Christmas in Winona

The last stop for the Roberts Family Christmas Tour was Monday, when we headed to Jeremy's parents' house in Winona for one more Christmas. It was a great time with great food (Thanks, Pete!). The only thing that wasn't great is that we didn't take many pictures. Dang it! What I did take I've included.

First: even though Luke got some adorable outfits and an awesome basketball goal (which, darn it, no pic), Luke was enthralled with his cousin Halle's gifts. She was nice and patient about it, but a little annoyed I think...

Christmas Day 2010

The very BEST thing about Christmas this year was easily finally seeing some smiles on Luke's face after several days of feeling sick and puny!

Here are the cookies we left Santa...

Christmas Eve

We spend Christmas Eve with my parents, brothers, and, if they're in town, sisters. This year it was Mom and Dad (a.k.a. Honey and Grand), Johnny and Jackie (and their dog, Buzz), Chris, and Team Roberts, minus Hannah. Before we headed to Mom and Dad's, we were sure to celebrate a treasured tradition: adorning Hannah in humiliating holiday gear.

Ice, Ice Baby (Too Cold...)

Poor Luke started his Christmas break with a nasty virus - a cold with a day of some barfing in there - no fun for anyone. But since he was barfy Tuesday, I hoped that by Thursday, he would feel well enough to enjoy Ice at the Gaylord Texan. Well... not so much. Combine the fact that Luke had little to nothing to eat or drink for the previous 36 hours with the dose of Dimetapp I gave him that morning, and the result? Pictures of Luke looking like he had been doing keg stands at a frat party. Seriously. See for yourself...

Christmas Decor and PJs

If you know me at all, you know I am kind of crazy about little boy pajamas. I just can't stop buying them, and at Christmastime, my addiction steps it up a notch... or five. 

Luke's Visit to Santa

Unfortunately, I couldn't buy a digital picture of Luke with Santa this year, so until I can scan the one we purchased, this video will have to suffice. Luke was very curious about Santa, as you'll see...

Merry Christmas! Just one more week until Winter Break... we are SO READY!

Around the House

What a crazy time of year it is - it's so hard to find pockets of time to do the little things like maintain this blog!

I've got several candids of Luke doing what he does around the house. Some highlights:

1. Lately, he just LOVES this particular part from one of his Elmo videos that's also on SesameStreet.org. I have started to close the office door, or else he'll be in there all the time, climb up in the chair, and let me hear it until I put Abby Cadabby on. When I do, he just smiles. So precious!

"Ears" to Luke!

I acknowledge my dorky pun in the post title, but I tried "Luke's Got Ear Tubes!" first, and that sounded like a possible deformity. Anyway, today, Luke had a successful surgery to put tubes in his ears... hooray! He came through like a champion, just like he did with his ABR. Luke has been such a brave, patient, well-behaved boy through all of his ear-oriented doctor visits. Hopefully the insertion of these tubes will help his ears get and stay fluid-free, and he can built on some of the great progress he's making towards finally talking! 

Here's the little guy before we left this house this morning at about 6:40. This look says, "I'm up too early, and I've not been provided breakfast. Something tells me I'm going to end up grumpy."

Happy Halloween!

Because Luke liked Halloween SO MUCH that he decided to wake up at 4:30 a.m. today to have even more of it, I'll save additional pictures of our little pirate for a future post. Hope your Halloween was happy! I can't believe November is here... wow!

Pumpkin Farm

Earlier this week, Jeremy's parents were in town to pick up his aunt Joan from DFW Airport. We took advantage of our impromptu visit by going outside and visiting Hall's Pumpkin Farm. If you're in Grapevine, you've got to visit it - it's precious!

State Fair and Roommate Reunion

This past weekend was a great one: all of my college roommates were in town, ostensibly for the A&M-Arkansas game (which I am SO glad we didn't attend in person), but mainly so we could get our kids together and just catch up since we're in DFW, New York, and Houston! It is hard to believe that it's been over ten years since we were innocent college kids who thought we knew it all! I'm telling you, I VIVIDLY recall the joys of going to lay out at the TAMU Rec Center pool for a few hours, just because. If you're in college and reading this, listen: ENJOY THE FREEDOM THAT PRECEDES GRADUATION. You will long for it in your thirties!

