10 months old!

Cheese!! I'm such a happy boy.

November has been a busy month that has flown by.  First year anniversaries to our good friends, family gatherings, football games, good bye parties and our first family 5k walk!

Luke turned 10 months old November 28th!!  Double digits- whooomp whoomp!   And he finally has teeth!! 2 little bottom teeth poked through.  We celebrated our 1st Thanksgiving with the Sunday before at Great Grandma's, Thanksgiving Day at Great Aunt Janice & Great Uncle Vic's, then the Sunday after at Ne-Ne and Pop-Pop's!  Love to be around all the family!! So many new things to discover, people to love on, and room to roam. Aaaah, the life of an adorable, happy baby boy.   You can just feel the love and happiness.  Look at that face.  Love.



We got to spend time too with Ruby, Emma, & Claire the weekend before Thanksgiving as we watched another Purdue victory over Illinois on Nov. 17th!

Good looking group!

 

November 18th we spent the evening at Aunt Laura's and Uncle Scotty's with Raya & Charlie as mommy & daddy went to Matt & Jenn's wedding.  He had a great time with them as usual.  And we got to see everyone again the night before Thanksgiving to celebrate Uncle Scotty's 33rd birthday.  Aunt Chris wasn't feeling well but everyone else was there and Luke had a fun time trying to keep up with Trey, Tripp, & Tagg.  And man, he just loves Uncle Dave.

 

Thanksgiving morning!! Fishers 5k! Had a great time walking with the Habels!

 

 

 It was cold that morning but I stayed nice and snuggly warm. Love the bib. Yep, I am #1. Second to none.

 

 

Had a fun, quick day for the Purdue-IU Oaken Bucket game Saturday November 24th. Grandma & Grandpa watched him, then met Aunt Laurie at Pepe's, then home again. We were in such a great mood thanks to another Boilermaker victory!

                                                                I love Aunt Laurie!!! xoxox

Our routine is still going to bed by 7:30 - but some nights it's a little earlier thanks to daylight savings.  We get home around 5:50 pm and it's dark dark by 6:00.  zzzzz.....  Getting up once in the middle of the night though, then up around 6:30 or so for the start of the day. Weening off of bf after the Great Bite of 2012. I think I jumped / screamed that it scared him. He did it once more and his over all wiggly distracted feedings have made it an easy choice to ease out of it! I only pump once a day at work and now it's kinda right before bed I'll feed him and in the morning. So I think we did a pretty good job. Very happy with everything.

Won't sit still anymore for mommy to take my picture- I love to be on the move. 

 

Standing along furniture, cruising, grabbing every non-toy around (his faves are paper, our cell phones, the remotes, and toilet paper rolls). Stood on his own for a few brief seconds- curious when he'll take that first step!

And not just during this season of Thanksgiving, but honestly every day, we cannot thank God enough that Luke came into our lives.  We are thankful for our family and friends and all the blessings. 

9 months old!

Well, Luke has officially been out of my belly as long as he was in it!  He turned 9 months old on Sunday, Oct. 28th and it was on a Colts game day- Go Horse!

Brrrr....it was cold out, so I'll just lay down.

I mean, I love these leaves!

What a pumpkin face!

Weight:  21.4 lbs -        61%
Height:   29 inches -     71%
Head:     46.4 cm -        77%

