Easter Pics

Easter was so fun this year to see Luke pick up on the idea behind the Easter egg hunt.  He (of course) had a Thomas the Train easter basket...his obsession with Thomas has gone from average to full throttle and we live and breathe Thomas (or Tah!) from the time he wakes up until he goes to bed!

Off to hunt for eggs... with Thomas in hand

Not too sure about these confetti eggs...  Where's the candy!?!?!?

  

Must find more eggs!

Nope, this one doesn't have candy either! 

This one looks like a keeper!

Ditched the basket for better agility!

When it was all said and done, the Easter Bunny brought confetti eggs, blow-up swords, candy, dollar bills, a monster truck (toy, duh)  and beef jerky (for daddy).  Happy Easter!



Note the fancy folding chairs!  We had fun with Nana, Poppa, Cousins, Aunts and Uncles so it was a full house!



After lunch the "big kids" (errrrr, grown ups, whatever!) played whiffle ball in the driveway.  My sister-in-law totally sacrificied her body to keep one from going in the street.  And because we are so sensitive, we couldn't stop laughing long enough to find out if she was okay.  Poor thing!

After that, I held Luke on lock down to avoid him getting nailed!

It was a long day but we were still sad to go!  See you next year, Easter Bunny!

Can YOU do the Harlem Shake?

Well, what's a girl to do when the hubby is out of town for a weekend?  Gather her little boy, her big brothers and neice and nephew to film a Harlem Shake video.  Duh.  Because we're cutting edge like that.

In all seriousness though, I get that this whole Harlem Shake thing is weird and usually it's not that funny.  Unless you watch one person at a time.  And of course, with my mama blinders, I think Luke is hilarious.  Of course he had to be the token guy in his underwear jumping around.  Awesome.... Check it out for yourself!

FOR {FOUR} YEARS

Have I really been a married woman for four years?  In so many ways it seems like so much longer - I think because I can't imagine life any other way--- but then I think back to the wedding and the honeymoon and it seems like just a little bit ago that we were so fortunate to have so many friends and family in the same room to mark the occasion with us.  Four years sounds so short.  Especially the way time flies by these days or when I think about my grandparents that were married almost 75 years.  But when I think about how drastically our lives have changed for the better in these past four years, it puts things into perspective.

Four Years
1,460 days
208 weekends
35,040 hours
3 houses
4 new jobs (combined)
2 international vacations (Costa Rica and Mexico)
Lots of weekend get aways
32 days of visiting our heart outside our body (Luke in the NICU) which brings me to...
By far our coolest "accomplishment", one crazy little boy


I'm so lucky to have married a man that makes me laugh.  That loves our family with all his heart.  Who sants to be the best husband, father, and friend that he can be.  If you want to see the night that started our married life, our slide show is still out there, which makes me happy to no end.  You can watch it here:  Carrie & Kelsey Wedding Slide Show

What a fun celebration that was, and honestly one that I feel like continues on!  Here's to another fourTY or so more!  Definitely going to dust the 'ol album off and flip through it tonight while we eat a fancy dinner of frozen pizza or Eggos or something.  But don't worry, we're celebrating big on Saturday.  Luke's spending the night with his Nana and Poppa and Kelsey and I are heading out on the town!

Remember the Alamo! (and an 18 mos update)

First, how cute is lil Davie Crockett in his coon skin cap?

Ok, now that we are all in agreement that he is precious.... let's get down to the business of his 18 month recap.  (or you can totally quit reading, but I have to document this or it will go right out the window)

Luke,

WOW.  18 months.  You're getting so big.  You are definitely a "toddler" now I'm sure, and between running and discovering new things and trying to test boundries, you are non-stop action.  And while I'd love to sit here and tell you what a joy you've been to be around, honestly, between your one year molars finally showing up (all together and a little late to the party!) and the temper tantrums, we've all kind of been struggling the last week or three.  Although it's not been all glitter and rainbows, you definitely impress me with your focus -- when you want something, you want it and you want stop until you get it.  And you are so strong willed (no, baby, that's NOT code for brat.  I promise.).  Both of these qualities will be such a blessing when you are a little older but right now it seems like it's "your way or the floor that you throw yourself on screaming and kicking highway".

