Sick Days!

This past week has been pretty pitiful at our house! Luke has not only been battling a nasty cold but he has also been cutting his first two teeth this week!  His bottom two teeth started coming through this past Thursday and have finally made their way through the gums today! Hallelujah!  Now that his teething pain has subsided, we can focus on getting him well and over his cold.  He was so pitiful this weekend because his mouth was hurting him so badly that all he wanted was his teething toys or his paci..... but .....his nose was so stopped up that every time we gave him his paci he couldn't breath!  Pitiful!  Thank goodness we are past the teeth (until the next few start to come in) for a little bit!  Here are a few sad little pics we took of our little guy over the past few days!

Puppy Love!

Luke officially has his first best friend!  Over the past few weeks, Luke has become more and more interested in his dogs and LOVES it when they are inside with him.  He loves to pet them and watch every move they make.  His little head must go back and forth twenty times a minute just watching them pace around the house.  Lately, Gracie has taken a particular interest in Luke and loves to be by his side all the time.  She lays at his feet in his jumparoo, while he is in his high chair and even lays in the bathroom while we are taking a bath.  Below are pictures of Gracie and Luke playing on the floor in the bathroom while I am getting Luke's bath ready!  I am so excited about the sweet friendship these two have and I cant wait to see how much he loves playing with his doggies as he gets older!

Vivi Update!

So here is an absolutely precious video of my sweet little niece Vivi!  She is still currently in Ethiopia awaiting her US visa to be approved.  As of today her papers were filed with the Embassy yesterday but one of the papers was denied because it was not filled out correctly.  We are so sad that we are going to have to wait even longer to pickup our sweet girl!  We had such high hopes that it would be with-in the next few weeks but now we are back to the waiting game.  Please say a prayer that this mistake gets corrected fast and we can go pick her up soon!  She is such a doll and we cant wait to bring her home to be with her family where she belongs!  We love you so much already and cant wait to meet you pretty girl!

                                                 xoxo, 
                 Aunt Medgie, Uncle Johnny and your little cousin Lukey

Ps. The guy filming the video accidentally said Hunter and Brody instead of Hudson and Brody for those of you reading this that know my nephews real names.  

XOXO

Our Love Story: Q & A

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

John and I started dating January 13, 2005 so I guess that makes it just a little over 7 years! 

2. How did you meet? {What's your love story?}

John and I actually met our first week of college.  We both lived in the dorms at Auburn and it just so happened we lived in buildings that were right next door to each other. We became friends right away and hung out in the same crowd for the first two years of college.  He did ask me out once Freshmen year and we went to dinner but nothing ever came from it.  It wasn't until we both went to work on Summer Staff at Frontier Ranch (A Young Life camp) after our Sophomore year that things got interesting.  We became extremely close at camp and continued our friendship of talking everyday when we got back to school.  In January of our Junior year, John asked me to come over and watch a movie with him at his house and then decided out of nowhere to kiss me.  It was shocking to say the least and I quickly ran out of the house.  After thinking about it all night and freaking out to my best friend Brooke, I decided to see where things went.  Seven years later, here we are.....

3. If Married, How long have you been married?

We got married 2 years to the day after our first kiss.  January 13, 2007.  So it's been 5 years!

 

4.If you are married, where did you get married? Big or small wedding?

We got married in Alpharetta, Georgia at St. Brigid Catholic Church with a reception following at Country Club of the South.  It was an unusually warm  and gorgeous January day that was absolutely perfect.  We had a large wedding surrounded by all of our friends and family!  It was wonderful!

5. Do you have any nicknames you call each other?

He calls me Beans and Maza.  I call him Beans also.  I am not really sure how it stuck but it did! ha!

6. Name 3 things that you love most about your husband?

1. First and foremost, I love how much he loves our son! He is so inlove with Luke and I know that love is only going to grow deeper too!  He is so sweet with him and I love to watch them interact together!

2.  I love how considerate he is!  John is always doing little things that are so thoughtful.  He knows I am not a morning person and ever since we have had a baby, he tries to help out by feeding Luke his first bottle before John leaves for work, just to give me those few extra minutes to sleep in!

3. I love how he takes care of and provides for our family! He is such a hard worker and is sweet to provide for our family and let me stay home and raise Luke!  There is nothing more special to me than the time I get to spend with Luke and I am so thankful John allows me to do that! Luke says "Thanks Daddy too!"

