Nine

My little Luke is 9 Months Old... I can't believe it! I would say he has made a HUGE transition over the last month.  He went from his quick, quick, quick army crawl to his GET THE HELL OUTTA MY WAY crawl! He is a constant mover! He wants to go, go go!  In addition to crawling like an ole' pro, he is also pulling himself up to a standing position.  This completely keeps Mommy, Daddy, and Mya on their toes! Mya is so nervous when he stands up on things that she runs out of the room! When we ask her why she left, she replies, "Because I don't want to see Lukey fall and get hurt."  Guess she doesn't have much faith in our supervision! He LOVES standing against the TV and turning the power on and off... drives me crazy!

He is still a GREAT eater! He's a bit of a chunky monkey! Let's just say he's very "solid."  ALL BOY! I think he may be our superstar linebacker.  He doesn't want much to do with baby food. He much prefers table food.  He will pretty much eat anything and everything we give him! He's still taking 4 bottles a day.  One before each sleep period and one when he wakes up.

That brings me to his sleep......... Ugh. Overall he is a great sleeper! He naps like a champ and really can function when being deprived of good sleep (kinda what happens when you have an older sibling that needs dropped off, picked up, gymnastics, swimming, etc.).  He takes his 9:30 am nap and his 2:00 pm nap.  He goes to bed between 6:30-7:00 pm.  Here's the stinker... he was getting up at 5:00ish. UGH! This about killed me.  Usually he would go back until 7ish.  But, not Mommy... I couldn't go back! We decided to let him cry it out and see what happened.  Great... he finally was trained to sleep until 6 am! BUT... then he was up. For Good.  YUCK.  It was like pick your poison.  The good news is that the last few days he has slept until 6:45-7:00.  YAY! Keep your fingers crossed that it maintains. 

Lukey got those 2 top, front teeth that I predicted.  They really did a number on my happy boy.  He was pretty miserable for about a week.  His poor little nose was so runny too! He pretty much had boogers on his face at all hours of the day.  Luckily they both came in the same week.

Here are the stats for this HAPPY, SMILEY, ADORABLE, LOVE BUG!

weight: 22 lbs. 4 oz (76%)
length: 30.25 in (96%)
head: 44.7 (35%)


Here are his 9 month pictures! Now, keep in mind this kid is constantly moving! The usual green chair pictures didn't go very well considering he wanted to take a giant leap head first off of it!

I'll sit for just one moment....

Gotta go!



Watch Mom, I'm gonna jump!



Poor Jasmine, she takes the grunt of Luke's aggression! (more on that later)

Buddies

Oh, I could just eat him up! LOVE!

Getting into trouble....

Teething... notice the boogies!

LOVING his dinner (Ignore the pink bib.. Real Men Wear Pink)

I think he likes them.  This party ended quickly when he rubbed his eyes.  We immediately headed to the bath!

VIP Day

Mya's preschool hosted a VIP day last Saturday. She was able to bring in a VIP to spend an hour in her classroom. Guess who she took? DADDY!!!

Hmmmm... see any type of resemblance?

Need an Idea?

Hey Moms-

Do you need an idea to keep your little ones busy? 

Mya LOVED this project and spent almost an hour working on it!

Materials:

Large piece of paper

Glue

Paint brush

Container with all kinds of "things"

Put lots of glue on the paper and let your little one "paint" it all over the paper.  I also had a cup of glue for her to dip her brush in.  I will warn you, some of the glue dried by the time she was ready to stick her items. But, the gluing was her favorite part so she spent most of her time gluing, gluing some more, and then regluing!

Have your little one decorate the paper with all of your odds and ends items! She made quite the collage by the end of this project!

Hookem' Horns- Texas or Bust

Last weekend I went to Austin, Texas ALL. BY. MYSELF! I was so excited to be able to visit my best friend, Sarah! She doesn't have kids so I knew this trip was going to be Fan-tastic! (nothing against kids I just wanted a relaxing trip!) When I arrived, Sarah asked what I wanted to do.  I responded something like, "I don't care. I just want to be Rachel...not Mommy or Momma!" I adore my kids but I must admit I really needed a break! Luke had been teething prior that week and Mya's whining got so bad that I had to create a behavior chart. 

Unfortunately, Texas had a nasty wintery weather forecast and of course, they received their once a year snowfall! Luckily that didn't stop us from having a great time! In fact, we had such a good time that we didn't take ANY pics! I realized it and took one picture at the airport before I left! May I add that it was sunny and 75 the afternoon I left?  Figures.

Our weekend was filled with clothes shopping, antique shopping (check out Sarah's awesome antique booth on her blog Barn Chic Antiques), drinking, eating, massages, and even a little Salsa dancing (well maybe we just watched it but I'm sure I shook my hips just a little)!

Thank you, Sarah, for showing me this Mommy can still have fun! I needed the time away and can't WAIT to go back to visit!

Sportin' his new UT shirt! HOOKEM' HORNS!

Future UT fans? 

Baby Got Back....

Backed up that is! I am SO behind in my posts! So, these are going to be short and sweet! Lots of pics and little talk!

Ice Skating

Matt has been waiting for this day! He finally bought Mya (and himself) iceskates! Our good friends' (and neighbors) dad just bought a house on Lake Zurich (SCORE!). So, Matt and Ben took the kids iceskating.   

