We had Luke's 12-month portraits done last month, and at the same time, took a few of our family. Here are some of our favorites:
Sunday, May 17, 2009
12-Month & Family Portraits
We had Luke's 12-month portraits done last month, and at the same time, took a few of our family. Here are some of our favorites:
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Calling all fans of "The Office"
In preparation for tonight's season finale of "The Office", we present to you Luke D. Winterhoff, with his best Dwight Schrute impression. Along with his "Dwight hair", Luke asked to wear a short-sleeved, mustard colored, button-down shirt for these photos, but in the interest of fashion, I refused. Enjoy!
Monday, May 11, 2009
May Update
Many people have been asking what Luke is up to these days, so I thought I'd post an update of his latest skills, developments, and the happenings around here.
At 12 1/2 months old, our little boy has had a recent language explosion. He has added so many new words to his vocabulary including the following:
"Mama" (every person in a photograph or picture is "Mama", regardless of age, gender, and familiarity- I love it!)
"Boon" (for "balloon," his favorite thing since his birthday!),
"Nana" ("Banana". This is my favorite: He points to them each morning, asking for one for breakfast),
"Moo", "Baa", & "Neigh" (when asked what a cow, sheep, and horse say),
"Uh-oh" (used appropriately, but also preemptively when he is about to drop his sippy cup/food onto the floor from the highchair...that little stinker!)
"Booh" (meant as "Bless You" after someone sneezes- It's adorable!)
"Hi" (he holds up everything to his ear, pretending he's talking on the phone. I wonder where he sees that?!)
"Vroom" (whenever he sees/plays with trucks or construction vehicles. All boy!).
Luke also shakes his head "No", when he knows he is not supposed to do something, like crawl in the dishwasher, but then sweetly smiles and often does it anyway!
Luke still eats astounding quantities of food at every meal. We went out to dinner with our friends who have a toddler who is a couple of months older than Luke, and while they begged their child to eat even a few bites, Luke happily shoved an entire cooler's worth of food (that I had packed) into his mouth by the fistful (slightly embarrassing, but an incredible sight, none the less!). We can never wait until the food that we order arrives, since our child demands to eat immediately upon being placed in a highchair! His latest trick is to discreetly dangle his right arm over the edge of his highchair and silently drop food to Winnie when he has had enough of what is on his tray. The only thing that gives them away is the jingle of Winnie's collar as she eagerly laps up her brother's leftovers.
This self-inflicted mohawk appeared as Luke ran his messy, lunch-covered hands through his hair.
I almost hesitate to write this paragraph, for fear of jinxing our recent good fortune, but Luke has consistently been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks. We still have a night here or there where he wakes up, but from 7 p.m. to 5:30 or 6 a.m., our once terrible sleeper is contently curled up in his crib, on his tummy with his bottom up in the air, hugging his Pancake Bear. We are more well rested than we have been in over a year! (No joke- as I am writing this at 10 p.m., guess who I can hear sobbing in the nursery? I'm done with this segment now...).
One of Luke's favorite activities is going to his Kindermusik classes and singing these songs at home. He knows many sign language signs and motions, and chortles with glee whenever we put on one of his Kindermusik CDs. Grams and Poppy gave Luke an assortment of musical instruments (triangle, xylophone, clackers, cymbals, etc) for his birthday, and it has become a family ritual to play these every night. The Von Trapps we are not, but it is fun to play with our happy boy. Luke loves reading, and will sit in our laps for long periods of time, listening to stories. It's such good, quality time for us to cuddle and his favorite books are the lift-the-flap kind, where he can participate with the story. All other play is on the go, with our active boy. He still isn't quite walking on his own, but is cruising everywhere and is steadier on his feet every day.
Another favorite activity: "Budgeting" and playing with the calculator (like father, like son!).
P.S. You may notice that many of these photos are "pantless". This is because changing diapers these days is similar to a WWE wrestling match, so sometimes it's easier just to be diaper-clad!
Traveling is still a challenge for us, as Luke hates being in his car seat. He arches his back, kicks, and screams as we try to buckle him in, and after an extended period in that position, he wriggles, fidgets, and fusses to let us know that he is DONE with sitting still. We're still problem-solving the best times to leave for trips, but usually we show up at our destinations exhausted and disheveled from our tedious car rides.
Maybe our car rides would be better if this were safe/legal...
