What a Merry Missouri Christmas!

Well, we have certainly had a wonderful Christmas so far!!! We had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa Tolle's house on Christmas Eve. We got to vistit with everyone, including Granny Mona and Aunt Debbie. Grandpa was being onery, of course, and fed Luke some honey, Cool Whip, and Chocolate Dream Pie! Next, we were off to Macon to see Grandpa Ron, Uncle Ben, and Uncle Steven. We had a wonderful dinner...steaks and cheesecake! Luke even did really well in the car, sleeping the whole time both ways. Luke also got to meet Nicoya and Matt when they came over for a short but much overdue visit!!! He got lots of great gifts...cute outfits, toys, a Baby Einstein playmat, CDs, a collge fund, and some really cute hats!!!
He is starting to grab onto things and loves to watch t.v.!
Next, we are off to Nebraska to visit w/Grandma Kathy, and we are hoping the long car ride will go smoothly, and that Luke can stay on a somewhat managable sleeping schedule.
Can't wait!!! We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, and we miss and love you all!!!!

Santa Claus is coming....and we're getting Silent Nights!!!

Luke is changing so much. He giggled yesterday while I was kissing him, and I almost cried because it was SO cute!!! He is really learning to entertain himself, and he likes Dr. Phil and Oprah. He had his first stay with Betty, our caregiver, this week. We wanted the two of them to spend some time together over the break, so that they will be ready when Kyle and I go back to work.She said he was "perfect."
We started using a new method to get him on a sleep schedule...and it is working!!!!! We get him a bottle at 7pm, and he is learning to get himself to sleep, and he is sleeping between seven and 12 hours at a time!!! YAY!!!!!!!
Luke has lots of presents under the tree, and we can't wait to visit with all of our friends and family and celebrate Luke's first Christmas!!!

Hooray for the Holiday Season!!!

Our Thanksgiving day was a blast! Everyone had a great time, great food, and shared in great memories with Luke for his first turkey day. Grandpa Rod got busted letting Luke "taste" some of Grandma Mona's pumpkin bread...tsk tsk tsk. We missed Grandpa Ron, but we will see him very soon! Grandma Kathy enjoyed taking care of Luke and letting Mommy and Daddy have some free time!
Mommy and Daddy FINALLY got the tree decorated, and Luke's first Christmas is under way! Luke has already been to his first holiday party this week when he attended the PEO Christmas party with Mommy. He was a good little boy, even though he was tuckered out.
Discovering these wonderful things called hands, Luke spends a lot of his time wringing them together and sucking on them. He is also making all kinds of wonderful coos and noises, which is just the greatest present we could ask for. Daddy is still loving his time off work, and Luke and Daddy's favorite activites include watching ESPN in the morning, shopping for presents, and retreating to the man room to watch some TiVo.
Hope you all enjoy this season of miracles!!!!!

Turkey Boy

Turkey day is just around the corner!!! We are very excited to get to spend time w/family and have Luke celebrate his holiday season kick-off!!! He had his two-month doctor's visit this week...weighing in at 11 lbs, 12 oz., and 23"...Dr. Lowry says he can't be more normal, and he is in the 50 percentile for his age. He did have to get some shots, though, and Daddy said he was not too happy about it.
Daddy and Luke are having so much fun at home. Kyle takes him shopping and on errands and they are really bonding. It's such a wonderful time for them.
Luke is smiling more than ever now, and there's just nothing better in the world than to see this "beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy" grow.

Changes

Luke is changing so much!!! He is smiling A LOT...we practice every day. He is also "cooing" and it is so nice to hear his sweet little coos instead of cries, screams, or pre-poop grunts!!!!

Well, going back to work is harder in retrospect than I thought. I guess my perspective is just very different now, and putting up with attitudes from other people's kids really just makes me want to be at home with my own. Walking around the school building five times to find a copy machine that works just seems so very unimportant. Oh well.....at least my students were good for the most part!!!

Luke spent his first night away from home this weekend. He stayed the night w/Grandma and Grandpa, but apparently he stayed up most of the night...he didn't like being in an unfamiliar place. But once he was home, he took lots of naps and got back on schedule!!! What a little booger!!!

Halloween was a scream!!!

Well, we had a great day on Halloween. The weather was SO beautiful. I took Luke up to Grandma and Grandpa Tolle's house and they immediately showed him off to their neighbors.
He wore his little kitty outfit...it really cracked me up! Our friends Adam and Rachel came over for dinner...we had worms and monkey brains in blood sauce (aka spaghetti and meatballs), and then we put the outdoor firepit in the drive way and passed out candy while we had some cocktails. Luke cashed out about 9:30pm, so mommy and daddy watched scary movies.
Next up is Thanksgiving....we'll have to tempt Luke with our pumpkin pie and turkey!!!!!

Fall is our Favorite Time of Year!!!

We are so excited for Halloween!!! Luke is growing so much and is much more consistant in his sleeping habits. Boy, those first four or five weeks are ROUGH. He's pretty much sleeping through the night now, but it takes about one or two hours to get him to sleep. I'm back to work next week and not looking forward to it. But Kyle is very excited to get to stay home and spend some "male bonding" time with Luke. It's hard to believe the holidays are almost here, but how exciting to get to share it with our little angel!!! We realize every day how lucky we are to be blessed with a beautiful and perfect little baby. Luke is going to be a kitty cat for Halloween, because Mommy is going to be a witch and what's a witch without a black cat?