Luke is . . .

and he has the little "thunder thighs" to prove it ;-) 

Some friends got this onsie for Eli when he was born and we thought it was a hoot!

Although I've nursed all three munchkins, Luke is the first one to truly love it.

Luke is also our first chubby baby ~ not huge but big by the G Fisher Fam standards :-)

He got off to a rough start with nursing

but I have a feeling he is the one I will actually have to "wean"

Both A and E gave it up completely on their own by a year old,

something tells me Luke may not be so willing so we'll see . . .

Luke: 9 months

Three quarters of a year old . . . how did that happen so fast???

Luke Daniel

is now

9 months

18 lbs, 11 oz and 27.75 in

At 9 months, Luke is finally, consistently sleeping through the night

{7pm to 6 or 7am}  Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thankfully, he is also finally starting to enjoy eating food rather than just nursing.

We have learned that he prefers food with flavor.

His favorites so far are: Mr. Huber's smoked chicken, in the mesh feeder of course,

Mrs. Huber's baked beans and ice cream :-)

As far as baby food goes, he's still not a huge fan but definitely prefers veggies to fruits,

although, thanks to tummy troubles, we did learn that he LOVES prunes ;-)

At 9 months, he is also following in the footsteps of his big siblings

and going straight to the straw sippy cup with water ~ big fan but lazy in that we have to hold it.

At 9 months, Luke is still not too pleased with bottles but will at least take them when he has to.

My guess is that Luke will never be too excited about the bottle,

so it is a good thing he doesn't need them too often!

At 9 months, Luke is a total flirt and ham ~ his little personality is a hoot!

He ADORES his Daddy and lights up the instant he hears his voice or sees him.

The feeling is definitely mutual!

Luke is also a pretty big fan of his big siblings, who still cannot get enough of him.

Alli and Eli "fight" over who gets to sit next to Luke at the table for meals and snacks :-)

Eli now randomly goes up to him, hugs, kisses and says "I love you Lukegoo"

Alli is still the sweetest little mama in the world to her little Lukey!

As for Mommy, I cannot imagine a sweeter little guy ~ I love my little snuggle bug so much!!!

At 9 months, Luke still has only two teeth and no signs that others are coming any time soon,

but he loves to show off his two pearly whites with his many cheesy grins and silly faces.

Luke loves to make silly faces to get others to giggle or interact more ~ so cute!

Still no "tummy off the floor" crawling but Luke has mastered the "army crawl"

and can (and does!) get any place he wants . . . yep, baby proofing is in full swing!

He is a great sitter, if put in the position but hasn't figured out just yet how to get to that position,

though he has gotten close many times so maybe this month.

At 9 months, Luke is into EVERYTHING and loves to examine and explore,

I so wish I knew what was going through his little head sometimes!

For example, during this photo shoot, he became aware of his sticker . . .

The progression was a hoot but he was not happy when I rescued the sticker.

At 9 months, Luke is such a joy to all of us!

We cannot imagine our family without him and we look forward to each new adventure . . .

Summer Camp Success

This week, Alli and Eli attended cooking camp at Chapel Hill Preschool and they both had a blast! You had to be three to attend so Eli just made it and was the youngest in the class but the teacher said he was "fabulous!". The first day they were both a little nervous but got over the nerves very quickly and had so much fun playing and crafting with food as well as making some very yummy dishes. I wasn't sure how Eli would do with being there for four hours (9 to 1) but he did great, though today he crashed when we got home. I made the mistake of calling it school and they were both very quick to inform me that it was "summer camp" not school ;-). I think they were both bummed that today was the last day. Alli is now looking forward to dance camp next week, though that is only one day. Eli's only complaint was that Mrs. Benoit wasn't there - at least we know he will be ready for school to start up again!

Eli's 3rd Birthday Party at the Beach

We had Eli's 3rd Birthday Party at the Beach this year, as that is what he wanted.
The entertaining part was that he never actually made it down to the beach that day.

Here was the invite . . .

Once again, the party guests consisted of both sets of grandparents, Great Pop, Uncle Danny and Rhonda, Uncle Z, and of course, the Hubers ~ no party would be complete without the BFF!

Given that we didn't want to do a character theme {and that Mommy LOVES red, white & blue}
we opted for a Red, White & Blue ice cream party, which made decorating fun and easy!

