Snuggles with Daddy

Luke appeared in our room at 6:30 AM on Saturday. Neither one of us were ready to get up so Nate took him back to bed and laid down with him. It worked because they both fell back to sleep and didn't wake up again until almost 9:00 AM.

It was heavenly! But I couldn't resist waking up before them to snap that picture.

Ice Skating with Mammie

Now that my mom is retired, we try to get together once a week to do something fun.

Last week the agenda included ice skating at the Dallas Galleria.  Luke loved ice skating back in February so we thought it would be a fun thing to this summer while it's millions of degrees outside. 

He did so much better this time.  He skated very well by himself, although most of the time it took lots of coaxing to get him to skate without holding one of our hands.  When he was holding our hands, he relied on us to balance him and always ended up falling.

He was kind of shaky at first:


Posing with Mommy:


Skating to Mammie:


All by himself! He would stick out his chin while skating, it seemed to help him keep his balance.

Melting My Heart Everyday

Luke just came up to me and said, "Honey, this boy needs to hug you."  There was no other boy around except him so I assume he was talking about himself.

What a sweetheart.

First Big Boy Playdate

Luke had his first big boy playdate today. This means it was the first time he has gone to someone else's house without me when I have had nothing else to do. This also means that I got two hours to myself today. It was heavenly.


Luke was so excited to go to his friend Quinn's house. Luke and Quinn were in class together at MDO last year, and we are good friends with his parents. Luke started the morning "talking" to Quinn on his phone. Then he spent the thirty minutes before they arrived to pick him up standing by the front door waiting.


He looked like such a big boy going out to the car with Quinn's mom, Julie. He is growing up too fast.


I got a text during the morning that Luke was running around in a raccoon hat and Quinn was chasing him yelling "Swiper, no swiping!" so I think they had fun.


I got this picture from Julie's facebook page - what adorable little boys!

Everything is an Argument

Luke is in the stage where you can tell him "Luke, the sky is blue" and his response will be, "No it's not." It's SO fun arguing with him everyday (haha).

Tonight we were watching the Rangers game and a Southwest Airlines commercial came on. It's the commercial where they talk about how you can only get Southwest fares on one website - southwest.com - and they repeat (over and over) "there's only ONE website".

My argumentative child yelled at the tv, "No there's TWO websites!"

Help me.

Lake Trip with the Rombergs

Our neighbors came with us to the lake last night. Although it was windy, it was a great night to go because the lake was practically empty. Nate and I got to wakeboard, the kids got to tube, we all got to swim...it was a great night!

Joshie and Reese in the tube. Neither one of them was too sure about the lake at first. It was funny listening to Luke be their cheerleader. "It's okay, you like the lake. You like the tube!" he repeated to them. Then they got in and realized it was fun.


Joshie even went all by himself. He didn't want to get out!


Then we put all three kids out there together.


Which was all fun and games until a bug bit Luke on the arm.


Back on the boat.

Swim Lessons (with Pictures)

Today started the second (and last) week of Luke's swim lessons. I took my camera with me today because I just couldn't resist getting pictures of how happy he is in the water now. The difference between this time last week and today is huge!! For example, last Monday he would NOT jump in the water without holding someone's hand...now he will leap with no fear. :)

We still have to work on him putting his face in the water!





I hope this picture isn't too dark so you can see the big smile on his face. This was taken through the windows from the hallway so it's not the best quailty.


Jumping in!

Happy Birthday to Mammie!

Saturday was also my mom's birthday! We went to Dallas that afternoon for dinner, presents, and cake.


First things first - presents!



We had our traditional birthday dinner at Benihana - YUM! I just love that place. So does Luke and he is so good there. Funny Luke story...the kids menu turns into a chef's hat (which you'll see in later pics). He was wearing his hat until the chef arrived at our table. He started cooking and Luke was begging for him to crack the eggs for the chicken fried rice. Well the chef had a little trick up his sleeve and he flipped one of the eggs into his hat. Luke's eyes were wide at that one, and he immediately removed his hat from his head. He didn't want to chance the chef flipping an egg on HIS head!


My cousin Brian, who lives in LA, was in town for business so he went to dinner with us. Luke was enamored by "Uncle Brian" and had a blast with him.



