Ball Player!

I had to share these adorable pictures of my future Major Leaguer!!!

The Price of Children

I received this in an email this past weekend. I thought it was too good not to share with you! Enjoy!

The Price of Children
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle-income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is; don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
* First step,
* First word,
* First bra and/or jock strap,
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love and enjoy your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren! It's the best investment you'll ever make.

Luke's ready for the BEACH!!!

Tonight while we were having "tummy time" and playing together on Luke's surfboard....I decided to try his new swimsuit on him! Of course, it's quite big, but we put it on anyways!! He will get plenty of use out of it this summer when we go and visit Memaw and Grandpa. This is the cutest swimsuit and so fitting for our family (BASEBALL!!)!!

Weekend with Memaw & Grandpa

This past weekend, Memaw and Grandpa came to town! Yeah!! Luke always loves it when they come and see him!! Grandpa came to watch Luke's 1st Daytona 500 with him. Well....I don't know how much either of them watched...they both took naps! And of course, Memaw and Grandpa wanted to keep him while Mommy went to work! Monday evening we went to the mall. Gymboree's new spring boys line is BASEBALL!!! How fitting! So, we bought a hat, blanket, onesies, pj's and swimtrunks!! Monday night things went downhill. Memaw got sick....I mean....very sick (we think it was food poisoning). So, Grandpa was in charge of Luke all day on Tues. I think they both had fun! Today Memaw and Grandpa left. Memaw was still feeling ill, but she went anyways. I hope she is feeling better soon. Here are a few pictures from the last few days...

"Grandpa's Race Buddy"

Memaw giving Luke a bath

Luke having "tummy time" on his surfboard!
A rare shot of Luke screaming....he was mad!! Thank goodness this doesn't happen often!

Happy V-Day Memaw and Grandpa!!

This morning Luke and I had a photo session for Valentine's. We got a few really cute shots to download for Memaw and Grandpa (for all of you with family elsewhere....did you know you can download pictures to a Walmart near your family and they can go and pick up the pictures? We do this very very often for Memaw and Grandpa!). We hope Memaw and Grandpa like the pictures. Here are some of the basic shots (we enhanced some on walmart.com for them!)...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I got a wonderful surprise at work today! Luke sent me the most beautiful flowers for Valentine's Day. Yes, I have a gifted child...he took money out of his piggy bank and ordered them all by himself!! Well, okay...maybe he had a little help from Memaw and Grandpa. But...he's still gifted!!! LOL!
And...I thought you were supposed to be emotional when you're pregnant. Well...why am I still emotional?? I started crying when I read the card! I couldn't even read it to the secretary or other coworkers, I had to let them read it themselves, so I wouldn't cry again!!

It's a little blurry...but, you can still make out what it says!

3 month pictures!

Last night Luke's 3 month pictures came in!! I think they turned out very good. Although, I wish he would have been smiling more...but, every time she pulled that camera out he would stop!

And.....GUESS WHAT??? He slept through the night AGAIN!! 5 nights in a row! I think we're on a roll now!!! Have I told you how much I love this kid??? :-)

3 in a Row!!!

So...Luke has slept through the night the past 3 nights in a row!! I'm hoping tonight is the 4th! Of course, I still wake up a few times just to make sure he's breathing. It's a good thing he is still in the cradle in my room. I know...I know...it's time for him to go to his big bed. I just can't do it...yet! Maybe in another week or so! Hey, all I can say is at least he is not in bed WITH me!

***UPDATE*** He did it!! 4 nights in a row!!! He slept from 10:15-6:45am!!
Here are a few pictures of my growing boy from the past week or so....

Luke is loving his Kickin' Bobin' Gym.
He is now pulling on the toys and kicking the bear in the face!!

Look how big he is getting! And...he's sportin' the OU socks!
The cutest little baby face!!!
SPOILED ROTTEN....My "Harley" boy!

Blanket

I attempted to make Luke a little snuggle/taggie blanket. I found some cute material yesterday, of course...it's Monkeys!! I worked on it this morning while Luke was taking a nap. I think it turned out pretty good. I'm proud of it!!

Both sides of the blanket
Luke likes it!!!

Congrats Grandpa!

Grandpa raced his belt sander for the first "official" time yesterday. He won the stock division championship. And...he won Best of Show. Yes, it is a REDNECK thing...but, We are proud of him!!!

The beltsander....NOT too happy that he made a Florida Gators one.
Dad and David checking out all the beltsanders before the race!

3 Months Old!

Luke turns 3 months old today!! I can't believe how much he is growing. He amazes me every day! I don't remember life before him...and I don't want to remember it! He brings so much joy to me when I look at him. I'm truly blessed!!
Here is a picture of him with the sock monkey!

SuperBowl Weekend

This weekend Memaw and Grandpa came to town!! Luke loves his Memaw and Grandpa! They brought him a cool new monkey "Mongo". Mongo sings "If You're Happy and You Know It" and claps!! At first he wasn't too sure of it. Now, he tries to reach out for it and moves like crazy when it's singing! On Saturday, we went shopping....and....of course, Luke got some new clothes courtesy of Memaw and Grandpa. On Sunday, we took Luke for his 3 month pictures. He would laugh and smile, but as soon as the girl would put the camera up, he would stop! We did get some good pictures...and he even took a few with Mommy. Sunday evening we all watched the Super Bowl together. Today, Luke stayed home with Memaw instead of going to the babysitter. Oh....last night Luke slept the whole night through!! Mommy got up a few times to check on him, but he slept from 11:15-6:00. Let's pray he starts doing this every night!!! Here are a few pictures...

MeMaw and Luke with Mongo!

Luke playing with his football during the Super Bowl!!