Once again, sorry about the delay in posting. It took me almost a week to finish this post. After starting the post on Tuesday, Landis, Luke, and I took off to the beach on Wednesday for a mini-vacation with Mark, Melissa, & Hannah Leslie. We returned around lunch time today. As usual, we had a blast and I hope to post about our trip later this week or weekend. Right now, I'm trying to play catch up with laundry, bills, housework, etc. On one hand, I am dreading work tomorrow but on the other hand, I am so thankful for the time that I had with my family that I am at peace with returning to a normal schedule. We had an awesome Spring Break - simply fantastic! We had 5 days around here - just hanging out and celebrating Easter and then we had 5 days at the beach enjoying the pool, ocean, sand, and plenty of sunshine! Tomorrow morning will be here before I know it and I will miss Luke like crazy when I leave, but the good news - only 8 more weeks of school and it's summer break!!! :)
For now, let me share with you our multiple Easter celebrations. We actually started celebrating Easter a week early by visiting Tanglewood Park and taking a hayride and going on an Easter Egg Hunt. It was a really fun way to begin celebrating the fun children's events that happen this time of year.
Before I continue, for journaling purposes, I should say that Luke and I began reading Easter books over a month before Easter so that Luke could enjoy the season when it got here. We read a Berenstain Bears book about the story of Jesus and what Easter is all about - Jesus, born of a virgin, dying on the cross for us, and then rising from the tomb (which provided us eternal salvation) if we will accept Jesus into our lives, believe in Him, and have a relationship with Him. We tell Luke this story often but this book was a neat way to remind him of the purpose of the season. Some of his other favorite Easter books included: The Little Blue Easter Egg (a Clifford book), Bunny Trouble (a story about Ralph the rabbit who ends up getting caught in a cage because he will not listen to his parents and the other rabbits), and Peter Cottontail (a story about Wily the Wolf trying to take Peter's eggs and hide them so that Easter will be destroyed), Mickey's Hoppy Easter (self-explanatory - anything with Mickey is going to be a hit - he actually kept this book in the car and read it). Luke and I have enjoyed reading these books but will probably put them to the side until next Easter. We have plenty of other books to read around here!!! :) His new favorite is Dr. Seuss books - he loves the book, "10 Apples Up on Top." :)
Anyway, back to our visit to Tanglewood. The Sunday (a week before Easter), we headed to Tanglewood with our neighbors, Caren and William, joining us. We arrived super early so the boys had some time to look at the horses. Luke stared them down and wanted to know their names. He wasn't quite sure about touching them. When Luke saw the tractor that would be pulling the hayride, he was super excited and wanted to ride it. When the hayride began, Luke sat on daddy's lap and talked about everything that he saw as we rode. The ride only lasted about 10 minutes and we were ready to hunt for eggs. The eggs were hidden in a nicely decorated field with some hay bales and trees. There was a separate section for the little kids. Matter of fact, Luke, William, and one other little boy had the whole section to themselves. This was Luke's first REAL Easter egg hunt. I have tried to get him to hunt for eggs around our house before but he is never really interested. And, really, he wasn't super interested in this hunt either at first. We had to really work hard to get him interested. He was more interested in the trees, hay, sticks, and trails. When we finally got him to pick up one egg and he saw that it had candy in it (a chocolate Hershey kiss), his interest quickly became eating the candy so he still wasn't focused on hunting for eggs. So, to sum it up, he only walked away from the egg hunt with 5 eggs and that was with us practically picking them up for him and putting them in his bucket. Matter of fact, shortly after he "found" his eggs, he all of a sudden became ill as a hornet and said he wanted to go home, but, I reminded him that he could walk around and look at the hay and trees and decorations and he got over his whiny attitude. I guess getting ill when you want to is a toddler's right but it sure is annoying sometimes.
Once Luke started exploring and posing for a few pictures, he had fun. He played with the whiskers on the big orange cat made of hay, he messed with the hay bales, and went under the ropes and started picking up sticks. Just as he got content playing and exploring, it was time to load back up on the hayride. Luke made it very clear that he wanted to stay and play but we had to load back up. We were the last ones to load the hayride and then as we sat down, Luke loudly said in front of everyone, "I want to get off this hayride." Oh my! Embarrassing! Thank goodness once we got going, he was fine. He sat on my lap and snuggled with me. I gave him a few tickles and got a few giggles, kisses, and snuggles - which, as you know, made the whole trip worth while and made those whiny moments simply a blur. :) As we rode on the hayride, we passed a few playgrounds. Luke saw these and asked to go play. The hayride and hunt lasted less than an hour and we had plenty of snacks to keep him full and nap time was far enough off SO we headed to the playground.
