Luke: 4 months old

Luke is 4 months old. Okay, technically, he is probably 4-1/2 months old now, but I wanted to wait for the official stats from his 4-month checkup, which was today.

weight: 15 lbs., 9 oz. (70th percentile)
height: 25-1/4 inches (50th percentile)

What he is doing this month:

-smiles and laughs. Luke is the happiest little baby. This picture really doesn't do his sweet little smile justice, but it was the best I could get at the time. I love walking in his room in the morning and getting the biggest grin from him. He is so excited to see me ... melt my heart!


-can bear weight on legs ... we may have to get the bouncer out soon.

-plays with his hands and feet (his hands are always in his mouth if he awake). He is just starting to notice his feet, but if he is sitting up, he is grabbing for them. I think babies sucking on their feet is the cutest thing ever!!

-coos when you talk to him ... so sweet to hear him over the monitor in the morning. He will lay in bed a just talk for a little while before he starts getting mad and we have to go in and get him.

-can grasp a toy (he LOVES his playmat) ... he will lay on his playmat and bat at his toys and pull them down into his mouth for a good long while.


-rolls over (both directions) ... this is really cute except when he wakes up in the middle of the night on his tummy and gets mad because he can't get himself rolled back over. For some reason, he seems to have a harder time going from tummy to back (which is typically the easier way to roll)

-starting to eat solid food ... he is the best eater of all my kids. He loves him some oatmeal and after a few practice feedings, there is very little food that doesn't make it in his mouth.


-sleeping 12 hours at night in his own bed ... BEST.THING.EVER.

THE END.

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Sew What? 2011 Edition.

Ok, so I used to do a monthly post called "Sew What?" where I posted all of my sewing projects (some completed, some in progress). I haven't done it in a while and to be honest, there hasn't been a whole lot of sewing going on around here that past few months. But, here are a few things I did over the holidays and some this month.

I made the following 9 t-shirts when I was at my mom's house one Saturday. (Will let me stay there ALL DAY LONG! It was AWESOME!)

Football tees for David & Luke ...


Christmas train tees for the boys ...


Christmas/winter tees for Claire (I put a cute pink bow around the top of the bag in Santa's sleigh) ...


Reindeer shirts (and a romper for Luke) for all! Claire's reindeer got a cute white bow not pictured here.



Now, on to more t-shirts, but with matching pants made by me!

I bought the light blue shirt for David from Hannah Kate Clothing. I already had the matching pants fabric. I had enough to make Luke a pair too and made a cute little patch on one of David's old white onesies.



Another set of matching outfits for the boys. This pants pattern (Britches & Bloomers) is super easy and quick (as it doesn't have a side seam on the legs) and I think I made all 4 pair of these pants on a Sunday afternoon.



Finally, a cute outfit for my sweet girl. I love sewing for her!! These cute flare leg pants are a Bonnie Blue pattern called "Jillian". They run large, which means she can probably wear them next year too.



I appliqued this ruffle tee with a cute flower patch and monogram.



And three cute tees for David ...


All of these embroidery appliques came from www.appliquecafe.com.

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Two are better than one

David got a Leapster for Christmas. Claire already had one and he tried to play it a lot. So, even though it's not really age appropriate for him at 2-1/2, we got him his own Leapster in hopes that it would (1) keep him from playing with Claire's and (2) be a good learning toy for him over the next couple of years.



Clearly, at least part of our plan did not work. Claire doesn't really seem to mind most of the time.

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A very Hairy experiment

Will decided to grow a beard while he was off work over Christmas break. He is so hairy it took him about two days to grow this. He kept is trimmed up for most of the break, but shaved it off the day after Christmas. He said his face was getting very itchy.

I've never seen Will with a beard before (and I've known him since 8th grade) and it looked kind of nice. The first five years we were married, Will worked in the banking industry which pretty much has a "no facial hair" policy. There were lots of gray hairs in that beard ... I'm sure that three kids ages 4 and under and a sometimes crazy wife can do that to you!




