Christmas Eve. . . In June

Tomorrow is a huge day for Blythe and I!!  I know for myself, I am so excited that it feels like I'm eight years old and it is Christmas Eve.  As today has gone by, I have found myself getting more and more excited to the point that I can't even imagine laying down and trying to go to sleep.  (It is 11:40pm right now, and I just got off work about at 11pm tonight)  Our lives won't necessarily "change" tomorrow, but the way we picture our future will be much clearer after tomorrow.  After about 3:30pm to be more exact!

The reason tomorrow (Thursday) is such a big day, as many of you probably know, is because Blythe and I are going to the doctor to find out if our second baby will be a little boy or a little girl!  We are both extremely excited to get a better idea of what the rest of our lives will be like!

For the past several weeks, everybody has been asking me which I would prefer, a boy or a girl.  That's a tough one for me.  Blythe has said that she would really like to have a girl, so I want her to have that.  My mother said today that she would love to have a girl.  From what I can tell, most of Blythe's family wants a girl!  So, for everyone else's sake, I'd like to have a girl.  I'd love to have a girl that I can watch grow up and take care of.  I'd love to walk a daughter down the wedding isle.  I'd love to do all the daddy/daughter dances.  I'd love to see a girl become the woman that her mother is.

On the other hand, I come from a family of boys.  I have two older brothers and no sisters.  So, watching two more Kirkwood boys grow up would be a lot of fun.  Carter has just been so much fun for this first two years of his life, and he has probably spoiled us.  Thankfully, he has been healthy, he has not had trouble sleeping through the night, he hasn't had any trouble playing with other kids, and he is just such a great kid that makes life so much better!  With two boys, I'd look forward to a lot more baseball and football in the backyard, significantly more interesting wrestling matches in the living room, teaching them all the silly little games that my dad taught my brothers and I, and of course the possibility of coaching a little league team with both boys in the dugout with me!  I'll never forget the game that I played my freshmen year of high school where my dad was my coach, my brother, Danny, was on the opposing team, and my oldest brother, Toby, was one of the umpires in the game!   That was a great time, and I could only imagine how great it would be to have Carter and his little brother on a field with me.   

By the way, we really don't have any solid names picked out like we did last time.   When we went to the doctor to find out about our first baby being a boy or a girl, we had names already picked out either way.  This time, I can't say that at all!   So, tomorrow also may represent the start of 19 weeks of debating baby names!!

So, that's what tomorrow will be for the Kirkwoods!  I'm sure it will be tough to sleep tonight wondering what tomorrow will be like.  I will certainly have something to write about tomorrow, that's for sure.  Blythe's mother will be coming to the doctor's office with us to take pictures of the day, so I will try to post those here tomorrow too.

I hope you'll read!!   Be thinking about us, and praying for a healthy baby around 3:30 tomorrow.

Peace Out,
Luke

First Pictures of Summer 2012!!

Well, chasing Carter around the house for the first three days of summer has really kept me on my toes and always moving!!  We've had a ton of fun, and I've gotten a couple of fun pictures. I don't have much to write about today, so I thought I'd just post a couple of pictures so that I can give you all an idea of what's been going on around here. I know it has been a while since some of you have seen the little boy, so I also wanted to show you how big he is, and how much fun we've been having.  Enjoy!!

A couple of weeks ago, Carter and I were coming home after I'd picked him up from daycare and it was EXTREMELY hot outside.  I kept thinking how bad I wish we could've just gone and jumped in a pool.  As we were walking to the front door, I saw our sprinkler sitting in the front yard, so I decided that I would turn it on and see if I could convince the little boy to run through the water.  He didn't need much convincing.  He loved it!!!  Now, it is hard for us to make it through a day without him bringing us his water shoes (which have Elmo on them) and saying "Water?"   Of course this means that it is time to take him outside, turn on the sprinkler, and just let him run wild through the water in the front yard!  So much fun for all of us!

I have to admit, these first two pictures were actually taken about two or three weeks ago when Carter was still just getting used to the water.  Notice how is sort of staying back from the water in this picture. . . That doesn't happen anymore!

