The Ludlows Lately...

Well we are basically trying to get back into the swing of Scott going to school, mommy working and now the kids start their Mother's Day Out program on Tuesday!! They are really excited! We had meet the teacher night last week and I have a feeling Leah is going to be the terror of her class. Most the 2 year olds were hanging by their parents, coloring or being held...not my Leah she is in the back taking down every toy, trying to socialize with the other kids, she is so funny!! What can I say, she gets the socializing thing from me, I have always been a talker :) After Scott and I discussing it, we decided to put Jackson in the 3 year old class even though he will be 4 in October. We just thought since he is not starting Kindergarten for 2 more years and he has never really gone to school, besides his stint last year for 3 months in the 2 year old class. We thought he could benefit from starting the preshool curriculum from the beginning. The teachers were great and assured us their are other kids with late birthdays like his, and his teacher taught elementary school prior to starting a family of her own. It is very structured, they learn to prepare for Kindergarten, unlike Leah's class which is just to teach them to follow instructions and to socialize with other kids :/ Anyway we are excited for the kids, sad for me. It will be weird to not have my little buddies at home with me 2 days a week, but it's only for a few hours. It makes me sad they are growing up so fast! I thought this was so cute, we had our suitcase still out from the trip and Leah decided to turn it into a bed all on her own. This is her "bed"

Pretending to sleep

Okay, so this probably looks really bad...but the kids love to play in the dog kennel with Max!!! I will come to the room where the kids are playing, and they will be sitting in the dog kennel watching tv! In some regards, it's nice because I know they are not getting in trouble, but I told Scott's mom I am going to get CPS called on me when a sales person comes to the door and sees the kids in the dog kennel! So this pic is from when Jackson didn't make his bed right, he got put in the kennel...not funny :/

This is a picture of Leah the first time she went on the potty, she was so excited!! I sat there for an hour with her...halfway through her favorite movie "Marley amd Me," one cup of milkies and two popsicles later she went Poo-Poos on the Potty!! So proud of my sweet girl!! (Sorry about the make-up under my eyes, I had just worked out)

Restaurant week comes once a year to DFW where you can try fine dining at a lower cost and the money goes to the Texas Food Bank to feed those in need. It is a fun thing to do if you are on a budget, but have a nice restaurant you want to try. This year we went to Silver Fox with Scott's sister Lisa and her husband Mark. It was delicious, and tons of food! Perfect night...handsome date, good company, great food-what more could you want!

Mark and Lisa...they are so cute

My sexy husband!

Scott had a family picnic day at drill a couple of weekends ago and they had their helicopters out so the families could see them, Jackson thought this was pretty cool...he is ALL boy

Scott was gone at a Bachelor Party for one of our good friends, so I took the kids to a Train Museum in downtown Dallas with NJ and Mel. They loved it!! It was pretty cool, I even enjoyed walking through the old trains. They had some of the cars set up like they were still working, the dining car had menus and table settings, it was fun!! Jackson blew my mind, he knew so much about trains, stuff that I didn't even know. We walked by one "train car" as he calls them, and he told me "oh mom this is the coal car, this is where they carry the coal" sure enough he was right! Then in this picture he had just pointed out the brakes to me and said, "Look at these brakes mom" The most impressive thing, we were getting onto a part of the train and he said, "this is the pullman car mom" I don't even know what a pullman car is, but sure enough there was a sign saying it was the pullman car!! He is so smart, I love my sweet boy. Today Scott and I went to Firehouse Subs with the kids to eat, and Jackson pointed out the clock to us and told us it was 1 o'clock, he was right and we have NEVER taught him to read a clock! Enough bragging, but he is so smart, I am so proud of him :)

This was a working train in the 1890's, it was huge in person!

After taking this one, we saw a sign that I asked for us not to climb on trains...oops!

So Much To Catch Up On....

So sorry it has taken me so long to update this thing!! We have been very busy!! Since the last post, Scott got home from his annual summer drill which was a week long...call me a baby, but a week without him was really hard!! The kids and I missed him so much!! I don't think we have spent more then a night apart since Leah was born! The kids and I did have fun together, though. Aunt Megan came in town and we went to the pool and had a Bachelorette Finale party!! Scott got home on Saturday morning at like 2am.