Luke adores his Daddy. When we hear the garage door opening as Mark is coming home from work, Luke squeals with absolute delight. Even if we have had a tough day of teething, poor naps, and I warn Mark that Luke is cranky, somehow that kiddo is a perfect angel as soon as he sees Daddy. The sight of my two boys together still catches me off guard sometimes with how my heart wants to burst at the amount of love that I have for both of them. For Mother's Day yesterday, my husband and children gave me the best gift that I could have ever imagined. Mark had all of our blog postings professionally printed and collected in a hard bound, gorgeous book. It is a tangible chronicle of our family for the past year, and I couldn't have asked for anything better. As my friend Cheryl says, there are some moments when you realize that you are living in your own utopia. Looking at the photos and postings of my family in my book, I was struck by how truly blessed I am. Life is good... very good... and I am incredibly grateful.
At 12 1/2 months old, our little boy has had a recent language explosion. He has added so many new words to his vocabulary including the following:
"Mama" (every person in a photograph or picture is "Mama", regardless of age, gender, and familiarity- I love it!)
"Boon" (for "balloon," his favorite thing since his birthday!),
"Nana" ("Banana". This is my favorite: He points to them each morning, asking for one for breakfast),
"Moo", "Baa", & "Neigh" (when asked what a cow, sheep, and horse say),
"Uh-oh" (used appropriately, but also preemptively when he is about to drop his sippy cup/food onto the floor from the highchair...that little stinker!)
"Booh" (meant as "Bless You" after someone sneezes- It's adorable!)
"Hi" (he holds up everything to his ear, pretending he's talking on the phone. I wonder where he sees that?!)
"Vroom" (whenever he sees/plays with trucks or construction vehicles. All boy!).
Luke also shakes his head "No", when he knows he is not supposed to do something, like crawl in the dishwasher, but then sweetly smiles and often does it anyway!
Luke still eats astounding quantities of food at every meal. We went out to dinner with our friends who have a toddler who is a couple of months older than Luke, and while they begged their child to eat even a few bites, Luke happily shoved an entire cooler's worth of food (that I had packed) into his mouth by the fistful (slightly embarrassing, but an incredible sight, none the less!). We can never wait until the food that we order arrives, since our child demands to eat immediately upon being placed in a highchair! His latest trick is to discreetly dangle his right arm over the edge of his highchair and silently drop food to Winnie when he has had enough of what is on his tray. The only thing that gives them away is the jingle of Winnie's collar as she eagerly laps up her brother's leftovers.
This self-inflicted mohawk appeared as Luke ran his messy, lunch-covered hands through his hair.
I almost hesitate to write this paragraph, for fear of jinxing our recent good fortune, but Luke has consistently been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks. We still have a night here or there where he wakes up, but from 7 p.m. to 5:30 or 6 a.m., our once terrible sleeper is contently curled up in his crib, on his tummy with his bottom up in the air, hugging his Pancake Bear. We are more well rested than we have been in over a year! (No joke- as I am writing this at 10 p.m., guess who I can hear sobbing in the nursery? I'm done with this segment now...).
One of Luke's favorite activities is going to his Kindermusik classes and singing these songs at home. He knows many sign language signs and motions, and chortles with glee whenever we put on one of his Kindermusik CDs. Grams and Poppy gave Luke an assortment of musical instruments (triangle, xylophone, clackers, cymbals, etc) for his birthday, and it has become a family ritual to play these every night. The Von Trapps we are not, but it is fun to play with our happy boy. Luke loves reading, and will sit in our laps for long periods of time, listening to stories. It's such good, quality time for us to cuddle and his favorite books are the lift-the-flap kind, where he can participate with the story. All other play is on the go, with our active boy. He still isn't quite walking on his own, but is cruising everywhere and is steadier on his feet every day.
Another favorite activity: "Budgeting" and playing with the calculator (like father, like son!).
P.S. You may notice that many of these photos are "pantless". This is because changing diapers these days is similar to a WWE wrestling match, so sometimes it's easier just to be diaper-clad!
Traveling is still a challenge for us, as Luke hates being in his car seat. He arches his back, kicks, and screams as we try to buckle him in, and after an extended period in that position, he wriggles, fidgets, and fusses to let us know that he is DONE with sitting still. We're still problem-solving the best times to leave for trips, but usually we show up at our destinations exhausted and disheveled from our tedious car rides.
