Christmas Card Outtakes

So, this is the photo that we used for our Christmas cards this year:



We wanted to do something a little bit silly involving tacky Christmas sweaters. I found Luke's sweater at a consignment sale months ago and thought it was hilarious because it was a tiny version of a classic looking Holiday sweater. It just made me laugh. Of course, when I actually put the sweater on him, I thought "awwwww! It actually looks really cute on him!!".

Anyway, I had been on a mission to find tacky sweaters for Andie and I and was coming up with nothing! Seems like it would be really easy to find those ugly things... I mean, if you just take a quick trip to Wal-Mart you can find lots of people proudly wearing them! I looked at Wal-Mart and Target first. Nothing! How could this be??

My next stop was Belk where I purchased mine. I thought it was pretty fabulous - shiny ribbon, glittery snowflakes, tassel on the zipper (the only thing that I didn't really take into account was that most of the tackiness of the sweater was located at the bottom - so it didn't really show up in the photo).

But still no sweater for Andie!

Since time was running out and I really needed to get the photos taken, my last attempt was Kohls. They really didn't have anything tacky in the male department, but I did find turtlenecks! I knew that pairing a turtleneck with a sweater would automatically increase the 80s cheese factor, so I just paired it with the busiest-looking sweater I could find.

ah-ha! done!

Although the outfits were not quite as tacky as I had hoped, at least we were ready for the photo session (and much closer to checking "order christmas cards" off of the list).

The photo session was pretty funny - Andie put the camera on a chair and set up the timer to take like 15 pics in a row. We kept Luke still on our laps by feeding him goldfish. He was just chomping down on crackers as the photos snapped away.

It was so much fun to look at the photos when we were finished! You are guaranteed to get hilarious photos when you have a one year old and two silly adults! Here are some of the outtakes:


(this photo was the one that we almost used for the card. I think that it is a cuter photo overall than the one we used, but Luke is looking away and also he's covering up my sweater - which Andie and I both agreed was the tackiest one of all)








(what is going on here??)

These Are a Few of Luke's Favorite Things

Luke is BIG into his blanket these days and one of his favorite activities is walking around the house dragging it behind him.

(as you can see, pants are optional in our house)

His other favorite activity is reading books. He brings us books all day long and is very persistent about having them read to him! If you are sitting on the floor, he will force himself into your lap and shove a book in your hands. It is pretty hilarious.



Favorite activity number three is touching/laying on things that are soft. I already mentioned his blanket - but there are also other blankets in the house and stuffed animals that fall into this category.




(yes, this is the famous "Belkie Bear")

He has plenty of other favorites, but we'll just make this a top three list for now.

Tot's Christmas Program

Blog slacker! That's me. Can you blame me... it IS the holiday season! There's always so much to do. The tree is up, the house is decorated, 90% of the cards have been mailed (I had to order just a few more...), 98% of the gifts have been purchased. I'm right on track!

So, to continue with the holiday theme... Luke had his Christmas Program tonight in Murfreesboro! It was so cute and so much fun!!

To be honest, Andie and I were a little nervous about how the night was going to go. When we picked Luke up from daycare today, he was really upset and trying to shove all of his fingers in his mouth (really bad teething). Plus, we were nervous that if he saw us in the audience during their "performance", he'd start crying and try to walk off the stage towards us. :)

Our fears were quickly put to rest - he was totally occupied and having the best time up on stage with all of his buddies. We (and the entire audience) were cracking up as Luke would not sit still! As most of the other kids sat up on stage with a deer-in-the-headlights look, Luke was walking from one side to the other, smiling, clapping, and even had one attempted escape from the stage. It was hilarious and I was so proud of my little guy!!

(the Minnows and the Sunfish):


(attemped escape):


(what a ham!):

And yes, we did capture it all on video!

the Belkie Bear

On Saturday, Andie went to Franklin to play in a volleyball tournament, so Luke and I headed out for a little shopping in Murfreesboro. What fun we had doing some Christmas shopping on a beautiful 70 degree day!!

We went to Belk's first and I conquered my fear of taking the big stroller up the escalator. I know - big step!! In previous shopping trips, I always made Andie perform this feat, but since it was just me and I really, really wanted to hit the men's section AND the Christmas section (both upstairs), I just sucked it up and did it. I probably stood at the bottom of the escalator for a solid minute or two before I got the confidence that my timing was right... I stepped forward, got the front wheel on a step, picked up the back end, then hurried to get my feet properly aligned on a step. In retrospect, it really wasn't that difficult, but things like that sometimes make me nervous. Lame, yes.

Ok, now that I've gone on and on about the escalator, let me get to my actual story. We get upstairs and I'm browsing through the Christmas section when Luke suddenly sits up and starts excitedly pointing to something ahead. I look up, and there is a huge row of cuddly, white teddy bears (complete with hat and scarf) for the holiday season. I grab one off of the shelf and hand it to Luke (thinking "score! he can play with this guy while I finish shopping"). Luke is so excited to get his hands on the super-soft bear! He is all smiles and immediately cuddles with his new friend. I continue shopping... look at all the Christmas items, head over to the men's section... that's when I realize that Luke has been really quiet. I look down and notice that he is asleep with his arms completely wrapped around the bear (if I forgot to mention this earlier, I was not planning on purchasing this bear).

