Snow buddy

Tomorrow will be Steve's THIRD snow day. We like having him at home, but I think he is looking forward to being back at work. He did brave the messy and icy roads tonight for Pag's pizza and we thank him for his heroic efforts. It was good :)

I put Luke in the front pack today and Steve walked the dogs during a nice walk around the neighborhood. Carrying Luke in that pack is a true workout now. I needed it, though, after a couple of days of minimal movement/exercise! It was nice to see the beauty of the snow and to get some fresh air. I shook some pine tree branches to shake the snow free and that seemed to amuse Luke. If any of the snow landed on us he would take a deep breath from the coolness of it. The ground is covered in diamonds. It is so lovely.

Find your breath

My mom came over last night when Steve was at a school event to do some yoga with me. She is a really good instructor. I expected to do some sun salutations and call it a day, but she actually led us through a 20 minute routine. As you can see from the pictures, we had a little observer. He would race in to see what the heck we were doing, babble at us and then take off around the couch again. It was pretty fun yoga.

It was a total grandma day yesterday. Besides my mom visiting, Gma Susan came by as we were getting ready to go to the mall (social time, you know, gotta get out of the house) and she was headed there as well. So...Luke spent some time strolling with her and we all enjoyed a drink at Gloria Jean's and some people watching. Grandma's are GREAT!

The highlight for Luke was when a crew of kids walked by with their moms. These two women had 4 or 5 kids of varying ages with them and he just watched them as they approached and then followed them down the mall until he couldn't see them anymore. When the weather warms up a bit, we are going to be at parks, etc...so that he can enjoy some kid time.

After Gma left to pick up Gpa Paul, my friend Leah showed up (I'm telling you, the mall is the place to be! Do I sounds like a 7th grader?) with her 7 month old Jonah so we strolled some more and had a nice visit. Luke had about had it with the mall after a while, though, so we headed home and he knocked out on the way.

I have put some pics of us on here, too, from yesterday. I love the Adidas outfit. I know people get excited to dress little girls, but I was born to be a boy's mom. They have such fun clothes for little guys, and I don't have to buy anything with ruffles - oh yeah! Leah mentioned liking what he was wearing, and I starting singing "It's Tricky" She joined in, we danced a little, and the two boys looked at us like we were aliens.

Luke is standing by himself here ->


Luke slept in today after a 5am wakeup. He is tugging on his musical bear right now, listening to "Row Row Row Your Boat" and slowly waking up. Cute, cute, cute...Steve is home b/c of the weather and I am going to cancel Luke's dr. appt. It is just a wellness check and it is a sheet of ice outside. Not to mention the fact that due to his wakeup time today, he will be sleeping when we are supposed to be in the waiting room. No thanks. It sounds much better to just snuggle up all day.

The spot

We had another break in the weather on Friday and it was relatively warm for January, esp. considering the cold, cold weather we have had in the past couple of weeks. Luke and I were at home staring at the walls (well, maybe I was doing that while he played) and decided we needed an adventure.

So...we loaded up our buddies and went to Grassy. Grassy is a wonderful lake. I have spent lots of fun times at 'the spot' with friends and all of our dogs. It was also the first place I took Steve the summer that we met.

The girls had a blast romping around, digging in the soft dirt and getting wet in the nearly frozen water. Luke and I enjoyed taking deep breaths of fresh air that tasted like spring and watching them run around.

We have had a fun weekend, too. Steve spent some time with his family and we all got to hang out with Uncle Glenn last night and this morning. We went for pizza and laughed as Luke chewed on big pieces of crust and checked out all of the goings on of the restaurant. Glenn was determined to get some ice cream for Luke so we HAD to go to DQ after dinner and get some treats. Luke got one little bite (I am a big believer in limiting sugar until the battle is lost which will happen soon enough!) He has got a great uncle and we always enjoy Glenn's company :) The best was having him read the Terrier B-ball game highlights to us...great quotes about a great win.

I spent most of Saturday with my mom which was a treat. We saw Revolutionary Road - really good, really dramatic and heavy - and went for a brisk walk. We set a record for speed due to the CHILLY air but it was great to be out moving in the fresh air.

Yeah - he will finish his bottle while he gets his diaper changed. It is very efficient which makes his daddy proud.

Friday

Hey it's Friday! That is definitely something to smile about :) Happy weekend...

Just a MARVELOUS day!

