State Fair of Texas

Luke had his very first experience with Big Tex and loved it! Ali, Will, Rett, Grant and our little family headed out for all the fried goodness. It was super crowded, but still a great time. Here is Luke enjoying his first dog show. He was really watching all the dogs jump and do their tricks.

The car show is always a man favorite, and boy did Luke love running around touching all those shiny cars.

What cute brothers I have!

We headed into the science museum and they had a set-up to make huge bubbles. Very cool!

The all time favorite was, of course, the petting zoo. Luke didn't want to touch any of the animals, but sure enjoyed looking at them. Poor Luke got pretty sweaty by this point.

Not too sure what these things are (llamas maybe?), but they were shaved in very interesting patterns. They drew quite the crowd.

Well after touring the entire fair, eating corny dogs, fried bacon, fried Frito chili pie, corn on the cob and fried Oreos, this little man was tired! And no Luke did not eat all of that, but we sure did. =)

We love a good fair! Until next year...

Fall Fun

We have been loving this cooler weather and went to Oktoberfest on the McKinney Square last weekend. It was great and Luke really enjoyed himself. Here he is on the way to the festival. He is just now wanting to wear hats and shoes. He goes and gets them from their place in the laundry room and asks me to put them on him. It is pretty darn cute! This was his first encounter with a "character" and it didn't go so well. He was pretty scared and made sure I was in between him and this crazy looking thing. After enjoying a bratworst and some potato cakes, he took it easy and watched the Alpine Children's show while downing come milk. Aunt Ali and Uncle Will came with us as well. As you can see he is sitting very close to his little cousin Ben. =) Just having fun at Kate and Ellie's house. We have recently been hanging out with my friend, Brooke, and her daughter, Kaylee. She is just too cute with that red hair and these kids love playing together. Here they are having a blast in Kaylee's tent.

We went back to open gym last week, and it was way less crowded. I didn't fear for his life quite as much this time! Luke is getting some new teeth and has been pretty cranky. Last time we had to drag him out of there, but this time he decided he was tired and just wanted to sit on the bench. Guess he just needed at little break!

A couple of days ago, I was cleaning up around the house and couldn't find him. I walk into the kitchen and find him sitting in the drawer. Too funny!

He then thought it would be fun to stand up, and was very proud of this accomplishment. I probably should have told him no, but instead I had to grab the camera. =) Notice the 2 different shoes. I told you he likes wearing them now, even if they don't match.

Luke's Great Grandfather, Papa, turned 96 on Friday. We went out to dinner and then had cake at home. It has been so special to have Papa living so close to us now.

And here is a sneak peak at Luke's Halloween costume. He is going to be a little pirate. We had to do a test run to see how it fits. Here is Luke waiting for his Daddy to get home so he can show his costume off. I won't reveal anymore of the costume, but I must say, it doesn't get any cuter!

On a final note, we have a biter! Yes sweet little Luke is biting other kids! I went to bible study Wednesday morning and when I picked him up from the nursery they were very nervous to tell me that he bit 2 kids! I was mortified! We left him again at church this morning, warning them of his biting, and sure enough he did it again! He is teething, so I am not sure if it is related, but I am pretty sure he does it when he gets angry. He also used to never care when we left him in the nursery, but is recently sobbing when we leave. He apparently cried most of the morning and they wrote us a little note all about it. I know this is all normal, but any tips moms??

Open Gym

I have been looking for activities during the week that Luke and I could do for little cost. The McKinney Community Center offers many programs and I noticed in their brochure that they have an Open Gym time for kids 5 and under twice per month. Well last week we went to check it out. What a great deal it was! For $1 you can play for 2 hours and get a bag of animal crackers at the end. This is our kind of event! Here is Luke crawling through the tube. He loved it! It was a mad house! Kids everywhere. Luke was one of the younger kids and boy do you have to be tough to hang with this crowd. They will mow you down without even thinking. Luke held his own. =)

He loved this obstacle course thing. You climb in the maze and then slide out. It was a little scary because parents couldn't get to their kids once they were inside. Luke got knocked down a few times, but is such a tough guy, he just kept on going. =)

There were scooters, balls, you name it, everywhere. He kept sitting on the scooter and loved being pushed around.

He was so tired at the end. It was a huge success and we will be going back! Thanks to Aunt Ali for being the photographer.