I joined the Silhouette bandwagon and must admit that I love it

and had so much fun making the banners and ice cream cone labels!

No cake or cake pops this year, just a very yummy ice cream sundae, cone, and shake bar.

It was a HUGE hit among the adults and little ones.

The birthday boy opted for mint chocolate chip ice cream in a cone with sprinkles.

Eli truly enjoyed his ice cream cone and his s'more on a stick (thank you Mrs. Huber!)

I love the way he shows that he is 3!

He was in Heaven to be "double fisting" the desserts and happy to have Mommy smooches :-)

He loved having his buddy at his party to celebrate!

For shakes, we pulled out the Magic Bullet and it worked perfectly.

The adults had fun creating "Blizzard-like" shakes in it!!!

Funniest part of the day was learning that Lukey is a HUGE ice cream fan.

Such a big fan in fact that he threw a temper tantrum when I did not give him my shake quickly enough and when he ate the whole thing and there was none left ~ seriously, it was a hoot!

We kept it very simple . . . hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, greek pasta salad and tons of fruit.

Everyone seemed to enjoy this and it made it easy on us so we could enjoy the party.

Uncle Danny and Alli had fun eating together and playing with Gizmo, who enjoyed the food too!

For party favors, again, we kept it "simple" . . . hula hoops.

I put quotes around simple because finding normal hula hoops {i.e. not light up, singing hoops}

proved to be quite challenging but I finally found some that even came in two sizes so Eli & Ava got some that were more their size. Alli is now a pro!

Even though we did not do a character theme for the party,

 apparently we had a "Toy Story" theme for the presents :-)

Out of everything, he got two non-Toy Story items {a John Deer tractor & a Nerf football}

Everything else was Toy Story or Buzz Lightyear friends as Eli would say ;-)

Eli was so excited and sat and played nonstop!!!

A sweet sibling hug after Eli opened the present Alli got him . . . a Toy Story dump truck.

This is what he told her he wanted and we searched until she found it, both were very excited!

Every Toy Story toy imaginable!

Enjoying a quiet moment with Bulls Eye.

Wearing his Buzz Lightyear towel and holding his Toy Story DVD box

which now holds lots and lots and lots of mini-Toy Story friends.

Our own little Buzz Lightyear!

While Eli was enjoying all of his new toys, the girls 

{and Dads, Uncles, brothers, etc. ~ Mommy stayed behind with Ducky Gramma and Luke} 

headed down to the beach for swimming.

Our little pink fish could not wait to hit the water!

The weather had been a bit sketchy in the morning ~ thunder but no rain ~ but by the afternoon,

it was a PERFECT beach day and the swimming was great I hear.

We stuck around the beach until after 7 p.m. and a great time was had by all.

  

I would have to say that the party was perfect for our big boy!!!

{There are tons more pictures, & even more to be added, on our photo site}

Funny munchkins

Cute story #1:
Eli typically worships Alli and wants to do everything with her, while Alli is not always such a big fan of Eli, so I found the following story very entertaining . . . Yesterday, Kaitlyn took Alli to her swim lessons and I took Eli to his three year check up. Alli stayed at her friends' house to play for the day (they were bringing her to meet us at church after dinner). Around 4pm, Eli finally notices that she's not home and asks "where Alli?". Not wanting to make him jealous I answered that she was playing with Taylor and Lizzy. With a look of complete excitement, Eli asked "forevah?". I responded that she would be at church that night. Eli looked completely deflated and said "awhnh". Kaitlyn and I could not help but chuckle at that one. Of course, he was very happy to see her a few hours later!

Cute story #2:
This evening, Alli and Eli decided to play "Gramma's house". Alli was Gramma and Eli was spending three days with her. They were using Eli's new tent as the house. They watched "movies", listened to music, went to Godfathers, and read stories. So sweet! Obviously, their visits to my folks' house provide so much entertainment they love to play it. Thanks for being such awesome grandparents Mom and Dad!

Luke, is just cute and sweet in all he does and the big news for him is that he is finally excited about solid foods - woohoo!

Eli's 3rd Birthday Playdate at McDonalds

Eli had a blast at McDonalds today with BFF Ava and her sisters.

We decided to go fairly early (10:30ish) to let the kiddos play before eating.

They had so much fun playing and eating.

Eli chowed down on his chicken nuggets, fries and milk but gave his apples to Alli and Luke :-)

He decided he was still hungry and ate one of Ava's nuggets & some of Lizzy's fries.

