Sunshine makes everything better

January may have started out with sickness and dreary attitudes, but it finished with lots of sunshine, fresh air and happy, healthy Amys family members. Alright, 2012... You're forgiven.

My big girl

As I was searching through all of our pictures for Luke’s monthly milestones post, I got stuck on this image:

Holy grown up little person. Oh, Taylor! When did you become such a big girl?

For the last nine months I had been so focused on soaking up all of the newborn-ness that was expiring before my eyes, that I missed the exact moment where my first baby became a fully functioning little Miss.

And as much as I miss my chubby little Taylor-tot, this fabulous big girl she has turned into is absolutely wonderful. She is smart and sensitive, and just so precious. And I love, LOVE! being able to have real-conversations with her, and know that she understands me. And my heart still melts whenever she throws her arms around me and says, I love you, Mama.

Yes, she can test our patience and push her limits, but she is a three year old. And that’s what three year olds do. I know this for a fact, because I spend a lot of time around three and four year old little girls. And I wouldn’t trade her for any of them. She’s my adorable little peanut. And even though I can’t stop her from growing up, I am so proud of the person she is becoming. And I am so blessed to have her in my life. Sass and all.

Nine months old

My little big man is now nine months old. NINE months! As is three-quarters of the way to the big ONE. How in the world did that happen? Hey, Luke – SLOW DOWN! Or just start sleeping through the night. Because I’m pretty sure the days, weeks, months would seem like less of a blur if I was well rested. DUDE! Or just keep smiling at me and reaching for my face. Because those sweet and tender me-and-my-baby moments are just as precious as slumber. Because I’m a sucker for a cute boy.

Yep. Still not doing much sleeping at the Amys house. But we have made a few tweaks and performed a few experiments and I am happy to say that things are getting better. Not great, but better. When Chris’s parents were visiting last month, we let Taylor sleep in the basement with them in order to let Luke cry-it-out for a few nights. And he did. And he started to realize that his heartbreaking screams, cries and squeals would result in nothing more than me or Chris readjusting his blanket or putting his binky back in his mouth. Was he happy? Absolutely not. But were we all well-rested and cheerful in the morning? Oh yes.

BUT. Then came some more teeth. And then came the sickness. And for about a week, no one was sleeping. And for as much work as we put into getting him to self-soothe, everything was tossed out the window in order to survive, meaning some nights he would sleep in our bed, and some nights I was feeding him around the clock to get him to calm down. Ugh. But after discussing everything with our pediatrician at Luke’s nine-month checkup, and after it was revealed that Luke’s ears were totally sore and full of gunk, it was suggested that maybe the reason he isn’t sleeping as of late is because he’s hurting. Which, hearing that as his mother, made me grab his fuzzy big head and smooch his cheeks until they were wet and slobbery. If he’s going to cry all night because he’s in pain, well, then it’s my job to hold him and love him until he’s calm. It’s called being a mother. This job is not for the weak, I tell ya. But it’s the best job in the whole world.

So other than the double ear-infection diagnosis, Luke checked out pretty well at his doctor’s visit. His updated stats have him weighing in at 23 pounds, 9 ½ ounces, and stretching 29 ½ inches long, which actually knocked him down into the 90th-percentile of all other nine-month old boys out there. What a shrimp, eh? His giant baby head is even starting to level off on the charts. But, in my opinion, his cuteness factor is totally off the graph.

And while Luke is communicating very well for a baby his age, and his fine motor skills are awesome, he is still not crawling or pulling himself up on furniture, which are both things that Taylor was doing when she was six months old. And after expressing my concern about him not reaching these milestones yet, our doctor reminded me that, One – Taylor was very early to stand, crawl and walk compared to other kids, and that, most importantly, Two – Luke was just fine. He’s a big kid, and big kids start crawling later than smaller ones. And the thing is, Luke is SO CLOSE to crawling. He will go from sitting, to kneeling, to crawling position, to realizing that he’s kinda over chasing whatever he was leaning towards and he’ll just take a break. So maybe I should be more concerned about him being lazy.

But there are things to do make him excited, and when he does get pumped up he kicks his legs and swings his arms so furiously that his whole body spazzes with his happiness. And even though it’s hard to catch on film, his energy is infectious.

So we haven’t checked crawling off the list, but we did reach some other milestones this month. Like eating his first season’s worth of Christmas wrapping:

And moving into the big boy carseat:

And starting to nibble finger foods:

And babbling lots of distinguishable noises, such as Dah-dah-dah, and Mah-mah-mah and BAW! BAW!:

And booking our first male-modeling gig. Take that, crawling babies! How many of you mobile little ones are published in a clothing catalog?

