Luke: 8 Months!

Lukester! You are 8 months old today! You are growing up before our eyes, and you are becoming more of a little boy and less of a baby each day! This month was a BIG one for you with lots of events and milestones, and we enjoyed every single day watching you grow and discover and mature.

This month was pediatrician free, but we did see the ENT for a tube checkup. All is well, minus those pesky allergies, which we are keeping at bay with some nose spray. You weigh approximately 24.4 pounds, your head is almost 18.5 inches round, and you are 28.5 inches long. You are still growing big and tall! No teeth yet, but you are definitely teething and I expect you to have the bottom 2 very soon.

You are now in size 4 diapers. You wear anything from 9 month clothing to 18 months, depending on the brand. Most of your pajamas are 9-12 months and 12-18 months. I put you in a Tyler's 2T shirt yesterday, thinking it would be big, but it fit just right! You can slow down on growing at anytime! 

You are a table food champ now. You decided this month (with a little help from Maddie Claire) that you would hold your bottle all on your own. You take between 4-6 ounces of Similac when you wake up, a couple of 4 oz. bottles during the day at school, and then 8oz. before bed. You absolutely love the Earth's Best food pouches, so we try to give you at least one of those at each meal. You are also eating table food such as bananas, peas, green beans, chicken, turkey, bread, pancakes, yogurt melts, nilla wafers, graham crackers, and lots and lots of Gerbers puffs. You actually prefer real food to baby food, so we are quickly moving in that direction! 

When we go out to eat, you are so well behaved (unless it's close to bedtime). Your favorite thing to do is stare down the ladies and then when you get their attention, you act all shy and coy and flirty. It's really cute, but as you get older, we're going to have to work on not staring! You like to lean back in your seat when you are done eating and just chill. Be still my heart!

You sleep great, and I'm hoping that doesn't ever change. You go down between 7 and 7:30 at night and sleep until 6:45 or 7 each morning. I'm convinced your favorite part of the day is bath time. You love to splash and play with all the toys and you cry and cry when it's time to get out. We got rid of the sleep sack this month because you love to move around at night. You have become quite the acrobat at night and I never find you in the same place in the morning. You've started waking up, playing a little, talking to yourself, and then calling out for mama to come get you. It's sweet and just another sign of you becoming more and more independent. 

This month, you started crawling like crazy. You move from room to room and are getting into everything. You especially like to crawl towards computers, iphones, iphone chargers and basically anything you know you are not supposed to have. We've had to start teaching you "no". You absolutely love to stand up, and you prefer that to sitting. You can cruise along the couch pretty easily and you are working on standing on your own, which is just too much for this mama! You have the will, you are just working on the balance. I think we have an early walker on our hands.  You started saying "dada" and "mama" this month.  Mommy and Daddy are always competing to see which one you will say more!

This month, you are up to 7 seconds under the water at swim lessons, and you are the best little kicker. All the parents are impressed with your skill, which is by far the best in your class. You love to be under the water and kicking, and you don't like it when we put you on the duck or have to work on tummy, tummy, knee, knee, which means being out of the water. You also love the slide, so we're going to have to get one of those for the pool this summer! 

This month, we had lots of fun seeing family and friends. Earlier this month, Grandma came to visit and play with you while Mommy and Daddy went to the Junior League Ball. You had lots of fun with her, and you loved the toys she brought you from her cruise. The bathtub cruise ship is your new favorite bath toy. That Sunday, we went up to Daddy's office to grab some things and you loved playing and spinning around on the chairs. You looked like a mini CEO!

 

The next weekend, Mommy and Daddy went to New Orleans for Daddy's birthday, and Nana and Papa came to stay with you all weekend. You played and played and played, and they made the whole weekend entirely about you. We missed you while we were away. I'm sure you missed us, but we know you had a blast. 

 This month, we took a mini-vacation to San Antonio with Nana, Papa, Aunt Emily, Uncle Adam and Maddie Claire. On our way to San Antonio, we stopped and stayed the night at Grandma and Pappy's house where you got to play with Julianne. The next morning, we had breakfast with Aunt Becca and Uncle J, and you got to meet your girlfriend, Marlie, and all of the Henkens. You were quite the flirt and even stole a kiss from Marlie. We can't wait to go visit the Henkens in Alabama, hopefully very soon. 

 After breakfast with the Henkens, we headed to Grannie and PawPaw's house for a quick visit. You had such a good time playing with PawPaw's iPad and Grannie's Tupperware. You were so sweet until it was time for a nap, so we had to cut our visit short. We love them so very much and so do you! 

 

Once we got to San Antonio, we did lots of fun things - we got to go to Sea World and watch Shamu, we spent lots of time by the pool, we went shopping and we ate lots of yummy food. You got to play with Maddie Claire non-stop and had so much fun. You two love each other so much and it's so cute to watch the two of you together.  You also got to spend lots of time cuddling with Nana and playing with Papa, and you were worn out by bedtime each night. You slept like a champ in the hotel room, which is a great indication for future trips for this travel-loving family. 

This weekend, we are just hanging out as a family and relaxing. We went to swim lessons, ate some crawfish and spent some time smoking ribs and taking long walks. Our St. Patty's Day was much more low-key than in past years, but we spent it with you which is way more fun! 

This month has been so fun and very entertaining. You are all boy!  You bring us such unspeakable joy, and we thank God each day that he gave us you. You are the best little boy, and we love you very much!

 

"From the fullness of His grace, we have received one blessing after another" - John 1:16