This picture was taken today.  I had just gotten him dressed to go and take lunch to his mommy and thought this was a cute picture opportunity. It looks like I was going all "fancy" and combing his hair and everything.  Actually, I had just finished washed dried Fruit Loops and Pop Tart crumbs out of his hair after breakfast!!  I think this picture is kind of funny because he looks like he's standing beside the coffee table.  But, notice his toes to the left.  He's really almost reclining between the couch and the coffee table like a hammock.

I also took this picture today, just kind of playing with the camera on my phone.  I found a new effect that focuses more on the center of the picture and gets fuzzy as you go closer to the edges.  Kind of cool.  Again, I wasn't really trying to comb his hair, so don't judge!!  :)

 

This picture was also taken a few weeks ago (notice the overgrown trees in the background), but I wanted to give you and idea of another way we pass quite a bit of time through our day.  He loves to swing his baseball bat.  I can't really say that he loves to play tee-ball, because really, he swings the bat at ANYTHING!!!  He's like a real life Bam Bam from the Flinstones!  He does have a pretty good left-handed swing though!!  

Well, there are a few pictures to help give you and idea of what the Kirkwood house is like these days while it's just Carter and his daddy at home.  We're having a lot of fun, but we both wish that his mommy could be here with us!

Peace Out,

Luke

 

New Year's Eve at the Park

   
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     On Saturday, Blythe and I took full advantage of our final holiday of our 2011 Christmas Break.  The weather was amazing, so we took our little boy to a local park.  I don't consider myself to be a great photographer, especially since I insist on using the camera on my phone as opposed to buying a legit camera.   However, regardless of the camera I was using, I still caught some pretty priceless pictures of my little boy, and my lovely wife.  Here are some of my favorites with some very brief descriptions of what I caught.  I hope you like what you see!!

     Momma Blythe getting Carter used to the slide.  Eventually, Carter was going down the slide by himself with a big ol' smile!!

     Enjoying the swing.  Carter is far to little right now to be on the swing by himself, but with mom's help, we got a couple of smiles from him.

      Just a random boy with a dog that Carter HAD to check out!!  We were on the other side of the playground, but once Carter caught a glimpse of the dog, that was all he wanted.   He kept yelling "Bobby" and running that direction every chance that he got.   "Bobby" is the name of my parents yellow lab, but Carter has gotten to where he calls every four-legged animal "Bobby."  Kind of cute.  

     Not that there could ever be any doubt, but this picture is final proof that he is his mother's son!  He's got his tongue going to town, which means he is really focused on what he is doing. . . Just like his mommy!

     The fun part of the afternoon was to chase down this big red ball.  When we got it, we would throw it or kick it in any random direction and then when we caught up to the ball, we'd do it again.  This was great for Carter, because the wind would just take this ball all over the soccer field which gave him the chance to just run all over the place trying to catch it.

     Just caught him looking at the camera for a second.  He kept running up and down this little walkway behind him.  He likes to walk or climb up and down things, and once he figures it out, he likes to do it over and over again!

     

     I don't know what he was looking at, but I thought this was kind of a neat picture.

     We were all walking together, and I just held the camera down by my waist, pointed it in his general direction, and this is what I caught.  I like this one a lot.

     Sorry for the poor quality, but this is Carter running up and down that little walkway.  I love this because at the last second, you hear him say "Go!" right as he rounds the corner.  As he kept running back and forth, he kept saying "Go!" and then running.  So, I think he's ALMOST grasped the concept of what that word means.  ;)

     Well, that was our fun day at the park on New Year's Eve.  I truly hope that all of my New Year's Eves can be filled with this much fun and happiness!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!   

Peace Out,

Luke

Where Has the Summer Gone?!

August has come FAR too quickly!! It's already the first week of August and I'm starting to get ready for another school year!  Let me give you a quick run down of the important things that have happened this summer, and the important things that will be coming up. I am very sorry if this post is a bit disorganized, but I feel like I have SO many great things to tell you all about!

