Luke's first hair cut

About two weeks ago, I took Luke to get his first hair cut. Much to my disappointment, his hair was getting in his eyes and becoming an issue. He was very cooperative although a little unsure as she wet, combed, and cut his hair with a jack hammer as back ground noise. Unfortunately, there's work being done on the store space beside the hair cut place. But Luke just looked quizzically and went back to watching TV. Without further ado here are the befores and afters.

And this one is from last weekend and his hair is dry so you can see what it looks like better.

Not sure why that post took me so long to do, but thankfully it's finally out there! Whew!

Oh the places you'll go...

Luke, as you can see, is on the MOVE lately.

I'll try to catch you up on the past month without overwhelming you with pictures, but it's gonna be hard 'cause there's just so many!

Here we go back to Labor Day weekend and Baby Brother's first birthday. We went to Galveston for the weekend and stayed at the Moody Gardens Hotel. But before we arrived at MG, we pulled the kids out of school early on Friday and headed to NASA Space Center which had a huge Star Wars exhibits! WAY up Mr. Jack's alley.

This was a musical instrument. Like a water flute or something. Luke and I walked away soaked because he loved it so much!

There was a ball "float" over an air vent so Samantha and Jack tried to keep the ball from floating by covering it up!

We went to our hotel after NASA and had supper and swam. Got up Saturday morning and met my parents at the Moody Gardens Aquarium.

Luke had a great time...as you can see

as did Samantha...


and Jack...

(they were being sharks, I was told)

Saturday evening we also took them to the Gulf for their first dip in "ocean". It was sooo sooo fun seeing them fighting the waves with their daddy. And I will confess that I was petrified the whole time because they didn't have life jackets on, but Michael put up with my fussing until I was satisfied that they were all safe.

You also won't be surprised to find out that we swam in the pool after we swam in the "ocean".


Sunday morning we got up and hit the "Palm Beach" that was like a way toned down beach/water park. I say "like" because it resembled both of these things even though it was really neither. Luckily the kids didn't care what it was, it was wet and fun and they loved it.

So that's my first installment of catching up. Hopefully tomorrow I can get you through the birthday party! Crossing my fingers! :)

Walking the line

September has been a big month for sweet baby Luke. He turned 1, he now has three teeth and he's learning to walk. Here's some video from this morning:



I know that I owe you birthday pics and pics from our Galveston Vacay over Labor Day weekend. I promise: this week!

Dearest Children,

Dearest Lukie,

In three days, you'll be an entire year old. I can NOT believe it, and yet it seems like you've always been a part of my heart and our family. You bring such joy to each one of us, each of us getting something different from your wonderful little self.

To Jack, you are brother. There is something different, special and hilarious in the bond that they two of you already share. You have looked past your daddy and me and have given Jack the honor of your first word. You call to him at different times through out the day, but there's no way to miss what you're saying when we go to school to pick up the big kids. "Ja?" "Ja." "Ja?" "Ja?" over and over until we find him. Then you flail about in a motion that you used to only reserve for me...we call it "swimming". You already know that Jack is a safe place to play. You guys sit on the road rug and drive your cars around. He lays on the ground and you beat feet over to crawl all over him and drum on his chest a time or two. That you love your brother there is no doubt. And he loves you, little one. He beams with pride when you reach for him. He squeals with delight when you pull his hair. He talks with genuine tenderness and love as he greets you in the morning. You are his brother!

To Samantha, you are baby. And you always will have two mother hens pecking over you. Sorry about that. Actually, no I'm not sorry about that. Samantha is brilliant in her mind and her spirit. And her love overflows for you, even though she sometimes struggles to let you grow up. She is compassionate and tender and will make a SUPERB mother one day, and you're giving her lots of practice early on. Thank you, Son, for being patient with her and helping her fulfill part of who she is. I pray that one day you will see her for the intelligent, caring, protective sister that she wants to be and that you'll forgive her if she struggles with being a little overbearing.

To Daddy, you are the "I'm not going to miss one single thing" baby. Which is very ironic since he's been gone WAY more with work since you've been born. But this final go-round, your daddy is different. He's into the baby-ness of you. He's into your version of playing together. He's into teaching you his version of playing together. He's into showing you the world, and showing the world his last son. And this has NOTHING to do with you guys sharing hair color. It's because HE'S different. He was wonderful with your brother and sister, but he's even more wonderful now. God has blessed you buddy with an awesome dad!

To me, Little Lovie, you are my side kick, my constant companion. You don't have to go to school (yet, thank goodness) and you don't have to go to work. So, it's you and me all day. And MAN, do I love it. There are times where you are content to be toted around on my hip. Times when you want my attention so you run to the stairs and stick out your left leg (not sure what you're doing with that leg thing, but it's consistent and funny!). Times when you just CAN'T resist the pretty blue button that flashes on my computer. Times when you fall asleep in my arms. Times when you're so tired you just want me to lay you down. Time. That's what you and I have. For a little while.

And so as you turn one this weekend, I want you to know that I choose to celebrate the time that we have together, rather than mourning the passing days because I know without a doubt (your brother and sister have proven that to me) you'll leave me one day. I pray that as we spend our precious time together that I'll be able to imprint my love upon your heart and in your life the same way you've imprinted yourself on all of us.

May you be blessed, Son, with all that God has to offer. May you rise up and walk with Him every day, as He leads you on the path you are supposed to take.

