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.

Don't Fence Him In.

I was in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner while my sweet little son was playing on his blanket. After about 5 minutes, I walked into the family room and found his blanket in disarray (he likes to bring it with him as he rolls) and Luke attacking the leg of his bouncy chair. Who needs crawling when you can just roll where you need to go?

Luke LOVES the camera (and the camera obviously loves him!)