Something That We Do

Love is something that we do!

7.15.2014

Luke's 1st Birthday Party

I had so much fun planning Luke's first birthday party.  From early on, I knew what I wanted the theme to be...."You Are My Sunshine." It's such a sweet song that we have sang to Luke since birth.

Here is the invitation we sent out to our friends and family. (My contact info and address is blurred out.)
 photo 431311ae-817c-4d27-ad1b-44091ca991a4_zps480c605c.jpg
We had about 35 people come for the party. I had planned on it being completely outdoors, but it rained all day long! It all worked out great though. Here is our front yard on the day of the party.
 photo IMG_0978_zps0a382588.jpg
Looking up our walkway...
 photo IMG_0976_zpsb8f34b55.jpg

Here's the main display I set up.
 photo IMG_0959_zps44273c12.jpg
On the back wall, there were all of the monthly photos I have taken of Luke.  We had all sorts of candies and snacks like pretzels with melted candy on top, mini quiches, pizza rolls, a veggie tray, popcorn,
and deli rolls. We had many different lollipops, candy coated chocolates, rock candy, taffy, and bubble gum. To drink, we had water, sweet tea, and lemonade.
 photo IMG_0961_zpsa736aa9e.jpg
 photo IMG_0960_zpsad7c9989.jpg
 photo IMG_0962_zps45fd4c5d.jpg
 photo IMG_0963_zps16602422.jpg
 photo IMG_0964_zps0e946443.jpg
 photo IMG_0965_zps523909a0.jpg
 photo IMG_0966_zpsd90d2417.jpg
Outside, we had lanterns and streamers, and beach balls.
 photo IMG_0954_zps9de9e052.jpg
 photo IMG_0955_zpsc70a5437.jpg
 photo IMG_0956_zps495353e9.jpg
 photo IMG_0957_zps203f5dd7.jpg
 photo IMG_0983_zpsa238a196.jpg
 photo IMG_0987_zpsbcd9b58f.jpg
 photo IMG_0988_zps5df4d20c.jpg
 photo IMG_0991_zpsc1c55ae0.jpg
 photo IMG_0993_zps8287cf7e.jpg
 photo IMG_7456_zpsdde76f72.jpeg
 photo IMG_0994_zps89c5080d.jpg
 photo IMG_0998_zps11bc8014.jpg
 photo IMG_0999_zps0c48f8c9.jpg

The party favors for the children were small star shaped sunglasses.
 photo IMG_1002_zps869504bc.jpg
 photo IMG_1003_zpsf03759b5.jpg

How old are you?
 photo IMG_1009_zps5e76934b.jpg

Even though we got rained out, the party still went pretty well.  The kids stayed inside and played with the 50 balloons we blew up.
 photo IMG_7092_zps02df76a5.jpeg

We tried to do a smash cake (that Luke's Poppa made him) but Luke had no interest in smashing it. I spent the last year trying to teach him how to be clean, so when it came to getting messy, he was like NO THANK YOU! 
 photo IMG_1122_zps508c6e74.jpg
 photo IMG_1155_zps66b21a89.jpg
 photo IMG_1020_zps910798e2.jpg
 photo IMG_1155_zps66b21a89.jpg
 photo IMG_1021_zps3034f604.jpg
 photo IMG_1022_zps2db70a7b.jpg
 photo IMG_1024_zps55fe3c7c.jpg
 photo IMG_1125_zpsfb369b33.jpg
 photo IMG_1126_zps0990f019.jpg
Luke shared his cake with mommy and daddy. So sweet.
 photo IMG_1034_zpsb51f8f5e.jpg
 photo IMG_1037_zpsefdca234.jpg
 photo IMG_1039_zpscd8aca99.jpg
The pressure was just too much...
 photo IMG_1127_zpsb4734751.jpg
When Luke started crying, Sam (the little boy to the left) said "It's okay baby Luke," and he blew him a kiss.  So sweet.
 photo IMG_1049_zps62a71b4b.jpg
 photo IMG_1054_zps4f8dc126.jpg
 photo IMG_1074_zps2f623313.jpg
 photo IMG_1088_zps7fbfc7f4.jpg
 photo IMG_1101_zpsf759a27d.jpg
 photo IMG_5778_zps710cdb44.jpeg
The day ended with the birthday boy going to bed three hours early.  He was OUT!
 photo IMG_1158_zps7d06c1be.jpg
Thank you to everyone who came and helped us celebrate our little one's first birthday. And also thank you to everyone who remembered him with a phone call, text, and cards. We love you!

