Christmas Catch Up

Luke with Aunt Carrie

playing on his mat with his new seahorse with the sweetest face!

Luke's Christmas loot!

I'm a really bad blogger. I don't know where you other moms find the hours in the day to get lengthy posts up... I feel like I'm lucky if I get one done per week! Also, I can't believe how much running around most of you did on Christmas! I can't imagine. I think alot of it has to do with the fact that we only have one grandparent, and we visited him the week before Christmas. So, we decided Christmas day was strictly for immediate family. Tommy's family came over in the morning for breakfast and we exchanged gifts. I don't have any pictures because I thought I had left my camera at work at my parents house, but really it was in the car. After they left we went to my parents and stayed there for the rest of the evening. We were also at my parents on Christmas Eve which is a tradition where lots of our friends and cousins come over to play games and chat and eat. Saturday we hung out around the house and then went to dinner at Marsh Hall with the Wood side of Tommy's family. Sunday my parents hosted another party. This one was for my Dad's side of the family. Luke was really good for the majority of the weekend and got to spend quality time with lots of his family. He got some really great gifts. So many toys, a few new outfits, and a really cute chair that looks like a football. :) Tommy and I were also spoiled and got lots of good stuff.

Well, that pretty much sums up our Christmas festivities. They were pretty relaxed and I'm sad that the holiday season is coming to an end.

I'm just really feeling thankful for Luke right now. This time last year we were told to prepare for a miscarriage. I had gone to the doctor at seven weeks with some light bleeding and after a very quick sonogram was told that a baby hadn't formed and that I should expect to start bleeding in the next week or so. The words were "I could be wrong, I've been wrong before, but you need to prepare for a miscarriage." After a week of waiting for blood test results I was ordered a better sonogram. As soon as she put the probe on my belly his heart beat was visible. I burst into tears. It was such a relief. So, last New Year's was spent with just me and Tommy in Ocean City. We had gone there just to get away from everything. We didn't watch the ball drop, we didn't do anything. We moped around and went to bed early. We shed alot of tears. This year our New Year's weekend was so much better! So, I'm just remembering what could have been, and hoping that I don't have any scares like that in the future. It's the worst feeling in the world.

So, on a lighter note, hope you all had a wonderful New Year's!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Please ignore my horrendous vocals and focus on the cutest boy in America :)

Four Months Old!

Luke turned four months old on Saturday and had his well visit yesterday morning. He weighs 14 lbs, 6 oz and is 23 1/2" long. Luke rolls over from his belly to his back, but only every once in a while, not every time we put him on his tummy. He follows me, Tommy, and Rudy with his eyes when we're walking across the room. He smiles almost every time we smile at him or sing him a song, which is a huge thing because smiles used to be hard to come by! He eats four ounces every three hours throughout the day and at night he gets a few teaspoons of rice in his bottle. He is STILL up every three to four hours throughout the night. It definitely tests my sanity at times, but Tommy usually takes one of the feedings which makes it so much easier. He reaches for everything and most things go right in his mouth where they get drooled all over.

I'm so excited to spend Christmas with Luke!! I'm also so excited to give Tommy his UFC tickets! I usually listen to xm in my car so I don't hear any ads, but I was in Tommy's car yesterday and was listening to DC 101 and heard them advertising the UFC fight, so I wouldn't be surprised if Tommy has already guessed his "big gift" that he knows he's getting, but I think he'll still be really excited. Okay, totally unrelated to Luke's four month post... just got off on a little tangent :)

Surprisingly Happy!

I was absolutely dreading this storm because I tend to get super stir crazy, but I must say I couldn't be more content right now! I was reminding Tommy of how miserable I was when we got snowed in for a day or so last March, and he reminded me that I was pregnant. So, maybe that had something to do with it. Luke has been really good except for a couple of fussy times today when he was ready for a nap. We just went out in the snow for a few minutes, but obviously we didn't want to keep Luke out there for too long. He was also really tired and fell asleep within five minutes of being in the house.

Luke turned four months old yesterday! His doctor's appointment is tomorrow at 9 am. I really hope we can make it. Tommy dug his car out, but is still working on mine. It was really nice- a couple of the neighbors came over and helped shovel this morning.

I can't wait to see how much Luke weighs and how tall he is. I know he's grown alot since his last visit at two months. So, I'll post all about the latest Luke tomorrow after his appointment.

Napping yesterday- I know Luke, the snow makes me sleepy, too.

hangin' out with Dad

I sewed stockings for my cousin Amanda and her husband Kevin

Luke's first snow! (well, I guess technically it snowed a little a couple weeks ago...)

He's super excited to be out there :)

So Thankful

All I could think while posting these pictures is that I'm so thankful to have Luke in our lives this Christmas, but I'm equally thankful that Luke has the best Dad in the world and I have a parenting partner who helps me through everything.

Goodnight Moon

Luke's new preferred sleeping position- kind of on his side with his arms over his face. One picture from each of the last three nights.

It's Official...

