A day at the park

We had some beautiful Texas winter weather and decided to stop by a park for a while so Luke could run around. He has been on a slide before, but wasn't really confident about going down by himself... until now. He went up the playscape and down the slide like a CHAMP!

Luke walks!

Luke is taking off on his own two feet! He has taken a few steps at a time already, but tonight he was really walking. He walked across the kitchen, and as you see here, walked from our bedroom to the dining room where Ryan was bribing him with an iPod. (Ahh, shiny gadgets, works every time.)

Luke's 1st Birthday

Luke turned 1 on June 26! He had a lot of presents to contend with...

...including some that weren't wrapped. (Whoops!)

He got the hang of opening gifts a lot better than he did at Christmas.

Oh look, a Corn Popper! (As seen in church nurseries across the country!)

He also got to try chocolate cake for the first time! He wasn't really sure what to do with it... but he had some help.

Happy birthday, Luke!

Luke's early birthday cake

Luke is almost one year old! We decided to have a little mini-party/cake tasting while Grandma and Grandpa Lonnevik were in town. Luke wasn't too sure about the cake at first...

...but he quickly got the hang of it and started shoving it in his face by the handful.

He managed to eat most of it, except for what he decided to rub into his eyebrows. Yum, yum... why can't we have cake all the time?

Luke's first haircut

A week before we took some family portraits, we realized it was time for Luke to get his first haircut. At 11 months old, he was getting quite shaggy.

So we took him to Birds Barbershop in Austin, where Ryan and Luke would both get a haircut. They even give you beer while you wait!

We had only made it through about half of one beer when they called us back. Ryan got caped up and held Luke on his lap.

Finally, it was time for Julia to start snipping.





But the snipping didn't last long - Luke started fidgeting and I had to put the camera down while Julia quickly worked some magic with her clippers. Soon she was done, and Luke looked great!

Luke's first swim in the pool

Luke had his first swim in the pool... it was a little rough in the water at first, but once he discovered he could splash and play water peek-a-boo, he really had a great time!

Luke's fishy face

 

Luke is learning to make lots of interesting faces... he particularly enjoys smacking his lips and making fishy faces.

Luke claps his hands

Luke showing off his hand-clapping skills! First time I was able to catch it on video.

9 months old

At 9 months old, Luke can say "Da-da," and "ba-ba," though we're not sure what that means yet. He can pull himself up to standing (and does, often). Most mornings, we go in to find him standing up in his crib ready to greet the day. He's also getting pretty good at waving if someone waves at him first.

He has two bottom teeth now, and at his 9-month checkup his pediatrician said he has four top teeth on the way in. He weighed in at 17 lbs 3 oz and was 28 inches tall.

Luke's favorite things right now: he loves to eat cheese and Cheerios, but will generally try just about anything he can pick up by himself (chicken, chunks of vegetables, etc.). He likes to play peekaboo and run in circles on his exersaucer.

Luke is still pretty good at sitting through church, although he does like to try to make the people behind us laugh with his silly faces and smiles. He is starting to make noise during the hymns, like he wants to sing! He also likes to go places with us, like wineries (here he is at Georgetown Winery).

Luke's First Tooth

Well... you can't see it yet. But while we were watching Daddy on the news, he was gnawing on my finger and I felt something... sort of sharp and scratchy.

When Ryan got home we looked at his gums. Sure enough, on his bottom gum, just right of center, there's a little top of a tooth peeking out!

We'll try to get a picture of it when it decides to show up better. Right now, you can just take in his pretty eyes and the gallons of drool that comes with teething.

Luke is on the move!

Our baby is crawling - almost! He hasn't quite gotten the hang of a full-blown "official" crawl, but is getting quite proficient at the army crawl - pulling/pushing himself along with his arms and using his toes to give himself a little oomph. He particularly enjoys crawling under the table and going after the dogs. He even crawled over and untied my shoes while I was making dinner one night.

Look at him go!

Happy New Year!

We rang in 2010 at home, just like we rang in 2009. But this time, Luke was on the outside, so I got to enjoy some grown-up beverages. Hooray!

Our friend Adolfo came over for our impromptu New Year's Eve party. I made barbecue meatballs, bacon-wrapped brie-stuffed dates, bacon-wrapped pineapple, and bread pudding. We also had a cheese plate with brie, gouda, and some very stinky and strong goat cheese. And of course, some Asti Spumante and other beer and cidery things.

We watched Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin (that naughty lady!) until 11pm, then switched over to watch Ryan Seacrest (only because he wasn't Carson Daly) until midnight. Then we rang in the New Year very quietly:

It worked, because Luke stayed asleep. Happy New year!

From New Year's 2010

Luke's First Christmas

We spent Christmas Eve at home in our apartment, and Luke got to open up a few presents. He got some blocks, a toy camera, some socks, a few bowls and a new sippy cup from Mommy and Daddy. He was a little overwhelmed with all of the action but managed to hold it together pretty well before he went to bed. Next Christmas should be really exciting when we have a toddler on our hands!

Luke also turned 6 months old the day after Christmas and has his checkup coming up on New Year's Eve.

Luke meets Santa

Luke got to be a part of the Santa Claus special that will air on Christmas Eve on KVUE! He enjoyed listening to the music and watching all the big kids dance, and was totally fascinated when Santa Claus walked in, ringing his jingle bells. He listened to Santa read "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" and even got a Christmas present!

After the show taping, Luke got to meet the man in red, and couldn't take his eyes off of him. He even got a fistful of beard and determined it was real!

Luckily Luke has been a good boy for the almost-half-year he's been with us, so we think this won't be the last time Santa visits!

Sitting up!

Luke has started sitting up on his own, although it's usually only for a few seconds at a time. He is getting better and better at holding himself up, but he slowly starts leaning forward until he is sucking on his socks. He's learning to enjoy holding a toy and chewing on it while he sits in place. The Bumbo and the high chair are still getting a lot of use, though!

Luke's first spoon feeding

Luke tried rice cereal for the first time on November 12, 2009. We mixed about a tablespoon of cereal with about a quarter-cup of formula, and he seemed to enjoy it for the most part. He got the hang of opening his mouth for the spoon and closing his mouth around it, but couldn't seem to keep it in his mouth. Of course, he got it all over himself and his high chair, and I had it on myself as well. It was mostly just for practice (for all of us!).

Check out the video of his first few bites below:

Luke's Baptism

 

Luke was baptized on September 27, 2009 at St. Martin's Lutheran Church. We were proud to have lots of family and friends present with us at church! Grandma Mary made Luke a special romper from the fabric of her wedding dress. Luke's godparents are Janette Klein and Todd and Rachel Wright.

The church gave Luke an engraved medallion to remember the day, and a special book called "Water Come Down" that we read to him before bed that night.

It was wonderful to have so many of our loved ones with us as we celebrated Luke's new birthday in the church!