Luke's Four Month Picture

Yesterday, we got family pictures taken, so I thought I'd post our favorite of Luke. He did remarkably well, though he did tire of the experience after about 25 minutes, as you can see here:

We've had a wonderful Christmas so far and are off to Winona to see Jeremy's family. We hope you've all had happy holidays, too!

Luke Visits Santa!

Today, Luke went to get his picture taken with Santa. Before I continue blogging, I'll share a few lessons Jeremy and I learned:

1. You should DEFINITELY not wait until December 23 to do this. We will definitely be ahead of the crowds next year.
2. We will not EVER leave the other to do this alone. Watching solo parents try to corral 2+ kids was sobering and terrifying.
3. The more that people that tell you how perfectly your child behaves during the two-plus hour wait, the more horrendously he'll behave once you get home.
4. Always ask if part of the mall Santa experience includes fake snow. That way, you'll be prepared to play defense when fifty tons of fake snow topples onto your heads and into your bags. Oops.

We got in line at 12:20. By 1:00, we were #2... but Santa took his milk and cookie break until 2:oo p.m. Drat! Luke was a trooper though, as you shall see...

12:20 - Let's do this!

1:20 - Still excited! A little waiting can't hold me down! 1:30 - Sleeping in heavenly peace... 1:56 - On deck! 2:05 - It's official...

We wish you all a Merry Christmas! More pictures to come in the next few days... or, perhaps more likely, within the next week.

Tagged - Eight Things About Me

I was tagged by my cousin's wife Becca... so here are eight things about me...

8 TV Shows I Watch:

1. Dexter
2. Biggest Loser
3. The Office
4. CSI-NY
5. CSI
6. Rock of Love Charm School (judge if you want. I realize that we all may look back and blame VH1 for the apocalypse, but if loving their shows is wrong, then I don't want to be right!)
7. Mad Men (if crushes on TV shows were possible, I'd have a crush on this one. I cannot wait until it's back on!)
8. Bravo (Top Chef, Real Housewives of Atlanta, Top Design... I loooove this channel.)

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Sonic (for vanilla Diet Cokes)
2. Corner Bakery
3. Uncle Julio's
4. PF Changs
5. Taco Cabana (there's a new one close-ish to our house. Their queso has already set me back at least a pound of lost baby weight.)
6. Del Frisco's
7. Johnny Carino's
8. Chick-Fil-A (whatever. I'm not very fancy. I just like food.)

8 Things that Happened to Me Today:

1. Up at 6:30 a.m.
2. Showered and dried my hair before Luke woke up
3. Sterilized and filled 8 bottles
4. Got Luke's medicine ready
5. Fed Luke
6. Played with Luke
7. Got Luke to nap
8. Checked email, read blogs... and here I am! : )

8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. Holiday celebrations over the next several days
2. A more peaceful year in 2009
3. Watching Luke grow
4. Hearing Luke giggle again! (He has maybe twice in the past two days, and I'm just dying to hear him again!)
5. Sleeping in... someday
6. Another "just us" vacation with Jeremy - hopefully not too far away
7. A return trip to London
8. Luke's picture with Santa today... hope it is a good one! (Or at least a funny one)

8 Things I Wish For:

1. Continued health for my family
2. Comfort and healing for those close to me who hurt
3. The continued safety of our country and of our troops
4. Many, many more years with my parents
5. My wonderful, amazing, beautiful single girlfriends to find men they deserve
6. Luke to get plenty of rest over the next few days so no one remembers him as a monster during his first Christmas ; )
7. Safe travel during the holidays for all who are venturing out to see family
8. To move in 2009

8 People I Tag... hmmm, not many blogs I follow, but I'll try to list as many as possible...

1. Kristina
2. Cathy
3. Emily
4. Susan
5. Courtney
6. Miranda

Offically 3 Months Old... and Officially Sick

I turn three-months old, and all I get is a nasty cold?!? This stinks!!!

The last week has been rough on our Little Man. He's had some road trips for the Thanksgiving holiday, a doctor's appointment, his two-month shots, a couple of nights without Dad (who was on a business trip), and an emergency room visit! Yowza!

Let's start with the Thanksgiving holiday. It was wonderful, but the travel and schedule flip-flopping brought havoc to Luke's tummy and overall well-being. We spent Turkey Day with the Calverts (my Mom's family) and took an overnight trip to Winona on Friday and Saturday to see Jeremy's parents, Pete and Donna, and Luke's Aunt Michelle and cousins Brent and Halle. Luke wowed all who met him and behaved wonderfully despite taking a two-hour car trip for two days in a row. Naturally, he was a bit of a disaster on Sunday, but that was to be expected. Or at least that's what I told myself...

Well, fast forward to Tuesday, when Luke went to the doctor to get his ears checked, assess his progress with the soy formula, and get his two month shots. His ears were all clear, and we got a thumb's up on the soy formula. Then the poor little baby got his immunizations. The nurse who gave him the shots was magnificently fast. By the time he realized he had gotten the first shot, she was all done. Of course, the screaming wasn't done, but our brave little fellow handled himself quite well.

I'll just cut to the important stuff: I noticed Luke was coughing on Wednesday night. It didn't improve by Friday, and it was too late to go to his pediatrician, so we went to the ER to get his lungs looked at. Two x-rays and a nose-swab later, he was diagnosed with RSV, a very common virus for infants. It should last 5-8 days, and I think it is far harder on Jeremy and me than it is on Luke. He's really congested and coughing, but his spirits are pretty good. He's still his normal, smiley self early in the day, and he's jibber jabbering with us like normal. Nevertheless, he's pretty snoozy thanks to his medicine, so I didn't exactly get stellar pictures today. It's funny; I had hoped to get professional photos taken this weekend. Perhaps I will next weekend, if I'm not too frightened to take him out of the house. That, or his pro pics will be in a hazmat suit. : ) Oh well - here is what I do have for you now:

Official bear/chair pic. I took his socks off to highlight his ski-like feet.

Luke taking part in tummy time. It's not his favorite, but we try to get him excited about it. Great success, as you can see here. = \




Here's Luke bundled up to go to Sandra's Friday morning. This may be my new favorite picture. How adorable is he?




Lastly, our big boy holding himself up in his Bumbo seat! So strong!

That's all for now. Please say a prayer for our family - that Luke recovers as quickly as possible, and that Jeremy and I stay level-headed and as well-rested as possible so we can get him well!

Luke's Sexy Physique

Just two quick pics because I should be grading...

1. Gratuitous hooded towel picture, because how cute are these? I think Brooke Shields might agree that people have babies not only for German engineering, but also for hooded towels. (If you haven't seen the latest Volkswagen commercials, you will have no idea what I'm saying.)

2. Luke is starting to get fat rolls, and they are awesome. Here he is pre-bath. Luke's bringing sexy back.

The little pumpkin is officially three months old tomorrow! Stay tuned for new pictures soon...