{The Clapper}

Luke learned to clap this past Sunday...now he is a clapping fool! He is clapping up a storm and gets the cutest grin while doing it and looks so proud of himself. Today while he was standing independently, his toy started playing music and he started 'dancing', aka bouncing, and clapping at the same time. It was so cute! Here is a video of one of the first days he started clapping...

{Luke's Chair}

This Christmas Santa gave Luke his very own chair! He loves it....well, he loves to climb on it to help him climb onto something else, etc, etc. I hope one day he will actually sit in it like he did for a split second on Christmas morning...

{Christmas in Pictures}

Luke's cutie patootie booty...

First stop...Christmas Eve Day at The Erickson's (Chat's stepdad)!

Then...Christmas Eve Children's Mass at 4:30 pm. This photo was taken right before we left. Thank goodness for the little girl who sat behind us that totally captured Luke's attention. He made it until right after communion when we had to leave because of a no.2 situation :).

Up Next? Christmas Eve mexican dinner at my parent's house (it also included Chat's mom). This is Luke chilling on top of the gifts! We were back at our house by about 9:00 pm and put our little elf to bed.

We made it to Christmas morning! Luke gave us the best present...he slept till 7:00 am (which is super late for this early riser!). This was taken just a few moments after he woke up. We opened up the gifts that Santa left for Luke and then we got cooking!

Chat's mom came over around 7:45 am and we had breakfast (fruit, biscuits, bacon, sausage and mimosas!) and then opened presents with her. Luke was extra tired from staying up late, so he was ready for a nap by 9:30 am.

Once Luke woke up, we packed up again and headed to my parent's house for presents and Christmas dinner! He was not so sure of my dad's Santa hat that he wore. He loved the Radio Flyer wagon he got and hasn't stopped playing with it. Luke also got to meet my cousin's Tim and Chris for the first time!

We headed home about 8:30 pm and we all headed to bed early. It was a busy, but wonderful first Christmas! We still have one more Christmas to celebrate with Chat's dad, but that isn't till this weekend. Then we will finally be done!

{One Happy Elf}

Luke was one happy kiddo on Christmas! Luke got a radio flyer walker wagon and just loves it! He rides in it and pushes it, and equally loves doing both...as you can see from his mouth being constantly open with the sweetest smile. This is what he played with all day long on Christmas (and his new sandbox!). I think it is going to be a huge hit over the next few weeks. All we need is a long bowling alley to have him walk it down...he hasn't quite mastered the turns.

Christmas was so special this year since we have Luke with us. Next up, planning Luke's first birthday party! It is less than 2 months away!

{A Christmas Roadtrip}

We got on the road this past weekend to make our annual pilgrimage to visit Chat's grandmother in Abbott, Texas (population 300 something). This would be Luke's longest car ride yet and we weren't quite sure how he was going to do...or how we were going to do. One car, two adults, two large dogs and one baby who hates his car seat! Verdict? It went okay. The ride up was a bit rocky, but the ride back today was a piece of cake! Here was the set-up:

Our little elf in the middle seat
(the was pretty much the only smiles we got on the way up)

The captain and his co-pilot in the front seats

The lap dog with major car anxiety (and my leg) in the third row

This was our little guy on the way home. Sleeping for almost 2 hours. Ahh, much better!

It is amazing what a great nap will do for him!
This was him all the rest of the way home once he woke up. Bliss!

Up next? Victoria on Wednesday to visit my grandmother!

{Santa's Not So Bad}

{Fa la la la la}

Well, Luke is sick again....this time with fever. I never realized how bad fever makes you feel until you have a little one miserable due to it. But before he got sick, we went to pick out a Christmas tree! Luke was very instrumental in picking out our winner...just look!

Luke working hard...

Luke showing off his find with dad...He can barely contain himsel!

The finished product! (which never looks very good in pictures because you can't see any of the twinkle lights)

{Pointer}

Luke has learned to point! I don't think there is much cuter than a chubby little pointer finger. He likes to point at just about anything...his toys, his food, the cabinet, the tv, the dogs or just point at the air. Sometimes he points at me and I point back and we have a little E.T. moment where we touch fingers. That always gets a big smile out of him. He is such a funny little guy!

This is Luke pointing at all the Christmas decorations in a plastic bin. He did a lot of pointing the night we decorated!

{Discovery}

Luke has discovered he LOVES the faucet!! As you can tell, he is feeling much better!

{Under the Weather}

Luke woke up this morning with quite a cough! Luckily we were going in for his 9 month appointment today so we got to see the doctor. She checked him out and luckily his lungs sound clear so we are just waiting for his congestion and cough to clear out. He is a sad little boy though today. We have had many tears today and needed lots of hugs (which I love).

But on the positive side, his 9 month appointment went great! He is hitting all the milestones and overall doing so well. And he has 7 teeth!!! I haven't really been checking his mouth that closely lately, so I was very surprised. I guess his mouth wanted to add fuel to the fire and sprout some more teeth. He is a drooly one!

