Four Months Old!

Luke talking to his Elephant

So I am a little behind in doing Luke's 4 month post - to my credit, I did take the pictures on his 4 month "birthday," but am just now getting around to doing the actual post.

Notice Luke's hair goes halfway down his back - hence, the need for a haircut!

For celebrate Luke's 4 month-dom, I took him to the pediatrician for his 4 month shots - he was not pleased. AT. ALL. He did so well at the doctor's office - he weighed 15.55 pounds, was 25.5 inches long, and had a head circumference of 17 inches - 75th percentile for height and weight and 90th percentile for that big head. He got his shots and he seemed just fine. We went to visit Aunt Pat at work, then went to Early Bird Story Time at the library, and then ran to Barnes and Noble...and THEN, he LOST IT. I mean, crying uncontrollably, SO upset, SO mad. We got home and he finally calmed down after a little Tylenol and some lunch. He was just so fussy and sad all afternoon - a much different experience than his first little round of shots.

Two days later, he got an ear infection - wow. Once again, my usually happy baby was really upset, crying, mad, and very sad. A round of antibiotics, more Tylenol, and some ear numbing drops, and he is now finally back to his old self. The only remaining effect of his sickness is that he has regressed in his sleep patterns. He was finally getting to where he was sleeping 6-7 hours at night - now we are back to 3-4. I have hope that we will once again get to the happy place of 6-7 hours...

He continues to be a complete joy for us! He is wearing a size 2 diaper, size 6-9 month clothes, loves playing in his exersaucer, and just babbles up a storm. He laughs for his daddy and smiles for everyone. He is so cute in his bumbo chair and loves to grab and hold his toys. I think he is teething, as he puts everything directly in his mouth and is slobbering on everything. Bless his heart, his little shirts are usually wet by the time he's had them on for 30 minutes. I've seen some cute "teething bandanas" on etsy - I will probably look into ordering one soon. He also loves looking at light fixtures and bright colors (and he continues his love affair with ceiling fans). I took him for orientation at our church's nursery and he was mesmerized by all of the bright artwork all over the walls. Our church nursery is like a scene out of Honey I Shrunk the Kids, so it is very stimulating for little eyes!

We are having him dedicated at church on Sunday and he will be going to the nursery for the first time - momma is nervous. However, I know he will be in good hands and that he will have a great time. Gigi made him a beautiful outfit and I cannot wait to see how cute he is going to look. After dedication, Gigi is hosting a brunch at her house - it should be a wonderful day!

Luke eats like a champ, eating about 5-7 times per day. He refuses a bottle or a pacifier, so we don't stray too far from each other :-) I have tried every type of bottle on the market and he is just not a fan of any of them. I have tried every trick in the book and still can't get him interested. As long as he is happy and gaining weight, I am happy to feed him any way he wishes!

We love going to Early Bird Story Time on Tuesdays and he really tunes in and listens to Miss Polly. Several of his "friends" go to storytime, so it is fun to see them each week. It has been a great opportunity to connect with other moms who are in the same station of life and for Luke to learn to enjoy books!

Luke and Anna Laura at Story Time (Anna Laura's mom and I are good friends and Anna Laura was born exactly three weeks before Luke)

Luke thinks story time is hilarious

I have started back to teaching one class a week at the gym. While I'm not quite ready to get back to teaching my spin classes, the water bootcamp classes are going quite well. Gran and Gigi are splitting Wednesday night babysitting duties so that I can get to class on time since Kasey doesn't get home in time. We will eventually put him in the gym nursery, but we're just not ready for that yet!

We enjoyed a wonderful visit from Aunt Amy last week - Amy is my very best friend and it was just awesome to introduce her to Luke. We have been best friends for almost 25 years and have been through it all. Luke, of course, loved her. Incidentally, the elephant that Luke takes his monthly pictures with was a gift from Aunt Amy and has her voice recorded on it. It was such a special gift!

Luke loves his Aunt Amy

Sleep is not Luke's favorite activity :-) Once he feels better, we are going to start working on a daytime schedule so that naptime might come a little easier. Right now, he loves to nap on me or in his carseat, but just not in his comfy crib. We are very lucky that he is a happy baby when he is awake - it just makes it hard for me to get anything done. However, the way I look at it is that he is only this age one time - the housework will always be there.

