Welcome Back Grammy!!

My mom got in late last night, in the middle of our blizzard. We surprised her with a "welcome home" sign and a video I've been adding to all week. (Since she was gone, I knew she would miss out on Luke and the new things that he's been doing, so I compiled pictures each day and some video footage into a short film for her. I knew she would love it.) Afterward, she went downstairs to see Luke in bed and he ended up waking up. He recognized her immediately and gave her a tired little smile. I'm happy for her. I can only imagine how mom might have felt as she was traveling, and thinking that Luke might forget who she was. What a relief to know you're not forgotten, even by a precious baby. What joy.

She also brought back things like purses, shirts, a chess set for Aldo, and jewelry for us from all of the different places that she stopped. It sounded like she had a good trip overall, but ultimately she missed us and said that the next time she goes anywhere, we're going too. Whoo! That's right! I've been planning it all out, and I think for sure this coming summer we'll go to the Kansas City Zoo with Luke. By then he'll be into the animals and it's not so far a ride for him either. I guess we're just waiting on the weather.

Crawling & Biting

It's been hectic as of late because I've been taking care of the house of course, and also I took on a few more hours at work. Thankfully it doesn't decrease my time spending with Luke (it more or less affects the house cleaning... but who wants to do that anyway?) So I have some catching up to do on this blogging business.

Luke started crawling last week.. the night of January 6th to be exact. I walked in the door from just getting off of work, and there he was on the floor. Trying to grab a nasty, old rag. He couldn't reach, so he just army/belly scooted and had just the amount of arm length to get the dirty thing and put it in his mouth. Boys...
Now he can pop up on his knees. Sometimes he'll stay there for a while rocking back and forth, and then he makes a daring nose dive towards a toy or something. It's very fun to watch. Seems that's basically all I do... the social life goes completely out the window when you become a mommy.

Second, Luke has got some teeth in that cute little mouth. Dollar amounts keep going off in my head because when I see them, I notice they're crooked and I know we'll have to pay for braces. I had them for four years on and off. Hopefully, though, his other teeth will push them into place. 

Aldo was nervous that once Luke would get teeth, he'd somehow turn ugly. Nope. He's still as cute as ever. The negative side is whenever he gets ahold of your finger, you better move fast. He bites! Last night I was watching a movie with him and man, he bit down hard. I wanted to cry! And smack him for doing it! But I couldn't. I didn't want to know that a baby made me cry, and two I'm not ready to punish my son for anything yet.

Home Alone

Since this past weekend, we have been home alone, taking care of the chickens and ducks and such, while my mother went on a cruise to Panama with my granddad. So far it's been going pretty good. I wish it hadn't snowed so much, but the positive side is that Luke and I have had some quality time with Aldo and my sister.
Right before my mom left Luke started army crawling. I'm really happy she got to see that. I think he'll be all over the place by the time she gets back. I really miss her.

Some people say that they'd rather not live with their parents, or in-laws, after their married. Some think it would be awkward and/or there would be conflict in the household, etc. I absolutely love my mom. Sometimes I think that she's bossy and always ruins my plans when all I want to do is sleep in! But you really don't realize how much you miss a person until they are gone. I am blessed with such a beautiful, loving family. Aldo is amazing and understanding, and there has never been any conflict in our home. Eventually we'll get our own house, but for now I'll enjoy this time together.

Down Time

    

           The Night Before Christmas... with Granddad.

(I think he might suspect something...)

Luke's First Snow

The holidays are over and Luke was a CHAMP.
Aldo's family has this crazy tradition where nobody can open presents until midnight. Luke was rubbing his eyes around his regular bed time, but there was so much noise and commotion, I knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. The next day we woke up bright and early for morning church service and made it to my aunt's in time for breakfast. I figured Luke would be cranky all day. But he wasn't. The presents seemed to keep him busy.
This year the theme must have been monkeys. He got a small monkey from two Santa's (my mom and myself), a monkey bag, and a monkey/zoo noisy toy. Many cute outfits and some more toys, but not so much to spoil him.

 

 Luke loved opening gifts. Mostly for the paper.

For dinner we made it to my grandma's, however, we couldn't stay long because all of us were sick and Aldo's allergies were going haywire (cats). Sunday after church, we went to Dad's for belated Christmas. We had been so busy the past two days, Aldo and I were pooped. Even now I don't know how we did so much. I think next year I'm limiting us to two houses on two separate days.

All the Cousins

 Grandma & Grandpa

 

Held by His Big Girl Cousin (who decided to do her own makeup... that is not a black eye...)

    

Papa, Having Fun, and The Crazy Aunt

I wasn't planning on doing anything for New Year's and then last minute Aldo found somewhere to go. We went to a church friend's house and played games until 1 o'clock in the morning. Just when I thought it was over, they broke out the wii. Luke stayed up the entire time. So I'm thinking he's one of those if your not in bed, I'm not in bed babies.

This down time has been nice. I've enjoyed Aldo being home and having the family spend the day together, whether it's watching a movie or going to the store. I don't want him to go back to work. And I don't want to go back to work. Tomorrow I think I'll take him out on a date. It's been a while and I want him to know how much I appreciate him as a husband, a daddy, and my best friend.

On my little blog break, Luke has changed so much. He has a tooth coming in on the bottom and has learned how to kiss. I better start watching him real close!!!

 Seriously... who wouldn't want to smooch on that?