{Elmo Love}

My child won't wear shoes, yet he will wear these incredibly large, fluffy, heavy, red slippers. All. Day. Long. Cuz they're Elmo...

{It Happened}

One of my biggest fears since Luke became mobile happened this afternoon...he fell. He fell hard...and hurt himself. We were at my parent's house and we were playing outside on the back patio which we have done hundreds of times. Out of nowhere, he was walking too fast and tripped over his feet and went face first into a large, concrete pot. I heard his head hit the concrete (that horrific sound of bone hitting something solid) and I swear my heart stopped. The next 10 minutes were a blur. All I remember is racing to pick up my screaming child and blood gushing out of his mouth. I couldn't see in his mouth due to all the blood (and the blood curdling screaming), so I had no idea what was hurt. After using towels to soak up the blood, his clinging to me, his comforting blanket and his pacifier, I was able to get him to calm down a bit. He sliced his tongue really bad (hence the bleeding) and banged up his chin. It could have been so much worse which is even scarrier. I think the whole thing was as traumatic for me as it was for him. With all the crying, he wore himself out and fell asleep on me like this. He is now fast asleep doped up on tylenol in his crib. I realized no matter how much you try to protect your children, things just happen. It just broke my heart to see him so hurt. I hope things like this don't happen too often....I don't think my heart could handle it.

{What Happens 5 Minutes Before You Need to Leave}

Luke meet cornstarch. Cornstarch meet Luke.

(All Aboard the Crazy Train}

Today Luke and I joined some friends at the zoo to ride the train! We have been wanting to do this for months so we were excited. We also were excited to get out due to the craziness that went on last night...er...this morning. Luke decided to wake up from 1:30 to 5:00 am last night. It was AWFUL! I am claiming it was due teething but I don't know what the heck was going on. So needless to say, we woke up just in time to make it to swim class and then head home for lunch and then a nap. For him. Not me. Ughh, 4 1/2 hours of sleep and still no nap. I. Am. So. Tired. I am having severe flashbacks of the first 8 months of Luke's life. HELP.

Anyhoo, we needed to get out after his nap since we were both 'off' all day. So we got off of our crazy train wreck of a night/day and headed to a real train. Ta da...

So this post is short. Because it is almost 11:00 pm and I am finally going to bed. Anyone reading this please say some prayers that last night was just a fluke and my little man will sleep tonight!

{Worn Out}

This week has been one busy week. Very busy. But oh so good. We have reached a new stage with Luke. Call it being a year old, walking or the time change...I am not exactly sure, but all of a sudden we have our life back. That sounds bad to say, but I don't mean it that way at all. I mean we have our 'out-and-about, busy life' back. When you have a baby that goes to bed by 7:00 pm and is 20+ pounds of dead weight that you have to lug around on your hip, you tend to stay home. We spent the last 12 months staying home, eating in and watching tv. We needed to stay in and it was good for us. But before Luke, we were an 'on-the-go' type of family, always making plans and going from one thing to the next. And with Luke's new independence, somehow we have found ourselves back there.

This week we have been going from sun up to sun down. From rodeos, to baseball games, to state parks. We have done it all! It feels great to be 'out and about' again, but man am I tired. And I think Luke is too, although sometimes it is hard to tell...

{First Taste of Heaven}

Luke got his first taste of heaven....Baskin Robbins ice cream! Chat and I decided we needed a little treat after dinner Monday night so we headed to my favorite ice cream shop. Chocolate fudge on a sugar cone? Yes please!! That has been my ice cream of choice at BR for the past 29 years. Luke got his own vanilla scoop in a kiddie cup. He loved holding the spoon and feeding himself. Which meant??? Lots of mess for mom and dad to clean up! Luckily we were going home for bath time afterward, so we just let him go to town. And boy did he!

{Boys Will Be Boys}

Boys come out of the womb liking dirt, trucks, worms, and anything else 'manly'. Today was just one more example! After swim class, our friend Whitney realized that she had a nail in her tire and it was flat. She and Cooper headed out to find the first Discount Tire store and Luke and I followed just to make sure they got there safely. Once we were inside, it was like a toy store for Luke and Cooper! They LOVED all the tires and immediately started visiting every tire display. The boys chatted it up together at the displays and were just a riot. I think Luke could have stayed there all day. Add tires to the list of Luke's favorite things!

{My Little Fish}

Today Luke started swim class! It was a 30 minute 'mommy and me' class that started bright and early this morning. He practiced kicking, splashing, blowing bubbles under water and floating on his back. Overall he did pretty well!! The teachers said he did great for his first time. I think sometimes he looked at me with "what the heck are we doing?" eyes and at times would grab on to me very tightly (as in 'don't you dare let me go!!'), but other than that he was the perfect little fish!

I just love the little swim diapers they are required to wear! I am not sure Luke is so sure...


I think the highlight of the morning though was snack time with his pal Cooper in the changing stall after the lesson. They enjoyed some graham crackers while their moms quickly got dressed!

{Cancrunk: A Weekend Away}

I survived (and enjoyed!) my first extended time away from Luke! This was the first time I have left Luke for more than one night. I went to Cancun for my friend Tory's wedding that I was in and had a wonderful time. It was a great getaway and I had some much needed friend time and down time. My friend Tory was a beautiful bride and she had an amazing wedding with the most beautiful water and beach in the background!

We had some much needed relaxing time at the beach and a bit of crazy time at the wedding (also needed)! We had so much girl talk (oh, how I miss that) and of course people watching. We definitely came back with stories and memories we will keep for quite awhile! I can't believe I am actually going to post this picture, but this was at the wedding reception on the beach. My dear friends Brooke and Robin and I had several cocktails and really danced it up. For those of you who know me....let's just say my battery has been recharged (please picture my hand motions of my batttery charging now :).

This was us just two hours before the picture above...don't judge :).


Although the trip was great, it was wonderful to come back to Luke, Chat and the puppies yesterday. Luke did great for Chat -- they really had a fabulous weekend together! Chat is now Luke's favorite though and doesn't quite need me as much. Breaks my heart a little, but I am so happy they had such a bonding weekend.

{Tongue and Cheek}

I cannot get my child to put his tongue back in his mouth...

{Smash Cake}

Luke really loves to eat cake (well everything)...and he definitely did not hold back at his party! He was very delicate in the way he ate initially, but then he dove in...

Clearly he was a mess, so he then got in his birthday suit (almost, we kept the diaper on much to his dismay) and then the puppies went to town cleaning up his mess!

{Birthday Fun...Cowboy Style}

I was so excited that Luke got better so we could have his birthday party on Saturday! Friday was going to be decision day and when he woke up fever-free on Friday we knew we had a lot to do before Saturday. Considering we only had about 36 hours to do everything, I think it turned out pretty well!

View from the front door

The yummy food

The flower centerpieces and his invitation

Luke's cowboy boot cake

Hat and boots centerpiece

Luke's birthday hat

Luke's wanted poster

They were so cute, I made them for all the kids at the party!

Stick-horses...a fun party favor for the kids!

More pictures to come of the people at the party!