Saturday, March 14, 2009
The Big ONE!
Luke turned one last Saturday. We had a little family birthday at the Waterford where Nano lives. So many of the people who love Luke the most were there. It really meant a lot. It was a very special celebration for a wonderful boy. He was passed from lap to lap and was content the entire time. The only time he got a little upset was when I tried to take his new toys away from him so he could focus on smashing his cake. Once he got a little taste of the icing, he became VERY focused. He was on a giant sugar high before we knew it!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Month 12
Dear Luke,
I’m sitting here the day before your birthday trying to compose this and not cry all over the keyboard. This year has gone by so quickly! Last year at this time I was waddling around anxiously awaiting the day you would be here. The night before you were born I told daddy that I thought I was having contractions and he looked really worried. I woke him up in the middle of the night telling him it was time to go. I’ve never seen him move so quickly or with more focus! The day you were born was the happiest day of my life. I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight than I did that day…my sweet, beautiful baby boy Luke. I’ve never had more fun than I did during the delivery. It was just the most positive and fun experience ever. Your dad was so supportive and sweet. I thought he might pass out but he performed like an ace. He was so excited. He was texting everyone in the state of Missouri after you were born. The entire family was there waiting out in the hall to hear your first wails. You sure did give them a show. You were born with a serious set of lungs! After you were born I didn’t think you could get any better. However, you have grown and changed and gotten better every single day! I never thought that would be possible. I felt you were about as good as it gets the moment I saw you.
This last month you have started to pull up. Dad and I saw you pull up together for the first time when you were at the dishwasher and we nearly lost our minds! We both yelled and scared the dickens out of you. You fell over and started crying. Since then you have pulled up about a million times. You are doing so well at pulling up that you often stand with just one hand bracing yourself very nonchalantly. I have to watch you now because you stand and try to get into everything! You love to watch the water go down the drain in the bathtub. You try to grab the water just before it goes down and you nearly land directly on your head each time. I have to watch your every move and something tells me you are only about to get busier! All of this action makes you a bit more accident prone. The other night you slipped while crawling and smacked your sweet head into the frame of the door. You got an immediate goose egg. I wanted to take you to the ER because I hadn’t ever seen anything grow quite that quickly. I certainly hadn’t ever heard you cry that hard. Daddy said we needed to wait. He said you were a boy and you would get many bumps and bruises. He was right. You rebounded very quickly. You were off and crawling again within a few minutes. I tried chasing you around with a bag of frozen vegetable on your head. You wanted no part of that. You will be celebrating your first birthday party with a giant bruise in the middle of your forehead. Something tells me it won’t bother you much, though.
There isn’t a drawer or a cabinet in the house that you don’t adore. I know that I should try to redirect you to keep you out of them but sometimes it keeps you busy while I am boiling a pot of pasta or putting on my eye liner. You are so cute when you pull each item out of a drawer. You will hold up a bottle straight in the air and look at me with a smile as if you have just found the coolest bottle of eye make-up remover in the history of the world. You are always so proud of each of your newly found treasures. The other morning when we woke up we found an old shower head that you had discovered somewhere behind our bathroom door. We are finding random things scattered throughout the house all the time.
You are the greatest eater ever. I put cut up broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus on your tray and you eat the pieces like candy. You are now drinking from a cup for most of the day. However, you can’t stand a sippy cup. You drink from a regular cup that we hold. You only take about 7 ounces from a bottle and drink the rest from a big boy cup. This has made me very happy because the pediatrician nearly gave me a heart attack about getting you off the bottle at our last visit. I am starting to learn that while those experts give timelines to achieve certain milestones, we will get to each one in our own time.
You have eight beautiful teeth showing through now. You grin at us with the biggest, best, most contagious smiles ever. Thank you for letting us witnesses so many of those smiles for one full year. Thank you for bringing so much laughter and so many smiles to our faces. We love you with all of our hearts. Happy first birthday, Luke.
Love,
Mama and Daddy
Month One...
Month Two...
Mont Three...
Month Four...
Month Five...
Month Six...
Month Seven...
Month Eight...
Month Nine...
Month Ten...
Month Eleven...
Month Twelve...