Smokey Joe's Cafe

My summer nights were completely consumed with rehearsals and performances of one of my favorite shows.  Blythe and I were given the opportunity to do the musical, Smokey Joe's Cafe at Texas Repertory Theatre.  The show went very well, and we got some great reviews!  Not that there are too many bad reviews given to Houston shows, but its always nice to get some good publicity out about what we are doing.  We really had a great time doing this show, and I was lucky to have one of the best bands that I've ever put together playing with me.  I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to play this show again, and finally music direct it on my own!  Plus, the "Shimmy Girl" was SMOKIN' HOT!!!

TUTS Summer Camp

The summer "day job."  For the third summer in a row, I was asked to play the piano and be the music teacher for the TUTS music theatre summer camp.  It is a lot of fun, but I certainly would've loved a little bit more sleep this summer than I ended up getting.  Each week we've done a different short musical with a mostly different group of kids.  Having taught this last year in public school, I feel like I've gotten much better at this job than I was for either of the last two summers.  My public school job has made a HUGE difference in how this summer has gone for me.  Managing 35 kids at a music theatre camp is SO much easier than managing 60 choir kids! 

Vote!

For the second year in a row, my time playing for the TUTS summer camp has led to me playing for the TUTS teenager musical that will perform in Zilka Hall at the Hobby Center.  Last year, we did a rockin' production of The Who's Tommy, which has always been one of my favorite scores, and this year we are doing a brand new musical called Vote!. This production will actually be the premiere of this show which was written by a Houston native who went to the same high school that I did.   Kind of cool!!  For this year, I actually got a little bit of a promotion to being the Assistant Music Director.  Last year, I mainly just served as the rehearsal pianist, although I did teach a little bit of the music.  So, although my responsibilities haven't changed much for this year, it is nice to be able to put a new assistant music director credit on my resume.  This is one of those rare shows that I am SO happy to be the assistant music director because I am the assistsant to one of the most talented men I've ever met!  His name is Dr. John Cornelius, and he is the interim head of the music department at Prairie View A&M.  I love working with him, because I feel like I finally get to sit and watch someone music direct a show who knows what they are doing!!


This is the first promo video that is going out from TUTS to get some buzz going for this show.  Sounds pretty good for only two rehearsals!!!

The 2011-12 School Year

Things will be very different for Blythe and I both for this coming school year.  We'll both be at different schools, and Blythe will be teaching an entirely different age group!  Let me explain:

Last year, I was working at Goodson Middle School in the Cy-Fair School District.  Things went very well there, and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Casey Okabayashi, the head choir director, for the one year.  Well, with so much construction of new homes in the district, there has been a new junior high added which forced several of the other schools to rezone their borders.  This took a huge number of the students from Goodson.  But, the district has taken care of me and simply moved me to another middle school not too far from where I was last year.  Next year, I will be working as the assistant choir director at Smith Middle School, working with Megan Weinel.  I am very much looking forward to getting to work with another director who definately knows what she is doing, and getting to meet a whole new group of kids.  Also, even though I only had one year at Goodson, I think I'm excited about having the opportunity to 'start over' with a new slate.  There were some rough times last year that I don't think I handled in the best way because of my inexperience with teaching in a public school.  It is nice to know that none of my new students will have any idea about those things, and this year I will know how better to handle the same situations if they do come up.

Now, for the REAL exciting news about next year. . . Blythe has gotten away from Bailey Middle School, and was offered the head theatre director job at Spring High School!!!!!  This is HUGE!  This position at Spring HS is the job that she always talked about every time we talked about getting teaching jobs, and for her to get the job in only her second year of teaching is such a blessing!!  There were a few roadblocks that some people tried to put up to keep Blythe from getting this job, but as of yesterday, all those roadblocks are gone, and she has made it back to her old stompin' grounds as the new head theatre director!  After all the crappy jobs Blythe has had, this promotion is VERY WELL DESERVED!!!

