The McDermotts

Snow Day - Hooray!

2009-12-05T22:57:00.005-05:00

In the morning.

Starting to snow!

Checking out the snow in jammies.

Getting ready for the official snow time. No snowsuits, so we went with fleece jammies for the bottom layer.

Texas snowboots.

Luke ran out and was working on a snow angel by the time we caught up to him.

Snow soccer.

And finally, the SNOWMAN! Green tomato eyes, sidewalk chalk nose, and bead necklace mouth.

Final product with Luke's camo hat, Daddy's scarf and stick arms.

Trick or Treat

2009-11-02T00:36:00.005-05:00

With a very last minute switch, we ended up with 2 cowboys for Halloween!

Luke went as a dolphin earlier in the day. He's playing a huge game of operation (a.k.a. Alien Autopsy) at the community center festival.

Trunk or Treat

2009-11-02T00:21:00.007-05:00

A dolphin and a cowboy.

Cowboy crack!

The Dolphin and The Whale

2009-11-02T00:05:00.007-05:00

Wildlife

2009-08-23T11:59:00.012-04:00

This is my first time ever posting videos to our blog!

Here's the huge snake that was in our backyard a few weeks ago. If you look closely, it has a big bulge in the middle of its body, so I guess it had just eaten. Gross. I was secretly hoping it ate a toy and that it would mean the end for Mr. Snakey. Guess we'll never know. My neighbor said it was a Garter snake and not poisonous, but I would still prefer it to not be in our backyard and am now slightly paranoid whenever we go outside.

For our next big wildlife adventure, we took the boys fishing for the first time yesterday. There were zero fish, but a turtle saved the day! Luke caught it several times using his net.

Another family stopped by to check out the action and helped us play with the turtle on the dock for a little bit. After this interaction, we didn't see the turtle anymore. I think he got smart and swam far, far away. Thank you for the entertainment, Mr. Turtle!

Luke and Steve have Matching Capes

2009-03-21T22:41:00.003-04:00

Super Luke watching Super Steve on Superfriends Blues Clues.

Happy Halloween?

2009-03-21T22:24:00.006-04:00

Recently, Luke has been talking about what he'd like to be for Halloween. This is definitely a new stage since he insisted on going as Regular Luke this past Halloween. He'll randomly say "I'm going to dress up as a ____ for 'Christmas Treating'" or "Should we dress up as 'Christmas Treaters?'". At the pet store, he said he was going to dress up as a bird and a rabbit and a branch. When he asked if we should dress up this weekend, I thought it'd be a good chance to put Max in a few costumes I never managed to get on him in the fall. Unfortunately, we don't have any spare costumes in Luke's side (aside from his Firefighter stuff - Oh! and his new superhero cape - I guess we do have some) but he was quite entertained anyways since Max and I managed to get outside without him seeing us so he was surprised with what he found when the doorbell rang. And Sammy got in on the action as a Superhero!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T00:01:00.002-04:00

Getting into the Green of things the day before.

Wearing various shades of green on the actual day.

A St. Patrick's Day hug at Chic-fil-a.

There's a Bowl on My Head

2009-03-16T21:59:00.005-04:00

Happy Birthday Luke!

2009-03-08T23:00:00.001-04:00

Somehow Luke is 3 years old already! Lucky for us his birthday fell on a weekend this year so we got to play all day.

His day started with a red balloon at the foot of his bed - inspired by his favorite book of late, Little Rabbit Lost, by Harry Horse. The first words out of Luke's mouth when he woke up were "hey! it's my red balloon!" as if he knew it would be there for his birthday.

After breakfast, Luke unwrapped the playroom door to reveal his ...

new train table!

Max getting in on the action.

Then we went on a picnic at the school park. Aunt Jill met us there.

Complete with Mickey Mouse shaped chicken nuggets - an impulse purchase at Costco landed 5 pounds of these in our already over-crowded freezer, so I was happy to make a bunch of festive little nuggies.

Aunt Jill gave Luke a new frisbee.

Then Daddy brought out something big, yellow and exciting ...

a new bike from Nan and Pop-Pop!! Patrick picked this "retro" bike because it reminds him of his bike when he was little.

Daddy also wisely slipped Luke's helmet into the wrapping and amazingly, he wore it. We've only had moderate success getting him to wear his helmet in the past.

Cruising.

In the afternoon, we had his party.

For the 2nd year in a row, I made a slightly mauve-ish firetruck cake for Luke! This year we did a "Cars" theme and I was delighted that Luke was able to identify his cake as "Big Red" with no hints or prompting.

Cheeeese!

Aunt Jill gave Luke the coolest lollipop.

