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Hey 2008 - You have been a remarkable year! Here is a big smile for you :)


We went to my mom's for a while this morning b/c our furnace shut off last night and we woke up to a 55 degree house! Luke and I were snuggled under lots of blankets together (last night was horrendous sleep wise - teething, gas, whatever) so Steve noticed the brrrrr factor first. He actually fixed the problem, too! Man of many talents :)

It is chilly today, but the past few days have been amazingly warm. Mom and I took Luke and the dogs on a hike yesterday morning which was really nice. We all enjoyed soaking up some sun and being comfortable outdoors. I even played tennis yesterday(12/30) OUTSIDE! woo hoo and Steve golfed with my dad...it was great!


What are you doing, mom? How about giving me another bite of fruit?


Here is his new talent (besides clapping a lot on his own which is really cute) He will strip the toilet paper off of the roll and enjoy every second of it. If you are at our house anytime soon, there will likely be a big ball of TP in the place of the roll. I don't want to waste the paper he unrolls!

I just liked this picture of the girls after Christmas Day...they have loved all of the nice weather, too. Lots of long walks, car rides and fun with the family. Dogs make life better.


Break has been really good. It is always nice to have so much time with Steve and our families. We have been rotating the night duty so I am going to go into shock when he goes back to work and I am getting up most nights again. I think tonight when he does his wonderfully fun midnight-ish wakeup I am going to grab a bottle of champagne and just start chugging. That should make being up when I really don't want to be so much more enjoyable.

Cheers to a wonderful 2009. My hope is for continued health and happiness for the family and, to be honest, I really hope Luke starts sleeping through the night sometime in the coming year...that gives him a pretty wide window

Tis the season

Christmas Eve - I made Gnocchi with Gorgonzola sauce and chicken for Steve. Between that meal and the freezer of Buster Bars, I think he had a yummy Christmas :) Luke got a couple gnocchi and Luna was eager for him to drop them!


Here he is opening his stocking on C. Eve. We just fill stockings around here. Luke's was full of big serving spoons and rubber spatulas this year. Definitely the cheapest Christmas Steve and I will ever be able to get away with...he LOVED them!


Gma Jackie and Gpa Nick got Luke this wonderful rocking horse. He really likes it and it is super fun to watch him go for a ride.



Napping mid-day with his fav buddy Curious George. He slept from 11-2 and so did mom and dad - yippee - resting up for an awesome second half of Christmas fun.


I often think that Luke's favorite being on earth is Star...Uncle Glenn at least ties her for tops in Luke's book. He LOVES his Uncle Glenn. What a treat to watch the two of them together. We got to visit with him several times and even take a couple of hikes with the dogs...the weather has been WARM the last couple of days so the dogs are wiped from all of the outdoor fun.


I want to try some asparagus, mom! He loved it - double fisting the stalks right off of my plate AND I never did smell it again in his diaper...interesting


Loving helping Gma Susan play some carols. She is soooo patient with him. He kept turning the pages and pounding on keys, but she just kept smiling and playing. cute


Love is in this photo - Gma Susan and Gpa Paul hosted a wonderful Christmas dinner. Gpa made the best beef tenderloin ever (Gpa Nick and Steve both rolled home) and Gma Jackie made delicious lasagna. The company was great and everything added up to a phenomenal first Christmas for our little guy.

9 Months

Here I am! 20 pounds and counting...Merry Christmas everyone :)

Go Dad! (and some other stuff)

Here are my happy guys. Luke really really adores his dad. When he gets home from work, they are both excited to see each other, and I enjoy seeing them catch up with one another after a day apart.

This weekend we have been celebrating the fact that Steve got the principal job!

The high school is definitely in good hands. He called me Friday morning to tell me that he was heading to admin to go over the contract and that he thought there would be a faculty meeting before everyone left for break.

Luke and I got ready and headed up there. We are so fortunate to work there and have such wonderful friends. I was super excited to see Steve and talk to him but we didn't get to say hey until about 40 minutes after I got there b/c Luke had lots of greetings to give :) It was a whirlwind of a morning, though. There was a faculty meeting, Luke and I did attend and Steve gave a wonderful, emotional and sincere speech. People left for break with positive energy for the coming year(s)!

Luke was awesome throughout the meeting, by the way, just happy to sit with his ABC book and listen to the excitement around him. Amy also helped out by lending her cell phone to him which he LOVED. Amy is definitely one of his new favorite people...they were smiling back and forth all morning, and Luke loved every second of her attention!



He is looking at a picture of himself here on Gma Jackies phone...