Upcoming Shows

My personal 2011-12 "Season" is booked!!  I have been lucky enough over the last few weeks to be able to book my music directing calendar all the way through next August!!!  Between TUTS, Texas Repertory Theatre, and a brand new company called Aeon Theatrix, I haved successfully booked an entire year of shows.  I will list these shows on my Upcoming Performances page, and I hope that you will all make arrangements to come out and see some of them.  I do realize how lucky I am to be able to book these jobs so far in advance, and I am so very thankful for the opportunities that the people in charge of these theatres continue to give me by trusting their musicals to me. 

A Birthday Blog Coming Soon

I know that it has been a while since my last blog, but my next one will be coming very soon.  My little boy, Carter, will be one year old next week and I'm trying to put together a blog to try to sum up my first year with him.   It has been such an amazing year that I don't really think my words will be able to adequately describe, but I have to try.  He is my little hero, and I just want to share some stories with you, re-share some of my favorite pictures, and tell you about his Mickey-Mouse-themed birthday party which will happen this Saturday!  I hope you'll read it!

Peace Out,
Luke

Mother's Day 2011

So, I know this may come as a HUGE surprise to some of you, but I am, and always have been, a big ol' momma's boy, and a huge sap when it comes to Mother's Day.   Since going through college, graduating college, getting married, and generally growing up over the last several years, I am still just as much in love with my mother as I've ever been.  But, part of getting married, and growing up, I've now got two other women in my life that deserve to feel just as special on this Mother's Day, 2011.

Cherry Kirkwood

My mother!  An absolutely amazing woman.  Any woman who could raise me and my two brothers is definitely someone special.  The fact that the three of us all survived, didn't kill each other, and all turned out to do pretty well, is a testament to the mother that oversaw everything.  She was always there when we needed someone to talk to, always there to bandage us up when we scraped our knees and/or elbows, and always there to take us from school to baseball practice to church.  It seems like I can think of a thousand conversations that my mother and I had while in a car on our way to one of those three places, or for me it seems like we were always on our way to pick up one of the other two boys.  Being the youngest of the three, I almost always got to be picked up from school earlier than my brothers which gave mom and I time everyday to ride around town in her car (which almost always was a suburban) to run errands before picking the other two up from school.  Seems like we had so many conversations riding around Pasadena in that big gold suburban!

Once I turned 16 and was old enough to drive, I started a tradition that every Saturday night before Mother's Day, I would leave home late at night to go buy mom a bouquet of flowers and a card that I would leave on the kitchen table for her to see in the morning.  Well, I now live an hour away from mom, so getting into mom and dad's house late at night isn't very easy, and probably would give mom and dad a good scare! 

So mom, this year, all that I can do is simply tell you that I am so thankful to have had a mother like you.  Lord knows that my brothers and I would be nothing without having your love and support through all these years.  I love you, mom!

Blythe Kirkwood

My wonderful wife!  Nine months ago, Blythe and I had our first baby, Carter Alan Kirkwood. . . As you may have heard ;)  Since then, I have fallen more and more in love with her everyday.  I knew as soon as I met her that she was an unbelievable woman who I could spend the rest of my life with, but as I got to know her better, I realized just how wonderful she really was.  As we started dating, I saw that she was going to be the best wife a man could ever ask for, and I also could see that she was definitely the woman that I wanted to raise my future children with.  On August 10, 2010, she became that wonderful mother that I knew she would be.  Since then she has been so patient, loving, and caring that I can hardly believe it.  Watching her with Carter is a miracle and a dream come true.  All my life I wanted to have a little boy named Carter, and thankfully, God gave him to me.  Something I am even more thankful for, is the fact that he put a woman in my life that is a better mother to my Carter than I could have ever possibly dreamed of.

Blythe, I am so happy to have you in my life, and I will likely spend the rest of my life trying to figure out how to be as good to you as you are to me.  You truly inspire me everyday to be a better person by being the mother and wife that you are.  Thank you for loving me and our little boy!

