Play Ball!

Unfortunately the first official game of the season was rained out. Luke was on pins and needles while waiting to see if the game would be on. We are a little sad that the Cards don't look so good this year. We are lucky though that Luke still looks super cute in red. Luke and daddy are going to watch a LOT of sports together over the years.

No Big Deal

I'm really glad Luke can relax and sleep so soundly. I'm doing enough worrying for the whole family! This little guy likes to really kick back and let his binky fall where it may.

First Play Date

Luke and I went to our first official play date today. We got to meet little Carolina and Asher. Carolina is Melody's daughter (middle pictured below). She is two weeks old. She was born at 35 weeks. Carolina is a tiny little thing with beautiful features. She has a ton of dark hair already. She sleeps so peacefully and only seems to fuss when she gets a little hungry.

Asher is Sarah's son (far right). He has the biggest cheeks and bright smiles. He was sporting a blonde little mohawk today. Asher is almost three months old. He doesn't cry at all but he squeaks just a bit to let you know he is not happy about a situation.

I know the moms had a great time and it looks like the kids were having a pretty good time too.

Baby's First Easter

Easter was spent at Me Maw's house this year. Luke was sporting a preemie outfit because he is still so little. Newborn clothing still devourers him. The preemie outfit fit him everywhere but length. It looked kind of like he was wearing a half shirt. He didn't seem to mind too much. He also sported some super cute puppy shoes for about seven seconds. He screamed and kicked them off pretty quickly.

The Easter bunny remembered Luke this year. He got a bunny and some great new clothes. Dinner was great. Luke's cousins Emily and Ethan were there. They are going to be great buddies growing up. Emily kept saying, "Luke not crying" over and over again. I think it must have been pretty traumatic for her to hear him cry the first time (as it if for us all). Hope your Easter was full of good food and family love too!

A Baby Story

I realize that this post is out of order. I have been struggling trying to figure out how to summarize the day Luke was born. It is so overwhelming to me still each time I think of that day. I really don't think I can write the story any better than my sister did. I also love that the story came from someone else's perspective. I think I will save my two cents for my own hand written journal and Luke's baby book. I get teary each time I read my sister's account of the day here... http://staabhousehold.blogspot.com/2008/03/announcing-luke-allen-patterson.html

Thank you Angie!

Two Cool Hands

It is difficult for me to determine what part of Luke is the cutest. This week I have really been taken with his hands. Everyone talks about his hands. When we had our first ultrasound, he was flexing his fingers like he was trying to catch a ball. Now he interlocks his fingers. He sleeps with them close to his face. He also loves to jam his fingers in his mouth and eyes. We tried to keep him from doing this by putting mittens on his hands. They went flying through the air seconds after we put them securely on his wrists. Sometimes he sleeps with all of his fingers bunched up and his pinky straight out. Matt is certain he has great hand eye coordination already. I wanted to post this picture because it shows his adorable hands. They are my favorite body parts this week.

One Wild Week!

It has been an eventful week here in the Patterson household. We have all been camping out in the living room while taking shifts to make this little guy happy. We had one of the best nights ever last night. I got about 6 hours of sleep and I feel like a new woman. Things are getting easier as Luke slowly masters the ability to sleep somewhere besides a cozy neck.

Mama Got a New Ride!

I had a 2004 Kia Spectra. It was so tiny that I could lean my seat back and kiss Luke's cheek. Matt thought it was time to upgrade. He went car shopping this week and came home with this. I can't wait to drive it. Luke and mom both have more leg room now!

Happy Birthday Luke

I was beginning to think that labor was just a myth. Well, it certainly isn't! I went into labor shortly after midnight on March 7th. Luke Alan Patterson was born at 9:50 a.m. He weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 inches long. He is a beautiful boy with a strong set of lungs. He uses them often! I never knew life could be this busy. I expected to be able to post several detailed stories during nap time. Haha...nap time is certainly a myth so far! Luke loves to cuddle and does not want to be away from your neck for a single second!

I will say the delivery was the most amazing experience of my life. I have to try to find time to write down the details because I don't want to forget a thing. Matt is off with me for a couple of weeks while we settle into our roles as first time parents.



Please say hi to Luke...

The Final Week

It is so hard to believe that the final week is finally here! I remember the very first week when I got my first update and he was the size of a rice grain. The doctor thinks he is anywhere between 7.5 and 8 pounds now. We will know for sure on Friday when they do another ultrasound (if he doesn't come before then). This last month has been a little tough but we are on the final countdown and it is so exciting!







I had to include a random shot of my sister. She was having a great hair day. I knew it would embarrass her if I pointed that out, too. You can't pass up an opportunity to embarrass your sister. She is glowing! She is so excited to be an aunt!

