Happy 3rd Birthday, Luke! (May 18)

It is so hard to believe that our Luke is already 3 years old. It is such a joy to be his parents and to enourage him as he grows up before our eyes. We are so blessed to have him as our son and are grateful to get to celebrate this day with him! Luke woke up on his 3rd Birthday to a breakfast of chocolate chip muffins and bacon. By looking at the photo below you can see that Luke wasn't the only one that enjoyed the muffins.

John David quickly decided that he liked muffins, too!

Luke loves Chuck E. Cheese so we decided to make the day special by eating and playing there.

They gave him a special crown to wear and a balloon.

His favorite game was the basketball throw. Luke can really shoot that ball!

We ended Luke's big day with birthday cake and presents.

Luke can already hit off the tee! We gave Luke his first 24 piece jigsaw puzzle. He loved it and is really pretty good at putting Elmo and his friends back together again.

Wiggling with Austin in Texas (May 15)

Luke giving Greg a Wiggles "high-five!"
On our way home to Kentucky, we stopped in Dallas to see Joann, Scott & Austin. We had noticed on the Wiggles website that they had a Wiggly Play Center in the USA and it is located in Frisco, TX which is just minutes from Plano. Joann & Scott had no idea that this place existed. Soon after arriving we noticed that it is a magnet for Moms and thier kids. Al & Scott were some of the few men there. We had a blast!
Austin--Two Years and One day old!

We missed Austin's birthday party by a few hours. However, we got to experience the Wiggly Play Center with him!!
Austin and Scott enjoying the big slide!


Luke riding along in the Big Red Car!

As you can imagine, Luke took driving the big red car very serious. We couldn't help but sing the song!

Daddy and Luke climb up high to the big slide.

John David hanging out in the Wiggles Toddler area dancing to the Wiggles!

Mommy was brave and climbed to the top of the playground to slide down the slide with Luke. It was a lot of fun!

Poor Joann, she was dying to climb up high and go down the slide. But she chose wisely to just take photos since she is expecting a baby in July!

Austin tuckered out and found a great place to lay his sleepy head.

On our way out of the Wiggly play center, we ran into Captain Feathersword. It is amazing how much older he looks on television!

Joann glowing at 7 months pregnant!

Isn't she beautiful!

Road Trip to Texas (May 12-16)

We had planned to have Luke's 3rd birthday party on Saturday, May 12. However, on Thursday afternoon, Luke began running a high fever which continued into Friday. At noon on Friday, we decided that it would be best to postpone Luke's party. So, Jen spent most of Friday afternoon letting everyone know that there would not be a party on Saturday. On Saturday morning, we found out that Al's Great-Aunt Jackie had passed away and the family had asked Al to conduct the funeral. By Saturday afternoon, all four of us were loaded in the van headed for Houston, Texas.

The boys were GREAT travelers!! Luke was a great big brother! He helped mommy pass out snacks to John David. And we are very grateful for our friends who let us borrow their portable DVD player. Al is still wanting to hug the neck of the person who created this wornderful invention. Not only did it keep the boys occupied but it also kept Jen awake while we traveled at night. Thankfully, the boys did not have any trouble taking their naps in the van!
Since Al & I had no idea where we were going exactly, we depended on our travel atlas, Google directions, and my parents' Tom Tom (GPS system). Let's just say that we had plenty of time to learn out to navigate our journey with the Tom Tom and in turn it proved to be VERY helpful.

Al spent time on the phone with his mom as they were few hundred miles ahead of us. She along with Tom and Grandma & Papa were also traveling to Houston.

Al with his Texas Cousins--Mark, Greg, Al & Kirk

Al & Gail

Al with his Mom, Jen

There were times when one of the boys would be sleeping while the other one would be awake. But that never lasted for too long. As I said, Luke & John David were GREAT travelers. Let's just say that Luke was leaning a little too far over on John David. :)

Titan Libby

Luke loves Libby.

Luke loves football.

Luke loves the Tennessee Titans Football team.
What do you give a boy with this kind of love??

Luke received early birthday presents from Uncle Pokie & Aunt JoJo. His favorite present was a Tennessee Titans football helmet for (stuffed) Libby. Pokie & Gator Andy vs. Luke & Titan Libby

I don't think we have to tell you who won. :)

Luke is so excited to have the helmet for Libby. In fact, placing the helmet on the bedpost each night has become part of his bedtime routine. And there isn't a morning that goes by that Libby doesn't have her helmet on and ready to go before Luke brings her downstairs for the day. Thank you, Uncle Pokie & Aunt Jo Jo!!!!

Luke the Builder

Can Luke build it?? Yes, he can!!!

(That is for all the moms out there who get to watch Bob the Builder with their two year old!)

Luke is ready to work! He's got his Home Depot apron with his name on it and his hammer in hand. He even has his Cubs hat on just like Uncle Pokie!! (Is this a little "Pokie" in uniform??)He is definitely ready for his first Home Depot construction project. Watch Luke swing that hammer!! Or should I say, "Watch OUT, Luke is swinging the hammer!! (Notice our very easy-going second child in the background!)
Uncle Pokie works at Home Depot and he recently gave us some wood construction projects for kids. Luke and Daddy had fun making the Herb Garden.