Luke's Twelfth Month!

My, oh my....my baby is one! 
 photo IMG_0887_zps8822883f.png

I can't believe that an entire year has gone by since the day that I first kissed his little baby lips.  I simply adore this sweet little baby.  Not only have I learned so much about a parent's love, I now better understand how our Heavenly Father feels toward us. Luke has been such an enormous blessing in my life, and I am eternally thankful to God for blessing my life with his presence.  Mommy loves you, Luke.

This month, we finished up our major home renovations.  My dad has helped us do SO much. He's been so sweet about devoting so many hours to our home improvements! Luke helped install the wainscoting in our dining room. ;)

 photo IMG_0588_zps9516b6a7.jpg

He also helped us with the baseboards.

 photo IMG_0589_zps592ec852.jpg
 photo IMG_0587_zpsaa4b0de3.jpg
(Luke practiced his building skills with his blocks...he stacked them into a tower (two high) several times!)

Once the baseboards were in, we moved my childhood piano into our house.  I hope my babies make beautiful memories like I did as a child! Luke loves music so I hope he will enjoy playing the piano.

 photo IMG_0612_zpsf6f7d6c6.jpg

So far, Luke really likes it.  He loves singing and dancing while playing or listening to the piano.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ppj7UemSMDJjRrP73wzL1b9NxoF0BSxnepu_U0/?taken-by=lindsey1020

While the major renovations are finished, we are not yet done unpacking.  We got Luke's crib set up, though. We put him in it and he grabbed the bars and started yelling (what sounded like) "BAIL!" Haha, I guess the thought it was baby jail. ;)

We are really enjoying being back in our old house.  The wildlife that we are seeing in our own backyard lately is so much fun!  This guy was stuck along our fence line. 
 photo IMG_0637_zps0442f3e9.jpg
He eventually made it to my backyard, and then got stuck in some jasmine I had growing on our fence line that separated our yard from the pond. My dad helped him over the fence and man, this guy can run! Look at this!

https://www.instagram.com/p/puUQdamSEsAb_AwTwDNzV7A4yrQtlOxCGyxc00/?taken-by=lindsey1020

And this little girl also showed up at our door for our 4th of July cookout.
 photo IMG_0710_zps0adecb00.jpg

We have also had the pleasure of being able to watch a family of turkeys grow. Here they are hanging out in my backyard! Being back in Florida in our old house has been a lot of fun.
 photo IMG_0642_zps051d6084.jpg
(Can you spot the turkey family in the pic below?)
 photo IMG_0742_zpsc504837e.jpg

Speaking of being back in our old house, Luke went swimming in our pool for the very first time this month!
 photo IMG_0665_zpsd266e4a6.jpg
 photo IMG_0666_zpsfe8c38a1.jpg
He LOVED it! (look at his smile!)
 photo IMG_0679_zpsa17cc038.jpg

Afterwards, he was all tuckered out.  He took a good couple hour nap once we got out of the pool.
 photo IMG_0683_zps81904825.jpg
And speaking of swimming... someone else apparently enjoys it. And she, too, slept like a rock afterwards.
 photo IMG_0705_zps98f36376.jpg

Luke loved swimming though. We have learned that when he likes something, he calls it pretty. Carl brought me flowers on the morning of our anniversary, and Luke looked at them and said "Pretty!" He's such a sweet soul.  He also told his Momau that her ring is pretty! So sweet!