Every kid's dream!

Every baby's dream too :-)

To wrap up our day of festivities, we had our first ever Family Movie Night in the basement, featuring "Cars" and mock lasagna. I like that Max is waving in the picture below.

Poor 2nd baby - a lollipop and a movie all in one day :-(

Just before bedtime, Luke opened one more present - - a superhero cape!! Aunt Ann was inspired by my friend Melissa's blog where Luke and Owen ran up and down the hall playing Super Me. Here he is sporting his new look!

Recent-ish Pictures

2008-11-18T22:22:00.006-05:00

10/23 Dinner. Luke stands in his chair most of the time and Max has recently joined the table compliments of the Bumbo our friend Laura was kind enough to loan us.

10/29 Max enjoying the Bumbo.

10/31 Trick-or-treating. "Regular Luke" and Max the Lion. I didn't do a very good job with pictures this year - possibly something to do with my anti-dressing-up, anti-picture-taking toddler! Luke rang the bell and actually said "trick or treat" at the first house, then rang the bell and ran at the second house. At the third house, he was already hanging back a little when Albert Einstein answered the door (holding a little rat-thing-looking dog dressed as a French Maid which was actually quite humorous) and that was the end of Luke being anywhere near the door!

10/25 Here's most of Luke's firefighter costume (minus the pants and hat) that he happily wore a week earlier to play in the rain with Daddy. His boots were on backwards and he insisted on keeping them that way for their entire 45 minute walk. He has refused to humor the firefighter jacket ever since it was referenced as a Halloween costume.

Stomping a puddle!

11/3 Max loves his exersaucer and so do I. It buys me some 2-free-hands time. Poor Max spends much more time in the exersaucer than Luke ever did. Good thing he likes it!

11/5 Popping a regular wheelie. Luke recently showed me that Aunt Jill taught him to pop a wheelie while turning the wheel at the same time. This is big stuff and makes him quite proud - I need to get a picture of the souped-up wheelie. When Luke does a trick or something he thinks is cool he asks "Is that was cool?"

Beat It

2008-11-16T13:29:00.006-05:00

Our friend Al gave Max a Michael Jackson onsie. The tag says "Beat it" and it comes complete with fake zippers and a hood!! Pictures from Sept. 6, 2008.

Gangster Max

New Old Posts

2008-11-15T00:42:00.002-05:00

I just logged into Blogger for the first time in a couple months and found some posts (below) from this Summer that I never published. Now if I could just keep up with blogging on a regular basis ... it will never happen, but I can try!

Frus-ter-ated: A little lesson from Blue's Clues

2008-07-30T19:00:00.002-04:00

The other day during Luke's "rest", I was watching him on the video monitor. His entertainment de jour was sticking his fingers in his mouth until he gagged and then saying "I'm sick. I'm so sick". Repeat. I wanted to go in there to tell him to stop (he's not really sick and this was not the infant thing of trying to soothe a sore throat), but waited for a few minutes hoping he would stop on his own and take up a new task (reading books, throwing things out of his crib, pulling the blinds back to look out the window, standing on his head, etc.).

Then he started calling, "Mommy, I think we made a problem." I went into his room. He pointed at a little bit of throw-up on his pillow and repeated, "Uh-oh. I think we made a problem".

Me: Uh-oh. What happened? Why did you do that?

Luke: I was frus-ter-ated. I think my's needs to go to the doctor. I think my's need some medicine, so my's can feel better. (Note: Luke's Daddy is sick and went to the Dr. this morning).

Me: What hurts?

Luke: My tummy (pulls up his shirt to show me). I think my's needs to go to the doctor right now for some medicine.

Me: I think we'll take some medicine at home.

Luke: Ok.

Meanwhile I've pulled the pillowcase off his pillow and am checking the rest of the crib for throw-up (sheets, animals, blankets and bumpers are all clean ... hooray!) when I notice him standing with both feet on the side of his sippy cup of water (which is usually not in his crib).

Me: Please don't stand on that.

Luke: Oh, why not? ("Why not" is Luke's version of "why" and we hear it no less than 100 times a day!).

Me: Because it might break (said at the exact second that the sippy screw-top manages to separate from the bottom of the cup and all the water pours out onto the bed).

Me: Uuugh. Now that frustrates me.

Luke (and here's the lesson compliments of Steve on Blue's Clues): When you get frus-ter-ated, you need to stop and think.

OR, you just need a little comic relief from a toddler to make it all better!

It's Called a Mini-Van

2008-07-07T22:58:00.002-04:00

Have I mentioned that we joined the mini-van club? I was initially very resistent to this movement, but have now fully embraced it and I LOVE it! Luke has told quite a few people, "It's called a mini-van".

