Luke's 12 Month Update

What a crazy wonderful year!  Our Lucas Eli has brought us so much happiness.  It amazes me every day how much he has changed over the year.  Luke had his one year well child check-up on the 7th, he weighs 19 pounds 15 ounces and is 29 inches long, he has gained 13 pounds 10 ounces and grown 9.5 inches since he was born! He has 6 teeth and freaking runs everywhere.

Luke still isn't saying much, he's still sticking with mama and dada along with pretty much constant babbling.  Over the past month Luke has started dancing to music, all by himself, super cute!  He also randomly started hugging me and it is the best, he says "awe" and wraps his little arms around my neck.  So far I am the only one he will hug consistently but everyone is working on him.

One thing that I haven't really mentioned for a while is Luke's torticollis.  We honestly have not done much for it, a while back we quit trying to do the stretches because they completely stressed Luke out, he did not tolerate them well at all and I was just too worried about hurting him because he tensed up so much.  Instead of the stretches we take him to the chiropractor and the rolfer periodically and he does really well with both.  We also have my sister Haley, who is a massage therapist, do little mini massages on his neck every once in a while.  At his one year appointment our Dr. said his neck is looking pretty good and will continue to improve especially since he is such an active little boy.

Some of Luke's favorite things:
Going for tractor rides with his Papa
Story time at the library
Rowdy
Being outside
His little ride-on motorcycle
Bananas

Luke's Birthday

Oh my goodness, my baby boy is ONE!! This has been the fastest, most wonderful year of my life!

Luke turned one on December 30th.  I was planning on having a real party for him, but since we had just gotten home from Hawaii and then Christmas, I just ran out of time to plan it.  So we just had a small party for him with just family and a couple friends.  Big party or not, I knew I wanted a smash cake for Luke.  I was so excited, Luke is such a tornado that I was sure he was going to absolutely destroy this cake, but it turns out he is more of a cautious cake eater, one fingerfull of frosting at a time.  I finally took one of his hands and slapped it on the top of the cake because he was just being far too clean for my taste.  He loved the cake (obviously...) and cried when I finally took it away.

Happy First Birthday to our sweet little boy.  Words can't describe how much we love you Lucas Eli, you are the best thing that has ever happened to us.

Hawaiian Vacation

Oh Hawaii... How I miss you.

To say we had a wonderful vacation would be a huge understatement.  So much happened and we had such an amazing time.  

The day we left, December 12th, was my sister Charley's birthday so of course we made her wear a crown and sash to party on the plane, the rest of us had fun little party hats.  We ended up having the BEST flight attendants ever!  They brought our crew free drinks and food and gave Charley a free plane tablet for the flight and sang happy birthday over the intercom, so we definitely got a good start to the vacation.  Traveling with 8 people is a total circus, especially our family, but it is always the best time!  Luke did absolutely fantastic on the plane, I totally had myself prepared for the worst, but he was a total champ.  I didn't take any toys for him, just tons of food, which is his favorite thing, so he was perfectly happy.

We have all been to Maui a bunch of times so we all have our favorite places to eat and things to do.  We spent a lot of time on the beach and at the pool at our condo.  Luke loved the beach, and being out in the water.  I can't even imagine how much sand he must have eaten.  It seems like every time we went to the beach he would play for a little bit in the sand, then I would take him out in the water and he would fall asleep while we stood in the waves.  Luke was a trooper, he played so hard every day and got really good at walking while we were there, probably from walking in the sand.

Other than spending time at the beach, we ate a ton of yummy food, rode mopeds, made a day trip to Lahina to go shopping at an outlet mall, and made a couple trips out to the beach where Zack and I got married.  I was really hoping to get some nice pictures there, but when we got dressed up and went, there were two weddings going on, so we went down the street to another beach and got a few pictures there.

On one of the last days we were in Hawaii, my sister Haley and her boyfriend Josiah got engaged!  It is so exciting, they have been together for close to 6 years.  He picked the prefect time and place to propose, on a beautiful beach at sunset.  

It is always so sad when vacation ends, it goes by so quickly but we had the best time.  I love that Maui was Luke's first vacation, it is my favorite place in the world, if I could convince Zack to move there I would be on the next flight out.

This is the beach Zack and I got married on, we just randomly stopped there one day and took a few pictures but planned on going back when we were dressed up.

Luke's 11 Month Update

How in the world is it possible that Luke is 11 months old already!  This little boy is busy busy and into everything.  Luke has gotten really great at walking this month, has gotten two more teeth, and is eating like a man!

Luke has absolutely taken off this month with walking.  He is getting so fast and his balance has improved a ton.  He absolutely loves chasing Rowdy around, poor dog is so screwed when Luke figures out how to climb up on the couch.  As far as teeth go, Luke has gotten four teeth on the top over the last month, lots of teeth in a short time, poor kid.  I don't know what happened, but this month I have not been able to keep this boy full!  Luke has three full meals, three good sized snacks, and breast feeds 3-4 times a day, some days I swear, all I do is feed him.

Luke's Typical Menu

Breakfast: Oatmeal with a fruit or veggie pouch mixed in or an egg

Snack: Half of a banana

Lunch: Leftovers or lunch meat with cheese

Snack: String cheese

Dinner: Sometimes what we eat, depending on if it is spicy or homemade baby food.

Snack: Puffs

This is a typical menu for one day, there are of course variations depending on what we have leftover.  Lunch is hard, I am constantly racking my brain for new ideas so Luke doesn't get bored.  Luke doesn't really like meat lately so I hide it in homemade baby food, I will steam chicken breasts with apple and sweet potatoes so I can sneak some meat in.

