Luke @ 18 Months

Luke had his eighteen month appointment with the pediatrician last week, and before we leave May I want to make sure I post an update...

Luke weighed in at 24.2 lb, placing him in the 25th percentile for weight.  We're just excited that he weighs more than his girlfriend Sarah.  Hehe!  And again, please just let me say that I would absolutely love to be in the 25th percentile for my weight. :)

Luke's height is now 34.5 inches, which places him in the 95th percentile for height.  I'm going to go out on a limb and assume the height is all from Jeff.  Haha!  I'm very excited that he's just 1.5 inches away from more rides at Six Flags!

Oh, and for those of you concerned about Luke's head...we're now up to the 97th percentile (19.75", if you want to buy him a hat!).  Really, his head doesn't look that big!  I promise! 

Luke remains a very curious boy.  Last week I was two seconds away from the camera when he scaled the refrigerator shelves to get something from the top shelf.  And a few minutes later I was also two seconds from the camera when I looked up to see him standing on top of the Step 2 play treehouse roof.  Also last week within five minutes I watched him figure out how to open the childproof cabinet, reach in, grab my hot iron, and  successfully plug it in to an outlet.  I wouldn't say "Danger" is his middle name; he just really wants to do everything the grown ups are doing.  He has become quite a big helper, too.  :)

Luke is also talking up a storm!  He will attempt pretty much any word we ask him to say.  Here are some of the words he says without prompting (sign language accompanies the words with an *):  shoe, please* car, puppy, Mama, Daddy (Dah), woof, milk, juice, cheese, Mimi, Papa, Grandpa (Pa), Nanny (Na), Megan (May), peepee, tractor (tra), choochoo, mine (me), more*, up, down, bunny (buh), hohoho, no, yeah, uhoh, Barney (Bah), Elmo (El), awww, spoon, bad, book, gogogo!, beepbeep, light (li), diaper (di), water (wa), moo, Benjamin (Beh), Beau (Buh), Kevin (Keh), Sarah (Seh)... 

It goes without saying (But...I'm the mommy, so I can say it anyway!), but Luke continues to bring us so much joy and love.  We are so excited to get to watch him grow up!  Awww.  :)

Oh, and here are some pics from the doctor's visit...

God's Easter Eggs

Finally, before we completely leave this Easter season I want to take a second to post a pic of my absolute favorite "Easter" eggs... 

They're not all the plastic candy- or toy-filled eggs that made their way through all the egg hunts.  Even though those were fun to play with!

They are a product directly from God, necessarily without the hand of man, and they are spectacular.

Check 'em out! 

So what's the story?

We were standing in Jeff's parents' driveway when a friend of theirs drove up to ask how many eggs they wanted.  Her chickens had made them, and she had so many she had to get rid of them.  Now, for all my friends from the country, this is absolutely no big deal.  But for me, the city girl who has never been close enough to a chicken to touch it, this whole thing just fascinated me.  

So we got our eightteen eggs, brought them home, and used every last one of them (mostly in my favorite cookie recipe!).  I'm not sure they tasted better (I don't eat eggs unless they're buried in something else), and I'm actually quite partial to the "designer" eggs (Eggland's Best, mostly because I smile when I see the cute little "EB" they print on their eggs.) that I buy at the store.  However, there's something so good for the soul about things that haven't been through a million processes before they get to my table. 

I think this is Easter as our God would have it.  :)

My Closet Personality

I often have trouble picking the right answers on personality tests.  Do you think with your head or your heart?  Yes. Both.  Do you prefer to be around people, or would you rather be alone?  Uh huh.  Are you laid back, or do you tend to worry about the details?  Oh boy.

I blame it on my Pisces sign:  those two crazy fish, swimming in opposite directions.  That's me.

Mostly I'm a "Type B" personality, though I've certainly spent time in the "Type A" category, too.  I taught high school full time (with three preps of advanced classes out of three possible preps, mind you!), all while taking nine hours of doctoral course work.  That's a big deal, let me say, and it requires serious "A" skills to do that.  However, as a stay-at-home mom, I'm pretty good about not worrying about the details.  Is Luke a happy, well-balanced child?  Sure.  Is he involved in Kindermusik, gymnastics, swim lessons, Gymboree, etc., all while spending his free time working on "Your Baby Can Read" flashcards?  Not a chance.

So, while I was contemplating my split personalities recently, I thought about Luke's closet.  First, let me say that his clothes are all hanging (Well, mostly hanging; my "B" personality gives me the right to leave some of them piled in the chair...) in my closet, because I wash his clothes with ours, and it's just easier.

Second, let me introduce you to my split personalities in action.  Here's the top of Luke's closet.  Notice the labels.  And realize that the clothes are all folded neatly and sorted within those designations AND vacuum-sealed to prevent them from any possible damage (Moths? Air? Flooding??).  Oh, and some were even ironed before they were put away...  AND, let me just say, that the crooked label on the top right box?  That has been driving me crazy.

