Watch Out Jasie!

These first 2 pictures were the warnings that change was coming :0) They were taken a week or two before Luke became an official crawler.

On November 17th I was doing some laundry while Luke was in the den playing. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that he was moving across the floor....

Gone are the days of just giving him a couple of toys to play with....he wants to see more! He also found the blinds which make such a great noise!

I was on the phone with Matt during this video...

So we stopped by the nursery the next Sun. (5 days after becoming mobile) & we asked if they needed to watch him to see if he was ready for the Crawlers room. We thought maybe he wasn't quite up to speed yet & might get to stay in the 'safe' room 1 more week, but they had already seen him jump crawling (you know- jumping his knees forward just a little bit at a time) for a couple of weeks. They knew he was ready. It was SO sad! They all came and told him goodbye. (I was SO sad we didn't get a picture of it!!!) They loved him :0)

He likes his new room. I don't even check on him between services anymore! Matt told me they know his name when he goes to drop him off, and they always say he was good. I'm just hoping he doesn't bite anybody :0)

Say Ahh

We felt Luke's first tooth on September 1st, & talked several times about how we should probably start brushing it. When we were reminded during our checkup at Special Kids, we took action. This happened to be right after we felt his 2nd tooth towards the end of September. He kind of likes his 'Mr. Toothbrush Friend', which he gets to see twice a day.

Bon Appetit

–interjection French. (I wish you) a hearty appetite. When Luke started rice cereal (at 4 months old), we got some big feeding bibs. They don't always keep his clothes clean, but they work hard trying. Right before Luke turned 6 months old we started *real* solids. I am making his food which is not at all as hard as I thought it would be. I usually make several foods 1 night every couple of weeks. The first yum yum he tried was sweet potatoes.

Funny story about this steamer insert...I purchased this one which goes with our pans at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. A couple of month's later I was putting away the crock pot (which Matt had gotten out) & noticed the steamer was in that cabinet. I wondered why Matt had moved it & then it HIT me....we already had one...the exact SAME one! I had been searching for that BB&B receipt for awhile because it had some curtains on it that needed to be returned. After Matt went through our *files* (bag of chaos), he found it! Even though we didn't have the box anymore, they took it back. Actually we gave them the original one (because obviously we have never steamed since I didn't know we had one). I still use the steamer for some foods, but now cook the potatoes in the oven.

The first couple of batches we STRAINED! This took quite awhile, but the Super Baby Food lady said that those fiber strings could be a choking hazard.

These are 2 Tbs. serving sizes.

Ready for the freezer.

Storage while in the freezer. I just take out a cube when it's time to eat and zap it in the microwave.

First time trying a solid. Avocados were yum yum #2. A high "good" fat food...perfect for Luke's needs! These just have to be cut open and then fork mashed.

These pictures don't reveal the fact that sweet potatoes and avocados are now among his favorite foods!

A note about what Luke's eating habits have taught me:

I have prayed MANY times, Lord please help Luke want to eat and to like his food! The Lord revealed to me that this is what He wants for me too, regarding His Word! "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." Luke 4:4 I had some other verses that came to mind, but right now I can't recall them.

I like how someone in our Sunday School class recently said that when you miss meals you tend to get grouchy, irritable, etc. It's the same way when we miss our time in God's word! We need to be reminded of His commands, love, & truth every day!

I often say that Luke is just so busy that he doesn't want to eat. He'd rather bang his hands, watch Jasie, or inspect the crumbs on his tray. So many times I have said Lord, I'm too busy!

I pray that you and I will feast ourselves upon His Word today!

A Day of Firsts

On one of the few days off Matt had between summer school and the new school year, we 'introduced' Luke to some new things.

* A Titans outfit- Mind you this was back in July. I told Matt it was too early to wear this, but he quickly reminded me it was during training camp :)
*His booster seat....at home- We tried it out at home to see how he'd like it. By the time we got to the restaurant, it was almost nap time so he just stayed in his car seat.

*Buster's Place- This was a first for me too. It is a bar which you may not want to frequent at night, but it's totally 'safe' during the day....unless you take a picture of the wrong person :) Now this is a no frills place. They don't have menus (since your options are only hamburgers and fries) and they bring you a cup of ice with your can of coke. Since I use a fork and knife for pretty much every meal, I had to ask the waitress if they happened to have any. Thankfully for me they did. Matt, on the other hand, was wondering if bringing his picture snapping, utensil crazy wife was such a good idea.

*His stroller without his car seat- Up until this point he wasn't big enough to ride this way.

*And his doorway bouncer- He loves it! The first video is from 07/29. The second one is from 09/22. Things to notice while you are watching: How proficient Luke has become at jumping & how I don't 'scream' the whole time in the 2nd video :)

Did I Miss a Spot?

A couple of days after Luke had his feeding tube out I called Mrs. Jackie (my lactation consultant). Luke was doing pretty well with his volume, but we didn't want to take any chances. Since he had hit the 4 month mark that makes spoon feeding safe, she gave it a try. He did really well! Of course he had a lot come out, just like any baby, but overall she was impressed. Since then, when he stops eating from the bottle, we get as much rice cereal in him as we can.

First Nursery Day

Last Sunday was Luke's first day in the nursery at church. He kind of had a look on his face that said where are you going, but he didn't cry (and neither did we- yay!). The ladies were all so nice and said that he did great!

When I went to check on him after Sunday School, they said he had just been moved from his car seat to the swing. What a precious boy!

This is Mrs. Jackie, our wonderful lactation consultant. How great it is that she also keeps our little boy at church!