For the Sake of Remembering

I decided to start writing this post after I picked Luke up from Mother's Day Out. We'll see how far I get. I have needed to record something, somewhere, about cute little things he's doing, but I just cannot make myself do it.

Anyway, since his first birthday, his vocabulary has really exploded. My favorite word that he says is 'pizza,' which sounds like 'tee-tah' spoken really quickly and high pitched. It started out meaning pizza and evolved into the word for cheese. Or bread. Both of which are components of pizza. Wow! Do you think he figured that out?? What a genius!! Totally kidding, of course.

He still loves, loves, loves to be outside. To the point that I think we are going to sell the house and just live in a tent. It would be more peaceful for me that way because now, if he is not bringing me various shoes saying 'shis' and 'ah ssssss,' he's rolling around on the floor kicking, screaming and crying huge tears until I say 'shoes' and 'outside!' Sheesh.

He loves to play in the little car Granmama and Grandaddy gave him for Christmas. He has a word for it that doesn't sound at all like 'car.' I can't remember what it sounds like, so I'll try to get him to say it for me later when we go o-u-t-s-i-d-e to play with it...

He gives a little grunt that sounds like 'ruh' for 'truck' and I think he is starting to pick up on the word 'light.' For 'hat' he says 'at' and he has been seeing a lot of those on mommy lately who doesn't usually have time to fix her hair. 'Nuh' means something to him--he points and says it all the time--we haven't figured that one out yet. You know how, whenever you finish doing something, like changing a diaper or putting on their shoes, you'll say "Now!" or "Now, then"? He always repeats that in a deep little voice and it sounds like "Naaah!" He will even say it on his own when he finishes something! It's so funny to hear him use that one appropriately. He'll repeat lots of things, but these are most of the things he knows and will say on his own.

Bathtime is his new favorite and he seems to love water, in general, which is a nice change from his early infant days. Playing in the toilet is double fun because when you get done with that you get to wash your hands.

The mimicking stage really is cute, as well as, should I say, enlightening? It's like having a mirror at times when you usually don't, like meal time. Apparently, we make the refreshing "Ah" sound after drinking a lot because he does that constantly. We didn't intentionally teach him, so we figured he just learned it from watching us. I started paying attention and I do find myself doing that a lot more than I am comfortable with. He now uses that sound to let you know he's thirsty if saying 'juice' doesn't produce the goods fast enough. You'll never get by with smacking around here either. He points that out right away.

About a month ago, we decided it was time to stop the 'uh oh' game. That didn't go so well. I can imagine it was confusing, since everytime in the past he would 'drop' something from his highchair we would happily say "Uh-Oh!" When I suddenly began to give him a stern "no no," it became a fun game of 'Get a reaction out of Mommy." He would pick up a piece of food and hold it up over the side of the chair and just look at me. When I would say "no, no" he would simply open his hand and let it fall to the floor. Of course, that was hilarious, so our reaction to that only encouraged it. After a couple of weeks we just started to ignore it. Now, when he is finished eating, he just throws the food wildly as hard as he can, so that is much better.

Probably the cutest thing he is doing right now is, when we go o-u-t-s-i-d-e and walk around, when he gets to a spot that he thinks he can't walk through (like the gravel driveway) he will stop very suddenly and stick one hand straight up in the air. He doesn't take his eyes off the ground, just stands there with that hand up in the air until you take it and help him walk across. It is hilarious! I have got to, got to, got to try to record that or take a picture this weekend.

So, there it is. The high points written down to be remembered forever. I hope you are somewhat able to imagine the way he is saying these things. I have got to try to get some video! Sorry for no pictures. Maybe I'll add some next month!

Gettin' into Trouble

Not much else to do today!










Take a nap?? Certainly not!

12 Month Check-up

This was a big one!! Thanks to Mommy forgetting to go back for the flu booster, little Luke had to get FIVE shots today. Yes, that's five sticks. Poor baby. He was such a big boy though. He screamed really loud at the time, but got over it quickly and was all smiles when we went over to visit Daddy at work.

We're still in the 75th percentile for height and weight--30 1/2 inches tall and 23 pounds, 6 ounces. Walking--and running--is our main mode of transportation now, really for the past month. From 10 months until then he would walk until he fell then just crawl the rest of the way. At around 10 months we taught him the sign language for "more" and "all done," which helps a little with his frustrations at meal time. He gives high-five like a champ and signals for a "touchdown." He still loves music and dancing.

"Mama" is in his vocabulary, but he refuses to use it. Aparently, it is funny to come back with a loud "DADA" whenever anyone encourages him to say it and you know the snacks called "Mum-mums?" Those are called "Da-das." Cute. Real cute. Ha ha! I do think it is funny. Some of his newer words are "juice," "cheese," "hot," "shoes," and "see it!" "See it" is his favorite thing to say as he points wildly to whatever he's trying to get his hands on. Thankfully, he is starting to say "I see it." This is better because it sounds less like profainity, depending on the inflection. Sometimes it just sounds like "Ah, {beep}!" if you know what I mean. He loves to play with toys he can ride and makes the "buuuuuuuudin" sound as he pushes them and he will sometimes tell you what a cow says. ("Moo," in case you were wondering.)

The bottle is officially out and we are phasing in whole milk. If we give him straight milk, warm or not, he spits it right out. Half and half with formula and he drinks it just fine. The 12 month info sheet from the doctor says he won't be eating much right now, but I think he is a good eater. We usually give him eggs, toast, cheese and fruit for breakfast, something like Progresso soup (thanks, Rachel!), cheese and fruit for lunch, and whatever we are eating for dinner. Cheese is his favorite and he is a big fan of pizza. For snacks he still loves biter biscuits and Mum-mums, (excuse me, Da-das), yogurt, more cheese, Ritz crackers and Yogurt melts. Even if we can't get him to drink a lot of milk, I think we're good on calcium!

