5 Month Update and Tons of Photos!

Luke and Daddy showing off their baseball caps.

5 Month Photos:



Enjoying the swing with daddy.


Little naked boy. I realized I didn't have any photos of Luke like this because it has been way too cold in Cleveland to have a bare bottom!!

With Nana and Papa on Easter

Getting to know Griffey, the cat.

Luke & Mommy on Easter.

Luke enjoyed getting his 1st Easter Basket. He especially liked his new phone from Nana. As you can see below, he is almost sitting up by himself! The sun was awfully bright for him, but he still enjoyed smelling the daffodills!!

Holding his own bottle (which is a good thing since Papa fell aleep while holding him!)

Playing with Papa

Luke enjoyed his visit with his Aunt Jess and Uncle Rick. However, none of us enjoyed the two days of snow we had during their visit. This was the warmest day we had. You can tell by Luke's face that he is tired of wearing coats!! ha!
Luke's reaction to carrots. Surprisingly, even after making hilarious faces after each new food, he always eats them!
Watching the Masters with daddy and playing with his favorite toy. It's a sauce pan from a lil' chef set I got him for Valentine's Day. I think it's hilarious that this is his favorite toy. Maybe a sign of things to come...a gourmet chef??? hahaha!

Watching the cars with Grandpa from our Louisville hotel window.

We got to meet up with our good friends, The Pence Family, in Louisville at the Cheesecake Factory. This is the best photo we could get of the 3 kids...too funny!! This was our first time meeting sweet little Madeline. She was only 5 weeks old in this picture. Little Coleman kept kissing on Luke - it was precious! :) We look forward to spending more time with them once we move to Kentucky!!!!

Luke snuggling with his Aunt Lynsi and Uncle Randy. This was the day after his 4 mth shots and he had a fever and was not feeling well - needless to say, his aunt and uncle made him feel better. :)

Can you find Luke???

Luke is now 5 months old and boy has this past month been busy! I don't see it slowing down anytime soon either! Last month, Luke got to see quite a few family members which was such a treat since we live so far away from everyone. He got to see his Uncle Randy and Aunt Lynsi during their spring break and his Uncle Rick and Aunt Jess came to visit him for an entire week! He also got to see his Nana and Papa at Easter and his Mimi, Grandpa George, and Granny Dolores came to visit him in Louisville while we were there house hunting!!! Luke has thoroughly enjoyed all the extra attention - he just eats it up!! He is definitely a people person.

Luke's Update: He has found his feet and is fascinated by them. He is very close to sitting up on his own. He is also very close to rolling over back to front, but he hasn't mastered it quite yet. He laughs when his daddy tickles his neck and he is a big time thrill-seeker. Anything that makes his mommy gasp (throwing him in the air, flying around like an airplane, etc) he loves! He definitely gets this from his daddy. During nap time I often find him with just the blanket over his head and I immediately pull it off and he just smiles and giggles - he thinks this is funny and I do NOT. So much for peek-a-boo being a great idea. I'm trying to tuck the blanket underneath him so he can't pull it over his face.

So far, he is an excellent eater - he has eaten carrots, green beans, applesauce, peas, prunes and sweet potatoes. We are very blessed to have a little one who eats and sleeps so well. I don't know how I can even complain! (but, naturally, I still do) The main thing Luke does NOT like is being in the carseat (unless it's moving). I never knew how long red lights could be until I had a screaming baby in the back seat!! ah!!

**By the way, We did find a house in Louisville and we hope to close on it next month. We cannot wait to finalize this process and get moved in!! It's all very exciting, but also very exhausting. I still haven't figured out how we're going to pack up all our stuff with little Luke around!! Anyone want to come to Cleveland and watch Luke for a week???? Let me know :) HAHA!!

Luke is 4 Months Old!

Luke has gotten to try out a lot of new things this past month: bumbo seat, exersaucer, rice cereal, and Baby Einstein!! Luke thinks he is a big boy and wants to sit up to play all the time. He is very tired of having to play laying down so the exersaucer has been perfect!! :) He laughs a lot now which is so much fun. It is hard to capture his smile/laugh on camera b/c if he sees the camera he instantly gives you this "what is that big silver thing?" face. We are still anxiously awaiting spring so that we can get outside more - - hopefully it is just around the corner. We both have a bad case of cabin fever. Enjoy the photos below! His 4 mth old dr. appt isn't until next week. I can't wait to see how much he's grown and hopefully his shots will go as well as last time too!

One of my new favorite photos of my two boys.

Yes, it is still sweater weather here. His outfit is a little big, but I wasn't about to put him through another change of clothes or he would never cooperate! :)

Not too happy here!!

Now he's happy with momma :)


Watching Baby Einstein for the first time - he is mesmerized!!

Ok, the photos below are in reverse order. Our dr. told us we could start Luke on rice cereal at 4 months and we had high hopes. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give our first rice cereal experience a 2.5. He's not quite ready - maybe in a few weeks. Here he is after trying rice cereal happy to get his bottle again.

Not happy with the cereal.

"My hand tastes better than that cereal momma!!"

His first taste.

Sucking his thumb in the play gym.

