August and September 2011

We have been so busy during the months of August and September. We have had lots of fun, experienced some firsts (mostly for Luke), and had some rough times as well. During September, Katie almost got her front tooth knocked out on the playground at school. Luke got an infected eye. He has had a clogged tear duct that got infected and very gross looking. And, Aaron got really sick one weekend. I think we have had enough injuries and illness for a while! So, let's focus on the fun stuff we did during August and September...

Here are some pictures from August.

Katie and Luke (and Mommy) had their first day of school. Luke had his first EVER day of school.

He also had his first ever bath in the ducky tub. He LOVES taking a bath like a big boy!

Another thing Luke did for the first time in August was to sit in a high chair (at home and in restaurants). He really loves to be able to sit up and be a part of meal times.

Katie had her first Wednesday night choir. She loves to sing and dance on Wednesday nights! In a few weeks, she will even get to sing in front of the church on a Sunday!

Katie and Luke really started to play together more in August. Luke adores everything Katie does, and there are many times when she is the only person who can get Luke to laugh and smile.

We also had a fun time celebrating Aaron's birthday at Fuddruckers. We celebrated with family, balloon hats, burgers, and birthday cake.

In September, we stayed busy. Luke turned 6 months old (I still can't believe he is halfway to ONE year old)! We went to the doctor for his 6 month check up.

Katie and Luke had fun reading with each other. Katie did most of the reading, and Luke really enjoyed listening to Katie's stories.

Aaron and I got to go to a UGA football game! It was so much fun, just like the old days! Unfortunately, my enjoyment was hampered just a little bit by a grammatical error on the huge banner sign that goes around the stadium...

Luke had a lot of fun learning some driving skills from Daddy, and took some naps in some odd places (in his high chair at Willy's). Speaking of Luke sleeping, we still put him down to sleep on his back every time. He always turns right over onto his belly. Even though "they" say babies should sleep on their backs, Luke is SO cute when he is sleeping on his belly!

Katie and Luke have both enjoyed dressing in their GA colors to watch football. Katie loves to call out the Dawgs.

At the end of September, Katie and Luke both participated in the Culture Parade at school. Each class dresses up as a different country. Luke's class was from Turkey, and Katie's class was from the USA!

Here is a picture Katie drew on her Magna-doodle the other day. She was laughing so hard. When I looked at it, she told me why she was laughing - "Luke is jumping on your head, Mommy!" Can you see it? (Katie is on the left, Mommy on the right ... the thing coming out of my head is Luke, of course!)

Luke is 6 months old!

Luke celebrated his half birthday on September 8th (yesterday)! We can't believe he is already 6 months old.

Luke has certainly had a very busy month. This month he went to school for the first time. All of the teachers at his school seem to love him. More than once a week an adult at his school stops me to tell me how happy and sweet Luke is. I'm so glad to know he's the same happy boy at school that he is when he is at home.

Along with his first time going to school, Luke experienced his first cold this month. He had a nasty cough for a couple weeks, but it didn't seem to slow him down much.

There were a few milestones that Luke achieved this month. He sat up for the first time in his bathtub on August 22nd. We had no idea he could sit up. Every time we tried before that day, he would topple right over. The next day (Daddy's birthday) we tried to let him sit up in his play area and he stayed sitting up, unassisted, for a LONG time.

Now that Luke can sit up, he is able to play with so many of his toys. He still enjoys his jumparoo, but he has really enjoyed playing with his drum, football, soccer ball, basketball (pretty much any ball, really), teething toys and so much more. He can lean way over, grab a toy, and sit back up without falling over!

Luke also got his first (and half of his second) tooth!!! We felt the first tooth on August 26th, and just a few days later, the 2nd tooth was also popping through his gums. (Katie thinks that he is a big boy and will be able to talk now that he has some teeth.)

Luke tasted some rice cereal and a few types of foods this month. We haven't really started him on solids, officially, but we have introduced him to the taste of a few foods. He has tasted rice cereal, sweet potatoes, green peas, carrots, and pears (in that order). Now that he is 6 months old, we will give him more opportunities to eat different solids on a more regular basis.