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T17:25:00.003-04:00

Festivities included:

A trip to the town center,

throwing pennies in the fountain,

Mommy rescuing Luke from a near-header into the fountain,

lunch and sugar,

more sugar - a very intense lollipop stance & face,

hide-and-seek with Pop-Pop,

testing out the shoe shine,

frozen custard - YUM,

and hanging out together.

Max sported a "Daddy's Little Allstar" get-up.

Daddy and the boys a couple days ago.

Tiny

2008-06-14T17:00:00.003-04:00

I love the newborn stage.

Aunt Jill helped Max try out Luke's spiderman chair ... a.k.a. his Blue's Clues Thinking Chair. We have 2 of these, so I suspect one day I'll be able to post of picture of the brothers watching a show together while chilling in their Thinking Chairs. And, by "one day" I mean probably next week since poor baby #2 will surely be watching t.v. well before the one year we waited before baby #1 was allowed to.

Boo for Bilirubin Testing

2008-06-10T15:00:00.001-04:00

Our boys are not a fan of the post-bilirubin-testing-car-ride-home. Thankfully their numbers were low enough each time to stay home.

Max - 6 days old

Luke - 4 days old

Aunt Maryay Love

2008-06-09T22:00:00.001-04:00

Max giving Aunt Mary some love hoping she'll change her mind about leaving tomorrrow.

Funny old man face.

Max kept bird-pecking Aunt Mary to give her kisses on the cheek.

Aunt June and Cousin Laura

2008-06-09T18:00:00.002-04:00

Aunt June and Cousin Laura came to visit! It is seriously like Christmas everytime they come. They spoil us with so many presents and goodies!!

YUM!

Mary modeling her beautiful new bracelet.

The biggest surprise was Federico's subs ... the best food on the planet!!

Patrick and Max catching some zzzz's, while we gabbed at the table.

Luke was very excited with his new football book ...

and his delicious and beautiful assortment of sea creature sugar cookies!

Showing Aunt June the baseball gloves.

Bringing Max Home

2008-06-06T16:00:00.002-04:00

A family shot before leaving the hospital.

On the drive home, Luke was looking at Max with a concerned face and finally said, "Where his Daddy?" We told him Max's daddy was right there driving the car to which Luke replied, "No. That Luke's daddy." So we asked him where was Max's mommy. He didn't know, but it wasn't me. We asked if Max could share Luke's mommy and daddy and he agreed. Phew!

Welcome home, Max!

Last Day in the Hospital

2008-06-06T11:30:00.001-04:00

I was entertained with the picture of Mary and Luke through the window blinds yesterday, so I decided to capture them again.

Here's the nurse teaching Luke to make "2" with his fingers.

Playing with his Jeep from Nan and Pop-Pop. Big bonus in 2 year old world: the doors and hood open.

Mary and I did a photoshoot of Max in his Going Home outfit. We were attempting to recreate the official Hospital Picture that had just been taken because all I really wanted was a 5x7 and that was going to cost $40+ (had to order a package). Mary took lots of great pics with her fancy camera, but we finally concluded the Hospital Pictures are taken with some kind of magic camera and bassinet set-up that results in zero shadow. I did end up ordering a hospital pic, but was able to order out of the "old catalog" by calling the place, so I got a two 5x7's for $22.

Always a fan of taking tons of pictures, I am still quite thrilled with our photoshoot and the many expressions we got.

Hey. It's my Aunt Mary. I think I'll stick out my tongue.

What is this big green thing?

She's still there. I will give a teeny-tiny smile (maybe only his mother sees this as a smile).

Maybe if I look away, they will stop flashing that bright light at me.

Didn't work. I'll try posing again to see if they are satisfied.

Nope. Maybe I can knock them out.

Getting tired.

ALL DONE!! This is the 47th picture!

Ahh. Back with Mommy. Much Better.

Luke Meeting Max

2008-06-05T10:00:00.012-04:00

Aunt Mary brought Luke up to the hospital to meet Max. Luke looked in the bassinet and said "Hi Max Michael", then (with equal, if not more enthusiasm) turned to the food tray and said "What's that? Let's try some."

I thought Luke would be sad to leave us in the hospital when it was time to go home for a nap, so I told him after his nap he and Aunt Mary could come back to the hospital to visit again. His response, "No. I stay whole time at home. Come on, Aunt Maryay, let's go." Then he turned and waved to me as he was walking towards the door and said, "See ya next time."

I spotted Aunt Mary and Luke in the parking lot.

