Camping Trip

Ok, I know I'm a total slacker on blogging! I'm going to try to do better!! Last week Kevin was on a well-earned vacation and we decided to take Luke on his very first camping trip! We didn't have really high expectations but I really thought Luke would have a good time. And he ended up having a GREAT time! We went to Lake Ouachita State Park in Arkansas, which is near Hot Springs. Here's a little summary of our trip!

We got there at 11 on Tuesday morning after spending the night in Little Rock. We had bought a new tent and were excited to get it put up. We tried it at our house first and after a little trial and error, we found the tent very easy to set up. We got it up in about 20 minutes while Luke played around the campsite. He was really good about staying right around us. Here's a picture of our new tent!



The tent is really cool, it has 2 rooms but the best part is the "screened in porch" area. We loved sitting in there and being protected from the bugs, especially at night when we had our lantern on. Luke really liked the tent as well.

Here's the view from our campsite!


We spent the first afternoon just hanging around, reading, and playing. We also checked out the playground at the campground, which was very nice. After a fun afternoon we started cooking dinner. We had Polish sausage and corn on the cob. There was a "burn ban" so we had to use the grill. We were pretty disappointed but it was probably for the best because we didn't have to worry about Luke trying to get into the campfire!

As you can tell, Luke really liked the ketchup!

We then got showers and put Luke to bed. I was pleasantly surprised because he actually went to bed just as well as he does at home! After he went to bed we read some more and then made smores (my favorite!).

We woke up the next morning and I was surprised to see that Luke slept until 7, which is a bit early for him but he wasn't up with the sun like I expected! We ate breakfast and then got back in the tent under the covers because it was cold!! I was glad I had a sweatshirt! It warmed up quickly and we took Luke to play in the sand and at the playground that morning.





We came back and had lunch and then spent more time playing at the campsite. We bought Luke a new toy lawn mower for the trip and it was put to good use. He also just spent a lot of time walking around and looking at everything. Later that afternoon we drove into Hot Springs and drove around. We ate dinner at Cracker Barrel (roughing it, right?) and Luke at more than I have ever seen him eat in his life. Apparently he really likes Cracker Barrel! We headed back to the tent and put him to bed which was just as easy as the night before!

The next morning we got up at 7:45 and just hung around some more. Around 10 we started packing up and had everything loaded up within an hour or so. It's amazing what you have to take even for a short camping trip! I couldn't have been more pleased with how everything went. I think we have more camping trips in our future!

Here's a picture from our last morning!

Catching up!

The last few weeks have been some of the most exciting weeks we've had here in a while. My little man, the love of my life, turned 1 on June 22nd! It was an extra special day because Luke and I share our birthday! I just can't believe that it has already been a year!

The week before the big day Luke decided that crawling no longer suited him, and he's now a full time walker! It still surprises me to see him walk around a corner. He's so small that he looks so funny walking around! Of course knowing how to walk has led to him wanting to walk all the time, he gets annoyed when we try and carry him around, especially at church! He also wants to walk all over our back yard! My mom and I celebrated by taking him to the mall to get "big boy" shoes (his birthday present from my mom), and we got some very cute stride rite shoes. He was just starting to grow out of his size 2's so he got size 3's and even a pair of 4's that looked small. I'm glad he was able to wear the bigger size because they don't really make many good sturdy walking shoes in size 2!

Last Saturday we celebrated the big birthday with a party with family and close friends. It was really fun! Luke was cranky right before people were supposed to come over so we got him to take a nap, which surprisingly he went down well and was able to rest up for his guests! When we brought him downstairs he seemed a bit overwhelmed by all the people but he warmed up pretty well. We had hamburgers and hotdogs as well as the standard cookout sides. Kevin did a great job with the burgers! After we had lunch we opened presents, or should I say that I opened presents while Luke played! He wanted to play with the toys and not give them up to see what was in the next package. So I got to do all the opening. He got some great toys, his favorite being his very own remote and toy cell phone. He also got some cute clothes and a backpack with his name on it! His big presents were a Pottery Barn Anywhere chair from us, a Cozy Coupe car from Kevin's parents, and a wagon from my dad. We have already been on several wagon rides and I have pushed the car around the house numerous times.

