nothing like...

...time outside on a beautiful evening with a popsicle....


...and sidewalk chalk!

Meet Luke's new friends...

Bruce and Gator.......
He has never been one to love stuffed animals. As a matter of fact, we have a whole basket FULL of them in his room that has, seriously, been untouched for a year or more. Until last week.
He has fallen in love with these two. Bruce is his cabbage patch doll from Grammy (b/c every kid needs a cabbage patch doll...even boys! and he came with the name Bruce, which is just really funny b/c I (sarah) have an uncle named Bruce) and Gator came from us. We made him while we were in Myrtle Beach last year at this Build a Bear type thing that came to the hotel we were staying at.
He wants to be rocked and sleep with these things all the time. It's not that he likes to cuddle with them when he sleeps...he just wants them there....hangin out in his crib with him.
sooo....we just wanted to introduce the newest friends....(don't worry...he still LIVES for Blankie) :)

(and for those that care...yes...Brandon is okay with him sleeping with a doll! hahahaha!!)

TAGGED!

Well, looks like I have been tagged by a friend of mine, Jen, to play in this little online game. Thought it would be fun to do...I know it's been fun reading what other people have said too...so here it goes!


First of all, I am supposed to post pictures of one favorite thing in my house that I love, or something that has a special story, and tell you all about it. But, it looks like Jen did two...and so did other people...so, I will do 2 too! (besides...how can you pick just one? )

1. These are a couple of pictures of my Shaylee box. Some good friends went in together and got this for me and Brandon right after we had to put her down. I cried and cried when I got it in the mail, this was one of my most favorite pictures of her. It says "In loving memory of Shaylee 2001-2007" Inside of it we keep her collar and chains and a very nice letter from the vet clinic (Animal Hospital of Avon...They are the best..if you have a pet..we would definetly recommend them!!! They tried everything they could to save our Shaylee). They donated to the Purdue Vet School in Shaylee's name too. How sweet are they?? anyway...it is like my way to still keep her around if you know what I mean....it sits on my nightstand.




2. Our rocker/glider/swivel chair with ottomon (that also rocks!)
This was one of the bigger purchases Brandon and I bought for Luke. We shopped and shopped for this thing until we finally found one we loved at USA Baby. It was delivered just weeks before Luke decided to make his grand entrance! I love it because both Brandon and I have had lots of special little moments with Luke in it. and even now...at almost 2...Luke still begs to be rocked and held in it! and for that...I LOVE IT. (it is the only real time we get snuggles these days!)
(very old picture! but its all I had on my computer right now)


Now..for the second part..I am supposed to post a picture of all the things I feel are necessities for when I leave the house. As in, the things I keep in my purse....or these days...bag. :)
Here are some of the things I can't live without!

1. My cell phone. This is my lifeline to everybody and everything! and luckily our 2 year plan is up in July so we can get new phones! YES! I sooooo want one that I can organize my life in too!

2. Some kind of snack for Luke. (this kid is always hungry!) (The one in the picture is a Gerber Fruit Strip..he loves those!)

3. A sippy cup filled with a drink for Luke. (this kid is also always thirsty! seriously...he really is all the time. I don't know how he drinks as much as he does!) If I know we are going to be out for a while too...I will usually pack another juice box as well.

4. of course my wallet. This is a Vera Bradley one...I just changed into this one from my other ones b/c it was easier to carry while we were in Florida and going through the airport.

5. Lotion. My hands are always dry. (that is Bath and Body Works, Pink Grapefruit)

6. Hand Sanitizer. I just buy the cheapest kind at walmart...this has become our lifesaver when we are out and about these days now that Luke is everywhere and into everything.

7. chapsick or lipgloss. ALWAYS. I can't go without it or I will have serious withdrawls. its bad...i really have an addiction.

8. Gum. always a must for fresh clean breath! I like Trident Original. But I'm really not to picky.

I usually always have a hair tie around my wrist or thrown in my bag too...this is a must when you have to chase down your one year old at the park. or really any where for that matter...

so that was fun! and whew...I carry a lot these days!

so now I am supposed to tag some of my blogging buddies too....soooo....

I tag, Christin, Krystyn, Andrea, and my sister, Emily. HAVE FUN LADIES! (and don't feel bad if you can't get to this! no big deal! it's just for fun!)

2-0!