A Trip to Tyler

Several weekends ago, we made a trip to Jeremy's parents' house for the weekend to go to the East Texas State Fair and celebrate Jeremy's birthday a little early. We had a great time!

Because today has been the first time I've had a chance to post anything in almost a month, I hope my reading "masses" (all four or five of you *grin*) will forgive me for skimping on text and just going for the pictures. Here Luke is on the carousel, which he adored.

Big Boy Clothes

I'm pretty sure that all moms of small children love it when their little ones "help" with the finished laundry. Luke helps by taking the clean clothes and holding them up to his face - especially when that face has a runny nose and/or drooly mouth. Recently, I just embraced it and decided we were going to try on the big boy clean clothes. First, Dad's polo...

Our Brave Boy

Many of you know from me or through word of mouth that Jeremy and I have been concerned about Luke's lack of speech. Our concern started in March when, at over 18 months old, Luke still wasn't using any words. (He definitely speaks - it's just in his own language. =D) Since then, we've had speech evaluations, hearing tests, speech therapy, and several doctors' visits, which culminated in yesterday's audio brainstem response (ABR) test held at Cook Children's. The picture above is of our brave little man coming out of anesthesia after his hearing test, which he passed with flying colors! We're so thankful, particularly after he failed a hearing test in late June, that he has no permanent, nerve-related hearing damage. It's a huge blessing!

Two Good to Be True!

It's been almost three weeks since I last posted, and with good reason: we've been so busy! Between my return to work, Luke's start at day care three days a week, and Jeremy's new job with more frequent travel, we have had our hands quite full. We've also spent some time planning and enjoying celebrations of Luke's 2nd birthday! It's so hard to believe that two years have passed since Luke was born. In some ways, it feels like it wasn't all that long ago that we were in the hospital meeting our little Luke. In others... wow, how long it has seemed!

Great Wolf Lodge

Hello everyone! Well, I am back at work, so the leisurely days of summer, apparently like those under 100 degrees, are gone. I thought I'd take a quick bit to post about our quick trip to Great Wolf Lodge! We went with our friends the Colvins and the Blunts, and we had a fantastic time! I highly recommend this place for kids. Luke had a great time...

A Month's Worth of Updates

The title of this post would suggest that things have been really eventful at the Roberts house over the past few weeks. Actually, this isn't the case - and I mean that in the best of ways! As summer saunters to its close (I go back to work three weeks from today... nooooooo!), we've spent a lot of time just hanging out and enjoying one another's company. We're having a great time!

Here are a few blurbs with a few pictures of our slow-going summer!

Nobody Tells You...

Luke wasn’t very old at all when I figured out that there’s much more to being a mom than idealistic images we see on TV and in the movies, or those nostalgic reminiscences shared by women whose children are now grown up and out of the house. To be clear, this post is not a rant, because I’m the first to admit that the majority of motherhood is immeasurably, ineffably wonderful. Like the way it feels when Luke runs up to me and hugs me for no reason. Or the few minutes after he falls asleep in my arms for his naps that I watch his angelic little face rest. His giggles make me feel joyous. His sweet, soft skin feels heavenly. I could go on and on, so, before I unveil my observations about the not-so-glorious parts: YES. Being a mom is fantastic.



But there’s so much that nobody tells you. For instance…


1. Kids have a zillion toys, DVDs, CDs, and, nowadays, websites that each has its own songs. Nobody tells you that these songs will run on an endless loop in your brain. Today, my mental soundtrack is from Baby Signing Time. “Mom has a mom and SHE’S MY GRANDMA…” Yesterday, it was Imagination Movers’ “Catch” song. (“Who you gonna throw it to? Is it me or is it you?) Whether they’re from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dance-a-lot Robot, the Fisher Price barn, or a myriad of other shows or objects, these songs will haunt your dreams. They’ll escape your lips in the grocery store… even when you notice your child isn’t there to sing them to. Nobody tells you how crazy you will look and feel when this happens.


2. Nobody tells you that poop will become the center of your universe. Not your poop – your child’s. If you’re a mother reading this, you are nodding knowingly. (The rest of you are probably making vows of celibacy while reaching for a trash can into which to barf. Yeah, didn't end that sentence in a preposition. This post is authored by a legit English teacher!) But mothers? They know the progression of childhood doo. These days, Jeremy and I will almost high-five in celebration of a “flusher.” [For those without offspring: a flusher means you can flush the poo. When it isn’t a flusher, you have to hold your breath as you take the offending diaper to the garage into the stench-averting gift from God, the Diaper Champ.] When Luke was a newborn, we had a chart where we tracked when he ate, slept, and POOPED. A freakin’ Excel spreadsheet. I s--t you not. (Pun intended, obviously.)


