Luke's Seventh Month

Luke is now 7 months old!

We had a fun month, without a whole lot going on.

We had many moments of a boy loving on his dog..."Give me kisses!"

And a dog loving on her boy.

For the most part, we kicked back and took it easy this month.

But we did have a trip to the ER when Luke woke up screaming, throwing up, and having diarrhea with a fever in the middle of the night.  His doctor said take him in, thinking it was the flu.

It was croup.

The ER doctor gave him a shot of Zofran so he didn't get dehydrated.  

So we took it easy, and rested,

rested,

and rested.

After a busy December, it was nice to be at home and just relax for a bit...stay in our jammies late,

video chat with family,

go on a few walks,

play,

and kick our feet up.


Here are a few sweet shots that I captured of the babe.

Yes, he was laughing so hard he toppled over.  Isn't he adorable?!

We also took pictures with the doggies,







played with toes,

and cut a tooth!

(Chewing on rubber ducks help the gums feel so much better!)


We wore sneakers,

 and homemade hats (thanks, Momau),

and went to Bible class (Momma stayed and held Luke after this picture was taken!)

We had a good ole time!


Videos:
This month, Luke enjoyed many new foods.  He eats a good homemade dinner with us at the table every night.
So far, he has enjoyed applesauce, apples and prunes, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, bananas, grapes (in a mesh bag), split pea soup, avocado, and a couple of smoothie varieties: strawberry/banana and peach/mango/banana.  When I drink my smoothies, Luke grunts until I put some in his mouth... the boy loves his food!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK2Itc1ABpM


Luke played "Peekaboo" even more!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBMV_wi7sKA


And he has continued to perfect his famous noise!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PC3VCnz8_k


Last, but not least... here's Luke's little tiny tooth!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcfh-hcWEmI


This just might've been the best month yet.....

Luke's Sixth Month

Well, it's official.  He's half a year old already.

Where are my tissues?

I have probably said this before, but I thought it was OTHER people's kids who grew quickly.  You know, you don't see them for a while, and then when you do..."My gosh, they have grown!" I always thought when I had my baby, time would crawl.  That's how I wanted it to happen.  I'm treasuring every moment with Luke.... he is delighted in around the clock.  When he opens his eyes in the morning and looks around for me, then gives me a huge smile when our eyes meet.... I just know he knows he is loved.

Speaking of being loved... I got Luke several books for Christmas, but two of them I absolutely adore.  One of them is called You Are My I Love You.  Here's the book in word-art form.

(found from http://prettyprovidence.com/you-are-my-i-love-you-adorable-nursery-printables/  thank you for making this!)

 

 Isn't that just the sweetest?  We read this every night after bath.

This month, Luke stuck his tongue out a lot less!  So, here's one for old time's sake...

In December, Luke and I got our Christmas projects done this way:

He gets so cozy in the Ergo (the baby carrier) that when I unhook it, this can happen:

Cute, right?  And check out this sleeping pose... he looks so deep in thought!

 Luke loves riding in his stroller... here he is bundled up, asleep!

When awake, he enjoyed blowing raspberries...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0pK_Hhski0

And playing with his doggy, Sugar! (They actually played tug-of-war together!)

Wherever Luke is, Sugar is sure to be close by.

We had a friend come over for an impromptu playdate, and so Luke participated in story-time!  Isn't this adorable?  He sat there for half the story, and laid down (but still watched and listened) to the other half!

The Wednesday before we journeyed to Florida, Luke wore this outfit to church, to get in the spirit of the holiday season.  That's right, no mistletoe required!

He took these selfies during church...

After Christmas, we returned to California.

I have previously mentioned that Luke and I go to a breastfeeding support group... it's more of a mommy-baby group though.  New moms come for help, as there is always a nurse/ lactation consultant facilitating the group... but the moms who don't need help with breastfeeding come to hang out, talk about all things baby, and offer support to newer moms!  I've met so many lovely ladies in that group...and Luke has made some sweet little friends.  

This is Luke and his friend Ryker.  (Jack is in the background.)  Ryker wanted nothing to do with Luke on this particular day....but Luke was very interested in hanging out with Ryker!  