Luke got his first haircut this month! He was born with a full head of hair and it has only gotten longer and fuller. We thought that his baby hair would fall out, but that just really hasn't happened, so in an attempt to control the crazy fluff hair, we decided to get some of it cut off. I can't believe he was only 5 months old when he had his first haircut!

We had Luke's 6 month visit to the doctor today. He weighed in at 20 pounds, 5 ounces (90th percentile). He was 27 inches long (72nd percentile) and his head circumference was 17.5 inches (70th percentile). They asked if he was sitting, making babbling sounds, laughing, indicating whether he likes something or not, and rolling both ways. We were able to say yes to all of the milestone questions. The doctor said that he looked healthy, strong, and happy and seemed to be doing great. He had some shots, and cried for just a second and then went back to his normal happy self.

We are so proud of our sweet, happy, strong 6 month old!

Happy Half Birthday, Luke!

Luke is 6 months old today!

An update is coming soon!

First Day of School!

Summer is officially over for us. :(

We all went back to school on August 8th (Luke's 5 month birthday). Katie is in the 3 year old class now! (When did she get so big!?!) Luke started in the infant room. We are so lucky that Luke did not have to go to daycare at all until he was 5 months old (thanks Grammy and Grampa!!!)! Both kids went into their new class on their first day of school like they were pros. No tears (except a few from Mommy) and everyone had a great first day.

The hardest adjustment for us all has been the early morning wake up times ... Mommy has to get up at 5:00am. Luke gets up at 5:45, and Katie gets up at 6:00. We have to be out of the house by 6:15 to make it to school by 6:30. Big kid school starts at 7:15. Why, oh why does school have to start SO early in the morning?!?

Here are some pictures of Katie and Luke on the morning of their first day of school:

We are going to have a great year!

Luke is 5 months old!

Luke turned 5 months old on August 8th! August 8th was also his first day of school. It was a big day for him!

During this month, Luke experienced his first Tugaloo. He really enjoyed spending time with the family ... especially his older cousins who he loved to watch run and play. He experienced his first trip to the Tennessee Aquarium and saw so many fish (many of which were much larger than him)! He spent many hours in a bouncy seat in the shade by the pool (with a big fan blowing on him) while Katie and Mommy went swimming, and he seemed to really enjoy lounging by the pool!

We are so surprised at how easy-going Luke is. He doesn't mind sitting in his stroller or car seat and just watching what is going on around him. This is a big change from his big sister who wanted to be held ALL the time when she was his age! I guess he does have a lot more entertainment than she had, though!

On July 19th, Luke finally rolled from his tummy to his back. We were so lucky to get his first time rolling over on video! The next day (in his bouncy seat!) he rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time. He is really good at rolling back-t0-tummy, but doesn't really enjoy rolling from his tummy to his back as much. Usually, he will roll from his back to his tummy and get stuck there.

One thing Luke has really enjoyed this month is sitting in his bumbo seat. He likes to sit up so that he can see what is going on. Along those same lines, he has really not enjoyed his swing as much. He has started to try to sit up, and can balance in tripod position for a second before he tumbles over.

Luke has continued to learn how to use his voice in the past month. He likes to talk a lot when he's in the car. He talks at the same time as Katie, and they both try to be louder than the other!

Katie is still the best at getting Luke to settle down if he is sad. All she has to do is sing her "Don't cry, baby" song and he quiets right down! He really loves his big sister the most!

The jumparoo is still Luke's favorite toy, but he is also really enjoying tummy time more and more now that he can move around a lot more. He likes to scoot on his belly and moves around in circles trying to get to his toys.

Luke still has NO teeth. Which is surprising, because we have really felt that he has been working on them for more than TWO MONTHS now! He chews on everything, slobbers everywhere, and tries to stuff everything that he can in his mouth. But ... NO teeth. Maybe by his 6 month update?

Tennessee Aquarium

On Saturday we took a day trip to Chattanooga. We had fun at the Tennessee Aquarium along with about 6 kabillion other people who had the same brilliant idea!

We'll call these next pictures "The many faces of Katie."

Katie was so excited to hold a butterfly.

She said Grammy would love this!

Remember this shark picture from Katie's first visit to the aquarium?

Here is the new, updated version!

And Luke's shark picture.