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!

Great Friends!

Luke has been around for less than 4 months and already has so many friends! Here are a few shots from recent visits.

This is mama Amy with her son Luke and daughter Kate. The little Lukes liked each other!

Here is our good friend Hayden. He was 8 1/2 months here and already walking all over the place! His mom makes Luke smile REALLY big!

Here is Asher. He is a couple of months older. He is our weekly library buddy. He will be off crawling very soon!

Sweet Talker

I'm an SLP and have read stacks of books on how children learn to communicate. It is so much more interesting to see it up close and in person. Luke is exhibiting exceptional eye-contact and turn-taking skills already! I was putting my make-up on and talking to him. He struck up one heck of a conversation with me. He just started this "talking" in the last couple of weeks. It is so darn sweet. His coos and gurgles melt my heart away.

Listening to my own voice is like listening to nails down a chalk board. The following is proof that babies can make moms talk like they have no sense.

More Father's Day Fun

We had one more stop by Grandpap and Gramma Dana's house over the weekend. They scored Luke a new beach hat and a friend gave him some new cowboy boots. In one of the shots he is sporting them both for an extra special summer look.

My Daddy

This is my father. He is the man with many names. He goes by "Dawg", "Grandpa", "Pa", and "Paw-Paw". We haven't really figured out which one he primarily is. I don't think he really cares either. He is a pretty laid back Grandpa. We had a nice visit over Father's day weekend. We ate some pizza on their new deck and had a great time.

The Republican

Luke went to visit Grandma Barb and Pop Snavely over the weekend. Grandma is a life saver. She is retiring in the fall just to help take care of Luke. He loves when she rocks him in her extra squeaky rocking chair. Pop offered to fix the chair but Grandma insisted it stay just the way it is. That is just how Luke likes it. The noise helps put him out cold.

Although Pop is a Republican, we still include him in all of the family functions. Since Pop will be hanging with Luke quite a bit in the fall, he has been asked specifically not to mention the GOP or the Missouri tigers. We also asked if he could start to spell out about 1/4 of the words he says. We love you Pop and Grandma!

Big Boy Toys

Our friends Hayden and Melissa let us borrow their Bumbo seat. It works on trunk strength and head support. It is also something that Luke LOVES. He sat in it for 30 minutes and watched the Lakers and Celtics play. The following night he sat in it for over 40 minutes and played with the gadgets while wobbling his head around. I enjoyed having my hands free for a bit so I could snap some pictures. I got a kick out of the fact that his shirt says "handsome" with a trail of drool running down down to his belly button. Thanks for the loan. The seat is amazing! He absolutely loves it!

Month Three

Dear Luke,

Welcome to month three! The past month was pretty eventful for you. I went back to work after being off for eight weeks. I thought I was going to wind up in a straight jacket! I had meltdown after meltdown each time I would think about dropping you off and going back to the office. When that fateful Monday morning came though, aunt Ang greeted me with a smile and assured me everything was going to be okay. I missed you terribly but we had such a sweet reunion at the end of the day. My arms were achy because I hadn’t ever gone that long without holding you. You stayed with aunt Angie and uncle Bert for two weeks. All they did was brag about what a wonderful little boy you are. Your cousin Emily fell totally in love with you during this time. She wanted to hold you non-stop and always made sure to find out if you would be back the next day.

Daddy took care of you for the other two weeks. I was really nervous about leaving you two together. Dad hadn’t spent a lot of time alone with you. He really stepped up and took amazing care of you. He never left the house while he was off. He just stayed in the living room and took care of you all day long. He usually didn’t even shower until I got home. He didn’t let you out of his sight. Daddy had all of your bottles heated up even before you were hungry. I think he wanted to avoid any cries he could. It didn’t take him long to know your every move and what he needed to be planning for next. He kept saying the time he had off with you was time he would never get back. He worked his tail off but he enjoyed it thoroughly.

At your two month check-up we discovered you went from the tenth percentile in weight to the ninetieth! Everyone got a kick out of that. You LOVE to eat. You were also in the seventy-fifth percentile for height. You are such a big strong boy! That day you got your first shot. You didn’t really cry much at all. I also managed to hold it together when they poked you. I was proud of us both!

Somewhere along the way you have stopped screaming at every diaper change. You usually just lay there and smile. You recently found your hands which has been highly entertaining for us all. You are FASCINATED by your little hands. You will sit and stare at your hands and turn them over. It is really awesome because I don’t have to pack toys. You have your favorite thing with you at all times! You try to get your hands up to your mouth, but you often miss and smack yourself in the face (which never makes you happy). We have started a routine every night. We usually sit on the floor and read three books, take a bath, eat, then get swaddled up tight and go to sleep. Last night you slept ten hours. I think you just might be the best baby on the face of the earth. I wake up each morning and that is the first thought that comes to me. I love you so much! I’m off for the summer. We are going to have a ball. I’m going to enjoy every moment!

Love, Mama


Month One...




Month Two...

Month Three...

Pool Fun

We were trying on hats to get ready for our big day at the pool. Although his hat was a bit too big, I thought Luke looked pretty cute. It was a little on the cool side at the pool. Luke fell fast asleep right before we got there. He spent the majority of the time in his car seat asleep. He will be dipping his toes in there soon enough. Emily loves the pool. She splashed and stomped and couldn't help but run. Ethan was a little nervous about the water. He went under the day before. Their cousin, Kaylee, joined us for the day. It was nice to get out. Now that we are down to the last week of school we are ready for summer fun!