Ride 'em, cowboy!

Lemme get a big ol' "yeehaw", y'all! Today we went to the Ft. Worth Stock Show and Rodeo to see the rodeo. Luke got all gussied up in his cowboy boots and cowboy sweater; he was more of what you'd call a "city cowboy", but he still looked mighty cute.

Anyway, we drove through the first real rain we've had in well over a month, parked in the mud, rode the "shuttle" (a covered trailer pulled by a big ol' tractor) and finally made it into the Will Rogers Coliseum for the show. I must admit that I thought it was really neat. I especially liked the barrel racing and the trick riding, but the bull riders stole the show.

One of the coolest events was, for lack of a better term, the calf-catching. About 15 FFA (that's Future Farmers of America for those of you non-Texans) high school students and about 8 calves came out into the ring. The first student to catch a calf, put a halter on it, and lead it back into the middle of the square won $500. It was a hoot! Those calves sure can run when they want to, and none of them seemed really pleased about being chased and thrown onto the ground. They all gave up quite a fight, but finally someone won.

Luke seemed to enjoy it, too, especially the part where he got to eat cotton candy at 11:00 in the morning. The pictures are a little blurry because I had to use the extended flash setting, but you can still kind of get the idea. I think this gets us one step closer to becoming true Texans!

Football player? Train conductor? Ballerina?

Hmmm . . . well, I don't really know what to say about this picture. I guess I could explain the circumstances surrounding it, but I think it would take away from the mystique of the picture. So just make up your own story and enjoy!

We're going where???

Gary got some really exciting work-related news yesterday. A big customer of his offers a trip to some of their customers and suppliers every year. Gary's company, Solo Cup, pays to be a part of the trip, and six employees and their wives get to go. Gary and I were invited to go this year, and so we will be traveling to SWITZERLAND for six days in March! I think we're both still kind of in shock about it because it's happening so quickly, but we're definitely thrilled! Because it's technically a business trip, all the expenses will be paid (we obviously wouldn't be going otherwise.) I'm including a picture I found on Google of the hotel where we'll be staying, the Montreux-Palace, in Montreux, Switzerland, and I'll definitely include some of our own pictures after we get back. In case anyone's wondering, Luke will not be accompanying us. Grandmommy and Granddaddy have graciously agreed to come watch him for the week (I know it'll be a real hardship for them to have to spend a whole week with him, but I believe they'll be able to muster through!) So, say a little prayer March 13 and 19 for our safe travel!

Hannah hat

Hannah, my ten-year-old niece, sewed this hat for Luke for Christmas. She also made a matching scarf. It was pretty chilly this morning, and after listing his choices, I asked Luke which hat he wanted to wear. He immediately said he wanted to wear his "Hannah hat", and after he put it on, I had to take a quick picture. We're working on getting him to smile with his eyes open, and this is the result - I think it's pretty darn cute!

My getaway

Last weekend I went to a scrapbooking retreat with my two friends Adriane and Wendy at a Christian camp called Pine Cove out in east Texas. Wendy has gone several times, and Adriane was gung-ho when she heard about it last year, but I really didn't want to go. But the more I thought about a whole weekend away, the better it sounded. So, I took the plunge and signed up, and I'm so glad I did. We had a wonderful weekend! Although most of the time is focused on scrapbooking, there are many more things to do. Since it's a Christian camp, there was a devotion at every meal, and we had a short worship time Saturday night. All three of us had chair massages on Saturday, and Adriane and I even went horseback riding Saturday afternoon (I'll post pictures when I get them from Adriane.) We all made good progress on our scrapbooks, although sadly I'm still two years behind. Oh well, at least it gives me a goal to work towards! All in all, it was so very much fun, and we're already looking forward to going next year.

More Luke-isms

What a verbal child we have! He talks non-stop from the moment he wakes up till he finally falls asleep at night. He rarely fusses about going to bed; the noise I hear instead is him "reading" books, counting, singing, talking to his stuffed animals, or just squealing. One time last week after an hour of his antics, I walked into his room and asked him what he was doing. He looked at me and replied matter-of-factly, "I just rolling around." So as you can see, funny conversations abound in my house. Here are a few recent pearls that have come from my son's mouth:

-"Do you have issues?" (This obviously came straight from me . . . I've got to be even more vigilant about what I say!)
-"That's my deal-io!" (Something I taught him willingly - it's quite funny coming from him!)
-When he asks me to get in his wagon or bed or something else I won't fit in, I'll tell him I'm too big to get in, to which he'll reply, "We need a small Mommy." Once he even told me we could buy a small Mommy at the store (I'm still looking for a Mommy to buy - if anyone knows where to get one, please let me know.)
-"See ya later, alligator!"
-"Okie-dokie, artichokie!"
-Of all the many, many things he says, my favorite is still when he spontaneously says, "I yuv you, Mommy!"

