So Thankful....

This past year or so takes the prize for amazing and wonderful things happening in our lives. If you had told me a little over a year ago that by today we would have sold our house, I would have lost a job, we would have moved to another house, I would have gotten another job, I would have quit that job, I would decide to stay at home, have had a baby, and yet be amazingly content, I would have laughed you into next week. but it is true. It is SO true and we couldn't be more grateful.

Daddy and Luke on Thanksgiving - Luke's shirt says, "I'm Stuffed" - very cute.

Mommy and Luke - can you stand those little pants !!!!!???? 

This was the first year in a very long time that I didn't cook a large part of Thanksgiving dinner - all I brought to my mom's house for dinner was two cans of cranberry sauce, some Sister Shubert rolls, deviled eggs, and a sweet potato casserole - a far cry from the hours and hours I usually spend cooking and preparing for TDay! For round two of our Thanksgiving (at aunt K's), I showed up empty handed - I have NEVER done that before (although I did bring an awfully cute baby boy, which seemed to please everyone much more than any casserole I could have prepared!). It was very kind of our families to let us just relax and enjoy the holiday this year!

Dinner at Aunt K's - me, Aunt K, Aunt Betty, and GranT

GiGi's House

Luke seemed to enjoy the day very much - he was so sweet all day and let everybody hold him and make a huge fuss over him. He slept the whole time at GiGis and was hamming it up at Aunt K's.  One of the highlights of this Thanksgiving was being able to spend time with my grandmother. She is 89 years old and lives in Minneapolis, so I don't get to see her very often. She is amazing - she made her flight reservation online and was sharing her opinion regarding facebook and twitter at lunch (she's not a fan :-). Despite the miles, she and my grandfather always found a way to be involved in my life. They were at almost all of my school plays and events and always brought me up to Minnesota for 2-3 weeks during the summer. Some of my most special memories were made with my grandparents and cousins during those times, so being able to see her hold Luke was just so, so special.

Nana (my grandmother) holding Luke

So sweet! He fell fast asleep as soon as he got to her! 

Four Generations - Grandma (Nana) Ward, me, GiGi, and Luke (5 weeks, 6 days old)

For the rest of the weekend, we are going to try to get organized for the upcoming Christmas season, relax, watch some football, and enjoy spending time together. Our shopping lists are mercifully short this year, so we don't have to worry about getting out and fighting all of the crowds. I would like to do a little baking, but that can wait!

Happy Thanksgiving!
 

Luke is One Month Old!

Luke in his Daddy's Colorado Cyclist jersey - Daddy can't wait until he can buy Luke a mountain bike!

                                   

Luke (4 days old) and Mommy

Happy Birthday, Luke!

One month old!

Ready for his closeup at one month old! 

Luke is now ONE MONTH OLD! I cannot believe how fast this month has gone - any preconceived notions I might have had about how much we would love him or how much better our lives would be have been multiplied by about a million...it is just pure joy.

In the last month, he has really started opening his eyes and interacting with us. He is trying to grab at things and loves to look at bright colors. He also really likes to look at the ceiling fan in our den. He has slept in his crib every night except for one (when he slept in his bassinet and mommy kept her hand on his chest all night to make sure he was still breathing :-) He is such a good eater - yesterday at the pediatrician, he weighed 9.3 pounds - meaning that he has gained 3.1 pounds since we left the hospital. He is settling into a little routine, eating about every 2.5-3 hours and napping in between. He still has all of his hair, although folks tell us that it might still fall out.

He loves his Puj Tub and bath time - he just relaxes when he gets into that warm water! He is now in a size 1 diaper and has just about outgrown all of his newborn clothes. We punted on the cloth diapers for this stage of his life - they were a little too leaky and created a little too much laundry for this stage of the game. We are going to try them again in a few weeks when he is bigger and not going through quite so many!

He is doing SO well in tummy time, turning his head from side to side and kicking his legs so strongly. He loves to lay on his daddy's chest and push up like he is doing little pushups - we call him "Ivan" sometimes because he looks like a little Romanian wrestler - such a strong little fella!

Julio and Rashad are slowly getting adjusted, although they are not getting the naps that they used to. Nobody in the house gets uninterrupted sleep any more! They love Luke's toys and want to play with his play gym and his tummy time mat. Kasey went to Wal-Mart and bought them some special toys so that they wouldn't feel left out - they seemed to appreciate it!

We have been showered with food and help that we never expected - I am just now starting to cook again - we have had meals rolling in for an entire month!!!! We went to the grocery store yesterday and I felt like I was in a foreign land - everything is just so different now.

We are getting better and better at getting around once we leave the house - it is a strange choreography these days. Luckily, Luke really likes his car seat and does really well riding in the car. The only time he has been upset is when I pushed the time limit a bit past lunchtime - I will not do that again!

We are so looking forward to the holidays - my grandmother from Minnesota is coming and I cannot wait for her to see Luke. We are going to eat Thanksgiving lunch at my mom's (who has now decided that she wants to be called GiGi) and then eat dinner with GranT at Aunt Kelly's.

