Be Right Back.

Tomorrow afternoon, Matt and I are leaving for Carmel to celebrate the marriage of Stephanie & Kevin on Friday. Saturday we'll be heading up to San Jose for the night and then will drive back home to SLO on Sunday. Luke will be staying in SLO with Matt's parents, Papa & Grandma Chrissy.

This will be the very first time (since Luke's been home) that Matt and I have left Luke overnight without one of us being with him. I'm so excited for us to enjoy some "grown-up time" but my heart is already breaking- how am I going to wake up in the morning and not be greeted by my sweet little man's toothy grin and whispered "yeah" when asked if he's ready to get up and greet the day? Papa & Grandma Chrissy will do a fabulous job (and Luke loves a captive audience!) but it makes me remember the pain of leaving him "alone" in the NICU nightly for 5 weeks last year.

Not wanting to end on a depressing note (seriously- I'm VERY excited to be going to this wedding!) Here's a random adorable picture of our adorable son doing something adorable.

Oldie but a goodie- Uncle Brad & Luke on Christmas Day 2007. This look/pose ensured that Luke will NEVER be on Santa's Bad list.

Just A Boy...

Sitting on a bench.

Playing "Where's Luke?"

Standing with a ball.

Exciting Nuptial News.

Luke's Uncle Brad (my youngest brother) is engaged to be married! He proposed to the beautiful Sarah on May 2nd and they are planning to be married September/October '09! We are so excited to have Sarah join our family and Luke LOVES that she will be his aunt!

Brad and Sarah were in town last weekend for a friend's wedding so they stopped by to show off Sarah's new sparkly accessory (Gorgeous! Good job Brad!) and get some cuddle time with their favorite nephew!

How to Make a Baby Burrito.

1) Lay on your back and grab the side of your blanket.

2) Roll onto your stomach keeping a firm grasp on your blanket.

3) Baby Burrito achieved!

This is a very common sight in our house as of late... The feet sticking out is our favorite part!

Pool And Party.

We set up Luke's little pool in the backyard last Saturday morning. He needed a little help sitting up (mainly because the ground was hard and slippery) but he very much enjoyed splashing around.

Later in the day, we headed up to King City to celebrate Amber's 30th birthday. It was even hotter there but Luke went pant-less (ah, to be young again...) and enjoyed a very refreshing mint chocolate chip ice cream cone. Never one to poop out on a party, Luke was exhausted by the time we drove home.

Feeling the Heat.

Warm weather = naked baby hanging out in the coolest room of the house (master bedroom.)

Eye.

Ceiling fan observation.

Teeth.

Sweetness.

So Bad But So Necessary.

I broke down on Wednesday and put Luke in front of the TV for 1/2 hour. He refused to take a nap and wanted entertaining but I needed to get dinner in the crock pot. Lately, Luke has been really into the TV when we fast forward or rewind the DVR so we know he knows it's there. But regardless of what he can see, he's really into high pitched voices and music so I figured some toddler show on Nick Jr. would make him happy. My theory was right on target. He LOVED the show and was so vocal about it and jumping around in his seat that I couldn't help but continue to peek in on him and finally break down and take some undercover pictures.

Hard to believe that the same little boy we thought was almost completely blind 6 months ago is now watching TV. Besides his trouble with controlling his eye muscles (we see him crossing his eyes a lot in addition to them individually wandering) he's totally responding visually. That's our amazing Luke!

Mother's Day Goodness.

Mother's Day was wonderful and so vastly different from my first one. Last year we had a anemic newborn, just a week out of the hospital, who refused to eat because he was anemic but we didn't know that at the time... M.D. '08 blessed me with a smilely, well-fed, increasingly chatty 1 year old. Luke is so so sweet but as Matt put it very succintly at dinner "hell-bent on wrecking shop." Our darling little Luke, while still tremendously good natured, is like most typical 1 year olds-he wants to touch/poke/bite EVERYTHING. No utensil, table-top or wall was safe during our Mother's Day feast.

Mommy & Daddy had sandwiches. Luke had wood with a side of plastic table cloth.

Mommy's dessert- Luke kisses.

Earlier in the day, Matt set me all up to plant some veggies in my new little garden. He did all the grunt work and I got to pick out the plants, dig the little holes and stick them in there. I'm a farmer now.Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Eggplant & Cherry Tomatoes- Yum.

I'm not sure what prompted Luke to look so blissfully happy in the this picture. The moment was just so sweet I had to share.

And I never thought it would happen but it did. Lola's Mother's Day gift to me- a picture with her "brother" (notice the left hand looking ready to stike!)

I hope all the moms out there were treated as well as my boys (and Lola!) treated me!

Boundaries, Smoundaries.

Luke has taken to "testing" Matt and I during mealtime. Usually this involves threatening to touch (and pick up and throw if we're not paying attention) his bowl of food. Today, I left the lid to his apples up on his tray. This is what he looks like when mom says "No. Don't touch that please." The finger is HOVERING over the lid but he kept his eyes on me the whole time...
Because he made the not-wise decision to ignore my numerous warnings, I removed the lid. Luke protested the action by not crying and screaming but by making hilarious mad faces with corresponding grunts and growls.

Busy Busy.

Today was a pretty typical Thursday but I managed to keep the camera close at hand. Physical therapy proved to, once again, be very taxing on Luke but overall that's a good thing. Danielle is really trying to help Luke become aware of what he is capable of as he gets stronger. Unfortunately, Luke, like most kids his age, rather do what is easier and he knows how to do (i.e. roll around on the floor.) Consequently, Luke is rather vocal at his PT sessions. Undeterred, Danielle spontaneously lifted him from her knee (he was straddling it) to standing up position and, much to our suprise, he did really well! Luke was actually happy about it for about 3 seconds (good thing I got the picture- the rest of them he looks very angry!)
He's definitely putting the bulk of his weight on his left leg but he's doing it and that's encouraging and hopefully indicitive of what he is will be capable of in the future.

Luke promptly crashed when we got home and took a good, much needed, nap. I remembered to greet him with the camera today to prove, once again, that 1) he is the happiest kid alive and 2) he LOVES the camera.

Luke also seems to be "bringing sexy back." (I know- so 2007 and slightly inappropriate- but the exposed shoulder was just too much!)

This evening Luke's new chair arrived and Dad put it together for him right away. His old bouncer was only "infant" (up to 25 lbs.) so this new one is "infant/toddler" and good until 40 lbs. He seems ok with it but spent majority of the time trying to get the seatbelt off and sit up straight. I firmly believe it's a good ab work-out for him so as long he's safe in trying to figure out how to escape, rock on. I failed to get pictures of the new shampoo mohawk he sports at bathtime but I will soon. He was so exhaused after his bath (he loves his late morning nap but you can't pay him to take another one later- too excited about Dad coming home perhaps?) he passed out mid-bottle and is still proving to be our champion night-time sleeper (like his mommy and Grandpa Hersom!)

Tooth Watch 2008- Matt pointed out to me that the teeth on either side of his front teeth (the lateral incisors for you dentistry buffs) are coming in. You can see them and feel them and I am AMAZED that Luke is totally uneffected by their existence. The first 6 were rough us all but maybe they just worked to toughen him up? I can't believe our baby is going to have 8 teeth!

Good night!

Luke Came Home...

One year ago today.

What a difference a year makes.
We're pretty confident it's completely impossible for this child to get any cuter or sweeter. We are beyond blessed.

Godmother Lovin'.

Aly came to visit this past weekend and Luke was beyond thrilled. She's such a good friend to me (25 years+!) and a wonderful, loving Godmother to Luke. We are very lucky to have such a special lady in our life and we look forward to seeing her again soon!

Happy May Day.

Luke tried out the gate trainer at physical therapy today. Its purpose is to encourage him to bear weight on his legs and assist him in learning to walk (basically a fancy walker.) He's still not quite tall enough for it (it should sit lower under his arms) but Danielle wanted to try it out so we will revisit it in the future. He looks unhappy in this picture but overall he was pretty tolerant of the new apparatus.

And in case anyone was wondering- Luke is VERY proud of all 6 of his teeth.