morning sunshine

I love this little man in the mornings.

Sometimes Adam and I play-fight about who gets to go in and get him when he wakes up. 
Who wouldn't want to rush in and see this little face?

Every morning when we go into his room, we sing a little song ...
Good morning to you, good morning to you, good morning little Luke, good morning to you.

I worked kind of an odd schedule this week and haven't seen little man as much as I'd like.  So you better believe I'll be the one singing the song in the morning.

party time

We were supposed to have Luke's first birthday party at our neighborhood park.  But the weather got a little crazy so we moved it inside.  In the end, it didn't really matter because he was surrounded by people who love him like crazy and wanted nothing more than to celebrate his first year. 

(I'm not sure why this picture is so tiny, but when I try to make it big, it gets blurry.  And, of course, it's the only decent family shot we have on that day.  Oh well!)

He wasn't too crazy about the cake and icing, but I think it's more because he was overwhelmed by all the attention and he wanted to get down to play.

In typical fashion, he loved the paper, bows, and boxes!

And ... the classic cousin picture.  Poor Abby! 

luke's first haircut

I would say that getting little man's hair cut was a bit overdue.

I mean, I know that shaggy is cool, but this is leaning more towards mullet, and we needed some control.   We thought it would be special to celebrate Luke's first birthday with a haircut and pizza. 

I had to work on his actual birthday so tonight we made our way to the local barber where Adam gets his hair cut, which just so happens to be within walking distance of our favorite pizza shop.

Our grand plan was to bribe him with suckers.  Because, ya know, every kid will sit still for a sucker. Unless, he's opinionated and funny and decides that he doesn't like high fructose corn syrup that's dyed orange and spun around a stick and artificially flavored peach. 

Or raspberry.

Or blueberry.  I never thought I would want my kid to like suckers.  But just while the sweet lady had those sharp scissors in her hands, right there at the base of his neck, and his ear, and near his eye, I needed him to like suckers.  He didn't.

But he sat pretty still anyway, and daddy ate the suckers instead.

first peanut butter & jelly

For breakfast on your birthday, you had your first peanut butter & jelly sandwich.
You loved it, but that's no surprise. 

happy birthday luke!

Today, my Luke, you are twelve months old.

You are getting so big. 
You weigh about 21 pounds and your eyes are deep hazel and you still have two teeth.
You love to eat and you would take down an entire pint of blueberries if I'd let you.

You talk all the time.  Lots of different sounds.  No consistent words yet, but you're on your way.
You play peek-a-boo around every corner and you still think it's so funny.
You give kisses and high fives.
You dance when your toys play music and it makes me laugh so hard!

You still love your daddy, your Honey, Daisy, and being outside.
Stroller rides.  Wagon rides.  Going to get the mail. 

You've still got some stranger anxiety, but I think it's getting better.
I would describe you as shy, but you warm up pretty quickly. 

You are always busy, moving, going, exploring.
You're cruising all the furniture with ease and walking behind your push-toys as fast as your little legs will move.  You hate to sit still.  Unless you're eating. 

You love the dishwasher and the freezer.
As soon as you hear one of them open, you crawl so fast to get there.
And when I take you away, you pitch a big fit. 

I love everything about you, champ.
Your big belly laugh and your sweet baby smell.
The way you bury your head in my shoulder when it's time for a nap, or when you're just waking up.
Your expressions.  Your confidence.  Your strength.


This has been the most incredible year of my life. 
You have changed the way I look at the world and I wouldn't ever go back.
I love you so much. 


Happy birthday, buddy.