The playground was very neat - very safe, had a sandbox, swings, and was clean. Luke immediately headed for the tube slide while asking, "Where is the curly slide?" (He thinks that every playground should have a curly slide of some kind). He was able to go down the tube slide by himself, so, as usual, he asked me, "Mommy, meet me at the bottom" and I did. Luke climbed up the ladder, the steps, other slides all with the purpose of going down this tube slide. He loved it! Some other fun activities that he did on this playground included:
-he got a little tractor from the sandbox and pushed it on the edge of the walking areas of the playground - at one point, a little boy took the tractor he was playing with so he went to the sandbox and got another one
-he ran over and over - back and forth - on the bridge trying to "run" from me
-he, of course, climbed and slid down every slide that he could
-got on the swings for just a little bit and sang some songs for us
Then, right before we left, Luke saw some older kids building castles in the sandbox. They were using the entire sandbox and probably had about 10 "castles" built. Luke walked over and just watched the kids play at first. The kids put a stick in the top of each "castle." Evidently, Luke thought these "castles" were birthday cakes because he said to the kids, "I'll blow out the candles" as he walked over and "blew" them out. :) After awhile, he realized that he could easily smash these "castles" so he took a little tractor and started pushing the tractor over and over the castle until it was flat. He played in the dirt content as he could be for the longest time just playing and watching these kids. While he played, Landis and I sat down on the bench that was close by and watched him. We talked about all of the things we love about him and what a joy he is. We laughed about several things that he has said and done lately and then laughed as we watched him walk around. He has started doing this arrogant little "strut" when he walks. He holds his shoulders real wide and bounces his feet funny like he's a tough man. It's quite adorable. :)
After almost 2 hours at the playground, he was ready to go. Matter of fact, he looked at me and said, "I will race you to the car." So....off we went...after a few snacks in the car, he was asleep in 10 minutes. What a fun adventure! Here are some pictures...
Eating his candy...
Running and exploring...
One of my favorites...
The tractor that he loved...
The Thursday before Easter, Luke's preschool invited parents to eat an Easter snack with the kids and then do an Easter egg hunt with them. I took a half day off of work and happily participated. You know I wouldn't miss events like this!!!
Luke went to school as normal for the first 2 hours and then the party began at 10:00. When I arrived to the room just a few minutes early, Ms. Brenda was changing his diaper. I could hear him singing coming down the hall. He was singing Mary Had a Little Lamb to her as she changed him. It was sweet. As soon as he saw me, he ran straight to me and gave me the biggest hug. He was quite clingy during the whole party. I guess he was thinking that if he let go, I would leave. Landis also came and when the kids sat down for their snack, we sat down with them. I'm telling you what - watching six 2 year olds sit in tiny chairs at a tiny table and cross their little hands to say the blessing - hearing their tiny voices pray is absolutely adorable - I had difficulty holding back tears. It was precious! After the blessing, the kids ate yogurt, grapes, apples, and cookies. Luke scarfed down his grapes and apples and barely touched his cookies. Ms. Brenda and Ms. Felicia replenished his apples several times. All of the kids sat and ate so well. It was evident that snack time procedures have been taught and are followed everyday. Those kids knew exactly what was expected and they were very well behaved. They were all so happy too. The little boy that was sitting beside of Luke. His name is Caden. He got so excited whenever they gave him his yogurt that he squeezed his hands together and made this crinkled up face look - it was genuine excitement! So cute!
After their snack, Ms. Brenda and Ms. Felicia played two songs that the kids sing and dance to on a daily basis. Luke wouldn't let me put him down so he could dance but he sang the songs and danced and bounced in my arms. The other kids were breaking it down and it was hilarious. I have seen Luke wave his hands in the air when dancing at home and I wondered where he saw this - now I know....the kids sing this one song where the music says, "Put your hands up, put your hands up, and then FREEZE." And, that's what they do - it's great! :) I have seen Luke do the freeze motion just like the song says. He does that every time Ms. Amber says "FREEZE" at gymnastics. :)
After the dancing, the kids headed next door to a large room for their Easter egg hunt. (It was raining outside) so the teachers hid the eggs around the big room. The kids didn't seem to mind the last minute change in location. :) This time, Luke did excellent hunting for eggs. He carried his bucket and picked up as many eggs as he could find. He didn't stop to check what was inside - he just kept searching for them. After all the eggs were found, Luke asked to open the eggs and eat his candy so I let him. He ate several pieces of chocolate - FUN, FUN! :) He loved the little tiny chocolate Easter eggs. He also loved the Skittles (even though I didn't!!! Aren't those the number 1 choking hazard for toddlers???) :)
After the egg hunt, we came home so that I could spend some time with Luke before going back to work. We had plenty of time to eat lunch together, read, and play. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with him and knew that I only had a few hours of work before I would see him again and would begin my 10 day break!! What a great day! I've always looked forward to being a part of school events with my own child. I have watched parents participate at school for years and finally, I am getting my turn. I love watching him around his teachers and his friends. What fun!