...Luke HATES parties. Today was the fourth instance where Luke had a major meltdown at a party. We were at my Aunt Miriam's for the "America Party." (My Mom's side of the family, her maiden name is America.) He cried SO HARD even after I took him into a back bedroom where it was nice and quiet and cool. We finally just had to go. But, he calmed down and went to sleep as soon as we got in the car, so we decided to go visit my grandfather who couldn't make it to the party. Between Tommy and me we only have ONE grandparent! So, it was really special for Luke to meet his great grandfather, Pop Pop. At Pop Pop's he was extremely content and just the happiest little man. I was so glad that he grinned and talked to Pop Pop. Not much else going on and I've been (as usual) slacking on the picture taking. Yesterday I thought for sure without a doubt I saw two specks of white on Luke's bottom gums and today at the party my cousin Katie (without me mentioning it) said she saw white on his gums, too. So, I'm thinking I'm not imagining it. Katie is "The Baby Whisperer" and has seen many teething babies in her day, so I think she's right.

One Year Ago...

I found out I was pregnant! December 6, 2008 changed our lives! Hard to believe that it's been an entire year. Last Christmas we were all so excited to know that by this Christmas we'd have a new joy in our lives. We're so happy to share this holiday season with our little man. Starting traditions and showing him how much he's loved. We finally got some pictures this morning that are Christmas card worthy so as soon as I buy some stamps they're in the mail!!

Show Us Your Life- Christmas Trees

I took this from Nicki's blog. We picked our tree up last weekend at Wentworth. I got the lights on it last weekend, but just decorated with our ornaments tonight.

Tommy putting the star on

Tommy's favorite- Big Ben

Our ornaments tell our story...
1st year in our new home 2007

we bought this one on our honeymoon- we took a day trip to Disney World 2008

and now baby's 1st Christmas 2009

I love my snowflakes.

Perfect Timing

I went to take a picture of Luke in his winter hat, and he happened to smile in his sleep just as I was snapping the picture :)

Super Slacker!

I've not only been slacking on my blogging duties, but also on my picture taking duties. I didn't take any pictures of my boy's first Thanksgiving :( Let's see, where did I last leave off... So, last Friday Tommy and I had an awesome date night. We went to Carrabba's for dinner and enjoyed a little baby free time. Saturday morning I went to Lynsi's to do a little holiday sewing. I
made a valance for my kitchen window and a stocking for Luke. I think they both turned out well, but my valance was just wide enough for my window, so I made another one so they would kind of scrunch, and the second one ended up being probably close to 2" longer than the first. I might fix it, but maybe I'll just leave it. Kind of gives it character :) Saturday night we went to Becca's "Turducken Party." She attempted to make a turducken (a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey... maybe not in that order, but you get the point), but it really kind of just turned into a platter of meat. Everything fell apart. Luke did okay, but I have definitely figured out over the past week that he's not a big fan of crowds or being passed around or possibly loud noises. Not really sure which one, or if it's a combination of things, but he seems to get really worked up every time we're at a party or family function. We had fun and I left stuffed! Sunday we just watched some football with Amanda and Kevin and hung around the house. Luke rolled over Tuesday night, and then my sister and mother informed me that he rolled over before then and they didn't tell me because they were afraid I would be upset that I wasn't there for it. Of course I'm not upset! I just wish they would have told me so I knew the exact date to put in his baby book. On Thanksgiving we went to Tommy's aunt's first for a couple of hours, and then went to my aunt's later in the afternoon for dinner. I didn't take any pictures! Luke even met some family he's never met before... no pictures. I know, it's horrible. Friday I had a girl's get together to kick off the holiday season and we did a little Yankee Swap, or Dirty Santa, or whatever you want to call it and that was fun. Saturday we just hung out and watched Funny People last night, which I thought was a good movie. Today we went to the Festival of Trees at the Jaycees Hall and then got our own tree! We got lights on it, but haven't decorated it yet. We also had Chrissie come over to try to take our family/Christmas card pictures, but Luke was not a happy camper and even though we got some good ones, definitely no Christmas card quality pics of Luke :) He didn't smile AT ALL! Not one smile! And we tried for about an hour. He was tired and super cranky. So, there's our past week, and here's lots of pics!

"Ma" (Sarah and Becca's mom), Shelby, and Luke at the Turducken Party

Lynsi, Baby Katie, and Luke

BK giving Luke a kiss

Steelers Santa today at the Festival of Trees- Tommy said this was the REAL Santa :)

The real Festival Santa... I was not impressed. Definitely have to take him to a different Santa to get a better picture. He was holding Luke really oddly and look at him! He looks miserable!

Festival of Trees


chillin, watching some Jack's Big Music Show

Smiling because the Redskins were winning. It didn't last long.

Just hanging out on my bed while I fold clothes

with his new crocheted blanket from his Aunt Ginny

one of our pictures Chrissie took tonight

and then he crashed...

I forgot...

one little thing! I meant to mention that Luke is turning himself in his crib!! I'll put him to bed (in clock terms) with his head at 12:00 and when I go get him up to feed him he has rotated himself so his head is at 9:00! Like a full quarter turn and I don't know how he's doing it!!

Three Months Old!

