happy easter!

Christ is risen from the dead!

we are one with Him again!

Come awake! Come awake!

Come and rise up from the grave! 

We had a sweet and simple Easter.  Complete with an egg hunt after church.  

Luke was a little hesitant at first.  But after daddy showed him what was inside the eggs... he thought that picking them up was just about the coolest thing ever. 

And.  Just keepin' it real for ya....

How do ya like that cranky face? 

Happy Easter!

good friday at the houston zoo

We joined the rest of the city population at the Houston Zoo on Good Friday.

Luke had never been, and Adam had the day off (apparently a lot of people had the day off) so we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and go see some animals.

Our zoo is beautiful and we got there early enough to get a glimpse of our favorites before the crowds were too heavy.  Our first stop turned out to be the highlight of the trip.

Elephants!

We actually got there just in time to see the elephants getting a bath.  This was mesmerizing to our little man and he stood in the window for fifteen minutes in awe.

Luke, did you like the big elephants or the small elephants?

The big ones!  Of course!
Mommy liked the giraffes.

Daddy liked the carousel.  Ha!

And we all enjoyed the sea lion show!

I don't have any pictures of this but towards the end of our trip, Luke was riding on Adam's shoulders and we stopped by the meerkat exhibit.  Luke dropped his sippy cup into the meerkat cage and they all attacked it!  Adam and I were laughing hysterically but it made Luke so upset to see his cup being taken by crazy hyper meerkats!  Needless to say we counted that one as a loss but made up for it with a new water bottle from the gift shop.  :)

It was a successful trip overall!

lately (instagram style)

A while back we pulled into Kroger and Luke was quick to point out the firetruck in the parking lot.  I pulled up next to it and got him out and we were walking around looking at it when I realized that there were two firefighters in the truck.  They were so great, they gave Luke the full tour and then let him drive!

Now every time he sees a fire truck, he says, "drive" and points to himself.


Little man has become quite a climber and going to the park has never been more fun or easy!  He can do the "ladders" all by himself and thinks he is so big.

We've been doing some work around the house and yard and Luke loves to go with us to Lowe's.  (His favorite part is the toilet aisle, and the other day he actually asked to go potty in one of the display toilets. Ha!)  Here are my two handsome men after church on Sunday, buying pickets to replace part of the fence.

During such aforementioned house projects, Luke often helps outside.  But sometimes, the helping gets a bit tiresome and he has to stop to rest.  This is exactly how I found him when I came home from work the other day.  Daddy had set him up in his very own lawn chair, with a drink and the iPad playing his favorite show.

I laughed so hard!  He looks like such an old man!  In those sunglasses!


We celebrated Adam's grandma's 90th birthday a few weeks ago with a great party thrown by her six children.  It was really an amazing night for me - to see and experience the legacy that she is.  To have her children, their children, and their children all in one room - telling stories about her life and her spirit and her character.  I don't give nearly enough thought to the generations that came before me.  What lives they have lived! Annie is a really special woman.  An example of strength, grace, and a spitfire personality.

On Saturday, Pops & Marley kept Luke so Adam and I could have an entire date day.  It was a blast!  We saw a matinee movie, ate lunch outside, got pampered with a massage (for him) and a facial (for me), walked around market street, did some shopping, and went out to a kiddo-free dinner.  We are trying to soak up every moment of freedom before baby girl arrives and this was a great way to do it.

Today I was in the back of the house enjoying a quiet moment all to myself when I realized it had been a little too quiet for a little too long.  Luke's not one to get into trouble too much, so I rarely worry.  But when the silence lasted for another minute or two, I walked into the kitchen and found him like this.

Eating raw couscous.  Yuck. And making a huge mess of it.  He helped me vacuum after this.  :)

two years old

Oh my Luke.

You are two years old and I can honestly say I've never enjoyed you more than I do now.
You have grown into the sweetest, most pleasant little thing and I am loving this age.

You walk, run, climb, jump, skip, and absolutely love to dance.
You are relatively calm and quiet.  You are still a great eater.
Your favorites are chicken nuggets, mac 'n cheese, blueberry muffins, and fruit of any variety.
And.  You can polish off an entire can of green beans on your own.  Ha!

You still sit in your high chair at home but when we go out you insist on sitting in a big boy chair to eat.

You sleep in a crib.  You love your crib and will even ask to go night-night.
You still take a paci and blanket to fall asleep, and you still rub your hair until you're out.
You go to bed around 8, sleep until 7 or 8, and take a 2-3 hour nap every afternoon.  Glorious.

You love school and your teachers tell me all the time how great you are.
You are a rule follower.  In the box.  Perfectionist.
And you get frustrated when things aren't just so.
You are so much like me.

You play very well independently and you are really starting to pretend.
You love to push your buggy, play with trucks, do puzzles, read books, and "drive" our cars.
You love to be outside and you help daddy with chores around the yard almost every afternoon.

Your daddy is still your favorite person in the world, with your Honey a close second.

Your speech is improving slowly.  You communicate well, even with limited words.
You are in speech therapy twice a week and we think this is helping.

I could go on and on and on and on about how wonderful you are.
Smart.  Funny.  Affectionate.  Snuggly.  Introverted.  Amazing.
I love you so much and I can't wait to see what the next few months will bring.

Love, mom