20 Months. That is how old my little boy is tomorrow. In just 4 more months we will have a 2 year old. A 2 year old! Seriously...where has all the time gone? It has gone by so fast, it's like we have only blinked and he is 20 months.

He is learning and doing soooooo much. I absolutely love this age. I have said that about every age...but this one is just so much fun. He is becoming his own unique little person that knows how he wants things done and has little characteristics that make him Luke.

What makes Luke "Luke"??

--He very much loves to people watch. It doesn't matter where we are or what we are doing...he will stare. Of course not in a bad way...but in a way to figure out what is going on or what the other people are doing and why. And when he does it, he will usually take his little hands and hold them together in front of him and mess with his fingers. Like he is really thinking hard. (but come to think of it...he has always held his hands like that since the time he was born (seriously) to now....its so cute!)
here he is just a few hours old (notice the hands!)



and here he is today... (staring at his little friend Ava)


--He LOVES airplanes and birds. Everytime he hears either...he will stop and point up and then look for it and say "eh eh" until we notice it too and make a comment about it. I think Brandon and I have decided we are going to try to take him to an air show because he would be in heaven!

--He really likes to swing. Whether it be in our baby swing in the back yard or the big boy swings at the park.



--He won't wear sandals of any kind. But...he will wear his crocs without socks. And at one point Brandon got him to put on his sandals with socks. But he would prefer to wear his tennis shoes. He loves to wear shoes around the house too.

--He has learned how to do a somersault. (and will gladly do one everytime you ask him to lay down to change his diaper)
**sidenote...I am loud..so you might want to turn down your volume on your computer! sorry!! I blame my mom's side for how loud I am :) )



--He has really worked on perfecting his sweet dancing skills.



--He has gotten embarrassed lately. Especially when someone else has seen him hit either me or Brandon. He also is now more private about his pooing. He will totally go to the other room.

--he loves candy. I don't know if "love" is the right word. He will always take whatever kind of nummy num num you give him...no matter what it is. He will stand there and say "nummy" till you give it to him.

--He likes to watch the Backyardigans and The Wiggles.


--He is a very very sweet boy and will just come up and kiss you whenever. And will always undoubtly give you a kiss when you ask for one.

--He likes to read. But only likes 1 or 2 books for a period of time and then switches.

--He is really into looking at family pictures lately. He points to each person.

--he has a love obsessing with his "lankie" (aka...blankie) He has loved that thing since he was 3 months old. (Thanks Kathy!)
(almost 4 months old...)

(just the other day)

What does Luke NOT like at 20 months??

--Having his hands sticky
--When his pant leg is stuck on his knee...he will obsess until it is pulled down to his ankle
--being scared
--holding your hand when you MAKE him
--time out
--sandals


Our boy has grown so much over the past 20 months. It's still hard to believe sometimes he is ours. He is such a blessing and teaches us so much everyday. and I'm not just saying this cause I'm his mom, but he really is a good little boy. We love you Lukie!

so what if he had his diaper on??

My son did it. He did it! I am so proud.

Today, I was in his room putting clothes away and organizing his closet, when all of a sudden I heard the infamous "UGH" (as in grunt). I immediately thought to myself, "Great...why does he always have to go in a fresh clean diaper??" but then when I walked around the corner, there he was!

Sitting on his potty...... pooping! okay okay....he had his diaper on still. (that was all he had on..we were also in the middle of changing clothes) but my little boy made the connection! YES! He was so proud of himself and we were so busy high fiving each other that I forgot to grab my camera. (needless to say that is why there is an old picture up top)

this is just so funny to me b/c last night Brandon and I were watching a potty training DVD I got in the mail (for free I might add!) and we were thinking he didn't have many signs of "potty training readiness" and then he did that today!

so...does that count as a sign???

silly videos

It's been awhile since I've posted videos...so sit back and enjoy movie time from the Mayo's

Here he is thinking he can go to the potty all by himself apparently....(and for the record he is NOT going to the potty on the big boy potty yet...he just likes to sit on it.)