He still had room for a chocolate milkshake on the way home ~ what a little piggy!

Not to be outdone by their brother, both Alli and Luke chowed down as well.

Luke was a huge fan of the french fries and managed to snag a couple of Ava's.

Thankfully, Ava was happy to share with "Baby Luke"

I tried to get a picture of Eli with the girls

but the little turkey didn't want to come down so this was the best I could do . . .

Such a silly boy!

As we were leaving, he let us know that he still wanted his birthday party,

good thing we're doing a special dinner for him tonight!!!

Be sure to check out the post below for cute pics of the birthday boy when he woke up this morning!



Happy 3rd Bithday Eli!!!

Another year? How can it be?

Eli Zachary Fisher

is now

THREE!!!

Have you ever seen a sweeter pose saying . . .

"It's my birthday and I'm 3"

I haven't either!!!

Eli has been telling everyone he's 3 for the past couple weeks,

but knows that now is his birthday, which means parties and presents ;-)

We had his birthday party on Saturday ~ pictures and post in progress ~ 

and today the celebrations are continuing . . .

The little man started his morning with phone calls from both Grammas

He is quite the conversationalist ;-)

The 3rd birthday is off to a fabulous start as he is eating a special breakfast while playing with all of his new Toy Story toy and watching Toy Story.  In Eli's world, it does not get better than this!!!

Plus, soon we are heading out for a special lunch and playtime with BFF Ava at McDonalds.

I'm not sure the little guy can believe all his great luck ;-)

We cannot believe it has been three years since this amazing little guy entered our lives.

What a wonderful adventure it is!

Eli Zachary, at three years old you are all boy and we wouldn't have you any other way.

You are a climber and love to get into everything.

Toy Story is your favorite movie and you LOVE Buzz Lightyear,

you even "buzz" us when you are mad! 

You refer to the other Toy Story characters as Buzz Lightyear friends.

You still love your tools, cars and trains as well.

We also often find you in Alli's room playing Barbies and dress up, though you think the dress up box is a pirate chest and constantly want to find gold dablooms!

You also love reading . . . current faves are:

Elmo's Red or Blue, I Like You, Goldbug, and your Toy Story and Cars books.

Lately, you've taken to spitting (thankfully nothing comes out!) when mad ~ we're working on that!

You love going to the beach house now but still are not the biggest fan of the beach ~

we're working on that too!

Your best buddy is Ava, you two are so precious together.

Even with your "all boy" way of life that often makes Mommy's heart jump,

you have such a kind and gentle heart.

You LOVE to snuggle and give hugs;

 and can often be found curled up on someone's lap with your blue bunny.

You absolutely adore big sister Alli and baby brother Lukey.

Your favorite song is Jesus Loves Me and you often ask to go to church.

You have the best manners ~ always saying Please, Thank You, You're Welcome, I sorry.

Your vocabulary has exploded and you talk very clearly but my two current favorites are:

Klaitlyn - Miss Kaitlyn (in the past you called her Clean!)

Dramma - Gramma

Eli Zachary Fisher, we love you so much!

You bring so much joy and love to all who know you.

We thank God for you each and every day.

A new beginning

This week marks the beginning of a new era for me . . .

As of July 3, 2012, I am officially a full time, at home Mommy.

It feels strange but wonderful at the same time.

I interviewed with Bingham McCutchen LLP in September 2002 for a summer associate position.
Ultimately, I decided that was the best fit for me and accepted the offer.

 I spent the summer of 2003 being wined and dined while doing exciting legal work.

At the end of the summer, I received an offer to be a litigation associate upon graduation.

I immediately accepted.

 After spending a year clerking for {now} Chief Justice Ireland

on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court,

I returned to Bingham in September 2005 as a second year associate.

This picture was taken during my first week at Bingham in September 2005 and was my official headshot on the website for the past 7 years.

The money was great but I was MISERABLE.

I worked with a very difficult partner and the thought of going to work made me want to cry.

I was actually counting down the days until I could quit

{I had to stay a year or pay back the bar prep and exam fees as well as my clerkship bonus}.

Then in March of 2006 that all changed. I met Jason, then a senior associate,

who staffed me on the Tempur Pedic securities case.

 For the first time since I started, I was excited by my work.

