Luke is 2 Months Old!

Above is Luke on the left and Elijah on the right, both at 2 mo old.

Luke is now 2 months old! At his check up, he was 11 ½ lbs and 23in long. He was 50% all across the board. He gained more than 4 lbs in 6 weeks, which is better than they expect, so yeah for Luke! He goes to bed around 9:30 and wakes up, on average, one time at night; then he is up by 6:30 or 7:30. He is starting to eat on a 4 hour schedule and getting into a routine of eating, playing, and then sleeping. He is lifting his head up like a strong boy, pushing all the way up on his forearms. He’s starting to coo and pay more attention to his toys and surroundings. He's been having the sweetest little conversations w/ his daddy. Where Luke doesn’t talk near as much as Elijah, he makes up for in loudness. =) However, he has a little tender cry at times that’s pretty sweet. He has had several playdates in the past few weeks. His girly friend, Karidyn, has come over. She's kind of sweet on Elijah, but we'll see what happens there. ;) His friend, Walker, has come over for several playdates. They're only about 4 weeks apart and his mom, Michelle, is just a few houses away, so they'll be good buddies.

We’ve had a lot of fun experiences these past few weeks. The boys went to the McWayne Center with Poppy, Aunt Kristi, Uncle TJ, and Taylor. Taylor and Elijah had a blast playing together and exploring all around the McWayne Center. It was great for kids their age. We also met up and tailgated in Tuscaloosa for the first home game. Elijah loved the atmosphere and is a big fan. He’ll just yell “Roll Tide” out of n where, and if you say “B-A-M-A” he will respond with “Bama All The Way!” Those two cheers woke me up the other morning. =) Stephen went to Colorado for 4 days and left me to tend to the boys on my own. It was a good few days with the boys – no real crazy moments – but I was so thankful to have my sweet husband back home. God made us a team for a good reason. =) While he was gone we went to the library for a 12-24mo old storytime class. It was superfun!!! 30 min of nonstop activities – songs, stories, dancing, and a snack. He was so cute clapping and yelling “yeah!!!” after most of the songs. It was very structured, so it was great for him to practice following directions from someone other than mom and dad. We’ll definitely be frequenting this class from now on. While Stephen was gone, Elijah painted a few “masterpieces” for his Daddy’s birthday. His rendition of Happy Birthday is hard to beat ~ “Happy – O to you!...” We also had our Sunday school play group at Pump it Up. Elijah had so much fun playing on all the bouncy toys and running around like a wild man.

Our days seem so short and so long at the same time. Stephen and I were talking about our “jobs” and how they’re trying at times and so rewarding as well. They’re both roller coasters. I made the comment that at least he gets to get off his roller coaster at night. He joked and said that he gets off his roller coaster and then hops on mine. =) And he reminded me that while my “lows” can be trying, my highs are way higher and more special than any high he could have at work. It’s so true. The little smiles and silly moments I get with our boys can erase the most recent meltdown in a heartbeat.

Luke's Room... Sick Boys... Funny Stories....

Here are pictures from Luke’s room. We decided to paint the room with an accent wall and do the whole blue and brown theme. It’s funny to see Elijah run into Luke’s room b/c he starts yelling all of the letters he sees on the wall. His Aunt Beth and Uncle Jay got him that sweet little vinyl wall art above his bed: “I see the moon and the moon sees me. God bless the moon and God bless me.” It took us several weeks to get it done, but it’s finally finished.
This past week has been a little crazy. The Lord so sweetly reminded me that, although Elijah has been acting like a big boy, he still is quite the little one himself. Last Wednesday morning he woke me up crying from 5:30 on. I try to make a point not to get him out of bed until after 7, but I got him up a little early & brought him downstairs. I was going to read him a story, but by the time we sat down, he was asleep in my arms! I can’t remember the last time that happened and it felt so sweet just holding him like that. We cuddled for almost an hour together on his daddy’s chair while he slept. It turns out that he had a cold, which Luke caught as well. It lasted a couple days with Elijah and several more with Luke…poor things. But we're basically all clear of the colds.
Life’s been a little adventure with Luke spending more time on the ground. If I turn my back for 2 sec, Elijah has his arms underneath him, attempting to pick him. I have made many a dashing sprint to get there just in time to support Luke’s head before Elijah’s got him airborne. Luke is doing a good job lifting up his head. He actually enjoys tummy time! He rolled over for the first time from his belly to back Tuesday!! I thought it was a fluke, so I put him back on his belly and he did it again and he's done it a couple time since then! So he was 6 wks and 4 days old. He also smiled for the first time Wednesday!!! It was so sweet!!! He’s sleeping anywhere from 3 to 5 hours a night, which is pretty good. It’s a lot easier handling getting up at night the second go around, since we understand that this truly is just a temporary thing. Hopefully a full night’s rest is just around the corner. He’s been a very even tempered baby, but he’s also still sleeping quite a bit. I hope that he stays nice and laid back even when he’s up more often… we’ll see!
Elijah’s been quite the character, as always. He’s got some new dance moves on him - he can shake his little booty so cutely! It’s on our to-do list to get it on video. He’s been watching the track and field world championship (or something) on tv with his daddy, so now we hear “Guys Run Fast!!!” all the time, meaning that he wants to watch the guys run fast on tv. We were driving in the car the other day and he saw a guy on the side of the road that looked like a runner and he yelled “Guys run fast!”
His time in time-out is increasing a bit, but he’s able to tell us what he has done wrong, which helps when I forget after the 5 min he’s been sitting there! Yesterday he was in time out and I asked him “what do you say?“ When I expected him to say “I’m sorry,“ he said “I pooted…scuse mees!!!“ Talk about trying to keep a straight face! He’s starting to talk more in complete sentences now - “I dropped my paci,” “Daddy eat cereal too?” “Oh no! Donald Duck fall down!“ My grandmother fell and is currently in the hospital with a fractured back and a small blood clot that they’re trying to dissipate, so please keep her in your prayers. Elijah wanted to say the blessing again at breakfast this morning, so I asked him who does he want to pray for and he said “Gram Gram.“ So we prayed for her and then for the next several hours, he would say out the blue, “Gram Gram fall down… feel better…“ He’s a bundle of fun and so amusing… There’s never a dull moment in our house.