And just one of his many random conversations we have a day. Let me know if you hear him say "Sarah" about 20 seconds in I think...I swear he calls me that sometimes! He is hilarious.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day has come and gone, and I'm sorry this post is late, but I still wanted to acknowledge how special this day was for me. Although, every day is special, Mother's Day is a day to be reminded at how blessed we really are. We always knew we wanted to be parents, but had only been married 18 months when we found out we were expecting. We were so excited and thrilled, but you never really know how much you can really love a child....until you have one of your own. It's the kind of love that is unique, special, awesome, well, undescribable. While I wasn't lavished with material gifts (which if you know me...I am okay with that), I was given the best gift of all, my son, to spend the entire day with. Brandon let me sleep in a little bit (honestly, I couldn't wait to get up and be with the boys) and then made brunch while Luke and I baked some muffins together. We just spent the whole day hanging out and playing until we left for dinner at brandon's parent's house. (we had dinner with my mom on Friday night to celebrate since she had to work on Mother's Day) It was a simple and perfect day.



Before I had kids, Mother's day was a day that I gave my mom a gift and spent some time with her. But now, that I am a mother, I can understand my mom's love for me (and my mother-in-laws for Brandon) so much more. Mom, I appreciate you and everything you have ever done for me and my sister. You are an amazing person and I don't know what I would do with out ya. I couldn't ask for a better mom. I love you!



We were also able to spend time with Brandon's mom and family on Sunday too. We had a nice dinner and spendt lots of time just hanging out with each other. I hope you had a great Mother's Day Lavona and Mamaw! and Kayla, Happy Mother's Day to the mommy-to-be! We can't wait to meet your little one and have him or her entertain us with Luke! LOL



Luke, I love you so much and can't imagine my life without you. You are such an amazing gift from God, and sometimes both your daddy and I can't believe we are entrusted in raising you. We pray you grow to be a strong little boy, but an even stronger and loving young man that loves our savior. Thank you for making me a mommy!!!

Luke and his necklace...

A CANDY necklace that is! He loved that thing! It was hilarious to watch him as he figured out that it was candy around his neck. It took him a minute to want to even put it on, but then when he took a bite...he was in heaven! Candy around your neck???? who wouldn't be?????

we're BAAAAACK!!

Hey everybody! Hope you didn't miss us too much. :) We have been MIA the past week or so because we went on vacation! We normally to head out to Myrtle Beach at the end of the summer, but this year we decided Tampa, FL (really, Indian Shores) at the end of April sounded GREAT! We went with some good friends of ours, James and Ginger Boyce and their 3 kiddos. We had so much fun, the weather was beautiful every day we were down there. and...the best part...Luke LOVED the beach and the ocean. Last summer when we went to Myrtle Beach he really did not like it too much....but he was only 11 months old then...he is now a big boy ya know!

Luke loves airplanes so we were excited to get him to the airport so he could see them up close and personal, although, we were a little nervous how he would do on the actual flight, but he was perfect. He would just stare out the window and point at everything before we took off, saying "That?? That???" meaning in his language...."what is that dad??" He even slept on the way there and on the way back for about an hour each time! oh...I'm pretty sure Brandon is fake sleeping here. HA!
Here are the kids after we arrived in Tampa having a snack while the guys got our rental cars and loaded up the luggage. How cute are these kids?? Checking out the view from our room...don't worry, we made sure the kids couldn't fall over the balcony. :)

Playing in the sand Out to dinner with mom and dad (if you think his lip looks weird...you are right! He fell the first day we were there on the tile in our condo and got a big fat lip that scabbed over. poor guy can't catch a break! but it healed really quick. )
This by far is one of the funniest pictures we took down there. We are in St. Pete and there was this really cool tree that you could climb up on and take pictures. Do you think Luke wanted to sit up there?? I could have sworn he said he did.....but maybe I was wrong.


Here he is next to his annual "name in the sand" shot.... Here is Luke's from last year to compare

Just walking the beach....he was very very tired at this point and only wanted daddy to hold him

Trying to get a picture with the Lukester....he is such a wiggle worm these were about the best ones we could get. I think we each took about 10 pictures of each other to get one good one! hahaha..
more playing in the sand!

how cute is this little boy?

swimming with dad at the pool (it was freezing!!!) Hamming it up at dinner at Gators on the Bay.
He really figured out how to use a juice box quite well while we were there.
Tanning themselves


At St. John's Pass (again...one of a few shots that turned out decent)

and more playing at the beach!

don't you want to just EAT HIM!! (not really people...you know what I mean!) he is so cute!
Bye Bye Tampa! so sad......