After the presents we had cake, and I must say I was kind of dissapointed that he didn't dive into the cake. He mostly just licked the icing. But you could tell he thought the icing was pretty tasty. The cakes were done by Stephanie Price, and they were yummy! We had an elephant for the adults and a lion for Luke (I forgot to mention we had a jungle theme). After the cake we all just hung out and watched the US Soccer game (what a bummer!).

My mom stayed for the week after the party which was so fun! It was the first time she's stayed with us that I haven't just had a baby or was having surgery. We just had the opportunity to hang out together and have fun. We went shopping and went to the zoo, but also just spent a lot of time at my house just enjoying playing with Luke! I was sad to see her go home today.

So since turning 1, my little man has become quite the little toddler. Not just in walking, but he's also becoming more opinionated and independent. He loves to go outside and it's a big ordeal if he doesn't get to go outside when he wants to! He has also really started pointing to what he wants and he keeps pointing until you get it right. He doesn't have many words but he walks around babbling all the time. He can point to his ears, belly, toes, nose (although he prefers to point to my nose), flowers, the dogs, dada, and nana. He occasionally points to me when asked "where's Mamma?" He also just started saying "nanana". I think that's because Nana was here this week!

We stopped nursing the week before his birthday, and I am proud to say we made it a year and never had to buy any formula. He transitioned fully to whole milk the other day and he's doing great with it. We are struggling with getting him to drink milk from anything other than a bottle though. Right now he will drink sips here and there from a sippy or a straw cup but won't take in a whole lot that way. This week I've been giving him a sippy in the morning and afternoon, and a bottle at nap and bedtime. He takes a whole lot more from the bottle than the sippy. I figure we'll keep this routine up a little longer.

Well if you've made it to the end of this I'm impressed! I don't have a lot of time to write so I end up writing one big novel in one sitting!!

A day in the life of an 11 month old!

One of the message boards I read was having its members do a "Day in the life" posting, and I thought it looked fun!! So if you're wondering what life is like with an 11 month old, here's a day in the life of Luke!

Our day started around 8:45, when my little man woke up! He usually sleeps all night but occasionally wakes up needing a little mommy snuggle time, which happened at 12:30 that night. A couple of minutes of rocking and he was back to bed :) When he wakes up he's all smiles!


Then it was time to get a diaper change and get dressed!


After that he nursed and then we fed the dogs and had play time! It was also time for me to eat breakfast!


After some play time, it was time for breakfast! He ate cheerios with milk, like a big kid, and loved it!


After breakfast it was time to play some more! We usually play downstairs and he roams all over! Luke loves his Stride-to-ride lion walker!


Then it was time to load up and head to the park to go running!


We made it to the park and I opened the back of the car, only to find that I had forgotten the jogging stroller! I swear it was the first time I have done this! So back home we go (luckily it is only a 5 minute drive home!). We ran around the neighborhood instead.
Here's Luke ready to go on the run!


And here's Luke after the run...


We came inside and then it was shower time for mommy and Baby Einstein watching time for Luke!

Luke loves Baby Einstein!

Then it was lunch time! Today was yogurt and bananas!


Then we played some more and attempted reading time...it's not always easy to get him to stay still long enough to look at anything! This was one of those times.


Before nap time I folded laundry and Luke wanted to help...make it more difficult that is! He likes to rearrange the baskets and undo the folding!


Next it was time for a nap! He nursed then fell asleep a couple of minutes after being laid down. We are in a transition time between 1 and 2 naps. Some days he gets 2, especially if he wakes up early. Other days it's just one. I counted the nap in the stroller as his first nap, and this was his second. He went down right at 3pm.

