Circle G Ranch

Circle G Ranch

Today turned out to be a beautiful Saturday afternoon so we decided to take a drive out to Strawberry Plains for a fun adventure at Circle G Ranch.   Circle G Ranch is a drive though zoo with tons of wild animals and a petting zoo as well. We were a little unsure what to expect but excited none the less.   Once we got there, we could tell we were in for a fun day and lots of laughs!

 One of the first animals we were greeted by was this large Steer!  He was super friendly and kept trying to stick his head in our car.  He didn't quite understand that his horns were a little too big to fit through the window.

Next we came across the Zebras.  Although they are beautiful and really cool looking, I was a little nervous about if they were friendly or not.  Something about them just kinda freaked me out and I kept thinking they were going to bite us.  They were super aggressive in trying to get the feed and would come half way in the car to get it. They got so feisty that they were spitting on John which was actually pretty funny! Lucky for us they didn't bite but they definitely didn't give me the warm and fuzzies either! 

 See what I mean.....Look at those teeth!!

No Thanks!!

 The Cow was super friendly and kept sticking his wet long tongue in our window.  He was actually pretty cute and I didn't mind petting him.  Luke liked him too and kept reaching for his nose.

 There were also other cows, goat, and pot belly pigs.

 Next we came across the camels and oh my goodness did they stink!  You could smell the Poo on them from 20 feet away.  They were very interested in us but we were told not to hand feed them because the males can get very aggressive.

 Here is Luke checking out the Camels and driving the truck.  So safe,  I know! ha! You don't have to tell me!

 When we came across the water buffalo, they were wading calmly in the water.  Then John had the brilliant idea of trying to feed them.  Lets just say, as soon as we saw how big they actually were and how quickly they were coming towards us, we decided it was in our best interest to move on to the next set of animals.

 Lamas, Goats and Ostrich came next on the tour.  The Lamas were kind of skid-dish but the goats were super friendly.  The ostrich was very interested in us and followed our car around but was behind a fence because they are so aggressive.  Thank goodness they were contained because that bird was HUGE!! I am not fond of birds in general and this one was no different!

 The baby pigs on the property were ADORABLE!  I honestly thought about grabbing one and bringing it home.  It was the cutest little thing ever and if I didn't have such a big conscious, I would totally be sitting next to piggy right now writing this blog post!

Luke checking out the animals...

 Luke absolutely loved the petting zoo part because he could touch all their little noses! I cant wait to bring him back here in a few months once he knows all the animals and animal noises. 

 John hanging out with the old camel.  The owner of the Ranch was calling him the Grandpa Camel because he was so old.  He was actually super sweet and good at posing for pictures!

More of the petting zoo.

 Here was a 16 day old camel and two 5 day old deer.  They were so cute and hanging out together in the "newborn" stall.

 Family photo at Circle G Ranch.

 Luke snacking on his own "feed" after a long day of 

feeding wild animals!

Water Babies...

Every Wednesday a group of us girls head over to Jenny's in-law's house to swim, eat lunch and hang out at their amazing pool with the babies.  It is always a blast and now that the babies are super mobile, it is a work out!  Long gone are the days when they would sit in their float, take a nap or sit calmly on the layout pad and play.  Now that they are crawling and walking holding onto the side of the pool, it is 24/7 baby wrangling!  They are EVERYWHERE and it is hilarious!  Here are a few shots from this past Wednesday!  Luke's buddies with him are Caroline and Will! 

 

Hand Foot Mouth...Boo!!

Hand....Foot....Mouth....Boo!!

So I am pretty certain that Luke holds the record for the most doctors visits in a single calendar year!  Luke's first first few weeks of life started out pretty crazy with the jaundice, reflux and stomach issues so it only seems natural the the last week of his first year ends with 3 doctors visits as well!  Poor guy!  

We started off the string of doctors visits with a nasty cough/cold that needed antibiotics and a steroid shot then we came back for our One year Visit which was also full of shots and came back a few days later to discover we had Hand Foot Mouth Disease!  Awesome!

Here is a mugshot of his pitiful face while waiting for the doctor.  His actual case of HFM was so bizarre.   It started off with him waking up 2 times covered in vomit ( that was so fun let me assure you) and ended with him not wanting to eat anything! I mean anything! He would go a while day on one strawberry and 4 bites of yogurt.  Thank goodness for us, he didn't protest bottles like he normally does when he is sick and we were able to keep him hydrated. 

It is such a gross sickness and I am so glad its over and he doesn't look like he has Malaria anymore!  So embarrassing!  Hopefully this will be our first and last bout of HFM, but who knows!! 

12 month Update!

Wow!! I can not believe you are actually ONE YEAR OLD!!  This year has honestly been the hardest, best and most rewarding year of my life and its all because of you sweet boy!  The fact that you are no longer a baby just kills me!  You have grown by leaps and bounds these past few months and look more and more like a toddler everyday!

We had our 1 year check up at the doctor on (8-15-2012) and here are your stats:

Weight: 25 lbs 8 1/2 oz (85%)

Length: 30 7/8 inches (75%)

Head Circumference: 19 1/2 inches (>95%)

You have 6 teeth (4 up top and 2 on bottom) and hopefully a few more bottom ones on the way.  You go through phases with bottles and food.  Some days you like your bottle and some days you want nothing to do with it.  It normally goes in phases of a week.  You also are very opinionated about your food. Some days you love eating and others you will only eat a few bites at each meal.  When you do decide to eat, some of your favorites include: Ravioli, cheese toast, strawberries, melon, cantaloupe,  yogurt, puffs, hotdogs, chicken deli meat, mack and cheese, chick chick and Gobble Gobble (The last two are Happy baby foods).

