Easter Sunday

Happy Easter! It was our last Easter Sunday as a family of three and I think we all enjoyed it. It was very low-key and exactly what we needed.

The morning started early, as all mornings do since Luke thinks he has to get up the minute the sun rises. Before I went to bed Saturday night, I left his Easter basket on the hearth of the fireplace. He always comes into our room as soon as he wakes up and I knew he'd walk right by it, but I figured if he saw it, he would run into our room all excited. Wrong. I heard him moving around but he never came into our room, so I got up to see what was going on. The basket was gone. I got to his room just in time to see him unwrapping the Cadbury Cream Egg I'd put in there. Sneaky little boy.

So we put everything back in the basket and took it in to show Daddy.


He "finally" got Toy Story 3. He was very happy about it.


We went to our church for the early service, which was PACKED. Then we headed down to Nate's parents. I took my traditional picture of Luke by the pond. He is such a handsome boy! <3

Nate brought his golf clubs along and Luke was dying to "golf with Daddy". They spent a lot of time outside together, hitting golf balls and then driving around on the mule to pick them all up. Luke loved it.








And that was pretty much our Easter! Can't believe that next Easter we'll have a family of four.

Caleb Michael's Baby Shower

Yesterday was a special day...it was Caleb Michael's baby shower!

My friends Michelle, Jamie, Isabel and Julie put it all together and they did an AMAZING job. They kept everything a secret from me and really went above and beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

The decorations...


So I'm a bit obsessed with Target's white cake with whipped cream icing. That was my one request for my shower - so they got me a cake all for myself. :)


Green Dot cake pops and baseball cupcakes




Notice the Red Dot for my Luke (thanks Jamie!)


Caleb letters and super cute bibs, Rangers booties, and onesies


More clothes! I am in love with the Green Dot Caleb.


Signature mat


Advice cards


Opening presents!




Caleb's going home outfit and hat knitted by his Mammie.


This made me cry...Luke got his own Red Dot Luke shirt.


Group picture! Thank you to everyone who came!


These special girls made everything possible! I love them.


Beth, Mom and me


With Caleb's grandmothers - Nana and Mammie


Debbie, Rebekah, Garrett & me


Cat and Jamie, my neighbors!


Luke was ecstatic to learn that HE got some presents, too.


Superhero plate and cup from Jennifer, who was also one of Luke's Sunday school teachers last year.


Shirts from Michelle - the Red Dot Luke shirt, and L shirt, and a baseball tie shirt to match Caleb's onesies. I didn't get a picture of him opening up all three shirts (just the blue tie shirt) but his face was identical each time.


Showing off the Red Dot Luke shirt.


My little dots are going to look SO cute!

RidgeHunt 2011

Today was our church's annual Easter egg hunt. We have gone every year since Luke was nine months old and we love it! Today was no different, we all had so much fun.

The best part about today was the Luke FINALLY went on the bounce houses and slides without requiring any bribing - and there were no tears! The past two years we have practically had to force him to try anything and it always ended in disaster. I guess we just had to be patient because he did everything today and loved every minute of it! It made the time so much more enjoyable for his mom.

His favorite things were the big slide and the "obstacle" course. He was a little daredevil in no time, leaping up and spinning before sliding down on his tummy.




He also loved the puppet show. One of his favorite parts about church on Sundays is when they get to watch the puppet show; he was ecstatic that they were at the Easter egg hunt, too. Here he is with his friends Quinn, Chloe and Sidney.


Waiting for his age group's hunt to start.




Hunting eggs! He was a pro this year. So much has changed in a year!






Showing off his goodies.


Luke and Sarah...if arranged marriages were still in, this would be Luke's future wife. :)




Family shot!


Petting zoo time...Luke and Sarah feeding a chicken. Or attempting to, at least.


Showing the chicken where her food is.


Feeding the pig.


After looking back that the post and pictures, I think I should explain Luke's wristbands. Yesterday we got one of our first gifts for baby Caleb, from the women who work at Nate's office. They wanted to get something for Luke, too, so they got him Texas Rangers wristbands. He has bbarely taken them off since and insisted on wearing them to the egg hunt to show all of his friends.

