NC Zoo

We visited the North Carolina Zoo last weekend and had a great time! Luke has been to the Fort Wayne Zoo, the Indianapolis Zoo, the Columbia, SC zoo, and now, finally, the big, famous, North Carolina Zoo! (Evan stayed with Grammy and Great Grandmother at Great Grandmother's house, which is only about 5 miles from the zoo!) I'm so glad we waited until Luke was a little older to visit this zoo. It is HUGE and we were all exhausted by the time we finished our visit! There are over 5 miles of walking paths, and I think we covered atleast that much ground, if not more, on our visit. When we got to the end of our trip, we hopped on the tram to take us back to the entrance where our car was parked. There was no way any of us was going to make it back by walking! Enjoy some pictures from our trip!

Daddy and Luke taking a break.



Luke is lost in the giant maze.



A polar bear sleeping with his toy.



Daddy and Luke trying to lift the weight of a baby Sea Otter. It was heavy!



Mommy and Luke enjoying an ice cream break.


A carosel ride gone wrong... very wrong... hee hee.


Luke the zoo keeper.


All of us agreed on our favorite animal for the day. Luke even got a stuffed rhino to bring home.


The giant elephant was so close to the viewing area! Very cool!


Luke sitting in the elephant tracker helecoptor.

8 Months

Coming to Get You!

Evan is 8 months old! He has become mobile this month and is crawling all over the house. Luke worries a little when Evan gets too close to Luke's smaller toys, but so far we're doing pretty good about keeping Luke's toys in the playroom and Evan's toys in the family room.

With the crawling and pulling up, we have moved Evan's mattress in his crib down so that he can't fall out when he pulls himself up and screams to us to come and get him. We have also moved him out of his infant carrier carseat and into a big boy car seat. He was getting too long for the infant carrier, and he didn't fit anymore. He's still a little peanut, with his weight. We are estimating his weight at around 18 pounds. He's pretty long, though, because his 6-9 month clothes are starting to get short on him! He has two teeth that we've been trying to get a picture of for quite some time now. We finally held him down and got a sort of blurry picture!

Good answer

Luke's teachers asked the class today "What makes you happy?"

Luke's answer was, "Snuggling with my Mommy."

Everyone say it together now... awwwwww!

Fresh from the bathtub

So that's why he talks so much...

At the beginning of the school year, we do a language assessment with each child. The assessment tells how much receptive language each child has (how much language they understand). The assessment is scored by giving an age at which the child is performing their receptive language skills.

Luke is currently 4 years and 6 months old. His receptive language is performing at 6 years 6 months. For those who are not too quick with math skills, that is 2 years ahead of his age. This makes it easier for us to understand why there is never a quiet moment with Luke around!

Crawling!!!

Evan has been scooting around for awhile now, but he started officially crawling this week. He can go across the room and is on the look out for anything new and interesting that he isn't supposed to have. Watch out world, here comes Evan!

Birthday x 2

We celebrated Mom/Grammy and Mark's birthdays this week. Mark was visiting Charlotte on business, so we had a chance to see him and have a birthday dinner on Wednesday evening. Grandad made steaks and a great dinner, and we brought frozen strawberry cake. We added chocolate drizzle to the top and it was yummy!

Luke got Grammy a wind hanging decoration and Uncle Mark a fun pen that he found at the dollar store. He also painted a sign that said, "Happy Birthday Grammy" and painted pictures for each of them as a part of their birthday gift.

Happy Birthday to you both!

Purple Circle

Luke sits on the purple circle.

This probably means nothing to most people. But, to me, it means a lot.

They have a big carpet in Luke's classroom where they all sit during group time. Each child is assigned a spot. Luke sits on the purple circle. When he showed me the carpet and I saw where the purple circle was, I was proud. It's in the back row, in the corner. Usually, the kids who need an extra reminder or two to be good listeners sit in the front row, near the teacher. Since Luke is in the back row, that means he must be a good listener. I'm so proud of his purple circle.

Lazy 5 Ranch

Today was a beautiful day, so we took advantage of it!

The weather decided to give us a break from our mid-upper 90's heat and awful humidity, and today it was a high of 88 with low humidity - a rare treat for NC in August. So, we went to visit Lazy 5 Ranch this afternoon. The concept for the park is that you drive through a 3 1/2 mile path in a large area that is gated in. The park is home to many species of animals, including giraffes, zebras, water buffalo, ostrich, pot bellied pigs, llamas, rhinoceros, cows, goats, deer, and several other animals. Today, we opted for the horse drawn wagon ride rather than driving our own car, so we could be out in the open with the animals. The wagon is allowed to go into different areas of the park than the cars can go, so you get a more up close and personal interaction with the animals. They also give you buckets with food in them so you can feed the animals. And, these animals know where the food is! At some points, the animals were chasing the wagon to try and catch a bite to eat!

Luke was a little nervous about the large animals being so close to us (who can blame him?), but he recovered in time to feed a giraffe a leaf.

On our wagon ride.

Evan and Luke enjoyed the swings in the play area.

An excited conversation

A conversation between Luke and I after school today:

Luke: Today, I got to hold a coconut and it was HAIRY!
Me: Really? What... (Luke interrupts excited)
Luke: And, if you put nails in it and hammer, it will open up!
Me: Really? What... (Luke interrupts excited)
Luke: And, tomorrow, we are going to eat it!
Me: Really? What... (Luke interrupts excited)
Luke: And, there is milk and white stuff inside!
Me: Really?
Luke: Yup. Cool, huh?

Guess I need to learn to keep my mouth shut and let him tell a story, huh?

Luke's First Day of Pre-K

Today was Luke's first day of Pre-K. He had a hard time waking up so early (6:15) and was sad and crying as we began the day. He didn't want to leave his blanket at home, so we ended up taking all of his blankets with us in the car.

We talked on the drive to school, and by the time we arrived, he was in a much better mood. I walked him into his class and helped him get his bookbag put away. He then went to the block center and started playing with the cars (no big surprise). I gave him a hug and he said goodbye like a big kid.

Throughout the day, I saw him in the cafeteria and on the playground and each time, he gave me a big hug and then went back to be with his teachers. I was very proud of my big, little man.

After school, he told me that he played in the block center and that everyone in his class is his friend, but the people he plays with every day are his dudes. He met two new dudes today, but had already forgotten their names. Oh well, I guess that's why he has 179 more days to learn about them. :)

School Starts for Mom

School has started for me. I always forget how little the kids are at the beginning of the year. AND, how little they know and understand! They all are really cute and seem to want to please us, so let's hope they stay that way!

Luke's first day of school is on Monday. He is a bit nervous about it, but we've been to school to meet his teachers and see his classroom, so he's had a chance to prepare. We've also gotten him a new bookbag and lunch box, so he's all set with his school supplies. I just can't believe the time has come for Luke to go to school! Monday will be a busy day! I'm sure I'll have pictures to add to the blog on Monday evening!