Day Out with Thomas

So Luke's adventure continued Saturday morning with a ride on Thomas the Train (the true purpose of our trip).  In addition to the much anticipated ride on Thomas, there were other activities to keep the little ones entertained: the train museum, playing at the train tables, and meeting Sir Topham Hatt.  Once Luke saw Thomas, he hopped and skipped with excitement.  It was also a treat to have the conductor take his ticket as we boarded for the 25 minutes trip.  And of course he was the cutest engineer there!

Chattanooga Zoo

Last weekend we took Luke on an adventure.  We drove to Chattanooga Friday morning and our first stop was a visit to the zoo.  It's a small zoo and was practically deserted, both of which were really good for a 2 year old.  He enjoyed running from exhibit to exhibit (had to stretch those legs after the car ride) and pointing out the animals he recognized.  We thought Luke should have his first carousel ride here - he liked it until the music and motion started!   Since we wanted it to be a special weekend for Luke, we ate authentic Mexican for dinner after he requested a quesadilla.  I thought it would be fun for Luke's first movie theater experience to be an IMAX film, so we ended our night at the movies.  We saw Born To Be Wild 3D, about orphaned orangutans and elephants and the people who rescue and raise them.  However, Luke decided he was too cool for the glasses!

Mother's Day

Damien cooked a fantastic Mother's Day Eve dinner:

Mushroom and mozzarella stuffed chicken breasts, Israeli couscous, mushrooms, and sugarsnap peas. 

Then, Sunday, we started Mother's Day at church, had a photo shoot with Damien, then spent some time at the pool.

I'm so lucky to be mommy to this sweet, handsome boy!

Gymnastics Recital

Luke has taken Mommy and Me gymnastics for a year.  He has made a lot of progress this last session and Saturday was his first recital and an opportunity to show off his skills.

Doing a backwards flip

The bear crawl (Luke's current favorite)

Somersault!

I did it!

Mowing the Lawn

Luke really wanted to help Damien mow the lawn.  So he got out his cowboy had (just like daddy) and got out his mower (just like daddy) and went to work in the front yard. 

Easter

 Luke coloring eggs for the first time:

Luke literally dropped the egg into the dye from this height.  It was a miracle he wasn't covered in colors. 

Counting and pointing to his favorites. 

Luke was excited about his Yoda Easter Egg because it matched his Star Wars apron (both of which were given to him by his Zia). 

A few pictures from the Easter egg hunt this year:

Caleb and Luke hug the Easter Bunny

Trying to get lots of eggs!

Look at Luke's haul!!

Luke explains that he doesn't have room for any more eggs.

Damien shows Luke the candy surprise in the egg.

Sweet Luke

The whole fam had fun!

They also jumpees and slides for the kids.  Luke got brave and went up the slide a couple times. 

After Easter Service (it was Saturday night, so casual):

The Easter Bunny Came!