Most days he still takes about an hour nap in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. Bedtime is anywhere from 7:00 to 8:30 (and has been for many months) and it is unusual for him to sleep less than 11 or 12 hours. This is what has gotten me through, so far. When the naps stop or if he stops sleeping that long at night for some reason I will most likely be checking myself into Bryce. This child is truly "Wild at Heart" with not a moment of stillness or peace when he is awake. Don't misunderstand, I love him for it and I wouldn't have it any other way, but I would not have survived this long if he was not such a good sleeper! What a blessing!

My Party!

Hi everyone! This is Luke. I am pretty good at writing, but I don't do it very often since electronics don't mix very well with drool. Anyways, I just wanted to show you all my bestest friends who came to my party to help me celebrate turning one.

This is my friend Canon Moss. He is really fun. His birthday is in March, so he is the closest to my age. He doesn't get in trouble as much as I do, but I will teach him once he learns to walk. Sometimes he likes to steal my toys. That's ok, though, because he lets me take naps in his crib. He thinks this party is a little out of control. Thanks for letting me use your house, Canon!



Here's my friend Ava Grace Yates. Her birthday is in April. I think she could be my girlfriend because she goes to my school, but on different days. That is good because I have a girlfriend in my class named Millie. She would get the boot, though, if Ava Grace was there!



Adeline Nichols' birthday is in April, too. This could get tricky with two girlfriends having birthday's so close together. I better start saving my allowance.



This is Colt Parrish. His birthday is in May.



He is a very sweet friend. Look how horrified he is that my girlfriend is making a move on him:





Hey! Stop that Adeline!!




My friend Collins Carter plays with me at church. He is so nice and smiles all the time!



Julia Blank was there, too! She is just a baby so she can't play with us yet. But I was glad she came. Her big brother Alex was sick and had to stay home. :(



Mary Selwyn Nichols is even older than me! She can do lots of stuff and was so sweet to help me open my presents and to show me how to use my new toys. Thank you MSN!







Anna Clare and Owen Thompson and Ava and Rafe Jones couldn't come, but they gave me cool presents! I missed you guys.

Everyone brought lots of mommies and daddies and there were even regular people who aren't mommies and daddies!










It was so much fun! Thank you all for my presents and for coming to my party.

The first, First Birthday Party

The only thing I hate more than shopping, is last minute shopping. Well, I guess I can't say all shopping, because I do enjoy browsing for items for the house, or kitchen, in particular. Anyway, most of my Christmas shopping was done by the second week in December, but those few little things left to do were killing me. Thankfully, my parents were able to come help me out. Luke was battling the 17th cold of the year and had to miss Mother's Day Out, so I never would have made it if they hadn't. Thank you!! And since they did come babysit and help clean my house I had nothing left to do six days before Luke's Dothan birthday party than to begin creating an elaborate birthday party set-up.

First of all, let me say that Barry and Deborah Moss are the best friends ever! They let me throw the party at their house. Our house is beautiful and I love it. It just doesn't give you a very good birthday party atmosphere. Plus, they live right next to a park. I was hoping it would be warm enough to be outside during the party, (I was trimming shrubs and gardening on the day Luke was born, afterall.) but that was not the case. Even though those two love being around lots of people and are some of the most laid-back folks I know, it is stressful to have a large group of people at your house. At any rate, THANK YOU BARRY AND D! I promise I will repay you by helping to create an even more elaborate first birthday party for Canon!**

After searching every party store in town, I came up empty-handed. There was only one place to turn: the Google Webs. I found a blog called Kara's Party Ideas. She had tons of pictures of parties with various themes and somewhere in all the madness I came across the cutest little birthday banners. By little, I mean quite large and elaborate. They were obviously made with a Cricut machine, which I became an expert at during our Halloween crafting session. So, you guessed it. I went out and got myself a Cricut Expression. On Tuesday. Six days before the party. The hardest part for me, was choosing the paper for the banner. That and figuring out the sizes of all the letters and designs I was making with the Cricut. My OCD and perfectionism did not help to make that process any easier. I think I was very close to having a stroke on Saturday. Kyle was helpful and understanding, though certain that I had completely lost my mind.



This was the invitation, that Denise (also one of the best friends ever) helped to pick out and was the inspiration for the theme of the party:




Here's Barry and D's house, fabulously swiffered by Sam Dean. If he and his fiance, Alisha, had not been there that day, the party would have never happened. She kept Luke and Canon totally occupied while we set everything up.



The food was wonderfully displayed by Deborah.









I was so excited about how everything turned out.





Luke was very confused about what was going on that day. He desperately needed a nap. We tried to get him to sleep for 3 hours before the party started, but too much was happening and he wasn't in his own bed. He finally gave in, fifteen minutes before everyone was supposed to arrive! We let him sleep for the first hour of the party. It was better for everyone that way.









He was still sleepy at cake time, so I didn't quite get the response I had hoped for. I think he got a pretty good taste, though!

In the end, it was as close to perfect as it could be in my mind. Totally worth the near-stroke and ten years it took off my life.

This post is getting a little long, so I'll do another one to show you Luke's friends who came to help him celebrate.

**Barry, I know this repayment is mostly geared toward Deborah, however, please note that a first birthday party should be considered an "experience." I know the babies will not remember it, but it will at least be a couple of hours of entertainment for them. The experience is for the parents, mostly Mommy, who enjoys crafting, photos, blogging, eating, and lots of babies. There will be plenty of your friends there to hang out with. Elaborate does not necessarily mean expensive and I have promised D that she can use our house for staging so you will not even have to know what is going on, ok?