The Beach Bum Among Grown-Up Disasters :)

So...there we are...the grown up disasters with the tiny beach bum...we had a blast on our beach trip...the week went by too fast...I will explain the grown up disaster segment in just a minute...let me first tell you about my little beach bum named Luke.

Luke's favorite parts of the beach trip....let me show you... :)

His baby pool...we put about 2 inches of water in this blow up pool and it entertained Luke for 30 minutes at a time...he only took one nose dive and one fall backwards...with 4 grown ups around at all times...he was saved fairly quickly (right, Mark????) :)

Luke enjoyed celebrating "Aunt Melissa's" 40th birthday...he was thinking, "Man, she's old." (he, he)

Luke LOVED our nightly bubble baths. Seriously...this may have been his favorite part...

There's old "Aunt Melissa" again - he sure does love her....they were both ready for a night on the town...6 month old style....

He loved riding to the beach and down the beach IN STYLE in the Radio Flyer...I mean...who doesn't love a radio flyer...we used this wagon often to carry our beach stuff along with little man to the beach. We also strolled Luke down the beach in the wagon several times...which usually resulted in an asleep baby....

There HE IS...the MAN of the house waiting on the grown ups to get ready....

Luke loved listening to the sound of the ocean and simply sitting in the shallow waves. Every time we took him near the water, this is what happened...

See...what I mean...he's sleeping again.... :) All of these sleeping pictures explains why he did NOT sleep at night.... :)

After a morning walk....ASLEEP AGAIN!!!! :)

Luke's favorite beach attire was the beach hat...thanks to the beach hat and the layers and layers of sunscreen, Luke did not get sunburned or even red...matter of fact, he had a tiny tan...you could see white spots in between his fat rolls....too cute.

Here's another one of his favorite people...Hannah...she and her friend Abbi helped with Luke whenever we needed them...the girls were very sweet to spend their beach trip with this little man...

Luke also loved the lazy river that was at our condo. One afternoon, Luke and I went around the lazy river for over an hour by ourselves and then another afternoon "Daddy" joined us for a few rounds. :) When Luke saw other kids in the pool, he grinned from ear to ear. He loves watching other children play.

Luke also loved staying up late with the grown-ups. His schedule was extremely out of whack and to be honest, I didn't care because we were all enjoying him so much. There were several nights that all four of us found ourselves huddled around Luke on the king size bed talking and playing with him until he went to sleep. So much for late nights playing cards and acting like grown ups...we opted to spend time with the 17 pound bundle of joy. By the way, this little bundle of joy slept in mommy and daddy's big bed all week, so it has taken a few nights to get him reacquainted with his crib...he is sleeping like an angel in his own bed right now...thank goodness. :)

So...as you can see...Luke enjoyed himself for the majority of the trip...he was such a good boy....he makes everyone want to eat him up.

Now...on to the grown up disasters...(if you are still reading)...with or without little man, our gang seems to have drama no matter what...

On Sunday, Landis broke the side rail off of Luke's precious little wagon...here's how the event occurred...

Picture this in your head...

Wagon loaded down with stuff...Luke in my arms...Landis and Melissa getting ready to attempt to carry the FULL wagon up about 10 steps...Landis is leading the way, Melissa has the back end of the wagon...Natasha is still watching...

Melissa: "Landis, are you sure you can get up the steps?"

Landis: "Yes, I've got it."

Landis seems to struggle up the first step...

Melissa: "Landis, are YOU SURE you can get up the steps?"

Landis: "Yes, Melissa, I've got it."

Natasha and Luke watching, watching, watching......Landis get to the third step, fall backwards, drop the wagon and the stuff and rip the rail off...Melissa jumps out of the way...all of us...laughing....a stranger comes to help us....we find a different way to take the wagon on FLAT GROUND for the rest of the trip.

The next day....the canopy disaster sounds/looks like this...

Under the very nice canopy are Natasha, Luke, Landis, and Melissa....wind starts blowing...starts blowing harder....

Melissa: "Look - they just lowered their tent. Should we do that?"

Landis: "No, we will be fine."

Natasha (answers a phone call - comes back - standing up talking to Melissa and Landis)

Melissa: "Wow, that wind is really blowing."

CANOPY-tumbling, tumbling, tumbling down the beach - Natasha and Landis chasing the canopy, Melissa and Luke watching - 4 strangers help us - canopy destroyed - next day, Wal-Mart visit - buy a new one. The rest of the trip...the tent was lowered when the wind picked up.

The next day....I don't know how it happened because I had Luke in the lazy river, but, somehow Mark sliced his heel open while moving a patio table.

The next day...Abbi (Hannah's friend) stepped on a tack and cut her foot. No stitches...just a lot of band-aids. :)

Even with a few "disasters"-what fun times!!! I can't wait until next year!!! Thanks, gang, for an awesome time!!!

Autumn Song Photography - Luke's 6 Month Pics

I promise to post our beach pics soon...but, first, you must check out Rodney Slate's wonderful work once again. Rodney took Luke's 6 month pics about two weeks ago...while we were on vacation, he posted the pics on his website...I just about missed them...please check them out...

