Christmas in Florida

Last week we went to Florida for our Christmas with the Gentile's! We had so much fun! Our car ride there and back however were pretty exhausting. Luke isn't too keen on the long car rides anymore. Daddy and Mommy had to take turns entertaining. Where's that DVD player when you need it?! Luke LOVED playing with his cousins. While visiting in Florida we found out Luke's a biter and tried a couple of times to take a chunk out of sweet Max.

We took a visit to Santa. Mommy was hoping to get a "memorable" photo out of it but Santa didn't scare Luke. Instead of those priceless photos that I've seen flying around the internet from other children's frightful encounter we got the same photogenic pictures with Santa as we do any other time! {When Dave uploaded the photos he forgot to download the Santa ones and then erased them from the camera on accident!! I guess we'll have to wait until next year to capture the moment:(}

Luke got a lot of great gifts from family, specifically;
Grammy and Pop-Pop: Blocks, tool-set, bouncy ball, Jesus DVD, books and clothes
Great Grandma: Roll toy
Uncle Nick, Aunt Heather and cousins: Talking puppy and play table
Zapadenko family of cousins: bibs and snacks
Great Aunt Lois: Cute fireman pajamas

Thank you all so much for all the amazing gifts. Luke loves them all.

Some highlights of the week:

• Luke meeting Max with a little pounce on the back and a bite:)
• Luke choking on wrapping paper
• Luke playing and staying up late with the big kids {cousins}
• Luke and his cousins sharing a bath together. I've never seen so many cute little hineys'!
• Luke taking two steps by himself. (He did this right before we left for out of town with Grammy and Grandpa also!)
• Luke met Santa and wasn't scared!
• Luke got to ride in a train 

Here are some photos from the weekend. It wasn't until I uploaded the photos did I realize we didn't take a single family photo!! We're learning, next year we'll have tons;)

Oops, I forgot!

I forgot to post Luke's ratings from his last doctor visit!

Height: 29.5 inches = 75-90%
Weight: 19 lbs = 25-50%
Head: 46.2 cm = 75%

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We celebrated Dave's {aka Daddy's} 35th birthday on December 9th. Dave wanted a Daddy/Son day for his birthday! When Dave first told me this would entail taking Luke to Amicolola Falls for a hike, I thought he was crazy! That's an 1-1/2 drive and then a 2 mile hike. This pretty much would mean no naps for Luke and I for sure thought he would have a melt down. Much to my surprise Luke was perfect with Daddy. Dave said he even had to pull off the road on the way home to take a nap and Luke stayed in his carseat and played by himself. There's no way Luke would have been that good with me! Dave got some great footage and video of his Daddy/Son day.

That evening we went to Grammy and Grandpa's house for a yummy steak dinner and then my delicious;) yellow cake afterwards with candles! Luke really liked the candles.

Happy Birthday Dave! Luke and I love you so much. You are the best Daddy ever!:)



Luke is 10 Months!

These last few blog entries are going to be really hard to write-up. Our little Luke is a whoppin' 10 months old. The closer he gets to one the more we realize how fast these months flew by and how fast these years will go by. These moments are so short. I am so thankful to be able to be home to watch every first moment and soak in every hug, kiss, breath, tear, giggle, crawl, bump, scrape, etc. I've heard some say that being away from your baby makes you appreciate the moments you have with them but I realized quite the contrary. I appreciate these moments because I know that in just a few short years these moments will be gone and no matter how much I was with him in those years I'll wish I had them back to soak those moments in even more. I look at my full-time career and think; I had it (still have it but doing the very minimum at home), I enjoyed it, but I want it to be the very last of my priorities now. God and then family come first. Sometimes we (Dave and I) feel this hurt in our pockets, our lifestyle and in our bills but we know it's worth it to be raising our child with me at home. I can always go back to work in the future and catch up from where I left off. I can't go back and raise my child after he's already grown up. For the single-mommy's, hang in there, you're doing a great job juggling both. Lean to God for guidance and help when you feel lost and alone. For those who are married and husband's are working; go through Dave Ramsey's, "Financial Peace" course to get yourselves out of debt and on a budget to be able to stay at home with your baby or babies. My husband is a government employee {fireman} and we're making it work!

This month Luke has gotten into ALL sorts of trouble! One day as I was in the kitchen doing dishes. Luke was playing under the kitchen chairs as he normally does. He was being extra quite so I decided to get to his level to see what he was up too. I noticed he was fumbling with something in his hands. I open them to find washers. I looked at him and he gave me a bashful, "what'd I do, Mommy?" look. I looked under the chair seat to find where those washers were supposed to be. They were missing from one of the four corners. I then immediately thought, hmmm, where is the nut to go with the washers? I looked at him again and heard clanking coming from his mouth. I did a sweep with my finger and pulled the washer out of his mouth! I couldn't believe it, he had slowly been unscrewing the nut the whole time he was playing under the chair! I was so thankful to check on him when I did. Dave has since, tightened every chair in the kitchen:).