Last week was Luke's first Thanksgiving, it was such a fun day.  We celebrated on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  We spent the day with family playing outside, watching Last Man Standing, and eating good food.  Luke loved dinner, he had stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, the kid was in heaven and slept like a rock when he went to bed.

It has been so cold here for the past week so we are really ready to go to Hawaii!  Only six more days!

Countdown to Vacation!

Yes... I know my palm tree is under water... I never claimed to be an artist.

The countdown is on!  We are off to Maui for vacation in less than a month and we are so excited.  This will be Luke's first time on an airplane and I have to admit, I am a little bit nervous.  He has been walking really well over the past two weeks and he hates being still and confined, so this should be good (insert sarcasm here).  I have been searching Pinterest and asking all of my friends with kids what they do when they travel so I can attempt to be prepared for 5 hours on an airplane with a walking 11 month old.

Besides being nervous for the flight, we could not be more excited for Maui.  Maui is a really special place for our family, we went on a lot of family vacations there when my sisters and I were growing up, my youngest sister, Haley went to massage therapy school there, Zack and I's first vacation together was to Maui, and Zack and I got married on Secret Beach in Makena.  I can't wait to play with Luke at the beach and pool and take him to all of our favorite spots and restaurants .  It's going to be so fun watching him explore and be in a new environment.  

There are so many things we want to do while we are in Hawaii, we are going with the whole family and I think everyone has a little list.  All I want to do is hang on the beach and by the pool, eat a lot of fruit, play with Luke, and get a picture with Zack and Luke on the beach where Zack and I got married.  Low key and relaxed is what were going for.

I have already started packing Luke's suitcase, which is totally not like me, I am more of a "I have to throw my shit in a suitcase right now because we are leaving in an hour" kind of gal, thats just my style.  But with Luke, I can't help myself, all of his little board shorts and rash guards are so freaking cute, I can't wait to put him in all of them.  My packing will still probably happen at the last minute, but at least I know Luke will have all of his cute stuff.

The weather has been really cold for the past couple of weeks so we are more than ready to leave, we are just counting down the days... We can't wait!

Luke's 10 Month Update

My boy is 10 months old!! Oh my gosh! He is so funny and keeps me laughing constantly.  Month 10 has been a big month for Luke.  He took his first steps, got his two top teeth, has been eating a lot of what we eat, and started sleeping through the night!  

These photo shoots have turned into a complete rodeo!  I told Zack he needs to record us one day because it is usually me holding him against the back of the chair then jumping back, rapid firing a bunch of pictures, then jumping back to catch Luke before he bails off the front of the chair.  Lots of fun!

Luke decided it was time to start walking!  He started out taking one or two steps and now he can take about 6!  He looks so cute walking, he is still so small and it is hilarious watching him carry his toys around.  Luke had been really fussy all of a sudden last week and I was starting to wonder if he was getting a little bit sick, thankfully he wasn't, but he did get his top two teeth!  Teething is such a bummer, I feel so bad for my little guy when he goes through it.

I have tried really hard to give Luke a lot of what we eat lately, he loves feeding himself (and Rowdy) so it has been a lot of fun.  Zack and I eat a lot of spicy food so I have to try to remember to cook a little bit more mild.  I still get nervous feeding him some things sometimes, but he does really well.

And, probably the best thing that has happened this month... Luke is sleeping through the night!  Up until about three weeks ago, Luke would play downstairs with us until about 8 when he started to get fussy and tired, then one of us (usually Zack) bounced with him on the yoga ball until he fell asleep then he would sleep in our arms until about 10 when we went to bed, he would wake up and I would nurse him and put him in his crib, but he would always be restless and be up and down 2-4 times a night.  This was NOT working, nights were awful and none of us were getting a decent night of sleep.  So finally, after a particularly horrible night, Zack and I decided we were going to let Luke cry it out.  We gave him and bath and put him in his crib at 8, he cried for 35 minutes (while I watched him on the monitor crying) but then he slept all night long!  Every night after that first one it has taken Luke 10 minutes or less to fall asleep and he sleeps all through the night.  Another thing to add to the "why didn't we do this sooner" list.  Better late than never, but you can bet your ass we will be doing this sooner with our next kid.

I love this little boy's personality, he is so funny and full of energy, has the biggest cheesy smile and keeps me running and laughing all day.  He is turning into such a little boy!  He is rough and tough and loves to destroy toy towers and ram his walk behind toy into the wall.  I love this age, part of me wants him to stay this little forever, but I just love watching him grow and learn every day.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was very low key for us.  My parents got home in the morning so we wore our costumes to pick them up from the airport then went out to breakfast.  For the rest of the day we just hung out, ate dinner, then went trick-or-treating at a couple close friends houses and the fire department.  Luke was actually already falling asleep when we were on our way to the first house, so he was over it pretty fast, but we managed to get a few cute pictures and a handful of candy for mommy and daddy to snack on, so I say it was a win.  

My sweet little Superman!

Happy Halloween! Love, Superfam!

I love matching family costumes!  I didn't want to go all out because I knew we wouldn't be out and about for very long so I just got Zack and I t-shirts with capes so we could match, it was a lot of fun and I love having these fun pictures.  My sister, Charley and her husband, Matt got Batman and Robin t-shirts with capes to go along with us, it was a lot of fun!

I am already starting to think about what our family costume will be, I am using Neil Patrick Harris and his family for inspiration, because their costume game is on point!  I can't wait until next Halloween!