Luke is pulling up more and getting stronger everyday. He will lunge up from my lap and hold on to a chair/back of the couch etc...He is still just a wild man in his walker. One of my favorite parts of the day is when he has finished a bottle and is just using me as a jungle gym, climbing all over and rolling around just figuring out what he can do!



First time bath in the sink...how about those legs splayed for support. Too funny. The red stuff on his face is pizza sauce from some Pag's pizza crust that he enjoyed gnawing on during dinner.



I am writing this at 5am after giving him his early am bottle. My brain was going going going so I thought I would at least use it instead of trying to go back to sleep.

We had an awesome time with Franciene and Andy last night. We went to Tom's for a Christmas dinner and everything was wonderful. It was extra special to celebrate Steve's new position with them, and just tons of fun to catch up and LAUGH so much.

Luke was enthralled with Andy and didn't know what to do with all of the excitement when they got to our house. Gma Jackie and Gpa Nick were here to babysit, too, so he had a lot going on around him. I noticed the first sign of shyness that I have ever seen from him, which was kind of cute and funny at the same time. He is not a cuddler, but he was burying his head in my neck and acting a little unsure of everything for a while.

Luke's latest:
-top front tooth popping through (#5)
-'talking' and laughing lots
-self-feeding (cheerios, crackers)
-pretty regular sleep - 9-ish to 4-ish, bottle, back down until about 8
-really good with his hands/feet - seems to be a soccer player in the making

Back to bed for me - Christmas is near, Luke is getting his 2 front teeth which is timely and he has practiced opening presents with Gma Susan so I think we are all set :)

Happy Bugaboo to me!

My Christmas came in the form of an ebay auction that I won - my first in about 10 years. I really like to look at and talk to Luke when he is in a stroller but 99% of them have the child facing out/away from the 'driver' when they are seated. I also recently read an article saying that children facing people in the stroller learn more from the interaction that they get - duh! - So....there is a brand of strollers that you can put the seat either way called Bugaboo. They are really well made and also really expensive so I tried my luck and got a used one for a good price.

I can see how people get addicted to ebay - I was excitedly counting down the last few seconds of the auction ready to bid whatever it took to win - ha - luckily people don't really like used strollers b/c I was the only bid. It didn't come with a manual so Steve and I had to use the internet and some of his engineering skills to get it into working position.

I spent some fun time tonight racing around the house with Luke laughing his head off...This thing can handle sand/trails/gravel etc...it has insanely wonderful shock absorbers...Spring hiking - here we come!




The other pic is Luke's chubby little legs attached to his new 'shoes' - they are called Robeez - leather booties that keep his feet warm and don't show the dirt as much as his white socks.

Good day today - visits with Gpa Paul, Nick and Gma Jackie. Trip to the mall, little hike with the dogs and a date with my fam at the Flyway - Luke was flirting HARDCORE with the waitresses...really, I think Steve has given him lessons already :)

childproofing!

Luke can open drawers now...watch out world. He did it yesterday morning in the bathroom and tonight got the nightstand open and realized there was really cool stuff inside. The dictionary is a new favorite, just his size and such a fun color.

Luke = joy

Friday Fun!

I need to start by saying that Friday Fun really starts with a good night's sleep on Thursday. Luke slept from 9pm - 8am. Yes...even typing that feels funny, but it is true. What an awesome kid! I think Steve was worried b/c he went in to check on him before he left for work and came in to tell me that he was still knocked out...we are NOT used to this, BUT we can get used to it anytime Luke wants us to :)

I put Luke on the 'dog couch' for a minute while I switched laundry. He had enough time to discover and become enthralled with Star's tail. She could have cared less, of course. Star was born to be around babies. Luna, on the other hand, enjoys the fact that Luke drops crackers, spills yogurt, etc...but other than that, she could really do without. He keeps trying to win her over, though, so we will see.


I am looking forward to a Christmas party tomorrow with the wonderful women that I play tennis with in Paducah. Some of us are playing in the morning, and then getting together afterwards for fun. I am taking cookies, so this morning made them with Luke and the dogs all trying to get as close to me as possible. Luke wanted to know what the heck I was doing, and the dogs just wanted me to drop some dough.

I held Luke for a while and he got a kick out of seeing me crack the eggs, use the mixer, etc...but the real hit of the day was my wonderful apron. I got this apron while in Spain with my Peace Corps pal, Becca. It is a flamenco design, so you can see the wonderful ruffles and colorful dots all over. I haven't kept a lot of things from my PC days, but this is just too good to get rid of and now that Luke gets a kick out of it, I will be breaking it out of the closet even more. I might even have to dance once in a while.