7. Tell us, How did he propose?

In May following our senior year at Auburn, we met John's family in Hilton Head for a little summer family vacation.  On the second day we were there John's sisters asked me to go get my nails done with them while they guys in the family went to play tennis.  Just as we were finishing up getting our nails done, the manicurist gave me a card.  I was caught completely off guard and honestly thought it was instructions on how to take care of my nails.  Little did I know that it was the first card of many in the beginning of my engagement scavenger hunt.  I read the card and immediately took off on the scavenger hunt john had planned.  He lead me to all our favorite places on the island with his family members waiting at each one to hand me the next card.  The last and final card lead me to the beach where he was waiting with Marry Me written in the sand.  After freaking out and seeing him from the board walk, I finally made my way out to the beach where he got down on one knee and proposed.  He did such a good job and even decorated the whole beach house with balloons and streamers and had my parents waiting on us when we returned! It was so sweet and later that night both families went to an amazing dinner to celebrate!

8. Is he a flowers and teddy
bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?
He is a present kind of guy.  He loves to buy me things that I have had my eye on for a while and surprise me with them!  Sweet guy!

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?
I'm a go to the beach all day and then pop some popcorn and watch a movie and relax kind of girl!  As much as I like to go out, I love to relax at home with my family more!

10. Tell us one thing you’d like to do with your significant other one day. If you could do anything? 
Go anywhere?
I would love to go to Europe and just travel from country to country.  I would love to eat and drink our way through the cities and country side exploring everything in between.  It might be a little while before we get to do this because the thought of leaving Luke for this long makes me want to cry just thinking about it.  I bet after we have a few children and they are all screaming at each other I might be ready! :)

11.Show us a picture of what love means to you...

 

 

Luke's style!

Ok, So there is nothing cuter than a little boy who is dressed to impress! I absolutely love a little boy who has an "adult" style and I cant wait to fill Luke's closet with tons of fun outfits to dress him up in!  At first I was so determined to keep him looking like a baby and dress him in "baby" clothes but now at 6 months and 19 lbs, I think it's time to move out of the baby stage.  While he will always be my little baby, I am excited to dress him up and show him off! No smocked outfits for this little guy ( we will leave that for when and if I have a girl), this little guy will be straight styling!  Here are a few things were loving right now......

 Love this whole outfit!  The hat, rolled jeans, cardigan.....uh I just love it all!

 Look at this cutie! Loving the sweater vest over a collared shirt!

Below are a few pieces from baby Gap, Nordstroms and Saks that I like.  They are kinda low on good baby boy stuff right now but I thought these were pretty cute for now....

Love the Blue/Gray button up

Love a Bear hat!

Game day for Auburn (or UT I guess)

Casual and Cute

Shoes like Daddy!

Giraffe hat anyone?

 What a stud! Love the glasses and leather jacket!

 Jacket like Daddys!

 We love our socks like these! Need some in a bigger size

 Seriously cute!

 I love boots (hunter or ugg) on kids! We can wear matching ones!

Another Taylor is on it's way!

Well to our surprise but with so much excitement, I am so excited to say that baby Taylor #5 is on it's way!   Lynn and Mark made the big announcement that they are expecting and will be adding another little one to their family on September 20th of this year.  They are so thrilled about the news and cant wait to have a full house come this fall.  The will go from 2 children (Hudson 6 and Brody 4) to four with Vivi and the new baby!  I along with everyone else in the family thinks it will be a girl!  I just have a feeling about it and cant wait to see if I am right!  It will be a big adjustment but such a wonderful one!  We are so excited to meet both Vivi and this new little one and I cant wait till they are all here.   We are praying that Vivi's adoption process will hurry along so we can get her home in time to get settled in before the hustle and bustle of a new baby.  It will be so wonderful for her to be here and meet her new baby brother/sister and be a part of such a big day!  

Congrats Mark and Lynn!! 

We love you and are so excited for you!!

A Half a Year Already! 6 Month Update!

 I can not believe Luke is already half way to his first birthday! It is hard to believe that in less than 6 months, I will no longer have a baby but instead a toddler! These past 6 months had by far been the fastest and best 6 months of my life.  Each day is a new experience full of new exciting things and I love every minute I get to spend with this little guy! Lets see what you have been up to lately.....

 Here are your stats for this month! 

Weight: 19lbs 2 1/2 oz. (80%)

Length: 27inches (75%) 

You are taking after your daddy! Thank goodness!

Head Circumference: 18 1/8 inches (95%)

You are going to be so smart! ;)

 At this doctors visit you got all your normal shots...plus the flu shot.  You did so well with all of your shots but for some reason, the flu shot was the one that put you over the edge.  It must of hurt because you cried so hard it took your breath away! It was so sad!

Once again, the shots made you feel under the weather and you got your usual fever and were a little off the rest of the day.  You slept most of it off and were only left with a red bump that looked like a mosquito bite where you got your flu shot.

 You are currently wearing size 6-12 month clothes from baby Gap 

and 9 month onesies! You are getting so big that we are having a hard time buying clothes for you for future seasons because we have no idea what size you are going to be!  I keep thinking surely you will slow down growing for a little bit but so far you just keep growing and growing!