We are amazed every day that God put Luke with us - we are just so happy and enjoy him so much!

Luke and Daddy watching football

Luke playing in his exersaucer

Luke's First Hair Cut

Check out this baby mullet...definitely time for a little trim!

So excited to see himself in the mirror! 

I realize that it is tradition (at least where I live) to wait until a baby is at least a year old to cut his hair. HOWEVER, Luke was rocking a baby mullet with which I was becoming quite uncomfortable. And speaking of uncomfortable, his hair was constantly getting stuck in his collar and falling down in his eyes. Additionally, Luke is being dedicated at church on Sunday and I didn't want him looking like a ragamuffin in front of the whole congregation. SO, off to the salon we went. I must admit that I felt silly making an appointment for my 4 month old, but the kind folks at Richard Joseph Salon gladly obliged. Gigi met us at the salon and Brittney got us ready to go.

Who is that cute baby in that mirror?

He LOVED the floor to ceiling mirror that was in front of the chair - he couldn't quit looking at himself...pretty cute. He was really still and let Brittney give him a cute little haircut. Of course, I saved all of the hair and will put it in his baby book (once I get going on that...) Everyone in the salon was just making a big scene over him and he loved every minute (as did his mama and Gigi :-)

Waiting for Miss Brittney to get her station ready

One Year Ago Today...

One year ago today, I went to the urgent care doctor because my throat was sore and I thought I was coming down with strep throat. I left the urgent care with a prescription for amoxicillin and some life-changing news...a baby was on his way! The urgent care doc said that he had a "hunch" based on some of my other symptoms (extreme fatigue, slight nausea, etc) and didn't want to give me an antibiotic without checking...good thing he did! After I left the doctor, I drove to Kasey's office (I was picking him up to take him to the doctor) and told him in the parking lot! Not exactly how I had pictured that moment, but it was perfect. We were, of course, so excited and nervous, but knew that our world had just gotten so much better. Who could have imagined that one year later, we would have this little fella?

Who is doing things like this?

Or playing with toys like this?

What a difference a year makes!

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!!!!

Cutest Santa...

My sweet friend Katherine got Luke this little outfit...I just couldn't resist taking a few pictures. We can add these pictures to the list of things he will be probably be embarrassed about later in life - what's a mama for?

Two months old!

It blows my mind to think that two months ago, we were at UAB and were having the happiest time of our lives! It seems like he has been here forever and we cannot imagine our lives without him. He is just so much fun and it seems like he grows every day!

This month, we have ventured out more and more. We have several different groups that we visit and have gotten to know some other moms and babies. It is comforting to know that there are others out there who are going through the same challenges that you are and it is great to hear how other folks are handling those issues.

Our current issue is naptime - he doesn't like it. Not. One. Bit. He is a bit of a "catnapper" - he will nap for about 30 minutes at a time and then he is ready to PLAY! I am very grateful that when he is awake, he is usually a happy little man, but it makes it difficult to get things done :-) Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

I went to the Babywearing meeting this month and learned how to use the Moby Wrap - that has made a tremendous difference! Now I can just carry him around with me during the day and still have two hands free to do things like fold laundry! We even went to Homegoods and TJ Maxx today!

One of the most precious developments this month is that he is starting to give us big smiles! Every morning he just grins at us when we get him out of his crib - what a wonderful way to start the morning! He will also smile at funny sounds and funny faces! He is quite the talker - he coos and babbles all the time and is in constant motion! He continues to eat well, weighing in at almost TWELVE pounds - that's almost double his birth weight - he is almost 23 inches long and is wearing a size 3 month clothes. He is very close to sleeping all the way through the night, going to bed at around 9 and sleeping until 3 or so, then sleeping until 6:30 or 7. We are trying very hard to get on some sort of schedule, although the no napping thing is making that a little difficult. We do start and end the day at the same time every day, however, so at least that's a start!