Here is another hairy little man in desperate need of a haircut!! I had been taking him to our local Snip Its, but always get a different person and a haircut I am not completely happy with. Looks like we will be headed back to Meme's salon soon!



And this little man is lacking in some hair for now. He really doesn't lay on his back that much (except to sleep of course), but when he is on his back, he likes to move around. Hence, the bald spot.



I have a really awesome holiday post ready to go up, but I am having some problems posting it from my iPad for some reason. I'm going to keep trying in hopes that I don't have to re-do the whole thing in blogger. Because we all know that if I have to re-do it, you will probably never see it!

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This is Alabama Football

Well, this football season was definitely different for us since Luke arrived after the second game of the season and Claire played soccer every Saturday in September and October. But, Will managed to make it to a few games and I even got to go to the last two game of the season.

We watched so many games at home and so many games were at night, that we spent many a Saturday night upstairs in the bonus room in front of the TV. Now when ANY football game is on, Claire thinks we can eat dinner upstairs while we watch the game and eat what she calls "Alabama chips" (AKA fritos).

Here are some pictures from the Bama/Mississippi State game.







And here are some pictures from the Iron Bowl. We really enjoyed the first half. The second half ... not so much.







Loved the pom pom gloves (look on the lady wearing the houndstooth coat) and the elephant hat next to her. It sure was cold that day!






A picture of Big Al for Claire. She loves Big Al!



At halftime ... we're all giddy over our 21-point lead. The happiness did not last for long.



Finally, we all cheered on the Tide as they played Michigan State in their Bowl Game on New Year's Day. Always nice to watch a football in the warm, cozy comfort of your own home!




Roll Tide!!

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Holiday Cheer from December

We decorated the Christmas tree ... actually, Will did. I just supervised and took pictures.



I ran a 5K. I know, shocking!! I've run about five times since I had the baby and I fully expected to have to walk some, but I ran the whole thing. Will sat out with the kids as he was recovering from a cold/sinus infection. The kids ran in the kids ran in the Santa Chase and we all supported Team Madeline.

Madeline in my friend Claire's daughter who is about two weeks younger than David. She was diagnosed with Juvenile Rhuematoid Arthritis shortly after her first birthday.




The kids enjoyed seeing Santa at the event.



I got to hang out with some of my favorite friends. (Claire and Holly chaired and co-chaired the event. Colleen walked the 5K with both of her girls in a stroller.) All 4 of our families ate lunch afterwards and the restaurant may never been the same!!



Will read The Advent Book to the kids again this year. Take straight from the book of Luke, the kids got to hear parts of the Christmas story every night. It is one of their favorite things!



My mom, sister and niece came over one day to decorate Gingerbread houses. They really had a fun time. Maybe we will make this an annual "girl's day in".












It snowed twice!! Once on December 12 and again on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We loved our White Christmas!!






Unfortunately, there was not really enough snow to do any sledding. Claire remembered our big sledding day from last January. She was content making snow angels for now.



My mom and dad took Claire and my niece Evie to see The Rockettes again this year. They had so much fun!!




My sister and I took the girls to see The Nutcracker Ballet. They
got to have their picture made with a real-live ballerina
from the show and eat ice cream at Maggie Moo's afterwards. We had a fun time.






I got to paint a cute holiday picture at Sips N Strokes with my book club group for our Christmas party. Even though on 4 of us could make it, we had a blast!







We spent Christmas Eve and my sister's house.












Santa came while everyone was tucked snuggly in bed.



We spent Christmas Day at home. We stayed in our jammies and played with new toys ALL DAY LONG!















Luke had a great First Christmas!




We even had some snow. The first White Christmas I ever remember getting. (The woods behind our house pictured below.)




The day after Christmas, we headed out in the snow to Will's parents house for more gifts and more time with family.






We spent the New Year's Eve with our next door neighbors and called it a night (and year) around 10pm. And I did not take one single picture.

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