The Last Drop

I know. We have been really fortunate to have all of these showers. I'm almost ashamed of all the attention. I felt like a genuine rock star! Mom and baby have been spoiled to death. Each shower was different and so much fun! Here are a few shots from the final shower last week, held at my other school.

Little Things

I was having a particularly bad day last week. I woke up and the only thought that was going through my mind was how much everything hurt. I slid on my stretchy pants, put a layer of make-up on my 11 month pregnant face, and took 100 baby steps on ice while holding my breath. When I finally slid into work, I strategically placed all of the pillows in my office chair, took one painful seat, and wondered where the strength was going to come from to perform for my kids.

I never dreamed I would get my second wind from a water squirting rubber duck. I heard my door open and was certain someone was there to ask me about a deadline, report or referral. Instead it was one of my students who has a hearing impairment. He uses both his voice and sign to communicate. He brought me my belated Valentine present. In case you aren't familiar with sign, the duck is saying "I love you" with his right hand (and not "I love rock-n-roll" like Matt insists). This student was most excited about the fact that I could randomly shoot others with water throughout the day. Not so sure how much firing I will do with this duck. I think instead it might just stay on my desk forever. It helps remind me why I am doing this. It is amazing how such a little thing can turn around my day.

A Little Request

Please oh please oh please...with sugar on top?

Here We Go Again!

Last year we had an ice storm that left us without power for 11 days. It was 11 very long, cold, stresful days. I remember how happy I felt to come home to our house after power was restored. Matt had every light in the house on and he was running the vacuum and the furnace full blast, with a smile on his face.

We had another winter storm come through our area this week. It looks just as bad outside. We have been very lucky. We haven't lost power (knocking furiously on everything). The roads seem to be worse this year though. It is also impossible to walk on. Matt has threatened me if he finds out I tried to leave the house. He fell flat on his back last night while taking the trash out just a few feet from the garage. So, here I am. Now, I'm not going to go as far as to say I'm bored. I know that I will be biting my tongue here in a few weeks and only WISH I could be bored. I will say, I am running out of things to do. My time has been consumed with the following:

• obsessively worring if the power will go out




• listening to cars crunch while they go down the road




• obsessively worring if I will go into labor early and have trouble getting to the hospital




• clearning all of the baby's clothes again because I can't keep track of what has been washed in Dreft and what hasn't




• trying to teach Roscoe to balance various objects on his head




• baking cookies with undercooked centers because I can't seem to cook anything right these days



• downloading new tunes




• dusting in very unusual places




• wondering if my face can swell to the point of acquiring stretch marks (I think I'm almost there.)




• trying to figure out what my toes resemble these days (vienna sausagues)




• writing in baby books




• reading about how badly you can mess up your baby's sleeping habits and getting my worry on about that




• rocking in my new rocking chair and daydreaming




• watch my belly be kicked around like a soccer ball




• watch hours of Baby Story and Brining Baby Home and crying while my dog looks at me worried




• wonder if you can sneak out without Matt finding out

I have one more guaranteed ice day off tomorrow. Everything in this house is in its place. All baby items are assembled. I wonder what exciting adventures await me for Wednesday?

Raindrops Keep Falling on Our Heads!

The people who work in Matt's department held a shower for us at Panera. It was so nice!




Amanda and her daughter Rowan made this amazing cake!

This shower was pretty laid back which we really enjoyed.

All of the people Matt work with turned out to wish us well. They are all very sweet.

We got a lot of wonderful baby gear that we really needed and had a great time!

Baby Who?

As soon as we found out we were going to have a baby, the name game was on! Matt is famous for coming up with unusual, comedic names. For example, I really loved the name Jack, but he would only go with Jack if we could have the middle name "Hammer". Matt was a big fan of the name Gus for a while. I never quite bought into Gus. (Sorry if your name is Gus or you love a Gus.)

I found that when you start telling people the potential names of your unborn child, all decency and courtesy goes flying out the window. I had people tell me that my child would probably grow up to pump gas for a living. (Sorry if you pump gas for a living or love someone who pumps gas.) I had many people tell me my names were too common. I also heard about every behavior disordered child in our disctrict that ever shared my child's potential name (one drawback from sharing with teachers).

So, I decided to stop talking. Matt and I agreed to keep the baby's name a secret until he arrives. As much as my mother believes this was to drive her to the point of insanity, it really wasn't. However, now I have found that the driving people insane part is just a perk. I have had so much fun keeping this a secret! I am starting to worry though. The more I use the name around Matt, the more I almost slip around others.

For now I will keep it under lock and key and my family will continue to call him "Baby Who" (Nano) and little "mister no name" (Memaw). Just a few more weeks and the cat will be out of the bag!