3. Even though your first pet was the center of your universe, your baby before you had a baby, when said baby arrives, nobody tells you that you will not love your pet as much. There. I said it. I have previously said that getting little puppy Hannah and taking care of her prepared me for motherhood, and I will be grateful forever for having her. But now that I have a toddler to chase, that dog gets on my last damn nerve. I’m pretty sure she hates me, too; she’ll sometimes look at me and sigh as if she’s saying, “Thanks for carrying and delivering that demon-seed that ruined my life.” Now, before you look up the telephone number for the Euless office of the SPCA, stop. I still care for Hannah. I even LOVE her. Really, I do... even if there have maybe been times that it was only Jeremy that kept me from sending her back to Operation Kindness. I’m just saying it’s not the same. And before you haters get mad at me, I assure you that other new mothers out there feel the exact same way about their dogs and/or cats since you’ve had a baby. So there.


4. Any worrying you did prior to your child’s birth was strictly amateur; nobody tells you that once you’re a mom, you’re a professional worrier. Before Luke, I was maybe the Dirk Nowitzki of worriers – definitely well above average, and perhaps even top tier, but never at the apex. Today? I’m like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant converted their basketball proficiency into anxiety aptitude, went back to 1978 in a time machine, and had a love child: me. I worry when I hear Luke move around in his crib (that he’ll hit his head, get stuck, fall out; you know, all clearly logical stuff). I worry when I don’t hear him in his crib (he’s suffocating on the bumper pad; he’s stopped breathing; he’s been kidnapped, even though I heard no window, security system beeping, or insanely loud barking from Hannah signaling an intruder). [An aside, by the way: baby monitors are just as much a curse as they are a blessing.] I worry - and some of you out there with little ones are going to curse me - that he sleeps too much. REALLY. And these are just the daily things. God knows how I’m going to function when I’m worried about him making friends at school, reading on grade-level, surviving middle school, maybe actually talking to a girl (while staying dorky enough to be a virgin until he’s at least 25)… seriously. It is not coincidence that my prayer life has increased exponentially since he’s been born!

I could go on and on – and perhaps will another time. But for now, if you’re a mom, post a comment: what aspect of being a mom caught you completely and utterly off guard?

More "Staycation" Pictures

Oh Staycation... how fun you were, but how exhausting you were, too! (So exhausting that it has taken two weeks since everyone went home to finally get this properly blogged. Eeek.)

The picture above is from Luke's first swim of the summer. Oh my goodness did he love it! He had so much fun swimming that he slept on the couch for over two hours, despite the door to the backyard opening and closing about 75 times. That, friends, is some good sleep!

Rather than do a long recap, I'll just post some pictures.

"Have a Six Flags Day!"

As I've mentioned previously, we spent the first full week of summer spending time with family that came to town to visit. I'll do a separate post of a hodgepodge of pictures, but I had to do a Six Flags post first. I hate to admit it, but I don't have a ton of pictures. What I do have is an awesome story. Not only is it funny, but it totally lends itself to a teaching moment on word choice. Glorious... at least to this nerdy English teacher! : )

Tub Time

Before I make a longer post about our family reunion this past weekend, I wanted to post a few pictures of Luke's favorite household past-time: climbing. Oh my goodness. We climb up on the couches. We climb into our high chair. We climb in and out of various bathtubs. With all the chasing around I'll be doing, I could get into pretty good shape!


So first, Luke scouts the tub of choice.

But I don't WANNA get up!

Last week, Luke had a lot of big - well, LATE - nights. On Thursday night, Jeremy and I went to the GCISD Education Foundation Shining Stars Banquet, where we got to see my Aunt Mary receive a big award, and I was fortunate enough to be recognized by a Top 20 graduate as well. This meant Luke got to spend some time with Aunt Jackie and Uncle Johnny. They all had a blast, I think. Luke played and played and played... and stayed awake until almost 10:00 p.m. Yikes!

101st Post!