Oh look at that adorable boy! And he is all mine. I can’t tell you how many times a day I hug him into my body, let him bury his head into my shoulder and then kiss those fantastic cheeks. Lots and lots. You would too.

And someone else that believes she owns the rights to my little man is my big girl. Yep, Miss Big Sister Taylor is quite smitten with her Yukey. And while she is very sweet with him, she’s the first to inform me if he’s doing anything other than just sitting there looking at her. Wait, she tells me that too. As in – MOM! Yukey is LOOKIN at me! Oh yes, Luke. You won’t be getting away with ANYTHING with your big sister around. But I promise you, she does it all in love.

And Ruby is also pretty happy about Luke being around. Especially now that he’s dropping food on the floor, and not taking up much space on the carpet.

So month eight is in the books. And please forgive my earlier whining about not sleeping and the sickness. Just forget about it, alright. Because right now, at this exact moment, life is really good. And nothing can cloud that. Especially with this precious, perfect little person in my life.

Big girl carseat

About a month ago I was trying to stuff Taylor and her big, poofy wintercoat into her carseat to get to school, and after realizing that the straps were loosened to their max, we had to get her out of the car and out of her coat before being able to buckle her into her carseat. So you know what that means, y’all? No, we are not moving to a tropical island where winter coats are never worn. What it means is that since the Princess is over 40 pounds, we were able to switch her over to the big girl booster seat for the car.

And, WOO-BOY!, does she think it’s the coolest thing ever. Because not only can she wear a coat while in the car now, but she can buckle and unbuckle the big girl seatbelt all by herself. And on the maiden voyage of her new seat on the way to school last week, she kept squealing, I LOVE MY BIG GIRL CARSEAT! and YUKEY! YOU DON’T GET TO RIDE IN A BIG GIRL CARSEAT! Yep, she’s kind of a big deal.

Living in a house of germs

So we’re only a half of a month into 2012, and I’m hoping the last few weeks aren’t indicative of what the rest of our year is going to be like... Sickness. CURSE YOU, PRESCHOOL! Nothing like ushering in the new year with three out of the four of us suffering with nasty headcolds and fevers. Somehow I’ve managed to stay healthy enough to take care of everyone else, which considering the fact that I am the one who is constantly covered in snot and breathing in their germs at close-range, it is a minor miracle that I haven’t been knocked down with the illness. But I just keep overdosing on vitamins and drinking my super-food green smoothies and crossing my fingers that I stay healthy. Because once Mama goes down, it’s officially a dumpster fire.

And I’ve wanted to update you all on our fabulous trip to Birmingham and other happenings, but I’ve been busy trying to heal and comfort Chris, Taylor and Luke. And once they got comfortable, I would then soothe myself with a giant glass of wine and an early bedtime.

But reflecting back for you guys, it really was a wonderful trip south to see my beloved family. Taylor started feeling wiped out right after we got there, so she wasn’t her normal, peppy-self, but my little big man picked up the slack, and was more than happy to own the spotlight while smiling and flirting with his extended Blackwell family.

And Libba and I ran – um, I mean CONQUERED! – the Red Nose Run that Saturday we were there. I am so proud of my sister for her dedication to this sport, and I think I’ve convinced her to run the elusive Asheville half-marathon with me this fall. Hooray for running away the rage!

It was a great visit. I was able to spend some kid-free, quality time with Libba and Granddaddy while I was there, which made my heart very happy. Not that you can’t carry on a conversation while soothing a sick toddler and holding a gigantic, squirmy baby, but you know what I mean. And trust me, the kids got plenty of attention from their beloved Beeba and Dirky.

And, thank goodness, we didn’t pass on any of our sickness to anyone there. Fingers crossed. Because that’s not the kind of lasting impression I want to leave with loved ones. Boogers and coughs. UGH. Sickness be gone!

As if his head wasn't big enough already

A few days ago Chris got a phonecall from a friend of his who owns a children’s clothing company called The Littlest Golfer, which specializes in teeny-tiny golf clubs, apparel and accessories. They were due to shoot the spring line for their upcoming catalog that afternoon, and at the last minute they had one of their models cancel, so he asked Chris if I would be able to bring Luke to the Country Club for a few hours so our son could model some adorable golf threads. And, of course, we jumped at the opportunity. Especially when we learned that we’d be able to keep all the outfits and that we could score a few of the catalogs for keepsakes and grandparent-gifts.

And, y’all, my son stole the show. No joke. He just sat down on the putting green, grabbed the golf club and cheesed for the camera... He was a natural. And while the rest of the kids were running wild or complaining about the cold weather, Luke just hammed it up. Laughing and smizing and finding the light and working his angles. Miss Tyra Banks would have been proud.

I mean, if that doesn’t sell some miniature argyle sweaters, then I don’t know what will.