Go get 'em Daddy!

December 11th, 2008

Love you, Dad! Just remember, no matter what, you are Superman's father!

Real Quick

I just love this big beautiful smile. It is hard to catch on camera so this is the best one I have so far.



This is the look that proves to me he is already smarter than any adult that he knows...does he just look like he is saying 'whatever, I know what is going on here' Love it...



He took the Pottery Barn Kids catalog and picked a few things out that he wants for Christmas. I think he is hoping everything in the catalog is edible or at least CHEWABLE. His books are the best...they all have teeth marks/corners gnawed off/etc...

It is cold, gray and yucky. Who cares, though, we are having fun inside. Yesterday we spent some time just hanging out at the mall. I got a cup of coffee and sat with Luke on a bench just watching people go by. He was thrilled with the - yes you guessed it - plastic spoon I used to stir my drink and the scenery.

I am REAL lazy today and it is great. We have been playing on the couch, which means he rolls all over me, ends up hanging some part of his body off of the couch while he narrates his movements, I get him back to starting and we do it all again. His favorite is hanging his head upside down off of the couch and grinning as he takes the world in from a whole new view.

Have I mentioned that life is good...btw he is waking once at night and sleeping until about 7:30...I can do that the rest of my life. Thank you, Luke!

After 37 weeks, the dairy is closed

I am not nursing anymore. The timing is good since I am spending the weekend in Louisville for a tennis tournament, and he will be getting only bottles anyway. I have enough milk stored for him to transition instead of going straight to formula, and he could really care less as long as he gets fed when he is hungry! Luke was an awesome nurser & I am thrilled that we made it this long!

He slept through the night Sunday and that is the last time this week...I think my supply has been low lately so he is genuinely hungry in the middle of the night and his top two teeth are trying to make their way through. You can tell from the next couple of pictures that the night wakings are really taking a toll on him...oh wait...that is me! Ugh!

I was up last night just irritated and wondering how I could get some solid sleep...admittance to the hospital, running away from home, heavy sedation? None of those are good options, but you get my stage of desperation. I know that there are TONS of people more sleep deprived, etc...and this isn't a complaint about my life. I am BEYOND BLESSED but I am much more able to appreciate my blessings with AT LEAST 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Some day...

Thanks to Steve for getting up the second time last night to feed Luke. Husbands/dads don't get any better than Steve. I am esp. lucky he doesn't want to divorce me after my middle of the night tantrums :)

Anyway, here are some shots of our happy little guy. He loves playing with his books, which Steve and I think is super cool. I read to him when he is in the bath b/c it is the best time for him to listen without trying to eat the book AND it adds to bathtime fun. He is doing a new smile now, too. It is really big and he scrunches up his face. It might be a side effect of teething, but it is super cute.

Hey Jackie...

...It's your birthday and we are here to say "HAVE A GREAT DAY!" I am posting this at night so I hope that you HAD a great day, Mom. You are one phenomenal woman and I am so so so so so so so lucky to have you a mile away...Thanks for everything...Happy double nickel day :) We love you!

Luke wanted Gma to have a candle to blow out so he picked out her favorite brownies...He really loved the candle :)


Playing with Gma's wrapping paper. She was more excited about playing with Luke than opening gifts and I think that is the essence of a true Grandma!


I don't think she can be happier. She calls Luke her positive energy boost and just loves, loves, loves him.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2 great dads having a laugh...


Luke is trying to figure out why he isn't the center of attention...


Grandpa with his favorites...Luke and Luna. I think Luna got about 30 treats from him tonight and he just kept saying, I can give her whatever I want, it is my birthday! She totally backed him up on that :)

Love you, Dad! Hope that you had a great day! We loved seeing you at school and having you over for a lively dinner. I don't think a daughter could be luckier than I am to call you DAD! and by the way...you are a funny guy!

Little Helper (a couple of them)

I don't know how this post will look when I am done with it b/c the attachments are showing up funny in my text area. Anyway, I just wanted to get the shot of Luke helping me get the laundry done (I just carried him around with the laundry to save a trip and a little boy annoyed b/c he wasn't going where mommy was going...it was cute and he was just happy to take a ride and play with his feet.

The videos are good examples of how Luna tries to keep Luke and our floors clean...her relationship with Luke is blossoming now that he drops stuff on the floor. I let her clean out his yogurt container when he is done, too, so she is a better reminder of 'yogurt time' than Luke is!