Luke is very proud of his completed project.

Fun with Family in Jackson (May 4-6)

Mamaw knows how to get John David to smile!!

Mamaw, Daddo and Joelen had fun introducing new foods to John David. Mamaw gave John David his first french fry; Joelen gave John David his first sip of lemondade; and Daddo gave him his first cracker. You might be wondering if John David liked it?? Well, obviously you don't know John David if you are asking that question. John David will try anything and eat everything!!

While Mamaw & Dadoo spoiled John David, the older boys had fun playing football in the back yard.
Luke hiking the ball to Bayley.

Watch Luke give Pokie the stiff arm!!

We also enjoyed going to see Bayley and Taylor play soccer and Taylor play baseball on Saturday. Luke loved watching his cousins play and we all had fun cheering for them!!

Taylor swinging the bat!

Bayley is the goalie for his team!

Meeting Rosa (May 4)

Recently, we drove down from Kentucky and Al's parents drove up from Mississippi to Al's sister's house in Jackson, TN. We had a great visit. One of the highlights of the trip was getting to meet Mamaw & Daddo's new pet chihuahua, Rosa. As you can tell by the expression on Luke's face, he was very happy to meet her. Luke was the first child that Rosa had ever met. (Rosa is only a few weeks old.) Thankfully, Luke liked Rosa and Rosa liked Luke. I think Luke was excited to have a real dog that he could actually pick-up and hold. Luke was crazy about Rosa and she quickly became his favorite "toy." After a lot of interaction, Mamaw told Luke that Rosa was tired and that she needed to take a nap in her bed. So, the next thing we saw was Luke sitting in Rosa's bed holding Rosa. We asked Luke what he was doing and he said he was helping Rosa go to sleep. It was a very cute moment. Of course, I was a little slow in getting my camera and the moment was over. This picture was taken after the dog decided that naptime was over.

When John David woke up from his nap, he got to meet Rosa. He had no fear and was very curious of Rosa. We found out that Rosa is great with kids and was very patient with the Chandler boys!!

Watch out, Rosa! You won't be the baby for long. Joelen & Pokie are expecting a baby in November. As you can see, Mamaw is very proud of her babies! Mamaw is holding a recent ultrasound picture of the new baby!

Bathtub Buddies (May 1)

Luke and John David love to take a bath together. In fact they both rush into the bathroom when they hear the bath water running!! I am so thankful that they are crazy about each other and that they love to take a bath!!! It makes my job so much easier!!

NFL Football Draft Weekend (April 28)

For those of you who have never participated in the NFL Football Draft Weekend at the Davis home in Tennessee, let me share with you what makes this weekend so significant. . . . . .

It all begins on Friday night when by 10:00 p.m. you must submit your draft picks (which NFL teams are going to pick which college football player and in what order, etc.). Yes, I thought about being the first girl to submit a draft sheet but I soon found out that it required more knowledge than what I had and more homework than what I was willing to do!! Oh, well.

Live coverage of the draft begins at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Of course, ESPN provides plenty of commentary before 11:oo a.m. This being my third draft year at the Davis home, I knew that it was very important to be in the living room prior to 11:00 a.m. since seats are limited. However there is usually always room on the floor for those arriving at 11:00 a.m.

*Note: Al arrived in the living room early and was able to secure a front chair seat. :)

(The above photo is courtesy of Luke's Photography.)

This year, Johnna gets the award for being the wife who appeared to know what was going on when the first draft pick was announced. Do you think Aaron coached her?

The best part about the draft for me is getting to see two of my three sisters (We missed you, Joann!!) Poor Julie. . . she battled a yucky cold all weekend. Jonathan was also able to obtain front row seating for the draft.
It was so fun to finally meet Benjamin. And he is just as cute in person as he is on Daniel & Christy's blog. And Hannah is an awesome big sister.

Oh, and I almost forgot, there is also a dress code when attending the Davis Draft---It is important to wear your Tennessee Titans attire. Andrew is already taking good care of Ashley. He made sure she had a jersey!!

Thank you, Aaron and Johnna for organizing the weekend. They always do a great job of organizing the menus and making sure that everyone is well fed!! Catherine makes a very cute Titans cheerleader!! She loves to smile and clap her hands!!The Chandler family always looks forward to this weekend and are grateful for being "adopted" into the Davis family for the weekend.
I had to include this precious photo of Ben. Isn't he cute!! He obviously knows who is holding him. All of the kids love Grammy & Poppy!!

Important Note: The guys watched the kids while the girls went shopping on Friday. Regretfully, we didn't have our cameras to take pictures of the girls on their shopping spree. Should "Girls Day Out" become a Friday--NFL draft tradition???

We, ladies, were very grateful for the chance to eat, shop, and spend time together. It was a nice break from our normal routine.
We definitely left the kids in good hands. :) Thank you, husbands!!