    Melissa Herring

My mother-in-law.  Of course, my wife would not be able to be the wife and mother that she is if it weren't for the role model that she had in her life.  Melissa has been the best mother-in-law that a person could possibly ever hope for.  She is a woman that is kind, gentle, caring, and loving.  Ever since the first time that I met her in Palestine, she has treated me like one of her own.  There was never any question about if I belong in this family, and I am so thankful for the acceptance that Melissa has shown from day one.  I remember when Blythe and I met her family in Galveston for a Saturday beach trip in the first summer that we were dating, all the Herring kids were getting ready to take a family photo and they made it a point to say that this was a "family ONLY" photo.  Well, sure enough, Melissa told me to get into the picture, and I said, "I am not family!"  She responded with, "Not yet, but you might as well be.  Soon enough!" . . . Blythe and I weren't even engaged yet!!!  I guess she has one of those great maternal instincts!

Melissa, I am so thankful for the mother that you have been to Blythe all of her life, and the mother that you have been to me over the last five years or so.  There is no question in my mind that I can call you and talk about anything, and that means the world to me.  It also means so much to me to see how well you continue to be there for Blythe when she needs anything, and how great of a Nana you have been to Carter for these first nine months.  Thanks for everything that you do, and being the woman that you are!

Everyone take a moment today, and every day, to make sure that the Mommas in your life know just how special they really are.  These three are the Mommas in my life, and this is my way of showing them that life would simply not be the same without them.

P.S. - Check out the bottom this page (below the comment box, find "follow by e-mail). . .You can now sign up to get e-mail updates everytime I publish a new post!! I know I haven't posted in a while, but the school year is almost over, and I plan on doing quite a bit of blogging this summer!!  Sign up now!

Carter's 8 Month Update!

So hard to believe that he's already been here for 8 months!

A quick update on how he's doing! He's not yet crawling, but he's a great roller and spinner!  Blythe and I keep watching him as he lays on his belly just hoping that his little knees will fold up under him, lift him up, and push off!  Right now, he's happy to roll all over the floor, and if he sees a toy beside him that he wants, he has figured out how to roll to that toy, but if a toy is out of reach in front of him, he'll reach as far as he can, and then just give up and look for something else to play with.

He is teething!  The tops of his middle bottom teeth are showing easily now, and he's got a third tooth starting to poke through that we just saw today for the first time!  So far, he hasn't had any real problems with being fussy because of the teeth coming in, although, the first week of getting his teeth he was a little bit fussy, and didn't sleep real well.

That's all I have time for right now, but I promise I will post a big update soon on everything that has been going on, and everything that is coming up!  The school year is winding down:  I just finished I Do! I Do! today: and I am still looking for two guys for Texas Rep's summer production of Smokey Joe's Cafe.

Lots going on.  I'll get you all caught up soon!

Peace Out,
Luke

Another Classic Picture of My Rock Star Baby

During the dinner break from the first tech rehearsal of "I Do! I Do!", Blythe and I put Carter's new sunglasses on him, and of course being the little rock star that he is, took advantage of the photo opp.  His smile in this picture reminds me a little bit of the baby at the end of "Zoolander."  It's just a picture that I thought you all might enjoy!

Tech Rehearsal

This is our tech weekend of "I Do! I Do!" at Texas Repertory Theatre.  It's been a good rehearsal process, and we are all eager to get an audience in here to see what we've done.  The music has come together pretty well.  Through the rehearsals, I was having to go back and forth quite a bit between three different conductor books which has made things very confusing at times.  The first book that I had was more of the "original" version, and the books that came in later in the rehearsal process were from the "revised" production.  But the two books that came in were even different because one was meant to be played with just two pianos as the orchestra, and the other one was meant to be played by a full orchestra.  So, this weekend in our tech rehearsals is where I've got to start narrowing down all of our various notes and decisions to what we will actually be doing in our performances. 

Tech week is never fun for anyone, but this week won't seem so bad as Blythe and I are both on spring break!!!  Our first spring break as teachers!  We are both very excited to have some time off.  I've been getting a little bit sick this week, so it seems especially well timed for me.