To be fair, the bassinet is very close to the breakfast tray. It's easy to see how a toddler might deem them of equal importance.

First ever photo of the 4 of us.

I tried to put Max near Luke for a brother pic, but Luke declared "too close" and almost fell off the bed trying to get away from the funny little creature.

Bonding with Aunt Mary.

Close up in hospital hat.

Kiss for the baby. Oddly, I think this was taken before the "too close" incident.

Sweet little snugbug, Italian Ice from the snack room and my old school Smurf pillow ... can it get any better than this?

MAX

2008-06-04T17:16:00.005-04:00

Luke's little brother arrived by storm 4 days past his due date. Actually, he came just after a big storm that threatened the hospital's power and gave us a good show through the window of the delivery room.

We welcomed you to the world 2 months ago (this post is backdated), now welcome to the blog ...

Max Michael
June 4, 2008, 5:16pm
9 pounds 6 ounces
21.5 inches

Aunt Maryay

2008-06-04T10:00:00.000-04:00

My little sister, Mary, has been volunteering in a hospital in Romania taking care of babies. She was kind enough to come home to help us during the arrival of the new baby (and to help out with Ann's new baby, visit family and friends and pack up her apartment in anticipation of a longer stay in Romania - - waaaahhhhh!). Luke calls her Aunt Maryay (rhymes with far - yie) and loves her sooooo much. Here are some pictures from her visit.

Aunt Mary gave us lots of cute baby clothes.

She also gave Luke a little cow that dances when you press the button on the bottom. This cow oddly turned out to be very scary to Luke at first and he did not want to be in the same room as the it for a day or two.

Mmmm ... ice cream.

Mmmm ... Chic-fil-a ... my favorite.

Mmmmm ... Jello. Notice a theme? What can I say ... I'm 9 months pregnant! The Jello was actually Luke's idea because it's featured in one of his books. He was thrilled to make it, excited to taste it and then quite offended by it's slimy texture.

Reading books at B&N on my due date, May 31.

Are we twins? Haaa! One day past due date and starting to worry that the baby is not going to arrive while Aunt Mary is still in town to take of Luke. Notice Luke in the background of the pic.

2 days past due date. Picnic at the farm.

Breakfast for dinner. I learned a new word compliments of Aunt Mary, compliments of Scrubs ... Brinner!

3 days past due date. Luke stacked the salt and pepper shakers at McDonald's. I ate McDonald's when I was in labor with Luke, so I was hoping it would work some magic the second time around. No dice, but yummy lunch.

4 days past due date and it's go time! I woke up and was pretty sure today was the day. We went on a walk around the block to pass the time and a few contractions.

Posing for a mid-contraction preggie pic before leaving for the hospital.

Baby Luke Clothes

2008-05-16T22:05:00.002-04:00

We took out Luke's baby clothes in preparation for the baby's arrival. We made the mistake of telling Luke they were his when he was a baby, instead of saying they are the new baby's clothes. Luke is into playing "Baby Luke" recently anyways, so he decided this was the perfect opportunity to look the part and selected a 9 month jumper, which he wore proudly, unsnapped and all.

Trucks

2008-05-08T20:00:00.003-04:00

The local Public Works department hosts a weeklong event where kids can come explore and ride the different work trucks. Even though Luke loves trucks, it took a few visits for him to warm up to the whole idea ... especially since the older kids were going to town on the really loud horns.

For the first two visits, Luke would only drive the digger/trencher (his official favorite) and the pick-up truck.

By the third visit, Luke was ready to explore the bigger trucks. I think it helped that his favorite person in the world was there (that would be the guy in the front seat below).

Grader - - my knowledge of construction vehicles has increased signifcantly in the past year or so.

Huge front loader

Visiting Daddy at the Big Office

2008-05-07T14:06:00.001-04:00

We went to visit Daddy at the "biiiiig office" (as Luke puts it) for the first time in quite a while. Luke has been requesting this a lot lately and was very excited to finally get to go.

Here's the biiig building. A lot of times when we are driving around and Luke sees a big building, he'll say "that look like Daddy building".

Working hard.

Luke was also quite pleased with lunch at CiCi's. And let's be honest, so was Mommy.

Music with Jack and Daddy

2008-05-06T20:10:00.000-04:00

Thanks to a couple of garage sales, Luke is now the proud new owner of a very manly, purple and pink guitar (50 cents) and some bongo drums ($1). Perfect for jamming along with Jack's Big Music Show.

And, especially perfect for the Baby Bongo Bird episode ... notice the BBB playing the bongo drums on the t.v.

