{see ya, bye!}

Utah, here we come!!!!!

I have been waiting for this day for so long! It couldn't have come at a better time. Jake is studying for the boards and I am in need a break. My two year old is driving me crazy!!! I'm sure all of you with a two year old or have had one can attest to that. We are going to live it up! I can't wait to see the mountains. I have missed them so much.
I have so many things I want to do, roast marshmallows in my parents back yard, go to the pool, shop, take a nap, play games with family, go to pine view, visit my friends, go out to eat.... The list could go on and on. Mostly I'm so excited for my family to meet Mr. Lukester! It has almost been a year since we have been back home. See ya later Wisconsin!!!

{2 years down, 2 to go}

Jake finished up his finals for second year on Friday. We had to celebrate! First we took the boys to get some custard at Kopp's. Mmm, so good. Then on Saturday we went out with our awesome friends, that are second years as well, to eat at PF Chang's. It was delicious!!
I have to say that this was our first venture without the kiddies. We even got a sitter. Thanks Kellci for watching the boys!
I am so proud of Jake and his hard work. He is now that much closer to becoming a doctor. We still have a rough month coming up because Jake takes his step 1 boards on June 13. I will be husbandless for that time but most of it will be spent in Utah with family and friends! Keep up the good work honey! Know that you have much love and support from your little family. Here's to third year!!!!!

{what is the NOLAN BOY up to}

Let's just say "trucks!" That pretty much sums it up. Nolan is obsessed with anything truck, car, wheel, big, and loud. He is all boy!
There is a lot of construction around here so car rides are a joy for him. He loves seeing all the backhoe loaders, dump trucks, skid steer loaders, impact hammers, big diesels, and so forth.
Anytime the garbage man comes he is glued to the window or opens the door to go outside to watch it.
Nolan is full of energy. I really don't get a moment to breath. I have, however, been able to get him in to some movies. Can anyone guess which one???? That's right, "Cars!" He loves it!


Nolan loves to read! Sometimes I will find him sitting in his chair in his room reading to himself.
Lately, Nolan's new thing is to get out all of my pots and pans and bring them to me one by one and say, "thanks" as he hands them to me. Then after he has got all of them out he asks me to drum. We end up playing this game all day long. And when I'm getting dinner ready or need to use my pots, I just go in to the living room and grab one. That's pretty normal, right?
He also has been loving suckers! It can keep him entertained for awhile. But the second he is done with it he just sets it right down in the carpet. Nice Nolan. We have taken a short break from the suckers because I was sick of cleaning it up.
Another favorite thing of Nolan's is to run around naked after tub time and do a naked dance. I guess he likes the "free" feeling. He will run around for ever if I let him. He must get that from Jake, you won't see me doing that kind of thing.
Nolan boy is so much fun. He seems to have his days, but what two year old doesn't? But we can't get enough of him. His little phrases always get us laughing and so impressed at the same time. My very favorite thing he has done this past week was when we were sitting up for dinner and Nolan took off, of course, and started playing. Jake and I both yelled for him to come sit down or he would be on time out. The next thing we hear is, "one....two.....ok, time out!" Nolan had said the exact thing we threaten him with. It was so hard not to laugh. We pretty much did. That little turkey. We love you Nolan!

{what is MR. LUKESTER'S up to}

Well, Lukie will be 5 months tomorrow!!! I know! Who said he could grow up that fast?
He has become quite the little drool machine these last few weeks, thus the first picture. Maybe he is teething? I don't know. Nolan had his two bottom teeth by 5 1/2 months. We'll see.
He is a pro at tummy time! Every time I set him down he immediately flips to his tummy and starts working. Luke might crawl before Nolan did. He already can get his little bum up and push off with his legs. It's crazy how much faster the second kid adapts. Probably because they aren't held as much as the first or given as much attention either.
Luke is the happiest baby ever!!! Anyone that shows any sign of attention towards him he lights up with joy and gets so wiggly and squirmy. I love it!!!! Along, with all of the smiles he is very ticklish! I can get this kid to laugh any time. It's the best to hear his little giggle.

He has been doing really good in his saucer now that Nolan is over trying to get in with him.
Luke can put things directly to his mouth and pretty much does that with anything. So family be warned he will suck your fingers off.
He still loves to scream at the top of his lungs, especially when Nolan is napping. Payback I guess? I love hearing his voice and all the funny sounds that he tries to do.
Luke has many nick-names. Lukie, Lugie, Mr. Lukester, buddy, and Nolan's favorite, "bruder" that means brother.
Tub time is a blast with my two boys. Luke will just stare at Nolan the entire time. It doesn't matter what Nolan is doing to him. I have been lucky to get such water babies. Nolan and LUke love the water and don't care if I dump it right on their head. We are so lucky to have little Lukie around. Jake and I talk all the time about how we lived without him. He is so perfect and fits in to our family like a glove. I can't wait to see his personality grow. I'm hoping, and PRAYING, that he will be a little bit more chill than Nolan. We love you Luke!