When did my baby start looking so old??  I see his future self in this shot (below).

Memorable moments:

Watch this video.  It's hilarious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eybq0VQKRb8

Luke's first Christmas card photo:

Luke's first time playing guitar:

Luke raised his hands for me to pick him up for the first time this month!

AND... Luke started giving lots of kisses to me this month! (No videos or pictures of that, yet!)

Luke's first time eating food (mashed potatoes and bananas):

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

Here's Luke telling us off:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxL0m0EXQ9I



Luke's first time playing catch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0MKoBGLwZI



Luke making his famous gurgle noise (in LAX):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB_YpO2L5NM


Luke having fun in the kitchen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiseznxUZ88


Here's Luke playing peekaboo!  He kept taking this star and pulling it up on his face until we would say "Where's Luke??" Sometimes he would pull it off on his own, and other times he couldn't get a handle on it and would wait for us to pull it off of his face.  It was hilarious!  One time, he was playing peekaboo with my dad (using a dishtowel instead of the star) and my dad got busy talking to me.  He didn't notice Luke was waiting for him to say "Where's Luke?" (So Luke was laying on the floor with a dishtowel covering his face)... Luke grabbed the towel and peered out from under it, and as my dad turned to look at him, Luke pulled the towel back up over his face! He's such a playful baby.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD3q_1iN4io


I LOVE watching Luke learn.  Look at him watching his hands, like he is trying to figure out how they work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVRhv8_pUCE


Who loves Luke?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMKEfOZLCdU


This month, Luke also learned how to squint and blink on purpose!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PC3VCnz8_k



AND...best of all, he learned how to say "I love you."  (Okay, that might be a stretch if you aren't momma...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef8WbSCCMGk



Time is moving way too fast!

Special Visitor

While we were in Florida, my dear friend Rachel came over to visit, meet Luke, and take some awesome photographs of him!

Last year, Rachel moved from Orlando to Los Angeles with her husband, Michael and their dog, Sasha.  LA is about 6 hours from our house... so it was neat having her on the same coast as I was, but we never got to meet up to visit on another because the drive is so long!  A couple of months ago, Rachel moved back East and she now lives in Birmingham.  We don't see each other often, but we get to text each other regularly and have wonderful conversations that way!

It was so great spending time with her.  She took a bunch of pictures for us, like these:

(Look at Belle under the tree!)

Something really special about these pictures is that you can see MY "First Christmas" ornament on the tree! (the baby rattle shown to the right of Luke's left elbow in the photo above)

Rachel has more pictures of Luke on her blog, so if you'd like, take a peek http://rachel-wildphotography.blogspot.com/2014/01/lukeapotamus.html!

Thank you, Rachel!  *hugs!*

Luke's First Christmas

Last year, when I saw Mia, and we talked about what our futures held..I told her that in a year (so, now) we would be celebrating a baby's first Christmas.  And we sure did. Luke's first Christmas was so much fun!

We had a small Christmas at homewhere just a few gifts were exchanged. Luke made his Daddy a book with a sweet letter, and songs that he would like his daddy to learn to play and sing on the guitar.  

Among other gifts, we got Luke the monkey (above) and the elephant (below)...they play music if you pull their tails.

Luke loves them!

Christmas morning, we woke up at Carl's parents' house, like usual.  Luke had fun opening gifts.  He was scared of red tissue paper at first, but he warmed up to it after a bit!

Later in the day, we visited my side of the family.

Here's Luke opening his first Bible, embossed with his name!

On Christmas Eve, Luke went to see Santa Claus!  Santa said Luke was a very good baby (so he made the nice list)! 

After seeing Santa, Luke gave my mom kisses.  Way to melt your Momau's heart, Luke! My mom was giggling with glee, here!

Luke says, "Yep, it's love!"

Luke's first Christmas was so special.

