First Christmas Times Five

5 Christmas Celebrations
5 Cities
5 Outfits
30+ Presents
400 Pictures
Luke's First Christmas: Priceless

Luke's first Christmas was packed full of family, travel and lots of presents. We had 5 different Christmas celebrations over the span of 5 days in 5 cities. (Corpus, Alice, Kingsville, Austin and Georgetown)

Luke got so many gifts. Although, he did not quite understand the concept of unwrapping, he loved playing with the paper. If we opened a toy which played any type of music, he was mesmerized and uninterested in any other gifts. Needless to say, our house now looks like all the toys have taken over. Everywhere you go there is a toy. Luke loves it. I am trying to get over the constant clutter and mess.

Tonight was the first chance I had to download the pictures from my camera. I took more than 400 pictures. That is a lot of pictures to sort through. I included the greatest hits below.

I am sad Christmas is over, but I look forward to the future celebrations. It will be exciting to leave cookies for Santa and see Luke's face light up as he opens his gifts on his own. Until next year...

Standing By Myself

Luke is very mobile these days. You cannot take your eyes off him for a second. He is very fast at getting into all the things we want him to stay away from. If it is a cord, he wants to pull it. If it is plugged into the wall, he wants to unplug it. If it is a room with the door closed, he waits for you to open the door so he can make a mad dash toward it. He is very smart and patient I might add.

Lately, he has gone from army crawling to crawling on all fours. It is extremely hard to get a photo. Believe me, I tried. I am most proud of the fact he is pulling up and standing on his own. I always try to motivate him with items I know he loves. This time, it was my computer. As you can see, he tried and tried until he was standing on his own in order to reach the computer. The smile on his face shows how proud he was of his accomplishment.

Easily Entertained

Open Close Repeat...

I get asked a lot if I enjoy being a stay at home mom. The truth is I do. At times, I miss the adult interaction of the office. I miss putting on makeup and real clothes each day. To be honest, I really do not need to do that for Luke. He does not know the difference. He actually has a harder time recognizing me with my makeup on. I am sure he is saying, "who are you and where is my mommy?".

Then I think about all I would miss if I were not at home with him. He is learning so much these days. He crawls to a sitting position, moves toys from one hand to the other, bangs them together to make sounds, pulls up on the couch and is learning to give kisses and wave bye bye. These are all little things we take for granted, but for Luke they are all firsts. I love that I get to share that with him and take some credit for teaching him.

This morning was a first. He learned on his own that a door can open and close. His face was so amazed at this small task. I had to catch it on camera. I sat there for 30 minutes as he opened and closed the door over and over again. Smiling and laughing each time he did it on his own.

It is these little things that make me smile each day.

Fall Family Pictures

We recently took family pictures at Mayfield Park here in Austin. My friend Veronica was kind enough to take some time out of her Saturday to take the photos. Here are a few of my favorites.

My First Tooth

Luke has been "teething" for months now. At least that is what everyone would say when they saw his gummy smile. We have been waiting a long time for the first tooth to break through and it is finally here. It took 50 pictures to capture the ones below.

Also, today Luke is 8 months! Time flies when you are having this much fun. He continues to crawl all over the house and now pushes from a sitting position to a crawl and back to a sitting position. He is also loving his veggies and the new fruits we are introducing. Although it is messy, he grabs the spoon and places it in his mouth each time I hand it to him. He also favors his left hand while eating. Never using the right hand to feed himself.

Luke continues to love music. If he hears music on the television he will turn to watch and tap his foot along to the beat. He gets his rhythm from me. In the afternoon, we have music time. I carry him into his room and play the radio as I dance around with him. He laughs and laughs. It is my second most favorite time of the day. The first is when I go in to get him out of his crib in the morning. He always has a huge smile on his face and is ready to start the day!

First Halloween

What a cute little lion cub!

Luke's first Halloween did not last too long. We were home by 7 and it was not even dark yet. What can I say? My son likes his sleep. We were out in the culdesac for about an hour with the neighbors. Luke was in his costume and we pulled him around in the red wagon which has become his favorite form of transportation. We did not go trick or treating, but at least we got some really great pictures. Next year, it will be all about the candy.

Happy Halloween!













Roaring lion cub ready for bed.