I’m sitting here the day before your birthday trying to compose this and not cry all over the keyboard. This year has gone by so quickly! Last year at this time I was waddling around anxiously awaiting the day you would be here. The night before you were born I told daddy that I thought I was having contractions and he looked really worried. I woke him up in the middle of the night telling him it was time to go. I’ve never seen him move so quickly or with more focus! The day you were born was the happiest day of my life. I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight than I did that day…my sweet, beautiful baby boy Luke. I’ve never had more fun than I did during the delivery. It was just the most positive and fun experience ever. Your dad was so supportive and sweet. I thought he might pass out but he performed like an ace. He was so excited. He was texting everyone in the state of Missouri after you were born. The entire family was there waiting out in the hall to hear your first wails. You sure did give them a show. You were born with a serious set of lungs! After you were born I didn’t think you could get any better. However, you have grown and changed and gotten better every single day! I never thought that would be possible. I felt you were about as good as it gets the moment I saw you.
This last month you have started to pull up. Dad and I saw you pull up together for the first time when you were at the dishwasher and we nearly lost our minds! We both yelled and scared the dickens out of you. You fell over and started crying. Since then you have pulled up about a million times. You are doing so well at pulling up that you often stand with just one hand bracing yourself very nonchalantly. I have to watch you now because you stand and try to get into everything! You love to watch the water go down the drain in the bathtub. You try to grab the water just before it goes down and you nearly land directly on your head each time. I have to watch your every move and something tells me you are only about to get busier! All of this action makes you a bit more accident prone. The other night you slipped while crawling and smacked your sweet head into the frame of the door. You got an immediate goose egg. I wanted to take you to the ER because I hadn’t ever seen anything grow quite that quickly. I certainly hadn’t ever heard you cry that hard. Daddy said we needed to wait. He said you were a boy and you would get many bumps and bruises. He was right. You rebounded very quickly. You were off and crawling again within a few minutes. I tried chasing you around with a bag of frozen vegetable on your head. You wanted no part of that. You will be celebrating your first birthday party with a giant bruise in the middle of your forehead. Something tells me it won’t bother you much, though.
There isn’t a drawer or a cabinet in the house that you don’t adore. I know that I should try to redirect you to keep you out of them but sometimes it keeps you busy while I am boiling a pot of pasta or putting on my eye liner. You are so cute when you pull each item out of a drawer. You will hold up a bottle straight in the air and look at me with a smile as if you have just found the coolest bottle of eye make-up remover in the history of the world. You are always so proud of each of your newly found treasures. The other morning when we woke up we found an old shower head that you had discovered somewhere behind our bathroom door. We are finding random things scattered throughout the house all the time.
You are the greatest eater ever. I put cut up broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus on your tray and you eat the pieces like candy. You are now drinking from a cup for most of the day. However, you can’t stand a sippy cup. You drink from a regular cup that we hold. You only take about 7 ounces from a bottle and drink the rest from a big boy cup. This has made me very happy because the pediatrician nearly gave me a heart attack about getting you off the bottle at our last visit. I am starting to learn that while those experts give timelines to achieve certain milestones, we will get to each one in our own time.
You have eight beautiful teeth showing through now. You grin at us with the biggest, best, most contagious smiles ever. Thank you for letting us witnesses so many of those smiles for one full year. Thank you for bringing so much laughter and so many smiles to our faces. We love you with all of our hearts. Happy first birthday, Luke.
Love,
Mama and Daddy
Month One...
Month Two...
Mont Three...
Month Four...
Month Five...
Month Six...
Month Seven...
Month Eight...
Month Nine...
Month Ten...
Month Eleven...
Month Twelve...
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Diamond Night
Diamond night was held at Highland Springs to benefit the Boys and Girls Town. We got to get all dressed up and go out on the town. It was fun! The night was a success and Luke got to have a good time with Grandpap and Gramma Dana.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
A Little Game
Luke's absolute favorite game to play right now is peek-a-boo. I was getting him over the couch today. Something about looking straight up, made him become Mr. Uncoordinated. He kept falling right over!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Happy Birthday From Daddy
Dear Wook!
I am writing this to you to recap the first year of your life and the best year of mine.
Your Mom has done a much better job of writing monthly memoirs to remind us all of what has happened with you as you have grown. Though I haven't written these things formally, it is really easy for me to recall many of the highlights you have brought to our family.
I guess it all starts going back to weedeating one day following the fourth of July in 2007. Mom came running out to me and had some tests in her hand to show me she was pregnant with you. She had a huge smile on her face and I was just wondering what she wanted....in the past I had been weedeating and she came to me to let me know such things as Roscoe had gotten out of the house and was loose in the neighborhood. Needless to say the remainder of my day of yardwork (a normally less than favorite activity) was never better! I was so excited. I couldn't believe I was going to be a Daddy.