This week, Blythe and I are hoping to baby-proof some things around the house as Carter could be crawling by the next time we have a significant amount of down time together.  It's very exciting to see him starting to figure new things out every day.   
So, over the next few days, my daytime hours will be nice and free, but I'll be spending some late nights in rehearsals.  It will probably still feel like a pretty busy week.  I'll keep you posted!

Peace Out,
Luke 

Great Moments in Strange Places!

Of all the places to get what Blythe and I consider the "Perfect Picture" of Carter, this picture was taken with my phone at the doctor's office today!  Strange how such a perfect moment can come in the strangest of places.  I guess it may just be another way to tell he is a Kirkwood, by being so content and at ease in a doctor's office.  Maybe the next Dr. Kirkwood!!!


Why the Doctor's Office?

Carter was a bit fussy last night (after we bragged at lunch about how calm of a baby he is), and ended up getting a little sick before falling asleep.  Then this morning, he woke up with a little bit of wheezing.  I don't think that Blythe and I are hypochondriacs, but when it sounds like your baby is having trouble breathing. . .we think that is a legit reason for concern.

After our visit to the doctor today, she told us that all that was wrong is that he has allergies. . . Like his father. I feel bad for the little guy because I know what that means for the next several years!

So, after a weekend in which I had my camera out constantly trying to get that "perfect picture" of Carter playing with one of his toys, or cuddling with his mother, all it really takes is a trip to the doctor and catching him just at the right moment.  Thanks for reading!

Peace Out,
Luke

First Video Post!

I know it's not much, but I finally got a proper memory card for the new camera that my fantastic parents bought for Blythe and I so that I can finally share videos on my blog instead of pictures. Although it was an adventure figuring out how to get this video uploaded to blogger.com and finally published onto my site, I think I now have a general understanding of how to do this, so look for more video to come!

That's all I have time for tonight, but trust me, I will have my new camera in hand almost constantly over the next several weeks!  Thanks mom!

Peace Out,
Luke

P.S. - How about the crazy timing between my "Where in the World is Jessica Tata" post and the new charges that came down on her that evening.  I'm just sayin'. . .    :)

An Evening With Carter and a Camera

So, after a normal day at work, nothing in the sports world grabbing my attention today, and a very nice phone  conversation with my mother ;)  I thought today would be a great day to just grab the camera, take a couple of quick pictures of Carter as we go through our nightly routine and let you all see just how big (and handsome) he has gotten. 

I couldn't believe how many views my last post got.  I am so happy that there are some people actually reading this blog.  It makes it so very fun for me to do this when I know that each post is going to get a couple of views!  So, I'll try to get back to the writing some time this weekend.  I've got a very busy weekend, but I'll do everything I can to sit down and make a quick post some time through the next couple of days.

In the mean time, here's just a glimpse of what I get to see every night.  It's these moments that remind me just how lucky I am.  I am forever thankful for my Blythe and Carter.  Enjoy!

 

Asleep after coming home from Mrs. Scott's.  It's normal that he is passed out like this by time we get home every afternoon.  

Waking up and realizing, "Wait, we're at home and I'm STILL in this thing?!"   (I sometimes let him stay asleep in his carrier for a few minutes before getting him out and starting the rest of our routine)

Dinner time.  He's definitely an eater.  I have NO IDEA where he got his big blue eyes from, but we can't help but love them!

Okay, this look may be starting to get a little irritated with the camera.  I haven't taken just a whole lot of pictures of him myself, (thank you, Melissa), so he may not be used to dad staring at him with the camera.

And on a night when I've had my camera out taking pictures, why would I not get this one for you?!  I think its kind of disgusting how cute this is every night after his bath, but I am a little bit biased. ;)



Well, I hope you enjoyed my little "photo journal" of our nightly routine.  Now that I have this blog going, I'll be sure to take more pictures of him and put up a couple of them up each week. I'll let you all know when I've got another post up!   (You know I will)   Thanks again for reading!

Peace Out,
Luke