Baby Luke's Accomplishments :)

Oh my goodness - isn't that the sweetest picture you have ever seen? Okay, okay - so, I'm just a little bias - but, you have to admit, he sure is handsome. Unless he hits an ugly streak (he, he), he's going to have the chicks turning their heads. :)

So..."Luke's Accomplishments" - you are thinking - what can a 5 week old baby do? Well - not much, which is why the educator in me says we must celebrate the small things - and, considering, that 5 weeks ago, he had no control of his head, he was eating every 3 hours (including at night), and he had no concept of who/what was around him, then, yes, he now has accomplished a few things...here they are

#1 - Almost a smile...he is working really hard on smiling. He has smiled at me several times and he has smiled at my mom - however, we had to work really hard to get those smiles and he doesn't always know exactly what he is doing yet. I can't wait until the smiles get more consistent. My mom and I have laughed at ourselves - isn't it funny how grownups will diligently work so hard for 20 minutes just to see this tiny person smile for half a second. That half a second just melts your heart. So sweet...

# 2 - Has reached 9 pounds - we went to the doctor for his 5 week check-up on Monday and his weight was 9 pounds, 7 ounces - our little man is growing like a weed. He is now 20 inches long - so he has grown 1 inch and gained over 2 pounds. From a nursing mom perspective, it is so comforting to know that your child is getting the nourishment that he needs. I'm still fascinated by how that "cow process" works. :)

#3 - Has outgrown the newborn outfits - because most newborn outfits are made for 5 to 8 lb babies, Luke has now outgrown these outfits. Matter of fact, I packed up all the newborn clothes yesterday - I almost teared up - what a sad moment. I put the clothes away as I thought to myself, "Maybe I will have another baby boy that can wear these one day." :) (already planning for another one...very scary...never thought I would say that) Right now, Luke is wearing 0 to 3 month outfits that are still fairly big on him, but I would rather the clothes be a little baggy than too small.

So...here's another picture of my 9 1/2 pound superstar...isn't he sweet???




#4 - Sitting up with help from "The Memaw" :) - okay, so yes, this one is far fetched. He is NO WHERE close to sitting up on his own; however, he loves to practice. My mom comes over once or twice a week for two reasons: (1) to see her precious grandbaby and (2) to check on me to make sure I'm not going insane at home by myself - she knows how I get stir crazy. :) Let me just tell you - Luke already loves his memaw (that's what all the grandbabies call my mom). She counts "1 - 2 - 3 - UP" with him and he already grabs her fingers and lifts his head up - as you can see in the picture, he is very content as she carefully exercises his little body. He will do this over and over and is content as he can be. We both love it when memaw visits - she keeps everyone entertained. Thank goodness she's going to babysit several days a week from March until the end of the school year - Luke is going to love it - I mean, who knows? He might be reading by June - just kidding - that's a joke to my mom - she is always wanting to academically challenge her grandbabies, so I had to throw that joke in - seriously though, all of her grandbabies are smart as a whip and I think she is partly responsible for that - I can't wait to see how Luke turns out...

Didn't you like those little fat rolls??? He just finished a bath whenever those pictures were taken...

And...I saved the best for last...now, this is truly an accomplishment ...

#5- ROLLING OVER!! Take a look at this video - he can now flip from his stomach to his back pretty quickly. Check it out...

If you made it through this nothing but bragging blog without thinking that I had lost my mind or thinking that I am a totally psycho mom who thinks my child is the best in the world at everything, then you did good - I kind of surprised myself at all the bragging that I just did - I always said I wouldn't be one of "those moms" - oops - I couldn't help it.... :)

Love you all - thanks for reading - enjoy the snow!!! :)

"Full of herself Mommy"- signing off... :)

Luke Celebrates 1 Month!! :)

There he is - my sweet angel - who is 1 month old today! It's hard to believe how fast this month has passed. It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital. He has changed so much already. Each day, he continues to develop his own personality and settle into a routine. Right now, he has a pretty steady sleeping routine - goes to bed around 10:00pm, up around 1:30am, and then sleeps until around 6:30am. Every now and then, he surprises me - like last night - he decided to wake up at 4:00am, eat, and then go back to sleep until 8:30, which worked out fine for me on this rainy morning.

