Tour of Louisiana (via Dallas TX)

We recently completed a ten-day vacation to Louisiana (starting in Dallas, TX) which was very busy, but very fun.  As usual, we came home with lots of memories, photos and videos. It had been five years since our last visit to LA so we were excited for another visit. What made this trip most memorable was that it was the first vacation with Luke!



Starting our vacation in Dallas - Day 1



We started the vacation by flying into Dallas, TX to visit some of Angela's college friends.  Less than 24 hours later we were making the three-hour trip to Bossier, LA where Grandma (Angela's mother) lives. 

Dallas friends love Baby Luke!

Luke is loved - and held - by many along the way

Maddie meets new friends in Dallas

Grandma rolled out the red carpet for our visit and arranged an itinerary full of fun and interesting activities.  Highlights of the visit included a private boat tour of the Red River (Maddie helped drive the boat!), a day at the children's science museum in Shreveport, and visiting Angela's undergraduate college for a walk down memory lane (literally).

Maddie rides demonstration exhibit at the Science Museum in Shreveport

Maddie and Dad make paper airplanes at the Science Museum

Luke and Mom enjoying the Science Museum

Maddie leaves her head on a table at the Science Museum... she later came back to pick it up!

Maddie enjoys a tire swing on Centenary campus in Shreveport

Relaxing at Angela's old campus

Captain Maddie navigates the tour boat down the Red River in Shreveport

Luke and Dad waiting for the river cruise to pull away from the dock

Luke is so excited for the cruise... he can't control his drool!

Luke's excitement soon wears off as he sleeps during the river tour while Dad provides a comfy hold

After a three-day visit with Grandma, we drove south to the Lafayette, LA area.  Along the way we stopped at "Gators and Friends" animal park to see some alligators (of course) and other exotic animals.  This stop provided the funniest moment of the entire vacation when a llama spit in Angela's face.  Hilarious... but not for Angela as it was happening.  She laughs about it now and you can too (see the video clip).

 

Maddie feeds some goats

Grandma can't get enough of Baby Luke

Bubble mouth looks directly into the camera

We stayed in the Lafayette area for one day and two nights.  There was a large family gathering in our honor that gave everyone a chance to visit with us and meet baby Luke (he was really the star of the party).

Maddie meets a second cousin in Lafayette

Maddie views the mighty Mississippi River in New Orleans

Our last four days were spent in New Orleans where we stayed on the 19th floor of the Westin hotel overlooking the Mississippi River.  Activities included a swamp tour and visits to the zoo, aquarium and insectarium (where Maddie touched a Madagascar hissing cockroach and Tom ate cricket cookies).  

A frightening giant ant in the underground exhibit at the Insectarium



Fearless (and not easily grossed out): Maddie touches a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

A long day at the Insectarium puts Luke to sleep

Posing by fountain at Audubon Zoo (New Orleans)

Maddie meets her cousin Taylor at the Audubon Zoo

Maddie and Taylor discover they both like playing in the water

Angela with family - taking a break to feed Luke at the zoo

Horsing around at the sea horse exhibit - Audubon Aquarium New Orleans

A seal and starfish that look just like Angela and Maddie

Tasty family poses with giant shark jaws

Maddie holds baby alligator "Elvis" during the swamp tour

One of many alligators we saw during the swamp tour - is this Elvis' mother?

We spent a little time to taking in the New Orleans culture with a visit to Cafe du Monde for beignets and a walk around Jackson Square.  We also visited with more family and another of Angela's friends who lives in New Orleans.

 

In front of Jackson Square in the French Quarter (Luke was snoozing in stroller)

Maddie relaxes with Luke in the hotel before we start a busy day

Last morning in the hotel room before checking out.. we had fun!

As you can tell, we packed a lot into this trip. Maddie was her typical self - easy going, flexible, full of wonder and joy and easy to travel with.  We didn't know what to expect from Luke, but he did very well overall and exceeded our expectations despite the fact that we didn't maintain a very "baby friendly" schedule (naps and down time were not very common).  Not to mention sleeping in four different locations during the ten-day trip can be difficult for anyone - baby or adult.  Everywhere we went Luke charmed people.  In fact, one day two different strangers commented that he was a "perfect little baby" (we couldn't agree more!).  Luke even did well on our return trip when we encountered air travel delays, lost pacifiers (oh my) and a very late arrival home.  We survived traveling with a 3 1/2 month old so we figure we can survive anything!  Up next... Luke's first camping trip... stay tuned!