Much love, My Precious!

xoxoxoxo,

Mommy
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Dearest Samantha and Jack,

You've both given me clear signs today that you're ready to sore in school. And as much as it pains me, Jack, I will let you walk down the hall to your classroom by yourself. And Samantha, I saw your eyes dart into the classroom as I leaned down for my goodbye kiss this morning. So, I'll keep our kisses my little secret.

I will always be here, my jewels, to comfort, praise, encourage and guide as you need me. Thank you for showing me grace as I struggle to let you be the people I've raised you to be. You make me so proud.

With all my heart forever,

Mommy

A fun game thwarted

A fun game

Poor Lukie!! Mama changed from the regular spout on the water dispenser to the "safety" spout. We've had the new spout for a week or so, but he just can't leave it alone. So today I captured the process.

First, focus:

Second, displeasure:

Next, a new plan:

And FINALLY success!

Can you see his little wet thumb??

That boy makes me smile, every day!!! Man, I love him!

First day of school

We've had a GREAT first week of school. Although we had to make a believer out of Jack yesterday, I believe he gets the point now and will cooperate in the morning. When Mommy and Daddy say, "First things First" in the morning, we really do mean it. And when you follow the policy, BIG rewards happen! I get tired of nagging and pushing and prodding in the morning, so this year, if you can get your stuff done (fully dressed, brush teeth and hair, get medicine, have your bag packed) there will be a reward in the afternoon. It might be TV, video games, their music in the van...whatever it is they want it and I'm hoping it will help encourage good behavior.

Jack's made lots of friends in school already. One little boys name is Kane. Kane is going to be the bane of my existence for several days I can tell. He's informed Jack that there will be a hurricane coming to Houston in November. To Jack, November is like this afternoon or tomorrow so he's not necessarily "worried" (to the point of crying) but he sure is perseverating about it. Since I picked him up from school yesterday, almost every "Hey Mom, did you know..." is some "fact" about hurricane's that Kane taught him. Holy Smokes! He DOES know our plan (to go to RoRo and PawPaw or Uncle Matt and Aunt AJ's house) and he LOOOVES the idea of that, but just can't quite let the hurricane talk rest just, yet. I'm just thankful that he was able to sleep through the night without having bad dreams and coming to my room for loves. Moving on before I start to perseverate! :)

Here are some pics from our first day.

Seeing all the things they are going to be learn really excites me! It's going to be a great school year! I just know it!!

wildlife

Well, down in these here parts of sweltering hot, asphalt covered Texas you have to get excited about whatever kinda wildlife creeps into view. Last Thursday, it was a lizard that was in the recycling bin as Samantha picked it up to return it to its place in the garage. And this is the hilarity that ensued. They were both happy little campers for the rest of the day. There's nothing like their genuine laughter and giddiness that releases the stress and tension of being the sole care taker for three little people that are light years apart in schedules.

After much ado, I present to you The Lizard:

A fun impromptu trip

In an effort to rearrange Lukie's naps a bit, this morning we were going to just go ride the zoo train around the park and be done. But Mama got a hair brained idea and we ended up having a ton of fun. We got on the train at the zoo, rode around to the playground and splash pad, played for an hour or so and then hopped back on the train to finish our ride and head back to the zoo.

Here are the pics to remind us of our fun:

Sorry for the weird sizing and stuff. These pics came off my cell phone and I didn't want to lose much of the quality by resizing. Enjoy!

Dear Caterpillars,

When you do this

to my

I do this

to your face.

He's got SKILLZ!

Sweet baby Luke is growing up!!! He'll be 11 months old in two days! How, oh HOW can that be???? Breakin' my heart that boy is...wow, Yoda that sounded like! Guess you can tell we've been a bit taken with Star Wars lately, huh? Jack and Samantha are totally ga-ga for Star Wars. It's pretty fun most of the time, but there are times when I have to say to Jack, "I don't want to hear General Grievous' name for the next 20 minutes. Find something else to do!"

It's been a great summer! Here are some pics of things that we've gotten to do:

Summer Vacation with the Wilsons in Branson:

Several evenings we sang church songs. This night (Friday, I believe) Samantha very specifically sat next to her PawPaw.

Two nights Jack just pooped out in the middle of the family room in the middle of family time. Michael treasured this moment with our ever growing boy, as times like this are so far a part.

Swimming in the lake

Tea parties with Nonny

This very nice man, who was actually playing the game, allowed Jack to stand beside him and jump, and "shoot" and flail himself about. Jack had NO clue (or at least he didn't care one little bit) that he wasn't actually contributing to the game. All he cared about was shooting that gun! Such a boy!

3-D, glow in the dark Putt Putt

Being the early riser, Luke got some special one-on-one time with his Great down by the lake.

Playing with Nonny and Great

Swimming in the pool with RoRo

Butterfly Museum at Houston Museum of Natural Science
We went to the butterfly museum to see Lois the corpse flower. For those of you that don't know (and I didn't before all the hoopla began), the corpse flower blooms VERY rarely and when it does it smells like a rotting mammal. Pleasant, huh!? Well, I knew my kids would NEVER tolerate the smell so we went after she bloomed and the stench died away...pun intended. :) More info on this cool plant can be found here, if you're interested.

Jack wasn't really a fan of the butterfly museum. Poor guy!

But as soon as we hit the door, he was all smiles again!

We also hit the Children's Museum one Saturday

I think this picture says it all about the fun we had at the museum:

And FINALLY, Luke and I made this video last night, showing off his newest skillz!

Well, thanks for putting up with my summer recap! Hope you enjoyed the catchin' up!