He travels well - loves the car! Hates hats - so we don't use them! :) He is almost smiling - he's trying very hard. He can make his lips look like he is kissing - which is cute! I guess he has learned that because I kiss him all the time! :) I could eat him up!! He loves music of any kind - music soothes him. He also loves his paci (which I'm not thrilled about - oh well). :) He loves for mommy to read to him -now, that I do like!! :)

When I put him in his crib at night, he rarely fusses - he watches his mobile and then falls asleep on his own - I have heard horror stories - so I'm very pleased that he is able to soothe himself to sleep at night. Now, during the day, he gets fussy when he is sleepy - he doesn't want to sleep when everyone else is up - I think he has an understanding of day and night now - which is great!

Take a look at how much he has grown!! :) (We have a doctor's visit on Monday - I can't wait to see how much he weighs. I'm predicting around 9 pounds) By the way - the diaper he is wearing in this picture is the last newborn diaper that he wore - he has graduated to size 1 (oh - my baby is growing!) :)

Swaddling: here's a picture of Luke in his swaddle. Landis' boss gave us this "miracle blanket" with his initials monogrammed on the front. I put off swaddling for a while because he hated to have his arms tucked in and he would fight me when I tried to swaddle him. But, he was waking up several times during the night with that weird startle reflex. So...I pulled out the miracle blanket and tried the swaddle and he has slept much better. I rock him to relax him, then I swaddle him, and then I rock him for about 5 more minutes while swaddled and then lay him down. The result - this... (isn't he sweet??)

Yes, you see a bottle in the next picture - I am able to express tons of milk right now, which is great. I already have quite a bit of milk frozen. So - this weekend, Landis had a chance to feed him with a bottle. Luke takes a bottle great and it doesn't deter him from nursing. Landis was able to enjoy some bonding time with his little angel and mommy got a nice break from one feeding! :)

Next Friday night, I am going to attempt to leave Luke with daddy while I go to a jewelry party - this will be the first time he has watched him without me for more than an hour - should be interesting. I think he has already decided that he's going to ask his mom to stay here with him for extra support. :)

Great Grandparents!! The next two pictures are very special to us. The first one is my grandma Motsinger - so, it's Luke's great grandma. On Sunday, I hosted my dad's side of the family at my house for some homemade chili to celebrate my mammaw's birthday. We had a great time and Luke loved the extra attention. My dad held him for like 2 hours!! Luke has so many people around him that love him - he sure is blessed and doesn't even know it yet. :)

The second picture is Landis' 99 year old grandpa. So, it's Luke's great grandpa Byerly! What a blessing that papaw Byerly has lived to see his precoius great grandbaby. In Papaw Byerly's words, "He is sweeter than a pile of sugar."

That's all for now - I hear a little man waking up! :) I hope everyone has a terrific Thursday! Stay inside if possible - it's a yucky day!

Can I Freeze These Moments?

So sorry for the delay in posting - I'm very busy with my little man. He really doesn't sleep as much as I thought newborns do. He is on a very regular schedule - eat, waketime (which equals playtime with mommy), nap and then start all over. He eats every 3 hours - in between, he is usually awake for about 1 to 2 hours and then naps for about an hour. When he is awake, I feel like I should be with him doing something - we read, we have tummytime (which he loves so much that sometimes he falls asleep while practicing his "head lifts"), we sing, we dance, and he plays on his baby Einstein floor gym. Sounds like a lot for a 3 1/2 week old baby...if you could peek into my house without me knowing and watch us play, you would think I was a fruit loop - and, I sort of am - I'm crazy for my little man. Because he has such a regular schedule during the day and plays so hard, he does well at night. I feed him between 10:00 and 11:00, rock him for about 20 minutes, and then put him in his crib. He whines (not a full out cry - just whine) for about 5 to 10 minutes and then he falls asleep. That's right - he falls asleep, all by himself, on his own, IN HIS CRIB...we are very proud of him and, I have to say, very proud of mommy and daddy for not allowing him to sleep in our room. :) We are trying to start him off right... :) Once he goes down around 11:00 or 11:30, he sleeps until 4:30 or 5:00am...that's pretty good. Then, I feed him and lay him back down and he will sleep until between 7:00 and 8:00am. So...as you can see...he's a really good baby. We are very blessed!