He had his 9 month appointment on Election Day 11/06/2012 and it went well (not the election, in my opinion, though)!  He is still bf, in size 3 diapers, pulls himself up, stands on his own, he cruises along the furniture/coffee table, crawls fast all over the place, da-da, ga-ga, still no ma-ma :(  But he babbles. Alot.  He does love to crawl as fast as he can away from me and plays 'momma gonna get you'.  Claps his hands, eats puffs and baby food pretty well.  Loves to try to eat leaves.  Great in the stroller on our runs, but getting a little wiggly to put in the carseat.  And SUPER squirmy when changing his didey and clothes.  I mean, super.  Still about 7:30 pm down to sleep and wakes up once a night, trying to break him of that, then back to sleep until we get up.  Oh, and a tooth FINALLY kinda, sorta poked through! I can feel it. Yay- so he won't be toothless!!  But then that means he is really getting to be a big boy.   We have so much fun in the car on the way home from daycare- we sing, we clap, we blab, or sometimes we just sleep (not me, just Luke) and zone out while listening to country music. Ah, that's my boy!
 Everyday is a milestone, everyday is an adventure, everyday I can't wait to wake up and kiss on him and then get him home to snuggle on him!! We say our prayers everyday thanking God for him and blessing our family and I let him know what Luke means to me.  We had the LUKE banner over his changing table when he was a baby (and when he would just lay there)and everyday would tell him L is for Love. Mommy & daddy and so many people love you so much.  U is for Unique. There is only one you.  K is for Kind.  Mommy wants you to be a kind, sweet boy. E is for Extraordinary.  You can do anything in the world you want to.  Now it's replaced with the ABC quilt and we do the Z is for Zebra that we will see at the Zoo, E is for the Elephant, etc.  As long as he is safe, loved, and growing, that's all I ask for.  For now.  Then when he gets older, maybe be a doctor or something :) 

Happy Halloween!!

Call me maybe?

Tiger tail.....

Man, I love leaves!

 

This Bounce house is fun!! 

We love fall!

The beautiful mums at Grandma & Grandpa's

 

 

Hanging out at Grandma & Grandpa's

 

The Pumpkin Patch w/my little pumkin pie!

(don't mind my goofy face, I was in the middle of telling Luke to smile)

 

Excited for Halloween next week- we have some parties this weekend that he'll wear his little costume! I have seriously been thinking of him going as Honey Boo Boo, but Daddy nixed that idea.  Boo! We get to see the Weaver clan at a party Saturday and get to see the Lemming side for Emma's 10th birthday party.  Now that doesn't seem possible that Emma is turning 10!!

Luke and my parents survived the first night away from both mommy & daddy- yay!  We were at Ian & Sonia's wedding - which was a blast.  And hard to believe he will be 9 months old.  He's been doing a good job eating puffs, baby food, crawling, pulling up, standing on his own for a few seconds, still bf, still no teeth but I swear his bottom fronts look like they could poke through any day, but I've been thinking that for weeks.  We go to his appt. Nov 6th so will be curious to see how big he is.  Thankfully the last few days he has been going to bed at 7:30 ish and waking around 5:00 am...we can do this.  I'm feeling better and boot camp has been awesome and we have a good routine going on right now.   We've increased our mileage and our times running.  Plus it helps that it gets dark earlier so I have to go faster before it gets too dark!!  We see lots of friends and animals out on The Monon, so that's been fun.  Taking advantage of the wonderful fall weather before it's gone. 

Luke is such a happy, sweet little boy.  We are so lucky!

 

 

8 months old...time marches on!

 

Whoa, I am 8 months old!!!! 

 

  Hangin' on to Ele the Elephant!

 

Luke turned 8 months old September 28th.    He is soooo fun.  His little personality is really coming out.  He does this 'ah, shucks!' bashful head bury thing.  It's so cute.  He is full on crawling...and super fast.  He does a great job standing and has been looking like he's interested in pulling himself up.  Still bf and eating some baby food now and then. Still size 3 diapers.  Been going to bed 7:30 - 8 pm, usually wakes up around 1:00 am (sometimes 4 am, too) and then back to sleep until around 6 -7 am when we start getting ready for work.  Really a little wiggly worm when we go to change him now.  Claps his hands, says da-da-da-da-da.   Loves the dance monkey.  We have been going for walks and good runs in the BOB.  It's great.  We can walk for hours, but I can only run about 45 minutes max (thanks, bladder!).  And he does such a great job in it.  We all got our flu shots on Wednesday and we are all doing ok.   He really is such a happy, friendly little baby.  Ian and Sonia watched him for a couple of hours while we ran errands last Sunday (and visited our friend Amy & Trevor's new sweet baby boy Ethan born September 12th! Adorable.), Uncle Dave & Aunt Chris (and Tripp and Tagg) babysat him when we went to a wedding Saturday,  and Uncle Scotty & Aunt Laura watched him for a couple of hours recently too.  Luke and Daddy went up to Ne-Ne and Pop-Pop's the other night and hung out with them.  They all say he is such a good, easy boy and love to watch him!!  I'm hoping they aren't all lying to us :) Aahhh!! 
I took him out in the yard last Sunday to get some fall pictures and he wasn't really feeling it. But they still turned out pretty cute :)

Mmm....this leaf is delicious!