Now, let's talk about the rest of the closet.  The "Type B" part of my closet.  Insomuch as Luke's closet is the fashionable mullet--you know, business in the front; party in the back!--here's the "back" of the closet.  Yep, it's the part that just keeps getting, shall I say, dumped on.  Most of the boxes I just haven't bothered to break down (Diaper boxes sure make good moving boxes.  And, since we're not moving anytime soon, I've just left them.).  And seriously...what's more important, putting stuff away, or playing with Luke???  (My husband, and all my "Type A" friends, would say to put it all away, I know...).  Here's the bottom of the closet:

So here you have it.  Skeletons in my (Luke's) closet.  And, because looking at it now makes me feel like a messy person, I will probably get busy soon on the "Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere" game with Luke.  But probably not too soon, because I recognize that I can just close the door, and nobody really needs to know.  :)

Life After Vacay (Or, What's Old Is Old Again...Kinda)

We just got home from a fabulous trip to Puerto Rico.  We stayed at the lovely Wyndham Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa, and we had a terrific time.  First, look at the pictures, because I know you want to.  THEN, keep reading for my whole point to this blog.  See you on the other side!

View from my beach lounger

View from my pool lounger

El Yunque National Rainforest

Luke in front of 500 year old canon balls at La Fortaleza in Old San Juan



"Our" beach



I just love that some of the time the view looks like this...



 

...And some of the time it looks like this!



Old San Juan

 

My guys on the beach



Getting ready for our Bacardi tour

In El Yunque



And now, for the rest of the story...

We were driving to the airport on a route we hadn't yet taken, and I began to get a sense of the mourning that usually comes with the end of vacation.  First of all, I'm a Pisces, which means I'll do just about anything to escape reality.  And as good as reality is back home, I seriously began to think about all the times I hear people bemoan things like, "Back to reality..." with a mournful cry that suggests they'd rather be anywhere but home. 

So what is it that makes people feel that way? (Besides the obvious...see above pics!)

For me, having committed myself to lifelong learning as a teacher (and, as a goofball who's been pretty much continuously enrolled at one college or another since 1995), I fully believe that any good experience is bound to change a person at her very core. 

Having said that, it's really pretty odd to go someplace new, find yourself changed, and then return to "life as normal," particularly when your sense of normal is now irrevocably changed, because you are irrevocably changed as a person.

I'm still trying to reconcile myself to it all.  Am I happy to be back, or not?  Good question!  I do know I'm ready to go again at just about any time.  :)

Great Expectations: Our Vacation Benefactor

I've written before about my need to travel as frequently as possible, and I've also written about the fact that, especially since I quit working, I haven't traveled nearly as much as I'd like.  So I've had to get resourceful.

Last summer we were at a Rangers game, and Jeff entered some drawing for a new car or something.  I call it his inner Catholic, his need to try his luck at things like the lottery, drawings, casinos, etc.  Sorry if that's offensive to my Catholic friends, but it just seems like I know a lot of Catholics who like to gamble.  :)

Anyway, the "car" people called us a couple days after that game, to tell us we would receive a three-day, two-night trip to Orlando if we went to look at their time share setup.  Being desperate enough for a vacation, I signed us up.  We went--and lucked out, because a) Jeff's parents got into town in just enough time to watch Luke and b) there were too many people that day, and we didn't actually have to listen to a talk about time shares.

We declined the Orlando offer when we realized that our three days meant leaving DFW after 4:00 pm on the first day and returning to DFW before noon on the third day.  That just seemed like too much traveling with our little Luke.  Truth be told, however, you can bet I probably would have done it if we didn't have Luke with us. 

In that same offer, we were also promised a five-day, four-night hotel stay in our choice of Maui, Oahu, Aruba, Jamaica, or Puerto Rico.  Yep, you guessed it!  We got back from our very lovely Puerto Rico vacation just yesterday! 

Puerto Rico wasn't a free trip, because Jeff still calculates all the money we did spend.  However, I must remind him that we did save about $800 through our hotel accommodations.  That's something, right??!

So, guess what!  This evening we went to another Rangers game.  And lo and behold, who was set up by the entrance to the ballpark?  Yep, same company!  Jeff didn't recognize it, but I did.  And yep, I almost ran over people trying to get to the company's table.  Haha!  Mama needs some trips, people! 

The young man talked us into a similar deal, except this time--instead of Orlando--the offer was for three days and two nights at...drumroll please...Grapevine's very own Great Wolf Lodge!  We discovered how amazing it is inside when Brad, Nika, Olivia, Grace, and Bella stayed there, and I've really wanted to spend the night.  So, yippie!  We are soooo there! 

And guess what!  On the way home I was reading all the fine print, and it turns out we also get the chance to win some other things...  for example, a $49k car allowance, a shopping spree to Nordstrom's (or Walmart, oddly enough...I guess they cater to all types), $500 cash, or...another drumroll...a five-day, four-night hotel stay in our choice of Maui, Oahu, Aruba, Jamaica, or Puerto Rico(!!!!!!).

Of course, Jeff is actually holding out for the $49,000 car (we do, after all, have a 1 in 53,210 chance of winning--haha!).  But you know I'm already planning my next vacation! 

Stay tuned!