These next two pictures require some explanation. Back in 1992, Brian and his dad Randy came to Dallas to visit. We had the pool back then and we were all swimming. My dad was standing at one end of the pool, wearing very dark sunglasses, just spacing out in the water. Randy made a comment that Dad looked like Bernie, from the movie Weekend at Bernie's. It has been a running joke since then and every time we are with Randy he has to take a Bernie pic. When Randy found out Brian was going to be with us for dinner, his one request was for a Bernie pic. This is what we came up with:








The best one throughout the years, in my opinion, was the groomsmen at Beth's wedding holding up my dad...I need to get that one off my parents' computer.


Another family picture in the backyard:



And now to - cake!!


Luke doing his fake pout - not sure why - but it's a funny picture:



Here comes the cake! As far as the candles go, let's just say the two digits of my mom's age add up to 14.



Luke got to help her blow out the candles since he was too shy to blow out his own candles.

Our First Lake Trip of 2010

We FINALLY got the boat on the lake this past Saturday. It was just the three of us. The first words out of Luke's mouth that morning were "I'm ready to go to the lake." So we were out on the lake by 9 AM. It was very windy and pretty choppy, so it worked out that it was just the three of us. This way Nate and I didn't feel like we were missing out of wakeboarding when it was a horrible to day to wakeboard anyway! :)


Luke loves it in the boat now, what a change from two years ago when we took him out right after his first birthday...he hated it! I'm so glad he's come around and realized that the boat is FUN. And since there will be no baby in our near future, now we can enjoy the boat since it's been so neglected the past three years.


There wasn't really much else to do but drive around and swim. Luke, who now loves swimming in the pool, was unsure at first about the lake.


Nate trying to convince him to get in.



Still warming up to the idea.



Posing for Mommy.



He finally gave in but was still unsure at first. He had to be right on top of Nate.



By the time we left, he was swimming in the lake all by himself (plus the lifejacket) without holding on to either one of us. But I didn't get a picture of that.


He even decided to try out the tube! His first attempt he had to have Daddy in the water with him while Mommy drove the boat. I didn't get above 10 MPH, though.



Luke's turn to drive.



His final ride in the tube was all by himself!! What a brave, big boy we have now!



He was so proud of himself that he had to call Mammie, Boppa, Nana, Daddy Matt, Aunt Bee & Uncle Justin and Aunt Sarah & Uncle Jake to tell them all about it.


We can't wait for another trip to the lake...hopefully soon!

Swim Lessons

One of Luke's birthday gifts was a session of swim lessons, thanks to Mammie and Boppa.  It is his first time in an organized swim class, although I've worked with him every summer beforehand.  I decided to try lessons without me being in the pool with him because of the way he is in new situations...if he has me as a crutch, he won't participate and will just cling to me.  But if I'm not around, he is a different kid.


He started on Monday in the first preschool level (Pike) at one of the Arlington YMCA branches.  He was totally freaked out and cried most of the lesson.  The poor teacher had to hold him most of the time because he would NOT sit on the deck.  It had me very, very worried.  I started out in the hallway, watching through big glass windows, but I ended up on the deck next to his class trying to talk him into participating.  He wouldn't have it.


Monday night Nate and I took him to our community pool to practice - his idea, by the way.  We drove past the pool and he asked us to take him so he could practice what he learned in swim lessons.  Of course, we agreed - anything to build up his confidence.  He did great - he did everything that his teacher taught that day.  I was hoping it would help him see that he could do it and be better on Tuesday.


Tuesday was awful.  I think knowing that he was physically able to do everything made it even worse.  He was past the scared issue...he was just plain stubborn, defiant, and disobedient.  His body language basically said "I'm not going to do this and you can't make me."  I was so angry and frustrated after the lesson yesterday.  He and Daddy had a long talk about it last night and Luke knew that if he behaved that way on Wednesday, there would be serious consequences.


Today (Wednesday) was totally different!  He was excited about going to swim lessons.  He asked me not to stay on the pool deck, but to wait outside behind the windows (one wall around the pool is just a big window).  I was fine with that, I was already planning on doing so.  He got a little timid at first, but I handed him to his teacher in the pool and walked away.  By the time I got out to the hallway to sit down, he was fine.

He kicked his legs.  He blew bubbles.  He did his ice cream scoops (that's how the instructors get the kids to use their arms while swimming - pretend they are scooping ice cream).  He floated on his back.  He jumped in the pool - without holding on to her hands (he's never done that before!)  He bobbed up and down in the water (according to him he "bounced in the water").  And at the end of the class, he got to play with some toys.  It was a drastic improvement from yesterday.  The kid I watched today was classic Luke - laughing and talking up a storm.  The kid I watched yesterday, well I don't know who he was!  I guess his alter ego, Thomas, was visiting.