Oh, mommy, enough pictures please!

We have another action packed weekend ahead- Daddy is going to BINGO with the Weavers tonight and then Sara is watching Luke all day Saturday as we go to our good friend Tara's wedding downtown.   Looking forward to watching football tomorrow, too (before the wedding)  and hoping Purdue can beat Michigan!  Then next weekend I will be heading to Homecoming vs. Wisconsin and Luke is gonna stay with my parents during the game.  Then we have Halloween parties and Emma's birthday party at end of the month.  Such a big boy, such fun.  Just when I can't imagine loving him more or having more fun with him, I do.  And it is totally awesome.

 

Little Buddies!

It was so amazing to find out last July a friend of mine was expecting.  And she was due just 2 weeks before me.  I truly was just as excited for her pregnancy as I was for mine!   She had her struggles (which I cannot even imagine), and I had mine, so it's like we really did know what we were each going through.  Plus it was a great way to keep each other in check during our pregnancies, we went to a bf class together, did a prenatal yoga class (where I vomitted), and were able to be great resources for each other.  She'd give me her updates from her appointments, and I would as well.   Here was my e-mail to her July 6, 2011...she had told me she was expecting and I was bursting at the seams.  So I had to tell her....

Well.....I have to tell you....I am 11 weeks today!  Total shock and still sinking in!  Back in April I went to Dr. Carnovale after 47 days without a cycle.  In January we had tried to do IVF w/max dose and didn’t respond...at all.  Nada, zip.   So he wanted to watch 3 natural cycles....well, didn’t know if I was ever going to freakin’ start again b/c the one thing I had going for me was ‘regular’ cycles but now it was 47 days.  So when I finally started my cycle April 10^th, I went in on day 3 and my FSH levels were high and retested the Ovarian Reserve.  I did that test in Nov. and it was ‘normal’ but at the low end, well in April it was ‘below normal’ but near the high end.  So that was that.  Just going to not be on drugs and hopefully get back on a normal schedule.  Well, May 16^th was 38 days since my last period.  So I took a pg test – totally expecting to see negative like usual- and was going to call the next day to tell them it was negative b/c they didn’t want me to go 47 days again.  So I took it and went and did laundry. B/c I know the outcome – it’s not something fun to do.  I take a test, it’s negative, then go on.   Well 20 minutes later I came back and it said ‘pregnant’ – and I looked around the bathroom like there for sure had to be a hidden camera.  I just kept looking at myself in the mirror like what is going on.  I asked Charlie dog if he had messed with it.  This wasn't right. I wasn’t even excited b/c I’m like great- freakin’ faulty test.  So I called Matt who was on his way home and told him to get another one, not digital, b/c this was obviously wrong.  Took it and it was positive.  So in disbelief we were like what?  So I called the Dr. the next day (May 17^th) and told them but was completely like ‘obviously something isn’t right’...so they did my beta and it was 130 – and anything over 100 was considered pregnant.  Told me to come repeat it on Thurs. (May 19^th)  and be cautiously optimistic b/c it needed to double in order to be viable.  It came back 278 and they were like ‘congrats!’  Had my 1^st ultra sound June 6^th and just kept praying for a heartbeat.  We thought we were about 8 weeks but measured 6 wks 5 days and the heartbeat was 133 bpm.  So we were thrilled but still nervous b/c he didn’t know if the baby was growing properly or the date was off.  Went in the next week (June 13^th) and measured 7 wks 5 days so changed my edd from Jan 15^th to Jan. 25^th.  However the heartbeat was only 99 bpm.  He was worried I was starting to miscarry (oh, and I had an awful backache).  So he scheduled me for Thursday and to be prepared to lose the baby.  But he left us with 'just pray.' We were devastated but still took away the hope that ‘wow, this happened! on our own!’.....Went in on Thurs. June 16^th fully anticipating awful news and he stopped and just said ‘this is AWESOME’  baby’s heartbeat was back up (180 bpm!) and we were cleared!!   Went in to my regular OB/GYN June 23^rd and was great- not considered high risk, can do normal things in moderation. But thankfully I have been so sick I just go home and rest!  Go back July 21^st.  UGH!!  Seems so far away after going in 4 times in like 3 weeks! So it’s been quite the roller coaster.  Until this baby is born though, I just don’t know if it seems real.   I might have to get a cerclage as well b/c I had 2 LEEP surgeries and 3 other lap/hyst surgeries so they don’t know how competent my cervix will be.  But he’s monitoring me closely.  I too am not working out b/c I am sicker than a dog- but I’ll take it.  I vomit 3-4 x’s a day and come home and sleep.  Maybe I’ll get energy later, but now, I’m doing nothing.  And I’m ok with it!  I’m trying to make it the 21^st to start telling everyone, we’ve told a handful of friends and our parents/siblings, but that’s it.  So if you can keep it a secret a little longer, I would appreciate it! 

