3 Months

Dear Luke,

Happy 3 month birthday big boy! My what a difference 1 month makes! You're such a little personality now, which is so much fun for mommy and daddy to see. You smile so big at us, babble at us all the time, and are working on laughing! You're newest favorite thing is when I make the helicopter sound with my tongue, you can be screaming and instantly you stop and smile, it's so funny! Taking after your daddy loving all things aviation.

Mommy went back to work and you started daycare at 12 weeks! I was so sad to say goodbye to you that first day, but you smiled and flirted with your daycare teachers and they fell in love with you! One of the teachers Nostra, is from Iran, and calls you her little grandson! It's so funny, she loves you so much. Daycare has cameras in the room, so I watch you daily to see what your doing. I like to dress you in bright colors so I can easily spot you on camera :) I think I just started at the camera all day the first few days to watch you, it's getting better but I still watch you multiple times through out the day!

This month sleeping has either gone really well, or really terrible. The last few weeks before I went back to work you started napping pretty well twice a day. I could only get you to sleep if I swaddled you and then put you in your swing, but it worked and you would sleep 1-2 hours each time! Now that you're in daycare you napping mainly consists of cat naps, and sometimes one 2 hour nap close to the end of the day (normally right in the middle of when I pick you up, and I hate waking you up!) Nighttime sleep has been hit or miss too. Many times I think you finally have a routine/schedule for night sleep, only to be reminded the next night who is in charge :) when you wake me up 5 or 5 times! You have slept 9-10 hours before though, so I know you can do it! I still get up with you whenever you wake at night though and feed you, sometimes once and sometimes 6 times!

We spent a lot of time with your Aunt Cate and cousins Ellie and Claire over the last month! Claire just loves babies and gets so excited to see you! Ellie is so big and is such a good cousin, soon enough she will be big enough to baby sit you! ;) We went to lunch and dinner, and what seemed to be your favorite, the outlet malls! You loved all of the movement and noises there and always are so happy in your stroller! You also met your great Uncle Stuart (Danny) and Great Aunt Jane this month! They came down from Dallas to see a concert and we met them for lunch, you charmed them as usual :) hopefully soon you can meet their daughters, your second cousins.

Speaking of the stroller, I finally took out the infant seat insert in the stroller and started putting you in the big part of the stroller. You LOVE it! So much more room and much cooler! Your daddy and I took you on your first walk around Town Lake this past weekend, and you seemed to love it! I was surprised you didn't sleep the whole time but looked around with big eyes.

Your personality is shining through every day, it's so fun to see you smile and figure out what makes you happy :) One afternoon after daycare, I put you on your tummy on the floor (something I hadn't done in about a week) and instantly you just roller over! I couldn't believe it! I didn't even know you were close to being able to do that, so I put you on your tummy again and you did it again! That time I recorded it :) It was so exciting! You love to play "airplane", I put you on my legs and fly you around, and daddy picks up you and flies you around above his head, and you smile so big and love it!

Last night in bed daddy and I were talking about you, and both just kept laughing, our favorite thing right now is when you propped up on our shoulder looking around, this little old man face and big eyes looking around the room is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen!!! Every time I think about it, it makes me smile so big!

I love you so much little bear man, every single day I just can't get enough of you! I have moments where I am just overwhelmed with my love for you and just want to tell everyone how amazing you are! I can't wait to see what your fourth month will bring!

Love you bear man!
Mommy

2 Months

Dear Luke,

You've been in this world 2 months now! My how things have changed in just the last 4 weeks! I had a pretty hard time your first month, getting used to sleep deprivation and being alone while your dad was flying, but we've made great strides!

Your daddy drove us to Houston when you were 5 weeks old to spend the week with Oma and Opa. Your first road trip! You did awesome in the car! We had a great time meeting Oma's friends and showing you off. Your Oma and Opa loved spending all that time with you, and I loved having a break to nap! We even left you with Opa to babysit while we went out to get our nails done! :)

While staying in Houston I finally moved you out of our room to sleep! Your adorable little grunts and fusses were keeping both of us up all night (every time you made a noise I kept messing with you!)  That was a big turning point for sleeping for you. You started having a "bedtime" around 8, and would sleep 4 hours followed by a couple of smaller stretches. Since we've been back home you now sleep anywhere from 4-7 hours at first (once you even slept 9!!!). You seem to like your room too and you loved to be rocked in grandma's yellow rocking chair!

Another big milestone was you finally sleeping in your crib! Your daddy and I had tried a few times before to get you to sleep in your crib but you just weren't ready! Finally at about 8 weeks I put you down for the night and you slept just fine! We haven't looked back since.

Napping Is still hit or miss, but if we go out during the day your sure to fall asleep in the car and nap while I run errands! Your so easy to be out with, I swear you prefer to be out then to be at home!!! You also LOVE to be outside. While we were at Oma's house we spent a lot of time on the patio, and it would always calm you down! So now at home we have at least 1 outside time a day on our patio! Unless we're outside shopping or eating.

My favorite thing from the last month was your first smile!!! It was around 6 weeks and you smiled so big at the couch! I'm sure it was unintentional but it just made me cry with happiness!!! Around weeks 7 and 8 they have become "social smiles", when you see us or something you like! They are so precious and melt my heart!!!

You had your 2 month appointment this week, where you got 3 shots :(. You did great though and only cried for a few seconds! The nasty oral vaccine made your tummy upset though.

Stats:
11 lbs- 30%
21.5 inches- 30%

I can't believe your already 2 months old, time is flying and I fall more in love with you every single day!!! You are such a miracle and a blessing to your daddy and I!!! I love you so much!

Love,
Mommy

First Sickness

The life of a baby has so many firsts, some are welcomed (smiles, laughs, rolls) and others dreaded. Luke had been in daycare about 2 weeks when I noticed he wasn't feeling great. I picked him up on a Monday, looked over his daily activities sheet and noticed he pretty much had slept the entire day. I checked his temp when we got home and of course is was 1 degree below when you're supposed to call the doc. So I just gave him some Tylenol and put him to bed. The next day he seemed okay, so I took him back to daycare, and again came home with a fever in the evening. It seemed he had caught a cold from one of the other kiddos in the class. 

I took him into the pediatrician on Tuesday to have him checked out, they said there wasn't much they could do, but call if he hadn't improved in a few days. He seemed to get a little better by the end of the week, and then over the weekend started getting pretty fussy again. Monday he came home from daycare with a cough and pretty congested sounding head so I kept him home on Tuesday and brought him back to the doctor. Monday night was ROUGH, thank goodness Mark was home, we took turns all night sitting in the rocking chair holding him while he slept. He would scream if we put him down, poor baby! The doctor visit Tuesday confirmed he caught yet ANOTHER virus and had an ear infection now in his left ear :( There wasn't much they could do for the cough, which was so sad. We came home with amoxicillin for 10 days, and hoped the cold would start to clear soon. He continued having fevers daily until Thursday he seemed to finally turn a corner! We kept him home from daycare all week (insert tears for $$ on daycare we paid for but didn't use!!!) 

Glad he's feeling better for sure, and last night (knock on wood) he seemed to sleep better then he has in awhile. I hope finally this sickness is clearing, I'm sure just in time for the next round to hit us. Ugh, I guess it's all for good, building his immune system, but it's sucky while it's happening!