Memorial Day Weekend

My side of the family visited us during Memorial day weekend.  A caravan of 8 adults (Luke's Grandma, Grandpa and Aunts & Uncles (Emily/Jason, Brandy/Jeremy, Holly/Ryan) and 5 kids (Luke's cousins, Brody, Kaylee, Traber, Lilly & Linnea) came down from Oklahoma, arriving late Friday night.

We did lots of shopping on Saturday, and then visited the Zilker botanical garden on Sunday.  Then, later on Sunday, we grilled some hamburgers and hotdogs on our patio.  We had so much fun with everyone!  When everyone left on Monday, Luke looked so sad that everyone had gone.  We miss our house full of family. 

It was so much fun to see Luke interact with so many kids.  He tended to observe most of the time--I think they were so entertaining to him. 

We already miss having everyone over, and are looking forward to the next visit!  Here are some pics from this weekend:

Our Weekend in Sugar Land

We spent some time with in Sugar Land, TX last weekend visiting Luke's Aunt, Uncle, Cousins, Mimi & Papa from Drew's side of the family.  Luke had a good time with everyone and really enjoyed this swing at Erica & Andy's house:

Later, we celebrated Mimi's birthday at the Sugar Country Club.  It was a warm, but beautiful sunny day! Happy Birthday Mimi!

Then, Mitchell spent the night with us at Mimi and Papa's.  Luke really enjoyed spending some quality boy-time with him. Here they are watching Star Wars:

Luke says goodbye to Papa.

Is that Drew or Justin Bieber?

So, I just discovered Justin Bieber the other day.  I recorded an episode of Oprah when she hosted him as one of her guests.  I can't believe the reactions he gets by girls--crying, screaming--I just don't get how a kid who sings some songs can get that type of reaction out of girls.  I know--some of your are thinking, "Heather, you grew up in the New Kids on the Block Era--didn't you act similarly when you were that age?"  No, actually, I never understood that then either.

However, I must say, he was pretty charming; and, I will admit that he is talented.  But, I think what drew me in a little bit was how similarly he reminded me of Drew.  I have seen some videos of Drew from when he was around the same age as Justin Bieber; I have seen pictures of Drew from that age range as well.  Justin is so polite, has a high-pitch voice, and, as I said before, is very charming--he truly reminded me of Drew from that age

For those of you who missed the episode of Oprah I am referring to, or if you have no idea who I am talking about, here is the video:  Justin Bieber Oprah Video

When I first told Drew this the other day, his response was, "Who is Justin Bieber?"  Then he asked, "Why do you say he looks like me--does he look nerdy?"  So, I showed him the Oprah youtube video of his performance and video.  He amazingly enough also saw a resemblance.  Then, he showed me his dancing skills and I changed my mind (j/k).  :-)

Here's a side by side of Drew and Justin.  Does anyone else agree?

Luke has Two Teeth!

So, our little guy officially has some teeth.  It seems he has been teething for several months.  I think when he was about 4-5 months old, I thought he was going to have a tooth pop through his gums very soon.  However, the drooling and putting everything in the mouth went on for a few months.  Then, a few weeks ago, I could really tell something was different.  I could also see what looked like a little tooth just below the gums.  Then, about a week or so later, another one popped through.  Poor little guy--I know that has to hurt.

Luke decided to model his new teeth for the camera.  Here is their first appearance before the internet world:

Our Weekend---a car show and Luke's first pool experience

This weekend, we decided to go to a car show.  It is always a lot of fun to see what new models are out there--even with no plans to change vehicles for quite a while.  And, of course, we will NEVER be purchasing the models that we liked the best.  Here is the one that I liked.   I think I look pretty good in it.

Then again, who wouldn't look good in a $150,000 loaded Porsche Panorama (turbo)--it's Porsche's first 4-door sedan.  I do not like two-door cars, because they aren't very practical.  But hey, a 4-door $150,000 sedan--now that's practical.  

And this is what I named the ugliest car of the show:

Here is Drew and Luke's pick:

(I believe it was a Maserati GranTurismo Convertible.  This one was a lot more reasonable than my pick--only around $130,000.) 

After the show, we hopped into our paid-off car that we plan on keeping for as long as possible and picked up a baby swimming pool that Toys R Us had on sale.  It was only $5--what a steal!  Luke put on his first pair of swimming diapers and we filled up the pool in the backyard.  We got the water temperature just right and were excited to put him in his little swimming outfit. 

We expected that he would LOVE the pool, if his bath-time fun was any indicator.  Here is Luke right after we put him in the pool.

He wasn't too happy.  I'm pretty sure he was thinking, "why am I taking a bath with my clothes and diaper on in my backyard?"  We put some of his bath toys in there with him hoping it would be more familiar to him.  Here he is playing with one of his bath toys, still not sure what to think.

It took a little while, but he finally warmed up to it.

Mom's Day

Sunday was Mother's Day and Drew and Luke made sure it was a special first Mother's Day for me.  When I woke up and went into the living room, I found this special card, made by Drew and Luke--specifically, Luke's big toe.  Drew used water colors and Luke's toes to make flower petals and little bugs (bees and ladybugs).  It is adorable, and I will cherish it forever.  Plus, the story about the two of them making it is something I will cherish forever--it sounds like it was quite a task.

