{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!