We are just so grateful for a healthy and happy baby boy - we are blessed infinitely beyond what we deserve and  are reminded every time we look at him what a gracious and loving God we serve. We pray every day that Luke will come to love Jesus and will seek after Him. We are just so grateful and cannot believe how something so tiny could make such a big difference.

Little Bama Fan

We had a great weekend, even though the Crimson Tide didn't play as well as we would have liked! On Friday night, GranT came over and brought us dinner and played with Luke - both were greatly appreciated! 

Saturday was very relaxing - we cleaned the house, did a little laundry, and then went to my mom's (she hasn't decided what she wants to be called yet :-) house for dinner with the whole Michael fam - SO much fun to see everyone and to get out of the house for a little bit. 

We headed back to our house to watch the game and Luke was pretty wild the whole time - he is struggling with acid reflux, so it was hard for him to get settled. He finally fell asleep around 11:30 and had a pretty good night - we both got a good nap on Sunday morning and we are ready for the week!  

Oh, and Luke's newborn pictures are in - check out this link to see them! 

http://cbmphotoblog.com/?p=826

Nothing Scary Over Here!

Luke had quite the Halloween! He had two "costumes" - as you can see, he was truly thrilled about the holiday :-) He went to the pediatrician for his two week check-up and is doing really well. He is now two full pounds heavier than he was when we left the hospital and has grown 1.25 inches. Dr. D was very happy with his progress and told us to keep up the good work - we were very encouraged!

Our days go by so fast! Luke eats every 2.5-3 hours, so that keeps us very busy. He is also starting to be much more alert, so we are spending some time every day doing tummy time and looking at our picture books. He loves the black and white baby animal books and likes anything that crinkles. He is starting to grab at things and has a really strong grip. It is so exciting to see how he grows and changes every day.

We got Luke's newborn pictures back this week and they are SO good - I will be posting some of the pictures very soon! We had the pictures taken when he was 4 days old - it is amazing how much he has changed between then and now - it makes me realize that I need to soak up every moment!

A Little Under the Weather....

Well, despite my germaphobia and obsessive-compulsive handwashing, Luke somehow got a cold this week. The pediatrician said that babies are likely to get 7-9 colds in their first year - yikes! We fired up the humidifier, got very familiar with the bulb syringe and now he seems to be on the mend. He is still eating and sleeping well, so we are not too concerned. We did get some good news at the pediatrician - Luke has gained 1.5 pounds since we left the hospital! Hopefully that trend will continue...

Here are a few pictures of daddy and Luke...they both had big days yesterday and were worn out! I can't imagine a better end to the day.

Out and About

Luke is 10 days old today! This has been the fastest 10 days of our lives and we have loved every minute. Luke has been eating and sleeping really well and has started to open his eyes more and more. He has gained over a pound since we left the hospital, so we are prayerful that he will continue to eat and rest well. We're still not sure what color his eyes actually are, but they appear to be very dark blue or dark hazel. He has mixed emotions on bath time, but is clearly against having his diaper changed. We have put a few little toys on the changing table that seem to capture his attention pretty well, so a little distraction seems to calm him down a little bit during that whole process.

We had a great weekend at home - on Friday, Aunt Kelly sent a very sweet lady to our house to clean for us and since my love language is cleanliness and organization, this was an awesome gift! It was so nice to go into the weekend with a very clean house. Kasey got a chance to head to Oak Mountain on Sunday morning and Luke and I took a great nap! Sunday night, Aunt Kelly, Uncle Jim, Aunt Betty, Uncle John, and GranT came over and brought Tazikis for us - I love how dinner just "appears"  these days - a girl could get used to this :-)

Today, mommy and Luke flew solo for the first time. While I was convinced that everyone on the road was determined to hit us head-on, we survived our car ride to the drive-thru window at the bank and to The Preserve. Luke loves his stroller and loved walking around the Green at the Preserve - before anyone freaks out at my non-jacketed child in the photos below, it is almost 75 degrees here today and super sunny - warmth was definitely not an issue! It felt so good to get some fresh air and for me to get a little exercise. Here are a couple of pictures of our little outing - now it is time for lunch and a nap!

Day 5

This has, hands down, been the most amazing five days of our lives. We had an awesome experience at UAB and bringing Baby Luke home has just been wonderful. He still has his days and nights mixed up just a bit, but he is figuring it out. Julio and Rashad are adjusting well and seem to be okay with their baby brother...although Rashad seems a little jealous, so we'll have to watch him :-)

We have been so overwhelmed by how kind and generous everyone has been - our refrigerator is overflowing and our living room is full of beautiful flowers - there is no way we will ever be able to adequately express our gratitude!

We had our first visit to the pediatrician on Monday and he was very pleased with Luke's progress - he had gained weight, is feeding well, and his blood work was perfect - all very welcome news for two nervous new parents!

We also had our newborn photo session yesterday - he did so well! I cannot WAIT to see how well they are going to turn out!

Here are a few pictures of Luke as he got ready to leave the hospital - his newborn clothes are still a little big on him, but he will grow into them all too soon!