You are still in size 3 pampers cruisers and probably will be for a little while longer.  Mommy and Daddy made this mistake of trying the cheaper brand of pampers last time and lets just say pampers cruisers are worth the couple extra bucks! ha

 You still love your paci and love to eat!  You have 4 baba's a day (8am, 12am, 4pm, 8pm) 

and 2-3 meals a day in between.  So far you have had almost all of the stage one foods and some of the stage two foods.  Here is what you have had so far: bananas, pears, apples, prunes, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, squash, carrots, broccoli, rice and oatmeal.

We have also discovered the new squeezable organic baby foods by Ella's Kitchen, Plum Baby and Happy Tot and you love them! You love not having to use a spoon and instead you just open your mouth like a little baby bird and swallow.  I love them because they are easy to pack in your diaper bag and eat on the go!

 This month you have had some major accomplishments take place!  First and foremost, you are FINALLY sleeping swaddle free and on your back in your crib! Wahooo!! I am so relieved that we do not have to use and more gimmicks or luxuries to get you to go to sleep at night! No more Swaddle, No more Nap Nanny, No more hair dryer, No more Changing pad.....it's just you and your sleep sack in the crib! You have no idea how long I have been waiting to report this great news!  We decided to rip the band aide off 5 days before your 6 month birthday and after 2 nights of bad sleep, you did it!  You are back to sleeping 11-12 hours and moving all around your crib.  We put you to bed on your back on one side of the crib and you wake up on your tummy on the other side!

 At first, watching you turn over onto your tummy in the middle of the night was NOT OK with me!  I spent the first night sleeping in your room with you making sure you didn't suffocate or get SIDS and the second night clutching the monitor and taking 5-6 different trips into your room to check on your and turn you over.  After a lot of praying and talking to several different doctors, I have finally decided I have to let it go and just trust you are going to be ok and sleep just fine on your tummy.  I just wish you would turn your head to the side and not sleep face planted into the mattress.  You just love to scare me and keep me on my toes huh?

 This month you also decided you wanted to sit up!  You love sit up on your own and while it only lasts for a couple minutes at the most, you are so proud of yourself when you do.  You love getting praised for doing new things and love it when we clap for you! I know in just a matter of time, I will be able to plop you down on the floor and you will be able to sit up and play with all your toys all by yourself!( Above is a picture of how we practiced sitting earlier this month. ha)

 You are still talking 2 real naps a day (at 10am and 2pm).   You normally sleep 1-2 hours for the first nap and 2-2 1/2 hours for the second one.  You like to sneak in a little 3rd nap around 5pm in your swing for about 30 min if we are home during that time.  You live by your schedule and are such a happy baby when we stick right to it.  You have to be in your room to have a good nap.  If you fall asleep in the car and then I try to move you to your room, its a no go!  You should see the crazy things I do to keep you awake on the way back to our house sometimes when you fall asleep in the car.  We sing, roll down the windows, tap the brakes....you name it, I have tried it. ha

 You are still only rolling over one way (Back to Tummy) and I have no idea when you will ever roll the other way.  I swear I think you might walk before you roll from your stomach to your back.  I have tried working with you a countless number of times and it does no good! I guess you will do it on your own time! You are defiantly teaching me about patience and I am learning I am going to need a lot of ir when raising children. ha

 You are becoming more and more aware of the technology around you.  You are constantly looking at my phone when it rings to see if someone is on the screen.  You are used to doing facetime with Nana and Papa so your are so interested in my phone every time it rings and try to grab it out of my hands.  You have also learned a bad habit (uh hum...john) of watching TV and love cartoons!  Daddy and you watch the Disney channel in the mornings when he is home and you are obsessed! You love Mickey Mouse Club house and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  Its kinda bad how zoned in you get when they are on.  I have to admit, I have used them to get a few minutes to myself before but try not to do it too often because I want you to be a child who likes to play outside and use their imagination rather than just watch TV or play games.

 This past month you made another trip to Atlanta to see Nana and Papa and to also meet your Aunt Irene!  She came all the way to Atlanta to meet you are we had a wonderful time spending time with her!  I cant wait till you can meet the rest of the Lazzara Family soon! You are going to love them!

 This month you also got to spend a lot of time with your Gigi and PopE while they babysat your for us.  You always love getting to spend time with them and I am sure you get spoiled rotten when you are with them.  I think Gigi is probably counting down the days until she can give you ice cream or something yummy like that!

This past month has been filled with so many wonderful memories and I am so proud of all that you have accomplished! I just know these next few months are going to fly by and I am so excited to see what this next month holds! Love you buddy!

xoxo, Mommy