Baby Luke Turns 2 Months Old

Wow... has it been two months already?!  Actually it's been 9+ weeks since Luke was born and as you can imagine the changes from week-to-week are significant.  Obviously he has been eating well as can be seen by his growing body (and cute chunky little cheeks!).  Most of his 0-3 clothes are already too small - or very tight.  The pediatrician says that most babies double their birth weight in 4-6 months... Luke has nearly done it already (see Fun Luke Facts at the bottom of this post).

Luke enjoying  his "bouncy" chair with vibrations, lights, sounds and dangling toys

The second month has included new milestones and a greater awareness of the world around him.  Luke now follows objects/sounds with his eyes and turns his head to observe things that catch his attention.  He has more interest in toys and stimuli that are nearby.  He has also started to give "social" smiles that are in response to something he sees or hears (not just from gas as happened a few times in the first month!).  We've also heard a few laughs from the little guy but we're not always sure what's so funny.

A favorite early evening activity for Luke and Mom - snoozing in loving arms

Big sister Maddie continues to thrive in and enjoy her new big sister role (hierarchy) in the family.  She's learning lots about babies and frequently wonders: "Did I do that when I was a baby?".  She particularly enjoys Luke's bath time... and no longer is worried about "what if he pees in the water?".

Maddie delays her own bath by making sure Baby Luke is squeaky clean!

Each month we're reading about baby's developmental milestones so Maddie understands how Luke is growing and why Luke (and all babies) do certain "baby things".  There is definitely a special connection between Maddie and Luke that is quite different from the parental bond Luke shares with Tom and Angela. 

Luke "relaxes" with Maddie as she plays a video game before the Home Depot kid's workshop

Maybe it's the tone or pitch of Maddie's voice, maybe it's because Maddie is "little" too, or maybe Luke just knows (feels) that Maddie is destined to become his first, and best, lifelong friend!  Maddie can almost always quiet a fussy moment by just soothing Luke with words (Dad runs for the pacifier!) and Luke saves his biggest and best smiles for Maddie.  As parents, witnessing this interaction is so rewarding and never ceases to stir emotions in Angela and Tom.

Luke enjoying the musical flashing star on his activity mat

Luke showing Dad the musical flashing star - "isn't it cool, Dad?"

Fun Luke facts at 2 months old...
Favorite food: Formula (5 oz per feeding - sometimes more!)
Favorite pastimes: Eating, Stroller walks, Laying on Activity Mat
Least favorite activities: Diaper changes, Putting on PJs, Tummy Time
Favorite Book: Five Little Ladybugs
Longest continuous sleep: 7 hours
Weight: 13 lbs, 15.5 ounces

Labor Day Weekend

A busy fun filled Labor Day weekend is in the books.  Lots of progress was made in completing the last few big things to get Luke's new room finished and to move the toy room into the new toy/guest room.  Final touches are still needed in both rooms, but the bulk of the work is done.  Phew!

Between all the errands and work, we still made time to have some fun.  Friday night we went to see the movie Nanny McPhee Returns.  Movies are a little bit challenging with Luke, but overall he does very well and Tom and Angela are able to share "break times" so nobody gets stuck in the lobby for the whole movie.  After the movie we grabbed a bite to eat for dinner and a trip to the ice cream shop for dessert.

Maddie investigates a star fish at the aquarium touch tank

A shark and other fish in an aquarium exhibit

On Sunday afternoon we visited the Sea Life Aquarium (using tickets that Grandma left for us when she visited in July - thanks Grandma!).  Of course, Maddie was completely excited to brush up on her marine biology knowledge and to see all of the sea creatures.  For Luke, it was his first trip to an aquarium and we're not quite sure if he liked it or not (to be fair, he spent most of his time snoozing in the stroller).