From then on Mom and I talked daily of what things would be like. We talked a lot about names and tried to find the perfect one, I liked Gus a lot but no good according to Mom. Keep in mind we didn't even know you were a boy....I was just secretly hoping!
That kinda takes me to the next stage, the day we went to find out if you were a boy or girl. I was very nervous this day. We got to the Dr's office and we had the WHOLE family there for the big day. We went in and I remember that things were happening very fast....pretty soon the gal said he is a Boy! She was very nonchalant....which bugged me of course. I said are you sure? She said yes and I sprung out of my chair...Kim later said it was similar to seeing my team score a Touchdown. I ran out and told everyone. Again, this was a big day!!!
So then it became time to narrow down names. We talked and talked about what would work best. I am very picky as you will learn and I refused to settle until we found just the right one. These conversations along with all of the great tips people were giving Mom for what to do and what to watch out for dominated our lives from then on.
One day I asked Mom what she thought of Luke. I wanted something solid and strong. I also liked that it was close to my name in the Bible, and one of my favorite movie characters of all time was Cool Hand Luke. I liked Cool Hand because he never quit and had great spirit. You will have to check it out someday. Mom looked at me and I could tell she liked it. In my mind from that day on it was decided that you would be Luke....my boy!
I guess fast forwarding a little bit, and remember I was very very nervous about preparing for you, was to go to the night you were born. I tell you how nervous I was because I remember so many times just worrying about you being healthy and Mom being OK. Mom and I decided to not do any of the tests in advance that determine if you were going to be healthy because we agreed that no matter what we would take care of you. That was always a great moment in our marriage I thought because we agreed that we would love you and take care of you regardless of any situation. We were totally together on that.
Sorry back to your birthday. The night before I went to sleep like 15 minutes before I got a tap on my forehead from Mom saying it was time to go!
I had everything ready and car packed in record time. My mind was racing and I was really scared. We got to the hospital and I told the nurse we were ready to check in....they got a big kick out of that! Then it went to just a blur. Waiting and worrying, calling everyone etc. It was just a complete blur. I paced and worried and worried and worried. Will Luke be OK? Will Mom? These were my thoughts. Mom was pretty mellow I thought, you will find out about her that while she is wound pretty tight, when the money is on the line she handles things really well. The nurses were nice I remember them a lot....matter of fact, I remember thinking how much more they do than the Doctor. They should be paid much better. Next thing I know it is time for you. Mom did such a good job...I had to count to help her with breathing and I couldn't do anything right. Next thing I know I see this bright red, screaming boy.....LUKE was here!
The previous paragraph rambles a lot and all I can say is that was what the experience was like...just unreal and hard to describe. It was kind of like an out of body experience for me really. I think it was easily the greatest day of my life and changed me forever.
I think it was the Doc that said it best....she said that until you get home with your baby it will not hit you. She was right, we got home and Mom and I were just kinda lost....not really knowing what the heck to do. It was scary for sure. The family was great though. I remember Aunt Angie coming over and staying with us and cooking us breakfast the next day. It was a great breakfast.
From this point on it was kind of a series of milestones. I remember watching you eat and gain weight. I knew you were going to be a great eater like your Dad.....and you sure were and are! Your Mom is a pretty good eater too, but don't tell anyone.
Let's see, then it was teeth coming in, crawling, talking, making faces, laughing, eating, sleeping through the night, more eating, standing up....all kinds of stuff the first year.
I would say that I have gathered many things about you. You are very personable and easy to get along with. This is one of your greatest qualities. You sleep and eat very well. You rarely get upset, but when you do you really really get upset. You are just a wonderful baby boy. You bring so much to my life and our family that words cannot describe.
Here is one request I have for you someday....spend some time and just thank your Mom for everything. She has been tremedous throughout everything. Her life totally revolves around making sure you are well taken care of. She makes sure that your best interest is first and that whatever you need you get. She loves you totally and has sacrificed many things for you and for the family.
Thanks to Mom for everything! We love you Mom!
Luke, we are going to be great buddies. I cannot wait to spend more and more time with you. This has been just a wonderful year and we are so lucky to have you. We love you very much and will take care of you always.
Happy first Birthday,
Love,
Your Dad.
I am writing this to you to recap the first year of your life and the best year of mine.
Your Mom has done a much better job of writing monthly memoirs to remind us all of what has happened with you as you have grown. Though I haven't written these things formally, it is really easy for me to recall many of the highlights you have brought to our family.