Visiting Florida

We traveled to Florida for Christmas, and as usual, Luke was a champ.  We flew out of LAX (a 6-ish hour drive from our home) and Luke did great.  I am seriously impressed with his go-with-the-flow attitude.  He slept a good portion in the car, and when he was awake, he was happy.  We arrived in LA and hung out at some friends' apartment before they drove us to the airport (and kept our car for us).  Did I mention we also had our dogs with us?  So let's get this straight...two adults, one teenager, one infant, and two dogs.  Yep, we were the crazy ones you were really hoping didn't sit near you on the plane!  Haha! That being said, Luke didn't cry on the (red-eye) flight at all!  He did GREAT.  And so did the dogs!  When we arrived at our friends' apartment, we let Luke sprawl out on the floor since he would be in our arms for the next several hours.  After a couple of hours, we drove about 40 minutes to the airport.  Once we were all checked in, we found a little area to set our stuff down and take a load off.  Our area was small, because we were in LAX at Christmas time.  Not the slowest time of year, ya know...I laid a blanket on the floor for Luke to sprawl out on (once again, since he would be in our arms for hours) and I got the dogs some food and water.  Our plane was going to be boarding in about 20 minutes, but we needed a little down time.  Carl was on food duty, I was on watching-our-things-feed-the-dogs-and-let-the-baby-sprawl-out-duty and Austin insisted on finding an outlet to charge his cell phone (because apparently when you text for six hours straight, it drains the battery...)

Carl brought us food, and I had the dogs in their kennels surrounding Luke. I was carefully unzipping them (leaning over Luke to do so) and offering them water and kibbles.  I'm trying to paint this picture for you so you can understand the hustle and bustle in the airport, while we are trying to be calm and organized, and allow our baby to stretch, allow our dogs to drink and eat.....because here's what happened.  As I was leaning over Luke holding food for Belle, she started reverse sneezing.  If you don't know what that is, it's something small dogs often do, and it can freak them out a little bit.  Imagine sneezing a ton and you can't catch your breath.  You know eventually you'll be able to, but while you're uncontrollably sneezing, it can be a little stressful trying to breathe.  So, that's basically what was happening to Belle (except they were reverse sneezes).  The remedy for this is to get the dog to breathe through her mouth.  How do you do that?  By plugging her nose.  Sounds weird, I know. But Belle will seek me out if she's reverse sneezing and can't stop on her own.  She needs a little help sometimes.  SO....  I'm leaning over Luke, offering Belle food, and her head pokes out of the crate.  And she starts reverse sneezing.  (While I'm trying to not sound judgemental, you just have to picture this...) A hippie girl (with dreadlocks, wearing a Berkeley shirt, and her sweatpants around her hips while her underwear show) sees Belle and gets SUPER excited.  "CAN I COME VISIT????" she hollered across the way, sounding overly eager.  Normally, I'm not one to turn down a friendly visitor.  HOWEVER.  I was a little stressed at this moment because our plane would be momentarily boarding and we haven't eaten and the dogs haven't eaten or drank anything, and I still need to change Luke's diaper, and go to the bahtroom, and our food is sitting here getting cold....and we're in a busy airport with two dogs, a baby, and a teenager.  AND Belle is now reverse sneezing. WHEW.  So, what did I say?  "No."

Hoping she would understand that I was a wee bit stressed (isn't everyone at least slightly stressed while traveling?!), I politely said "No" with a smile.  Instead, she raised one eyebrow, drew her neck back and poked out her chest as she questioned, "NO?!" like she was deeply offended.  In the back of my mind, I'm thinking "I don't owe her a visit with my dogs...." while also thinking "Is this being rude? I thought I was polite..." So, I attempted to explain myself.  "No.  She can't breathe." (Remember, she's reverse sneezing.)  CUE EVERYONE'S HEAD IN THE AIRPORT TO TURN AND LOOK MY WAY.  I glanced up at Carl and Austin who were both turning red and telling me everyone was looking.  (Great, it wasn't just my imagination.)  Carl pointed out that here I am hovering over a baby saying "She can't breathe."  Realizing how awful that sounded, I clarified, "She does this sometimes, she'll be okay!" And the girl from Berkeley adjusted herself in her seat so that she was no longer facing me.  She probably thought I was rude, but.....oh well. A momma's gotta do what a momma's gotta do.

My dad was at the airport when we landed.  He drove us up to Alachua.  Luke was asleep when I put him in the car and he slept most of the way home.  But when he got hungry, we stopped and I brought him to the front seat.  Luke was surprised to look to the side and see his Poppa!