You have been working on drinking water out of your sippy cup and prefer the cups with straws.  You honestly love a real to go cup with a straw because its so easy to drink out of.  You still get three 8 oz bottles a day (8am, 2pm, 8pm) to make sure you are getting enough food.  I know I am supposed to work on getting rid of the bottles at 12 months, but I am not sure if you or I am ready for that yet.  I think our first step will be getting you to take your midday milk out of a sippy cup instead of a bottle.  Currently, we are mixing your formula with whole milk to try and transition you to straight whole milk.

You love to play and are starting to pay a lot more attention to your toys. You love all your little people toys as well as your music play table.  You stand at it forever pushing all the buttons. For an early birthday present,  you got a riding pirate ship and it is your Favorite! You also LOVE being with other kids.  You are in absolute heaven whenever we are with your cousins or your little buddy Will.  Its so sweet watching you interact with other kids and watching your big cousins love on you. You love to stare at everything Hudson, Brody and Vivi do and love when they teach you new things.

You are in size 12-18 month & 18-24 month clothes.  Your tops are usually larger than your bottoms.  You are also still in size 4 diapers and probably will be for a bit longer. 

You are cruising around the table and couches like a wild man.  You aren't walking on your own yet but love to walk everywhere with your walker so I bet it wont be too much longer.  You are still a little nervous to stand up with out holding on to something so once you realize you are standing with out support, you get nervous and sit down.

You still are only really saying DaDa and Doggies no matter how hard I try and get you to say Mama or anything else for that matter.  You are quite stubborn and have shown me that you will do things on your time.  I also try and get you to wave bye bye and you will NEVER do it on command.  I catch you doing it randomly to the dogs but never to anyone who counts ha!

 You love bath time and could probably play in there all day.  We are working on staying seated and not standing up in the bath. 

In July we went down to Atlanta to celebrate your Papa's 60th birthday.  He loved having you there and enjoyed eating breakfast with you every morning.  You also had your first taste of scrambled eggs made especially by Papa for you!

You have developed quite the little personality and love being around people.  You favorite game is "tickle monster" and "chase" and you always keep coming back for more.  You are such a wonderful kid and we are so blessed and thankful for everything that you have added to our lives.  We love you so much Lukeypoo and are so happy that you are ours!

xoxo!

Mommy

Luke's First Birthday in Hilton Head

 For Luke's first birthday, we decided to skip the traditional birthday party and pack up the car and head down to the beach instead.  Luke loves playing outside so we figured that he would have no better birthday than one at Hilton Head where there is always a surplus of outdoor activities.   

 We packed up the car to the brim, turned on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and hit the road at 4:00pm on Tuesday.  After 6+ hours of Mickey on repeat, we finally made it to HHI and my ears could not be more thankful that I didn't have to hear one more minute of the Hot Dog Song. While Luke loves to dance to the Hot Dog Song, I think even he was over it by that point ha!

 The house had recently been remodeled and Luke loved breaking in the new hard woods with his walker.  He LOVED the openness of the house and was constantly zipping around the room. It made me really appreciate an open floor plan with children and know that will be on my wish list for our next home. 

Another thing Luke loved was crawling on the beach!  He loved how wide open the beaches are at Hilton Head and all the little tide pools that he could play in.  It was so fun watching him explore and take in all the new sights!

 He was an absolute water baby and fearless when it came to the ocean.  He would crawl straight into the ocean without even the slightest hesitation!  We joked that he was like a baby sea turtle heading home because every time we would take him up the beach away from the water, the second we put him down he was crawling right back towards it.  He also discovered that he loved the taste of sand this trip.  We were constantly washing his mouth out and wiping off his little hands.

On Luke's actual birthday, we decided to go to Lawton Stables in Sea Pines and hit up the petting zoo.  It was absolutely amazing and he loved all the animals. It was so clean and nice and somewhere that we will definitely go each time we visit HHI. 

 Luke was so fascinated with the animals and especially loved the horses.  I was kind of shocked that he liked them due to their size but it turned out to be one of his favorites.

 The billy goat made Luke a little nervous and he decided to just look at him instead of touch him! ha

 There was the sweetest deer there that followed your around the petting zoo.  It wore a collar and had the personality of a dog.  John actually said that it made him feel guilty about hunting because it was so sweet! Hopefully it will change his mind about hunting forever! Poor Bambi!

 Besides having the petting zoo,  Lawton Stables also had horse back riding .  Luke loved watching the "big kids" ride around the property on the mini horses.  It was too cute!

Later that day, we took a bike ride down to Harbor Town to play on the play ground.  Luke loved every thing about it.  From the bike ride to the swings, to the boat in the harbor, he was in love!

 Last but not least, it was cupcake time!  Luke was loving every minute of playing with his cupcake and managed to make a huge mess!  It was all over him and the floor but hey that's what first birthday's are all about......Having fun smashing cupcakes and licking frosting!

We had such a wonderful time celebrating our sweet baby boy and cant wait to do it again next year!  We love you so much Luke and thank God every day for the many blessings you brought to our family! Happy Birthday Bug!!

xoxo!