Beautiful Fall Weekend Adventures

Aren't those some cute pics of Luke in his TarHeel hat??? I had to go ahead and post those....

So...I sure do hope that everyone is enjoying this beautiful fall weather as much as we are. We have had two awesome weekends and it's only noon on Sunday! :) Let me tell you what we have been up to...

First of all, last weekend, we went to the transportation museum in Spencer, NC for "A Day out with Thomas." It's a pretty cool treat - you get to ride a real train that has the big Thomas engine at the front. It truly looks like Thomas from the outside...and the inside was pretty cool too....it was decorated with the names of Thomas' friends and had some colorful streamers. They played Thomas music and told a few Thomas facts. Luke seemed to enjoy the fact that he could ride in a seat that was like the car but he didn't have to sit in a car seat. He enjoyed sitting beside the window and looking out at everything that we passed. Landis and I enjoyed the opportunity to sit and hold and cuddle him during the ride.

After the train ride, Luke had a great time playing on the train tables in both gift shops. He also enjoyed pushing the many different types of cars they had in the shops. Luke is in that stage right now - he loves cars, trucks, tractors, of all sizes - we ended up bringing home a fire truck with Elmo on it and a collectible Dukes of Hazard car (I think that purchase might have been more for daddy than Luke). :)

Luke was quite tired after about an hour and a half so we went ahead and hit the highway towards Charlotte to visit our friends, Megan and Eric, and their precious new baby, Sutton. Luke was asleep in the car within 5 minutes! :) He slept for a little over an hour as we drove. Then, as soon as we reached Charlotte, he was wide awake and was in a great mood! We had a great afternoon visiting! The weather was absolutely gorgeous - a little windy, so we kept Luke bundled up...he was outside a lot for a few reasons - one, he loves it outdoors...two, we tried not to bother sleeping little Sutton, and three, Luke wanted to climb up and down the steps every time we went inside...he thought it was funny to see how fast he could climb them and then giggled when we grabbed him up. Okay, okay....I was guilty of giving him a few extra tickles when I scooped him up, so this didn't help his desire to stay off of them. :)

Outside, Luke enjoyed swinging in the blue rocket swing that is in the backyard. He also enjoyed swinging in the very low big boy swing. :) We sang and sang as we swung. Luke also enjoyed climbing up the wall that was on the swing set and then sliding down the big slide. He would slide so fast that he would land in the grass on his bottom....he thought this was funny and it was quite cute! Eric gave Luke a green tomato from Megan's tomato plant and Luke threw this around the backyard for the longest time. While Sutton slept, Megan, Eric, me and Landis stood in a circle and kicked the ball back and forth to Luke. He liked this! He played with his ball and a soccer ball that Eric had quite a bit. After he was tired of the balls, we brought out his tractor, Elmo fire truck, and car and he pushed these on the back steps of the porch for a little while. He stopped for a quick snack of grapes and chicken nuggets and then because he only slept for an hour, I thought he would be tired so I took him for a stroll thinking that he might take a catnap. Well, that didn't happen....we strolled around the neighborhood and then Sutton and Megan joined us for a walk to Target (yes, they live close enough to walk to Target- that could be dangerous on the budget!). It was a perfect day for a walk. Megan and I enjoyed the girl talk time to catch up and Luke just chilled in his stroller the whole time - he would talk a little, sing a little, and most of the time, just relaxed. He didn't even try to get out of his stroller in Target (which was a surprise to me). In Target, I ended up buying him a mini-golf set. When we arrived back at Meg and Eric's, Luke couldn't wait to get out his new golf clubs and ball and play.

Landis and I took him to the back yard and started playing - Landis (the golf expert in the household) showed him how to hit it. Luke tried his best and was able to hit the ball off the "tee" a few times. We had a blast trying to help him. There are some cute videos of his first golfing attempts below. We have played with this golf set a lot here at home in the past week also - it was well worth $15! :)

As the weather got cooler, we let Luke play inside for a little while when Sutton was awake. We played hide and seek and let him talk to Sutton a little. I tried to hold Sutton one time and Luke didn't like this - he let me know by repeating, "Mommy, hold you" over and over. I guess having a little brother or sister around wouldn't be a good idea any time soon. When Sutton went back to sleep, Luke and I went and played in the front yard for a little while and ate some more grapes sitting on the front steps. I enjoyed this time with him - just talking with him about our fun day - he saw a lady walking 3 dogs down the road and she stopped and talked with us. Luke was amazed at how many dogs she had with her. :)

