Dime Box 2014

We're fortunate to be in an unique situation where we have known many of our friends since we were all newlyweds, pre-children.  Our friends are a unique and special support system to us we truly treasure.  It's become a spring tradition to go to the small town of Dime Box with a few of these special friends, and it's always a great way to reconnect and get away.  Last year, I was still pregnant on our trip, so this was Luke's first trip!  He really loved the horses and immediately began pointing to them when we got out of the car... 

There were new motorized vehicles for the kids to play with, and they were definitely the hit of the weekend.  Here's Jake and Molly...

 Here's Jake and Jonas...

 A weekend in the country isn't complete without some roasted marshmallows...

1st soccer game 2014

Jake's playing soccer again this spring.  This is his second time to be a part of a team and he LOVES it!  His team is the Dragons, coached by Coach T.  Luke and I missed the game because we were in Dime Box, but Daddy captured some great shots from the day...

11 Months

Luke turned 11 months March 13.  We had a busy day in Gainesville with Big T, Nana and C^5 so I barely got the pictures in, but I did get a few pj pics.  Here's our boy at 11 months:

--He loves light switches, turning them both on and off

--He really inspects food before it goes in his mouth.  If he's not sure what you're offering him on a spoon, he leans his head back with his mouth closed tight to inspect it first.

--He points a lot with his right index finger.  He'll point to where he wants to go while being held or to something he wants

--He often sits with his ankles crossed when hanging out on the floor

--I mentioned this in the last post, but when he's sleeping in the car seat or on his back, he often sleeps with one or both hands behind his head, elbows out.

--He continues to be super affectionate, giving hugs, kisses and pats on the back

Fort Worth Zoo

Over Spring Break we visited both sides of the family.  While visiting my parents, we went to the Fort Worth Zoo.  It was perfect weather and we managed to beat most of the mega crowd by getting there early.  Here's some pics of our adventures.  Jake and the flamingos... 

 There were two baby elephants and they were ADORABLE!

 Jake fed the birds...



Luke enjoyed all the animals until...

 It was just too exhausting...

So exhausting that he transitioned from Daddy's arms into the stroller without a peep (notice how his arm is behind his head; this is a common sleeping position for him)...

 Hanging out with Papa and Grandmama after a refreshing nap...

 Chewing on a corny dog stick...

 Jake's getting an eagle eye view...



Chan-Chan

The first weekend of Spring Break, we got the special treat of Channing coming to stay with us for a few days while Chad and Kevin and the guys were enjoying the State basketball tournament.  The past couple years, Chad has brought Cohen, and the boys have had a great time, but now that Cohen is in kindergarten, we enjoyed Channing's company.  It was such a priviledge for me to spend time with Jake and Channing.  They played so well together doing a wide variety of things.  It was awesome to see how much they love each other and what great friends they are.  The first afternoon, they played lots and lots of pretend.  I heard, "let's pretend...." dozens of times.  Here they are with their wolf ears...

 They did art projects...

 We watched some TV in our jammies and they were all cuddled up together...

 We visited the aquarium and this was the only minor point of contention between the two.  Channing was more interested in the playscape and Jake more interested in the animals.  Luckily, we worked it out then lunch at Chickfila made the conflict a distant memory...

 Channing got to join us for our friend, Hazel's, 1st birthday crazy hair party.  Here's a pic of the kids and their crazy hair.  It's a little hard to see Luke's hair, but he had a baby mohawk...

 Some more crazy hair pictures...

 Playing in the sand...

 The last day of Channing's visit was a little rainy and yucky.  We headed to the park to get some outside time before the rain really started...

 I can't say enough how much I enjoy watching Jake, and now Luke, with his cousins.  They are such sweet friends, and we truly love these visits.  In fact, literally 5 minutes after Channing left to go home, Jake said, "I miss Channing."  Such sweet friends.... 

Sic 'Em Bears

We've been true Baylor fans this year and have gone to both a football and basketball game in Waco.  It helps to have people we love live in Waco, so we can also partner our sports watching with friends' visits.  This trip started off great with a yummy lunch at George's with friends, then off to the game.  As we entered the parking lot, however, things took a turn for the worse as Luke threw up all over himself.  After lots of baby wipes, wet wipes, a change of clothes, and Jake proclaiming, "Ewww, it smells; we need to go home!" we decided that I would stay outside with Luke for a little bit to see if he was truly sick while Kevin and Jake went into the game.  After about 30 minutes of walking around campus with a happy, smiling baby, Luke and I took a chance and went into the game too.  Despite the rocky start, Luke showed no more signs of illness, and we ended up enjoying a great game with a Baylor victory!  Sic 'Em Bears!!!

 Three goggles!!!

Brother bath

As I mentioned in a previous post, we finally transitioned Luke out of the baby bath tub into the real bath tub.  His first bath was a "brother bath" and it was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen.  Both boys LOVED their brother bath.  It was so cute I considered going to get my video camera, but then I just decided to sit back and take it all in.  Some moments are so precious I don't want anything distracting me from them...