This picture (below) of Sugar and Luke just cracks me up.  She looks like she's asking, "What did you do? Why did you get put in your crate?"
 photo IMG_0744_zps99844cd3.jpg

Speaking of the doggies... Belle is a barker. She barks at EVERYTHING. I get so frustrated hollering "BELLE!" trying to get her to be quiet.  I mentioned a couple of months ago that Luke fusses at Belle.  I finally caught it on video.  (We still don't have furniture and are still working on the walls, so that's why there are ladders in this video.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1gE7bSf2RY



Luke has been such a little ham this month. We went to the optometrist with my mom and Luke entertained all of the older people in the waiting room.  Three older women and two older men just ate Luke up. One man showed Luke all of his farm animals (on his phone) and Luke was more than happy to tell him what each farm animal says. He told him what the cow said, the dog, the pig, the chicken, the duck, and the rooster....oh how we can't forget the rooster.
Here is Luke telling us what the doggy says...

https://www.instagram.com/p/pWXjaQGSOMRDlKIb042HYdACTHmYv7pwvl1XU0/?taken-by=lindsey1020

And here's that sweet and adorable rooster. (This was the first day he said it, but he has since perfected it! In fact, he often says cockadoodledoo just for the fun of it.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/pqtVwaGSHxjesw9dVem3hCofCbwrtgISupWLM0/?taken-by=lindsey1020

Something else Luke has perfected this month??  CRAWLING!  And when he decided to crawl....let's just say he decided to do it big.  He crawled across the room, opened the bottom drawer of my dresser, pulled himself up, reached in and grabbed a book and then sat down and said "Book" as he looked through the pages.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ph6BGiGSLmDpFdJvaK00Hxig_kGPLCl76f9ZI0/?taken-by=lindsey1020

Luke also learned about his Momau's knee replacement...
https://www.instagram.com/p/qegmVsGSNbYe3zNq_V3DICKRtcN0tprat-LzI0/?taken-by=lindsey1020

And hey, watch this. Luke was absolutely exhausted in this video because we had been at VBS after a busy day, but this was the first night he answered me so I had to video him...
https://www.instagram.com/p/qLBeP-GSPuz7QDv-nAOZfXFR5jE_blxKETOlU0/?taken-by=lindsey1020

This month was so incredibly busy, but it just reminds me how incredibly blessed we truly are.

The night before Luke's first birthday, I just had to take a picture of him asleep.  He went to bed an 11 month old, and woke up a big one year old!
 photo IMG_0787_zps015e4639.jpg
This year has been the best year of my life.  I can't believe my little sweet pea is already a year old.  Time truly does fly when you are having fun!  Please remember that one of the reasons I keep this little blog is to act as a memory book.  One day, I hope Luke can look back at my blog posts and smile at the fun times he had. And for his book, I would like to list out some of the words that Luke knows at the 12 month mark! In no particular order: Momma, Dada, Momo, Poppa, Baby, Night night, Belle, dog, Duck, Ball, Cracker, Block, Bye Bye, I love you, Bonk, peekaboo, boo, pool, more, book, hey, woah, wow, pretty, more-please, thank you, boo-boo, nay nay (which is our code word for nurse), uh oh, amen (which sounds like "MEN!" when we are praying, oh and also, he folds his hands when we pray sometimes), and aww (when he gives kisses). He also says woof, cockadoodledoo, quack, and moo. I love hearing him learn new words. It's so exciting!

The morning of Luke's birthday, we went outside and did a mini-photoshoot of this very special day. Here are my favorites.
 photo IMG_0947_zpsf930a910.jpg
I took the photos in front of our house so that one day Luke will remember what our home looked like when he was a baby.
 photo IMG_0897_zpsec6c2bd4.jpg
I always find it fun looking at my scrapbooks that my mom made when I was a baby- the house I grew up in changed so much over the years!
 photo IMG_0915_zps68fcb75d.jpg
And that yellow blanket that Luke is sitting on is the one my grandmother made for me when I was a baby. (It was the blanket that was in my crib when I got a little bigger!)
 photo IMG_0946_zps014ccd74.jpg
My big one year old... sweet baby!
 photo IMG_0935_zpsbbdf5d27.jpg
Stay tuned to hear about Luke's first birthday party!