I love video monitors! I don't know what I would do without mine!

He slept until 5:20 and then woke up ready to play some more, so we headed outside!


He does such a funny crawl when he doesn't want his knees to touch!

After some play time, it was time for dinner, and little man was hungry! The menu for tonight was grilled cheese, his favorite! In this picture he was yelling because I was waiting for it to cool and he was hungry!!


After dinner came bath time. Sometimes bath time is fun and sometimes it's not! He doesn't always love it- in fact he hates having his hair washed! Today was a good time, he was splashing and playing and having a blast!



The next part of our bedtime routine is reading time! He loves his animal book so we always do that one, plus one or two others. I love it when Kevin reads to him because his "commentary" on the animals is funny. Plus I think Luke likes listening to him more!! Here's Luke ready to read!


And finally bedtime! After nursing, rocking, and a lullaby (I Will by the Beatles), we lay him down and say goodnight! He plays anywhere from 10-30 minutes and goes to sleep on his own. This night it was about 30 minutes :), he fell asleep by around 8:30.


And that was our day! It isn't very exciting but I love it anyway!

More recent pictures

Just wanted to put in more pictures of my favorite subject!


This is from about 3 weeks ago, at my Mom's house. Luke was exploring the flower pot and then decided to climb in, and of course eat the dirt!


Luke at the zoo, I love this picture. This is about a month ago.


Not a great picture, but it's the most recent one I have right now. He loves to rearrange the tupperware cabinet!

Working

Well I don't have a whole lot going on right now, and I consider that a good thing. I am in the midst of 3 shifts at work (which seems like a lot when you are used to working only 2!). I love my job and feel blessed to be able to work only on the weekends and spend the whole week home with Luke. I consider myself to be a full-time mom and a part time nurse! It's really the best of both worlds. The only thing is that I really miss Luke when I am at work, even though he's sound asleep while I am here! I am lucky to have people that can watch him and dote on him as much as I do, as well as a great husband who takes over my role while I am working or sleeping on the weekends.

For those that don't work nights, my schedule sounds pretty crazy! I wake up whenever my sweet little alarm clock gets up on Friday mornings, and we do our normal daily routine until I leave for work Friday nights. I work until 7am on Saturdays then I come home about the time Luke is getting up for the day. If Kevin is going to be watching him I try and be good to him and let him sleep until 9 or so before I go to bed....so I am basically up for 26 hours. Then I sleep as long as I can, then get up and have a little play time before heading back in to work on Saturday night. I work until 7am Sunday and then rush home and have about 10 minutes to get ready for church (and yes, I do shower!) and then we go to church. Recently we have been staying for class as well. We get home from church about 11 and then I go to sleep for a few hours. So all in all, I don't sleep much on the weekends! But during the week I get to make up for it! This crazy schedule is worth it to be able to stay at home all week and still earn as much (or more) as I did before.

One day I hope to become a stay at home mom, but it feels wierd to imagine not working anymore. Working allows me to feel like I am using my critical thinking skills and gives me an opportunity to get to talk to some adults for a while! When I started working I had these ideas for what I want to achieve in my nursing career, and for the most part those things havnen't changed. I just feel like the amount of time I have to do those things is shorter than originally expected. I honestly thought that staying at home would have no appeal to me when I first started working! But I do cherish every week I get to stay home and be with Luke, so I know that it's what I really want to do in the end. Just a few more years of this crazy schedule to go!

Growth and Developement

It's amazing when you think about how much children change in such a short period of time. From 2-6 months there was so much development in Luke's little life! I think one of the most exciting things was when he realized he had hands and those hands would work for him to grab things. I was at my dad's house the first time I noticed him using them. He was laying on the bed propped up on a pillow and I was laying there chatting with him (a pretty one-sided conversation!), and he reached up and grabbed the sleeve of my shirt! Once he realized he could grab things it wasn't long until he was playing with toys! Then the real fun began!