Go to www.autumnsongphotography.com and from the home page, scroll down until you see "NC Children's Photography - Luke". Rodney has posted some cutie putootie pics of Luke. These are just a small taste of the great work he did with Luke...I know I have said this before, but I'm going to say it again...if you are looking for a fun, family oriented, unique, and to top it all off, Christian photographer...call Rodney and Karen at Autumn Song...they do great work!!

Luke, Landis, and I sure do love them! Thanks guys for the great photos and fun session! :)

Toddy

Let's Roll Over...

Wow! I know...I actually posted in my one week goal...don't get used to it...(he, he)

Luke's newest favorite accomplishment is rolling over from front to back and back to front. He can roll over any time he wants...day or night...

This week, he decided to practice his rolling and attempting to crawl in the middle of the night...even through my exhausted vision, I couldn't help but stay awake and watch...on Monday morning, I awoke to some grunting sounds around 4:15am coming from the video monitor beside my head...I looked over and saw EYEBALLS staring back at me. Luke was flipped over on his belly, reaching for his paci, and staring at the monitor (which, to him, is this curious looking red light, to me, it looks like he is staring right at me in my bedroom). Because he wasn't upset, I didn't go get him, I just watched. Luke is able to fall asleep in his crib, he usually wakes up in the AM playing (not crying)...the only time he cries is when he is hungry. I knew that being hungry was a possibility, but since he was calm, I let him play. I sat on the edge of my bed and watched the monitor...Luke was so sweet. He rolled over and back over and then over again. He did everything he could to get his paci - which was too far for him to grab. He layed on his belly and reached and reached and tried to scoot. He never cried, fussed...just a little grunting. About an hour later, he finally, turned his head sideways (still on his belly without the paci), layed his head down on his hands and went to sleep. He slept until 7:00am. I was amazed and very proud of him. Not only is he able to make it through the night without a middle of the night feeding anymore, but he is able to self soothe himself in his crib even without the paci. This tells me that he is comfortable in his crib. I guess putting a baby in his crib on the third night he is born does pay off in the long run.

Luke is very energetic these days...rolling is not his only activity...he loves to sit up and play with his different sized rings and his blocks. And, he loves to practice pulling up using the hanging down toys on his floor gym. When I am carrying him or holding him, anything within reach is fair game for him...I can no longer hold him and drink coffee...because if he sees anything, he will attempt to make it his. Speaking of liking to grab things that is his...he has become fascinated in the little man part that lives in his diaper (he, he).... :)....as soon as the diaper comes off, guess where the hand goes??? That's right mommies of little men...you got it!! His daddy thinks it's hilarious..I, on the other hand, don't know what to think yet...

On Saturday, we are taking Luke on his first beach trip...we are staying for a week, so I will not post next week. I will try to post pictures and video as soon as I can after we return. I have included several new pictures below (some of them needed an explanation)

AND...don't miss the video (at the bottom) of Luke rolling over...

Enjoy the pics...


Loves books already....you would think his mom was an educator (he, he)...:)

Spending some time with Granny Otelia on the Fourth of July...

No...he isn't using a cup yet...he doesn't know how to turn it up to drink out of it...I tried giving him some milk in a cup because he is refusing to drink from a bottle now that I am out of work and can nurse him at every feeding...this could be a problem in August...I'm going to have to do something...any suggestions?

No...he doesn't normally sleep surrounded by this many suffocation hazards...this is a picture I took after I layed down with him for a nap one day...I snuck out of the bed and got the camera before he woke up...he sure is cute, isn't he???

Luke says, "Look at me! I rolled over!"

Daddy says, "Are you trying to find the golf channel?"

Oh my goodness...is that mommy? How did she finally get in a picture??

These rings are Luke's favorite toys...

To keep Luke warm at night, I put him in sleep sack...here he is in his sleep sack...

THE FLOOR GYM!! YAY!!

Let's Roll Over.... :)

Half a Year!!! :)

I can't believe it...my baby boy is a half a year old...he turned 6 months on the 21st of June. Wow...how time flies when you are having fun...and, fun, we are having...lots of it.

Luke is more fun everyday...he now laughs easily, rolls from front to back and back to front and is starting to lift his chest and straighten his arms when he is lying on his stomach. He loves to stand at the edge of the couch and hold on (with me holding on to him, of course). He is such a good boy...he just plays and plays and plays...with me and Landis and independently also.

At his 6 month check up, he weighed 15 pounds, 12 ounces and was 25 inches long. The doctor said he was well proportioned...he's not a big fellow, but he's happy and healthy and that is all that matters. The doctor told us that we "had a good one" and reminded us to "enjoy him". No worries there - we enjoy every second.

I have posted tons of pictures...with me being out of work, I take pictures, pictures, and more pictures....maybe I can post some video of him rolling on my next post.

Before getting to the pictures...I have to recognize two big celebrations...

Happy Retirement to Mamaw!!!! (That would be my mother-in-law, Carolyn.) Her last day of work was yesterday...she is retiring so that she can keep our precious Luke. We are excited and thankful that we have her to do this...no daycare for sweet baby Luke.

Happy Birthday Tiff!!! My best friend, who lives in Durham, turns 30 years old today!! I'm so glad that she finally caught up with me! :) Love you Tiff! Have a great birthday!

Now...on to the pictures..


I mean...did I have anything to do with this child? He looks just like his daddy...

But...he loves his mommy....