The high school is such a wonderful place to work and to be a part of...This morning there was a wonderful reception for Steve as incoming principal. It was absolutely wonderful to see so many people in once room celebrating Steve's new position and the new chapter for the entire school. Steve did a great job with his speech, thanking many people that have helped him reach this point in his career like his parents and mentors in the education field. People trust Steve to do a good job, and that trust is well placed. People really don't grow up to be any better than Steve.

Luke was, of course, a big hit at the reception. Today is his 10 month birthday...wow! It feels like spring outside and we have fully enjoyed the day. Lots of social time at school, then at our wonderful neighbors for a bit, and we just returned from a fun lunch with my dear friend, Claudia. Luke was a little sleepy at lunch, but he really hung in there and enjoyed getting some Claudia energy. He is really cute now in crowds or when he is a little tired b/c he will get kind of snuggly with me and it is really sweet.

As much as I have complained about his lack of sleeping through the night, I think I am finally trained to enjoy the 3am wake up. He will eat a little bit and then turn around and fall asleep on my shoulder or chest and it is just the best feeling ever. I generally just get in bed with him then until morning. It is what I like to call 'precious time' and I know it will go by quickly.

Here are some pics of him standing up. He can support himself if he is holding on the the ottoman or the couch. The one with me in it is taken from the couch cushion with him standing and looking at the camera. He is really trying to figure out how the whole walking thing works...I don't think it will be long!

Winter

It has been snowing this morning! Luke and I had fun looking out the windows and watching it come down this morning. The dogs get really frisky with snow and we watched them wrestle on the deck, too. That always makes Luke giggle.

I am working to find positives to winter weather. I think I am stunting Luke's development since we are IN THE HOUSE so much these past couple of weeks. I really feel for anyone north of us...brrrr. I know that stuff around the house is interesting to him, but we will certainly appreciate warmer weather. We both like to be OUTSIDE and social. Steve and I went to Panera ysterday just to be out for a while and let Luke enjoy people watching. He also liked getting pieces of bread as big as his head in his mouth.

I did get to hike yesterday with the dogs. They desperately needed a leash free romp and I desperately needed some fresh air and exercise. It was really nice. I have never seen so much of Kinkaid frozen. It was pretty and it was fun to throw rocks on the ice. None of them broke through, but they did make really interesting sounds as they landed and slid across the surface. There is a lot of beauty outside, even in January

I have had the Inauguration coverage on this morning. I just put Luke down for his nap and told him that when he wakes up, we will have a new president. He was still more interested in his buddy, George, than Obama. He showed off a new trick yesterday. When you try to turn the handle to use the jack in the box, he just releases the latch and looks at you like "why are you turning that handle...this is how you get George out!" He is like his daddy, he came out smarter than any adult around him.
Here they are relaxing with some football on Sunday. I am not sure who is happier.

Bear with me...

I am stealing a bit of "Luke's Log" to talk about some fun that Steve and I had this weekend...He is in his crib blowing raspberries, one of his new tricks, and talking to Curious George about his day so far. I keep George in his crib, and he just LOVES him. He is good company at nap/bedtime.

Luke says Da Da all the time now and he has 6 teeth. I think even more are coming through b/c he is still a drooly dude and he wants to CHEW CHEW CHEW...he is a treat every day.

I will start with a couple of pics of him in one of his new outfits. Oh yeah...they are velour and they are cool...Matt O. if you see this I know you are smiling!



This is Luna grinding down her rawhide once Luke was asleep the other night...they are bonding a little more each day. She knows to watch out when he is in his walker and she also knows his schedule for eating. When he gets his yogurt in the morning she sits on high alert until she gets to clean out the container. I just liked that she was hanging out with him. You can see his head at the side of the crib, too...little wiggleworm


Now for our adventure last night with wonderful friends, Amy and Dan & Kyle and Ryan. We met them at The Monarch for dinner and headed over to a local establishment to see the band Doublewide. The lead singer, Jud, is Steve's best friend from high school. It was a really good time to be out with fun people for the night. The band was good - nothing like some 80's rock on a Saturday night :)


Kyle, Amy and me...I am lucky to know - and work with - these two.

It was awesome to see Paul and Susan last night. They looked great, as they came over from the Herrin Winter Ball and Paul even rocked the mike for a minute to a Twisted Sister song...I have really cool in-laws. Our group was ready to leave about 11:30 and I told Steve, but he said he couldn't leave before his parents did which was cute. They were having as much fun as anyone there!