I'm posting this super late after a looong day at school! I'm sad that I didn't get to spend much time with Luke on his three month birthday, but he got to see both Grandmas today and Daddy took very good care of him. I know he got lots of love all around. I don't have Luke's height or weight because he won't be seen at the doctor until four months. I'm going to try to measure him and weigh him this weekend though just to get a general idea. Luke's favorite things really haven't changed from last month- music and mobiles! He now has a mobile on his crib, his swing at home, his swing at Grandma's, and his pack and play. He is mesmerized by all of them. He'll just stare up and smile. He loves being sung to and he loves just hearing music. Tommy and I make up little songs all the time to get him to smile. He is so strong! I know I keep saying that, but this kid is seriously buff. He can hold himself up on his tummy without his arms. He tucks his arms up and just kind of balances on his belly while holding his head up high. He picked his pacifier up off the table the other night, which was the smallest thing I've seen him actually grab and hold on to. I was eating dinner with him on my lap because his favorite thing to do is cry at dinner time and not let me and Tommy eat together :) He just leaned forward and picked his pacifier right up. He didn't put it in his mouth, just kind of moved his arm around, but I had never seen him do that. Then he grabbed my napkin and rubbed it all over his face! That was the second time he's done that with a napkin. He hates being held facing you, and has for a long time. The only time I get to look at him while holding him is if he is sleeping. Then I might get to snuggle him for a little bit. Other than that, when he's being held he wants to be facing out! I'll sit in the recliner and put my knees up with the boppy pillow resting on my legs and prop him up and talk to him and sing to him and he lets me do that, so we do get a little bit of close face time, but he definitely throws a fit if I try to give him a little face to face cuddle while holding him. He likes not having clothes on. When we get him stripped down to change him or before a bath he just lays on his changing table and smiles and kicks and coos and just looks so happy and free. I guess it does feel good to get a diaper off every once in a while. He's bumped up to four ounces but is still eating about every three hours. Sometimes he'll give us four hours at night, but it's rare. I'm starting to get asked, "is he sleeping through the night yet?" all the time. My standard answer is "not even close." It's getting much easier, but I still have the occasional sleep-deprived meltdown. That's about it for this post! He's an adorable Mini-Tommy with lots of my characteristics and I would say my very favorite thing that's happened since last month is he's stopped being so stingy with the smiles! I love to see him smile and I get lots of them every day now :)

This morning before I left for school

trying to feed him cereal. It didn't go so well. I think I'll try it in the bottle next time.

Catching Up... As Usual

This past month has been so crazy, and I know it's not going to get any more relaxed with the holidays coming up! Luke had a couple of really bad days this past week. He would have periods where he would just cry and cry. As soon as I start to seriously consider taking him to the doctor to get checked out, he seems to turn around and be fine. So, the past couple days he's been his normal mildly fussy self, nothing out of the ordinary. I really don't want to take him to the doctor unless he's really sick because I'm afraid he'll pick up something worse in the germy office!

Yesterday Luke and I did a little Christmas shopping. We were in Home Goods and he decided he wasn't happy in his car seat anymore, so I held him while doing the rest of my shopping... not easy! So, today when I wanted to do a little more Christmas shopping I made sure I had a shopping buddy. My sister Carrie went with us and it worked out because the stroller ended up holding our heavy bags and we switched off holding a much less heavy Luke :) I've gotten a lot of shopping done but still have quite a bit left to do. I saw a red satin Carter's dress in Kohl's that made me yearn for a baby girl like I have never yearned before. It was seriously so adorable that I almost bought it for my future baby girl, but then realized that a) I may never have that girl and b) there is no possible way for me to determine what size to buy for a Christmas dress. I can't believe future children are even sneaking their way into my brain right now. Must be the lack of sleep making me delirious.

I have two happy moments to look forward to at school tomorrow. Luke's coming! My Mom's bringing him to visit me and to meet the girls at school. The second happy moment is that I'm hitting 1,000 hours tomorrow!!!! 500 to go. It seems like I'm so far along, yet still have so far to go. I HATE my long days at school, but 9-9 twice a week is the fastest way I can get out of there and the best way to spend the least amount of time away from home. I will hopefully be a licensed cosmetologist by next Summer. I should graduate end of April/beginning of May, and then need to take my State Board Exam. I think that when I finally do start working in a salon, I'm going to really like the variety of hours. I like the idea of being able to spend some days with Luke, instead of just nights. Also, since most salons don't open until 9 or later, I'll probably almost always be able to put him on the bus once he starts school. One downfall is that I'll probably almost always work Saturdays, so I'll probably miss out on some sports activities and parties and stuff like that. Good thing he has a wonderful Daddy who wouldn't miss that stuff for the world! Okay, definitely starting to ramble, so I'll wrap it up! Hoping to get Christmas/family pictures done this coming weekend.

Look at that lip! Sometimes I can't help but giggle when he cries because he's so cute!


This is where all of his toys go now- straight to the mouth!

Chunky little legs and feet

laughing at one of Dad's silly songs

wearing nothing but a "pee-pee tee-pee"

I love this kid in a hooded towel :)