Juli & Co.

"I don't know but I've been told...
Luke is turning 5 years old!

And, you've been recruited to celebrate!

Report for laser tag and games promptly at 11:30am.

Dress for action!

Chow will be served!"

(the wording from Luke's party invite)

The Saturday before our big move to The Woodlands, we had Luke's 5th birthday party. He wanted an Army Guy/GI Joe/Tron party and this is what we ended up with...laser tag/gifts (Tron), plates/decor (GI Joe) and cake/attire (Army Guy).   And, yes, there is apparently a difference between Army Guy and GI Joe.  He also wanted "boys only" for the first time but did make special exceptions for Sissy, KK, his mommy, and, of course, his sweet Grandma and Nana and his two Aunts. But other than that, it was to be strictly "boys only, no girls allowed". He had a great time (note the sweat dripping from his head) with all his buddies and it was a nice way to say goodbye to his friends before the move.

This morning was Luke's first baseball game with the A's.   And by this morning, I mean 7:45am.  Ummm, yeah.

But, despite the fact that we had to wake up before the chickens, it was so much fun!  Luke did a great job and hung right in there with all the boys.  He is about 1-2 years younger than most of the kids playing in this division so I was a little worried about how he would do.  But, he did awesome and I am so proud of him.  This is the first season that they are counting out's so it's a lot more fun to watch and, not so surprisingly, I got really into it.  At one point I was standing on the bleachers (yes, pregnant belly and all) yelling out to Luke.  I turned to Nick and said, "uh-oh, I'm one of those moms, aren't I?"  Indeed, I am.  I'm going to try to tone it down the next game.  I still need friends.

Luke had a chance to play pitcher toward the end of the game and he caught a ground ball and was able to throw it to first to get the runner out!  I was beaming with pride.  Haha.  He also "took one for the team" by stopping a ball in the air with his body...ahem, groin.  I could tell it stung because from the look on his face he couldn't decide whether to cry or not, but thankfully, he sucked it up, smiled and gave us the old thumbs up.  Later, after the game, I heard him talking to Sissy and he said, "hey, Sis, did you see how that ball flew right at my pee-pee!"  I think we will be investing in a cup sooner rather than later.

This game was also extra special because my little sister, Laurin, and nephew, Avery, were in town to cheer Luke on.  I know it made his day to have his own little cheering section.

Here are a few pictures from the game...

So we are here...settling in...I just unpacked the last box from inside the house...bulk trash pick-up is this morning. Pictures still need to be hung on the walls and I need to buy a few things to cozy up the place...but overall, I'm feeling settled...and, a little sad. Our street is quiet, no little kids, no stay at home moms...a huge change from our last neighborhood where everybody knows everybody and we're all up in everyone else's business all the time. :) Kind of makes me want to bust out in song...

"Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name."

I am looking forward to a few play dates next week with the local moms group and even a Mom's Night Out. I hope, hope, hope I meet some nice mommies to be friends with. The kids keep asking me "where's all the kids mom?" And, quite honestly, I don't know. We go to the park almost every day and despite the beautiful weather we've been having, we are usually the only people there.

With all of that said, I am having such a great time with the kids. Just being able to focus 100% of my attention on them, no distractions, just us, has been so much fun. I feel like I'm really able to just soak up all their cuteness and really connect with them.

Luke has his first baseball game on Saturday, and my little sister and Avery are coming to visit on Friday (so excited!).

Speaking of baseball...it's hard core here. I'll post more details about it later, but it's so organized and everyone seems so serious about it. We're talking 3 practices a week, people! This is t-ball, right?

We are in full on pack mode around here. I have managed to get my entire kitchen packed away and it only took me 4 days...sigh. I hope the rest of the packing goes a bit quicker, otherwise, I will still be packing when when new owners arrive on Wednesday. :) Packing is just so not fun! I wish the packing fairy would show up soon.

In other news, today is Luke's Valentine's party at school today. He gets so excited when Sissy and I come to school for his parties and I cannot wait to show up and see his little face light up. He loves showing off his Sissy to all his friends and his teachers and he loves to take me by the hand and show me all the centers and everything around the classroom. Such a sweet, sweet boy. We are going to miss his school terribly!

Speaking of Sissy, she seems to really be enjoying her morning at home by herself. She keeps running past me laughing about something and will just peek around the corner and smile at me. I think she likes having all the toys to herself. Oops, maybe not...I think I smell what she's been working on!

So we run up to Target last night to grab some milk and a few other items before it snowed (again) and out of the blue Luke says, "Mom, I want to live in Africa". I say "okay, that would be fun" and go to grab the milk. He then says it louder. "No Mom, I want to be an African boy!" I shush him a little and say "okay...that's great..." We happened to be standing right next to a black woman. As I am hurrying to get out of the dairy aisle, he then explains "the TV said that every boy in African will get a laptop...and I want a laptop!"