Auntie's House


I know this seems like a strange picture, but it totally captures how the kids were all week.  Completely engaged in playing with eachother!! It was awesome!



Reading books and cuddle time before bed!

 Playing with Aiden

These 2 can't get enough of eachother! Seriously... they beg their Mommas everyday to play together!

 Mya and Luke


Oh boy.... 2 peas in a pod

 1st Day of Preschool at LZHS 

Mya started a 2nd preschool. Lake Zurich High School offers a wonderful preschool program. There are more high school girls than kiddos, so each kid has at least one-on-one attention. So, Mya now goes to Messiah on Tuesdays and Thursdays (9-11) and LZHS on Wednesdays and Fridays (9-11).  I wouldn't have put her in 4 days a week if she didn't LOVE school! I must admit, I LOVE her being at school! ;-)

 BEING SILLY

My WHOLE family went shopping....at a MALL... to find Daddy some pimpdaddy clothes for our upcoming nights out and vacations! Are we crazy? Here's Mya modeling his new outfit and trying on Mommy's new shoes!

My Peanuts

I'm going away this weekend.... ALL. BY. MYSELF!  I am so excited to have a much needed weekend away from all of this chaos! I get to visit my bff in Austin. It's funny though... as much as I am looking forward to the time away, I can't help but get a little lump in my throat thinking about leaving these little peanuts!  I know Daddy will do just fine without me! (Luckily Grandma is coming to his rescue! ;-))

Now... everyone PRAY that the snow stops so I don't get stranded at Midway!

L-O-V-E

I decided to take a whirl at making my own banner.  I bought a cool Christmas banner at one of my favorite shops, Tattered Tiques, for a whopping $28! I knew it was WAY too much to spend on a banner, but I really bought it so I could have one to replicate.  After seeing another cool LOVE banner while shopping in St. Louis, I decided this was a great time to try my own.  I love the way it turned out! It was a bit time consuming but I think now that I have patterns and know what I'm doing, it will go much more quickly next time.  I need to find some cool glittery letters. I'm kicking myself for not buying leftover clearance letters after Christmas.  I printed these letters, traced, and cut out of glitter cardstock. They work, but they aren't perfect.  Anyone know where I can get glitter letters?  



I L-O-V-E the way it turned out!
Anyone interested in a banner? I'll even beat my competitors price of $28! Birthday Banner? Your favorite holiday?



Picking out the paper was a lot of fun!  I could get more creative too!

I also made this cute little LOVE sign.

Crazy 8

I'm a little behind on my posting but here is Luke's 8 Month update!

He no longer sits and smiles that's for sure! He's totally on the move! I can't leave him for a second without finding him all the way across the room! He mostly does his quick quick quick army crawl but occasionally raises up to do the "normal" baby crawl.  He does love to sit and play with his toys but often finds one of his Sissy's toys that he finds much more interesting! 

Luke is down to 2 regular naps.  His morning nap is usually from 9:30-11:00 and then again from 2-3:30ish.  He continues to be an early to bed (6:30ish) and early to rise (6:00ish) kind of guy.  However, after a quick diaper change and drink he's back to dreamville until about 7:30. 

He LOVES his food! Honestly, there hasn't been a single food I've given him that he doesn't enjoy! He gets oatmeal cereal at almost every meal accompanied with a fruit/vegetable and some teeny tiny pieces of table food. 

Luke still just has his 2 bottom teeth, but I think he's working on some more! Lots of drool, runny nose, and chewing on anything he can find! Fun times ahead....  

Thrifting = LOVE

I have really been into thrifting lately.  There is nothing better than finding a "steal"!  A couple of weekends ago I set out to find some real steals at a nearby auction. I was ready to buy, buy, buy! Unfortunately, it turned out to be a total letdown! I had remembered seeing an Estate Sale sign prior in the week and thought I'd give it a try.  It was late Sunday morning which meant one of two things.... 1.) All the good stuff was gone. 2.) All items are usually 1/2 off on Sundays and I could possible find something great!

As I pulled up to the house, I thought this could just be ok afterall.... It wasn't a huge house but I've learned some of the best treasures are in the understated homes.  I went inside and literally saw my beauty first thing! The worker gave her schpeel (sp?) about everything being 1/2 off. I glanced at the price tag and noticed it said $40. I looked at her in shock and said, "So this little hutch is $20?"  "Yep."  OMG... I was speechless and in love! I don't know what it is about her but she just speaks to me! ;-) At first, I planned on repainting her white and give her a vintagey look.  But then reality set in.... when on EARTH do I have time to refinish a piece of furniture??? After getting her into my living room I decided I actually love her just the way she is! So, for now she remains in her original state. Who knows, maybe someday she'll get a facelift!

I also found this GREAT bookshelf in the home's SCARY basement. There was literally a sign that said,"If you are a brave sole, shop at your own risk."  YIKES! I headed down there and found this great bookshelf! It needed a good bath but turned out to be fantastic. I think the guy working in the basement had a little crush on me... When I asked how much he told me HE would charge me $4 but the ladies upstairs would charge me a lot more! Yes, you read correctly....$4!!!  It is perfect for the new playroom! It is the exact same green that I have been accenting with.  The bottom stores toys perfectly while books can on the top shelf!

I call that a SUCCESSFUL thrifting trip!