6 Month Check-up

Today Luke had his 6 month check-up. He was 6 months old last Saturday which is completely unbelievable. I knew that he has been growing a bunch but I was not expecting it to be so much. Luke weighed 18 lbs 13 oz which put him in the 75% for his age and he is 27 1/2 inches long which put him in the 85%. He is going to be a big kid and there are definitely no indications that he was a premie. Poor munchkin had to have another round of vaccinations and boy did he scream. This was the third round and it was by far the worst. Luke was crying before the nurse even came in to give him the shots and of course it only got worse. It is so hard to hear him scream and know that he was in pain. He didn't stop until we were in the car on the way home. He is currently napping away and has been for almost 2 hours now. The medicine always makes him tired.

Troy's Birthday

I can not forget that during the crazy holiday season Troy celebrated his 30th birthday (important to write about such a momentous occasion).  Unfortunately he was out of town on business for the actual day but we celebrated the weekend before.  Troy's parents were in town and watched Luke so the two of us could go out for a nice dinner.  When we got home we had ice cream cake and opened gifts.  

Troy's actual birthday was rather uneventful for him but for myself and Luke it was quite tiring.  Luke refused to take much of a nap that day but during (yes during) dinner he fell asleep in his highchair.  It was incredibly funny; between bites his head fell forward and he was out.  I managed to record the event on video and know that it will be a favorite to watch in the future.

Christmas with Family

We drove to Kansas City on Sunday morning the 21st and again Luke was a trooper.  We didn't even have to stop to feed him.  Troy and I went to a wedding that night and Grandma and Grandpa watched Luke for us.  Our week was very busy seeing friends and having people meet Luke for the first time.  We also celebrated Christmas 3 different times.

The first was on Christmas Eve.  We were with my sister, her boyfriend and his son, my dad and stepmom.  It was a relaxing afternoon playing Wii and board games.  We enjoyed a yummy dinner and then opened gifts.  Troy and I were hoping for a repeat of Luke's squealing when the gifts were being opened but he was tired and I think overwhelmed so instead of squealing he cried.  We all thought that was cute too.

Our second celebration was Christmas Day.  We were with my mom, stepdad, sister, her boyfriend and his son, my cousin and her family.  Luke had a rough day- poor little guy.  He was having a hard time going to the bathroom and it had been 7 days so needless to say he was pretty upset and fussy.  Quite a bummer for his first Christmas.  We did manage to open gifts (in 3 different rounds) and enjoy a delicious dinner.  

Our final celebration was in Topeka with Troy's family.  We drove there the morning of the 26th.  Troy's parents, brother and sister-in-law and several aunts and uncles were there for a big family Christmas.  We all enjoyed a great turkey dinner before opening our gifts.  After gifts (which we had to wake Luke up for) we had dessert and then all of the extended family left.  The rest of the day was relaxing with Troy's parents and his brother and sister-in-law.  Later in the evening we opened our gifts with them.  Luke was feeling much better at this point and did squeal a few times much to our enjoyment.  We stayed in Topeka until Sunday morning and then drove home.

Luke's first Christmas was full of excitement and way too many gifts but one we all will remember for a long time.  I am realizing how fast he is growing and know that I need to cherish each new event and milestone so much.  Luke is a gift from God and I thank Him everyday for the joy and wonder Luke brings to our lives.

Christmas at Home

We celebrated just the 3 of us at home on December 20. Of course for Troy and I, this year was all about Luke.  We loved shopping for him and our first experience as "Santa" putting together his toys.  Luke absolutely loved hearing the paper rip.  He would squeal in delight with each gift.  Santa brought him a rather large toy that rolls balls down a chute and has an elephant, hippo and monkey to play with as well.  

Santa was also very generous with filling stockings this year.  Luke had two that were stuffed- one celebrating his first Christmas and the other that Grandma Johnson made for him (so neat).  

After our celebration, Troy and I had to pack and get everything ready for our week long trip to Kansas and Missouri to visit family.  Troy joked that the house was so clean and picked up because everything was in the car (we did have an abundance of stuff but all was necessary of course :).  We left the following morning.

Whew!!

We made it- through the holidays that is.  The last six weeks has flown by.  It is hard to believe it is already 2009.  Luke has grown so much and is learning so many new things.  What a fun time it has all been.  

Thanksgiving we spent at home with my dad, stepmom, stepsister and nephew.  We had a nice relaxing weekend and Luke had 3 tiny bites of mashed potatoes to celebrate.  It also happened that Troy put the highchair together on Thanksgiving and Luke sat in it for the first time during our turkey dinner.

The end of November and beginning of December Luke was able to try more solid foods.  He enjoyed carrots, peas and applesauce- a big hit!  At present, Luke is now also eating oatmeal, bananas, pears, peaches, prunes and we found out that he doesn't like green beans (cried when he ate them).  

The weekend of December 13 and 14 we went to Dallas to surprise Georgia for her birthday (it was a big one but we won't say which one :)  It was a bunch of driving for Luke in two days but he was a trooper.  I had managed to forget bottles of all things.  So we stopped at Target to get some but another mistake on my part was purchasing "fast" flow bottles.  Luke wasn't ready for that but we did the best that we could.  That was until Luke had his last bottle of the day and 5 minutes later threw up everything in his stomach including his dinner from 4 hours earlier. Let's just say it was a good thing he had extra pj's!!  It was everywhere and as such I will no longer forget bottles.

That weekend Luke also started to really play with his rattles.  He was able to pass them back and forth between hands and he loved it.  Now except when his hands are in his mouth (quite often) he is reaching for or playing with some sort of toy.  Maggie has also become quite a fascination within the last couple of weeks.  Luke really likes her soft fur and he is always following her with his eyes.  I know they will be best buds when Luke gets older.