ONE.

Well I had been looking forward to this day for a long time, and it has finally come and gone. My baby is ONE!! I can't even believe it. While it is very exciting, it's kind of bitter sweet. I realized on Sunday as I held a friend's 3 month old that time has FLOWN by, and it hit me just how big Luke is these days (literally and figuratively). I got a little teary (I know, you can hardly believe it) thinking about how from 0-3 months of Luke's life, I just wanted him to get bigger/older. Things were so hard in the beginning and my postpartum depression made me so worried and anxious all the time. I just wanted to fast forward a few months and get to the part where I had figured everything out, gotten Luke on a schedule, and learned what he needed/liked/disliked so that things could be smoother and easier...Now that things have been easier for so many months, I have been busy having a blast with my Big Man and LOVING being his mom. Holding the itty-bitty baby the other day made me sad for having missed out on the joy that I could have had with Luke the first couple of months and, at the same time, so grateful for the rest of this year that I have absolutely loved with my baby boy. He is my treasure, and I am more in love with him every day. I can't imagine life without him now! I just wish time didn't go by so quickly...especially nap time. Ha! Just kidding. As Luke and I went for a walk today, I noticed a teenage boy mowing his lawn, and I thought, "I'm going to blink and then that will be Luke." While I know Phil would really love the help, I just wish I could slow time down....This time is so fun, and I just want it to last forever!
Anyway, now that I'm tearing up again, I'll move on to the fun part...
Luke had a fun, very busy birthday today. It started earlier than normal. I think he must have known it was his special day and just couldn't sleep in!

First thing this morning. The remote and a ball in his hands. Perfect start to a perfect day!


Tickled pink that Mommy's not taking the remote away on his birthday.


Laughing at Mommy singing him "Happy Birthday".

We headed out early to my friend Kelly's house to watch her little boy Ty. Kelly is my WONDERFUL friend who has given me most of what I own for Luke. Hand-me-downs, toys, gear, advice, and lots of love and support. I don't get to see her very often, but it's great when I do. This morning I got to babysit Ty for the first time, and he was an angel and so good with Luke. Luke was in hog heaven, because Ty's house was full of balls and cars of every kind. All Luke did while we were there was carry around a ball and a car, throw them, pick up others, and repeat. He had a blast. Ty was sweet and tried to show him how to shoot baskets and play with the cars on his train tracks. He was confused as to why Luke didn't follow along.


Ty tried offering Luke his cool shades to wear, but Luke was not letting go of the balls.


This one was the perfect size for chewing.


Oh. My. Gosh. I have just found the mother load...


...An entire bin of balls. This is AWESOME!

After babysitting, Luke and I ran home so that he could get in a nap before meeting Daddy for birthday lunch. Phil had to referee lacrosse tonight after work, so he wasn't going to be able to see Luke before bed time. Thank goodness for Phil's home away from home: Chick-Fil-A! We met him there and celebrated with some yummy chicken and sweet tea.


Did someone say chicken?


Our birthday boy.


Laughing with Daddy at Mommy singing again.


Yay! A rare photo op with Mommy!


This birthday stuff rocks!

After birthday lunch, Luke was too hyped up to take his afternoon nap, so we headed out for a walk in the wagon. We ran into our neighbors across the street, and Luke got lots of birthday love. The little girls made Luke laugh and laugh for the longest time. It was the cutest thing. Then we proceeded to take the world's longest walk around the block. When a little someone throws things out of the wagon while Mommy is not looking, it makes for a lot of back-tracking recovery missions. When we got home, Luke went for a good swing in his swing from Annie and then headed to the Burch tree in the middle of the yard for his newest obsession...


He loves to peel the paper-like bark off the tree and throw it on the ground.


Well, he usually throws it on the ground, but today he thought it was utterly HILARIOUS to put the bark in his mouth. He'd peel it off, put it up to his mouth, and then I'd pull his hand away and say no. Have you ever heard of anything funnier? I seriously doubt it.


See. It's funny.


Very funny.


Hilarious.


Still funny.


Let's do some more.


Cracks him up every time.


And there he goes again...Silly stinker.

After our bark-eating-giggle-fest, we made a few laps around the yard and deck. Then it was dinner time and bath time for the Stinker. He even got a few extra birthday minutes in the tub. When it was time to put on a diaper and p.j.'s, I had to literally wrestle with him to get them on. He was having too much fun on his big day to stay still. By the time I got him in the bed, he had passed out, and I was wishing I could, too!
Happy birthday, sweet boy. I love you with every little piece of my heart!!

Grammy and Papa T. Come to Town!!

Phil's parents came to town for a quick visit this past weekend. We hadn't seen them since Christmas, so it was great fun to be together again. Phil and I just love seeing our parents go nuts over Luke. All 4 are just in love with him. We completely understand, of course, but it still just tickles us to death to see our parents playing on the floor and going to mush over our Big Man.


Papa T. and Luke are good buddies...and may soon be the same size!


They got to spend lots of time playing together, building and knocking down Lego towers, banging toys together to make noise, and throwing and chasing balls and cars. Luke had a blast.


Luke and Grammy had a few good talks over coffee.


Papa T. was so sweet (and brave) and fed Luke all of his meals! Phil and I were in heaven.


Luke showed Papa T. how to put the top back on things....over and over. It's one of his favorite things to do these days.


Uh, Papa T., I think we need to speed this up. Time's a wastin', and we've got lots more playing to do!