In this pic, you can see that BBB plays the drums with his beak. As a result of this, I will sometimes see Luke leaning over and "playing" the drums with his mouth as well. It's not very effective, but it is very entertaining. Alas, I do not have a picture of the mouth-drumming.

Rocking with Daddy.

Real Smiles

2008-04-30T23:45:00.001-04:00

The fact that Luke will pose for the camera with a squinty-faced, "cheese" smile is a big improvement over the days of yore when he would grunt, cry and turn-away at the sight of the camera. So I consider any picture where he's actually looking at the camera a success, "cheese" smiles even better and the rare moment where I catch him in action and capture a real smile a true accomplishment!

Luke's 2nd Haircut

2008-04-29T19:30:00.001-04:00

The pictures of Luke's first haircut were lost in a battle between me and my camera (along with a month's worth of pics between mid-March and mid-April ... needless to say I was not the victor of the battle). His first haircut was about a month ago ... given by Patrick with scissors. His 2nd haircut was also given by Patrick, this time with clippers and a little bit of scissors.

Here's Luke looking a bit suspicious of the big BZZZ he just heard behind Daddy's back.

Followed by the standard 2 year old reaction to clippers coming at his head.

Thankfully, his tears and fears quickly subsided with the excellent distraction of Jack's Big Music Show.

Dang. Finally used to the clippers and Daddy decides to break out the now-scarier scissors.

Luke retreats under the table.

Lured back with the promise of no more scissors.

Getting shorter ...

Cheeeeese!

Cheeeeeeese, a short-do, and celebratory ice cream!

Blue Bear goes to School

2008-04-29T12:00:00.007-04:00

It was Bring Your Bear to Class day at our Mommy and Me class. Luke was happy to bring Blue Bear with him for the morning.

And was happy to have me hold Blue Bear so we could play catch.

But ... not so happy to let Blue Bear participate in the Bear games. Luke would not put BB on the little chairs to play musical bear chairs and did not want to relinquish BB to ride on the colorful parachute. Luke is not such a fan of the parachute and has only ridden on it a couple times. Usually, like this day, I carry him while pulling the parachute in a circle for the other kids to ride. Luke's friends Christina and Owen are below wearing their bear hats!

Then we all went under the parachute which Luke likes better.

Finally, the kids and their bears shared a picnic of Teddy Grahams.

Here's Luke sporting his slightly-too-big Luke-Bear hat.

What am I doing?

2008-04-27T21:12:00.002-04:00

Recently, Luke will do something goofy like get in his toy bin and then ask repeatly in a silly tone "What am I doing?".

Firefighters and Frogs brush their teeth, too.

2008-04-27T21:08:00.002-04:00

Botanical Gardens and Falling in the Lake

2008-04-19T23:53:00.005-04:00

Today we went to some very pretty botanical gardens.

Luke had a fabulous time throwing rocks off the bridge

and playing on tree stumps with his very pregnant mommy.

Luke also thoroughly enjoyed throwing rocks into the lake, until 1 very enthusiatic and close-to-the-edge throw landed him in the water. I wasn't quick enough to capture a good post-fall picture since Patrick had Luke out of the water and out of his wet clothes in about 12 seconds. Luke recovered as soon as his wet clothes were off and then he happily continued throwing rocks and exploring the scenery in his diaper and crocs since we didn't have a change of clothes for him.

Feeding the fish.

Playing soccer in the gazebo, which was followed by Luke kicking his soccer ball along the trail next to the lake until it took a wrong turn and rolled down, down the hill and splash! into the same lake Luke had just been swimming in half an hour earlier.

Again, I was a bit too distracted to capture any action shots, but the lack of socks and shoes on Patrick is a good indication of what came next ... Daddy to the rescue as Luke's ball was quickly making it's way off shore. Just as the ball was retrieved, we heard some commotion behind us and turned to see our stroller kareening down the same hill and towards the lake. It was really picking up speed, but amazingly hit a little bush and stopped about 2 feet from the edge of the water ... surely to the disappointment of the couple and their toddler that were observing from a little bit further away on the trail and anyone else who happened to catch our ridiculous display!

We decided to quit before any more of our belongings or family members ended up in the lake. Luke, in his mostly-dry firetruck shirt, found a fire hydrant to play on outside of the gardens.

Fire Station Open House

2007-11-05T22:55:00.000-05:00

We love firetrucks!

Shoot that water.

More October Pictures

2007-11-05T22:32:00.003-05:00

Drumming at the Zoo

Crazy face

Aunt Mary makes me laugh.

Crazy hair

Out to eat

Picking Apples

Shopping at Old Navy

Chic-fil-a Tunnels

Homemade Costumes

2007-11-03T14:07:00.000-04:00

We went to a post-Halloween costume party. To go with Luke's firefighter theme, Patrick went as a "book of matches" and I went as "fire".

