My big boy!

Well Friends, Luke has finally hit a few major milestones!  Over the past few months, Luke has made it very apparent that he does things on his own time.  He is fast with some things and slow with others.  One thing that we have been working on for the past week was rolling over.  As much as I would work with him on this, he had no interest in doing so.  For most of his life, he never really had the opportunity to really learn to roll over since he was always swaddled and in his Nap Nanny for sleeping but now that we have made it out of the NN for good, we thought it was time to learn!  Well to my surprise, he did it on his own yesterday (January 18, 2012).  I left him playing on the floor while I walked into the other room to make a drink and wouldn't you know it but he rolled over!  5 months of waiting and I MISSED IT!  Since then, John and I have been trying to get him to do it again by bribing him with everything he loves (paci, toys, books, loveys) and nothing worked.......until.....John left for work this morning and he did it again! ha!  Guess he doesn't like an audience for his big tricks!

 Look Mom, I found my feet!

 Half way there!! Almost over!!

Working on sitting up!  My head is still weighing me down a bit, but I'm working on it!

Vivi Update!

Here are the most recent pictures of our sweet girl!  Mark sent us these adorable pictures yesterday and I just had to post them!  Look at that face! Gosh she is just so cute! I can't wait for her to play with Luke and see the sweet friendship they will have.  We love you Vivi!  Cant wait to meet you!

Sleep Update

Since it's the New Year, we figured that Luke needed a New Years Resolution too! Being that Luke is almost 5 months old, we decided (John and I, definitely not Luke) that is was time to give up the beloved Nap Nanny for sleeping. Like I have said in previous posts, Luke LOVES his Nap Nanny. I honestly think he would sleep in it till his head and legs hung off the sides, but all good things must come to an end. While it was a wonderful help with our reflux issues in the beginning, I think Luke is more than OK to sleep flat now. Problem is, Luke doesn't think so! He is a creature of habit and there are a few things that this little boy is fighting to not give up. First is his Nap Nanny and second is being swaddled. Technically he should be without both of those by now but turns out we have a stubborn little one on our hands. He loves to feel all nice and snugly and stripping him of his comforts does not make him a happy camper. To slowly trick ween him from the nap nanny, we decided it might be a good transition if we let him sleep on his changing pad in the crib.  It kind of feels like the nap nanny, but it is flat.  We then decided depending on if he just ate or not, if we should elevate his head slightly using the crib wedge. I know they say everything with babies comes and goes with stages but I sure am ready for this whole stage to be over with. I just want a baby who I can lay down in his crib that will go to sleep without any "devices". One that I can feed a bottle to, read him a book and then kiss him goodnight. I am so ready for that! Oh well, I guess that will come with time! Say a little prayer for us! This seems like it is going to be a long week of trying to break old habits!

Happy New Year!!!!

Well with a new year comes new resolutions.  Normally, I am really bad at keeping my New Year's resolution but this year, I tried to pick things that were important and attainable so I would actually accomplish my goals. In the past, I did not like sharing my resolutions at the chance I might fail. This year, I figured if I make them public, there is a much better chance I will keep my goals due to the fact, I don't want to fail while others are watching.  A little peer pressure for a good reason never hurt anyone right? 

My Personal Goals:

1. Run a 5k

2. Run a 8k

3. Read Jesus Calling everyday. 

(highly suggest this devotional if you don't already have it.)

4. Work out 4-5 days a week

5. Send Birthday Cards to all my best friends

(I love getting cards and I want to be good at this too!)

Couple Goals:

1. Date night at least 1-2 times a month

2. Go on a weekend get away

Family Goals:

1. Pray together more as a family.

2.Say Luke's Prayers with him every night.

3.Try to attend church every weekend we are home.

(This got tricky due to Luke's Naps but we need to make it work)

4.Wash dogs twice a month.

5.Start a savings account for Luke.

6.Eat at home at least 4 dinners a week.

See, those aren't so bad!  Some of them are things we already do, but need to keep up and others are things we need to start.  I think they are all good goals and hopefully I can start checking some of them off my list really soon!

Happy New Year!

xoxo!

Family Resemblance?

OK, So I must admit, since the day Luke was born I could not help but think he looked just like me!  I don't know if it was me hoping that this child I carried for 9 months would look like me or if it was me just being stubborn.  While I always hoped that if we had a little boy he would look just like his daddy, I just could not see it in him.  Every time I looked at him, I saw his round little face and chubby cheeks and pictured myself or my dad.  However, over the past month, I have started to see more of John's features in Luke.  I see John's eyes and John's lips. 

Over the Christmas holidays, I caught myself several times looking at all the little cousins to see if I could see Luke in them (or I guess I should say, them in Luke).  While looking at all their little faces, I was surprised how much I thought they all had similar features.  I had always thought each of the cousins took after their moms (my sister-in-laws) but now I am starting to think there is more Taylor in them that I had originally though. Below are pictures of the cousins now and also as a baby. See what you think....Do any of them look like Luke to you???

 Hudson as a baby

 Hudson (6)

 Brody as a baby

 Brody (4)

 Hank as a baby

 Hank (10 months)

 Luke and Hudson's baby pictures! 

I found this picture the other day and could not help but think of Luke.  Although their face shape is defiantly different, I do see a resemblance.  Its kinda crazy right?

I will be so excited if Luke turns out looking like any of these 3!  They are too cute and we would be Lucky to have our little guy resemble any of them!  Cant wait to find out!

Vivienne Taylor!

Meet Vivi......

 This precious little girl is my new niece!  She is two years old and currently lives in Ethiopia.  About two years ago, my brother and sister-in-law (Mark and Lynn) decided they wanted to adopt a little girl.  They already had two adorable little boys and felt called in their hearts to adopt from Africa.  Both Mark and Lynn had gone on separate mission trips to Africa and fell in love with it and its people.  They always felt a strong connection to Ethiopia and knew without a doubt that that was the country they wanted to adopt from and so the process began.  It has been a long process and trying at times, due to wanting to hurry things along, but we are finally getting closer to the end now.  On December 10th, Mark and Lynn flew to Ethiopia to meet their daughter!  She is a precious little girl, with a face that already melts my heart!  She is super shy(says M and L) but sweet as can be.  I am so excited to meet her and can not wait to get to know her! Due to the courts doing things super slow in Africa, we are not sure of the exact date Mark and Lynn will get to bring her home.  We were given an estimate of anywhere between 7 weeks to 7 months. I am praying it comes soon and we get to bring that sweet baby home sometime this winter! Our prayers are that the process moves quickly and efficently so we can meet our sweet girl soon!  Please keep her in your prayers and I will keep everyone updated on the whole process as things move forward! xoxo

Happy Birthday Kid!

So I decided it was time to add a new element to the blog other than just updates on Luke.  This blog was originally made to track Luke's life and milestones, and while that is still true, I decided I wanted to add other elements of my life also like my friends.  With that being said, what better way than to acknowledge one of my best friends birthdays?!? 

Christen and I have been best friends for the past 13ish years.  I met Christen when we were freshman in high school because our boyfriends were friends and played football together.  Little did I know at the time that we would be life long buddies. Thinking back on our friendship, I could not be more grateful to have her in my life.  We have been through the ups and downs together and I truly view her as more of a sister than a friend. We talk everyday and know every little detail of each others lives.  This past year, Christen and I both had little boys and it has been so fun becoming new mommies together.  I call her all the time for advice and don't know what I would do without my 24/7 doctor as John calls her. You are such a wonderful friend and person and I love you so much! Hope you had a wonderful 28th birthday kid! xoxo!