So, I look through the men's section. Luke sleeps. I go back down the escalator (high-five to me!). Luke sleeps. When we get back downstairs, Luke kind-of opens his eyes for a brief moment and shifts his position - so I decided to take this opportunity to snatch the bear away and hopefully he will go right back to sleep.

Well, as soon as the soft bear left his grasp, Luke opens his eyes wide, looks up at me with the bear, and lets out a big cry while pointing and gesturing up at the bear. My heart broke at that moment, so I immediately handed it right back to him. Luke wrapped his arms back around the bear and went right back to sleep.

He won.

As I was checking out at Belk, I put my merchandise on the counter and said "Well, I guess we'll take the bear too". The cashier looked at sweet, sleeping Luke and just went on and on about how precious he looked with the "Belkie" bear and that he needed to be the next ad for the bear. She even called over another cashier to look at Luke and said how she wished that the store manager was working that day so that she could see him. It was hilarious!

Luke continued to sleep through one more store, then woke up feeling refreshed and was a wonderful shopping companion for the rest of our outing. We purchased some Christmas gifts, ate lunch at Which Wich, then headed back home for a real nap. It was a fun day :)

Eatin' Corn on the Cob

These photos make me smile...

Status Quo

So really, nothing too terribly exciting has been going on with us lately.

Two weekends ago, we went down to Huntsville for my cousin Erika's baby shower, Kate Kosek's 3rd birthday party, a quick visit with the family, and so Andie could assist Scott screening in their back porch. I managed to get through almost the entire weekend without taking any photos. I finally busted out the camera while we were just hanging out at Kristen's house watching the boys play.









What else... what else...

This past weekend, we started on our Christmas shopping. The three of us hit Opry Mills mall for a few hours and had a pretty good time. Luke got to watch the carousel go round and round, he got a balloon, then he took a little nap. Andie and I got some much needed shopping done.

Hmmmm, other Luke updates...
- He's cutting a new tooth. This will be his 7th tooth. He currently has his front two on top, front two on the bottom, two molars on the top, and this 7th tooth is in the front on the bottom right.
- He walks some, but is mostly crawling. Crawling just seems to be his preference (probably because he is so fast at it). He's very capable of walking though and can make a couple of laps around the house before falling.
- He's doing really, really well eating with a spoon!
- He's slowly turning into Linus with his blanket! It is SO cute!! He just sucks his thumb and holds his soft blanket up close to his face. I really need to get a photo of it because it is precious!!
- His loves are dogs, books, and balls
- The teachers at daycare said that Luke is really into arts and crafts. Apparently he is always the first one at the table for art time!
- During meals, he likes to put solid food into liquidy foods. For example, he puts chicken nuggets in his applesauce, toast in his yogurt, and cheerios in his oatmeal... Cracks me up!

I'm sure I have more bits and pieces of Luke updates that I could share, but that's all that are popping into my head for now...

Walking?!?

Last week: no walking, no steps on his own

Sunday morning: 6 steps

Sunday afternoon: 13 steps

Monday: much steadier and more confident

Tuesday: walked all the way across the living room

Wednesday: walked from me towards Andie, then he decided to change his course so he stopped, turned, and walked around the ottoman.

He totally CAN walk and is amazing at it! I've been SO IMPRESSED with his quick progress in the past few days! I don't know if he is "officially" walking because his preferred method of movement is still crawling - but either way, he is SO CLOSE!

Andie and I are so proud of our little guy!

Moments

This photo is actually from about a month and a half ago. I just stumbled upon it though and it makes me laugh. He's just kicked back, relaxing, drinking his milk...

In this pic, I don't know if Luke is more excited about the extra inch of height that he has gained by standing on his toy apple or with his new method of "dancing" in order to press lots of buttons with his feet. Either way, it was funny to watch!

Ah, the little multi-tasker. He has mastered "hands-free" drinking when he has important things to do (like make some calls on his phone).

Halloween Wrap-Up

Whew, it was an eventful weekend! Here's a quick run-down of all the Halloween festivities.

(check out those rabbit teeth!):

(something has his full attention):

Well, we kicked off the fun on Thursday evening at the YMCA Fall Family Fun Fest. Luke got to wear his Batman costume and we had a good time looking at all the other kid's costumes, venturing down the haunted hallway, and we even got to see a horse! With all the excitement going on, Luke was probably most thrilled watching the billiard balls roll around on the pool tables in the teen center.

Friday morning I went up to daycare to help with trick-or-treating at school. The classrooms take turns going door to door collecting candy. I didn't really get any pics of Luke in action (because I was holding him), but here's a pic of Luke chowing down on some candycorn after his class made the rounds.

