It is 5:30am, and I am the only one up!

Perhaps there is something to be said for a bedtime routine? Luke ate a big dinner last night (no bottle at a normal 5 or 6 pm) He had 1/4 grilled cheese, some banana, about 8 noodles from our dinner, some carrot soup (that even Steve likes) and some graham cracker, instead! Meal times are certainly messy now, but it is enjoyable to see him eat and to see him willing to try anything :) His favorite thing to do right now seems to be to squish bananas in his hands and see what happens. I am pretty sure that even when I am 90 (positive thinking) and I smell a banana, I will be reminded of holding him post-meal, and I will smile.

Anyway, I AM UP watching the men's Australian Final - go Federer! - and enjoying the quiet. Luke had a bath at about 6:30, then pj's, some bottle and we went straight to his room for books and snuggle time before bed. Luke doesn't snuggle unless he is really exhausted so I enjoyed reading some Berenstain Bears stories and Goodnight Moon to him while he tried to repeatedly roll off of me and the futon while tearing pages from the books, of course. He burns a LOT of energy just getting ready for bed :) He took a little more of his bottle and I laid him down with George at about 7:45. Never heard a peep, and he still hasn't stirred. He has also dropped his afternoon nap, so perhaps that will lead to more consistent nighttime sleep.

We have had a great time over the past week. Steve was home Tues-Fri because of the weather so we all stayed in most of the time and played and ate and napped and enjoyed being together. Snow days force you to throw away the to-do list and chill, I like to call it forced laziness, and we all enjoyed it. I am not as productive about house stuff when Steve is home b/c I would rather be near him so last night after Luke went to bed, I actually got some of the floors mopped and laundry folded.

Steve is reading Outliers, and I enjoy when he discusses what he is reading with me. It is an interesting book about success and factors that help create a successful person...it is also Star's favorite. I got it from the library but she ate a corner off of it, so now we own it! I guess she knew Steve would really enjoy it. The dogs now know what "yogurt time" means...they stalk the area for anything that drops and look forward to licking the container clean. Mom and Dad took me to Panera on Wed. for coffee, and when they dropped me off, Dad got stuff for a minute. LOTS of people got stuck the last couple of days. I drove for the first time today since last Monday. Steve prepping to go out and clean off the cars and look at the driveway. It was a challenge and a workout to get the cars out. Lots of breaking ice under the snow and the dip at the end of the drive complicated things just a tad...good job Steve! Thanks mom and dad for the shovels :) Hey, Dad, where are you going? The photo at the top is of Luke going after the camera while we looked out the window at Daddy. Yoga baby! Luke doing a great Cobra pose...He was doing this when he woke up from a nap the other day. Steve was loving it and called me back to his room to see his adorable head looking through the crib bars. He is really proud of this move, too. He looks up and just SMILES, like hey look what I can do! My little monkey with his little monkey...love this. I am online now ordering the original seven Curious George books for his birthday. Yeah, I am a little ahead of myself, but his birthday is NEXT month. It is now 6:30, Nadal is up 6-5 in the first set, and my babe is stirring. I hear him trying to kick his way out of the crib.

Happy FEBRUARY! Spring is coming, the Steelers are playing in the Superbowl tonight and, oh yeah, LIFE IS GOOD!

Videos are of our walk yesterday at a trail in Crab Orchard Reserve. So pretty and peaceful with the snow on the ground. I made it 45 minutes with Luke in the frontpack which pretty much makes me an Olympic athlete :) We walked every day even with the snow which was good for everyone. The air tasted good and the sun felt even better!