What A Good Boy!

Luke has been such a good helper around the house lately. He really likes to mimic anything Brian and I do which includes... sweeping.... taking food out of the oven...(no I did not let him, but he sure did grab the oven mitt all on his own and was trying to figure out exactly how does this food come out?)... washing the car... Wow if that't not the biggest belly you have ever seen... To be fair I think his little swim trunks fell a little too low. =) What a good little boy he is. Not only does he help with the household chores, he also eats his veggies. And likes to pray before every meal. Not only does he like to pray before every meal, but he also likes to pray SEVERAL times throughout the meal. We think that he determined if he prays he gets food quicker. So if I am slow getting food to him or he wants more he usually bows his head and folds his little hands. What a spiritual little guy we have. =) (yes, there is a bean on his nose) I just love him so much! Here he is doing "touchdown!". He learned this last weekend in preparation for football season.

And here is one last shot that I love. I think he looks so grown up. Hope he doesn't grow up too fast and that he always stays my good little boy. =)

Fun In the Sun & Big Family News!

Labor Day weekend was a lot of fun. Brian, Luke and I went to the lake with my parents and enjoyed the beautiful weather. The last time we were there, Luke had just learned to walk and was a little wobbly, but this time he was running all over the place! Here are a few pics from the weekend. Enjoying breakfast on the porch. He was looking at Pop, who was obviously pretty entertaining.

With Tula in Rocky. He loved sitting here and playing with the steering wheel. In this picture he was watching his Daddy ski.

Nothing better than a good-ole rock.

Running away from Daddy. Notice Brian is still trying to enjoy his coffee. There is no easing into the morning for this little guy.

We love our backyard, but there isn't a whole lot for Luke to do besides get into the plants.

Exhibit A. (yes there is dirt in his mouth)

So... we decided to get a little play set that he could climb on. It came on Sunday and we put it together immediately. It is a little bigger than we thought, which is great because he will be able to use it longer, but right now that means he needs close supervision. He is loving it!

Here he is waiting for it to be put together.

Here is what Luke and I were doing, while Daddy did all the work. =)

Once Luke saw the big pieces coming together he wouldn't stay away from the thing. This made Daddy's job a little harder. =)

After holding Luke back for about 30 minutes, we were ready to roll. He loved it!

For some reason the rope knots seem to be the biggest hit, go figure!

We were so excited to now have a new activity to do during the week, only for it to rain pretty much nonstop for 3 days. Luke would just stare at his little play set through the window begging to go out. I finally gave in and let him play in the light rain for about an hour. Needless to say, clothes ended up coming off and I had one little naked boy mowing the lawn. He sure does make me smile! What a pose, and look at that belly! =)

Also I want to thank those that left sweet comments on my last post. It really meant a lot.

Ok and now on to the big family news.....You will have to check out http://www.theschmidblog.blogspot.com/ to learn what it is. ;) We couldn't be more excited!!!

Change of Pace

This post is something I have never done before, but lately have felt that God has laid this upon my heart to share. For those of you that know me, I am a fairly private person who doesn't easily share intimate details of my life. I am pretty easy going and prefer to blend in as oppose to be the center of attention. I never want to "rock the boat" and always try to be the neutral party in most cases. Having said all of that, I have started to realize that my faith is not something I share openly. I will admit that it makes me nervous to bring up my faith with someone who I think may not share the same beliefs. I have been praying about this, asking God to show me ways to express myself and have recently felt like this was the best place to start. =) In the past few years my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior has become stronger and more certain in my heart. I have seen God working in my life in ways that I would never have noticed a few years ago. I am not saying that He wasn't there, what I am saying is that I never took the time to notice HIM. He is everywhere, and I feel grateful for the many blessings He has given me. There are so many things I count as blessings including; Brian, Luke, family, friends, our church and the relationships we have established there, my job, Brian's job, health of myself and family. The list goes on and on. Many of these things are answers to prayers, and I have seen things happen to myself and others, where you just know HE was behind it. I believe in the power of prayer and that God will answer your prayers, regardless if it is the answer you are looking for or not. Lately I have been sent links to numerous blogs dedicated to loved ones who are ill or dying. Following these stories I have read amazing accounts of ways God has worked in their lives, and have been truly inspired. I feel humbled by His power and love for us and just wanted to share how I felt, and "get out of my little bubble". =)