Saturday, January 14, 2012

Christmas, 11 Years, and 3 Months



Okay, next time I won't wait a month in between blog posts - SO much happens every day, I know I've already forgotten so much!

Luke's first Christmas was very busy! We went to my Aunt Pat's for Christmas Eve lunch and Luke had so much fun with his cousin, Addi. Uncle Brad cooked some amazing ribs and we had a good time starting some new traditions. This Christmas was a tough one, as it was the first Christmas without my beloved Uncle Jimmy and the second without my grandmother. Although my grandmother had passed away last Christmas, it didn't really hit me until this year - Christmas Eve was always so special to her and she cooked Christmas dinner for all of us until she was well into her 80s. It wasn't until the last two years that my aunt really had to help her get things together. I know that she would have loved Luke so much and would have loved to play "patty cake" with him. I think we honored her and my uncle well with our celebration this year.

Uncle Brad, Cousin Addi, Aunt Pat, and Luke - Luke was getting SLEEPY! 


After leaving Aunt Pat's, we went and visited Aunt Betty and Uncle John. They (along with Gran) gave Luke some beautiful new clothes and a really beautiful frame for his room. After a quick visit, we headed to Kasey's mom's to drop off her present and then (finally!) headed home.

I had great plans to make a fabulous Christmas dinner for us, but by the time we got home, neither Kasey nor I was in the mood to cook or eat anything complicated. We ended up eating cereal and ice cream for Christmas Eve dinner...fancy, schmancy, I know. We were finishing up our fabulous meal, the doorbell rang. It was our neighbor (who we really don't know very well at all). He brought us a big tin of cookies and told us that his inlaws were visiting and that they were making enchiladas for Christmas - he said he had to get out of that house and have some whiskey and a smoke - guess our house was on his whiskey route...it created a good laugh for us and a fun memory. I stayed up half the night making cinnamon rolls and muffins for brunch the next day, but it was a great evening.

Christmas morning was really special for us - it is just so different now that Luke is here. We got up and acted like fools as we opened his presents for him. He got some fun toys and books and is already playing with them! Gran and Pappy came over and we exchanged presents with them before going to church. Luke made it almost to the sermon before getting hungry, so we slipped out and had a little brunch during the sermon. The nursery was closed, so there were kids running around everywhere in the church lobby...definitely hyped up on Christmas cheer!

Christmas Brunch at Aunt K's - think we had enough food? 

Aunt Betty hanging out at Aunt K's 

Aunt K's pretty table
Christmas Tree at Gigi and Pappy's

After church, we went to Aunt Kelly's for brunch - wayyyy too much food for the number of folks that were there, but it was entertaining, as always. After brunch, we made a stop at our house before heading to my mom's for dinner...to say that we were stuffed was an understatement. At the end of the night, we were so glad that we had cereal for dinner the night before!



One short week later, Kasey and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary - wow. Time has gone so fast and it is hard to believe that it has been 11 years since we walked down that aisle. In our 11 years together, we have lived at 7 different addresses, had 10 different jobs, driven 12 different cars, had 5 different phone numbers, loved 3 pets, purchased 4 blenders, 5 toasters, 3 grills, 8 sofas, and had 1 beautiful baby boy! For our anniversary, Gran came and watched Luke while Kasey and I went to Taziki's for lunch and then went swimming at St Vincent's 119...we love the saltwater pool and it felt great to get some exercise. For dinner, I wanted pizza, so we tried pizza from a local place we had heard great things about - for $30 for ONE thin crust pizza, it should have been spectacular...spectacular, it was not. SO, I took it back and got dinner from our go-to neighborhood pizza place - we shall not stray again.

And so now we arrive at the most important part of the story...LUKE IS THREE MONTHS OLD!!!!! In the past month, he has done so many new things. He now weighs right at 14 pounds, is almost 24 inches long, is wearing size 3-6 month clothes, and a size 2 diaper. He has outgrown his Puj bathtub and now has a whale bathtub that he loves. He just kicks and smiles and gets water everywhere - it is our favorite part of the day!

Luke talking to his elephant

He has started to hold onto things and grab things very well. He has this green ball that he just loves. He holds onto it and shakes it - it is so cute! He loves to play in his little activity gym and loves to ride in the Boba Carrier and Moby Wrap. He talks and wiggles all the time and is just so much fun!



Luke holding daddy's fork after dinner! 

He is NOT a fan of naptime, but is sleeping well at night. Most nights, he sleeps from about 9 until 2 or 3 and then again from 3 until 5 or 6. I would like him to stretch those times out a little bit, but he is working on it and will do it when he's ready!

We are also trying to get him to take a bottle, but he is not wild about that. He is still eating about every 3 hours or so and is quite the healthy boy!

He continues to be an absolute joy and we love him more every minute. We are so grateful that we get to be  his parents and pray every day that we will do a good job and that he will grow up knowing that he is loved and adored!
On the way home from the hospital - 2 days old
One Month Old
Two Months!



Three Months and all smiles!!!!

2 comments:

  1. I miss Aunt Mildred & her cooking. What I wouldn't give for some of her cheese straws! Looks like an amazing Christmas. Luke is beyond precious. I love all his hair!

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    1. Yes, we miss her terribly. She always kept your family's pictures up in her kitchen...we always teased her that she had more pictures of you than she did of us! You are inspiring me with your craftiness...I've got to get on the crafting wagon again!

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