{Thanksgiving Day 2010}

We had a great Thanksgiving Day this year! We spent it at my parent's house and had the most delicious meal. I still salivate when I think about it. Thanksgiving got me so excited about Christmas coming up. I just can't wait! Back to Thanksgiving :). Luke did great and loved spending time with my parents and his Uncle David and Aunt Courtney...

Luke chillin' outside before lunch! It was 80 degrees during the day (hence the bare feet), but then the cool front came in that night, so we finally got to bundle up.

Luke eating TONS of turkey, green beans and potatoes. He is an EATER! We have to watch him closely when he eats or he will shove so much food in his mouth at once, he starts gagging and choking. I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree!

Luke sitting with his grandad after he finished his plate. They were like two peas in a pod this week. Luke just stares at my dad. They really have a 'connection' - haha!

Luke having so much fun with his Aunt and Uncle...They played and played with him (which is a wonderful break for me:)!

{So Very, Very Thankful}

I am so very thankful for this little man and his wonderful father...

{Spatula Love}

Whatever makes him happy...and yes,
he held the spatula for his entire meal :)

{Outside}

Sorry for my lack of posts lately...things are a bit hectic around here! I am back though and had to share a few pictures of my little man in his favorite place - OUTSIDE! The boy loves being outside. He loves to get dirty, play in the mud, pick up rocks, play with the dog's water bowls, crawl all over the yard...you get the idea. He cries anytime we close the door, which is becoming a bit of a problem :). Although it is an instant helper when he is upset and needs to cheer up! We just head outside and he is instantly happy. Here are a few pictures of our time outdoors. Oh, and you will see a lot of his pacifier in these pictures. He has to have his pacifier in his mouth when outside so he doesn't put everything in his mouth! Luke is definitely ALL BOY!

{My Helper}

Luke wanted to help me do the dishes! Err...not really. Luke loves to cruise around the dishwasher when I have the door down. I went to put something away and turned my back for a second and this is what I found when I looked back...

Guess I can't turn my back for a second! Here is another picture of him on another day loving the dishwasher. It's definitely one of his favorite activities :).

{Luke Got The Giggles}

I don't think there is anything much cuter than when little ones get the giggles. Here is luke taking a bath at our bay house. He found me blowing on the dog's ear quite funny!

{At The Bay}

Chat had some time off from work, so we decided to make a quick trip down to the bay for some R&R. It was wonderful....quiet and just us. It actually rained practically the whole time (which I loved!) and was cold (although we only brought shorts and t-shirts since it was almost 90 when we left Houston!), so we just cozied up inside for the most part. We cooked, played cards, ran after Luke and napped. It was great family time!

Of course, I was behind the camera for the trip. Here are a few pictures that summed up the three days while we were away...

{My Little Puppy Dog}

More pictures to come, but I just couldn't resist posting this one tonight of our little man...Happy Halloween!

{Us at 5:15 am}

This is a picture I took of Luke and me this morning after his usual wake-up time of 5:15 am. We decided to play with the camera a bit!

This is me after about 5 1/2 hours of sleep, lookin' pretty rough, but loving my boy. I used to complain about Luke's wake-up time. Errr....sometimes I still complain. But I try to remember it is a huge accomplishment for Luke to get to 5:15 am. He slept 10 1/2 hours in his crib last night without waking up. For the boy who never has really slept through the night, this is huge! So he wakes up super early...every...morning. I am starting to enjoy our morning time. He is a happy, talkative, crazy boy in the morning and I am loving every minute of it. Of course, if he would like to sleep till 7:00 am, I wouldn't complain :).

Here are a few more pictures from our morning photo session. These are much cuter since it doesn't have scary mommy in them!

{Luke in the Buff}

Things have been a bit hectic around our house for the past few days, but I couldn't resist posting a video of Luke in the bath! Baths are getting a bit harder since all he wants to do is stand up, but he loves them. Here is my little man playing with his rubber ducky. He loves that thing...usually chewing on it and using it as a teether!

{Pumpkin Patch II}

We visited another pumpkin patch today with my neighborhood playgroup! I didn't get quite the good pictures as a few weekends ago (lets blame it on the ear infection), but still some good ones. Here is my favorite picture I took. It looks like Luke's friend Allie is trying to give him a high five and he is leaving her hanging!

Here are some of Luke and his friend's Macie and Allie... not the best pictures, but at least we captured the memory :).

{Verdict}

After a big case of mother's intuition, I scheduled a doctor's appointment for Luke this morning. And the verdict is....an ear infection and two teeth coming in (for a total of 6!). As soon as the doctor said "ear infection", a huge wave of relief came over me. I know it is terrible that I felt relief knowing Luke had an issue, but it made me feel better. Finally, I had a reason to why he was acting so different. I feel like mothers are always guessing as to what is ailing their little one, and finally, I did not have to guess. It felt great. So we are on antibiotics for the next 10 days and hopefully will kick this darn infection so Luke will stop looking like this....

And start looking like this again!

{Off}

Luke has been....off. Not sure what is the cause or the issue, but he has not been himself the past 2 days. Poor kid. I wish I knew what is plaguing him, but I just can't figure it out. This picture is what I have been getting a lot of....it just breaks my heart.

{Jam Session}