Luke @ 11 mos

I am not ready for this...YOU are just a few weeks away from your first birthday, my precious boy! As much as I enjoy each new stage you enter and love seeing more & more of who you are, it is difficult for me to say goodbye to the sweet moments we have had with you as a baby! I can so clearly remember this time last year when you were still growing in my belly, right under Mommy's heart! You were so active even then and have been nothing less since you were born. We continue to watch you learn so much each day, it seems. God has created a special place for you in our family, and we are in love with YOU!

Here is a look into your life at 11 mos.:

*You are eating more and more table food. When you see us eating, you crawl right over in hopes of getting a bite or give us that stare at the table until we offer you some.
*You are quite verbal! Just today you started making the "n" sound, and you said "ca" when you saw our neighbor's cat.
*You love to wave along with a big smile and a sound that could be interpreted as "hey".
*Sometimes, you will imitate sounds -- yesterday you imitated "ma ma" for a neighbor and she swears you said "yeah" to a question I asked you.
*You are very social and aware. You continue to be the star in waiting rooms! :) Today, you played with a little friend in MOPS. I heard you two were climbing in & out of a tunnel and meeting in the middle just giggling at each other.
*You now purposefully drop toys and food for the simple entertainment of watching it fall.
*You are pulling up on anything that you can get a little grip on. You're fast, too!
*You love the book, Peek-a-Who, and smile all the way through it especially when you see yourself in the back. Some days you crawl with it in your hand, and will throw it in my lap.
*You smile at stuffed animals. It is so sweet!
*You love a ball especially when you can bounce it on the hardwood floors.
*You will play throw the ball back and forth with Mommy and Daddy.
*I watch you have a plan with your toys. You will take something from across the room to your crocodile ball popper on the other side of the room.
*I have watched you take a burp cloth and cover a small toy, and then uncover it. Pretty clever.
*Sometimes, you like to hold your toys high and out in front of you, so that we can see it, too.
*You can find the smallest crumb on the floor and will try to eat it. You cry the most pitiful cry ever if we take it out of your mouth. This cry is so different from your other cries. We feel like we have broken your heart!
*You are a wiggle worm, my friend! Dressing you is a job!
*You cry when Mommy leaves you now and start the death grip when we walk into the nursery. It isn't too bad, yet, but you know when Mommy is going to leave you.
*You pretty much go with the flow and have accepted our busy schedule. I am so thankful that you are like your brother in this way.
*You now want to be a part of Daddy and Jackson's wrestling matches. You don't hesitate to crawl right in the middle.
*You are determined and have an opinion about many things, but you rarely cry at anything Jackson does to you. You even smile when he head-butts you, gently, of course. I LOVE the smiles you always give him when he kisses you.
*You can climb one or two steps, and then you just stop.
*You are a great sleeper, 11 hours and 2-3 hours of naps.
*You hear "no" a lot and are constantly being distracted with something else! ;)

Your look when I tell you "No, No"

You love Big Brother's toys!

You found some things we bought to get ready for your special day!

Completely typical to see you with something you found in your mouth :)

You love playing with Jackson, and he giggles at the new things that YOU can now do like him & with him!

A Little Note for Mommy ~

This morning I opened a message that was just what I needed! Two years ago, I felt like this mom, and I'm so grateful other moms reached out to me. I am thankful that God can use a speech disorder and MY boy to connect us with other families & provide a sense of hope! Here is a little of what this mom said to me:

Hi Melissa,
I saw you post in the Apraxia group that you take your son to A****** (the clinic). I think we see you there! Meg has speech Tuesdays at 10:30. She loves seeing your little guy crawling around while we wait for her therapist! And I LOVE hearing your son talk when he comes out when he's done. It gives me a bit of an idea about where things are going for us. Both your boys are precious. I'll introduce myself next week.
Kate

Buddies in the Water

J and his friend had FUN in the pool together yesterday! K and L stayed in our lap. They don't like grass...they're made for each other! ;)

Luke's 1st Swing on the Playground

Jackson has been begging us to let "Luke swing" with us at the playground. We gave it a try this week!

Water Fun

Here is how Luke felt about standing in the grass playing with the water table.

Here is how he felt about being in my lap!

Growing Up Together!

These boys are sooo funny and cute together! As soon as J wakes up, he is ready to get L up or play with him if he is already awake. L simply adores his big brother and tries to climb all over him, play chase (crawl style), and laughs at about anything he does. J wants L included in everything! If he isn't in the car with me, he wants to know where he is. He asks for him to go with us to even doctor's appointments! Last night, we went to say our blessing before dinner. We always hold hands, but our L doesn't want us to hold his hand. He is too young to really understand why we are holding his hands in this way, so we just sorta touch his highchair. Well, this particular night, J really wanted L to be a part of our blessing, which we thought was incredibly sweet! We did our best to include him!

Jackson does a pretty good job of sharing and is only mildly aggressive with him :), meaning the most he will do is try to remove Luke's hand from something. This morning I saw him not really sharing like he should with Luke, but he didn't see me. Well, he did let him hold one toy man, but I still called him out on it. He quickly tried to move the toy closer to Luke to make it apprear like it was just going back and forth. Hmm, then he gave me a sweet smile, and I didn't return the smile. Finally, he came over and hugged me. Sneaky little guy! We still talked about sharing and being nice to our little brother! That's ok, L fully has payback when J has friends over. Yesterday, he interrupted a game of Hungry, Hungry Hippos and air hockey. He pushes his way through or throws toys into the game!

Good Morning, World!