Luke: 1 Year

Height: 31 in. (87%)

Weight: 19.2 lbs. (16%)

Head Circ: 18.8 in. (88%)

At 1 year, Luke has 8 teeth (with a couple canines and at least one molar coming in). He wears size 3 diapers and 12 month clothing. His first word was "bye". One morning before Kory left for work, Luke just walked up to him and said "bye" while waving to him. 

He also regularly says: Mama, Daddy, Bye, and Hi. "Daddy" is by far the clearest word he says and it's pretty cute to see his face light up when Daddy walks in the door. He babbles a lot and it feels like he's picking up new words almost every day.

I remember describing Peter as a great napper and a crummy night time sleeper and I'd say the same is true for Luke right now. He got a cold recently and now has molars coming in so he's up 2-5 times most nights. I can nurse him back to sleep quickly, which I'm thankful for, but I need to bite the bullet soon and night wean him again. I'm not quite ready to wean completely, but I'd be happy with just nursing him in the morning and right before bedtime.

An "average" day looks something like this:

• 8:00 a.m. wake up and nurse/eat breakfast
• Play with Peter & Mommy
• 11:00-1:00 nurse and nap
• Eat lunch/nurse, run errands or play while Mommy works around the house
• 4:00-6:00 nurse and nap
• Dinner, play until bath time 
• 8:00-8:30 nurse and then go to bed 

Luke is a really good eater. His favorite things are bananas, Cheerios, raisins, and Veggie Straws. He loves to eat anything from a pouch and will eat as much meat as we will give him. So far, he hasn't really liked tomatoes or avocados, but has eaten everything else he's tried. He doesn't want to be spoon fed at all now and prefers to do it all himself. 

Luke started walking shortly after he turned 11 months. I LOVE this toddling stage where they look a bit drunk while they stumble around into everything. He still crawls occasionally but much prefers walking now. As I hoped, he's become much more independent since he started walking. He was in a stage where he'd hold onto my legs and fuss for me to hold him and it was not my favorite. Now that he can walk on his own, he spends a good portion of his day chasing Peter from room to room. 

As you can see, he LOVED his birthday cake. He started smashing his pacifier into the icing and then sucking the icing off. It was a slow, but effective (and funny) way to eat it. He has his typical baby/toddler moments, but he really is a happy guy most of the time. He often fights being buckled into his car seat or having his diaper changed, but he's getting better at both situations, thankfully.  

I honestly think going from 0-1 kid was harder for me than going from 1-2 kids, but 1-2 was more exhausting. I often longed for the days of napping when the baby napped and not having anyone else to depend on me. I think I've finally reached the point where 2 kids is easier than 1 most of the time, though. Peter LOVES to share food with Luke or get him a toy/pacifier/drink or tickle him to cheer him up. In fact, if Luke is crying in the bedroom, Peter often yells to me, "I'll check on Lukey...don't check on him too! You stay here. I got him!"  

It feels like such an accomplishment to reach 1 year! The baby stage is HARD for me. It's fun and sweet and I love so many parts of it, but it's also just stinking hard. I feel such a relief that Luke is able to do more on his own (walking, playing with Peter, feeding himself) and I can have a small bit of my freedom back. It's truly a joy to watch Luke's personality develop more every day. It feels silly to think back to the time when I was so nervous to add another kid to our family. Luke Rainier, we are SO happy you're ours! Happy 1st Birthday!!

Peter: 3 Years

Height: 38.3 in. (67%)

Weight: 30.5 lbs (35%)

Nicknames: P, Tatoes, Pasqualie, Pedro, Diaper Boy, Peter Boy

Typical Sleep Schedule: 8:30 p.m. - 8:30 a.m.

Clothing: 3T (though most of his pants fall off his skinny booty)

Potty Training: A work in progress. After wearing pull-ups and going in the potty for months, he's now asked to go back to diapers. 

He's super obsessed with trucks/tractors/machines right now. He LOVES when we drive by construction equipment, especially on Stewart Parkway. His favorite toy is usually whatever Luke has in his hands. He's started wiping my kisses off and wants to do everything on his own "betause I am a big boy."