I will keep you and baby in my prayers.  What an awesome miracle!!   And thank you for the prayers and keep them coming- you don’t know how much I appreciate them!!

So when you & I get feeling good, we honestly really need to get out and go for a walk / waddle (or eat!) J

............................................

I just cry everytime I read it - tears for the fear, tears for the joy, and tears for amazement that we both now have two healthy, sweet, cute, wonderful, and totally miraculous baby boys!! Her little man was born January 16th, we visited them in the hospital the day they were being discharged because I had an appointment. I remember holding him in my arms while my baby was in my belly and being blown away that soon, very soon, I would be holding a newborn in my arms. It seemed surreal. 

Only a few weeks old!

 

A few weeks later...

And now at 7 months-ish!!

 

So cute!  We love having playdates, which first consisted of naps & nursing, to pool time, now to crawling and a stroller ride around the neighborhood.  It's fun to see the interaction as they get older and become 'little people'.  Here's to many, many more playdates ahead and maybe future roomies at Purdue??? 

 

We are family! I got all my cousins and me!

This little guy is such a joy!  Love his giggles, his funny faces- like this:

 

 He is really getting fast crawling/scooting all around.  Itsy-Bitsy Spider is a favorite song of his and he has a new CD of 'Luke' songs Grandma & Grandma brought him back from their trip.  He did GREAT at the Purdue game over Labor Day weekend - it was super humid- I think I was having a harder time with it than him.  But daddy, Emma, & Claire were there and those girls were great helpers.  Julie & Jason came at halftime to see him.  And he was all smiles. 

Most of the time....

We stayed until the 3rd quarter then headed to Oxford to see Ruby and Aunt Nicole.  Thankfully Purdue won- big time- so that was even better! 

And then we had a wonderful Labor Day with the Weaver cousins, we missed Trey, though!  We celebrated Ne-Ne's birthday at Aunt Chris & Uncle Dave's...it was a great day to celebrate. 

Love this pic with their cute lil faces!!

Reminds me of one we did early August for Great Grandma's 79th birthday- Luke looks a little scared of those Booth girls- who can blame him really??

Oh, man!!  Girls gone wild :)

 

The weekend after Labor Day went up to Great Grandma's for a cook-out with all the cousins! 

 

Great Grandma and all her Great-Grandchildren. And Luke and Great-Grandma!

 Good times had by all!! We hadn't been all together since Easter- way too long.

 Food has been going ok- had a little problem with the rice/apple/mango Gerber mix, still bf, he had a little fever last week so he left Pam's early and couldn't go on Friday, but was fine by the weekend.  Cheered on the Colts victory at Ian's -before he got sick :(   We will be starting boot camp 2 x's a week, so he'll be an extra hour at Pam's.   We have wedding season around the corner and fall- time is flying by.  I have seriously been thinking about *gulp* his first birthday already!!  When.did.this.happen?  I love to see him grow and change, but it makes me a little sad if he's the only one I 'get' :)  I am so thankful and lucky to have him so I'm trying to not worry about the maybes.   So we are going to enjoy every minute with him and our family and friends!