Our Big Boy

I am so proud and happy to announce that Luke is officially potty trained!  WhoooHooo!  I have delayed this post for awhile, thinking that he may back-track and didn't want to get excited too prematurely, but we are now going on 1 month of diaper free days.  It is amazing!  He has even been dry at nap times, so the only time we wear a pull-up is at night.  I tried a few months ago to potty train, and he just wasn't ready.  I didn't want to force it, and am so glad I didn't because a month later he was ready, and training was a breeze. Yeah for my big boy! We are so proud of you!  

Showing off his new underwear.

Oh goodness, GQ model. ;)

Luke is just becoming a big boy in so many other ways as well.  Here he is helping me make "Jesus Rolls" at Easter.  He loves to help with the cooking. 

And by helping...I mean "tasting" a lot of things for me. ;)

This boy will also do anything to be like his daddy.  Whatever Daddy does, Luke does too.  Here he is getting in an Insanity workout (like P90x) on a fun Saturday morning.

Making sure his moves are matching Daddy.

Gosh, he looks so old in this picture.

Perfecting his pull ups.

I know I have expressed many times how much this boy loves dressing up, but I just had to add a few more pictures.  Nonnie recently gave him some new pirate accessories, and boy those things have already been worn out.  We just love our little pirate, mustache and all!

Here's to my big boy!  We love you so much, are so proud of you, and thank you for all the joy you bring to our family. 

Muffins With Mom

I had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday.  In fact, we had one busy weekend which included babysitting Benjamin, a garage sale, Audrey's baby dedication at church, and mother's day.  I have a ton to blog, but will start with something earlier in the week...Muffins with Mom.  On Wednesday I got to go to Luke's class in the morning and have muffins, donuts and juice.  It just so happened to be Patriotic Day at school as well, and I decided that Audrey could show her patriotism also.  I tried to get a cute picture of the two of them in their red, white, and blue...but as you can see that is difficult! 

Take 1

Take 2

Take 3...Good as its gonna get. =)

Luke was so excited that Audrey and I were in his classroom.

He was especially proud of the mother's day gift I got...

My very own place mat with our picture, and a self portrait drawn by Luke.  Can't you tell that drawing is a picture of me?

Luke was very serious about his donuts.

And Audrey was just happy to be there watching all the big kids.

I am beyond blessed to be the mother of these two, and thank God for giving me such precious gifts!

Kid Free in NYC!

My sister did such a fabulous job blogging our trip to NYC last week, that I decided I would just steal all her hard work and copy and paste it into my blog, so I can have it for my blog book.  Be sure to check out the end, because I changed up that part a bit.  Thanks Ali!  And a huge thanks to my parents who gave my sister and I a trip we will never forget! You guys sure are fun!

Kid free in NYC!

Last week my precious, generous, adorable, fun, wonderful parents took Amanda and I to the Big Apple for an (much needed) adult vacation. We arrived in NYC early morning Wednesday and quickly checked in our hotel before heading out to explore.

The rain didn't stop us from enjoying time outside.

My mom and I were dressed identical majority of the trip.

Amanda looking stylish in the rain.

One of my favorite parts of NYC is Bryant Park. It was one of our first (of many) stops.

I love this picture of my mom taking in the beautiful park.

Saint Patrick's is another classic NYC stop that we couldn't resist. It is so incredible to step off the dirty, loud streets and enter into such a peaceful place.

The Gang

Yes, we are in bed. Yes, it was 3:30. Yes, it was nice to relax without watching a monitor.

After a short nap, we headed out for a yummy Italian dinner. Amanda quickly spotted Jin from Lost and boldly asked to take a picture with him.

Thursday we woke up and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee in the hotel lounge. The lounge is located a few stories up off of Times Square and had incredible views/people watching.

After coffee, we walked to Penelope's and devoured a life-changing brunch filled with fresh squeezed orange juice, scrambled eggs sandwiches, and strawberry coconut waffles.

To. Die. For.

After stuffing our faces with syrup and dough, we walked a few miles to the 9/11 Memorial. It was so moving and something every American should experience. It made me proud to be an American and even prouder to be a Veterans wife.

After a long day of walking it felt AMAZING to soak our toes in a hot bath.

While waiting in line to buy musical tickets we sucked down milk chocolate shakes and were entertained by girls promoting Chicago.

Wow. They were bad and it was funny!

For dinner we ate at Bobby Flay's (incredible) Bar Americain before heading to see Sister Act.

The next day we were up with the sun to go see Live with Kelly!

It is hard to believe it but she is tinier in person.

After the show we spent hours walking around and exploring NYC.

For dinner we ate at Alex Guarnaschelli's restaurant Butter. We had a great time eating through her entire menu. We literally had to be rolled out of the doors. :)

NYC = Gibson City

Mom looking cute hailing a taxi.

On our final day we walked out of our hotel only to find a huge marathon taking place in Times Square.

While we watched people run we downed a (life-changing coconut creme filled) Planet Donut donuts.

Oh yeah and a goat walked by... only in NYC.

After our life-changing donut experience, we hopped on a bus and enjoyed a tour of the city.

It is so amazing to see how different every street is in NYC.

After the bus tour we stumbled on the mecca of food cart events.

We ate Greek. We ate Italian. We ate Mexican.

We ate savory. We ate sweet.

Chelsea market is another favorite NYC stop of mine. My sweet parents bought Amanda and I beautiful rings to remember our trip.

If you know me, you know I enjoy a good celebrity. Being in NYC I couldn't resist a little stalking adventure. So I goggled Bethenny Frankel, found her address, and took a picture on her doorstep.

Is that strange?

Bucket List.

Enjoy a glass (or two) of wine in the middle of the afternoon in Little Italy with three of my favorites. CHECK.

I love all the fresh veggy stands randomly placed throughout the city.

What famous people did we spot in the Big Apple?

They were all random. They were all D-listers. They were counted.

Billy Crudup from Big Fish

Jin from Lost

Perez Hilton

Raven Symone

Stephanie March (Bobby Flay's wife)

Amanda Knox

We started and ended our trip in Bryant Park.

Thanks Mom and Dad for an incredible vacation that I will remember forever.

See you again someday New York.

Where was Luke and Audrey during this trip?!?!
Well... don't worry about them because they got 4 whole days full of quality daddy time!  They even helped their daddy ring in his 30th Birthday.  And before you start thinking, wait you missed his 30th birthday!?...  He got plenty of attention from me the weekend prior, with a suprise overnight trip to The Gaylord, which included a rock climbing adventure, pool sitting, lazy river floating, balcony relaxing, nice dinner eating, and a kid free night.  So don't feel too sorry for our guy! ;)  I will say that I did not worry one bit the entire time I was gone.  Brian is an amazing father, and was so sweet to let me enjoy this time with my family, while taking care of our little ones.  Here are my loves on the big day!