Hair

We took Luke yesterday for his first haircut! It's hard to tell in pictures, but in person it was getting so long in the back. He did really well, considering how wiggly he is these days.
Before:

and After!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

It is now the Christmas season in our household, and we have already began all of the preparations- Luke was napping when we decorated the tree, so he awoke to find something strange sitting in our living room....

....and promptly tore it apart! Thank goodness we decided to put up all unbreakable ornaments this year and not my pretty coordinating glass ones!

We also took Luke to see Santa this year. We didn't make it last year, so it was his first visit with Santa. Had he been able to be in the room for awhile I think he would of warmed up, but with the dizzying clip that the line and the picture-taking was moving along.....it didn't go so well. What should we expect when we rush into a room and plunk him on an unfamiliar, booming, bearded guy's lap that he really doesn't know???? The first picture was Santa's helpers wiggling little jingly toys at Luke "You WANT to smile, this is FUN!!" but our smart little guy was not in agreement, and a major meltdown ensued. Santa's helper suggested that maybe if Andy and I sat on the couch for the picture, he'd maybe do better. Even then Luke still wary, and had has his eye on Santa out of the corner of his eye.....

One Little Monkey

Our little monkey just celebrated his FIRST HALLOWEEN! Not his first Halloween on earth, because last Halloween he was a whole 5 days old and we got to dress him up in the pumpkin hat they gave us at the hospital and his "I love my mummy" onesie that we got as a gift.

No, this was his first true Halloween, one that he could dress up for and enjoy. We (OK, so I) picked a monkey costume. Daddy was a little unsure about the tail, but I figured when else in life can you pull off a curly tail? He was so stinkin' cute in this monkey costume....

We got him dressed up and posed for pictures with his cousins. Grandma Sandy and I did take Luke to one house... the Moen's.... one house for one year old! I figured that would be a simple way to get started. We can save the carrying a pillowcase while your feet freeze trip for a few years from now. Luke LOVED visiting the Moen's and completely hammed it up:
The same weekend we helped Cousin Eli celebrate his first birthday!

One!

Luke just celebrated his first birthday! We had family over to celebrate this milestone with us the Sunday before his birthday. The party was went fast, and was so much fun! Luke LOVED playing with his cousins, and was not wanting to stop playing with them in order to open his presents. I do think that I was more excited about Luke's cake than he was- I was sooooo excited to get a mold of "The Big Cupcake" from my friend, and really- WOW! I didn't realize when it arrived decorated and ready to go (thank you to my boss!) that it would really truly be bigger than his head, but he had some fun with it. He wasn't digging in as much as I was hoping he would, but once daddy handed him a fork, he was more eager about tearing into it.

What a year it has been! We look at Luke and we are just blown away by how much he has grown and emerged as a person. We have watched his personality come about, and have watched our son grow into a little boy who is so happy and who is constantly on the move. He is a total and complete flirt, very charming to everyone he meets! He does have a smile for everyone! Even though he enjoys some downtime with a book, or just lately little dramatic play toys, Luke seems to be his most happy when he's on the move. That is, walking around, swinging in the air, or riding around on something (watch out world!).

When we reflect on what the last year has brought for us, our lives have changed in a way that we could have never have imagined. Sure, people had warned us about the lack of sleep, the endless leaky diaper changes, cold dinners, and the end of life as we knew it. It has been all of that, and so much more. It has been coos and giggles, and walking into a room, hearing "Ma! Ma! Ma! Ma! Ma! Ma!" with little hands flapping in the air as fast as they would go. It has been watching first steps and crashes. The smiles on a face that is so proud to have taken those steps and DONE IT! It has been picking out the features in his face that look just like the ones we have or seeing the mannerisms that have also been in relatives that he has never barely met, or in some cases, that he has never met. It is about singing the "Gilmore Girls" theme song in the middle of the night to stop the fussing because it's the one song that works, or playing Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" over and over again because it produces a giggle. It's about hearing him say the word "uh-oh" when he something drops, and "accidentally" dropping things over and over again just to hear him say it. It's about bringing him outside for the first snowfall, even though he is bundled up so much that he probably can't even see it. It's about the fact that God has blessed us with this little human being, and we have loved watching him grow and getting to know his personality as it has emerged. We love you Luke, and we are proud to be your parents!