Easter "Fun"

Easter Sunday

For the entire weekend, I was home on the couch with food poisoning. By no means would I call that fun. However, I still had a wonderful time with family and friends. On Saturday, we had our own Easter egg hunt at our house, played with bubbles, and raced on Aldo's new wii game that he got for his birthday. Sunday morning we woke up for sunrise service with Granddad (we caught the last 5 minutes I think) and later spent the day at my mom's boyfriend's sister's house.

I think it's Luke's favorite holiday so far. If I put the eggs out where he could see the bright colors screaming his name, he would go straight for them. And then after he had two in his hand, he would be content. Banging them together, sticking them in his mouth, and whatnot.

Searching for Eggs

 

Content with Only Two

As far as everything else goes... Luke is gradually learning more and more every day. I think we could officially add another word to his vocabulary: "pay-pas", which is really Spanish (papas) for french fries. One day he woke up and wouldn't stop saying the word. So we cooked up some french fries for breakfast. And let me tell you, it's delicious! He's also in the phase where he's too smart for his own good... For example, the other day he was banging on the tv with his hand, so I shook my head at him and firmly said, "No no." He just turned his head sideways and smiled. Inside I was cracking up at how cute he was. Another time Aldo was trying to feed him and he very unwillingly and slowly ate. When I walked in the door, Luke started crying as if he had just gotten hurt. I could seriously see pain in his eyes. Aldo later told me, he was playing it up for me. In a few weeks, I expect Luke will be walking. He stands and squats on his own, but hasn't tried those first few steps. I think I like this stage.

Aldo applied for an internship for a case study at KU med a while back and recently found out that he made one of the spots. He'll be starting at the beginning of June. I'm so excited... this is the doorway to what he wants to do with his life. How many of us don't even know that? 

We also finally got a new car! (And by new, I mean used.) It's a 95' white, Chevy Blazer in almost perfect condition with low miles for it's age. I feel like I know almost everything about SUV's and vans now that I've been looking at vehicles for the past couple of months. No more Scooby Doo van! 

And for the special ending... Luke and his "angry face". 

Hair Day

I wanted to put these pictures up because they were so cute!
I did his hair for the first time. (I think he looks like his daddy.)

MaMa & BaBa

Aldo and I received a certificate for the Chateau Avalon for Christmas. We used it this past weekend. It was a nice stay in the Venetian room. I would have taken a picture, but there wasn't anything out of the norm about it; it was just very elegant. The jacuzzi was its best attribute. We've decided we want one for our house, when we build/buy it, and want a bigger one for outside, which will sit in-ground beside our huge pool.

This week Aldo has been hanging around the house because he's on Spring Break. (Teachers are lucky. They have the best working hours in the world, off whenever anything significant happens.) Monday we spent the day together around the house. And tonight, as I'm writing this at 11:00pm, he's spending time with his little sister at a WWE wrestling match. Tomorrow I think we'll get out of the house for a while so we can enjoy the warm weather, because the rest of the week I'll be without a car as mine is in repair from the most recent fender bender.

Significant event this week: Luke said his first word. Mama. He really is the sweetest baby boy. How I love him!!! His second word was "baba" for bottle. And last, he ate some chicken poop on my mom's watch. So now she can't be trusted...

Man On A Mission

I just watched as my son crawled across our entire living room, through the maze of dining room table/chair legs, and back with a bottle cover in his hand. I'm not exactly sure, but I think he was wanting to do something with it. Then of course a toy here and a toy there got him side tracked.

That's how it is around the house. A plethora of things to explore!

And so here's the belated pictures that you've probably been waiting for.

           

Chasing Balloons     

Attacking Mommy

 

In the Cabinets

Stealing the Magnets

         

Trying to Get His Hands on Anything!!! (...or in his mouth...)

Luke is getting so big, I'm afraid of his coming firsts... such as the haircut. I absolutely dread it. I really like this age. It's kind of like we have our own kind of communication, but he can't talk back.
I have no doubt he'll be up to something new tomorrow. And although, I'm excited for our night at the Chateau, I'm really going to miss him.

My Little Booger

I Have the Cutest Baby in All the World!

Every mother should say that.
Lately it's been kind of crazy around here. Crazier than it has been before. I am blessed to have a child that can be independent if need be. He'll sit on the floor and play with every single toy I set out. And once he's done with that move on to other things, like pulling the magnets off of the refrigerator, opening cabinets, and trying to get inside his carrier (or destroy it... one of the two...). I put together a list of things that are new so I wouldn't forget to mention them. I just want to mention first that it is a wonder to me how brilliant he is... and how I adore his personality... and how God made him so perfectly for this family. I am truly blessed.

