Luke's Birthday Party

We had Luke's birthday party on Saturday. Ever since he was a newborn he has slept with a blue elephant that my Aunt Susie gave him, so I chose that as his cake.

We had a great time with great friends and family in attendance. Unfortunately I didn't do the best job capturing everyone who was here...hopefully there are more pictures out there that will get sent my way.

The kids had a fun time, playing outside for a while thanks to Kelly and Joyce and most important Luke had a great time, enjoying all the chaos and the cake!

Luke is 1!

It is hard to imagine that Luke is already 1, this year has flown by. Luke is walking like crazy these days, and laps the house countless times a day. He is a very busy guy! He is also so independent. He can occupy himself completely, a sign of being the second child I presume. He has started to voice his objection to having things taken away from him, when I leave the room or put him down by laying himself on the floor and crying....the start of tantrums I'm afraid!

Luke has cut his top two teeth since last month, bringing the total to 5. He has slimmed down since he has been walking, weighing in at 22lbs.

Luke loves giving his dad high 5s, playing peek a boo and has started waving bye bye. He is a tough kid, loving to get in on the action when Hunter and Kerry are wrestling. He is just a fabulous baby, and such a great addition to the family.

Fun Weekend

On Friday Hunter had his first trip to the dentist, although a bit overdue, he got a great report and he continued his tradition of handling things I think will be a bit traumatic with ease. He just leaned back in the chair and opened his mouth and let the hygenist do whatever she wanted.

On Saturday we finally made it down to Richmond to visit Kelly, Darin, Dominic and Luca for the boys birthday celebration. The weather was great, allowing the boys to run off all their energy. We all had a wonderful time and can't wait to see Kelly and Luca this coming weekend for Luke's party.

Kelly made Dom and Luca their own cakes and we sang to each of them. It was so cute to see each of their faces when we sang to them.

Of course, Luke found the little rocking chair and had to try it out.

Just like his Uncle

Last night Hunter was sitting on my lap a eating few jelly beans I had put in a small bowl for him while I read a magazine. He jumped off my lap and looked panicked. I can't remember what he said to me to make me realize that he had just stuck one of those jelly beans up his nose, but I immediately flashed back to a story my mom has repeatedly told about my brother when he was about Hunter's age, sticking a bean from a game up his nose. Ironic since yesterday was my brother's birthday!

I tried several times to get him to blow it out, (how we got the bean out of my brother's nose) but each time he would inhale first. I thought since I could see it I would try to extract it with tweezers, but that totally freaked him out and he started to panic even more. His nose also started to bleed, so I tried one last time, I put a tissue over his nose and told him to blow really hard. Two tries and the jelly bean popped out!

Snow Day 2009

For the first time this winter it has snowed enough for them to close the boys daycare. Hunter was more than happy to have another day at home. (Mondays are tough to get him back into the weekly routine.)

After breakfast we bundled Hunter up and sent him into the backyard to have some fun. Since it has hardly snowed this year we only have snow boots, no pants, but Hunter didn't seem to mind. He played for a while, eating the snow off of most of the chairs, but then the wind started up and created a bit of a blizzard in the back and he was done.


We don't have any gear for Luke so he just got to stare at Hunter through the back door.

After Hunter warmed up again I took him in the front to build a snowman (not the best snow for it) and to play with our neighbor. It was just so cold we only were out for another 30 minutes or so and back in the house. It was a long day of trying to occupy to active boys, but we seem to have managed. Glad the weather is better today!!

11 Months Old

Wow, one more month until our baby is a year old! New developments this month:

He is now walking 80% of the time.

He has a third tooth on the bottom, so far none on the top yet and since I am still nursing that is fine with me!!

He can say mama, but only seems to do it at night when he calls for me. And since he is still waking every 2-3 hours I hear it a lot. It would sound so much cuter during the day.
He is still a great eater, blueberries are a huge hit, we can't get them on the tray fast enough.

His left ear is still causing a bit of trouble for him, so we are headed back to the ENT for another follow up next week.

He and Hunter are best buddies. They love to wrestle (Luke can really hold his own) and play peek a boo. It is just recently that Hunter is getting possessive about his things and sharing, but all to be expected I guess.

Tubes

After 10 ear infections we had tubes put in on Friday. It was just like everyone told me, quick and uneventful. Kerry took Luke back to go under anesthesia (something I didn't think I could watch,) and said that it was tough to see. But probably 15 mintues later they were back and he was awake and crying.

We were back in the car about 15 minutes later. He was slept on the way home and took a long nap during the day, but he showed no sign his ears bothered him.

What we did notice was that he started walking better almost immediately. He was taking longer strides before falling and just looked more stable.

We have a follow up appointment on Thursday and after the all clear, sleep training will start!