Grandma and Grandpa Ludlow had been out of town for like a month and hadn't seen the kids, so on saturday when Scott got home we went to their house in Colleyville and spent some much needed bonding time :) The kids absolutely love going to Grandma and Grandpa's house!! They have so many fun things for the kids to do...they have a golf cart to ride in (their neighborhood is a little bit country and they live on a cul-de-sac so they can go all around in that thing), they have a train track that runs right behind their house (Jackson's favorite), and they love the Wii!! Most of all they love spending time with their grandparents!!
Jackson, Leah and Grandma on their golfcart ride!! Good ole' Grandma

Leah got really dirty playing outside that day, so we gave her a bath in Grandma's tub but didn't bring pj's :) Here is Leah in one of Grandma's shirts all tied up...so cute!!

So, my good friend Ronda who I have known since 6th grade, was pregnant with her first baby and going to deliver at the hospital I work at. She was due August 11th and Scott and I were leaving for vacation on the 9th. Ronda had asked that I be her nurse when she was delivered, and of course I said yes :) The only catch was she had to deliver before we went out of town. I gave her some insider tips ;) What do you know on August 5th she went into labor!! I called work and asked if they needed extra help in night shift so I could come in and deliver her and it worked out!! Ronda did great and delivered a 6lbs 15oz baby girl named Brooklyn on August 6th!! So happy to be a part of that special moment, Love you Ronda!!

Pretty Baby Brooklyn!!

Look how pretty she looks after just having a baby!?!

Ronda and I after she delivered!!



Ok, so after all the excitement of Ronda delivering, we left for vacation on the 9th at like midnight, in hopes that the kiddos would sleep on the car ride to gulf shores. We rented a beach house with my sisters for 5 days RIGHT on the water. It was so much fun!! All we did was relax, let the kids play, eat and talk. The kids were AMAZING on the car ride. We brought a little portable dvd player and they watched movies and slept the entire way. It was about an 11hour drive and after stops we got to the house a little after noon. It was the PERFECT house!! The kids loved the sand and water, except when the salt water would get in their eyes:( There were quite a few jellyfish the first day and I think we all got our fair share of stings the first day...poor Scott got stung in the face!! After the first day they weren't so bad anymore. We went grocery shopping and cooked all of our food while we were there, except one meal, so it saved us ALOT of money. It was so perfect!!
Picture of the U.S.S. Alabama on the way to Gulf Shores...looked so much bigger in person

The view from our back porch...umm, gorgeous!!

Our house!

Daddy and Leah on the beach the first day...Leah loves her Daddy

Leah and Mommy! Love you, baby

Scott and I

My sand art!! Pretty good turtle, right?!? After taking this picture, Jackson jumped on it :) Boys will be boys

Little Leah on the shore

Kissing Daddy

Leah got jealous :)

Walking on the beach with my honey

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PIC OF THE KIDS FROM THE TRIP! They were doing this on their own, they just look so sweet and innocent. I love my babies!!

Jackson in the hold Aunt Nj helped him dig

Leah giving Mommy kisses...sweet girl

Leah and Aunt Megan

She looks so serious here

I don't want here to grow up anymore...she looks so big here :(

Our family on the beach

Ludlow Family

Leah playing "Flying Baby" with Daddy...love this pic, too

My handsome husband. I love you

Megan and I on a really late night, you can tell huh?

Megan and Jared, so sweet!

Leah eating doritos at almost midnight...hey it was there vacation, too!!

Jackson and Leah playing with the water at midnight :)

Jackson caught his first fish!!! He was so excited!!!

This was s'mores night...bad idea to do this AFTER bathtime

Jackson loving that marshmallowy, chocolately, gooey goodness :)

Scott, the kids and I stopped in New Orleans on the way home by oursleves to have some family time. We stopped at a train museum on the way there, because our boy is OBSESSED with trains!! He could hardly wait to get there!! This is him in front of the museum. That face is priceless!

This doesn't look near as impressive as it did in person, it is a $300,000 model train exhibit that was a replica of the 1960's...very cool in person

Jackson and Leah outside of the museum, saying "We love trains!"

Our hotel pool in New Orleans, like the kids didn't play in the water enough at the beach:)

Jackson giving Sissy kisses, such a sweet big brother

Leah and I sharing a sugary beignet at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans....such good food...I think I gained 5lbs in the day we were there!

St. Peter's Cathedral in New Orleans...so pretty

Trumpet player on the street playing "When the Saints go Marching" and the kids dancing with their Daddy

Waiting for the car to go home :(

It was such a fun trip, we were all sad to come home...We all got some much needed family time and got to really enjoy each other!! I love my family!! I hope we make many more memories like we did on this trip!