Now...my bragging sounds like we are living in this perfect newborn world and that's not the case - he has days where nothing seems to satisfy him - he gets very angry when you try to put a hat on him - when he gets hungry, he lets me know in a VERY LOUD manner (he, he) - He definitely has a temper (I think he gets that from his dad). When he is awake, he hates to be laid down on his back - he wants to see everything that is going on around him - he is a busy body (he gets that from his mommy). I have quite a problem sitting still myself. :)

It is amazing to me how he is already developing his own little personality - I'm predicting an independent, head strong, driven, and probably outspoken young man. Landis and I could have our hands full. :)

I titled this blog, "Can I Freeze These Moments?" because for you all and for my journaling purposes, I want to share some of my favorite moments with him because I know he will be grown before I know it...so, here it goes..some moments I wish I could freeze...

1. the way he looks up at me at night when I'm rocking him - he just stares into my eyes like I'm the most wonderful person alive - there is nothing other look in this world like this one - I know other mommies can relate - a look of complete adoration :)

2. the way his face lights up when he hears music of any kind - nursery rhymes, lullabies, my terrible voice. :)

3. his precious angelic face when he is sleeping - he looks so peaceful and innocent - my favorite sleeptime is when we nap together and I let him sleep on my chest - so, so sweet...I know that one day he will no longer fit on my chest and I dread that day already.

4. his grunting sounds and squished up face that he gives me when I get him up from his nap to change his diaper so he can eat - he squishes his little legs up and grunts like an old man -so cute! :)

5. all the different sounds he makes while he sleeps - he grunts, he coos, he squeaks - I could watch him for hours

6. the cooing sounds he makes when I hold him facing me and talk with him - it is so obvious that he knows his mommy and loves to hear me talk - that's not like his daddy - his daddy is probably glad that I have someone else to talk to so I don't talk his ears off anymore :)

7. the way he feels in my arms - I just can't get enough of him - I love to cuddle with him and kiss his chubby cheeks and tell him I love him

I wish I could capture all of these moments on camera - I have tried to catch a few, but it is so difficult to truly capture all the special moments that I have with him. I am truly cherishing my time at home with him and dread the day I have to leave him to go to work. I have prayed for the Lord to help prepare me mentally for that day and I know that He will. Until then, I am enjoying every feeding time, coo, grunt, kiss, cuddle, and, yes, even every cry. I love being a mom and I make sure to tell Jesus thank you everyday. :)

I have included some pictures below...enjoy them...he sure is handsome - I have to say....:)

Newborn Pictures - Check Them Out

Obviously, I'm a busy new mom, so I don't have a lot of time to post right now. Quick summary....Luke and I are doing great and are enjoying our time together. He seems to change a little everyday. I promise to give more details on our progress and upload some new pictures as soon as I have a chance (he, he). :)

For now, I wanted to share the link to his newborn pictures - Rodney Slate with Autumn Song Photography (the same photographer who took my maternity pics) has posted some adorable pictures of Luke on his website. Please go check them out when you can. Go to www.autumnsongphotography.com and scroll down until you see Luke's pictures. You don't have to click on anything - you find the pictures directly from the homepage. As usual, Rodney did a great job. And, thank goodness - Luke cooperated well. Rodney did a super job of capturing Luke's many expressions - he is very expressive - while awake and asleep. And...if you didn't notice from my previous post - he looks just like his daddy. :)

Enjoy the pictures...