Oreo

Oreo is one of my family's cats. He and his sisters, Snowball and Hillcrest, were wild kittens who appeared in our backyard back in August of 1996. Oreo was the ring leader of the three, and we always said he was the smartest because it was like he said, "Here's a good home for us, we're going here." And it was.

Taming these feral kittens was a goal of my sister and my mom. It ended up being Beth's science fair project for that year (6th grade for her). She documented everything they did and it took a couple months, but eventually the cats came close enough where they could capture them to get them spayed/neutered.

By October, we had lost Hillcrest. She was hit by a car while we were out of town. But Oreo and Snowball have been a part of our family since this time. Oreo was the easiest to convince that being an indoor/outdoor cat with a family who loved him was the greatest thing ever. Snowball took longer to come around, and to this day she is still a little crazy, but she's here.

Oreo is a bold cat. When he and the girls appeared in our backyard, we only had our Weimaraner, Fiesti. She wasn't too keen on sharing her family with some cats, but she was a very good dog and she got used to the idea. But I will never forget the time Oreo decided to lay on Fiesti's pillow with her. She immediately got up, grabbed the pillow with her mouth and shook it. Oreo went flying. We all laughed. But you know what? Eventually, she let him share that pillow with her. Especially after we got Jewels...he was peaceful compared to the crazy puppy!

Oreo and Snowball have trained all of our dogs how to be "cat-dogs". Fiesti, Jewels, Heidi, Daisy, Molly, Lily, and the newest members Macey the foster dog, King.

Oreo loves to go on walks around the neighborhood. The house across the street has a brick fence that we would always find him sleeping on. The neighbors all know Oreo.

He is a cool cat. We always knew it, but it was the most evident three years ago, when a little 10 month old baby discovered him, and discovered that he loved him. Luke was exactly 10 months old the first time I remember him noticing Oreo. (At least, the first pics and video I have of him and Oreo.) I don't know what it was about him, but Luke was fascinated. And he has loved him ever since.

Whenever he goes to Mammie and Boppa's, the trip is not complete until he has seen Oreo. "Dat" and "Oh Oh" ended up being two of his very early words. I'll never forget when we were reading Pinocchio in April 2008 and he saw a picture of the cat Figaro. He was delighted by the black and white cartoon cat and immediately pointed to it and said, "Dat!" My parents eventually brought him a small stuffed Figaro from Disney World, who he named Oreo and he sleeps with every night.

I have quite a few pictures of Luke and Oreo over the years. Oreo is AMAZING because he lets Luke hug and kiss on him. Luke is very gentle with him, and honestly I think Oreo loves Luke as much as Luke loves him.

But today is a sad day. For the past year (maybe longer), Oreo has been battling liver cancer. He has gotten sicker and sicker and today he will be put to sleep. He can't keep down any food or water without throwing it up, and he is in pain. At 1:00 PM today someone will come to my parents' house to euthanize him. They wanted him to be put to sleep at home, surrounded by my parents, my sister and brother-in-law. So that's what is going to happen. Later today, this cool cat of ours will be out of his misery.

I'm not a cat person. I don't have any interest in having a cat in my home. But Oreo and Snowball are a part of my family, and I will miss Oreo. What I will miss even more is watching the joy that my son has when he is around Oreo. I will miss that special smile Luke gets when he sees him. But I am glad for the memories. And I am glad that Oreo won't be in pain anymore.

Here's a video of my 10 month old Luke...just a little glimpse of the delight he has brought my little boy...


And some pictures of the two of them through the years...
April 6, 2008


September 10, 2008


December 14, 2008


March 18, 2010


We saw Oreo for the last time on April 3rd, when we celebrated my birthday. Luke got to give him goodies on the front porch swing. He jumped in Nate's lap while everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me. Then he crawled into my lap and stayed for awhile. Neither one of us were going to refuse him at that point! Luke got to give him lots of love, hugs and kisses that night, and I'm very thankful for that.