A Month in a Minute

We have now been in California for 27 days! As our CA trip draws to an end, I'd like to share some of the highlights:

• Rebekah meets Gus and we all get to spend 5 precious days with him
• This trip, more than any other, I had some amazing talks with my brother and sister. They are both younger than me and are growing into wonderful adults. I am excited to see where life takes them.
• I had the chance to see my cousins- now in CO, TN, and NC
• My dad drove us down to San Diego for the second half of our trip. That was 7 hrs in the car with a wiggly little boy and a baby- they were great!
• We saw some great friends from our old Church in San Diego and Orange County
• We all attended a special party for Nathan's Aunt Susie- it was her 60th birthday, and a celebration of her victory over stage 4 melanoma. Praise God!
• Rebekah got her first tooth 1/6/12, and is now working on #2 (I'll be glad when I get a break fromt he night wakings again)
• Rebekah began to clap her hands all by herself! (See video below)
• I became an auntie once again- Baby Emma Grace Jones born on 1/7/12 weighing 9lbs 13oz, and as Luke would say, a "cutie patootie!"

We fly out tomorrow on a non-stop to Houston. I had a great time, but am certainly looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, cooking in my own kitchen, and opening all of our Christmas cards! Also, stay tuned- we are going to be doing some big work in our yard in the next couple of months- fruit trees, tomatoes, onions, etc... It is going to be a great year!

22 months!

Well, the second birthday is fast approaching!

This last month has been such a joy with Luke. He is acquiring new words and making short sentences everyday. It is so amazing to see how much he can pick up in such a short time!

Luke is loving letters and colors right now. He points out objects and tells us what color they are. Tonight at dinner for example, Nathan asked Luke what color his spoon was. He answered, "Geen!" Green it was. Then he pointed to my shirt and said, "pink!" He went around thr room naming several other colors.

The longest word that I have heard from him is "bumblebee," said just like it should be. He saw the bumblebee in his Magic "scoo bus" (School Bus) book that he adores.

His favorite book has been Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss. He almost has it memorized. I read on page to him and he says the next page to me. I am so amazed!

Since it is summer time, we have been outside in the pool a lot! Luke loves going in the "wader." We swim in our pool, in friends pools, or at the local splash parks. They are all fun.

I am planning on taking Luke to an allergy specialist soon. He has had another bout of stomach issues this week. I am not sure what is causing it exactly, but my hunch is that it is milk. He seems to be able to process other dairy products like cheese and yogurt, etc... (thanks be to God), but not milk. I can hardly digest milk myself.

This whole month, we have been blessed to have Grammy in town. Luke has enjoyed her immensely, and it was sad to say goodbye yesterday. He still doesn't really understand goodbyes, but we will hopefully see Grammy again in August.

Well, that's all for now. I'll try to get some pictures up later. I am so tired- it has been a busy month!

1st Potty Training Lesson

The other day, Luke had his very first potty training lesson.... on accident.

For the past few weeks I have been telling him that I am changing his poo-poo or potty when I change his diaper. Then, the other day, when I was going to go use the restroom, I informed him that I would be going poo-poo on the toilet (as opposed to in my diaper of course). He got very excited and pointed to his diaper, saying poo-poo.

Yep, that is where his poo-poo was. He really needed to have his diaper changed.

Luke is not really "ready" to be potty trained yet (in my opinion). But, he is beginning to show signs that he will be ready sometime soon. He is becoming more aware of his body and can now express himself well enough. However, other important benchmarks are still to come- like being able to stay dry through the night though (since he still wakes up!), but the thought of no more diapers does get me excited!

Christmas at the Jones' House

Luke with Grammy: Baby's first Christmas! It was very hot in the house due to a raging fire in the fireplace. :)
The three amigos: Clara, Luke and Paul. What a difference it is to have three wee ones around. The cousins loved playing with each other and running around the house screaming (Luke screamed, but wasn't running around. :) ).
Clara and Luke on the couch with the enormous cardamom bread. Grammy Jones has been making cardamom bread for Christmas Day breakfast since Nathan was born.

Tired out- When we got home last night, Luke fell asleep on the couch without any help. Sweet little baby.

Away We Go!

This morning Luke and I said goodbye to Daddy as he headed off to work knowing that we will not see him again for a week. This afternoon, accompanied by Grammy, we will be flying to Texas to see the Getz family.

We had such a lovely morning today. Baby woke up at 6am, which is now about his usual, and joined Nathan and I in our bed for some cuddles. He really likes waking up to Mommy and Daddy staring at him from both sides. Mommy and Daddy like it because he is so very cute and at his freshest in the morning. He kicks and squeals and smiles at us, and we wish him good morning and smile at him in return. These are the most perfect moments of the day.

So, Daddy- we will miss you bunches! Bethany, Evan and Clara- we are so excited to see you tonight!

First Laugh

Today Luke laughed for the first time. After dinner, Nathan and I were playing with Luke in our bedroom. Nathan was shaking a little caterpillar toy around and smiling at him, when a huge laugh burst forth. I tried to capture him laughing on video, and will post that later. :)

He is definitely developing his verbal skills faster than his motor skills. I have been trying to help him roll around a bit, but there are no indications that he will be rolling over soon. Though, thats not to say that he won' surprise us. :)