Easter and The Good Night

First and foremost, the first Easter with Luke was so special. Having Luke and loving him so much has made me grow even deeper in my love for the Lord - how could he love me enough to give his son for my sins? Wow. It truly is amazing love that the Father has for us!

We got up and went to the 8 o'clock service - I was pretty proud of that :-)  We came home, ate a little breakfast, and Luke opened his Easter basket - it was so cute! He really liked grabbing all of the little toys out of the basket and, of course, immediately putting them in his mouth.

Luke and his Easter basket - note that Julio is keeping a close watch on all activities!

My little Easter man!

After Luke took a little nap, we loaded up and headed to my aunt's for lunch.  It was my aunt's birthday, so we had two reasons to celebrate! Luke got to play with his cousin, Addi, but she wasn't too interested in him yet. She was way too busy playing the piano, watching "Beat Beats" and being her sweet funny little self! Both little ones were in green seersucker (we didn't plan it!),  so it was quite cute to see Luke and Addi in their Easter outfits!

In other news, last night LUKE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He went to sleep around 6:30 and didn't wake up until 5:45!!!! It was the first time since about my third month of pregnancy that I slept for an uninterrupted eight hours. It may never happen again, but that's okay...at least it happened once and I know it is possible! A little sleep makes a huge difference! 

I will post Luke's six month post this weekend...I cannot believe it!

FIVE MONTHS OLD!!!!!

My goodness...I cannot believe that our little Luke is 5 months old! Every day with him is just complete joy and we are having so much fun being parents. Luke now weighs almost 18 pounds, wears size 6/9 month clothes, and a size 3 diaper - big boy. He is coming very close to rolling from back to front, but can't figure out what to do with the arm that ends up underneath his body - he will figure it out soon enough! He has also started to try to sit up from a reclining position - especially in his bathtub! He thinks his feet are really interesting and likes to pull on his socks. I must give major thanks to the folks who make Trumpette and Gymboree socks - they are the ONLY socks I've found that actually stay on his feet!

He loves to play in his exersaucer and thinks it's great when he presses the buttons and different sounds and music play. He "talks" all the time and it cracks us up as he learns what sounds he can make. He sometimes seems surprised that the sounds are coming from his mouth! For a while, he was waking up at about 3 am and talking for a while before going back to sleep - it was fun to listen to, even at that early hour!  He still likes to eat about 5-7 times a day and still refuses a bottle. I had hopes that some of the new bottles might work, but alas, he is not a fan of anything artificial :-) I certainly don't mind one bit.

Sleeping continues to be a bit of a challenge, but we are making progress! I read a book my pediatrician recommended and am trying to put it to use. I am trying to get him on a morning nap schedule first and then go from there. We are very lucky that he sleeps well at night - he might wake up once or twice, but he always goes back to sleep quickly. I must admit that I am jealous of my friends who have babies who sleep for 2 hour naps! However, when Luke is awake, he is a happy little man - he is content to play in his exersaucer or on his play mat, so I can get some things done around the house. He loves to sit in his bouncy seat and watch me cook dinner. If the opportunity arises, I will be ready for an audition at the Food Network, because I narrate everything that goes on as I cook. Luke seems to get a kick out of it!

Luke has been to the church nursery twice - he seems to do very well in the nursery and the ladies just love him. I still obsessively check the parent pager that they give us, but I am beginning to relax a little bit!

We found out this month that we will be moving - ugh. Although our landlord told us that he intended to rent to us for several more years if we would like, he has suddenly decided to put the house on the market and not renew our lease (which is up at the end of April - yikes!). SO, we have jumped into house hunting full force...it is not fun. We want to make sure that our next house isn't a maintenance nightmare and that it has a nice place for Luke to play...that, apparently, is an impossible combination. We have a great agent and I hope that something will come up soon. Luckily, our landlord is going to let us rent month-to-month until the house sells. This will be our eighth move in 11 years, so we are hoping that this one will be the last for quite some time!

One thing that Luke absolutely loves is going for a walk outside. We (along with the rest of the country) are enjoying some crazy summer-like weather. For this girl who LOVES the cold, it has been hard not to have any kind of winter, but it has been very nice to get out and enjoy the sunshine. For an early Mothers Day present, Kasey bought me a jogging stroller...the Bob Revolution SE - it is awesome. It is so much easier to walk fast with this than it is with the Orbit stroller - also, it is nice that he can get out of his car seat and stroll...our other stroller is really nice, but you have to use the car seat with it, so that can be limiting (and hot!).

Our days just fly by - we have a pretty good little schedule of events going - we are still going to our breastfeeding group and to Story Time at the library. We also go to the Magic City Slingers meeting, where we checked out the Scootababy carrier for the month (note how much fun the model and her child are having!). It is a great carrier because it allows Luke to sit on my hip - he can see out and I have my hands and sightline free - it is SO easy to use, comfortable and it does a great job of taking the weight of carrying him off of my back. I will definitely be checking this one out again!

We continue to marvel at how much fun it is to have Luke. We don't really remember life without him and don't want to! Kasey was in an endurance race last weekend in Tuscaloosa and said that he just thought about Luke the whole time - he said that Luke has just changed his heart - so true, so true. So many of the things that were such a top priority just aren't even on the radar anymore! We have such joy with him in our lives and are grateful for every minute we have with him!

Baby Dedication

We had such a special weekend! Luke was dedicated at church on Sunday and it was such a meaningful time.  My mom made his little outfit and he looked so precious. Gigi and Pappy, Betty and John, Gran, Aunt K and Uncle Jim all made the journey to share this day with us. There were only 6 babies dedicated during our service, which was a very small group (usually there are about 20 babies in each of the three services!). Our good friends Keith and Amy dedicated Anna Laura as well, so that made it extra special! Before the service, Luke fell asleep in the gym while we were waiting to go into church. I just knew that the child who never naps would sleep through the service! Luckily, he woke up just in time and was sweet for the dedication. 

Afterwards, we put him in the nursery for the first time. I don't think I heard a word that our pastor said because I was so focused on our beeper (the nursery gives the parents beepers so that the nursery can contact the parents if there is any issue with the little ones!). I hope it will get easier each week, as it was very nice to be in church with Kasey. We have been alternating Sundays, so it was good to have all three Burlesons under one roof for worship! 

After the service, we all went back to Gigi's for an amazing brunch. She made shrimp and grits, blackberry french toast, fruit salad, quiche, pecan and cinnamon rolls, biscuits, spanikopita, raspberry fizz, and mimosas...we were STUFFED. Luke was in a great mood and everyone had a wonderful time. 

Daddy and Luke in the gym before the service. Luke LOVES this yellow dog - it crackles and rattles!

Mommy and Luke before the service - Luke was out COLD!

Bulletin 

Our preschool minister, Melanie Sanford and us as we waited our turn

Our friends Amy and Keith and their children Tyler and Anna Laura - I LOVED Tyler's expression! He was making faces at his grandparents! 

The Burlesons - Luke was very focused :-) 

Proud Parents!

Our Pastor, Buddy Gray

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!!!!