What is your favorite animal? I like rhinos and hippos
What is your favorite movie? King Lion and Moana
What is your favorite TV show? Bob the Builder 
What is your favorite food? Toast 
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Dig in the flower bed with my trucks
What is your favorite snack? I like candy

What is your favorite drink? Orange Juice no water (I usually dilute it and he doesn't want that)
What is your favorite color? Black (He looked around and saw a black desk and said black)
What is your favorite song? The Truck Song (I randomly made it up one night for bedtime)
Who is your best friend? Zuna
What is your favorite game? Dressing up costumes
What is your favorite toy? My Trucks
What is your favorite book? Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site 

What is your favorite outfit? My soffee pants (soft pants like sweat pants) and my dinos shirt and socks and my tennis man shoes
What do you want to be when you grow up? I was going to be a front end loader and Lukie was going to drive the dump trucks.
Where is your favorite place to go? To the park
What did you get for your birthday? A lot of things. Some toys.
What did we do for your bithday? We have a party wif candles and chocolate home cake.
What do you love about Luke? Kissing him
What's your favorite thing to do with Mommy? Go to the Fafari (Wildlife Safari)
What's your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Play chase

I LOVED having a 2 year old. It was such a fun stage, although having a newborn at the same time means I don't remember all of it too well. I loved the innocence of 2, but am really loving the personality of 3. He's playing make believe with his toys and using his imagination more and more.

When he drives his trucks, it sounds like this: "He says, 'Here comes the dump truck.' He says, 'Paw Patrol to the rescue,' He says 'Where did my front end loader go?' He says 'Rubble on the double.'" I don't know why he says it like that, but it's hilarious to listen to.

My favorite part of this stage is watching him play with and take care of Luke. While he does have his typical toddler moments, he's usually quite sweet to Luke and loves to make him giggle. I often walk into a room (because I hear Luke crying) and see Peter patting him on the back and saying, "Is ok Lukie. I'm right here. Are you ok? I sorry you got hurt." Now, it's totally possible Peter was the one to hurt him, but I'm happy to see compassion, whatever the context. I can't wait to see how their relationship continues to grow and develop through the next year.

Happy Birthday, Peter Everest! You're the best 3 year old we know.

Luke: 11 Months

Height: 30 in.

Weight: 18 lbs.

This month's pictures are not very good quality...but I was already a couple weeks late taking them, we were running late to get somewhere, Luke is always moving and Peter wanted to be in every picture...so this is the best I could do. Such is real life. 

At 11 months, Luke wears a size 3 diaper, has 8 teeth, and fits in 12 month clothing, though all his pants fall off him because he's soo stinking skinny, like his big brother. I had Peter in cloth diapers at this age and I realize now that the pants fit him better because of the bulky diapers.  

Luke took his second airplane trip this month when we went to Texas for Kory's brother's wedding. Despite starting our day at 3:45 a.m., he didn't nap at all on the flights there. He did really well, though, and finally slept on the car ride from the airport to the hotel. I was able to get him to sleep on the flights home by walking/bouncing him in the Ergo. 

He was sleeping 10-12 hours (uninterrupted) before this trip, but that definitely changed. He's back to waking up at least 2-3 times per night now. I don't want to go to the trouble of sleep training again, because Kory's parents are going to be here soon and his sleep will be messed with again. (The guest bed is in Luke's room so he'll be in a pack and play in our room while they're here.)

Luke finally started drinking water from a cup this month! This gives me hope that he can just skip the bottle and start drinking cow's milk from a cup after he turns a year old.

His favorite foods are bananas, Cheerios, Veggie Straws, and anything in a pouch (applesauce, pureed fruits and veggies). He's not nursing as much in the day but it's probably because he's filling up by nursing all night long. I'm so tired and ready to sleep all night, but he's so cuddly at night that it's almost worth waking up so much.

If Peter is taking a nap in his crib and Luke is awake, Luke will go crawling into Peter's room (his door won't latch shut) and wake him up. It's happened several times now and while I think it's cute that he's going to find his brother, I don't love that Peter won't go back to sleep once he's woken up. They've been napping at the same time for a while, but right now, it seems that Luke wakes up just as it's time for Peter to go down for his nap. 

Luke is definitely in "destruction mode" these days. He LOVES to empty a drawer or cabinet or laundry basket. Thankfully, his big brother is really good at cleaning up and doesn't complain (yet) when he has to put everything back that Luke took out. I don't dress them alike on purpose very often, but when Peter sees what Luke is wearing, he often asks to wear his own orange shirt or whatever he has that might be similar to Luke's outfit. I really love seeing the love between these two brothers grow.  

Luke: 10 Months

Height: 29.3 in. (68%)

Weight: 17 lbs. 11 oz. (11%) 

Head Circ.: 18 in. (61%)

At 9 months, Luke:

• wears size 3 diapers, but really a size 2.5 would be perfect
• has 8 teeth
• wears 9-12 month clothing

Luke eats a LOT these days. He prefers finger foods he can feed himself, which works out well because I prefer that too...except for the mess that follows!