Being a mom is more than I ever imagined!  I remember when the nurse laid Luke on my chest right after he was born and he looked right into my eyes as the nurse said, "look honey, it's your mommy."  Hearing those words--"it's your mommy" made everything even more real--I am forever now a mom.  What a joy, a responsibility and a true blessing.  Luke really is miracle and I am forever thankful!  Thank you Lord for giving us Luke.  I don't think there will ever be a day that I will not look into his eyes or stare at him in amazement. 

Happy Mother's Day to our moms as well.  Mom, I now COMPLETELY understand why you worried so much about us.  It is hard to imagine how much love you can have for a child.

Here's a cute poem I found that I thought I'd share about being a mom. 


Before I was a Mom -
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom -
I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been Puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life
so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Luke is 7 months old!!

Our little boy is growing up so quickly!  We just cannot believe he is already seven months old.  Here's what he has been up to lately:

• He's mobile.   We will turn our heads for just a few seconds and then look back at him to find he has managed to roll himself across the room.  It is so funny to watch him devise a plan to try to go to get one of his toys.   He's got several moves:  the sit to belly to roll left, the sit to twist into the right direction and then roll, the roll right, and the sit to belly to back and spin to the right direction and then roll.   He is also trying to pull his knees up under him so that he can crawl, but at this point he has only managed to scoot.  
• He's weighing around 18 lbs and is about 27 inches long.
• He definitely has a little personality.   He is such a sweety--loves to cuddle and give us looks of endearment.  He is also hilarious--he does the funniest things to crack us up.  For example, he has been making the funniest sound with his tongue and lips and neither Drew nor I can replicate it.  He thinks it is so funny that we cannot copy him.  We try--but he just laughs and gives us this little look of pride that he can do something we can't.
• He has been doing something else that is pretty funny also.  He goes through periods of time where he will hold his hand up and stare at it, while moving his thumb across the first two index fingers.   We finally realized that our little boy is trying to snap.   Poor little guy--he has no idea that he probably won't be able to do this for a long time.  But, I guess he could surprise us.  If he manages to do it, don't worry, we'll definitely take video of it and post it on here.
• He has added some new sounds to his vocabulary.   It sounds like he is pretending to have a conversation with someone, as the blabbers are linked in what sounds like sentences in another language.  It's pretty cute.
• When he plays, he likes to make loud noises.  He picks the loudest toys and shakes them as hard as he can or throws them to see us react.
• The other day he was really cracking me up.   Of course, he loves to try to imitate us.  He was sitting in the bumbo in front of the long mirror. I was standing behind him and decided to do some jumping jacks.   He thought it was so funny and began laughing.   Then, he started flapping his arms and legs while sitting in the bumbo.  He was doing jumping jacks.  What a cutie!  I love him so much and treasure each moment I get to spend with him. 

Busy Busy Busy

We have been VERY busy lately.  So busy that we have become delinquent on our blog posts.  Here is what we've been up to.

A couple of weekends ago, we had the pleasure of having some visitors--Drew's parents from Sugar Land, TX and his Aunt Cindy and Uncle Doug from Findlay, OH, where Drew grew up.  We had a blast with them, and did some real, Austin activities.   On Saturday afternoon after eating some sandwiches and watermelon at home, we went to the South Lake Travis Spring Fest at Hill Country Galleria.  There, they had live music, fair food, LOTS of Shopping (at the Galleria stores and there were approx. 150 arts and crafts booths) and they even had a BBQ cookoff.  With the live music and BBQ cookoff atmosphere, it was definitely a Texas-experience.  Here are some pics from that day.

The last few pictures above are from the deck at the Oasis Restaurant.   We had some delicious fajitas on the deck overlooking a full and beautiful Lake Travis--what a wonderful day!!!

The next day, after going to church, we had lunch at the original Salt Lick restaurant in Driftwood (awesome BBQ) and then went to the LBJ Library/Museum.  If you have never been there, it is a fun, cheap thing to do (it's free).  Here are some pics of us goofing off at the museum.  This is from the part of the museum dedicated to Lady Bird Johnson:

We had a great time with Mimi and Papa and Aunt Cindy and Uncle Doug and are looking forward to seeing them again soon!

Last weekend on Saturday, I went to brunch with the gals from our Church Community Group, and then Drew, Luke and I attended a BBQ cookoff in our neighborhood.  It was actually HUGE even though the competition was only in its third year.  There were contestants from all over Texas, fun amusement park rides for the kids (Luke is still too young for this, but I wish I wasn't too old for them--they looked fun to me!), and GREAT live music.  Bob Schneider, an Austin favorite even played at 4pm, but Luke had too much sun by then and we forgot the sunscreen so we had to head home before we got to see him.  We heard some other good music though and ate some BBQ.  We got a "people's choice ticket" and were able to sample BBQ from various contestants and then cast our vote.  Unfortunately, by the time we arrive to the event, a lot of the contestants ran out of food, so we were not able to sample them all (but we still got full).  It sounds like the last couple of weekends have been all about BBQ--but, that is really not the case, I promise.   BBQ just happened to be part of the atmosphere--but hey, we are in Central Texas!  Here are Drew and Luke enjoying some shade at the event.

Because this post has gotten WAY too long, I am going to have to add some separate posts a little later.  Stay tuned for the Luke is SEVEN months old post!   I can't believe he is already 7 months old.  Wow, where did the time go?