Videos!

Now that Luke has learned how to walk while holding onto things, various objects from around our house have become some of his favorite push toys. The breakfast room chairs are his latest obsession. It's fun to have a little interior decorator help me rearrange our furniture!





Luke has recently learned how to appropriately shake his head "No", which is adorable. Here he is rejecting his baby oatmeal (I don't blame him- It doesn't look too appetizing!):




And a quick snippet from bath time at our house... It's questionable if Luke is actually cleaner after his bath, with the help of his sister, Winnie:

Our house is beginning to look like a prison...

With baby gates going up everywhere, locks on most cabinets and drawers, and furniture & plants being relocated when deemed not-child-friendly, our house is starting to resemble a prison. Here are a few of our "inmates":


Warden Daddy keeps a close eye on this troublemaker



Inmate 42008 entertains everyone by belting out showtunes from the catwalk.



We bought this special gate (that swings open) so that Guard Dog Winnie can roam around her house at her leisure. Unfortunately, she is terrified of it and is too skittish to cross it alone (leaving Warden Daddy to carry her across at bedtime!).


And lastly, for pure comic relief, here's a snapshot from a typical meal at our house. Now that Luke feeds himself, his hands are sticky and covered with food... And at almost every meal, he feels the need to run his hands through his hair. Here is the result:

Play Group

As a stay-at-home mom, my weekly schedule of activities is vastly different than it was a year ago (pre-baby). A friend asked me this week what my plans were, and as I rattled off my routine, "Kindermusik class, Play Group, lunch with a friend, errands, going to the park, pediatrician appointment..." I realized how much I sounded like/have become a suburban soccer mom. Luke and I have so much fun with all these activities, and I have been especially lucky to find a Play Group of other moms & babies that we adore! Someone once told me that discovering a compatible Moms' Group can be like searching for the right pair of jeans: You have to try on tons of pairs until you find the perfect fit. I have been incredibly fortunate to have found a group of wonderful women who are in the same life stage as me, who are not competitive about their babies, who are fun to talk to, and who can provide a support system to each other as we experience the daily adventures of being stay-at-home moms. Oh yes, and of course our children have a great time together, too (although we admit that a major motivation to start our Play Group was the socialization aspect for the adults)! Thank you to Laura for sharing these pictures from our Play Group last month:


Luke and Brooke play in the ball pit.



It's so much fun to try out new toys at a friend's house!



Cheesing it up for Laura's camera...



My friend Julie's son, Thomas, is Luke's best boy buddy.



It's very hard to get 4 toddlers to look at the camera at the same time!
Standing in the back row: Thomas and Melaina
Sitting in the front row: Luke and Brooke

332 Days

BREAKING NEWS:
332 days after Luke's birth (& 332 nights of midnight feedings, 3 a.m. diaper changes, and bleary-eyed mornings), my child FINALLY slept through the night!!!! Luke went to bed last night at 7:30 p.m. and didn't wake up until shortly after 5 o'clock this morning. 5:08 a.m. has never looked so good to me! If you would have told me before Luke was born that it would be 11 months before my baby would sleep through the night, I would have scoffed and thought, "Not MY child! Surely with all of the research, reading, and good parenting practices that I try to instill, my peaceful, sleep-trained infant will have this figured out a few weeks after birth!"

Oh, how humbling being a parent can be! Let's hope it's not another 332 days before we sleep through the night again!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We found a little leprechaun who wanted to wish you a Happy St. Patty's Day!

Walking Man!

Although it doesn't technically count as "first steps", Luke walked for the first time yesterday while holding on to his lion push toy. It was also the first time he donned shorts this spring, and I couldn't get over how much he looked like a little man, walking upright! Here's the video which captured this huge event:

Road Trip- Part 2

While we were in Virginia last weekend visiting our family, I drove up to Philadelphia to attend a baby shower for one of the BBs (my college friends).  I had a great time with my girls, and was gone for about 24 hours (by far the longest amount of time that I have been separated from Luke).  I was slightly nervous about how I would feel being away from Luke, but knew that he was in the loving hands of Daddy, Poppy, and Grams.  Of course I left millions of post-it-notes with copious details regarding bottles, food, schedule, etc. and carefully laid out Luke's clothing for the day I was gone.  Here is how Daddy dressed him:

Do you notice anything missing from this picture?  Mark's defense was that it was a hot day so pants were not neccesary.  Also, Poppy and Mark joked that they were going to give Luke his first haircut while I was gone.  Here they are posing for a picture to tease me.  Luckily, Grams did not let them get away with such mischief!



My mid-Atlantic driving tour went very well, and I certainly enjoyed having a day to myself, but the very best part of the weekend was the big smile and hug that I received from my baby upon my return to Virginia, and the feeling that I was complete once again!