{Luke just loves Nolan}

It really doesn't matter what Nolan does to Luke because Lukie just loves him! I can't tell you how many times I have come in to the room hearing Lukie's squeels and seeing Nolan hovering over him. These two are going to be good friends and probably competitors too. Notice how Lukie grabs Nolan's hair a little. I was so excited to see that! Luke needs to start fighting back or he is going to be clobbered.

{Lukie has really found his voice}

Ok, this video is a little old but I haven't been the best at keeping up on my videos. Luke has really found his voice lately. I love it!!! He is so different from Nolan. Luke is so much more boisterous and you can tell in this clip. I think our Sunday school class is going to kick us out and tell us to go to the noisy class. Hope you enjoy!

{watch Cars}

We finally broke down and have been letting Nolan watch some Disney movies. We went to a great site called "Penny pincher's" or something like that. Anyway, we got some movies like "Finding Nemo", "Cars", "Brother Bear", "A Bugs Life", etc. Nolan has been in heaven. Between Nemo and Cars he doesn't know what to do with himself.

This morning Nolan had a request to watch "Cars." We put it in and sat the boys together. They were so cute to watch. I can't believe how big Luke looks in these pictures. He is 5 months now!!! Where is the time going? I seriously have the two, wait three, cutest boys around! I am one lucky girl. I love my Rabe boys!!!

{i love it when they sleep}

We go for daily walks here at the Rabe household. It is the only way we, as in I, can stay sane. Plus, Nolan just loves to be outside all the time. Nolan will just sit at the window and keep saying, "go outside," over and over again.
On one of our excursions I had Lukie in the baby bjorn all bundled up, (Yes, I know it's May and Luke is still in a winter cover up. But we live in Milwaukee where it's cold until June) when we got back he was dead asleep. I set him down on our big bag and hurried to get the camera. I just can't get enough of him. He is so happy and such a good boy! One of my many favorite things is to watch my kids sleep. They are so precious! I thought you all should be able to see how cute my Lukie is.

{crazy boy}

What can I say about Nolan....he is always making me laugh! The other day I was getting the boys inside before I went back out to the car to get the groceries. When I came back in I couldn't find Nolan. I looked in the whole apartment and then heard something coming from the stairs that lead up to our neighbors apartment.
I headed up the stairs and turned the corner to see that Nolan had made himself comfortable in our neighbors bike trailer. He was so excited about it. He kept telling me he was in the stroller. He also kept trying to get their basketball that was behind the seat. Nolan is full of it.
The bottom picture I didn't quite get at the best time but you can see that he is in a world all his own. He took his pants off and laid down on the floor (our beautiful green floor) in the kitchen and kept watching his wheels on his car go in a circle. This kid is obsessed with anything that goes in a "round and round."

{a girl has joined the crew}

I think I have mentioned before that I babysit for my job. (I've decided this is my calling in life) I have a little boy Harry who is just over 18 months old and he is just great. Nolan likes to bully him a little but the both of them are learning to share and play with each other.
Just recently I had been asked to watch another little friend once a week. I couldn't say no. Her name is Kylie and I can't get enough of her.


It is so fun to have a girl around the house. She is the cutest little girl. Kyle is 11 months and full of life. I love how cuddly she is and her cute little rolls. My kids have never had rolls so I am soaking it all up. I love that she cheeses it when I get the camera out! Girls are so much fun. I think Nolan has a little crush on her because he wouldn't stop saying her name all day and kept trying to give her kisses all day too. Kylie is such a treat!

{not very photogenic}

Funny Faces!!!

Jake and I were laughing so hard at Nolan the other night. He was trying to take pictures with the camera. I really don't like him to touch the camera so I was pulling it away and kept snapping shots while I was doing that. Let's just say that these aren't the most flattering pictures of the boy. His faces are so funny! It's a good laugh, right?

{sneaky, sneaky}

Nolan is quite the little sneak. When I was in the shower the other morning I came out to find that Nolan had pulled the chair over to the microwave, opened it up and starting putting things in and out of it. He was totally giggling to himself. I think he was so proud of what he had accomplished.
I can't leave this kid alone for one second or he's in to something. I thought he had skipped this stage. When he was younger he never got in to anything. Then all of the sudden he's realized that he skipped that phase in his life and needed to make up for it. I'm going to have to watch him like a hawk!

{Kate the Great}

This is one of Nolan's favorite friends, Kate. She is a doll! We love her so much. We are so sad that the Majors are going to be leaving us in just a few weeks. They have been such amazing friends. I don't know what Nolan is going to do without his "Kate the great!"

Kate is going to be such a good big sister. She is so sweet with little Lukie, not at all like Nolan.
We are going to miss her beating up on Nolan and toughening him up. Kate is such a smart little girl we just love her to death! I can't even stand how cute the picture of her holding Luke is!! So precious.