We ended our evening by sitting at the table and eating delicious chicken pot pie that Megan cooked. I can't believe she did this with a new baby in the house but she insisted and boy it was good! Luke ate pretty well - he at least sat in his seat without pitching a fit. It was really cute - one time, he looked at us while he was eating and said, "I need to get situated." Wow! What a big word! After dinner, we put Luke's pjs on and loaded up the car. We were barely on the highway and Luke was zonked out! He had a fun filled day! I was very proud of his behavior at a guest's house. For the most part, he listened well and stayed out of everybody's way. He got one spanking for messing with the blinds after being asked not to, but, other than that, he was great! He didn't mess with the baby, he didn't bother the dog, he didn't whine too much - he just played and played. Yes, he had a lot of energy, but that's normal toddler behavior and there's not much you can do about that.

A big thank you to Eric and Megan for opening their home to us for a few hours. I surely hope that Luke didn't get on their nerves during this super transitional time in their household. Before you have a toddler of your own, you don't quite understand them - before I had Luke, I would think to myself, "Why doesn't that kid sit still?" Well, now I know....they just can't sit still but for a short amount of time. Meg and Eric didn't appear to be bothered by Luke's energy - if they were, they hid it well (he, he) and, one day, they will understand the toddler world for themselves. Until then - Meg and Eric enjoy that little tiny (not walking/running) baby so very much - she will grow up in a blink of an eye!

Here are some pictures from last weekend....

A Day with Thomas....

In Charlotte...












Before I continue with this weekend's adventures, here are some cute pictures from this past week...Luke riding Thomas...he is so good at steering Thomas now....

Luke playing outside....begging to play in my car..
Looking for his ball under the car....
And, now....let me tell you what we have been up to this weekend. Luke and I had the best time yesterday morning....Landis played in a golf tournament so Luke and I went on a Mommy Date...

let me say this....before our Mommy Date, Luke and I had a great time enjoying the fall morning....I pushed him on his radio flyer bicycle and pulled him in the wagon all over the front and back yard while we talked and talked and sang and sang and I enjoyed a cup of coffee...this is so much fun to me to get outdoors in the mornings when you can hear the rustle of the leaves when the wind blows and the birds chirping....just a glorious way to start the day before we headed out on our Mommy Date to....

High Rock Nursery in Lexington....we had an absolute blast! We arrived as soon as they opened at 10:00am. I paid $9, which included unlimited apple cider from the apple cider press, playtime in the corn pile, a hayride, a small pumpkin, and as much time as needed to explore the huge corn maze. Luke and I started at the corn pile. When he first felt the corn, he wasn't too sure of it. He dumped and poured it in and out of a few buckets but mostly just watched some other kids play. At 10:30, we headed over to the tractor for the hayride. There were only 2 other people on the ride with us! Luke and I sat right behind the tractor so that Luke could watch the big wheels. He loved that! He kept telling me, "big tractor wheels." He was a little nervous about the wheels though - he wanted to sit on my lap for the entire ride. Which, of course, I enjoyed. I love to see his little tiny fingers grab my hands and feel him cuddle up on my lap. :) On the way to the pumpkin patch, we passed some pigs and goats and a few more big tractors. It was a gorgeous ride through the beautiful farm. We stopped at the pumpkin patch, got off and went looking for a pumpkin. Luke didn't really want to pick the pumpkin up himself - instead, he showed me which one he wanted and I picked it off the vine. It was a well shaped pumpkin - Luke made a good choice. He was very proud of his pumpkin...you will see in the pictures that he wanted to hold it a lot! :)

When we returned from the pumpkin patch, we went to the mini-hay bale maze and played. Luke ran around this tiny maze for a little while and then he decided to cheat and climb over the hay bales. There's a video of this below....