I really thought he would walk this month, but I've now realized that every time he tries to stand up or walk, Peter picks him up or hugs him or tackles him...you get the picture. Luke's figured out it's much quicker to crawl to escape or to chase me, so he doesn't seem too interested in walking right now. He does still love to pull up and stand and walk along the furniture.

As evidenced in these pictures, he's REALLY into toys right now. It's been so fun to watch him discover all the toys in his room. His current favorites are blocks and phones and balls.

I know everyone thinks their baby is the sweetest, but this kid is THE sweetest. :) He doesn't often sit still, so his cuddles are few and far between. He giggles a LOT and is a really happy guy. 

He's still nursing 5-6 times a day and sleeping about 10-12 hours at night. Our nursing sessions are kind of chaotic as he refuses to be under a cover and doesn't stay latched for more than 15-30 seconds at a time. Nursing in public is pretty much a thing of the past if I want to maintain any modesty.

Peter and Luke are starting to play together more and it's my favorite thing ever. They will play in a room together (as long as they door is shut) for 20-30 minutes before coming to find me and destroy whatever I'm working on. :) 

Luke: 9 Months

Height: 28.5 in.

Weight: 17 lbs. 7 oz.

At 9 months, Luke:

• has 6 teeth
• wears size 2 diapers 
• fits in 6-9 month clothing  

He's spent most of this month teething, so he's had the pacifier a lot more than usual. I think he has two more teeth trying to come in right now. 

My mom and dad came to visit this month for my mom's 60th birthday. Luke's bedroom is also the guest room, but he's been sleeping 10-12 hours a night with almost no wake-ups for a couple weeks now, so I thought it would be no problem.

Well, he got an ear infection while he was here, and the teething intensified, so he was up a LOT. I was so thankful to have my mom here to help with him at night and she enjoyed the extra snuggles, so it worked out ok. 

He's been doing really well with solids and hasn't had any more tummy troubles, so I'm no longer having to do pears/prunes every single day. 

Climbing is his new favorite thing. He's climbing all over toys and people every chance he gets. I found him up on the fireplace hearth one day, but am not 100% sure he got up there by himself. 

We trimmed the hairs by his ears this month because they're getting ridiculously long and look pretty funny. It was hardly noticeable, but we were pretty amazed when our 5 year old friend, Naomi, noticed the next time she saw Luke that he'd had some hairs cut. 

He's been more fussy and clingy this month, which I think is largely due to the ear infection and teething, but he is still a pretty happy little guy. He would be perfectly content to be on my hip all day right now, which is exhausting and starts to wear on me, but then he lays his head down on my shoulder and snuggles into my neck and I get over my frustration pretty quickly. :) 

Quotable #7

Hide and Seek is a new favorite around our house. It usually goes something like this:

"You hide, I'll count. 1, 2, 3, 5, Ready or Here? Now I come!!" 

Let's spell your name:
P; P
E; E
T; T
E; E
R; R

Now you spell it,

P-I-N-G-O and Peter was his name-o!

Can I be a tennis man? (Can I wear my tennis shoes?)

I have something in my eye and it is an eyelash so I got it out with this baseball.

Miss Mommy, can you do me a favorite?

No wonderful I couldn't find you!

The neighbors' chickens were squawking loudly. I had just fed our pets and Peter told me the chickens were hungry too. 

"What will the chickens eat?"

"Mmm...probably the Barbary sheep. Can you please throw the Barbary sheep to the chickens over the fence?"

Some of my current favorite phrases:

• Hit ball (hitting a ball with any stick-like object)
• Bat ball (baseball)
• Racer car 
• Pajammies
• Picnic for my teeth (toothpick)
• Donald Duck's (McDonald's)
• Snow Flakes (Frosted Flakes) 

We have tried to change our vocabulary to reflect that the Church is the people and the church building is just where we meet. When we leave our house to go just about anywhere, we drive past the church property. It's now become somewhat of an ordeal:

Hi church building! Hi youf center! Hi ministry center! Can you say bye church building, bye youf center, see you later ministry center? Mommy!! You didn't say bye church building, bye youf center, see you next time ministry center!!! 

(We're long past the church building at this point and I have to reassure him that I'll say all the right things on the way home.)

When I tried to dress him in a button-up shirt on a Wednesday:

I can't wear that! That's my church building shirt!

Come here, Lukers, I want to hold you and kiss you because you are my sweet boy.

Peter, did you just go in your pants? Why didn't you tell me you needed to use the potty??

Betause I was cold and it makes me weaaaally warm.

Do you need to go potty?

No, I don't. I just went a few weeks ago.