I cannot believe I have made 100 posts on this blog! To commemorate the event, I looked back into past posts. A breakdown:

• Posts about Jeremy and/or me: 2
• Posts about Luke before he was born: 6
• Posts about Hannah: 3
• March Madness Posts: 4
• Birthday parties: 1
• Posts about our homes: 7
• Posts about Luke since his birth: 77

Mother's Day

I had great expectations for picture-taking on Mother's Day. I wanted to get one of Luke with three generations of mamas: me, Honey, and Granny. Well, we'll have to try that another day, because that didn't happen. But isn't this sweet?

 

Hooray - it's May!

May is here, and so far, we're having a blast! Yesterday, we had friends over for barbecue. My college roommates and great friends Heather and Brooke came over, along with Scott (Heather's husband), Sadie and Kylie (Heather and Scott's girls), and Lauren (Brooke and our friend from college who was in town from Houston). We had a fantastic time, even though - of course! - Luke opted to take about half as long of a normal nap. It's because of that sleepiness that he looks so blase about being inverted.

Kickin' It in the Cozy Coupe!

Because the bluebonnet pictures we had planned yesterday got rained out - darn it! - Jeremy, Luke, and I decided we would celebrate the arrival of the weekend and our tax refund and head to Toys 'R Us. Copious amounts of toys and clothes later, we headed home and started what no one expected to be an epic task: the assembly of the Cozy Coupe.

Celebrating Easter

Happy (belated) Easter, everyone! We've had a great time lately - not that we don't always, certainly, but our little Luke has blossomed, perhaps because he's officially 19 months old. Thankfully, he's gradually exiting his "stranger danger" phase, and he's giggling his head off all the time! We've enjoyed the heck out of him lately, especially over our long holiday weekend!

To begin, here's Luke longingly gazing at the front yard. He so desperately wanted to play, but Mean Old Mama kept him in because the wind was so crazy.

What a Wonderful Spring Break!

First: have you ever seen a sweeter little Texas Aggie?

Nature Bracket 2010: East and South Regions

Hello! I hope everyone is enjoying the opening day of the NCAA tournament! I love this time of year. After April 5, we have only the NBA for a couple of months, then a slow, agonizing summer of baseball. Yawn…

But let’s focus on the here and now. Here are my Nature Bracket picks for the East and South regionals.

Lisa's 2010 Nature Bracket: Midwest and West Regions

Get excited, friends – it’s time for Lisa’s 2010 Nature Bracket picks!

For those of you who are new around here, here’s the scoop: for the past three or four years, I’ve dedicated one NCAA bracket to choices based upon which team’s mascot would win if the mascots were to actually fight in nature. Do I base my picks on solid, thorough research? Not really, though I do spend a good 30-40 minutes on Wikipedia looking up mascots of less famous schools. Most of my picks are based on gut feelings, but I have adopted a few rules:

Choo Choo! It's Thomas!

Yesterday, we joined our good friends the Colvins and the Blunts for a Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine. Admittedly, Luke doesn't have the faintest idea who Thomas the Tank Engine is. A Day Out with Elmo? A Day Out with Mickey Mouse? He'd be giddy with excitement. Even though it took him a little while to warm up to the idea, Luke had a great time. Here are some pics:

Dad Got Luke a Gift...

...his very own custom Chelsea kit!

18 Months Old!

It's hardly believable, is it? It wasn't all that long ago that we were here...

February Goings On

It occurs to me that I haven't really had any big posts in a while. This is one of those strange times where, to be honest, it doesn't feel like we've been up to anything major, but the more I think about it, we've just been swamped. I think we've had something going on every weekend since Thanksgiving, just about! So that busy-ness makes it good just to chill whenever we can. With that in mind, I begin with some images from a typical Saturday morning at our house. Luke usually wakes me up anywhere from 6:45-7:15 a.m. We get up, I change his diaper, and we head downstairs. While I make his breakfast, you can usually find Luke in the following pose:

Happy Birthday, Nathan and Jordan!

I'm not going to make too long of a post - the best of this birthday party can be seen here - but I do want to give Luke's cousins Nater-Tot and Jordy a shout out to wish them a Happy 1st Birthday! Thanks so much for inviting us to your party. Luke had the best time!

Luke's Favorite Activity

Here's a video of Luke's new favorite thing to do these days: run through the curtains. Enjoy!