Here are some pictures...
(1) Luke was riding in his big red wagon and looked at me and said,
Luke: I want my little wagon.
Mommy: Are you talking about the one with the red handle?
Luke: No, my wagon has a yellow handle. I don't have one with a red handle. (The look on his face was like "duh" like I had lost my mind or something.)
Mommy: Yes, you are right. I forgot - your wagon does have a yellow handle. :)
Hilarious! His memory is great!
(2) Luke asked me to go inside and get his little push lawn mower. I made him sit on the steps where I could see him and I ran inside to find the lawn mower. I couldn't find it so I came back outside and here's the conversation...
Mommy: Luke, I can't find your little lawn mower. Where did you put it?
Luke: (with no hesitation) In Daddy's room under the stool.
Guess what?? That's exactly where I found it! Once again, great memory! :)
(3) When Luke poops, he goes and hides. (This will eventually make it easier to potty train, I think.) While we were hanging out on the porch, here's another conversation...
Luke: (as he hides behind the rocking chair) "Mommy, don't look at me."
Mommy: Okay (as I grin and turn my head)....
Luke: (obviously, he has finished pooping - he walks toward me) Mommy, I want another grape. But, don't smell me.
Oh my! That's funny! :)
And, one of my favorite moments....Luke and I were sitting on the porch steps eating some grapes and cookies and I leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek and before I knew it, he puckered his little lips and gave me the sweetest, most gentle, genuine kiss ever right on my lips! I love it! I just wanted to bottle up that little kiss! :)
Here are some pictures...
The Saturday morning before Easter, I took Luke to Burlington City Park for another Easter egg hunt. The park was having an age divided Easter egg hunt and then opening their rides. Luke and I visited this park several times this summer so I knew he would enjoy the rides. It was a beautiful day for an egg hunt. When we arrived and I couldn't find a parking space, I knew this adventure could be interesting. I finally found a parking place and with only 2 minutes to spare before the hunt started, got me and Luke a spot on the sidewalk next to where the eggs were "hidden." I looked around at all the people (adults and kids) and got a little nervous. The eggs weren't really hidden. They were just scattered around on the grass in a big field. The people who were in charge made a few announcements about the rules. They said that parents weren't allowed on the field - that the 2 to 4 year old children would hunt on their own. Hearing this made me even more nervous. As we waited for the horn to blow, I explained to Luke what he was going to do and told him that mommy would stand on the sidewalk. Then, the horn blew - oh my goodness! It was total chaos! I followed the rules and let Luke start to hunt alone but then parents all around me started rushing onto the field so I quickly ran after Luke and moved him out of the way. We were able to find ONE EGG! Yes, ONE EGG! I wasn't worried about that at all - I was just thankful that I had Luke in my hands and away from the crowd. I will never attempt this egg hunt again and neither should any of you. If there were people there with intentions of taking a child or hurting a child, they could.
After the ridiculous egg hunt, Luke and I headed to the ticket line to buy tickets for the rides. We bought our tickets and then headed to the train first. Luke loved the train. He loved going over the bridge and through the tunnels. He yelled in the tunnels with the other kids. I enjoyed being able to snuggle with him while sitting on the train.
After the train ride, we headed to Luke's favorite rides - the little cars. The first time he chose to ride in the blue car. He was the driver and he had 3 passengers - all older girls. He was so cute driving around 3 "older ladies". :) After that ride, he immediately wanted to ride again so he could ride the John Deere tractor that was at the back. He waited in line so patiently and watched the other children ride. As he watched, he told me over and over that he wanted to ride the tractor. I tried to explain to him that he had several kids in front of him and that if someone else got to the tractor first, then he may have to wait another turn. Well, thank goodness, that didn't happen. Luke was the first one on the tractor so he was able to drive it and even had control of the horn! :) Three older kids were with him once again. He always looks so tiny compared to others. :) Luke loved his tractor ride and after it was over, he was satisfied and was ready to move onto another ride.
