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.