This is Luke in the middle of signing "all done." He likes to do this sign a lot, but doesn't necessarily like to be "done" eating. The kid can put away some food and kept Papa T. very busy.


Papa T. even got to give Luke his lunch time bottle every day, since I started the weening process right before they got here. (Praise the Lawd...I'll be free at last...one of these days!)


Grammy got some good quality time with Luke, too. She sang him lots of songs and practiced his vowel sounds with him several times. He loves to watch her pretty mouth when she talks!


He likes Grammy's glasses a lot, too.


Now listen here, Mom. Grammy says I can stay up as late as I want tonight. So there!


Silly man wrinkling his nose and laughing with Grammy.

Once again I wish I had more pictures of their visit. I don't have a single picture of them together with Luke. Oh well. We'll see them again soon, so I'll get some good pictures then.
Thanks so much for coming, Grammy and Papa T.! We had so much fun with you and so appreciate you coming all the way up here to see us. If only we could live closer and see you more often!

Bath Time Buddies...

While in Tampa, Luke got to spend lots of quality time with Finley. This made for some serious play time, a walk or two, and a trip to the park. Naturally, some major clean up was needed during all the fun. Thus, they got to add bath time to their list of things to do together. Luke was not disappointed.



Aaaaaaawww yeah, dude. There is a girl in my tub...That's what I'm talking about....


Then in about 2 seconds they both commenced the chew-a-thon.


Luke's didn't taste so good, so he showed off what a good spitter he is. Finley just delicately switched out her chew toy with no theatrics.


Oh my goodness...this is so fun!!


They were busy, busy, busy...

Then it was time to get down to business.

Is this what it would be like to have twins??

All was going well until Finley had a revelation and began trying to send her mom, Paige, silent messages via death stare.

Psssssst....pssssst.....Mom!! Do you see what I see?? There is a BOY in the tub with me!!!


No, really, Mom. I can see his......!!! Daddy's gonna freak out!


Luckily she was distracted (and quite offended) by a big bucket o' water to the head. Meanwhile Luke was totally oblivious and just happy to have a washcloth to play with.



It wasn't long before Finley's fight-or-flight reflexes kicked in, and she decided to defend herself by pouring water on Luke's head.


Unfortunately, every time she tried to pour it out on Luke, she poured it right onto her own head. Never one to cower in the face of competition, Luke chose to retaliate with some of the fiercest splashing ever seen in South Tampa. You can see the water flying all over the place.


Please look at the water in the tub right now. It hit white-water status. Anne and Paige were hiding behind a towel at this point. My mom was wondering how much water the tile floor could withstand before letting loose and caving in on the dining room below....


Once Fin called time for a water break, we new it was time to bring the fun to an end!
Thankfully, the babies survived their first co-ed bath and both came out unscathed....good thing, because I'm sure it won't be their last. We had so much fun with you, Fin and Paige!!

TAMPA!

Luke and I went to Tampa last weekend to hang out with the fam, and we had a blast. Here are some of the highlights. As usual, I didn't get half the pictures I would have liked to because we were too busy having fun to worry about the camera!


Luke's girlfriend, Finley, came over lickety-split to see her boyfriend. She also brought her mom {and my BFF}, Paige, which I was really pumped about. Fin was happy to see Luke after being apart for so long!


And Luke was happy to see Fin!



Finley gave him a great big hug.


Then she may have regretted it a bit...Meanwhile Luke was thinking, "Oh yeah. She totally digs me..."


Not sure if this was a yelp of joy or a wail of lament over her actions, but it was hilarious.

Luke had had enough and decided to get out of there.


He made it 3/4 of the way up my parents' long stairs. Until then, his record had been just two steps!

Later in the visit, we had a birthday lunch for the April birthdays in the family--Ben {my brother}, Abbi {my sis-in-law}, and Luke. It was lots of fun, and yet I have maybe 4 whole pictures of it...BOO-HISS!


Luke hangin' with the schladies--Mrs. Curry, Grandma, and my sister, Anne.


...And later with yet another lady, my Aunt Kate.


Then when my cousin Amy broke out Luke's latest OBSESSION, Gerber Lil' Crunchies, Luke was all over her like white on rice and gave my dad the brush off.


After which he reminded us that, with his birthday just around the corner, he is now SO BIG!!


Uncle Jim got a hold of him and Luke was wondering where all the cute girls went.


He was content, though, to be returned to the arms of Pops, my dad, whom Luke adores.


It wasn't long, though, before Luke found himself being forced to wear a birthday hat even when it clearly didn't accentuate the positive aspects of his figure... {Aunt} Annie didn't defend him, either.


P.R.E.C.I.O.U.S.


Flipper, my mom, tried to rescue him, but forgot to save him from the brain-squeezing hat.
Thankfully, the birthday boy survived and even managed to enjoy himself at his party!


Unlike us, my parents live very close to a great park, so Luke got to go swinging several times. Saturday evening was a pretty night, so my sister and I walked with Luke to the park.


I love taking pictures of Luke in the swing, because it's one of very few times when he actually looks little!


But now he looks big again...


Annie took him down the slide, but Luke wasn't really impressed. I think he likes yellow slides better.


Oops! Not a good landing. Let's try a smaller slide.


Doesn't he look like a 2 year old in this picture?


Annie was sweet and held his shoes up for him so that he'd actually slide and not just sit and be stuck.


Yay! A much better landing!


I did it!

So that's it for my pictures (except for a few others with Finley which I'm saving for another post). Like I said, I totally blew it. Oh well. We were having too much fun, and that's all that matters anyway, right?