He wanted to ride the boats next. While he rode the boats, he sang, "Row, row, row your boat." and rang the bell repeatedly. This time, he got bored of the boats quickly and was ready to get off as soon as it stopped. After the boats, we headed to the carousel. On the carousel, Luke chose to ride a bunny. (How appropriate for Easter weekend, right???) Luke and I joked that he was riding Peter Cottontail and we both started singing that song. :) After the carousel, we rode the train one more time and then headed home. We were both tired and Luke's little allergies were starting to act up. Luke now takes Zyrtec daily and Benadryl at night because of his seasonal allergies. You will notice in many of these pictures he is wiping his nose and face. Some days he wipes so much that his face gets chapped - and now we have medicine for that too. The doctor tells us that these allergies should clear up in about 3 weeks and that he may outgrow them before next year. :) I'm hoping so....
Anyway....regardless of allergies and waiting in a few lines, it was a fun day at the park. Here are some pictures....
Luke after his one egg...
In the blue car with the ladies...
On the boats...
On Saturday night, my mom, stepdad, and Lexi came over to grill hamburgers. Before dinner, Lexi and Papa Kim hid Easter eggs for Luke to find. After Luke found his bucket full of eggs, he started throwing them out into the grass like he saw the people in Burlington doing before the big Easter egg hunt. Then, we ate dinner together. After dinner, we set up the little Thomas table outside on the deck and prepared all the materials for Easter egg dying. Thank goodness we had a ton of eggs and plenty of dye cups. We also had stickers, wrap its, and the coolest little tiny paint rollers that you could decorate eggs with - Lexi loved these! Mom and I were super excited to see how Like would handle this little adventure and an adventure it was. We gave Luke a certain number of cups filled with dye and Lexi a certain number of cups filled with dye. We started handing Luke the eggs and showed him how to gently put them in the cups and let them turn colors. Well, the words "gently" and "waiting" don't really work with a 2 year old. The eggs were in the dye for like 10 seconds and Luke was ready to take them out. He wasn't worried about making a mess. He would just reach right into the cups and take out the eggs. I tried to show him how to dry them off and then how to put stickers on them. He put a few stickers on 2 eggs and then he was done. For the next 20 minutes, he became Mr. Destroyer. First, he began pouring the dye in the cups into the other cups. He created all kinds of colors. Then, he started dumping the dye onto the deck. Thank goodness we were outside. He dumped one cup that still had an egg in it and the egg cracked, obviously. Luke thought this was quite entertaining. He said, "That egg is cracked out." (as he smiled from ear to ear.) He then began to drop about 4 eggs in a row while smiling and telling us, "That egg is cracked out too" and "Another egg is cracked out." It was hilarious! Mom and I were laughing so hard that we were crying. We patiently helped Luke clean up his "cracked out" eggs and cleaned up his dye cups. Then, we let Lexi finish dying her eggs in peace without having to worry about Mr. Destroyer getting a hold of her eggs while Memaw took Luke to the bath tub. :) Even though the egg dying didn't end up being a success, it created a lot of good laughs and Luke had fun - that's what matters!
Here are some pictures.....
Memaw and Luke hunting for eggs...
Dying the eggs....check out his face....
The pathway from Luke's room to the goody baskets....
On Easter morning, Luke woke up and immediately asked, "Did the Easter bunny come?" He clearly remembered reading our Easter books and our conversation the night before about the Easter bunny. :) Luke came out of his room and immediately grinned when he saw the path of eggs. He said, "The Easter Bunny made me a path." He stopped along the way and ate a chocolate egg from inside of one of the eggs. :) Not too long after, he made it to the table of goodies. He was most excited about his play-doh tractor. He pushed this for several minutes. He also loved his Pete figurine. He gave him a hug! He loved opening each present! I was pleased to see that he immediately loved his fridge phonics letters. He started putting letters in the sound box and repeating them. It took Luke a long time to take an interest in looking through the little items that were stuffed in his baskets. He was so interested in the bigger items that the Easter Bunny brought him that we had to encourage him to look in his basketS - yes, he had 2! :) He eventually tried his 3 marshmallow chickens (Peeps) and he thought they tasted pretty good. He took one bite out of each of them. While digging in his baskets, he found a pack of little tiny bunnies that came with a red bouncy ball. Quickly, this $1 toy became a hit with him! He took the little bunnies and put them on his Elmo couch and told them to take a nap and then he threw the red bouncy ball all over the house. After he threw the ball he would say, "Come here you little ball." After he was tired of throwing the red ball, he laid the ball, along with a few eggs, beside of Minnie mouse so she could "play with them." (He has such an imagination.) :) He continued to play with his Easter toys until it was time for the Easter egg hunt at Papaw Dale's house....
