18 months!

I seriously can't believe my little five pound baby is now a year and a half!! And he weighs a TON now! Happy 1 1/2 birthday Lukie!

At 1 1/2:

~Luke is a climber. He attempts to climb on and in everything in our house. He's even figured out that if he moves his Anywhere Chair next to something, he climb up more easily. He's mastered the dishwasher, water table, couch, dryer, and all the chairs in the house. I'm really surprised he hasn't figured out how to climb out of his crib, but I know the day is coming sooner than I want it to!

~Luke still loves a good cuddle. I thought the cuddling days were over, but he still loves to cuddle right when he wakes up from his naps and in the morning. I love it! And he'll run over to me in the middle of playing and give me hugs or sit in my lap for five seconds which always makes me smile! He really loves lifting up my shirt and laying his head on my stomach--guess it reminds him of his younger days. :)

~He's a great napper! Luke still takes two good naps everyday. However, I can't say he's the greatest night sleeper. Still gets up every now and then in the middle of the night--more so if he's sick. I'm guessing Luke will never be a good night sleeper, but if he always loves a good nap, I think that's an even trade!

~His favorite toys are any type of ball, his new car, and his Noah's Ark Little People--he loves the animals! He'll take the animals and set them up in some random spot and then knock them all down! He's always moving them from one spot to another. And he tries to hold all 15 in his arms at the same time and of course always ends up dropping them. I love watching him try to figure out how he's going to pick up the ones he's dropped without losing anymore! It's really funny!

Giving hugs to his animals

~Luke loves to be chased through the house and loves to play hide-and-seek. Oh, and he loves a good tickle!

~He loves attention and loves making us laugh. Not that he has to try very hard to get a laugh out of us! He's one silly kid!

~Luke is into EVERYTHING and he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. Gross, but true story: Tonight someone (not naming any names, but it wasn't me!) left the bathroom door open. So Luke runs in there, splashes in the toilet, and then sticks his hands in his mouth. NO Joke. He definitely knows how to get a reaction--and that got a BIG one! But seriously, we really do have to watch him because somehow he finds everything he's not supposed to play with and he puts everything in his mouth that he's not supposed to! We have our hands full.

~He still a little bit of a picky eater. He knows what he likes and what he doesn't like. He loves any kind of fruit, pasta, pizza, cheese, yogurt, black beans, burritos, quesidillas, and some vegetables. He won't touch beef, eggs, or most chicken. Luke entirely self-feeds now. We had been feeding him his yogurt or applesauce, but now he does it all by himself. It's nice to able to just feed myself, but cleaning him up is a BIG task!

~He's such a happy boy! Luke's usually smiling and only gets fussy when he's tired, hungry, or bored. And when he doesn't get his way, we see this face...

~Luke's vocabulary is growing each week! New this week: apple, door, Jesus, and April (my best friend). His favorite word is "uh-oh". When he wakes up, he starts throwing all of books/toys out of his crib and yelling "uh-oh". Luke even says a few phrases--you have to really be listening to him because all the words run together. But some of his phrases are:

"where daddy/mommy go?"

"it go bye-bye"

"peek-a-boo"

"all done"

"all gone"

"oh woooooow"

~Luke loves animals. And he loves to give animals hugs! Our dog doesn't appreciate the hugs very much, but Luke likes chases Ralph around the house until he catches him to give him a hug.

~Luke loves to help me with housework. He helps me put the clothes in the dryer, empty the dishwasher, put the shoes in the basket, close doors (i.e. bathroom and pantry) when they are open, and he really likes using the swiffer.

We love you so much, Lukie Bear. You are the biggest blessing to our lives. You make us laugh and smile a thousand times each day, and we're so proud of the big boy you've become!