6 Months!!

October 29th, Luke turned 6 months old! I can hardly believe it. Phil and I look back on his newborn pictures, and we can't believe that he was ever that little. Well, he was never very little, but you know what I mean. In some ways it seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital, but in other ways it seems like a million years ago. Did we even exist before Luke? I can't remember. He is such a sweet, sweet boy with such a wonderful, laid back demeanor. We are absolutely, totally, ridiculously in love with this little boy. Just tonight he was smiling and laughing as I was wrapping him up in a snugly towel after his bath, and I thought to myself, "Could I ever love another child like I love this boy?" And then for the first time, I was sad that he is getting so big so fast. As most of you know, the first few months with a new baby were rough for me, so I have spent a lot of time looking forward to Luke getting a little bit older and a little easier to take care of. Now for the first time, I really want him to SLOW down!! He's just so darn cuddly and cute and fun! Anyway, enough of my gushing....

These pictures were taken on his half birthday.



Yes, we're those parents who stick their child in a pile of leaves for a photo-op. I raked up a pile in our back yard right in front of our pretty Japanese Maple. This was the closest thing to a smile that we could get. When we put him down into the leaves, he looked at them like, "What the heck is this crap?" It was pretty hilarious. I danced around, Phil danced around. We shook things and squealed and sang. Nothing worked. He is not a fan of fallen leaves....probably because he knows his dad is going to make him rake them as soon as he physically can.


Seriously? Are you really doing this to me?


Yuck. What are these nasty things?

Out of the leaf pile and so much happier!

This is what he does when we smile back. He starts being silly.
(Poor Phil. Can you tell I was only paying attention to Luke?)

Mama's punkin!
(hmmm....he seems a lot happier with Daddy...)

We went to Luke's 6 month wellness check up last Wednesday, the 4th. Once again he tipped the scales.

• -weight: 24 lbs., 7 oz. = 99%
• -length: 28.25 in. = 93% (turns out they mismeasured last time, so it looks like he didn't grow any this time, but he did. his clothes prove it!)
• -head: 18 in. = 91% (he's moved way up in this category)
  
• - 3 shots, including H1N1, and he hardly cried at all!

The little muchkin has been really busy growing up and has changed a lot. Here are some things he's doing these days.

• He's ALMOST crawling. He's so close. He's been army-crawling for a little over a month now and is moving so fast these days. It's ridiculous how far and how fast he can get around just pulling himself on his tummy.
  
• He's getting into everything and is so curious about everything.
• He's sitting up on his own for minutes at a time.
• He's started pushing up to a sitting position from his back. He's not gotten all the way there but gets to about 80 degrees perpendicular then falls.
• He's really tough. He bangs his head or face-plants or rolls into the brick fireplace and doesn't bat an eye. (Geez, we sound like horrible parents...)
  
• He's really, really strong...everyone always comments on this.
  
• He's got 2 teeth -the bottom ones- and by the gallons of drool and constant chewing that I see and hear all day long, I'm guessing he's working on a top one.
• He's a thumb sucker to the nth degree...Poor little guy has the worst looking callus that is forming on his left thumb. It's always bright red and looks like it should hurt, but he never complains, and it doesn't keep him from sucking on his thumb...oh well.
• He LOVES people, especially kids. He'll just sit and watch people forever. If there is a child nearby, he gets really excited and flaps his arms and makes lots of noise until the child says hello or pays attention to him.
• He will let anyone hold him, but...he WILL NOT let anyone hold him facing in, towards him/her. He insists on facing out and seeing the world and all that is going on. He doesn't scream or cry if you hold him the wrong way. He simply just turns himself around, no matter how hard you try to keep him from doing so.
  
• He loves to eat his baby food. He recognizes a bowl and spoon now, so if you're using either in front of him, there better be some for him! He has a sweet tooth like his mama and loves fruit, carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes. He eats the other stuff, but not as passionately as he does the sweeter things.
• He's sleeping at night from 7 pm to 6:30/7 am. Praise Jesus! This is wonderful. (Gotta give some mad props to K8 Dukes and MOC)
• He LOVES to be outside (as long as he's not in a pile of dead leaves)...too bad it's been freezing up here lately and is just going to get colder.
  
• He thinks that bath time is the best thing in the world. After we set him down in the water, he always looks up at us right away with a look on his face like, "Whoa...This is so AWESOME!"
• He smiles and smiles all the time at people and even at things, but laughs are harder to come by. He still does a kind of cough/laugh thing most of the time, but when something is really funny, he giggles and giggles, and it's the best sound in the whole world.

Simply put...
He ROCKS my world.