My dad and I hid a ton of eggs all over his big yard. Dad even put some money into some of the eggs. Taylor helped Luke find some eggs while Blaine also found some. :) Luke enjoyed hunting for the eggs and had a bucket full before long. After the hunt, Luke rode his green lawn mower, pushed his little lawn mower, and rode the big red lawn mower with Papa Dale. While Papa Dale entertained Luke, I cooked a casserole and went for a run!! :) Before we knew it, it was time to go to Uncle Chris and Aunt Leslie's house for Easter dinner. Luke always has a great time when around my mom's family and especially at Chris and Leslie's house. Not only did Luke get a chance to hold baby Haley, but he also rode a tractor several times, rode a scooter, fed the fish, threw some rocks in the mini-pond, and saw the horse, the goats, and the dogs. He had a blast! So much of a blast that he passed out cold in the car and slept for almost 3 hours.
After his nap, we visited mammaw Carolyn for dinner. She cooked us a delicious dinner and Luke had more fun playing outside. We took his red car and his lawn mower to mammaw's house so he could mow and ride. Mammaw gave Luke a cute outfit, some candy, and a little wagon that Luke could pull. Luke enjoyed his new wagon and pulled it around in the yard.
Before we knew it, our Easter Sunday was over and it was full of what we would expect - being surrounded by family, who all believe in celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus! What a day full of blessings! :) Here are some pictures....
Oh...before the pictures, let me share a conversation that Luke and I had on Easter morning...
While standing at our front door, Luke was looking across the street at our neighbors so I said...
Mommy: Luke, what do you think the Easter Bunny brought William?
Luke: An Easter Basket
Mommy: What do you think was in his Easter basket?
Luke: Some bright, beautifully, colored eggs and yummy candy.
Oh my! Where does he get this vocabulary??? (I don't remember ever describing eggs to him in that way. Maybe we read it in a book....) His mind is like a steel trap - nothing comes out once it goes in! :)
Now, here are the pictures....
The tractor goes with the play doh set...
There's Mickey with her toys....
Easter Egg Hunting with Aunt Taylor....
Taylor and Luke feeding Gunner, the gerbil...
At Chris and Leslie's house holding baby Haley....
Pulling his new wagon....
Being silly on the front porch....I was pretending to eat his "stinky toes" and he laughed and laughed....
Do you notice how chapped his face is???
With mammaw Carolyn doing his cheesy smile....
(1) Luke riding in the blue car at the park.
(2) Luke riding in the boats at the park.
(3) Luke on Easter morning.
(4) Luke at his Preschool Easter Egg Hunt.
(5) Luke riding the tractor at the park.
I hope everyone had the best Easter ever and a wonderful Spring Break! To my educator friends, I'll say a prayer for you tonight (as I always do), tomorrow will be a tough day! :)
To everyone who reads my blog, I can't close an Easter blog without this reminder - Jesus loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. He died on the cross for you just like He did me. I'm not perfect - not even close - I have so much to work on in my walk with Jesus. I need to pray more. I need to read the Bible more. More than anything, I need to make Jesus my best friend and spend the same amount of time with Him as I do doing other things that won't even matter one day. But, the best part about Easter is that because I cannot be perfect - Jesus was the only person to ever walk this Earth and do no wrong and He knows that I cannot be perfect and doesn't expect me too - He took my sins away when he died on the cross and I am so thankful for that - beyond words thankful for that! I brag on Luke, I talk about how smart he is, I talk about how sweet he is, and, yes, even how cute he is but you know what??? One day, what I hope to talk about more than any of this is about how Luke knows Jesus. I am trying my best to instill Jesus' love into Him and I pray every night that He will accept Jesus into his life at any early age and that He will live for Jesus his whole life. Because, you know, in the end, that's all that will matter!
If you are reading this blog and you don't know Jesus as your personal savior, email me at bumgarnernatasha@gmail.com and I will share more with you including Bible scriptures and personal experiences of my walk with Jesus. Folks, Jesus lovers are getting fewer and fewer in our society today - our nation needs a change - all I can do is put it out there and pray! Join me, please!
Good night, sweet dreams! See you soon!
Toddy
No comments:
Post a Comment