Time flies.

This past week I kept thinking "At this time last year, I was huge... At this time last year, I was watching 'Weeds' on my couch for four straight days because I was on bed rest... At this time last year, I was at the hospital waiting for something to happen after being induced...." And you get the idea. I just can't believe how fast 2010 went for us. My little 7 lb 2 oz baby is now 25 lbs. 

He had fuzzy hair from day one. 

Christmas Eve 2009 - 6 days old.

He slept through his first log rolling session with Daddy.

And now Luke and I finished our first Waterbabies swimming class together on his 1st birthday. And no, he didn't sleep during these classes. 

Putting the basketball in the hoop...and not letting go of the rim. I had to pry his fingers off in order for him to let go. Guess he understands dunking...or at least the concept.

Opening his birthday present from Daddy and me.

YAY!! He liked it! He really likes the paper, but he was happy with the car too.

Checking out the dashboard ;)

Opening presents at his birthday party. He likes the tissue paper the best. Luckily we had cousins to help open the gifts for Luke.

We have refrained from feeding our child sugar for the first 11 months of the year (with the exception of Grandpa O'Brien sneaking in a bite of ice cream here and there). But that is now over. Cake was the weekend.

He knows what's coming!

He ate the whole piece and managed to keep it out of his hair. Whew!

Opening Aunt Peggy's noisy gift. Tickle Me Elmo X-treme! It's hilarious if you haven't seen it in action. Luke was a little afraid of it but he's warming up quickly to it.

Sharing his birthday party yesterday with my cousin, John. Happy birthday today, John!! 

This has been an amazing past year. I never would have thought getting not enough sleep, putting someone first besides myself (yes Mom, it finally happened), getting my patience tested daily (luckily I got it from my Mom) and taking care of someone would be so rewarding. Luke has brought so much love to our lives and as much as I love when he naps or goes to bed at night and I get "me time", he is my best little buddy and I love him more than words can describe. His personality cracks me up; whether he is playing peek-a-boo with his blankie or chasing a dog and trying to land on top of them, he is perfect. And that is probably because he's my baby. ;) 

Snowed in, and finally freed

With the recent blizzard and cold temperatures, we have been staying in as long as we can. Getting Luke all bundled up takes some work and frankly, it's too cold for me. 

So instead, I found my favorite Christmas movie, "Christmas Vacation" and assembled, or attempted to, Luke's birthday present.

...A Cozy Coupe! I am living vicariously through Luke because I always wanted one. I hope he likes it as much as me. :)

I am normally pretty good with directions, but this is ridiculous!

I sat there staring at the pieces for about 5 minutes. Grabbed a wheel and some white piece and tried to put them together but I couldn't even tell from the directions if I had the right white piece. 

So I opted for the video instructions. 

And WA-LA! It's together! Okay, it took about 40 minutes but I did it! 

And now that Luke is awake, back to playing and hiding his new car until Saturday! 

 Jamie's solution to killing time being stuck indoors. Not a bad idea!

The snow and drifts at noon. 

Attempting to walk the dogs. They sank in the snow.

So do I.

We only made it to the end of the road (another hundred feet), then came back home. 

If you haven't noticed from the photos, he loves this house and hanging onto the spinning wheel. He likes to stand on it and rock the house. 

Yesterday, we went to my friend, Michelle's house to play. 

Taylor and Luke playing peek-a-boo in the closet. I think Luke wanted her to go back in!

You can't tell from the picture but they are sitting in a basket together. Haha

LUKE'S FIRST HAIR CUT!!

He did a great job, didn't cry once, but managed to not smile once either. Oh well, I'll take that. 

So handsome :)

"Ugh, Mom. Are we done yet??"

Showing off his new do to Great-Grandma O'Brien while she shows off all her singing Santa's. 

Playing with a bag from an early birthday present. 

Playing at his cousin's house last night. 

Going down their cool roller coaster!

 Have a great week! It's Luke's 1st birthday on Saturday so we'll be busy celebrating this weekend but will be sure to update early next week. Stay warm!

We're still here

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, since before Thanksgiving! We have been busy chasing Luke walking and attempting to run, all over the place. It is so much fun watching him explore the world vertically and see what he can get into now. He has figured out walking much faster than I thought he would. I thought kids were cautious with taking steps, went slow and it took time to master. Nope. Luke got it. Maybe he caught on quickly from walking so fast around furniture and tables for a few months before venturing out without holding onto anything. He still loves climbing - stairs, the gate to keep him away from stairs, and on top of us when we lay on the ground.

Here are some recent photos from Thanksgiving and hanging around our house.

My cousin, Meghan with Luke and my grandma in the background.

Showing off his walking skills in front of everyone.

Check out those front teeth! HA

Daddy and Luke

My little boy plays with trucks now!!

Cute little guy, even with his boo-boos. His hand is wrapped because he touched the glass on our fireplace and burned his palm and he tripped and fell on a dog rawhide bone and it bruised/cut his eyebrow. I like to say he beat up the boy next door who picked on him for his sweet hair color. Just kidding :)

Since Jack and Dino didn't make our Christmas card this year, here's their moment. Too bad this audience is tiny!

Luke turns 1 next Saturday the 18th!!!!! I CANNOT believe he's already so old. My fear of waking up one morning and Luke is starting Kindergarten is getting closer. Ahhhhhh! We are having a small party for him with the Sesame Street theme. I am trying to figure out if I should make cupcakes with character faces on them or just buy a cake. I'm sure I'll just end up buying one, it's easier.