Happy Birthday to Luke!

Our little Luke had his first birthday on Saturday! I cannot believe how quickly a year has passed. It seems like just yesterday, and forever ago, at the same time, that he was in the NICU and we were praying for him to come home. But here we are, one year later, and he’s as precious as can be. He no longer has to wear his helmet (as of Thursday)! Woo hoo! That is truly an answered prayer. His head looks good. He is walking all around and getting into trouble, as you can imagine. =) We now have gates inside our double sided fireplace b/c he thinks it is so funny to get in trouble when he tries to play with the rocks in there. We have to keep Sage’s water and bowls behind a closed door when he’s awake b/c playing with them is just so much fun! His little personality is just so cute! He’s making a lot more sounds now, but hasn’t got the whole talking thing down quite yet. He’s sleeping much longer at nighttime, going to bed at 7:30 and waking up after 7. At his one year check up, he was 50% in height and weight, and a little above average in head size (just like big brother!) So all in all, we have a wonderfully healthy, happy one year old!

His birthday was such a fun day! We woke him up singing, “Happy Birthday” and then went in Elijah’s room to wake him up. Then we asked Elijah what day today was and he said, “It’s Luke’s Birthday Party Day!!!” and proceeded to sing Happy Birthday to Luke! We had his party at 11 – just family and a couple close friends (who are practically family!) The theme was first birthday all-star (yes, we reused Elijah’s decorations!). But this time, we had concession style food – hot dogs, hamburgers, nachos in the little plastic trays, bags of popcorn, soft pretzels, sports cupcakes, and ice cream in little baseball cap ice cream cups. My friend, Holly, who owns and runs HollyDays made some stickers for the caps that all said Luke. Then the kids that came to the party had their own caps with their names on them. They were really cute! Outside we had a pool and slip n slide set up for the kiddos (however, after trying it on Sunday, myself, I have to admit, it’s fun for adults too!) Elijah decided to prematurely get in the water with all of his clothes on, and then proceeded to strip down after he was all wet… That’s our boy! =) Luke had a lot of fun, and a lot of help, opening his presents. He got some really great toys! Among them were some squeaky shoes that he got to sport for a while and sounded so cute as he walked… “squeak squeak, squeak squeak, squeak squeak,…” Too funny.

(The above picture is cousin Hayden Burns, future daughter-in-law Bella Grace Monroe, Elijah and Luke, cousins Taylor and Riley Swearengin, and Cameron, a friend of Luke’s Grammy)

Cake time was a blast as he dug into his baseball smash cake. He loved smashing it up, but didn’t really eat much of it. He smashed it outside, so it was incredibly convenient to clean him off in the baby pool (and you can see in the picture below, Elijah's just loving the slip n slide!) By that time, he was quite ready for his milk and nap. The party kept going for a little while after he left and we had a lot of fun. We got to take some pictures of him after he woke up. My sister, Kristi, made him a sweet little outfit , bib, and birthday hat, so if you’re ever needing something special, I’m sure she can help you out!

Luke, along with his big bro, is a precious little boy and we are so blessed to be his parents. We’ve grown a lot as a family this year and it hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but it is a blessing to have these sweet boys and this great family. We are so thankful for everything the Lord’s blessed us with and we just pray that our household can serve Him well.

And, of course, a couple Elijah stories to make you smile:

It’s naptime and Luke and I are in Elijah’s room tucking him into bed. Luke tries to climb in bed with Elijah and then…

Elijah: I think Luke wants to sleep with me today.

Mom: Well, when you and Luke are bigger, you can sleep together sometime.

Elijah: I think he’s big Mommy. I think he can sleep in my bed with me.

I just read a book that Luke received in the mail and I was showing Elijah that it was Luke’s book…

Mom: It says “Luke Burns”

Elijah: I think it says Me Burns… see? “Me Burns” (as he moves his finger under the words as if he’s reading it). It says “E-L-I-J-A-H.” See Momma?