I guess it all starts going back to weedeating one day following the fourth of July in 2007. Mom came running out to me and had some tests in her hand to show me she was pregnant with you. She had a huge smile on her face and I was just wondering what she wanted....in the past I had been weedeating and she came to me to let me know such things as Roscoe had gotten out of the house and was loose in the neighborhood. Needless to say the remainder of my day of yardwork (a normally less than favorite activity) was never better! I was so excited. I couldn't believe I was going to be a Daddy.
From then on Mom and I talked daily of what things would be like. We talked a lot about names and tried to find the perfect one, I liked Gus a lot but no good according to Mom. Keep in mind we didn't even know you were a boy....I was just secretly hoping!
That kinda takes me to the next stage, the day we went to find out if you were a boy or girl. I was very nervous this day. We got to the Dr's office and we had the WHOLE family there for the big day. We went in and I remember that things were happening very fast....pretty soon the gal said he is a Boy! She was very nonchalant....which bugged me of course. I said are you sure? She said yes and I sprung out of my chair...Kim later said it was similar to seeing my team score a Touchdown. I ran out and told everyone. Again, this was a big day!!!
So then it became time to narrow down names. We talked and talked about what would work best. I am very picky as you will learn and I refused to settle until we found just the right one. These conversations along with all of the great tips people were giving Mom for what to do and what to watch out for dominated our lives from then on.
One day I asked Mom what she thought of Luke. I wanted something solid and strong. I also liked that it was close to my name in the Bible, and one of my favorite movie characters of all time was Cool Hand Luke. I liked Cool Hand because he never quit and had great spirit. You will have to check it out someday. Mom looked at me and I could tell she liked it. In my mind from that day on it was decided that you would be Luke....my boy!
I guess fast forwarding a little bit, and remember I was very very nervous about preparing for you, was to go to the night you were born. I tell you how nervous I was because I remember so many times just worrying about you being healthy and Mom being OK. Mom and I decided to not do any of the tests in advance that determine if you were going to be healthy because we agreed that no matter what we would take care of you. That was always a great moment in our marriage I thought because we agreed that we would love you and take care of you regardless of any situation. We were totally together on that.
Sorry back to your birthday. The night before I went to sleep like 15 minutes before I got a tap on my forehead from Mom saying it was time to go!
I had everything ready and car packed in record time. My mind was racing and I was really scared. We got to the hospital and I told the nurse we were ready to check in....they got a big kick out of that! Then it went to just a blur. Waiting and worrying, calling everyone etc. It was just a complete blur. I paced and worried and worried and worried. Will Luke be OK? Will Mom? These were my thoughts. Mom was pretty mellow I thought, you will find out about her that while she is wound pretty tight, when the money is on the line she handles things really well. The nurses were nice I remember them a lot....matter of fact, I remember thinking how much more they do than the Doctor. They should be paid much better. Next thing I know it is time for you. Mom did such a good job...I had to count to help her with breathing and I couldn't do anything right. Next thing I know I see this bright red, screaming boy.....LUKE was here!
The previous paragraph rambles a lot and all I can say is that was what the experience was like...just unreal and hard to describe. It was kind of like an out of body experience for me really. I think it was easily the greatest day of my life and changed me forever.
I think it was the Doc that said it best....she said that until you get home with your baby it will not hit you. She was right, we got home and Mom and I were just kinda lost....not really knowing what the heck to do. It was scary for sure. The family was great though. I remember Aunt Angie coming over and staying with us and cooking us breakfast the next day. It was a great breakfast.
From this point on it was kind of a series of milestones. I remember watching you eat and gain weight. I knew you were going to be a great eater like your Dad.....and you sure were and are! Your Mom is a pretty good eater too, but don't tell anyone.
Let's see, then it was teeth coming in, crawling, talking, making faces, laughing, eating, sleeping through the night, more eating, standing up....all kinds of stuff the first year.
I would say that I have gathered many things about you. You are very personable and easy to get along with. This is one of your greatest qualities. You sleep and eat very well. You rarely get upset, but when you do you really really get upset. You are just a wonderful baby boy. You bring so much to my life and our family that words cannot describe.
Here is one request I have for you someday....spend some time and just thank your Mom for everything. She has been tremedous throughout everything. Her life totally revolves around making sure you are well taken care of. She makes sure that your best interest is first and that whatever you need you get. She loves you totally and has sacrificed many things for you and for the family.
Thanks to Mom for everything! We love you Mom!