Next, we moved on to the big corn maze. The corn stalks were huge so I thought maybe Luke would be nervous, but, boy, I was wrong....he loved this! He ran and ran down the paths...the big path at first and then he started venturing off on the smaller paths and then started going in between the corn stalks. He would tell me, "Mommy, go this way" as he squeezed in between the smallest places (some, of which, mommy couldn't make it). :) He pulled off some big leaves, touched the corn, and then found him some little, tiny, pumpkins growing on the ground....he loved this....he would pick them off the vine and then put them in his pocket. He did keep one in his hand at all times and he would show me his "little tiny pumpkin". He thought this was special. :) He would hide from me behind the corn stalks and play peek a boo. He thought he was the boss of the corn maze. He would tell me that we need to go "this way" because that's "where the kids are" - he could hear other kids playing and wanted to find them. :) We did finally see some teenagers being silly - they thought Luke was adorable and Luke thought they were funny. :) We had so much fun in the corn maze that I just let him explore and explore for quite awhile.

Next, we went to taste some of the pure, no other ingredients added, apple cider. We watched as they turned and turned the apple cider press and made some delicious apple cider. Luke drank two cups all by himself. I was so proud that he could drink out of the cup without spilling it - we have been working on that at home. :) Luke would have drank more and more if I would have let him but we didn't want any belly aches.

After our apple cider was done, we went back to the corn pile and this time Luke was very interested. He dug his hands deep in it and filled up buckets using his hands. He would dump the buckets out on the side and then scrape the corn back in the pile. He would bury his little tiny pumpkin in the corn pile and then, with my help, dig it out and find it. He thought it was amazing that we could find the pumpkin in all of that corn - it was quite difficult to do! I crawled in the corn pile hoping that he would sit in the corn with me and he did for a minute...but, then, he sat on the edge again and jumped in the corn pile on his bottom - it was super cute! He saw two boys burying each other in the corn pile so he decided to bury my feet! :) I had corn all in my shoes!! He found a small tractor and pushed this tractor all along the edge of the corn pile and then buried it a few times. One time, I picked him up and threw him for a flip right into the corn pile. He loved this but I was scared to do it too much with other children around. He came up with corn all in his hair! I later found corn in many more places than his hair - if you know what I mean. :) I sat and watched Luke play and play in the corn pile for a long time. Matter of fact, I looked at my watch and it was almost 1:00 - Luke and I were having so much fun that we had played right through lunch and were well past nap time.

I convinced Luke to get in the car by telling him that we would go by McDonald's and get him some chicken nuggets and apples with dip....with this being said, he happily went to the car. :) Like I promised, we stopped by McDonald's and Luke ate like he was starving - all of his nuggets, all of his apples, and then some of my fries! In the car, he was out like a light in 2 minutes! :) What a fun morning - simply perfect - Mommy and Luke had some cuddle time, lots of exploring time and playing time, and some new experiences to talk about - a great Mommy and Luke date - make sure you go visit High Rock Nursery soon! :) Here are some pictures....














































By the way, if you thought to yourself...."Does Luke have a black eye?" The answer is, "Yes!" :(

On Thursday night while I was away at a Parent Night at school and Daddy was baby sitting, Luke hit his eye on the night stand at papaw's house while jumping on the bed. I wasn't real thrilled when I saw his pitiful face, but accidents happen and Luke seemed to be fine. It's looking better and better each day.

To continue our fun fall weekend, last night, we visited Mark and Melissa for some hot dog cooking and marshmallow roasting over a fire pit. We took some toys for Luke to play with and bundled him up good and off we went. We all had a great time! The hot dogs were delicious - Luke ate a whole hot dog and some baked beans! Luke had a wonderful time pushing his lawn mower and throwing his tennis balls (that he now uses with his golf set because he has lost both of the golf balls that came with it). He also enjoyed throwing the tennis balls to Hannah's puppy, Bella. Bella would fetch the balls and bring them back to Luke each time. After playing outside for quite awhile, Luke wanted to go in and see Hannah. He went to her room and played with her for a little while. He was so sweet - he was sitting beside of Hannah on the bed and all of a sudden, he looked at her and said, "Give you a kiss." It was adorable! Hannah leaned over and Luke gave her a very good nose kiss. I wish I had my camera for that one but I didn't. :) Later when Hannah's boyfriend came over, I made sure to tell him that Luke had already kissed her that night and he couldn't beat a nose kiss. :) As bedtime got closer and closer, Luke got sillier and sillier. He did a few ring around the rosy songs for us and fell on his bottom as hard as he could. He threw the stuffed monkey and dog bone to Bella. He asked me to "throw you on the couch", which means throw Luke on the couch, so I threw him on the couch several times and gave him some pretty long tickle sessions as well. We went back outside for a little while to let Luke taste some roasted marshmallows - Melissa cooked them for us and we let Luke eat the cooked part. He liked a few bites but wasn't impressed enough to eat too many. He looked so adorable outside all bundled up in his hood. :) At one point, we let Melissa's 4 other dogs out of their run and Luke let the two boxers, Riley and Rex, lick all over him while he petted them. Boxers are great with kids and Mark and Melissa's boxers are a lot like Max and Madi - they love people and never show signs of aggression! :) Around 9:00 (way past Luke's bedtime), we headed home. Surprisingly, Luke didn't fall asleep in the car, so I rocked him here at home until almost 10:00. That's a late bedtime for a little man, but we don't do that to him much - he survived! :)