He remembered my dad and went right to him, smiling a ton!

After all that traveling, Luke was pooped!

When he woke up, we went to Carl's parents house where Luke met his Aunt Katy! (Carl's sister)

By the way, here's a fully body shot of Luke's outfit.... 

While we were in Florida, Luke sat up by himself for the first time! Just in time for his 6 month photos!

He cracked me up when we were taking these shots.  Right before the camera flashed, it would beep three times.  After taking a handful of photos, he heard the beeps and would smile and close his eyes!  It was hilarious!

After pictures, we came home and Luke passed out.... So cozy with Momau!

 

Although the holidays are a busy time, we tried to stay very low-key and just enjoy family time.  We avoided the hustle-and-bustle as much as possible....so, we got to see cute little things like this:

Luke was hanging out on the floor.  He found "the baby in the mirror" that he loves so much...except this time, the baby was in the dishwasher.....

One late afternoon, Luke fell asleep so I laid him down for a nap.  I went to the other room, and when I came back, I had to call my mom in to see this.  Luke's dog cuddled up and slept next to him.  How precious are they?

On the other side of Luke, you see a green polka dotted elephant, named Elwood (because my mom had an Uncle Elwood and we like to keep names in the family)...Elwood, the elephant... we like alliteration too! ;)  Luke LOVES Elwood (from his Aunt Donna and Uncle Scott).... he loves cuddling with him and chewing on Elwood's tail made of ribbon.

One evening, my mom took these shots when we were laying on the floor.  That's Belle in between Luke and I!

We spent many evenings playing cards with Carl's family.  Luke even joined in on the action!

One evening, we met Carl's grandparents (so Luke's GREAT grandparents) in Palatka for supper.  Luke's great-grandma could not get enough of the newest addition to the family.  She adored him! 

Here's Luke at the restaurant, "I'm ready to go now, momma..." (with Elwood again!)

Earlier that day, we went to visit my Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Janet (and Aunt Janet's mom, Maggie, and their dog....also, Maggie).  When I opened the door to get Luke out of the car, this is the look he was giving me.

"We're going visiting, again, momma?"

Of course, he was happy once we got inside and he got to see family.  Maggie the dog was so sweet with Luke... she belly-crawled over to Luke and sniffed him before kissing his face!  She nudged his little hands, as well, like she was saying "Pet me!"  She was so sweet with him!







Before we left, Uncle Jimmy put Papau's (my grandpa's) hat on Luke and took a picture by the tree.



After a long day of visiting, Luke and I crashed in bed.  Carl had to work on servers this particular night, so he didn't get home till well past midnight.

Our return flight from Florida was wonderful, as well.  It always breaks my heart having to leave my family....but here we are after boarding the plane.

Stay tuned to hear about Luke's first Christmas!

Luke's Fifth Month

Guess who is five months old now!  Time is going way too quickly for this momma!  A week shy of his 5 month birthday, Luke weighed just over 17 pounds, and he was 26 and 1/4 inches long!

My little hunk is getting sweeter every day.  I tell him he is my dessert, because I could eat him all up and he's sweeter with every bite.

This month Luke has enjoyed sticking his tongue out....again.....

He's such a goofball and knows just how to get a few laughs out of his momma and daddy!  He's such a content little boy, and loves just hanging out with his dogs...

Actually, he's been doing more than just hanging out with them...he's enjoying petting them lately!  That's right, Luke is PETTING our dogs already!  He isn't very coordinated, but he tries so hard to run his little hands through their fur!  I tell him we have to be gentle with the doggies, and we keep our hands open when we pet them.  He does a surprisingly good job, but I do have to remind him to "Be gentle" regularly.  The other day, Belle laid next to him (on her back!) and let him pet her for a good twenty minutes!  She kept her eyes on me as if she was letting me know she's choosing to trust us and I need to make sure not to blow it.

So, how did Luke learn the word "gentle?"  I'll tell you.  Sometimes when he nurses, he will start to bite me.  I unlatch him (latching is the technical term for the baby's mouth being suctioned to the breast, so unlatching is the technical term for removing them properly... you can't just pull them off and expect it to not hurt, you have to break the suction first)...so, I unlatch him, look him in the eye with a serious face, and say "Be gentle please" in a soft but firm voice.  