And...I had to get the pic of Gpa Paul and the Lukester up...how precious! He and Gma Susan returned Sunday from KC too all of our delight and have had a couple of fun visits already! Gma watched Luke yesterday for a while so that I could get some shopping done on a cold and yucky day and when I walked in she had a beautiful, peaceful baby asleep on her shoulder. It was a moment...Luke is blessed to have the grandparents that he has and we are too!

Date night

Here is my Saturday night date! Could I be any luckier?

Can you see the coating of biscuit on his face and do you love the new norm of right sock off...he is going to get written up if he goes to the high school like that for gang affiliation.

Steve had a guy’s night tonight, and Luke helped me decorate the Christmas tree. Actually, as you can see he enjoyed a teething biscuit while I got dizzy going round and round with the strings of lights. I am only putting lights on the tree this year to eliminate any issues with ornaments and ornament hooks...going overboard with safety? probably but I am still doing it that way!

The best part of the decorating was each time I came around where he was looking at me, I would smile and laugh really loud which made him do the same…it makes me laugh just thinking about it.

He got his second bath of the day after that lovely biscuit...what a mess! His teeth are driving him a little nuts lately. You can hear him grinding the four that he has and he just seems to have put his gnawing skills into overdrive.

I love having some lights up. It makes the house feel cozy, and I enjoyed some hot chocolate after Luke went to sleep and the quiet of everything. Aaaaah…deep breath!

The stockings are hung with care…all FIVE of them! It is a nice feeling to have that 5th one up there. It seems to make the family thing official to me in just another way.

I should go to bed, but I don’t get many moments to snuggle up to Luna and spoil her with lovin’ so off I go to the lovely pet that helped me learn some preliminary parenting skills.

Thanks to Gma Jackie for personalizing the stockings over the years and to getting me out of the house today for a fun lunch at the Flyway. We are all excited for you to be over your cold...and yes, we know we have been over the top in trying to limit Luke's exposure - thanks for humoring us!

What a weekend...

...and it is only Friday! Luke and I have had so much fun having Steve home for the past few days. He has been on vacation since Tuesday night, and we have enjoyed him every minute!

Wednesday we got the dogs out for a fun hike at the lake - after celebrating the fact that Luke made it through the night! It was really lovely out and we took full advantage of the sunshine and warm weather.

Later we met our wonderful friends, Bill and Claudia, for a fun dinner at their house. It was wonderful to see them enjoy Luke and to hear great stories about their grandchildren. Luke REALLY loves baby spoons right now - they feel good on those sore gums - and Claudia pulled out her full collection for him to enjoy while the adults enjoyed Quatro's pizza and wine. We always learn something about wine consumption when we visit with Bill which is an added bonus to our visits! I think, though, that before the night was over Luke had about 12 spoons strewn around the kitchen..he was in heaven...and we had a great visit! I have to mention Ruby the wonderlab, too...what a great dog they are fostering while her family is in Japan.

Thursday we enjoyed a second night of Luke sleeping through the night - Hallelujah - and got up early to make appetizers for the Thanksgiving feast. We were going to spend it with my folks but they both had colds so we just did a food exchange and stayed at home. It was a really great day, even though we missed hanging out with Gma and Gpa. We did take a walk with them after we had all eaten so it was fun to get to visit a little.

I was able to visit with my friend, Franciene, on Thanksgiving morning. We had made breakfast plans but nothing was open (go figure!) so we had a good visit at Burger King...oh yeah! Thanks, Andy, for scouting places that were open :) She is a school counselor now and her stories and excitement over the job gave me a boost...always good to see someone loving life.

Here are a few pics of us together and of Luke trying some mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. They were both hits...Luke has been eating a little more and working on chewing/gumming. He likes little bits of cheese and pasta. I got some teething biscuits tonight and he enjoyed working on one of those while we visited with our friends Carrie and Gene at Italian Village. He also enjoyed some ice bits and pizza crust...there were about 7 pieces of crust on the floor when we left but he got a little of it in his mouth and enjoyed gnawing on it.

I love his fist and the look on his face saying you are NOT fast enough, mom....COME ON and FEED ME!
I love his look here...he really likes mashed potatoes, not that you can tell from this shot
Self-portraitHad to get the dogs in one of the family shots :)It has been a wonderful holiday weekend. Steve wanted to get out to some stores today just to see what all of the fuss was about with the 'deals' so we went out for a while before dinner. The highlight was playing Foosball while I had Luke in the front pack at Dick's sporting goods. He couldn't stop laughing at the little 'players' spinning around.

Our Christmas tree is up and I am going to try and decorate it tomorrow...I think all of the ornaments are going to have to go on the top quarter since Luke has already walked his walker over to it and made a grab at the bare branches...we will see what happens!