Here's our little munchkin's list this month:

#1 He LOVES his stuffed animals and points to his big puppy on his bookshelf for me to give to him every morning and night. He likes to give them kisses and hugs.
#2 He LOVES pulling his socks off when we put him in his car seat
#3 He LOVES his puffs
#4 He LOVES to walk and push things. He's pushed the garabage can across the kitchen. We're looking forward to him opening some of his Christmas presents. I think he may have a push toy as one of them;)
#5 He LOVES bathtime
#6 He notices framed photos now and smiles and points to them.
#7 He signs "milk." My signings paid off! It's the cutest thing I've ever seen!
#8 He likes to watch 'Happy Feet.' Whenever the little penguin shows up on the screen he lights up and giggles. {I think it's safe to assume Luke LOVES animals:)}
#9 He likes to take things apart and put them back together again. Hence the unscrewing of our furniture and knobs in the kitchen! He's a gadget boy.

And of course, lastly; here is our photogenic little man:)

Luke's 9 Month Doc Check-up

Luke had his 9 month doctor visit this week. It should've been more like his 10 month doctor appointment the way they booked it. He did such a good job with everything. In between the nurse checking his measurements and waiting on the doctor, Luke kept himself busy crawling and climbing everywhere. He only cried for a couple of seconds when the nurse gave him his shots and then he scolded her afterwards. She wasn't on his favorite people list after that:).

We were given some very interesting information while we were visiting. If you know me a little or at all you may pick up that I'm a somewhat "by the book" kind of girl. However, I wouldn't say I'm an extreme in this area. It makes me feel safe and comforted to know that what I'm doing is okay because I've read it or heard it from a reliable source. Sometimes though, I can stress myself out thinking I can't do certain things because two or more sources say not too. I got some relief from the doctor today with two of my issues. Issue #1 brushing Luke's teeth and Issue #2 making sure Luke doesn't get certain foods until he reaches the "appropriate" age (i.e. strawberries, nuts, honey, eggs,etc).

With issue #1 (brushing baby's teeth) Luke's doc says that's really all up to the parents. It's more of an introduction to something being rubbed on their gums so in the future they are more comfortable with a toothbrush. He said sometimes parents will wait up to three years of age to brush their teeth! Now, I don't think I'll wait that long but it gives me the comfort to know his baby teeth won't rot out if I forget to brush his teeth a few days in a row!

Issue #2 Not eating certain foods: This was a huge "aha" moment! {One of the many things we love about Luke's pediatrician is that he sits down with us and actually holds on a two-sided conversation. We haven't had an appointment go by that didn't last for over an hour. He's long-winded but filled with valuable information based on scientific studies he's read and researched. This is a breath of fresh air to most doctors in the industry. Most rush you out their door to fit in the next patient!} The synopsis of our long conversation about foods was there really isn't anything you can't give your 9 month old. The doc said there's been a big hype in parenting magazines, books and internet about not giving your baby citrus fruits, strawberries, nuts, eggs and honey but there aren't any good scientific studies to back them up. He said there used to be a time when the first thing doctor's told you to give your child was eggs because it's easy to make and a good source of protein. He said you can give your baby any of these food items just as long as they're introduced slowly to make sure there aren't any reactions to them. His only negative about nuts is the obvious choking hazard but there is no harm in giving him a muffin or such that contains nuts. In fact, he said the earlier you can introduce your child to all food types the better and less likely they are to develop an allergy.

With all the information out there combined with the occasional person saying, "Ooo, I wouldn't do that." Or, "Are you sure that's okay, I've heard that could be deadly!" and you feel like a horrible Mommy for doing something, check with you doctor and hopefully they give some comforting words of "What you're doing is okay."

Here are some pics of the events:)

Here she is!!

Finally posting! Here is our new house and little family. We also got a chance to fix up some of the rooms to be able to show before and after pictures. I have to give some major props to my exceptionally talented hubby for repainting ALL the rooms, changing light fixtures and applainces. Those few tweeks make a huge difference in the look of the rooms. I love you babe:). Thanks for all your hard work and putting up with me asking you to do a million things:). Coming soon will  be pictures of the kitchen, guest room, guest bath and master bedroom:).



Happy Happy Thanksgiving!

Our "thankful" list this Thanksgiving:
We our most thankful for our relationship with God through Christ and receiving the following blessings from him:

• My stud of a husband who saves us a butt-load of money being handy around the house. I love you munchkin! You are an amazingly patient husband and wonderful daddy:).
• Luke, who would have thought there is another kind of love to experience?! He brings us so much joy, happiness and laughter everyday.
• Family, they are always faithful and loyal, we love you all!
• Friends
• New home with close proximities:)
• Jobs, we still have them and are so thankful for that.
• There are so many more things but these rank at the top of our list!

This year we spent Thanksgiving in our new home with family. I even braved to cook the turkey and surprisingly I didn't under-cook or over-cook it! Luke had his first taste of Turkey and most of the yummy sides and loved it! We're looking forward to Christmas!