The first time I did this,  he smirked.  I kept a straight face (fighting back smiles).  And he continued to smirk... only bigger.  He had to understand this wasn't a game.  Again, I told him he needed to be gentle.  Again, he smirked.  I laid him down on the bed and made myself busy with other things nearby.  He hollered for me so I picked him back up and let him nurse again.  

Once he started nursing, I praised him for being gentle.  Then, he started to bite down slowly, so I looked him in the eye again and I said "Be gentle please." And he unlatched.  I told him that was very good, and I let him continue to nurse.  A second later, he started biting down again and I said with a serious face, "Please be gentle."  He immediately unlatched and grinned at me.  Every time he nursed nicely, I smiled and praised him, and when he started biting at me, I become serious.  I could tell he was trying to figure out exactly what I was saying, and I know consistency is key.  By the next nursing session, instead of just pulling off of me while nursing, he opened his mouth and then turned his head (unlatching in rather dramatic way) so I felt he understood what I meant.  

Since then, he knows not to bite me.  Every once in a while, if I'm paying attention to something else TOO much, he'll start to bite down and I'll quickly remind him to be gentle, and he lets go.  Sometimes he just wants his momma's attention!  I like company when I eat, so I can't blame him for getting my attention the only way possible when his mouth is full!  

So, I use the word "gentle" in other areas of Luke's life as well... like when he wants to pet the dogs (or touch the pages of a non-board book, or touch glass, etc.).  I'm teaching him we use an open hand when petting the doggies, we keep our hand flat, and we move slowly.  I realize that sounds like a lot to teach him, but he will learn.  Our dogs are living creatures, and they deserve respect and to know that they are loved.  Luke will one day be able to love on them without being supervised, and the dogs will know they don't have to be scared of the little one in the house.

So...let's see... what else has been going on in our home?  Oh yes, I've been sick.  I've been dealing with a couple different illnesses for about two weeks.  Thankfully, Luke has only gotten minor congestion.  I'm whipped and exhausted (as seen in the photo below) but Luke is happy and mostly healthy.  Much better off health-wise than I am!

The other day, when Austin was out with a friend, everyone else was piled on our bed.  Such great company I had! (And for once they are all on Carl's side of the bed...haha!)

Sometimes when Luke gets fussy or bored, I take out my phone and I turn the camera on to face us...so he looks at the screen and sees himself.  I had to do this in the doctor's office to make him feel better after he was upset about getting weighed while nakey (scales are cold on the bum!) (...so I imagine...).

That baby in the mirror always cheers him up.
In fact, he's happy to see the baby in the mirror even when we are going about our day....
Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

And, Exhibit C:

...Exhibit D, E, and F:

A few of Luke's firsts:
First Thanksgiving!



First highchair (And first time sitting in a highchair)


First time finding his feet:


First I-Spy Quilt (Thank you Aunt Beverly! It's gorgeous!)




First scoots (he started out perpendicular to the yellow bar...not parallel with it!):



And here are some videos of Luke's fifth month!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgA9bTR5rm4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLuouDgF_pg


In the doctor's office:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7Z-6DIaxAs

After shots (I'll do anything for a laugh,,, especially when he isn't feeling good...gotta cheer that baby up!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivt5RaTgQhw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glSwiXhmAkQ


He found his upper lip (and mom, here's proof that Sugar ignores me...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VKwwC_C8vU
https://youtu.be/SdYzZGRNl_w
https://youtu.be/5eVCnL2Y5HU


And to enjoy this last one, here's the background story:
Luke had been sticking his tongue out for about an hour when I finally decided to video record him.  I took the camera out, and positioned it so he could see himself (I'm in front of him, not in the direction he is looking).  I even played our game where I stick my tongue out at him, and he sticks it back out at me...but he just looked at me like I was crazy.  Then he turns to the camera and smirks, like "Whatcha gonna do with a crazy momma?"
https://youtu.be/M197G_7Qrr4


This is the best month yet!