Luke, we are going to be great buddies. I cannot wait to spend more and more time with you. This has been just a wonderful year and we are so lucky to have you. We love you very much and will take care of you always.
Happy first Birthday,
Love,
Your Dad.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Princess Emily Turns Four
The sweetest niece ever to call a gal "Keeeeemeeeeeee" just turned four. *sniff* She will be starting kindergarten in a year. *double sniff* Having kids around makes time travel at warp speed. We had a great time at the party. Luke got to strap into his first "ride". (It moved 1 1/2 inches....can that really be considered a ride?) Everyone had a blast watching the kids run around like maniac munchkins hyped up on sheet cake. I'm sorry I didn't get Ethan in any of these. I think I only saw him for a minute. It was seriously blissful chaos...it was everything I could do to keep up with Luke!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Month Eleven
Dear Luke,
One of my students asked me the other day how old you were. I told her you were almost 11 months. She said, "oh he is zero then". I guess this is your last month of being zero. One year went by in the blink of an eye!
This month you have started dancing. You really get in a groove when we crank the nursery rhymes. It is hilarious to see you bop up and down. You wave now not only to imitate but to tell those you love good-bye which is seriously the most heart crushing thing EVER. Daddy taught you to give a high five this month. You now give a gentle high five whenever we ask for one. It is pretty darn sweet.
You feed yourself. You love to eat cheerios and other bite sized morsels. You move the food very slowly to your mouth and at times move your head and mouth around to find the food...which tickles us. Roscoe is quite excited about all of this self-feeding. He loves to sit anxiously by your side while you eat.
You are not pulling up or cruising yet. People are asking me all of the time if this is happening. I am just fine with how mobile you are because I know before long you will be running circles around me. I'm enjoying the pace you are moving along quite well. What I think is amazing is how most babies try to pull up on objects first before they stand on their own. You are SO sure of yourself. You try to stand all by yourself in the middle of a room! You haven't made it to the standing position yet but I wouldn't be surprised if this is the way you finally stand for the first time. You are a pretty independent little guy.
I'm not sure if I have heard any true words come from your mouth yet but you are really trying to talk to us. When we say something you often respond right back with a "ba" "ta" or a "da". I could have sworn twice yesterday you said "hi" to me when I said hi. Grandma is sure you have said all sorts of words like "pot", "blind", "hot", and "ball". You two sure have your own language. You talk all day long with her.
Thank you for another wonderful month. We have a birthday party in the future for you. I can't wait to celebrate your birth because it is the happiest thing I have ever had to celebrate.
Love you very much,
Mama and Daddy
month one...
month two...
month three...
month four...
month five...
month six...
month seven...
month eight...
month nine...
month ten...
month eleven...
One of my students asked me the other day how old you were. I told her you were almost 11 months. She said, "oh he is zero then". I guess this is your last month of being zero. One year went by in the blink of an eye!
This month you have started dancing. You really get in a groove when we crank the nursery rhymes. It is hilarious to see you bop up and down. You wave now not only to imitate but to tell those you love good-bye which is seriously the most heart crushing thing EVER. Daddy taught you to give a high five this month. You now give a gentle high five whenever we ask for one. It is pretty darn sweet.
You feed yourself. You love to eat cheerios and other bite sized morsels. You move the food very slowly to your mouth and at times move your head and mouth around to find the food...which tickles us. Roscoe is quite excited about all of this self-feeding. He loves to sit anxiously by your side while you eat.
You are not pulling up or cruising yet. People are asking me all of the time if this is happening. I am just fine with how mobile you are because I know before long you will be running circles around me. I'm enjoying the pace you are moving along quite well. What I think is amazing is how most babies try to pull up on objects first before they stand on their own. You are SO sure of yourself. You try to stand all by yourself in the middle of a room! You haven't made it to the standing position yet but I wouldn't be surprised if this is the way you finally stand for the first time. You are a pretty independent little guy.
I'm not sure if I have heard any true words come from your mouth yet but you are really trying to talk to us. When we say something you often respond right back with a "ba" "ta" or a "da". I could have sworn twice yesterday you said "hi" to me when I said hi. Grandma is sure you have said all sorts of words like "pot", "blind", "hot", and "ball". You two sure have your own language. You talk all day long with her.
Thank you for another wonderful month. We have a birthday party in the future for you. I can't wait to celebrate your birth because it is the happiest thing I have ever had to celebrate.
Love you very much,
Mama and Daddy
month one...
month two...
month three...
month four...
month five...
month six...
month seven...
month eight...
month nine...
month ten...
month eleven...
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