A Big Splash

Luke took his first vacation on Monday to Branson. We went with aunt Angie and his cousins. This was his first time actually in the water. They had a very kid friendly area where he could swing. I think he enjoyed that the most. Emily is a little fish. She loves the water and was a dare devil on the slides. Ethan looks pretty unhappy in the only picture I have of him. However, he actually got in and played very well. Angie could be supermom for keeping an eye on them both in the water. They were so busy! I thank my luck stars that Luke is staying where I put him. I know that is all going to change very soon and he is going to keep me on the move.

I Can't Believe He was Ever THIS Small!

This is the youngest video of Luke I have. I think he was just a couple of weeks old here. He looks so serious! I hadn't been around many newborns. I didn't realize it took so many week for their faces to start working. His eyebrows didn't even wiggle for a couple of months. I had to add this video because it is mind boggling how he has changed in just a few months. I wish I hadn't been so sleep deprived and taken more early footage!

This Is Not Abusive

This video is dated. It was taken on May 29th. His face works a lot more now. He smiles and flails around constantly in the tub now, too. It is amazing to see how he has changed. I ran across this today and was blown away by what a difference a couple of months makes.

There is some sort of startle reflex (that he has since out-grown) that makes a baby react like this if you blow a puff of air into his face...

Yes, we had a lot of time on our hands to find this little trick.

Sitting (kinda)

Luke has started sitting a little. Being a first time mom, I'm not sure if this really counts as sitting. Is it really sitting if your belly drags the table? Whatever this is...he can hold himself like this, unsupported at 4 1/2 months. I have to keep a hand close by because he will fly off to the right or left at times with very little warning. This position is hard work. It makes his mouth hang open and gives him significant difficulties with saliva management.

Super Cute Cousins!

Emily and Ehtan took fantastic pictures too! They were troopers. Their pictures took extra long to take but they both were so good! Here are a few of my favorites. Oh, how I love these two!

First Photo Shoot

We got our first professional pictures taken today. We made it a family day out and met Emily, Ethan and Angie. It is a day I will never forget! Next time we are taking at least one set of extra hands. I wasn't planning on being in any pictures but she encouraged me to jump in. It was so fun. I can tell how it can be totally addictive to get this done on a regular basis. Luke cooperated wonderfully and put on his happiest face. He fell asleep on my shoulder while picking out photos. All that smiling made him pretty sleepy.

Keep in mind, these photos are not cropped. They are all pretty raw. They were nice enough to give us a disk with all pictures though and tell us to use them for personal use.

A Few More 4th Pictures

We had our annual celebration down at the farm with family and friends for the 4th. It was incredibly humid that evening. I had to strip Luke down to his shorts because he was running a little warm. This guy is like a little oven!

My Pop (Luke's great grandpa) was there which is always a treat.

Month Four

Dear Luke (Wookie),

Babe, you have been Wookie in this house for the past four months. If you need speech therapy one day because of it, I know a good one. I apologize if I have compromised your young phonetic inventory.

Summer finally arrived! I am off with you every single day. It took a little adjusting to get back into the swing of things. You cried quite a bit the first week because I forgot what your routine was. Now, I know you only like to be up for 2 hours and then you need a nap or you get angry and get all over my back.

You had a couple of weeks where you were up at 4:00 a.m. You woke up starving and acted like you were ready to devour anything in your path. We decided to start you on cereal a little early. I mixed some into your bottle and you immediately started sleeping longer. You act so hungry sometimes we wonder if we should skip right to feeding you steak!

You have had many play dates this last month. You love to look at other children and watch them play. You are becoming more aware of your surroundings which makes it easier to entertain you.

I still get a kick out of watching you study your hands. You try to get them up close to your mouth but you don’t have the best aim. Usually, you just stick your tongue out further and further until you can get to them, which kills me.

You have started laughing just a little. You rolled over one time on July 5th. You slept a record setting 12 hours on July 6th!!! You have the biggest toothless grin I have ever seen. You try to talk but when that isn’t working, you communicate very clearly with your cries. You still love to look at books and more recently you have taken to looking at Sports Illustrated while in the bathtub.

We still have a couple of months of summer left. There are many fun plans in the future. I can’t wait to share my time with you.

Love,
Mama





Month one...

Month two...

Month three...

Month four...

Happy 4th of July!

It was this time last year I found out Luke was on the way. I'll never forget that feeling. I had a perma-grin throughout the entire holiday weekend.

He caught his first fireworks show last weekend with his cousins and aunt Angie. I was surprised by how much the lights and sounds caught his attention. Emily and Ethan of course were REALLY excited by it all. Emily had to watch most of the show with no pants. There is a story behind that but I think I'll keep it to myself. Hope everyone makes many memories and has a fantastic 4th!