Road Tripping!

Luke's 19th week has been busy, busy, busy! We are (in theory) getting ready for the move. I say in theory because I plan a million things each night as I go to sleep and the next day, they all seem to just end up on the list for the following day's agenda.

I guess I'll be ready, whether or not I'm ready, right? John's favorite motto is "If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute to do," and that seems to be how I am approaching this move.

That said, I also just seem to not have enough time. And time with Luke wins every tug.

He had his 4 month checkup Friday. Dr. Sheth walked in as I was letting Luke 'stand' on the table. That's one of his favorite things--us holding his hands and him standing. He is so strong. The doctor laughed and said, "Oh, no, no, no...you do not want to teach him that!" At first, I thought he was serious--that there was some medical reasoning. He then went on to say that the brain imprints every single thing--every head wobble, foot placement, etc., that Luke is making, his brain is coding for acclimation into 'normal' day-to-day. Even though it sounds silly that a 4 month old is 'learning' to stand/walk, that's essentially what it is. I asked what the problem with that was and he said, "Oh nothing...but boy are you in trouble when he walks!" He continued by telling me that he could see just from how strong Luke was standing and how his head/neck control was that he wouldn't be surprised if Luke was walking at 8 or 9 months! YIKES. I was walking at 8 1/2 months...my mom said I didn't crawl very much, maybe a few weeks, then crawled under a table and walked out.

I just can't believe that. Seriously. Walking in a few months? No way.

We're not even rolling! Sure are trying, though. For a few days, he was entirely on his stomach, save his arm--if he'd just pull that out from under him, he'd be there. I have a feeling it is only a matter of a few more days before he's going back and forth pretty easily. He is all over his playmat and crib, but we've been traveling and he hasn't had as much practice lately. The doctor and I also talked about tummy time. He did a few things and then told me not to worry about it so much...Luke was obviously strong, would use his arms for what he wanted to use, and that I could just try and give him a couple minutes here and there if it made me feel better, but that he wasn't worried about it at all. I'm going to really, really miss his doctor! (Not the wait time, though!!! THREE hours...for an appointment I made two months ago.)

He was 13 lbs., 12 oz., though the scale kept wobbling between that and 14 lbs. I think he leaned heavier, based on our weigh-ins at home, but it doesn't matter. He is healthy and happy, so I'm fine. With a length of 24.75 inches and head circumference of 16 inches (longer, leaner and smaller head--very much like his daddy!), the doctor said he was just perfect. He did fine with his shot (Pentacil) because he was asleep. He woke up because of it, but then got an oral vaccine that must have tasted sweet because he didn't even cry over the shot--went straight to sucking that syrup as fast as he could! This boy loves the sweet stuff, for sure!

We went on a road trip this weekend! With our good friends Craig and Shelby, and some of their family, we celebrated their twin boys' 2nd birthday at Sesame Place! Of course Luke won't remember it, but we had a good time and he'll have lots of 'memories' in pictures! He had lots of firsts--first time in a swimming pool (loved it!), first shower with daddy (loved it!), first beer.

First beer? Yes. We all went to dinner and the wait time was crazy. Luke was in his carrier and we were all sort of trying to stand out of the way (not a lot of room in the front of the restaurant for waiting). We were all halfway in the entrance/bar area and all of a sudden, one of the boys (who was being held in his daddy's arms) accidentally knocked a glass of beer off of the bar--right onto Luke! The glass broke, beer and glass splattered, and poor little Luke was a little surprised, to say the least. Thankfully, he was fine--his toe got cut a teeny bit and he smelled like he'd been out carousing the brothels, but it could have been a lot, lot worse. Lesson learned? Might be best just to hold him if we are ever in a situation like that again.

Speaking of holding...he has decided that my arms are the best place for naps, for real. He'll 'nap' in his crib for maybe 30-40 minutes at a time, if I am lucky. In my arms? 2 hours or more. Morning naps are really iffy these days, and so to compensate, I pretty much plop myself

on the sofa with the phone, a drink and the remote control and we 'rest' for a good bit in the afternoon. I want to be sure he gets enough sleep in the daytime.

Nothing gets done and I don't care. If he'd let me, I'd sit on the sofa holding him for several hours every day until he was 34.

One of the BEST parts of our trip was meeting our friend Katy and her sweet Bobby and Ellie. Katy and I have decided that at just two weeks apart, Ellie and Luke are destined for each other! I loved, loved, loved actually 'meeting' Katy and wish we'd had more time! There will be lots of sweet pictures of the babies together, as well as our Sesame Place adventure, but will have to wait until tomorrow. Luke woke up at 5 for a feeding, and I figured if I didn't get this written after he was done and back asleep, there's no telling when I would...but as it is now 6:15, John is getting ready for work and I am going to try to get another hour or so before the Lukester is back up. My insomnia is awful these days--as tired as I am, my mind just WILL NOT TURN OFF and so I'm glad Luke will go right back to sleep, but I sure don't. Probably because I'm thinking of the one million and eight things I need to do.

Too bad my brain won't subscribe to the 'Wait until the last minute' theory!

Here are a few pictures of Luke from this week...

Throwing the ball for the dogs...he likes hanging with Daddy!

Daddy and his Mini-Me

Assuming nap position....

Dixie is glad to watch Luke...and keep his feet clean!