The good news is that you are a healthy, active boy just like I always pray(ed) you would be.  You are accomplishing so much and your daddy and I truly believe once you can communicate even more, you won't be quite so frustrated and in turn, we won't be so frustrated!  Here's your big stats:

Weight:     23 pounds, 4 oz      (15th percentile)
Height:      31 inches                (10th percentile)
Head:        18.5 inches             (25th percentile)

Gross motor skills ---- you are running, walking (you can even walk backwards!), climbing, trying to jump, you kick the ball, throw the ball and you are just overall a strong lil fella! 

Fine motor skills ---  we love to watch you work your little fingers.  You pick up small things and stack and sort so well.  Your favorite thing right now is your Uncle Jay's Nerf gun and you load the "darts" in so carefully.  I can't even figure out how to use the darn thing but you've got it nailed.  Please don't start shooting at people (even if it is Nerf, you will give this mama a nervous breakdown)

Body parts you know---  eyes, head, nose (your favorite), ears, mouth (you stick your tongue out!), teeth, belly, boobies (your's, not mine), toes, feet, arms

Words you are using ---  mama (over and over and over), dada, annabelle, doggy, "baaaaah" (with a sweet wave and a southern drawl, this is my favorite), hi, nnnnas (nose), mmmm (when something is yummy), "ba" (bottle, which  you have successfully said bye to, congrats big boy!), boom!, pow!, ball, no, fish, bird, "shs" (shoes), "turk" (truck), "cah" (car), "nahnah" (nana), "pahpah" (papa), Jay, Pop...  There may actually be more that I'm forgetting, but the point is your Dr. girlfriend was way impressed with your verbal development. 

Your dad and I are so proud of you and can NOT believe you are now closer to 2 than 1.  Seriously, who said you could grow up so fast?!?!?!  We love you lil man!

Dear Baby

Dear not so baby Baby,

Luke. Well you certainly keep your mama on her toes! Tonight was the first night you went to bed without a bottle. We had planned to stop a couple of weeks ago but mama was traveling for work and was honestly exhausted when she got home and was scared to see what our bedtime was like without your "ba-ba". On a whim, tonight, after going out to dinner where you ate so much pizza, your daddy and I decided we'd see what happened if we didn't do a bottle at bed. Honey, this really breaks your mama's heart in some ways because it's always been our time to cuddle before the end of the day. But baby you made me so proud tonight. You cuddled for a few minutes, kissed me goodnight, pointed to your crib and said "bye-bye". Clearly this is a bigger deal for me than it is for you. Mama's working it out. We'll get better but I hope you are sticking to this mentality because-- with a frog in my throat, not a real frog baby but the emotion was choking me-- I packed up your bottles. Every single one of them.

Except for one emergency major back up. I know it's best if we don't use it so keep snuggling.... Please?

Love,
Mama

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

This makes me smile for so many reasons.

1.  Kelsey + Luke = BFFs!

2.  Besides his daddy, Luke is basically obsessed with TV and iPhones.  I know we should find other ways to entertain him but, well, sometimes we need the easy way out.  He will literally sit down anyplace if offered the chance to watch.

3.  Look at our poor old Annabelle, looking all beat down.  She used to be so spoiled!  And we still love her but it's clear she knows she's fallen a few notches.

4.  The drapes we hung in our bedroom when we moved in almost two years ago and vowed to replace ASAP.... still hanging too short in the background.

Yep, a picture's worth a thousand words!  Happy Humpday!

To Grow, or Not to Grow

1.  To grow.     Luke was sized for new shoes yesterday.  Turns out he needed to go up not one, but TWO sizes.  He's now in a size 6!  I knew it was time for a new pair, but two sizes?!?!?!  Poor thing probably thought I was binding his feet for an international cultural experience.

Aren't these cute?  These are the new kicks!

2.  Not to grow.      So I was all thinking (based on the shoe sitch) that we were going through a growth spurt and then I get a text this morning from my nanny, babysitter...whatever ya wanna call her, we love her!  She said:

 "I think these pants are too big :) he's been flashing all morning. LOL"                    

HAHAHAHA!!!!!  And these fit around Christmas time... So now I'm left wondering... are we growing or shrinking!?!?!  

Happy Friday!  We'll be going shopping for more shoes (and pulling out the old pants!)....