He woke up this morning around 6:15 in a great mood. Daddy was extra tired so he slept a little later while me and the Lukester played and played. We were so busy yesterday that Luke and I didn't read a lot so I guess Luke wanted to make up for some of our missed reading time because he went and got his "Moo" book and asked me to read it to him in his rocking chair. So, of course, I did. He let me read all 3 stories in the moo book to him. This is the three stories in one book that Jennifer Penninger gave Luke (Jennifer, he loves it so THANK YOU!). He now repeats the part where the cows type a note for Farmer Brown that says, "We're closed! No milk. No eggs." Then, when I read, "And Farmer Brown was...." Luke says, "Furious!" That's right - that's exactly what the book says. :) He says "furious" in the cutest - trying to be mean - voice and makes this stern face when he says it - I'm guessing he must be copying the face and voice that I make when reading it.

After reading, we continued our morning with some trips around the living room in the red car - with Luke and George as passengers. Luke even put George in the seatbelt today and then asked me to go, "fast".

After playing in the house for awhile, we decided to go for a walk. I took Luke for a walk in the BOB....not a get in shape walk but a take it easy walk. I even took a cup of coffee. The walk was great! Luke and I looked for squirrels and talked about them running up the trees. We looked at all the Halloween decorations on the houses. Luke has one house that he looks for each time that we walk because there is a scarecrow in the front yard that has a pumpkin head. Luke loves to see this house. We sang some songs - Luke loves to hear me sing the song, "If you are happy and you know it" so we sang that with a few extra verses - I also sing verses like, "If you are mad and you know it, then you....stomp your feet....if you are sad and you know it....cry, cry." Luke enjoys doing the motions with me as we sing. As we were walking, I just thanked the Lord for such a beautiful day and the health to get out the door and enjoy it! :)

We ended our walk with a trip to the park. Luke sat on the end of the slides with me for a little while and ate his puffs and drank some milk. Then, we climbed the wall, crawled through the tunnel, and climbed on the bars. We also petted a friendly dog that was walking with his owner and, because of Luke's desire, pulled up some weeds on the playground. We have pulled up weeds so much at home that Luke now thinks he needs to help everyone pull weeds no matter where we are.

After our fun in the park and our beautiful walk, we headed home for Luke's nap.

Weekends like the past two - where the weather is gorgeous - I am surrounded by family and friends and my little boy is happy and healthy and making the best memories with me and his daddy, I have a hard time not pinching myself, just wondering if I'm in a dream and I also stop to wonder - what did I do to deserve all of these blessings?? I know from what the Bible tells me that life comes in seasons - we all have good seasons and then we go through seasons of trials. Well, right now, there's no question....I'm in the season of life full of happiness and, as I always try to do, I am taking in every moment, every second and storing it in a place where I will have these special memories to pull from when another season of life comes. :)

We are continuing our fun, fall, family weekend with a trip to the Dixie Classic Fair this afternoon....I have a feeling that a mid-week post on the fair alone will happen...I'm so excited to take Luke to do all the fun things a fair has to offer. Until then....enjoy some videos....

Video#1: Luke playing in the mini-hay bale maze. Notice how he begins to climb over the hay bales.

Video #2: Luke playing the corn maze - as you will notice, not on the marked path, but, in between, the tall corn stalks.

Video #3: Our first visit to the corn pile. Luke wasn't real interested yet. He was just taking it all in.

Video #4: Luke loving the corn pile! Watch closely and you will see him jump from the edge to the corn pile.

Video #5: Luke enjoying the delicious apple cider - drinking from a cup all by himself.

Video #6: Luke's attempt to play golf with his new golf set.

Have a great week, gang! See you soon!

Toddy