Snacking and Shuffling...

You may recall from a previous post that Luke had not yet warmed up to two usually beloved foods, Oreos and mac and cheese. The picture doesn't show his cheese-covered mouth all that well, but that is a baby Oreo he is devouring. He IS my baby!

I assure you that he does not eat these foods together - yuck! But he is all about grown-up food right now, so if it doesn't come out of one of those sissy jars, Luke is super interested.

Luke took his first solo steps about a week after his birthday, but he isn't walking on his own all that often. Instead, he pushes things around - whatever he can get his hands on. I wouldn't be too terribly surprised if I saw him pushing the coffee table around as determined as he is. His favorites are laundry baskets. his musical table, and, oddly enough, his high chair. Enjoy the pics and videos below, and have a great week!

Some pictures of the "new" house

I don't know if I can exactly call our house new a)since it was built in 2003 and b)when we've lived in it for two months now, but these are minor details.

I thought I'd gradually post some pictures of the house. I say gradually because some rooms are more ready-to-show than others. Of course, whose rooms are? LUKE'S! Duh!

Here are some pictures of his bedroom and bathroom - and a gratuitous new pajama picture, too.

Luke's bedroom:
The walls are citrine - which is virtually impossible to see here, so the pictures in some ways don't do the room much justice.

This is the birth announcement Donna cross-stitched. It is PERFECT in his room! Thanks so much, Donna!

I'm in love with this valance - just got it a couple of weeks ago, and I think it looks so good!

Luke's bathroom: This room is so small that it was hard to get the full picture - basically, khaki walls and a (what else?) monkey theme.





This is the best picture I have of the past couple of weeks. Thanks to Honey for his precious new pajamas! I love the look on his face: "GREAT Mom. You've got that stupid camera out again. Can't I just play in peace?"

Everyone have a great week!

Shoe-tiful Disaster

About the title - it's a weak pun, for sure, but I tried, so be nice, okay? : )

Here's a picture of Luke getting his "first shoes" at Nordstrom. It was kind of a sitcom moment - he was silent and angelic in that stroller until the approximately 22 year old kid came out with the shoe sizer. Then Luke just SOBBED. He sobbed when I stood him on the sizer, he sobbed when I tried the shoes on him, and he sobbed for minutes afterward, even with a balloon and a toy. Somehow or another, we did manage to get a nice photo of the occasion... thank goodness! Anyway, if you were at the North East Mall Nordstrom on Saturday and your ears are still ringing, we apologize. And to our sales associate: you fought a good fight, and I wish you nothing but compliant, happy children to fit for prosperity (or at least until the economy improves and you can pursue other gigs).

Have a great week!

As of yesterday...

LUKE IS WALKING! It's a very tentative gait at this point, but to Jeremy and me, it counts. (We were so afraid he was going to do this at one of his babysitters' houses first. If he did, they're graciously lying to us, and we appreciate it.) No pictures or videos yet, but I thought I'd share the news. This big boy is growing up so fast!

Luke's 1st Birthday: The Second Soiree

The monkey had his second first birthday party... and he and his parents are worn out. Poor Jeremy has had a respiratory infection and went to the emergency care clinic yesterday with hives - turns out he had an allergic reaction to his antibiotic. Never a dull moment! But despite several curveballs, we were so thrilled to spend time with the Calvert crew to round out Luke's near-week of celebration.

Speaking of family - ever have a get-together and realize you didn't get nearly enough pictures? Here this is the side of my family with seven boys ages four and under, and I didn't get one of the boys all together. Darn it! We did manage to get a shot of Luke with his Uncle Johnny. This is a momentous occasion, as the last time Johnny tried to hold Luke (maybe nine months ago...?!? Not sure), Luke sobbed. Both were scarred from the experience for a while, but it looks like they've reunited - and it feels so good...

I have to thank my sister Tara and the other Griffiths for the adorable onesie Luke was sporting at the party. Number one on the front, and, as you saw before, the monkey on the butt. So precious! Our little monkey looks very handsome in it.

Just a couple more things, as the monkey's mama is too sleepy for more cleverness. Pictured below is Luke pushing his lion walker that his Honey and Grand got him. So cute, right? Well, if he can push and pull a lion...

...he can push and pull a cooler full of ice and bottled water! So strong! As you might imagine, Luke was so proud of himself.

As exhausting as our weekend has been, we have spent it filled with gratitude for our healthy, beautiful boy and for all of the family and friends who care for him. Thanks so much for your birthday wishes, everyone! Luke is so blessed to have so many people who love him so much.

Luke's First 1st Birthday Bash

Yesterday we had the first of Luke's birthday parties at our house. It was a great time with Jeremy's family and some of our friends, and we're so thankful to all of you who were here to shower Luke with gifts and love!

Here's Luke's birthday present from us: his Learning Farm. The picture above shows when he figured out you could crawl through it, a pretty cool feature indeed. It makes all kinds of noise and is lots of fun for Luke. For Hannah? Well, it's probably another good reason she's on anti-anxiety meds. (If you don't know that story, let me know.) Thanks to all for the great gifts! He has so many fun new toys, and his Aunt Kerry essentially bought him an outfit a day for the winter season. : ) We appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness!

Here Luke is with the cake... and with me playing defense to be sure he didn't put that little hand right through the candle flame.

We still need to watch Jeremy's video of the singing and feeding, but in a nutshell, Luke is not a big fan of cake. Kind of disappointing, I know. He did enjoy some Blue Bell ice cream (who doesn't?), and clearly he loved getting the frosting on himself. (Red frosting? Not one of my better ideas, but oh well. ;D) But the good news is that after his frosting bath, he got to go to one of his favorite places...

Ahhhhhh... bath time. Big day, lots of great gifts and company, ice cream, and a bath in the afternoon? Does it get better than this? (This bubble goatee he's sporting is totally not staged, by the way.)

Hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend! Tomorrow we'll celebrate the second soiree. Look for pictures late Monday or sometime next week!

One Year Appointment

This picture is actually from yesterday, but tearful, betrayed expression pretty much portrays how Luke looked at the end of his 12 month appointment today. Poor little thing. Here are his stats for all of you keeping track at home (i.e., my mother):

• Length: 31.5 inches long/90th percentile (he was 21.5 inches when he was born)


• Noggin: 18.5 inches around/50th percentile (14.5 inches at birth)


• Weight: 22 lbs 8 oz/50th percentile (9 lbs at birth)

So same percentages as usual, and Luke is tall and "skinny." (I use ironic quotation marks because this boy has some big ole thighs. Does that mean I'm "skinny" too? Hee hee.) But to put things in perspective, here's this little guy a year ago today:

Wow. Just... wow.

Luke was a very good boy at the doctor. Did he cry? Oh yes... poor little angel got four shots. But the second he got in his carseat, he had a nice little power nap. And we're about to snuggle so he can settle down into a niiiiice longer nap this afternoon. I can hope, right?

That's all for now, but stay tuned all weekend for birthday soiree pictures! Party 1 of 2 takes place tomorrow, so look for pictures in the next couple of days. Enjoy your holiday weekend, everyone!

Luke's 1!!!!

It's official: Lucas James is a whole year old! I will write more tomorrow after his doctor's appointment and certainly again after his birthday celebrations (yes, that's a plural. Spoiled already!), but here are a few pictures to commemorate the day. The picture above is at Honey and Grand's house with his new lion walker. Below, he is playing with one of the toys Mimi (a.k.a. Sandra, his other babysitter) brought him. And the onslaught of presents is just beginning - what a lucky little boy!