Life Is Good.

More bubbles please

I'm going to get you Mommy!

We are 8 months pregnant and anxiously awaiting Baby Katherine's arrival. And it is Hot, very Hot!  I try to stay inside as much as possible these days.  After supper tonight Paul and Luke decided to go outside and wash the cars and play in the water.  I used the opportunity to get some things caught up inside the house.  I went out to see what they were up to and this is what I found.  Both of them were soaked through!  Luke was having a ball running around in the sprinkler and spraying Paul with the hose.  For a while the notion never struck him to try to get me wet.  But, when it did he was not letting up!  I had to run from him; but, that boy is fast!  I ended up bounding up the stairs in the garage and he still soaked me!  Life is hectic, but very good...

Nanny's Birthday

Luke had to help Nanny with her cake

  Nanny and the kids (minus Andrew)

 This is how Luke slept the whole way there

Saturday we went to Tullahoma to celebrate Nanny's birthday.  Her birthday is actually on the 21st of June, but this was the first time everyone could get together.  We went to Cynthia's and enjoyed grilling out.  Well actually, Thomas did the grilling.  We felt bad for him because it was so hot and only one burner was working on the grill.  Everything was delicious though.  We watched the USA in the World Cup and let Luke entertain us by working puzzles and playing with toys. 

I was pretty tired.  It seems as though I am getting to that point in the pregnancy when I would rather  be napping than most anything else.  When we are away I am always thinking about all the things that need to be done at home, too.  

We stayed there all afternoon and got stuck in horrible construction traffic and did not get home until 8 tonight.  We were all pretty tired and ready to get out of the car by the time we got here!

Father's Day and Anniversary

We celebrated our 5-year anniversary by going on an impromptu overnight trip to Atlanta.  We had talked about doing something "big" this year since baby Katherine's arrival is quickly approaching.  But, when it came down to it we really could not decide where to go so we decided not to go anywhere.  Last Wednesday night there was a Braves game on and Paul and I both commented that we would like to go back to Atlanta soon.  So, just like that Paul was on PriceLine getting us a room!  I had to work Saturday morning.  We dropped Luke off at Nonna's around 1 and got on the road. 

Even though we were there less than 24 hours we had a blast.  We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead.  We ended up enjoying a cool pizza place for supper that night, mainly because we did not want to wait over an hour to eat at a "nice" restaurant.  It was an unseasonably cool night in Atlanta which we both enjoyed immensely.  It has been in the mid to upper 90's in Nashville for 2 weeks so we welcomed a break from the heat.  After supper we drove around for a while and did a little window shopping.  We ended the night with ice cream from Bruster's before returning to the hotel.

One of the best parts about the weekend was sleeping in!  It was nice to not have a 2 1/2 year old alarm clock jumping in bed with us at 5:30!  We ate breakfast at The Flying Biscuit which was a really neat experience.  I love fun breakfast places.  Next we went to IKEA!  We have been there a couple of times before and always have a good time looking around.  They have just about anything you could possibly want for a home at an affordable price.  We picked up a couple of things for Katherine's room and some more train tracks for Luke.  After we spent a few hours in there it was time to get back on the road!  It was a great, quick get-a-way!

Meanwhile, back in Nashville Nonna and Luke had a great time!  They ate supper at Chef's Saturday night were Luke entertained Cheryl and Mary.  They thought he was adorable; I agree!  That night when Nonna put Luke to bed he said "Luke sleep in Nonna's bed?"  How can someone say no to that?  Nonna said he slept good with her and did not take long to fall asleep.  Sunday morning they went on a surprise visit to Tullahoma to visit my Nanny.  She loved having the unexpected company!

When we were all back home we celebrated Father's Day.  I did not get a good picture of Paul and Luke that day.  Paul was excited to open his blender Luke gave him.  We have already enjoyed fruit smoothies with it this week!  It was great, unexpected weekend!

Little Monkey

Over the edge

Laid back...

Tonight Paul and I were in Baby Katherine's room doing some things.  We looked around and Luke had climbed up in her bed!  He did not want to get out.  He said he was going to "take a nap in Baby Katherine's bed".  He also liked her "baby pillow".  It took quite a bit of coaxing to get him out.  I left the room and he was right back up in the bed!  Guess we need to work on the importance of not climbing in the baby's bed before she gets here!

A Day With Friends

The gang

Julie and sweet Maggie

Amanda and Shelby

Today I enjoyed a special treat! I went to Murfreesboro to see my college friends. Amanda and Julie both had baby girls last summer. I saw Shelby shortly after she was born, but had not met Miss Maggie yet. Both girls were so sweet! They were so well-behaved and happy. It was fun seeing them playing together. We have been trying to get together for a couple of months now. I had been planning on taking Luke with me since Julie has never met him. Since we just got back from lake and Luke missed school yesterday, I hated for him to miss 2 days in a row. So, I went by myself. It was neat to see two of my good friends with baby girls! It gave me even more to look forward to when baby Katherine gets here! We vowed it would not be another year before we see each other again.

Weekend Trip

Lauren and Luke. Luke was sportin'
his new hat Uncle Jon brought him.

Jon Jon and Luke playing with the blocks.

Luke on the prowl for his next victim!

Loving the lake with Daddy!

Tired little fella after a day
on the water.

We did a lot of relaxing...

Nene and Luke reading on the deck.

This past weekend we went to Center Hill Lake with the Troutts. We had a great time! Luke did not sleep well at all the first night and was cranky, but after that he was great! Everyone else went on a canoe trip Saturday but the three of us opted to stay at the house. We were glad we did. Everyone was gone over 6 hours! That was too long for a 2 1/2 year old. We decided to drive in to Cookeville for lunch. We had not been gone from the house for more than 5 minutes before Luke was asleep. So, we turned around and went back. Luke slept over 3 hours! I took a nice, long nap, too.

Sunday we spent the day on the lake in Jon's pontoon boat. I was not sure how Luke would like the boat and water, but he loved it! He loved splashing in the water. We got him a little boat that he could sit in and he thought it was great. It was miserably hot outside but being in the lake was so nice and refreshing.

We played a lot of games, relaxed and ate....it was a great weekend! Having the extra night was so nice. No one felt rushed. When we got home Monday the three of us were pretty worthless. We spent most of the afternoon resting and unpacking. We ended up going to the neighborhood pool that evening. Luke has already asked when we are going back to the pool and the lake!

Cheese for the Camera!

One afternoon last week I was fooling around with the camera and Luke decided he wanted to do some posing for me. This is fairly unusual. Usually he closes his eyes or gets some silly face on when the camera comes out. I though these were pretty cute!

Playdate With the Louw Girls

On the swinging bridge

Emma on a cool riding toy

The kids in the kitchen

Emma dressed up as a princess

Today Luke and I met Katherine, Emma and Hanne at the Streets of Indian Lake to go to Peek-a-Boo Playtown. It opened recently and we had been wanting to check it out. The kids had a great time. The concept is really cool. There are different "centers" the kids can play in such as a grocery store, tool workshop, dress-up theatre and kitchen. They also have an indoor playground with a slide and several other stations including two train tables well-equipped with all things Thomas. Luke was very happy with that!

Luke loves Emma and Hanne. I bet he asked where Emma was 100 times while we were with them today! I don't know why I did not take any pictures of little Hanne, but she got in on the action, too. There is a separate toddler area that she enjoyed. After the kids got tired of playing we all walked over and had lunch at Sam's Sports Grille. The kids liked their grilled cheeses and Katherine and I enjoyed yummy salads. I brought the rest of mine home for supper tonight!