We are so excited to spend our first Christmas with our precious Luke. It is so amazing to know that the Son of God came to earth in the form of a little baby - helpless and defenseless. We are so looking forward to starting our family traditions with him and watching him enjoy them year after year.

Luke's Birthday - 2 hours old

Luke at One Month Old

Luke Smiling - Two Months Old!

Luke hanging out with his elephant from Aunt Amy - 2 months old! 

Seven Weeks!

Julio and Rashad birdwatching

This has been the best week yet (I know I say that every week, but this one was REALLY good :-) I think I still have some of those new mommy love hormones going, yes? Anyway, Luke has started smiling and cooing and it is just the best. He can act like a little turkey all day (which he does sometimes!) and he will give me a smile and all is suddenly right with the world.

My mom and grandmother came over on Saturday and graciously put up our Christmas decorations. It was so helpful to have four extra hands to help get things done. We got everything put up in about 3 hours - it would have taken me 3 days without their help! Julio and Rashad are doing their best to destroy the Christmas tree, but I have tried to be quick with the squirt bottle in an effort to deter their climbing endeavors.

On Sunday, I went to Sunday School and Kasey stayed home - it was so nice to see everyone at church and feel like I was "back in the game" a little bit. Daddy let mommy get a little nap on Sunday afternoon and it was SO welcome - Luke was a bit fussy all day Sunday and it can be really tiring when he can't get settled. We are learning how to work it out and how to soothe him as much as possible - it's all just part of it, I guess!

Monday was doctor day for mommy - I took Luke with me and Dr. H had a fit over him - she is the BEST doctor on earth - she said everything looked great with me, so that was welcome news! We went to Target after the doctor and got a few things - actually made it home without either one of us having a come-apart!


Tuesday night was a HUGE turning point (I hope) because Luke slept from 9-12 and then from 12:30-5:45! I count that as a FULL night of SLEEEEEP!!!! I hate to put this in writing, as I fear it won't happen again, but it was wonderful! We're really trying to be diligent about getting him in a routine at night. I know that I do best when I know what to expect, so I'm sure he does, too.

Wednesday night, Gran came over to visit and eat dinner and brought Luke a bag FULL of new clothes! Since baby boy is pushing 11 pounds, his newborn clothes are WAY too tight. She got him so many cute things, he is now one well-dressed boy! They make so many cute things for babies - I have had to practice extraordinary measures of self control not to go nuts on his wardrobe...considering he is only able to wear things for a few weeks at a time without outgrowing them, I must restrain myself. I must restrain myself. I must restrain myself.

On Thursday morning, my friend Amy and her little girl came to visit - her daughter was born 3 weeks before Luke, so it was fun to see what Luke might be doing 3 weeks from now - they change SO fast! Luke will have lots of friends at church - we have 5 girls in our Sunday School class who all had babies within 3 weeks of each other and one more is due in January! There must be something in those snacks at Sunday School.... Thursday afternoon, we visited my very sweet friend, Erin. Erin's dog had to be put to sleep over the weekend and we went over to help cheer her up a little bit. She is doing better, but it is still so sad to lose a pet, especially one you've had for over 13 years. Luke got SO much love at Erin's house! Nothing mends a broken heart like a little sweet baby smile!

Thursday night, we went out to eat at Pappas's - we made it all the way through dinner without a tantrum, so we counted that a success! We have only been out to eat a few times since Luke has been born and we have only gone to VERY family oriented restaurants - I know I will eat many of the edicts I proclaimed prior to Luke's arrival, but taking a baby to an expensive/non-family restaurant will not be one of them. There is nothing worse than looking forward to a great dinner out and then being seated by a screaming baby or even a potentially-screaming baby. Nope, not going to do it.

So, here we are at Friday! This morning, I slept in a little bit and I must have been WORN SLAP OUT because Kasey put Luke next to me and then climbed around the bedroom to take pictures of the sleeping beauties - ha - and I never knew a thing! I've been productive so far today - let's hope the trend continues! Have a great weekend!

Mommy, Luke (in daddy's Tempurpedic pillow), and Rashad - sacked OUT.

Busy and happy in one of his new outfits from Gran! He looks like a little lumberjack!