I was SO proud of him, and he was proud of himself.  He spotted me a few times and he had the biggest grin on his face.  I would wave and give him the "awesome" sign - two thumbs up.  When the class was over, he got a big, big hug and told him that I thought he had done a great job.

As a special treat for his first good day at swim lessons, we stopped by Hawaiian Falls.  I got season passes this summer so I thought it was a great opportunity to go and see what it's all about.  We stayed about an hour and Luke had so much fun.  We left because it started to rain and looked like thunder and lightning were nearby and I didn't want him to get scared there.  He does fine with thunderstorms now when we're inside (Jesus is playing the drums!) but I didn't want to see what happened if we were outside.  He didn't want to leave, but luckily we can go as much as we want this summer.

Luke's Birthday Game

We celebrated Luke's birthday with a Rangers game. Normally we do the Rangers game on our anniversary (if the Rangers play at home), but this year I noticed the game on June 6th included an Ian Kinsler youth jersey for kids under 13. When we came to the game for our fourth anniversary, Luke and Nate caught a foul ball from Kinsler, so I thought it would be fun to get a Kinsler jersy. That's why we had Luke's party yesterday; so we could go to the game today.


It was HOT. Luckily we had seats under the overhang so we were shaded, but it was still hot. Luke had a blast, though, and that is all that matters.


It's going to take a few years before the Kinsler jersey fits him:



Waiting for the game to start:



Mommy & Luke:



Clapping:



Singing "The Star Spangled Banner":



Birthday Drumstick and cheering for Michael Young:



Enjoying his ice cream:



Chocolate face:



Meeting the Rangers Captain (this is the first year he hasn't been scared of him):



Showing off the Rangers Captain card:



Riding on Daddy's shoulders back to the car:



He also was given a Rangers shirt by one of the Rangers Six Shooters (think cheerleaders). They had been standing near our seats, waiting to go stand on the Rangers dugout during the seventh inning stretch and he flirted with one of them. She thought he was adorable so she gave him a shirt. What are we going to do with him when he's older?!


Some funny Luke quotes from the game:
"This is yucky!" - in reference to his ice cream melting all over his hand.
"Mommy, you be a nice girl and get me some Coke?" - he and his daddy were in agreement that birthday = eat too much sugar. I had already nixed the cotton candy idea and he decided he wanted something to drink that wasn't water.
"GO MICHAEL YOUNG!!!!" - anytime Chuck Morgan announced Michael Young was batting, Luke yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Mommy, Daddy, you see that?" - we took his new binoculars from Daddy Matt & Nana to the game and he loved looking all over the ballpark with them.

Luke's 3rd Birthday Party

Here are the pictures from Luke's 3rd birthday party on June 5, 2010:


Food, drink, cake table:






Since he had a sports party, the snacks were peanuts, cracker jacks, and nachos:



Presents:



We spent most of the time out back. It was really hot (around 100 degrees) so we had two pools set up for the kids, a mister going down the side of the house, and then the bouncy house under a tent:









The birthday boy



Luke opening some of his presents:



New Little Einsteins cup!



So excited to get the Diego Resuce Pack from the Rombergs. About a month ago, he and Jamie were talking about Diego and the Resuce Pack and Jamie mentioned that they would have to get him one for his birthday. He did not forget that conversation and would say on occasion, "You remember Jamie's getting me a Rescue Pack for my birthday?"



Showing it off:



Roller skates from Mammie and Boppa!



Of all the cool things he got from Nana and Daddy Matt, his favorite was the fruit snacks Nana put inside his little backpack. What am I going to do with the kid?



His presents from Mommy & Daddy...he was excited about new sunglasses:



He's been asking for a gun for months now. Nate was so excited to get him a little toy cap gun.



Luke was excited that we remembered. Um...he's been reminding us for months now!



Time for cake!



I wanted a family picture with the cake, but Luke wasn't having it:



Instead, he smeared my face with some icing:



He tried to get Daddy, but Daddy got him instead:



The aftermath:



Singing "Happy Birthday" to Luke...



...was too much for him. He burst into tears and sobbed during the whole song:



Then he wouldn't blow out his candles.



He was much happier once the spotlight was off of him...back in the pool:



It was an exhausting day:



Thank you to everyone who celebrated Luke's birthday with us!