions/answers?

Kevin's Birthday: Sedona and Day 'O Fun

Today is Kevin's 26th Birthday! Woo Hoo, happy birthday to an amazing husband and father! We decided to take the day on Sunday and go to Sedona. Sedona is absolutely gorgeous! The weather was amazing and all the pretty colored wild flowers were in bloom. Because it was Memorial Day weekend the rest of the Phoenix Valley also decided to go up North to Sedona, but it was still a lot of fun to walk around all the shops and have yummy food! The amazing Red Rock Cliffs made the scenery perfect!










It was a miracle yesterday-Kevin didn't have school AND we both had work off-that only happens in a blue moon. I took advantage of the day off and planned a Day 'O Fun for Kevin's birthday celebration. We started by going to breakfast at Crackle Barrel, then we dropped Luke off at Kevin's parents house for the rest of the afternoon. While Luke-free we went to see the new Pirates movie (for those who haven't seen it,stay till the very, very end of the credits). I then took Kevin to Cold Stone for some Birthday Cake Remix icecream...yummy! We then had some time to kill...little did Kevin know that I planned a surprise birthday dinner at Olive Garden with some of his family and best friend. When it was time for us to go to the restaurant Kevin saw Brandon's (his best friend) truck in the parking lot, I tried to play it off by saying "lots o people drive those." It was a great dinner with great company. with full bellies we went back to Kevin's parents house to play games and have cake.