Officially 17 months old!

First of all: I know, I know! Almost three weeks since my last post. In my defense, it's been one of those months where we've had something every weekend. Because there are essays that need grading, I'll keep it brief. I cannot believe that my little monkey is 17 months old! He is running all over the place and, believe me, he has no fear. He is ready to run down stairs (don't worry: I'm not letting him. I think he's getting tired of my insistence that he scoot down on his "biscuits," but so be it.), and you remember that lovely chair from Pottery Barn Santa brought him? It's basically a jungle gym now. Awesome. I'm pretty sure my immediate focus will not be instructing him about phonics, letters, colors, etc., but saving him from himself. I think keeping him out of a full-body cast is going to be my sole occupation this summer!

Below are some pictures from Judson's third birthday party. Judson is the son of our good friends Jeff and Laura, and let me tell you, they host an awesome kid party! We were a little concerned given that Luke was crying as soon as we walked in (he's in a big "stranger danger" phase), but within minutes, he was running around with the older kids and flinging inflatable tires around. Woo hoo! I'm sure he'll have just as much fun this weekend when his cousins Nathan and Jordan celebrate their first birthday!

Here are Judson (hugging the blue tire) and Luke:

"Oh my gosh, this is so cool!"

Here is a picture of sweet Beckham, the son of Jeremy's college friend Bobby and his wife Emily. Isn't he a doll?

This is just a picture I snagged during one of Luke's baths. I zoomed in on those gorgeous peepers. (By the way: why is it that boys have such long, lush eyelashes? No fair!)

TGIF! I know this weekend couldn't come soon enough!

Luke's First Real Haircut!

We've tried off and on for two months to schedule Luke's first haircut. It's as if he sensed it, and as just as an appointment day arrived, he'd have a fever or be particularly cranky because of teething. Darn it! But yesterday, there were no excuses, and the deed was done!

It all started with getting him aboard his taxi. I mean, he could sit in a car and watch TV - this can't go wrong, right?

Basically, throughout the process, Luke alternated between reaching out for me in tears and getting momentarily engrossed in the Elmo video. All in all, it was nowhere near as bad as I expected.

Getting our hair wet and ready to cut:
Starting the trim:
"Make it stop, Daddy!"

Just about all done!
Finally, here he is celebrating (and enjoying some Goldfish crackers) at Kincaid's, where Honey, Grand, and Granny joined us for burgers. Doesn't he look so handsome?

Now we're getting set to enjoy a three-day weekend and, hopefully, a second Cowboys' playoff win! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Go, Cowboys!

Here's Luke - ready for the big Cowboys-Eagles playoff game tonight! (He sported his hat for about 2.5 seconds - just long enough for us to snap a picture.) His parents are ready, too... but hoping the 'Boys don't break our hearts. I sure hope my next post finds me blogging of a Cowboys-Vikes game! We shall see...!

In Praise of PJs

Here's Daddy's Little Sidekick! (And thanks Honey for these adorable PJs!)
This past week - the final week of Christmas break - has been wonderful. It hasn't been without its challenges (more on that in a bit), but we've enjoyed lots of rest and relaxation after all of our festivities of the holidays. (On the flip side, our Christmas decor could still be up for the Super Bowl, but I digress...) And what better way to rest and relax than in brand new jammies? Luke got quite a few pairs of PJs this Christmas, and since he's felt a little crummy, they've been his exclusive wardrobe choice.


Little Luke went to the doctor Wednesday because he had an almost 102 degree fever. Long story short, his ears, nose, and throat are all clear, but he has MORE molars coming through, and the fever and fussiness were all but completely attributed to his chompers wreaking havoc. All of his bottom teeth are here (or at least are just beneath the surface), and his top teeth are just about all in. Folks, he's 16 months old tomorrow. I think this is freakishly soon, but what do I know? I do know that, as you see in the first picture above, Luke's fingers and/or paci have been in his mouth basically every waking moment these past few days. Poor little guy. At least he's sporting cute jammies! (Top pic and video jammies are from Grandma and Grandpa; the Rockstar and blue/green stripes are from... me. I'm obsessed, what can I say?) Check them out...

And finally, a video highlighting one of his favorite activities at Honey and Grand's house:

Happy New Year, friends! Hope 2010 brings great blessings to everyone!