Luke started sitting up and rolling over at 4.5 months and suddenly this little thing that just laid there and looked around seemed to come to life! Before he started rolling over I remember worrying about how much "tummy time" he was getting, and I worried he wasn't doing enough! He hated it and cried every time I laid him on his little mat! Of course everything was fine though and he developed right on schedule if not early! I learned a great lesson in this: to stop worrying and just let him develop on his own!



From sitting up and rolling over, true mobility wasn't that far away. He started crawling, pulling up, and got his first tooth all in the same weekend, at 6 months old. The first week he was mobile I was exhausted! I had wanted him to be mobile so badly, and I was told "Don't wish him to be mobile, it's a lot more work!" and that is sooo true! The first time I had to get him out of the dog bowl I knew we were in trouble (he has since broken that dog bowl!)! Now it's hard to keep him out of everything! The other day he crawled under the baby gate so he could go up the stairs- our bonus for having such a small baby!



Now we are progressing towards walking, which I am actually pretty excited about- I'm not sure what other trouble he can get into but I'm sure he'll find something! Right now he can really move when holding on to his stride to ride lion, of course until he runs into the wall and then he gets mad because he can't go anymore! He can stand by himself for a few seconds and takes a few steps when we stand him up in between us. It's really more of a controlled fall than anything though.
There are so many changes that take place in the first year- just going from helpless newborn to walking toddler alone is amazing! I look at Luke now and I can't believe he is the same baby we brought home 10 months ago. What's also amazing is looking at older kids and imagining him talking and learning (as if he's not learning now!)! There is still so much ahead, but I'm trying to savor every little stage and every new thing he's learned!

Well, you gotta start somewhere....

I have decided to start a blog, because I love reading all my friend's (and random people I don't even know) blogs and I have wanted to do one for a long time. I felt like one should be started at some point in time, like a baby's birth or some momentus occasion, but right now we don't have anything that significant going on. So instead I will just update on our lives as they are right now!

Our life as we knew it changed 10 months, one week, and one day ago on June 22, 2009. That was the day our son Luke was born into our lives. He was born into our hearts 10 months prior as we found out we were expecting him. What a joy he is. Being a mom is a joy I couldn't have imagined before he came. I never knew that I could be so content spending the day at home with my little man, or could get so excited over even the smallest little thing he accomplishes. It's definitely not always easy and I sometimes count the minutes until Kevin comes home in the afternoon so I can have a "break" but the hard times are quickly forgotten with one sweet little smile or cuddle.

Over the next few posts I'll recap the past 10 months of our lives, starting now with Luke as a newborn.
Luke was born at 2:24pm, after a very easy labor and delivery. Really it was a very easy pregnancy over all. I felt great the whole time. He's only a few minutes old here.

Luke's official newborn picture

The first month or so was a huge adjustment for us. It was so diffferent to have this little guy controlling what seemed like every bit of my life! He was nursing every 2 hours and sometimes I felt so tied down! If I only knew then how I'd wish I could just sit around and hold my baby all day now!! Some days I feel like I chase him around all day!

This is one of my favorite pictures, he was only a few days old here.

Our little bundle of joy started out small at 5 lbs 11 oz and has stayed pretty small. He left the hospital at 5lbs 4oz, so the first two weeks I worried every time I fed him, afraid he wouldn't gain enough weight. At his 2 week checkup he was 6lbs 4oz, and I relaxed a bit. He has since gained weight steadily, but has remained small. The other day he was 16lbs 2oz, which if you think about it, is almost triple his birth weight, so that's actually pretty normal.

Luke just continues to grow and amaze us every day. The newborn stage was often hard, but looking back on it, I miss it. I feel like I spent too much time saying, "I wish he was older so he'd start playing/interacting/etc" instead of enjoying that wonderful time. I hope that next time I have a child (we want to have a few!) I will enjoy each step, including this demanding newborn time, more.