Maybe our car rides would be better if this were safe/legal...
Luke adores his Daddy. When we hear the garage door opening as Mark is coming home from work, Luke squeals with absolute delight. Even if we have had a tough day of teething, poor naps, and I warn Mark that Luke is cranky, somehow that kiddo is a perfect angel as soon as he sees Daddy. The sight of my two boys together still catches me off guard sometimes with how my heart wants to burst at the amount of love that I have for both of them. For Mother's Day yesterday, my husband and children gave me the best gift that I could have ever imagined. Mark had all of our blog postings professionally printed and collected in a hard bound, gorgeous book. It is a tangible chronicle of our family for the past year, and I couldn't have asked for anything better. As my friend Cheryl says, there are some moments when you realize that you are living in your own utopia. Looking at the photos and postings of my family in my book, I was struck by how truly blessed I am. Life is good... very good... and I am incredibly grateful.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Kentucky Derby
The first weekend of May brings the annual tradition of mint juleps, festive hats and parties, and spectacular pomp and circumstance at the Kentucky Derby. Mark is especially fond of the racetrack, as he grew up in upstate New York attending the races at Saratoga. In fact, during our dating days (many years ago!), he took me to Saratoga often, and we loved the excitement of placing bets and watching the horses run. This year, to commemorate the 135th Run for the Roses, our family headed to Kentucky on Derby weekend for a quick overnight trip. However, if you are a loyal reader of our blog, you know that we are definitely not adventurous (or crazy) enough to take a 12-month-old to the Kentucky Derby. Instead, our destination was the home of our friends, the Deckerts, who also happen to live in Kentucky. We met their adorable 3-month-old baby, Ashleigh, and had a great time sharing stories of being new parents. It was amazing to see the difference in Luke and Ashleigh, who are only 9 months apart in age, but are in such different stages. Sweet Ashleigh loved to be held and watched everything intently, while Luke babbled, cruised around, and tried to explore every inch of a new place! Mark and I commented that we have already forgotten so much of what it was like to be a parent of a newborn: the frequent nursing, multiple awake/asleep periods, and just how tiny and precious they are. We had a wonderful visit with our friends, and yes, we did watch the Derby last night and had a fun celebration of our own during our Kentucky visit!
Luke patting his new friend, Ashleigh!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
A toddler day...
Yes, that's our pantry in the background of the picture... and that's my very mad son, after getting into mischief and pulling an enormous container of flour off the shelf, spilling it everywhere. Luke now shrieks with despair when he is told "No" and puts his head down on the floor in utter dismay. I couldn't catch him in time to prevent this mess from happening, and Luke was inconsolable after the container came crashing down. When Mark came home from work and helped us clean up the Great SC Flour Incident of 2009, he told Luke that he was banned from the pantry until he starts stocking one! Some days are so easy, with my happy, cheerful child, and some days are just those toddler kind of days...
Monday, April 27, 2009
The End of the Birthday
Grams and Poppy came to visit this weekend, which officially signified the last of the celebrations for Luke's first birthday. After 3+ weeks of celebrating, Mark and I have finally accepted that our baby is a 1-year-old, and have promised that we will tone everything down a bit next year! We had a wonderful weekend with our family, and have posted more pictures of their visit along with others from this month in our Winterhoff Family Photo Albums. Here are some of the highlights:
Still not thrilled with icing or cake!
Of the many, many presents that Grams and Poppy brought Luke, the balloon was his absolute favorite!
We went to the zoo, and Luke loved seeing the animals this time...
Enjoying the beautiful weather with Poppy
We tried out Luke's new baby pool- look at that bathing beauty!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Outdoor Fun
Spring is one of my favorite times of year in South Carolina, and we've had great weather here recently. While our friends and family in the Northeast are beginning to thaw from the long, frigid winter that they have endured, we have enjoyed budding trees, colorful spring blooms, and warm days for weeks. Now that the days are longer, we spend many evenings in the backyard playing with some of the new outdoor toys that Luke has received for his birthday. Here are some pictures of Luke's first time playing with his new water and sand table from my friend, Nicole. As you can see, Winnie enjoys Luke's toys as much as her little brother! 
Checking out this new, fun toy!
The kids busy at play...
Sopping wet little man!
A strip-down was required after getting soaked!
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