Maddie enjoys a big view of a big tank

Angela and Maddie experience sea life all around as they view the aquarium from a bubble window

Maddie, Luke and Angela pose near the aquarium playground

After the aquarium we ate dinner at the RainForest Cafe.  Our table was near some rowdy gorillas and some raining clouds.  More than a few times a noisy herd of elephants "disturbed" our meal.  There was lots of neat "wildlife" all around the restaurant so there was lots to see while we waited to eat.  The food was tasty too... Maddie ate Python Pasta and Tom and Angela ate some overpriced cheeseburgers.  Luke snoozed and woke up mid-meal to have a bottle (none of the wildlife seemed to bother him at all).

Dad, Luke and Maddie waiting with a tree frog to be seated for dinner

It was a busy weekend but a fun weekend... tomorrow it's back to school, work, and the regular schedule for everyone!

Proud Parents

Maddie completed her 5th week of kindergarten last week, marking the half-way point of the first quarter.  Progress Reports were sent home today evaluating the students' progress in academic subjects and behaviors that promote learning.  We're proud parents!

Maddie's Mid-Quarter Progress Report (click to view larger image)

Letter grades are not given to kindergarten students.  Instead, academic standards are categorized as:

• "Meets Standards" meaning student would grade between 80%-100%
• "Progressing" meaning student would grade between 70%-79%
• "Area of concern" meaning student would grade at 69% or less

More than the academic achievements, we're especially proud of Maddie's exemplary behaviors and the teacher comments.

The impact of five weeks of kindergarten has been noticeable.  Maddie's reading skills and confidence have increased significantly.  Her writing has improved so that letters are more consistently sized and aligned with spaces between words and she has a greater "endurance" to sit and read or write for longer periods of time.  When she writes, more words are spelled correctly, and even misspelled words are close enough to be deciphered.  New mathematical and scientific concepts are being explored, grasped, and applied (how many of you know what a Venn diagram is... ask Maddie!).

Best of all, Maddie is enjoying kindergarten and has expressed that it's mostly fun.  We hope that she keeps having fun and the learning will take care of itself.

Baby Luke Turns 1 Month Old

It's hard to believe that Luke is already one month old!  (Have we been waking in the middle of the night for 30 nights already?).  It seems like just yesterday that we were driving to meet him.  Every day we're reminded how blessed we are.  Luke has already brought so much joy and happiness to our lives.

Luke in the hospital

Maddie is embracing the role of big sister and enjoys "helping" with Luke's needs - changing diapers, shaking bottles of formula, and finding lost pacifiers.  She even helped Dad put together the baby swing and crib.  She's also very affectionate toward her new little brother - giving him lots of kisses on his head.  She's anxious for the day when they can play together in the toy room.

Maddie doing what Luke likes best - feeding him!

Mom and Dad are now fully back in "baby mode" and we've relearned everything that we forgot from 5 1/2 years ago.  For the most part caring for newborn Luke seems to be easier than it was caring for newborn Maddie.  However, changing baby boy diapers is a little more challenging than changing baby girl diapers - boys squirt!

Luke concentrates on his target... ready, aim, fire!

Only one week after settling into his new home Luke met "Grandma" (Angela's mother) when she visited for a week.  Of course he instantly charmed her and she fell in love.  We have a trip planned to visit Grandma in Lousiana in the fall - Luke's first airplane ride.

Grandma + Baby = Smiles

Fun Luke facts at 1 month old...
Favorite food: Formula
Favorite pastime: Eating
Least favorite activity: Diaper changes
Longest continuous sleep: 5 hours
Weight: 10 lbs, 9 ounces

Maddie starts kindergarten!

Last week Maddie started kindergarten!  The eagerly anticipated day was Monday, July 26th.  Tom took the day off from work to participate in this momentous day.  Together with Angela and baby Luke, Tom drove the "mom bus" to school, and after wiping Angela's tears and wishing Maddie luck, we left our big girl at school.

Maddie and teacher pose for playground photo before school

Maddie arrives eager to start her first day!

Maddie and a new friend compare first-day fashion

Maddie survived (and even enjoyed) her first week... it's a success!  Every day was a new experience and the dinner table was abuzz with stories of the day's activities.  Maddie's favorite things about kindergarten after one week: making new friends and PE!