Zoo!

We thought a trip to the zoo would be a wonderful way to enjoy the pretty weather
Flamingos and ducks! A really beautiful start!

Oh my! The parakeets were the highlight of the entire zoo! Brent said Luke started giggling as soon as we walked in the aviary!

Checking out the Giraffes!

Gorillas:

Huge turtles!

Easter Party at Day Care

Luke had a ball at school on Friday! Grandma and Granddaddy got to join in on the fun too!

He tried a bite of cup cake (still doesn't like them):

Ate junk food with his buddies:

And went on an Egg Hunt:

As soon as the boys figured out there were jelly beans in the eggs, they let the girls go hunting and they started eating!

Here are some of his classmates- they went on a cart ride while we hid the eggs.

Top to bottom: Amelyia, Analya, Erin, Kaylee (the biter), Grace (the pusher and toy stealer), and Grant

Luke and Braelynn stayed behind and played with balloons:

It was a successful day!

Easter Bible

If you have put off getting your child a gift for Easter (I will not judge you because as my mom just reminded me, I still need to try on Luke's Easter suit to see if it even fits!...Do I feel a $20 hem comming on???)... But I digress... Brent and I got this children's Bible for Luke:



It is really neat! Rather than simply retelling the most familiar short scenes from the Bible, this book accurately presents the "big picture"-the unified story running through the Old and New Testaments in order. It is a big, big book-- might take months to read through it if you read a few pages a night, but it is a neat one!

God is a big God, with a big story, and He has made big promises! We thought a pretty fitting book for an Easter present.

Family Field Day

Wade and Brent were manning one of the bounce houses so they made some special time for the little ones: (Luke, Alyssa, Drew)

Drew and Luke, BFFs!


Aunt Jamie made the day so fun!

Fun with friends:

Face Painting:

Luke found the bubble table and spent lots of time there :)

Hating the pony rides... maybe next year :)

Cows are funny!

Petting the "Quack Quacks" and working on being gentile-- he kept trying to squeeze their heads.

It was a great day! We are blessed by our church and hope it will bless others next week at the Easter services.

Egg Hunt- A Trial Run

Luke is having an Egg Hunt at school next week, so we thought we should go through a dry run so he knows what to do.

He figured it out pretty quickly-- kept calling the eggs "balls"...

I think he is good to go... as long as he keeps his basket upright!

Gig Em Horned Frogs!

Brent has accepted admission into TCU for his Professional MBA! He begins in August and we are excited about it, for sure! It is a two and a half year program that we think will open up great opportunity for his career and give us lots of options for the future. I am proud of you, Brent!

Obamacare

Luke, I pray you will know liberty like your Daddy and I have known. We will do all we can to make that possible.

An Ode to Granna!

This picture is going to get me in trouble! We have NEVER done this before, Mother... this was only to save some time-- Allie didn't like the added help Luke offered anyway! Brent and I were giggling that Granna (my mom) would not approve on ANY level of this poor decision :)

BUBBLES!

I Made Luke Cry

It is SO hard to change from loving a baby to disciplining a toddler...


I opened the door to Luke's classroom yesterday and saw him throw a puzzle on the floor in defiance. I asked what I just walked into and they told me he was climbing up on the table and they were placing him back in his seat repeatedly. I got in his face as he was crying and told him "NO FISH" (they have a fish pond in the front of day care that he likes to look at before we leave). The previous day, Luke walked up to our 2 year old neighbor and pushed him. I about came unglued. We are working on that one.


When we got home yesterday, I let Luke play in the front yard- he ran in the street so I popped his bottom, got in his face and sternly said 'DANGER'! He cried. We played a little longer in the front, he got a grin on his face and ran for the street-- again... pop bottom, 'DANGER', tears.


I wanted to cry right there with him.

Today was a better day- he went to crawl up on the table and Ms. Marga said "I'll tell your Mommy" and he immediately backed down! Yay, I didn't hurt his spirit (my biggest fear)! Allie came to meet him at day care (he giggled with excitement!) and he had a cookie waiting in the car for hopes of a better day... I was glad to reward his good behaivor and he was all smiles knowing he had been a good boy!


Luke, I hope you feel how much your Daddy and I love you. I hope you know we discipline you because we love you and we want you to learn to respect authority. We want you to explore your world and learn how to communicate in a healthy way. Right now, you are testing your boundaries and that is okay- we want you to see clearly defined lines. We want you to be strong and not cower when you need to stand up for what you believe. Most of all, we want you to trust that we know what is best for you and want, more than anything, for you to succeed- we are your #1 fans!
I love you, Baby.

St. Patricks Day Parade

We celebrated Irish style this weekend at the Stockyards! Luke *saw* miniature ponies, but he didn't want to pet them:

We went in the petting zoo... here is Luke getting brave:

Checking out the bunnies from outside the pen:

And after we hung around awhile, Luke fell in love with the goats.

We met up with some friends

When you get to two kids, posing gets much harder :)

Luke and Braelynn- school buddies... waiting for the parade to start:

Longhorn stampede- they were bigger than the cars on the street!

Poor mini pony... he certainly got gypped this parade pulling that large lepercon load!