Heritage

As it is with every child, Luke grows up a little more each day. It has struck me recently how he has begun to exhibit little pieces of his family members in his budding personality. His grandpa Grasman's tractors (and everything else that moves) hold a special allure each time he sees them. I think Luke is already growing a great love for the farm his grandpa works so hard on. Luke's joy in the outdoors and his love for things that grow and hold beauty reminds me of his grandma Grasman. He loves to help me take care of all our plants. There's also a little music and rhythm coming to life inside of him. Inherited from, and encouraged by, his grandma Glass, Luke makes music with anything he can find and always bounces to the beat. Luke's little body is already learning to be coordinated when it comes to sports. Luke loves to play, yet he is also reserved when he wants to be, reminding me of his grandpa Glass's love of athletics and his strong, quiet nature.

A blessed heritage is one of the most wonderful things we can pass down to our son. I am so thankful for our families.

July Pictures

14 months old already, Luke is really enjoying summer time! He loves to play outside in his car...getting in and out, over and over. He loves to play with the basketballs and shoot hoops with Daddy. We have a fun park in our neighborhood that he loves to play at too.

No No

Our sweet little Luke has learned a word that has the potential to be not so sweet! The day before I took this video, he was getting food boxes out of the cupboard and trying to dump them out. I told him no several times and would move him away from the cupboard, but he kept going back. Finally, I succeeded in distracting him and left the room to get some laundry. When I came back around the corner, he was standing by the cupboard with a box in his hand. Caught red-handed, he looked straight at me and said "No, No!" This was my clear indication that he knows what he knows what that word means! Still, it was pretty cute:)

Our 5th Anniversary

 

Mike and I celebrated five years of being married on July 3. We took a wonderful trip to a bed and breakfast in South Haven, Michigan the night before. The weather did not cooperate the way we wanted it to, but we still had a great time being together. The Carriage House was beautiful (We'd definitely recommend it)! When we got there, Mike had scheduled a 1/2 hour massage for each of us. Appetizers were served at the house at 5:00, and then we went to a great Italian restaurant downtown for dinner. After dinner, we went to Sherman's for ice cream. We had a delicious breakfast in the morning and got to spend a little time at the beach before we picked Luke up at Mike's parents' house. 

It was so nice to spend some time alone with my husband. I am blessed to have such a loving, hard working, godly man as my partner in life. I treasure his friendship and love him more with each passing year. These first five years have flown by. We have learned new things about each other, grown to understand each other better, and still have a "little thing" for one another:) 

Mike, I love you and am so happy to be spending my life by your side! 

Luke's First Tractor Ride

Father's Day weekend, we took a trip up to the farm. Luke is fascinated with anything that moves, so of course, he noticed his grandpa's big tractors right away! He has seen them many times before, but this time he really wanted to sit on one. Already he wants to figure out all the gears and know just how everything works. The day after the video was taken, Mike took Luke on his first real ride. I think Luke thought it was pretty loud at first, but he still loved it! 

The Baby's Cruisin'

On April 24th, Luke took his first steps on his own. We were very excited for him that night and thought that was the beginning of his "upright" life. However, Luke thinks like his daddy. What I mean by this is that he thinks and thinks and thinks and thinks:) Luke refused to walk for weeks! He had to consider his options and make sure that walking was going to be a good decision. By June 1, he had made up his mind. Confident in his decision, with no coercing from Mom or Dad, Luke let go of the furniture and starting walking everywhere. We kept him up past bedtime that night because we were having so much fun watching him walk. Each day, he walks more than the day before. It's still a shock to watch him toddle into a room behind me! 

(This video was taken yesterday. Luke loves to say BOOM when he falls down or when he runs into things with his toys. It's pretty funny:) )

Outside!!

 

Luke loves playing outside, and we've had lots of fun getting out of the house when the weather is nice! He knows how to play in the dirt (really well), smell flowers, water flowers (He knows where the watering can is and always wants to help), and mow the lawn with Daddy. We love summer!