Sitting in his Bumbo seat for the first time. He looks like a litte man here. He is growing up so fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mimi came to visit for a week...yay!! You can tell Luke had a great time with her. :)

Mimi wanted some photos of Luke in his overalls. Here you go Mimi:

3 Months Old Already?? (long post)

I cannot believe Luke is already 3 months old!! Time really does fly by with this little one. I want to take some time to reflect over the last 3 months. Let's be honest, the first 6 weeks or so with a newborn are tough. (Especially when Thanksgiving and Christmas fall between those 6 weeks.) It was definitely the most exhausting time of my life. There were days when I didn't even know if I had brushed my teeth or not. All I could think of is I should have been on those Suave shampoo commercials where the moms look terrible before getting their "Suave makeover"..... of course I always just looked like the exhausted mom and never the glamorous mom - maybe that's because I don't use Suave shampoo? Anyway, the exhaustion and crazinesss has obviously been completely worth it. I am head over heels for this little man. Some nights I can barely get through singing him a lullaby without tearing up. (Side note: Do any of you other moms find yourself not knowing any of the words to all the lullabies you sing? I just make up words most of the time and hope he doesn't remember) I am extremely grateful that God has given us this beautiful baby and am blessed beyond words to be a mom.

Here we are singing "The Wheels on the Bus". He loves to "sing" with mommy.

Luke continues to grow and grow everyday. He smiles and giggles and loves getting attention from anybody that will give it to him. He is sleeping on average 8 hours a night and fights naps during the day. Ever since I went back to work, he only takes bottles. It is challenging to get used to pumping and feeding him every feeding, but we'll get used to it. Let's just say I feel like all I do is wash bottles and shields all day long. Speaking of work, yes I went back and yes I QUIT shortly after! For those of you who don't know, I worked for a not very nice manager - I loved my coworkers, but my manager - not so much love for him. Danny and I are so excited that I get to be home all day with Luke now. :) We are also looking forward to the spring, b/c we got news that Danny was accepted into the University of Louisville's Family Medicine program!! We will be moving from Cleveland to Louisville sometime in May or June. Now we will only be 2.5 hours away from our family and friends in Nashville (instead of 9-10 hours). Danny also graduates from medical school June 6 and he cannot wait...I can't wait either. I am so proud of him!!!!! We will also be house hunting - so wish us luck! Needless to say, we have a lot to look forward to this spring! Here are some recent photos of Luke:

Luke giving his Nana some kisses

Some photos of Luke on his 3mth birthday:

**It was 60 degrees (which is very rare here) so he was excited to show off his bare feet

Ready for the Super Bowl - he looks like a little linebacker from this angle.

He loves his new turtle his daddy bought him (it's Squirt from Finding Nemo)

Luke is 2 Months Old!

This is a late post as usual, but Luke is now 2 1/2 months old! I can't believe how fast time flies with a little one. He brings so much joy to our lives - it is truly amazing! He smiles all the time and his little personailty is developing more and more everyday. He currently loves sitting in his swing, watching his mobile, eating his fingers and watching daddy dance - and I swear he imitates him sometimes and it's hilarious! Things mommy and daddy love - - Luke is taking the bottle well, smiling often, and most wonderful of all....he is sleeping 7 hours a night!!!!! Yay Luke! Hopefully blogging about this wonderful sleep achievement will not jinx us :)

Here are the most recent photos of Luke below. It is the middle of winter here in Cleveland and we have two more long months of cold, cold, cold! Luke does not get to go out often so we are most definitely looking forward to the spring weather. We have a bad case of cabin fever - even though as you can see below the snow is beautiful!! Hope you all are staying warm and cozy during these winter months!

**Oh, by the way, Luke was 12.5lbs. and 24 in. long at his 2 month check-up (putting him in the 75th percentile). He screamed only a little bit after his shots. Mommy and Daddy were very proud of him - - and Mommy kept it together too which was a good thing :)

Here is Luke on his 2 mth birthday ready for bed in his puppy pj's.

He is done with the photos at this point. We see this face a lot - it's just like his daddy's.

Here is Luke doing his tummy time - he is getting so strong!

Our little duckie after bath time.


Daddy washing his back - I think he looks so cute sitting up like this.

Here is Luke with his Auntie Leslie - one of mom's bestest friends. She came and visited us one weekend and we had a wonderful time!!! Mommy really needed some girl time. Thanks Auntie Leslie for visiting us!!! (Luke had a wonderful time with her - she's going to make a great mommy one day)

This is what Luke looks like when he's all bundled up for the below freezing temperatures in Cleveland. Let me tell you how fun it is to put this many layers on a 2-mth old only to get to Target to find that he's pooped through two of the layers already - did I mention we are anxiously awaiting spring weather????????

Luke and his first snowman built by daddy. Don't worry grandparents - Danny is holding him in this photo and he is not sitting directly on the snow. **A special thanks to Lauren for the AWESOME Patagonia snowsuit - it has been perfect**

Luke and Daddy checking out all the snow! I'm sure there is more to come this winter. Last year we got 20 inches in March!

Close-up of Luke's 1st Snowman.