Snacktime

So I guess I didn't close the refrigerator door tightly enough - luckily, it has an alarm on it that beeps when it's been open for longer than 2 minutes. In that 2 minutes, Luke opened the door, climbed on the bottom shelf, got the hummus off of the middle shelf, opened it, and started scooping it into his mouth - the boy does love hummus, but I had no idea just how much...

Caught in the act

Making a run for it

Santa Baby

Luke did not enjoy his first visit to see Santa. We didn't take him last year because I didn't really want to take a 2 month old out with all of the little kiddy germs, but we gave it a try this year....maybe he will enjoy it a little more next year!

My sweet friend Julia owns a Paint-Your-Own-Pottery Store (Do It Yourself Crafts in Homewood - go see her, she is awesome!) and she does a "Painting With Santa" party every year. It is great - you don't have to wait in a line to see Santa, you get to paint a sweet plate and ornament (or you can do like we did and have her paint it for you!), and you get to take the pictures with your own camera instead of having to pay the mall $49.99 for a 5x7. Luke just didn't quite appreciate what a great deal it was!

What is this madness? I'm not too sure about this, mama. 

Mama, get me outta here!

I'm making a run for it! 

Merry Christmas From Luke and Santa!

The Little Patient

Okay, all of these pictures are super blurry because the little patient would not slow down - not for ONE second.

We have been struggling with Luke's ears since February. We had one set of tubes put in on August 27 and have had seven ear infections since then. SO, I switched ENTs and had a consult this past Monday. During our visit, we learned that Luke's tubes were non-functioning (not a surprise) and that he had some significant hearing loss in his right ear due to fluid and blockage. They fully expect the hearing to return as soon as the blockage is cleared, but that was scary news. We also learned that the culprit behind the ear infections might be his adenoids. The ENT wanted to act very quickly, so he scheduled surgery for this past Thursday.

Once we arrived at the surgery center, Luke took on the position of social director. He had to "talk" to everyone and greet everyone that he saw. They have toys everywhere and Luke decided to "help" a little girl who was riding on one of the toys. She didn't seem to mind and he did a great job of pushing her around on the little riding toy. It was hilarious. He looks like such the little old man in these pictures with his hospital gown, dark socks, and tennis shoes.

Luke on the move, pushing his new friend around the hallway

Stopping for a millisecond so mama could take a picture

Off again! Check out the dark socks and tennis shoes - hilarious. 

The surgery took about 30 minutes and he was absolutely pitiful when they brought him back to me. He had to have an IV and he was not loving it. The doctor said that his tubes were in horrible shape and that his adenoids were really, really big. Hopefully, this will solve some of our issues. He has been a little stuffy the past day or two, but seems to be recovering well. I am praying that the ear infections will stop - they are so hard on him and I hate giving him so many antibiotics. Time will tell, but I am optimistic!

Proud Little American

Luke went to his very first election yesterday! He was so good and let me fill out my ballot without too much "help" ;-) When we turned our ballot in, Luke got a sticker to show what a good little patriot he is! Excuse the mess - we had just had a snack that got a little out of control. Hard to believe that when our next President is elected, this little boy will be 5!

Trick or Treat!

Luke didn't do any trick-or-treating this year, but he still took the opportunity to dress up like a monkey! I wasn't going to do any kind of costume, but I found this little costume on sale today and I couldn't resist! He loved seeing all of the kids come to the door and was sad when they left without him - he is such a social little fella - I think I am going to have my hands full!

Such a cute little monkey!

 Check out this monkey's teeth! 

He was watching the little girls across the street - he wanted to go, too! 

Mama, why can't I go with them? 

Happy Halloween!!!!

Luke's Barnyard Birthday Bash

 Luke's first birthday party was SO much fun and he was the cutest little farmer! Here are a few of the little details!

This was the outside of the invitation - I wanted it to look like barn doors! 

Inside of the invitation - it's hard to see from this picture, but there were little farm animals in between the letters of the EIEIO....

Our friends let us borrow their awesome John Deere Gator Truck for our porch! I made the wreath by painting flat wooden farm animals and gluing them onto the yarn-wrapped wreath (Martha Stewart would not be impressed, but Luke loved the animals!)

What Farm Party would be complete without cow balloons on the mailbox?

The breakfast area was all decked out with Luke's "Happy Birthday" banner, balloons, and gingham table runner!

The fireplace banner said, "I Am One!" - note that we are good little football fans - SportsCenter was on and games were watched! 

For the dining room, I ordered vinyl wall decals for the little farm scene. The banner says, "Welcome to Luke's Farm!" I also had a horse, a sheep, and a pig/piglets that I had in other rooms. Luke loved pointing to all of the animals and "petting" them. I made a drum shade to cover the chandelier so the room would look a bit more farm-y.

yummy!

Soooo much food! The cupcakes had little farm animal sprinkles on them.

We made cow-shaped brown-butter-white-chocolate-rice-krispy-treats. 

And what farm party would be complete without EIH2O? 

The birthday boy! 

 Luke wasn't quite sure what to think about his cupcake - he was so tired by this point, that I don't think he was into anything but a nap! He was a good sport and ate a little bit of the icing!

He LOVED the balloons - he kept saying "Bah!" (ball) every time he saw one! 

My very precious and sweet friend, Bea, dressed up for his party - isn't she awesome?

Daddy and Luke on the tractor! 

 It was such a fun and special day! It was so nice of so many of our sweet friends, family, and neighbors to stop by and wish our precious boy a Happy First Birthday! Happy First Birthday, sweet Luke!

Baby's Got A New Pair Of Shoes!

Since he is now walking/teetering around, Luke needed some new shoes! So, Gran, Kasey and I went to Sykes Shoes in Homewood to buy a pair. Luke LOVED the store and had the best time getting his new shoes fitted. He has extra wide feet and he wears a size 4.5. I couldn't decide between the Stride Rite and the Twigs, but ultimately decided on the Twig "Dallas" - he can really move in them!

Here he getting all measured up - Miss Emily was so good with him and he was very interested in what was going on with his foot!

He was very still while Miss Emily measured his foot! 

What size will he be? 

New socks! 

So excited about the whole process!

All strapped in - so cute!

I think these fit just fine!

Once we got his shoes on, he wasn't too sure about walking in them - with a little encouragement from mommy, daddy and Gran, he finally took a few little steps in them!

Of course, the most interesting part of the whole day was the puzzle on the little table in the store - we have since ordered one of these, as it kept his attention for quite a while!

SO much fun with my new shoes and fun puzzle!