Jason began staffing me on more securities cases with he and Jordy, an amazing partner.

Soon, Jason was made partner and by 2007,

nearly all of my cases were with Jordy and Jason.

I loved my work and the firm was wonderful to me.

 Along the way, many of my summer associate class left the firm and before I knew it,

I was the last one left in litigation and one of the final four of our class of 28!

 Crazy since I never planned on working at a big firm and really thought I would last only one year.

When G and I decided to move back to WA in 2008, the firm allowed me to commute.

 I had no idea how that would work and figured it would only last a year if I was lucky.

Well, it lasted nearly four years!

It is no secret that after Eli was born, I was ready to be done with the commuting

and really wanted to stay home with Alli and Eli full time.

Financially, it just wasn't an option so I returned to commuting and

decided to branch out and work with additional partners in the securities department.

 I still enjoyed the work but the commute was becoming too much.

Then, we had the surprise pregnancy and miscarriage with

every complication possible in the last two months of 2010.

When I finally returned to commuting in January 2011,

I was exhausted and finding it harder and harder to keep doing it.

I stopped flying in August 2011 due to pregnancy complications

and went out on leave in October 2011.

 After Luke, I knew commuting would be too much but Bingham

had been so good to me for so long, I felt I had to try to return.

 I was trying to work out a return to work date with the head of litigation in Boston

but we were having a difficult time connecting due to his schedule.

Finally, on March 2, 2012, I was able to speak to him and his co-chair on the West Coast.

They gave me my annual review, which was good, but then I was told that I

had no prospect of making partner due to my commuting.

They offered me a generous severance package along with my vacation payout

 of nearly 5 weeks, which I happily accepted.

I flew back to Boston June 3-5 to clean out my office.

It's crazy how much you can accumulate in nearly 7 years!  I must say that I will miss my view.

While there, I had the opportunity to say goodbye to friends and co-workers.

 I am so blessed to have made such wonderful friends.  Mohan, Kate & Angie left Bingham before me but we remained close & they threw me a "retirment party"

It was a wonderful visit filled with three fabulous goodbye parties.

Nicole, Bill, Jason, Jordy and Brandon were kind enough to take me out for some yummy Chinese one last time.  Such amazing people to work with!!!

I have absolutely no regrets and am grateful that it ended the way it did, on a positive note.

 I loved my time with Bingham and learned so much

from the brilliant attorneys and staff with whom I worked.

 That said, I am so excited for my next adventure . . .

Three 'lil firecrackers

What a FABULOUS 4th of July!!!

Our three adorable firecrackers had a blast at the beach with cousins and friends.

We could not have asked for a better day!

After Luke's morning nap, we headed out for a day at the beach.

The kiddos were so excited to see their cousins again.

This picture of the cousins with Great Pop is a hoot! 

The big cousins (Alli & Victoria have silly faces);

the little cousins (Alexandria & Eli) are so not interested in having a picture;

and the baby cousins (Anna & Luke) aren't quite sure what to think!

We actually managed to get one pretty decent shot of the whole family

(minus Tony who didn't make it up for this trip and was missed!)

And, the Hubers were there too!  Doesn't get any better than this!!!

Even Luke seemed pretty darn happy to be at the beach, enjoying his "office"

and taking a very good nap in the pack-n-play out there.
In fact, it was such a good nap that he missed being in the parade!

He did, however, make it in time to see the tail end of it and seemed very impressed ;-)

The bigs had so much fun in the parade this year.

We brought out both cars, the wagon and the stroller and all were thrilled.

Eli decided he would be the one to help Barbie Gramma decorate this year . . .

Alli and Victoria took turns driving the Escalade.

Taylor drove the Mustang while Lizzy gave the BEST parade wave ever!

Eli and Ava rode in the wagon and tossed (or ate!) candy at the crowd.

Alex happily rode in the red, white and blue stroller.

What fun they had and Victoria even won the prize for "Best Smile" ~ go Vic!

She looked so darn cute in her medal and the prize was $5 ~ woo  hoo!!!

After the parade, the kiddos decided to hit the beach and go swimming with the Dads.

Sadly, given my bum knee, I couldn't go down but based on these pictures, everyone had fun!

By 7pm, the kiddos were getting tired, though not all wanted to admit it, so we headed home.

Thankfully, all three of our 'lil firecrackers are currently sleeping through the loud fireworks!