Luke: 17 Months!

 

(I couldn't get the cookie out of your mouth long enough to snap a picture without tears, so we just went with it) 

Luke, buddy! Do you know that Christmastime is infinitely better around our house now? This month has been absolutely full of magic and joy seeing things through your eyes. Every day I hear your laughter and see your curiosity and energy and enthusiasm for the things around you and just marvel at it all. We are truly blessed to call you our son, and we look forward to a lifetime of Decembers watching you experience the magnificence of Christmas.

Not one single doctor's visit this month! You still have to take your allergy meds every day, but we're doing our best to keep the sniffles away. You love to get on the scale and weigh yourself in the mornings - right now you're just a little over 30 pounds. You're quite the toddler! This month, we turned your carseat around to face forward since your legs were getting all squished up. You absolutely loved it and thought you were big stuff!

It seems like we haven't been to swim lessons in a while. Thursdays this December have been packed with parties and events and it's hard to get to the pool. We've gone to class on a couple of Saturdays and you still love it. Now at bathtime, you flip over and blow bubbles and kick and just grin from ear to ear while we watch you "practice".

You have been really into reading lately. Your favorite books that we read over and over again are Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, Goodnight Moon, Go, Dogs, Go and anything having to do with Clifford. You've started dragging out books and reading them to yourself, just babbling away, turning the pages and then says "All Done!". 

Your favorite foods right now are popcorn, macaroni and cheese, ritz crackers, texas toast and your green veggies - peas and green beans. You also love chicken, pizza, breakfast sausage, waffles, mashed potatoes, and animal crackers. You love, love, love milk and have nicknamed it "momo" because as soon as you are done, you ask for more.

Your vocabulary expands daily. Some new words you've picked up on this month have been: ouch, nay (as in what do horses say), more, apple, all done, choochoo, shoes, diaper and a few others. You can count to 3 and say A,B,C. When we ask you how old you will be on your next birthday, you scream "TWO!!!!" and hold up both pointer fingers.

Your favorite toys this month have been your golf clubs, your Little People nativity, your choochoo and your activity table. You love to press the buttons and dance. Oh my, you LOVE to dance! It's just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. You love for me to sing songs and you bop your head. Right now, we sing "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee" about 100 times each day. You love to watch Micky Mouse Clubhouse when you wake up, and you insist on watching Clifford in the car. For Christmas, Grannie got you a toy puppy and you walk it in circles around the house - you've named it Mae-Mae. You still love the broom and vacuuming, playing with your grill and cooking utensils, and you also like to play with my hair dryer and straightening iron, saying hot hot over and over again.

We've had so much going on this month. From Thanksgiving at Grandma's house to celebrating the Advent Season, we' haven't sat at home much this month! 

For Thanksgiving, we went to Grandma and Pappy's house. We had a fun day full of family, football, food and a few naps.  On Black Friday, I bought you a mini leaf blower like Daddy's, and you played with it ALL day Saturday. We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing, playing and reading Christmas books.

The first weekend in December, Nana and Papa came to play. We went shopping, ate yummy food and relaxed. That Sunday, we had breakfast with Santa. I don't think you quite knew what to think and you didn't want to sit on anyone's lap because there was just too much running around to do. We managed to snap a quick picture before you took off running around the club.

After church and breakfast, we drove to Southlake for Jett's birthday party at the trampoline park. You had so much fun jumping and playing with the big kids, and you even got to eat pizza and cake! 

On the 4th, we went to your school's annual Christmas party. Your class got on stage and sang "Twinkle Twinkle", there was a performance by the magician/singer Mr. David, who you love, and Santa came to visit (this time, you were sure you didn't want to sit on his lap). 

That weekend, we went to the Southern Pines Christmas Lights. We had originally planned to just drive by, so we had you in your jammies with no socks or shoes. It looked like so much fun that we stopped, got out, rode the train, saw Santa (again!), played in the bubble machine, got popcorn and hot chocolate and had a wonderful time. That Sunday, you got to go to your friend Well's house while Mommy and Daddy went to their Sunday School Christmas party. It was a ton of fun! 

Last weekend, we started the Tour de Texas 2012. We drove down to Austin and visited your Grannie and PawPaw, had Christmas with Grandma and Pappy and all the cousins, and then finished up at Grandpa and KerrBear's house. You were absolutely tuckered out by the end of the weekend. We had lots of fun seeing everyone and getting to play and eat yummy food. You were too busy exploring and playing to even open presents. Mommy opened most of your presents for you!

This week, as we prepare to celebrate Jesus' birthday, I'm excited to watch the twinkle in your eyes and the excitement you'll feel. We'll open lots of presents and spend time with family, but I pray as you grow, your Daddy and I will do the best we can to teach you all about the true meaning of the season. As you get older, I hope you come to know the full magnitude of the Christmas story and how a baby born in a manger was born to die just for you. We love you, baby boy, and you make our hearts happy every day.