My latest project

Several years ago when my sister's children were little, she made a calendar for them with the days of the week, the weather, the month, and the season. I thought Luke would like having a similar one since he loves to tell us what it's like outside each day. So, that was my project yesterday. I worked on it while he was at school and finished it up later in the afternoon. He enjoys putting the days up, especially since each one is a different Dora character. It's not very fancy, but I think it turned out pretty well. He loved doing our advent calendars each morning during Christmas, so this calendar will take the place of that.

Post-bath antics

Once again, will it be a surprise to anyone that Gary rubbed Luke's head till his hair stuck up?

Say, "Cheese!"

Potty progress

I recently realized that Luke needs to sit on the potty more than once a day before bathtime. So, about a week or so ago I started asking him to sit on the potty 3 or 4 times a day, and he readily agreed each time (which is in and of itself progress, because until about 2 months ago he didn't want to sit on the potty at all.) He started pee-peeing almost every time he sat down, and just now, for the first time, he told me he needed to sit on the potty again. He got his pants and diaper down all by himself, and he sat on the potty and went! I was so pleased, and so was he. I realize this is a very small step on the road to being potty-trained, but I really feel like we're starting to make some progress.

All aboard!

Our good friend Wendy has two boys, Jason, 6 1/2, and Jaren, 4; she brings us a lot of their clothes and toys that they have outgrown, and recently she has brought us many Thomas toys. She gave us this ride-on Thomas that makes lots of loud noises (that's probably why she got rid of it!) and the conductor's hat Luke is wearing. Now that I think of it, she also gave Luke this t-shirt. He loves all of them and wears his hat every day. He wore it on a walk yesterday and to the park today and has it on right now. We are very thankful for good friends and hand-me-downs!

Creature comforts

At last count, there were 17 stuffed animals, 6 books, 2 pillows, 2 blankies, and one sweet boy sleeping in Luke's crib.

Bowl bound?

Gary and I were excited when the bowl bids were announced a few weeks ago because Shreveport is only 3 1/2 hours from us. We bought tickets for all three of us and started planning the trip. We decided to leave at 8:00 on Friday, the morning of the game, and just come back that night after the game rather than stay in Shreveport. Our friend Mike came out on Thursday to go with us. That night we went to dinner, and as we were standing outside the restaurant, Luke threw-up. At that point I figured that he and I wouldn't go to the game, but he never threw-up again, and after eating some toast the next morning, he was acting fine and we decided to go ahead and go.

Even though he had been sick the night before, Luke did really well. He fell asleep for a while on the way there and then watched movies. He enjoyed tailgating and walking around before the game. We got to see the Budweiser Clydesdales, and he thought the dog that rode on top was quite funny.

For those of you who watched the game, you know that our good day ended some time after the second quarter. Until that point, we were having a good time - we saw Cocky, had some snacks (funnel cakes . . . yummy!), and we were winning! The day just went downhill from there. Luke was very restless by the end of the game, and, of course, we lost. We left Shreveport about 6:30 and stopped to eat dinner about 7:15. After eating only a few bites of dinner, Luke threw-up again on the way home (that was NOT fun to clean up.) He finally passed out in the car about 9:00 and slept till we got home at 10:00 but was terrible cranky when he woke up. We survived, and I'm glad we went because Luke loves the "Gamecocks football players" as he says it, but it was a LONG day!

Our Nana

We love our Nana, and we were very glad to have her here last week. Here are some of the things we like most about her:

1. She loves to read books to Luke, just like she loved reading books to me when I was little.

2. She still loves to play games.

3. She thinks Luke is the smartest child ever.

4. She always tells me that I have a special place in her heart and loves reminiscing about my childhood.

5. She's the best Nana ever!

We miss you, Nana, and can't wait till you can visit again!