Luke with his friend Lauren:

That afternoon, the kids had their Halloween party, so I went back to daycare for more fun! It was a wild party in the Sunfish room - cupcakes, cookies, Cheetos, and a dance party! So fun!!





On Saturday, Andie and I carved pumpkins during Luke's naptime.



When it began to get dark outside, we anxiously awaited the trick-or-treaters. Since Luke isn't quite walking yet, we didn't take him around from house to house (instead, he was in bed by 7:15).

It was a great Halloween!

Bleeding Purple and Gold

We took a family trip down to Baton Rouge for the LSU/Auburn game last weekend. I'll just say - it was a LONG drive there and back (9 hours each way) with a 15 month old. :) I'd like to say a special "thank you" to Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Cars, A Bugs Life, the Jungle Book, and Over the Hedge - we couldn't have made this trip without you!

Tailgating on Saturday was fun - just exhausting trying to keep up with Luke. He crawled around in the dirt, tried to eat acorns, and narrowly avoided sitting in an ant hill. We brought his little wagon so he could "walk" with it, and walk he did! He ran all around with that thing charging full speed into large groups of tailgaters! Luckily he didn't break anyone's ankles and everyone seemed to be amused by the tiny wagon-pusher.

(Luke trying on Dad's hat):





After tailgating for a couple of hours, Luke was starting to get a little squirmy so we took a trip over to the bookstore to get some loot. Since it was so crowded, I sat outside with Luke while Andie ran in. Within minutes, Luke fell asleep in my arms. The two of us were sitting on a little bench - there were hundreds of people around and it was really loud - not exactly perfect sleeping conditions! Everyone that walked by was "ooooh-ing" and "awwww-ing" at the precious sleeping child - apparently we were quite a spectacle amongst the tailgating crowd. I knew that this was his only opportunity to sleep all day, so I just sat there with him (and got in lots of good people-watching!) while he snoozed for an hour. :)

The trip was a lot of fun, but I'm not gonna lie... I'm happy to be back home!

(the fam!):

Pumpkin Patch

46 degrees. wet. muddy. miserable.

I had big hopes of getting cute fall photos with Luke - but instead, we left after about 10 minutes. Seriously... too cold!!

Checking out the farm animals (Luke referred to the goats as "dogs"):





Pumpkins sitting in the mud:

"Mom, it is freezing out here! Can we go now?!":

Utensils

Mealtimes can be such a rollercoaster of emotions! Happy, sad, frustrating, hilarious...

Don't get me wrong, Luke is an excellent eater - not too picky at all. He likes a wide variety of foods and even enjoys trying new things. So, my complaint is not with the intake of food, but the method of feeding.

I'm talking about the use of utensils. More specifically, Luke using his own utensils.

I hate to admit it, but I've been a slacker at teaching him how to feed himself with utensils. He does great using his fingers and things just get SO MESSY with utensils (I realize how funny that sounds... things are messier with utensils than fingers - but with fingers the food goes right from hand to mouth, with utensils, food gets thrown all over the kitchen).

He tries really hard to use his spoon and he totally knows that he needs to scoop food from his plate and put the spoon in his mouth. He goes through the motions and usually manages not to get anything on the spoon. If he does actually get a few peas on there, the motion from "scoop" to "insert in mouth" will somehow be accompanied by a "flip" and he'll turn the spoon over (dumping out its contents) before it arrives safely in his mouth.

I know what you are thinking... try something that sticks to the spoon a little better - maybe oatmeal or yogurt. Well, done and done. True, he does manage to get a few tastes of oatmeal in his mouth, but the entire area will inevitably get covered with sticky goo as well - tray, bib, table, floor, me, him (not ideal when trying to get out the door in a timely manner during the week!). :)

I do want him to get in some practice with the spoon, but more than that, I want him to actually eat his meal! After 15 minutes of him feeding himself, not only is the kitchen a disaster, but my boy is still hungry!

I suppose it is sweet to watch him try so hard, but for some reason it is so frustrating for me sometimes. I just want to reach over and say "no, you are doing it all wrong... THIS is how you do it". Isn't that terrible?! Deep breath... patience....

So, I've been working hard on trying to relax and let him figure out utensils and new eating methods. That's right, I looked the other way when he threw a spoonful of oatmeal on the floor. I just smiled when he put pieces of buttered toast (butter side down) in his hair. I bit my tongue and just grabbed the cleaning wipes when pushed his entire plate of food off of the tray while chasing around corn kernels with his fork. He's trying. And that is good.

I think he's starting to make a little bit of improvement. He had some oatmeal the other morning and did a pretty good job with it. He was able to get a couple of really good scoops to stick on the spoon and make it into his mouth. Sometimes at dinner he'll let me assist by putting some food on the fork for him, then he'll take it from my hand and put it in his mouth. Other times he'll get frustrated, scream, and throw the fork behind his chair. Hey, nobody is perfect, right?

I don't have any recent "eating" photos to accompany this topic, so here are just some pics of the little guy playing: