Luke Squared.

My friend from high school, Melissa, was in town and came by our house for lunch with HER Luke. This is the same Melissa and Luke (along with older son Dylan and husband, Doug) who hosted us at the bounce house party a while back. Anyway, it was great spending time with them and hope to do so again soon. Luke H. was a trooper (Luke R. was fascinated by the blue glasses) and Luke R. couldn't be a sweeter little guy. It's all in the name, right?

Naming your child Luke ensures perfection. Our at least blues eyes and blond hair.

The matching plaid shorts was a nice touch.

Luke R.'s goes in for the glasses. Not that interesting of a picture- I just wanted to look at another one of these 2 adorable guys.

A DJ Lance Trance.

Like any good male, Luke LOVES any and all things technology. His biggest obsession is our universal remote. He's is totally over fake remotes (either kid-centric ones like his Sesame Street fakie or an old remote that controls nothing) and is completely consumed with snatching the real remote. His loves nothing more then to stand at the coffee table, remote in hand, completely consumed in setting up the DVR to record whatever channel he lands on. We get a lot of random recordings yet Luke didn't really WATCH TV. Until recently.

Luke has discovered "Yo Gabba Gabba." It's a silly preschool show on the Noggin channel that features "DJ Lance" as the host and 5 characters with names like Brobee ("The little green one!") I honestly don't mind it- it's sort of hip (Jack Black has guest starred) and it teaches sweet, simple little songs with meaning. One of the characters was singing about being "so happy" and Luke called out to me "Mommy! I SO HAPPY! I SO HAPPY!" I promptly attacked and covered him in kisses.

And Luke seems to be actually watching it (big on the vision front) and is starting to understand what the characters are doing and some of the lessons they are trying to teach. I guess that's best case scenario if you're going to let your 2 year old watch TV.

I told him to not touch it. So he just gazed longingly at it. Self control at its finest.

Luke likes to pretend to drink my coffee. This is the end of "Yo Gabba" (he omits one "Gabba".)

Strike a pose.

Glorious Bed Head.

Papa & Grandma Visit.

Matt's parents, Papa and Grandma Chrissy, came to visit for the weekend much to Luke's delight. He LOVES talking on the phone and computer (video chat) with them so was even more excited to have them in person! Grandma Chrissy had just had surgery on her wrist a couple days before but fortunately, that didn't deter the visit. We were happy they were able to come!

Luke wondering how Papa squeezed through the cell phone and into his family room.

Grandma trying to keep quick-scooting Luke from escaping. He'll head right down the grass to the curb in front of our house in a matter of seconds.

One of Luke's three rides.

If he doesn't take his eyes off Papa, he can't disappear back through the phone, right?

Days are Sliding By.

Luke and I have been doing a weekly trip to the park with Kelly and her trio (2 year old triplets.) They live right around the corner from us so we meet up and walk over to our favorite local park. Luke loves hanging out with his buddy (Cordell) and girlfriends (Audrey & Marley) and is enjoying the playground equipment more and more. He started with the swings as a little guy and has now moved on to the slide.

Clockwise from top left: Audrey, Marley, Luke and Cordell.

Luke and Cordell discussing the finer points of sliding.

A self-launch still equals a face of sheer terror.

Luke preparing to dazzle the ladies with his new skills.

Mommy is still his main lady. I've got the snacks.

The fly-catching mouth is a must.

Observing a pile-up.

Completely at ease.

My attempt at a cute Luke/Audrey shot.

Audrey is the wild one of the bunch. Luke loves his ladies spunky.

Still a Hit with the Ladies.

Since I'm an advisor for my sorority, I had a meeting at home with my advisee, Ashley. Luke was, of course, in attendance and made his presence known. After demanding to sit on the couch with us, he moved across the sectional over next to Ashley. He proceeded to- and I'm not kidding- pat and rub her thigh while she and I had our meeting. He laughed when Ashley did and completely melted every time she would acknowledge him.

Mothers of San Luis Obispo- lock up your daughters.

Luke's look of love.

Will be possibly attending Theta's Spring Formal?

Steppin' Out.

It has turned into an annual tradition that we hit up the Mid-State Fair with Grandma Carole and Grandpa John. The the last weekend of the fair, they watch Luke on Friday night while Matt and I attend the Wine Night/Concert at the fair and then the 5 of us head up there the next evening.

I still can't get over how big Luke has gotten. I happened to catch Grandma and Luke playing on the stairs again (Luke LOVES to come down the stairs on his booty) and the scene was almost exact as the year before. The diffrence- last year he could barely hold himself upright (he didn't start sitting up on his own until September-ish) and this year he's a sitting/scooting expert.

July/August 2008

July/August 2009

Here's a few shots taken as we were getting ready to leave the fair. We had hit up every concession booth and were ready to go home and enjoy our fair food comas.

We *Heart* Cinnamon Rolls.

Say "Funnel Cake!"

"One, Two, Three- Giant Corn Dog! "

Luke has started asking to "walk." He realizes that we are not letting him scoot around on his butt in public and if he asks to "walk" we let him go where he wants. His balance leaves much to be desired but the motivation is there so we encourage him to try and practice.


He believes that Dad is the only thing slowing him down.

Should probably roll those pant legs next time...

"March, march, march."

We are hoping his desire to be upright, although completely dependant on the situation and his mood, is a sign of good things to come. His regular physical therapist, Linda, came back the beginning of August after a 2 month trip so we're hoping their twice weekly sessions will continue his progression. I would LOVE to see him walking by his 3rd birthday (just Luke and a walker) but progression is progression so I'll take whatever time schedule this kid is on.

Believe The Hype.

On July 28th, we did a little day trip down to Santa Barbara to see Dr. Kelts, the pediatric G.I. specialist, who is at Cottage Hospital. We're still trying to figure out what is causing Luke's vomiting episodes so this was the next step in trying to narrow it down. I'll post more on that another time but as right now, Dr. Kelts does not think it's a G.I. issue and we're going to be consulting with a local neurologist next.

Anyway, I was so very pleased to discover that there is a Pinkberry on State Street. I've heard of it (frozen yogurt that is rumored to be heavenly) but since it's based out of L.A., I didn't think that trying it would be in my immediate future. Surprise! So Matt, Luke and I headed in, convinced that the word on the street had to be an exaggeration. WRONG. It's is DELIGHTFUL. We had a "tropical swirl" (blend of coconut and passion fruit) and I added fresh mango and kiwi to mine... mmm.... makes me crave one just thinking about it.

I think there may be one on Santana Row- definitely worth the trip. I hear the lines are long (not so in S.B. on a random Tuesday afternoon) but I would gladly wait. And if you don't believe me, this guy liked it too:

I think he's growling at me in this picture. He wants it all to himself.

Honorary Members.

The Gonzalez family was kind enough to invite us to help celebrate Matea's 3rd birthday party at their home the end of July. We realized soon after arriving that we were the only non-family members but that was quite alright- we were more then willing to join the family for the day.

There was a fish theme therefore Crafty Mama Kelci made cute little "ocean" pudding treats. Luke was briefly impressed but really just likes his pudding.

Birthday Girl Matea.

Luke and Dad beating on the dolphin pinata.

Matea, Kelci and Bella.

Bella and Luke.

Luke's 1st lollipop. He enjoyed it even though it was rootbeer flavored.

Luke made himself right at home and enjoyed the girls and all of their toys. Thanks for including us, Gonzalez family, and we hope to get to spend more time together again soon!

Central Coast Culture.

After the beach and naps, Steph, Kevin, Matt, Luke and I drove up to Paso Robles to check out the Mid-State fair. We go at least once a year but it's always fun to bring Luke and see what interests him. Because he is our son- it's primarily the food. And because he's MY son- it's NOT Smokey the Bear.

The Hersom children have a history of hating all costumed creatures. A young Uncle Brad had a meltdown when the Oak Grove High School Eagle mascot (a very cute teenage girl in complete costume) tried to hug him once. And Great America trips were always a disaster...

Luke keeps the family tradition going strong.


Corn dogs are always better at the fair.


We checked out the games and rides. I'm guessing Luke was distracted by a carnie at this moment.

Beach Bum.

Immediately following our Bay Area trip, Stephanie and Kevin came to visit for the weekend. We opted to hit up Avila Beach on Saturday afternoon. We had a nice relaxing time and Luke was more then content letting Dad pull him around in his "all-terrain" wagon.

Enjoying the sand between... his wheels.

It was windy hence the crazy hat and fly-catching mouth.

Aunt Stephanie and Luke.

Uncle Kevin, Aunt Stephanie, Dad and Luke.

The tide would go out and come back in while we were standing here. This was when it was out and I'm having a complete heart attack while taking this picture. Daredevil Daddy...

Luke loved it. Big surprise.

Chillin'.

Luke's Friendship Spans the Globe.

To conclude our Bay Area adventure last month, we headed up to San Francisco with our friends who were visiting from Germany. Hansi, Sandra, Joshua and Vivian Klatt are a wonderful family that we met through my dad in August 2005 when Matt and I actually traveled to Germany. Seeing them again, and finally introducing them to Luke, was a very special treat.

Pier 39. Even though it was July, it felt like January. Got to love San Francisco.

A shout out to Uncle Nick.

And Uncle Chris.

Luke became a spaceman for 1.4 seconds in a crazy hat store. I can't believe he allowed me to put this on his head let alone smile for the camera.

Panda and Luke warming a Pier 39 bench.


It's Vivian and Joshua!

Luke takes his bench-sitting extremely seriously.

The Klatt family with Luke and Panda.


I asked Luke to "smile" but he preferred a more intimate shot.

Hansi helping Luke perfect his German.

The Klatt Family with 2/3 of the Henard Family.

We hope the Klatt family makes it out here again before too long. Spending time with them was a lot of fun (they also stayed a night with Matt at our house in SLO) and hopefully we can head over to Germany again some day as well.