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T23:00:00.000-04:00

I really wasn't going to do this, but I am skipping "ahead" 10 months to catch up to present day. Hopefully, I'll go back to fill in with pics and details of the missing months but in the meantime ... here's the report on Firefighter Luke ...

We are very pleased to report that Luke happily wore his costume all night long. We had low expectations because anytime we showed him his yellow jacket he wanted me to wear it instead and he would look at his very nice boots from Nan, but wouldn't try them on. At first, he was pulling at his coat, but once he saw himself in the mirror he seemed to get it and was quite pleased with his get-up.

Trick-or-treating was almost a bust though because the first trick-or-treater to come to our door was a ghost-witch. Luke took one look at it and burst in to tears (he's not a fan of masks, mascots, faceless witches, etc). After that he didn't want to go near the front door and kept pointing at it and saying no. Once we made it through the door and outside, he was ok ... but then we went to the first house. Our neighbor, Marj, greeted Luke with a smile and bowl of candy and Luke greeted Marj with lots of crying and trying to escape. He calmed down when we opened the Kit-Kat.

Then next few houses were rough, but got a little better each time ... especially after Patrick opened a tootsie pop for Luke - his first lollipop ever and he loved it. I think it lasted 30 minutes.

After trick-or-treating, we walked over to the shopping center across the street and Luke went for a nice long run ... he just kept going and going. I don't know if it was the excitement of being out at night or the sugar from the tootsie pop, but he had a lot of energy!

(Luke loves fire hydrants.)

Then we came home and checked out Luke's Loot and brushed the sugar off his teeth.

Christmas Eve

2007-10-12T14:08:00.000-04:00

Dang Nuggelo with the closed eyes.

Rabbit Face

2006-12-22T22:20:00.000-05:00

This is Luke making his "rabbit face". Good view of his 3 teeth.

Beautiful Weather in December

2006-12-14T23:23:00.000-05:00

Post Bath

2006-12-13T23:15:00.000-05:00

Practicing for Christmas

2006-12-08T22:33:00.000-05:00

Blueberries

2006-12-07T22:28:00.000-05:00

Yum!

Cars!

2006-11-29T16:07:00.000-05:00

Luke really loves his cars. He drives them every chance he gets . . . .

Thanksgiving Time Part 4

2006-11-27T21:00:00.000-05:00

Back to Lauren's family. Luke played with his cousins and Uncle Buck and Aunt Mary.

Luke also played with the cat "Whiskers" and posed for an insane amount of group shots - most of which he protested against.

Thanksgiving Time Part 3 (The Beach)

2006-11-25T20:03:00.000-05:00

Some Beach Pictures:

Luke loved the beach! He playing in the sand, while we stood guard to try and prevent the occasional sand sampling. I think he snuck 2 or 3 handfuls into his mouth.

He also got really excited when we put him in the water - he started crawling toward the waves.

Thanksgiving Time Part 2

2006-11-24T15:40:00.000-05:00

We spent actual Thanksgiving with my side of the family in Corpus. Lots of people were there. Here is a group shot and lots of other shots of the characters.

Great Ma and the great grandkids.

Thanksgiving Time Part 1

2006-11-18T16:35:00.000-05:00

We headed to Texas for Thanksgiving.

Aunt Jill's Birthday Party

2006-11-05T18:53:00.000-05:00

Hanging Around Town

2006-11-02T18:29:00.000-05:00

Luke hanging out in the Fall Leaves .

Hanging out with Mom.

Tech-y Luke

2006-11-01T18:34:00.000-05:00

Luke is starting to hone his programming skills.

Trick or Treat

2006-10-31T20:55:00.000-05:00

Luke had two costumes for Halloween. He was a Bumble-Bee during the day, and a Lion at night.

Below are some action shots of Luke on his first trick-or-treating outing. Apparently he has inherited his mom's love for chocolate and peanut butter (we'll have to store his stash of candy for a couple of months).

Halloween Party

2006-10-31T20:52:00.000-05:00

We brought Luke to a Halloween Party that some of my co-workers threw.

Danielle Trip

2006-10-30T22:07:00.000-05:00

Danielle came to visit for a few days. Lauren and Danielle made some pumpkin delicacies. And Luke and D bonded over crawling and Cheerios. We all had a great time!

Fall Days

2006-10-29T21:44:00.000-05:00

Here are some general "fall-type" pictures from October.

Stairs!

