Part 3- Tyler and Discovery Science Place

In April, Scott headed down to Austin for a guys golfing trip and Luke and I headed to Tyler to see Granddaddy and Granylissa. (Leah's dad, Gary and step-mom, Melissa) That Saturday; Melissa, Nikki, Luke and I all went to the Discovery Science Place. Luke had a good time exploring and working with magnets;

Rolling balls down hills and around cylinders:

Playing pretend with dress-up. Here he is doing his best to fly a plane:

But, maybe the best was Luke milking a cow! Yes, they had a large cow with a milking machine that you could use. (Of course the cow was fake! )

Next up, the Big Boy Bed!

Catching Up - Part 1

When I started this blog I told you all that I am not very good at keeping it up. And, now that it is summer, I have some free time to update stories and pictures. So, I am going to catch you up on the last 4 months in parts, here is part 1.


Easter-


It has been so long ago that I have gotten fuzzy on the details of Easter. The weekend before Laryn, Preston and Jack came down along with Granddaddy and Granylissa (Leah's Dad, Gary and step-mom Melissa) Laryn, of course, took some great pictures of the boys hunting for Easter Eggs out of Glenda and Butch's community. And if you have seen Laryn's site you have already seen most of these pics, but here are some of my favorites.
And the best for last....


I am also proud to announce that shortly after Luke’s birthday we were able to say that he was free of his ‘pace’. He no longer needed a pacifier during the day or for sleeping! I think that it was harder on me than it was on him. Check back very soon for the month of April and some great pictures from out trip to the Zoo and too Tyler.

Love to all!

Catching Up - Part 2

April-

The beginning of spring can only mean one thing… the Zoo! Scott and I have never been to the Fort Worth Zoo before and thought it would be a great time to take Luke.

Luke’s Gigi and Papaw came too. (Scott’s dad, Butch and step-mom, Glenda)

Luke loves animals, especially big ones! He talked about the Tigers the whole time, even though they were sleeping.

He also loved the lizards, snakes and the giant dragon.

We had a great time and the weather was perfect. I can’t wait to take him back next year!

Next: Part 3- Tyler!

New Hair Cut

This past weekend Scott took Luke to get a hair cut. So, in honor of spring break we decided to cut it short and spiky. Here is a before and after shot.

Luke is taking a spring break from his regular day care this week and is attending a My Gym class every morning from 9:00-12:00. He is having a great time.

We hope that everyone has great spring break!

Happy Birthday Baby

On Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 11:32am, Luke Andrew Mars was born via surprise c-section. He weighed 6lbs. 7oz. and was 19inches long. But, most of all he was the most beautiful baby I have ever seen.

Sunday, Luke turned 2! These past two years have just flown by. I can not believe everything that he is in to. Luke loves playing with cars and trucks (what boy doesn't?) He is talking more and more everyday and makes Scott and I laugh all the time. On Monday, we went to the doctor for his 2 year check up. Luke was prefect on every level, of course he is a bit skinny, but that did not concern Dr. G at all. It is hard to think that after all of the doctor's visits we have made over the last two years, we don't have another well check until Luke is 3. I can't not imagine all the things that he will be doing by then.

On to better things....THE PARTY!

Luke's birthday party was so fun! We had it at the house again this year with close friends and lots of family. Laryn took some great pictures! (Check out her site here) Luke got some awesome gifts; a talking truck, a Tag Reader, lots of cars and trucks, some dinosaurs, a tricycle and some really cute clothes.

This is one of my favorites!

I love you peanut! I can't wait to see what wonderful things you will bring to our life this next year!

Happy Birthday...EVERYONE!

Before this month gets away from me I want to acknowledge all of the birthdays in my family, the month of January is filled with birthdays.

Glenda- aka GiGi
Laryn- see and read Laryn's blog Tales From Strickland
Jerry- aka Uncle Dedo ( a name that I used for him when I was a baby)
Jackson- Happy 3rd!
Butch- aka Papaw
Scott- aka The Best Dada in the world!
So, six in all. I hope that everyone had a great day. We are blessed to have all of you in our lives for another year.

Update- No one likes cold turkey

After almost two weeks I have to say that taking the pacifier away from Luke has not been too bad. We decided that we would take it away completely. Not for nap time, not in the car, and not for bedtime, a.k.a. COLD TURKEY! . Luke does really good at school. His teachers say that nap time is going good, and he is able to go to sleep without having his 'pace' most days. Other days they have to rub his back and sit with him for a few minutes before he falls asleep. Here at home he is doing okay. He is waking up early and has not figured out how to put himself back to sleep. Naps are a trying too. Luke found a 'pace' under a table Saturday morning and Scott had him put it in the trash. ( But not before he stuck it in his mouth a few times!) I hope that it continues to get easier in the next few weeks.

The Beginning of The End

For 22 months, 3 weeks and 2 days Luke has used a pacifier. He has loved it from the time he was born until now! But, before his second birthday it is our hope that Luke can stop his obsession with his beloved 'pace'. The only time that he will have it is at night to sleep. With the help of his great teachers, including, Ms. 'K', we are going to stop sending his pacifier to school. And with great patience and maybe ear plugs he will no longer get to have it while in the car. This is going to be a battle of great proportions. All your well wishes and prayers will be needed. Here are a few pictures to commemorate the passing of the 'pace'. Updates and details to come later.

Christmas Recount

This year we made the rounds for our family Christmases. We had a total of four! Our first stop was in Louisiana for Scott's family. We had a great time and Luke enjoyed being out at Aunt Kathy's and Uncle Robert's farm. He loved riding the golf cart around and he even got to ride a horse! Next was Lubbock. The weather started to look a lot like Christmas the night before Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve morning we woke up to snow, ice and hazardous road conditions. Scott and I made the decision to leave Lubbock at noon and take highway 84 to Interstate 20. We usually drive highway 114 from Frisco up to Lubbock, but this is a two lane highway for the better part of the way. It took us almost 4 hours to reach the outside of Abilene, TX. There we met one of the largest traffic backups Texas has ever seen. For the next 3 hours we moved only about 4 miles, and then we were told that the Interstate had been closed due to ice and snow. During this time I began looking for a hotel that had room and that would take Maggie. We ended up getting a room at the Quality Inn just off the highway. The room was nice and clean. There was a jacuzzi tub in the middle of the room though. :-) As you can see from our pictures, we had just enough room for all of our things. The next morning was Christmas. I was pretty upset that we were spending Christmas morning in a motel. By noon the roads had still not opened and we learned that over 200 cars and trucks had been stranded on the road. The National Guard had been called out to help get people food, water, and gas. Many motorist had to go to shelters that had been set up along the way. We decided that we were very lucky to have had a warm bed that night, even though all of us slept in it together! That afternoon we very carefully made our way out of Abilene by way of some back roads and were home by 5:00pm. That night we opened gifts with Butch and Glenda. They stayed and helped put Luke's train table and trains together that Santa had left for him. That next morning we packed up again and headed east to Tyler to see my Dad, Melissa and Preston, Laryn and Jack. The boys love playing together and they both got wonderful gifts. I am so happy that Luke has two cousins so close to his age. (Jackson is just one year older and Jack is only 4 months older) In total we drove almost 2,000 miles this year for Christmas. I am happy to say that we enjoyed seeing all of our families and spending time with each of them. However, next year we plan to stick closer to home.