11 Months

Only one more month until Luke's birthday. I hope I don't have to stop calling him my 'baby' when he turns one! Each month brings new surprises and new achievements for our little man. This month we added cabinet locks in the kitchen and bought a connecting gate to block off certain areas of the living room. It's almost impossible to contain Luke, but we try to keep him out of trouble! He has his own cabinet in the kitchen with some tupperware in it, so he isn't completely locked out:) 

Luke says 'dada' all the time. I think I've heard 'mama' a couple times, but it's not his word of choice! He just started clapping his hands and he loves to play the "How big is Luke?" game; he throws his hands straight up in the air! He's a great sleeper; Mike and I are very thankful for that! He loves to push around his walker. He's pretty steady on his feet, but still has not been brave enough to take steps on his own. He is a happy, healthy little boy, and we love him like crazy!!   

Play Date

 

Yesterday, Luke and I went over to my friend Mary's house for some lunch and some fun! We have several close friends who all had children within a few months of each other. We have been getting together for lunch every so often since our kids were born, but we missed a few months with all the holidays and everything. Yesterday was pretty exciting with all of the babies now walking or crawling. It was great to watch them play with each other instead of just laying on blankets staring at each other! The lone girl in the group, Addie, had her pick of boys between Luke, Ethan, Keegan, and the twins (Owen and Ian). She's a lucky girl:) 

(The pictures: Ethan followed me around while I took pictures, I think he's got experience with that:) Luke and Keegan had fun pushing Ian on his toy; I don't think Ian knew what was going on behind him! We attempted to get a group picture. I snapped away while all the other moms kept the bunch on the couch. Such sweet babies!) 

One Step Closer

Each day, Luke is getting closer to walking. Just today he let us only hold onto one of his hands when he walks. Usually, he will stop moving if we let go of one hand. We're waiting to see if he'll be walking before these first 12 months are up! 

Go Get It!

I know every parent probably says this, but we have the smartest son in the world! Luke's brain has been taking in so many new things for the past 10.5 months, and now he's starting to let us know that he's been learning! So far, there are three things that are Luke's "toys of choice," his tractor, ball, and lion. He knows them all by name and we caught it on video so we could brag a little bit:) Watch! 

If there's trouble, he's into it...

This first picture will give you a good idea of what Luke does when I leave him alone for a second. He intuitively knows to get into the exact things he's not supposed to be touching. Of course, they're the most fascinating things! In his bedroom, his clock and monitor are the cool toys of choice. 

The other picture is Luke watching his favorite sigh language video with his lion. So cute! He is always very attentive when we play this video. Over the last couple weeks, he has really been picking up some of the signs. It's so fun to watch! 

Another Date

Luke gets to date MUCH more than I was allowed to when I was his age. His special friend, Addie, comes over a lot to play with him! Last week Addie's mom, Stacy, had a meeting and she dropped Addie off at our house for a while. When I was pregnant, I thought it would be fun to have twins. After babysitting Luke and Addie by myself, I'm not sure if fun would be the right word for having two babies at once. Luke and Addie are both very good-natured babies so I didn't have it too bad. I did feed them both lunch at the same time. Luke was very jealous that Addie got her bottle first, so he tried to steal it. Addie likes her food to come fast, so I was throwing Cheerios on Luke's tray in between Addie's squeals for more food! I felt like Super Mom, sliding back and forth on my stool between the two high chairs. We had a fun morning, and Luke and Addie had lots of fun playing together! They are such sweet babies:) 

10 Months!

Luke is 10 months old as of this past Sunday. Time is flying by; it's hard to believe he will be 1 soon! We enjoyed his "birthday" outside as it was a beautiful March day! As always, Luke is learning new things each day. His latest accomplishments include walking behind his walker (and now maneuvering around obstacles), signing 'milk' and 'all done' and 'more', crawling to the door every day when Daddy comes home from work, playing peek-a-boo (so cute...I'll have to post a video), and smiling SO much it makes our hearts melt!