In the Dugout

A couple of weeks ago we went to Jacob's season opener of little league baseball.  Andy and I took turns watching innings while the other played with Luke and Makayla on an empty field.  Luke really enjoyed playing in the dugout while Makayla enjoyed running up and down the field.  Even though we didn't get to see much baseball, it ended up being a nice evening outside and the kiddos had some fun.

Surprise! Luke found a rock!

I love this action shot of Luke running in the dugout!

First Day of School

Luke started Mother's Day out on September 8th.  He is going to the same school where Makayla has been going now for several years.  We decided to put Luke into school so that he could be around other kids his age more often.  It will aslo help take the load off Grandma when Baby Brother Benjamin comes in December.

Luke's first day of school went pretty well.  He cried when we dropped him off, but the teachers said that he calmed down pretty quickly.  He ate most of his lunch and he took a great nap.  He learned about the color red and enjoyed playing bubbles.  He also brought home his very first artwork (see picture below).  When I saw the artwork I thought to myself, "red paint on manilla paper."  I didn't really think that it was anything specific, but I was wrong.  Later on that evening Luke saw the artwork and said "apple."  Turns out that the red paint on manilla paper was apples -- my baby is so smart.  He remembered what they learned about that day in school!!

Now as for Mommy......I have had mixed feelings for awhile about whether or not I was doing the right thing for Luke.  I know deep down it is good for him and he will eventually love it, but it was hard to drop him off (crying) with strangers for a 6 hour stretch.  It made me sad, but I did okay too!  I enjoyed some time to myself for a change.  I got a much needed pedicure and actually went to the grocery store ALONE!!!

All in all it was a great day for the both of us!!

I know the backpack seems big for a toddler, but the school asked that we use a full sized backpack so that all of his stuff would fit into one bag.  He loves his Elmo backpack!

"Apples" -- Luke Cloud, Age 18 months (almost)

Peanut Butter & Jelly

A couple of weeks ago I gave Luke his very first PB&J sandwich.  He has had jelly on biscuits before and a little bit of peanut butter via bites of my peanut butter cups here and there, but he had never had the 2 together.  He was a little leery at first, but he warmed up pretty quickly.  3 cheers for PB&J!!

 P.S. Does anyone else think he looks like my sister in this last picture??

Airport Fun

We got to the Harlingen airport with plenty of time for Luke to check out the kid zone (which happened to be right across from our gate).  There were leggos, an activity table, and one of those climbing things with a ball pit and slide.  Luke really had a good time playing in this area.  He was the only kid there and he took full advantage of that.  I think that the balls (not the pit) and the slide ended up being his favorite.  In fact he ended up going up and down the slide so many times that he puked -- as you may have guessed, this abruptly ended our play session.

 

Ice Cream Cone

On the way home from the beach we stopped at Dairy Queen for some lunch.  It just so happens that we all got some dessert, too!  This was Luke's very first time to have an ice cream cone.  I don't know why we waited so long to do this because he LOVED it!!  Daddy helped him out at first, but before too long he figured out how to eat the cone all the way down to the bottom.  Good thing DQ is nearly impossible to find on our side of town or we would be going way too often! 

The Beach!

While we were in the Valley we took the opportunity to take Luke to the beach ("beee") for the very first time.  Andy's grandparents only live a short drive from South Padre Island so it made for a nice Sunday morning family excursion.  I would say that our first trip to the beach was definitely a success.  Luke was excited about the water at first, but quickly became angry when the "pool" knocked him down (the water was pretty rough due to the tropical storm that hit further north).  After getting upset with the "pool," Luke decided it was all about the sand!  Daddy was nice enough to play in the sand with him while I captured it all on film.

Around the House

Here are a few miscellaneous pictures from around the house during our weekend in the Valley.

Each morning we went outside after breakfast.  Luke really enjoyed looking for "locks" (rocks).  He also enjoyed going out with Grandmother (Na-noo-nah) to feed the birds.

Also, each morning Luke sat in the kitchen at the table while Grandmother cooked breakfast.  He looked like such a big boy sitting there.  This picture in particular is when he helped himself to a dinner roll from the night before.  So cute!

Luke sitting in Grandmother's chair, briefly....

It had never dawned on me to give Luke corn on the cob, but it turns out that he really likes it!  He didn't need or want my help at all.  He managed to knock ou the whole cob and some of mine.

All of the grandkids have a sticker on the wall for their height.  Luke really thought he was special and enjoyed standing in that spot!

Some more outside time!  Did I mention that we spent a lot of time outside??

Luke really fell in love with rocks and anything that looked like a rock while we were there.  I think we ended up bringing home a bag full of rocks!

Three generations: Charlie, Dorothy, Andy, and Luke Cloud

Children's Museum of Brownsville

While we were in the Valley we took Luke to the Children's Museum of Brownsville for some indoor play time.  I don't know if it truly classifies as a "museum" but it was definitely a lot of fun for Luke.  It was divided into several play areas: health/dental, restaurant, grocery store, boat/lighthouse, weather, construction, and a toddler learning center.  Luke played at all of the stations except for the construction zone which was a little too old for him.  He really enjoyed being around all of the other kids, especially the older ones.  Some of my favorite moments: him playing "stick and ball" with some plastic celery and a head of lettuce, him dragging around a shopping cart with a plastic lid and wooden egg in it, and him playing/learning in the toddler learning center.  He was so cute and, again, it makes me smile to see him having fun.  We had a great time and if you are ever in the Valley with small children I would recommend stopping in for some play time.

He went straight to the tractor as soon as we got there!

My future scientist!

This is Luke and I doing the weather, random I know :)

Here is a short video of him playing in the toddler learning center.