Here we are with Jud with his girlfriend, Danielle. Good fun for all...thanks to gma Jackie for staying out until midnight and taking care of Lukester.

Now I am going to go take a nap while Luke does yeah :) Go Steelers!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Paul!

This photo is one of the best of Luke ever...it just captures the love of a grandparent. so sweet


I forgot my camera last night when we were out to dinner with Gma and Gpa and realize with this post that I don't have many photos of Luke and Gpa. I will work on that, but we just wanted him to know we are thinking of him all day long and wishing him a WONDERFUL year! Luke says he is looking forward to many more rounds of "Camptown Races" :) Here is an interesting link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camptown_Races about the origins of that song...

Bath time

He has moved from the infant tub, to the kitchen sink, to the real tub! He had a good time, but his favorite was at the end when I was trying to get him dressed and he was using the drawer handles to climb up and open the drawers and pull out everything he could get his hands on(notice how I have my hands behind my back to help myself from helping him...he can do it himself...wow!

Playoff time

Who are you looking at?

Going over strategy for the game this afternoon. Steve was telling him what the Steelers would need to do for the W. Luke was thinking it over...

Rolling around as a warmup

Okay - here is our actual happy friendly lovable little guy!

We have enjoyed a great weekend together. Spent some time with a couple of friends last night and their babies. Luke was the oldest and tried to pull and roll all over the other two. Steve took me to brunch today which was fun and really good. We will have to take Luke one of these days. I am going to go make popcorn for Steve for the game and see if Luke will take a nap. He would probably rather call Uncle Glenn and talk throughout the game.

It was a quick shower...

and this is still what I saw as I emerged...


who could have been responsible, you ask? Surely not that wonderful and well behaved Luke...I learned today that when he finds something new he makes a sweet sound of "eeeeeeee" It isn't loud, just sweet and happy. He was making that a lot as I peeked out at him from the shower this morning. He pulled out q-tips, headbands, lotions (which I stepped on and poured all over the place) you name it...things I forgot I had in the silly drawers...he is just a machine in that walker! It is HILARIOUS!

Here is the guilty party after his curious run through the bathroom drawers. His dad is getting the childproofing done one of these days.

He is sitting on the floor next to me right now working up a surprise in his diaper but in between efforts, he just picks up his maraca and shakes it. What a kid!

8:30-6:30/7:00-9:30 - Oh yeah

so fun

I noticed last night how much I love how Luke fits into the crook of Steve's leg when he feeds him. Steve reminded me how Luke's whole body used to fit and now he just uses his dad as a seat. I found a picture from Steve's bday (4/29) to show the difference. I love these two pics. They are 8 months apart and it is just WILD to see the growth and think about the changes Luke has made in that amount of time.

Steve and I were talking the other night about the future and I annoy myself with my insane desire to plan everything. In order to calm that part of my brain, I remind myself that tomorrow is never a guarantee so I might as well soak up the moment. As I mentioned that to Steve, he turned to Luke and said "Luke, I can't guarantee that I will be here in a year or three or ten, but I love you and my life matters because I got you born" That stopped me in my tracks...Steve has done wonderful things with his life and is starting a chapter to do even more, but he just ADORES being a father. I needed to get that moment in writing b/c if there is one thing Luke will know from his dad, it is that being called dad is his favorite title.

Two of my favorite people came over last Friday and we enjoyed some girl time. Kyle brought her wonderful baby girl, Reese, and Luke was putting the moves on her already. Daddy Ryan is already nervous about Luke's intentions! I am not sure who Luke was flirting with more, Reese or Amy. He was just enthralled with Amy and she made his night by flirting back!

This is a shot I like of me making dinner last night. I love all of the help I am getting!

This spoon is just the coolest thing - I love hanging out in the kitchen! His other fav. was the pasta box...oh yeah

Steve and I played cards for a while last night after dinner and Luke was sitting in his highchair visiting with us and trying to figure out the game. We gave him his 'taggie' blanket and he showed us what his favorite game to play with Gma Susan is...it was AWESOME. It was the first time he has done this by himself. Gma S has played peekaboo (or p-pie as she calls it) with him since he was home from the hospital so this was just a super cool moment. Later, he was playing with a measuring cup and did the same thing so it was even funnier to see him 'hide' behind a 1/4 cup measuring device.

Lastly, anyone can leave comments on here now - I think I fixed it so that you don't have to login to leave a note (if you want to of course!).