2006-10-28T22:18:00.000-04:00

Luke conquered the stairs for the first time today. I was playing with Luke in the basement today. He heard his mom talking upstairs and took off in her direction. When he hit the stairs he did not even miss a beat, and started motoring up them.

And yes, that is a mane. He was testing out a Halloween costume. . .

Luke's Room

2006-10-27T22:14:00.000-04:00

It dawned on me that we have not let Luke show off his pad. So here is Luke's room:

Apple Picking with Nan & Pop-Pop

2006-10-10T22:58:00.000-04:00

Nan & Pop-pop came for a visit. We headed for the country-side to pick some apples. We ended up at a very cool orchard that had a lot of fall activities.

Farmer Luke

2006-10-09T22:38:00.000-04:00

We brought Luke to the local County farm to check out the animals.

He drove his first tractor.

Saw a famous turkey (a presidentially pardoned turkey from a previous Thanksgiving).

And made friends with a cow . . .

until he got mooooed at really loudly.

Lots of fun!

Pulling-Up

2006-10-09T22:26:00.000-04:00

Luke started pulling up on things about a week ago. First the crib. Then on anything he could find. Here he is pulling-up at the local county farm.

And, here he is pulling up in a bucket at the house.

Cheerios!

2006-10-08T21:21:00.000-04:00

Lauren likes to give Luke a "first" of something for each month-birthday (i.e., 4 months = shoes, 5 months = rice cereal, 6 months = we can't remember). For 7 months he got to try Cheerios.

The first O'h caused Luke a bit of concern.

Then he thought about it.

And, then it was off to the races. . . . The O'hs get a lot of love now.

Making his escape

2006-10-05T22:11:00.000-04:00

Luke hanging out in the kitchen, and then making a break for it.

Teeth!

2006-09-28T21:20:00.000-04:00

Luke got his first teeth! They came in a little while ago, but they are quite elusive so it took some time to get the pictures.

Crawling!!

2006-09-27T09:48:00.000-04:00

After lots of pushups, rocking back and forth, and shimmying along the ground like a trout, Luke has officially started crawling. Although he was a little shaky at first, he is quite giddy to be mobile.

Sitting up

2006-09-26T23:59:00.000-04:00

Luke started sitting up by himself.

Playing at the Park

2006-09-26T19:51:00.000-04:00

Luke went to the park today. He had his first taste of grass, and did a little daydreaming.

Fun With Mommy

2006-09-23T12:33:00.000-04:00

Out to Eat

2006-09-22T12:29:00.000-04:00

Doctor & Push-ups

2006-09-14T19:48:00.000-04:00

Luke went to the Doctor. The bad news was he had to get his 6 months shots. The good news was they had some awesome stuff to play with.

I think that Luke is getting in shape for crawling. There has been a lot of rocking back and forth, like he's about to launch himself. And, he is doing quite a few pushups.

Other Favorites

2006-09-11T14:45:00.000-04:00

Luke's favorite pastime is playing with paci's. His paci game begins as soon as he is placed in his crib. He rummages around until he finds a paci, then pulls himself up high enough so that he can reach over the edge of the crib, and drops the paci into the wild blue yonder.

This is our favorite book right now.

Luke likes sweet potatoes (well, I guess he likes everything except carrots right now).

Loot

2006-09-10T14:18:00.000-04:00

We went to a massive community-wide garage sale this weekend. Luke made out like a bandit with the toys!

Here he is with his current favorite toy.

Facing Out

2006-09-09T07:49:00.000-04:00

Luke graduated from being confined to his car seat while going on walks. We took him for his first walk where he faced the world. He loved it! He really liked watching the puppies at the pet store.

Six Months

2006-09-08T23:41:00.000-04:00

Luke Eating

2006-09-03T23:34:00.000-04:00

Luke has really picked up on the eating skills . . . today he sampled cereal, water out of a bottle, a remote, and a football.

Grammy's Stop-over

2006-08-29T21:42:00.000-04:00

Grammy stopped over on her way out to see Sammy in Portugal.

Texas Pictures

2006-08-15T21:56:00.000-04:00

Luke learning to use a straw

Graduation Party

2006-08-14T18:58:00.000-04:00

While in Texas, Luke witnessed a graduation party in honor of Aunt Mary's completion of her Master of Library Sciences.

Nemo the pinata received a beating, and Mary was attacked with silly string. Good stuff...

Uncle Jim, and Cousins Caleb and Kai

2006-08-11T09:35:00.000-04:00

Luke met his Uncle Jim, and his cousins Caleb and Kai for the first time.

Luke's First Plane Ride

2006-08-11T08:59:00.000-04:00

Luke went on his first plane when we went on a Texas vacation this summer. He did really well on the flight.