THE LIST
- Tries to stand. It's so funny because he never really started crawling like normal babies do... instead he kind of bear walks around.
- Likes my soup.
- Plays Patty Cake. He only does the motions for the patty cake part and throwing it in the pan.
- Shakes his head "no".
- Does forward rolls. I'll hold him in the middle and he'll put his hands on the floor and tuck his head. It is sooo cute! He gets so excited he'll want to do it again and again. I'm just afraid he'll get too dizzy. I mean, he's not even 9 months!
- Likes taking showers. Maybe he's a swimmer??
- Waves "hi" and "bye".
- Kicks his primos. I'm sure he wants to play on their toddler bikes.
- Continues to play with that pink bear.
- Will get inside any bag laying around. His diaper bag, my purse, grocery bags, etc.
- He'll stare at toys and things way up close. Like the blinking light on his toy helicopter. Or our linoleum floor.
- If you point at him, he'll point back. Like an ET finger touch!
- He's ticklish in his arm pits.
- Plays Peek-a-Boo. And Hide and Seek.
- Watches the tv occasionally. Laughs at the Disney part at the beginning of movies.

That's as much as I can think of at this point. I'm sure I'll have more for you tomorrow...

What's The Matter With Boys

Lately I've been thinking about the day I found out I was having a boy. Just before, my mom told the nurse, "We don't WANT boys. We don't LIKE boys." I don't know what she was thinking... I only wanted a girl because I had more experience with girls, I had a name picked out, and she would have been the first (new clothes and lots of attention). But by no means did I have anything against boys.
I think about that day when I see Luke's eyes light up when he sees his Grammy and reaches out for her. When they're playing on the living room floor. When she's taking pictures and showing him off. When she volunteers to babysit for the night. He's certainly changed her mind.

When Luke was little, Aldo brought to my attention that boys are rough. That Luke's going to be coming home with scrapes and bruises. As a mother, I feel protective and always worrisome. I don't want to see that little guy hurt. The other day he was helping in the chicken coop and the space heater fell on his head. Thankfully I wasn't there to freak out. And also thankfully, he didn't have a bump or sign of it anywhere. Lucky. He also had his first temperature this weekend. It got all the way up to 101.2 in his armpit. I, of course, took it to the extreme and had Aldo call the nurse hotline, thinking Luke was going to be in ICU or something. Turns out babies can spike a temperature from about anything.
All in all, I don't think I'm ready for the roughness. I'm not ready for scrapes and bruises. I don't think I would mind to have wimpy kid. It hurts me to the core when I have to let him sit there and cry on the floor, instead of running to his side for help.

This feeling has probably come around more and more with Luke exploring and testing out new things. The other night I was relaxing on the couch while he was playing on the floor with his toys. Usually when he's tired of them and wants me to pick him up, he'll crawl over to me and just look up. This time he came over, lifted his hands to my pant legs, and pulled himself up to his knees, almost his feet. When they stand, they fall. I hope I can just get through this.

Second Chances

Thank goodness for quiet mornings like this.. my few minutes of relaxation and deep thought, otherwise I'd be driven to insanity. In the last seven days, I have entertained friends that came back from Afghanistan, planned a surprise sweet 16 party for my sister (and even better - it was a hit!), and repaired both of our vehicles drastically. Just reading that, it doesn't sound like much, but I'll put a little emphasis on it for you...
We had friends from out of town to entertain. How entertaining is making signs and shopping for your little sister's birthday party? And the whole time not having working cars? I have no idea how we managed to do it, but we did. I'm ready for March.

Among those times, there's moments that keep me going. When Luke was a baby, he would only sleep with us in bed, in my arms. But after we moved in with my mom, he started sleeping in his own crib in the room next to ours. It wasn't too hard to do, because I enjoy sprawling out in my bed and sleeping all night. Well, a couple days ago, Luke was having the worst night ever. He just kept crying and crying, and finally I had to send Aldo in because I just couldn't do it. He was in there a while and then came to the doorway and said, "This is only for tonight." He brought Luke over to the bed and set him down gently next to my side. I remembered when Luke was first placed in my arms at the hospital. How small he was, and how emotional I was. This was like a second chance. So I could take in the entire moment, enjoy the whole blessing. I snuggled up real close, pulling the covers up, and he fell right asleep. It just melts my heart. 

Maybe it's because I see Luke growing and showing personality to where I'm thinking that one day he won't rely on me any more. So I enjoy this time where he's still my baby. And it's great.
Here's some pictures to make your day a little brighter. Be blessed.

Superman

Luke looking in the mirror for Mommy. And then back at me. Wondering how I moved so fast.. or are there two Mommys?

Who doesn't love a cute baby bum?

Playing with Tia's party hat