Standing up and New Shoes

Luke wants to stand ALL the time. Every time I try to put him down, he stiffens up his legs and tries to plant them. He can't stand on his own, but the coffee table, pack and play rim, mommy's leg, etc... are great to hold onto. My dad was in town this week and helped him work on pulling himself up. He can almost do it and is so proud!

Also, I just made this pair of brown leather shoes. I have made several pairs now and I think this is my favorite. Some ladies oohed and awwed over them today while we were out walking in Seal Beach.

It is 8:15am

Luke is still sleeping! Hurray! He has been getting two more top teeth this past week and sleep has been scarce for mommy and daddy. Maybe we are through the worst for now?

Something sweet: The other night, Nathan discovered that one way to get Luke to sleep is to hold his hand. As he drifts off, the death grip slowly loosens and he finally lets go. This is adorable.

Also, we had a Dr. appointment yesterday. To quote the doctor, "He is as healthy as a horse." He also had a growth spurt and now is 29 inches tall and weighs 24lbs (oh, my back). This means that he is moving up in the height percentages to 75% and is holding steady for weight 90%. In cuteness, he has always been off the charts. :)

Bad Start

Someone hijacked an old email account of mine and sent out a nasty email. I am working on damage control now. Sorry if you got an unpleasant email! Please pray that this does not get any worse!

A flake

Not a cornflake, or a snowflake. Lately I have just been a flake.

Last Sunday at church we were invited by some dear friends to a barbeque for Memorial Day. Luke was up late on Sunday night and took only a brief nap Monday morning, and consequently was crabby and clingy all morning. The thought of driving 45 minutes each way and being out all day with a cranky Luke began to overwhelm me. So, I called and apologized- we were staying home.

This morning, we were going to go on a hike with some people from church in the Angeles National Forest (north of Pasadena). I had been practicing all week with Luke in the back carrier in preparation. I had the impression that the trail we were taking was light-to- moderate, though long. Well, after reading up on the internet last night about the trail, I found, "Route finding was a bit challenging with many day use trails mixed in with the main trail, washed out sections of trail, and over a half dozen stream crossings (bring waterproof boots even when the water is low)." Umm, what was that?!? Waterproof boots? I don't think that I am going to be able to cross streams with 30lbs of wiggliness on my back. Maybe I should have checked out the route before saying that we would go. Ugh.

I do feel like a flake, but I know that I have to do what is best for Luke- at times just bite the bullet and say that I overestimated. Better me a flake, than Luke an over-tired, unhappy kiddo. Even better, me learning to commit to less and not have to flake out in the first place.

Communication

While we have been communicating with Luke even before he was born, he has been surprising us with a new communication method lately. I have been teaching Luke a little sign language (and learning it myself), and the gestures are sinking in. Tonight at dinner, when he wanted more food, he made the sign for "more." Well, it wasn't perfect, but good enough for us to get the picture. Previously, he had been grunting when he wanted more, and that drove me crazy.

He also signs for "milk," after his bath, as Nathan gets him into his pj's. Yep, he knows the routine. After bath and pj's comes milk! He make the milk sign with both hands and smiles wildly. :) So cute!

He is now also waving and saying "hi," and sometimes will wave bye-bye (no saying bye-bye yet). Today, we were leaving his bedroom, and he turned and waved bye-bye to it.

Ah, these are happy days.

Nine Months (Belated)

Nathan and I have both been super busy, so this post is coming a bit late.

Luke celebrated nine months in the world on Sunday. I can't believe it has been nine months already! He is growing up so fast. This month was an incredible time of growth for him, reaching several milestones. This month Luke:

*learned how to belly crawl
*learned how to wave and say "hi"
*got his upper front teeth
*began to stand holding onto a piece of furniture
*learned how to repeat something mommy or daddy said (see video below)
*began eating by himself
*made playing in the laundry basket a favorite pastime
*began to sleep without a swaddle around his arms

...the list goes on!

Now for some nine month cuteness:

New Things

This morning, Luke and I went yard-saleing. We had a grand time and picked up some amazing deals. One sale had pretty much everything anyone would ever need for children ages 0-5. I picked up some clothes, a Kelty back carrier (which Luke loves!), a deluxe pack-and-play, and a peg perego double stroller. We are having fun today trying out our new items. :)