Luke only required one trip to the tiny bathroom in order for mom to do a change. At first I was a little concerned that they were having some difficulties in the changing process, but then I found out that they were playing around with the camera . . . .

Attitude

2006-08-09T20:25:00.000-04:00

Lauren and Luke practicing their "don't mess with me" look. Tough crowd . . .

Luke at 5 Months

2006-08-08T20:11:00.000-04:00

Highlights of Luke's 5th Month-birthday.

We took Luke for a swim

gave him his first taste of solid food - Rice Cereal - which he loved

and took him for a short ride in a basket.

Grinning

2006-07-30T13:43:00.000-04:00

Water

2006-07-29T13:39:00.000-04:00

Luke loves his water!

Luke's Swing and Stash

2006-07-26T17:46:00.000-04:00

Luke checking out his stash of goods while chill'n in his swing.

Random Pictures

2006-07-26T17:01:00.000-04:00

Hanging with Dad, talking to cousin Sam on the computer, and playing after a bath.

Decisions

2006-07-25T23:01:00.000-04:00

Luke making some tough decisions.

We're thinking about replacing the pacifier with the left big toe.

Luke & Matty

2006-07-23T21:32:00.000-04:00

Luke met Matty the puppy, and made sure that her ears were attached... (They are for now).

Luke's New Cousin Part 2 - Kai Thomas White

2006-07-22T18:03:00.000-04:00

And then . . . the very next day, Luke's next cousin was born. We are pleased to announce the birth of Luke's cousin Kai Thomas White.

Click on the Picture of Kai to see some more pictures

Luke's New Cousin Part 1 - Samuel Joseph Lawson

2006-07-21T08:22:00.000-04:00

We are pleased to announce the birth of Luke's cousin Samuel Joseph Lawson. Sam is quite international - right now he is hanging out in sunny Portugal with my sister Jenni and brother-in-law Stefan.

Click on the Picture of Sammy to link to the Lawson Blog.

New Luke Toys

2006-07-20T22:09:00.000-04:00

A few pictures of Luke with his new toys: an exersaucer, an armadillo (the Dillo-pillow) and a Texas hat.

So Zen

2006-07-20T22:06:00.000-04:00

Uncle Buck meditating at the local Costco.

Uncle Buck and the Return to the Jersey Shore part 3 (final)

2006-07-17T23:59:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more pictures from the Jersey Shore.

The Uncle Farkie Face Montage, by Lauren

2006-07-17T23:13:00.000-04:00

Lauren has long complained of Fark's failure to smile on cue and his general failure to maintain the high level of photo etiquette that she demands of her photo subjects. To quote Lauren: "Farkie likes to chastise me by refusing to smile, closing his eyes, or making an otherwise goon-like expression."

In honor of his many years of defiance, Lauren created this montage of Farkie Faces, which is composed entirely of pictures from the recent Uncle Buck (a.k.a. Fark) trip.

Uncle Buck and the Return to the Jersey Shore 2

2006-07-16T21:54:00.000-04:00

We went to Belmar beach, which Lauren claims is the greatest beach in the world. . . .

I've got to admit - they do have Delicious Italian Ice there . . .

Then, we hung out on the stoop at Uncle Jack and Aunt June's with Laura, Michael, his fiance Susan, and Mark.

Uncle Buck and the Return to the Jersey Shore 1

2006-07-16T14:59:00.000-04:00

We loaded up Luke and Uncle Buck and headed back to the Jersey Shore.

Luke did not seem too thrilled about another car ride. But, Uncle Buck reminded him about the beach and told him about all the fantastic food in New Jersey, and that seemed to make the ride go quickly.

Uncle Buck was welcomed with a few delicacies, and Luke was welcomed by Aunt June and Cousin Laura.

Uncle Buck at the Farmer's Market

2006-07-15T14:51:00.000-04:00

We took Uncle Buck and Luke to the Farmer's Market.

Uncle Buck resisted more than Luke . . . until we got him a delicious beef jerky stick from the Amish vendors.

Uncle Buck with the founder of the town.

Fighting Spam

2006-07-15T08:20:00.000-04:00

I have been battling spam posts in the comments section. Contrary to what they say, I don't think that you guys really care to read about low mortgages or cheap prescription drugs. So I've put on the filters to help us all out. Unfortunately that means that you'll have to take the extra step of deciphering those squiggly letters when you make a post (you'll see what I mean if you leave a comment).

Visit from Uncle Buck (a.k.a Uncle Fark/Uncle Frank)

2006-07-14T14:32:00.000-04:00

Luke's Uncle Buck came for a visit.

Here are some pictures of their introduction.