Luke @ 11 Months Old

Just look at those eyes... He's working on something BIG!  (And it wasn't anything big in his diaper)  Luke's big move to ring in his 11th month was taking his 1st STEP!!!  

Just 3 weeks ago, Luke stood by himself for the first time.  Then, he took one small step on his own! I can't believe how strong he is. 

It must be all the time he spends working out with Daddy! 

Maybe he's so strong because of all the food he's cooking on the grill.

He loves to eat and grunts at us when he sees us eating. He especially enjoys when we share our food with him.

He learned how to drink from a straw this month!  We gave him a baby food pouch and he immediately started sucking. That skill transitioned into drinking water from a straw --- wish I would have thought of that technique earlier! 

He's very vocal about food and uses his signs the most when talking about food.  He can say more please, all done, water, milk, and eat.  He has also been known to sign all done when he's hot and ready to go inside or tired of riding in the car or when he's just had enough of the activity we're doing! 

One thing he can't get enough of --- Daddy and Big Brother! He even enjoyed watching them play water balloon toss at Brendon's work picnic.  

This month, Owen had a few big accomplishments too.  The biggest was finishing his first year of preschool!

We celebrated the first day of summer by playing at Owen's favorite park and splash pad! He chose his outfit (if you couldn't tell).  What's the opposite of a school uniform?! Wearing a character on every piece of clothes --- Thomas hat, Monsters University shirt, Pixar characters on his swim trunks,  and monster socks! It was a good day. 

Now that preschool, MOPS, and bible study are finished for the year, we've been spending more time at home and going to the gym.  Both boys love playing in the back yard pool and eating lunch on the back patio. 

Summer nights have been full of grilling and eating dinner outside! 

Brendon and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on June 9th! We ate dinner at Buddy V's and dessert from Carlos Bakery.  

Luke and Owen have been playing really well together lately.  Luke has always been interested in what Owen is doing, but now he's able to crawl over and be a part of the fun.  

Owen's found new ways to hide from Luke when he needs a break.  He plays Lego at the table or trains behind the baby gate.  I wasn't very excited about having a huge baby gate in the front of the house (but you gotta do whatcha gotta do to keep Luke The Climber safe) and it's made managing the toy war much easier! 

Speaking of The Climber... Luke will climb anything and everything! I turned my head at playgroup and seconds later found him like this--- halfway up the stroller.  Can you guess what he was climbing up to get?  .... The snack tower! 

He doesn't always need to climb up stairs, strollers, packages of drinks, or the dishwasher... he's also perfectly happy climbing IN cabinets! 

The boys and I have been going swimming a lot at our friend's pool or going with Daddy to the pool at the Y on the weekends.  Swimming days = 2 boys napping  Whoohoo!  

The boys' favorite time of day is when Daddy comes home! They both want to wrestle with him.  Luke's internal timer starts going off around 5:15pm and he spends the rest of the day checking on Daddy and calling out "dada" as loud as he can.   

We all missed Brendon during our trip to Shreveport, but had so much fun with Sara Beth, Tristen and their families! 

Traveling by myself with both boys was actually easier than I expected.  I was quite thankful for this little invention.  The "Child Protection Seat" was a real lifesaver! 

The Ergo was my saving grace while walking around the airport (hauling the carryon, kids, snacks, and all the other flying necessities). I held Luke in the carrier during the flight too.  He was the in-flight entertainment the entire flight to Shreveport.  He was supposed to be sitting in my lap, but he was pretty much dancing/climbing/escaping every chance he had.  He also loved playing peek-a-boo with the lady behind us!  Thankfully, the ride home was during nap time so he was asleep almost the entire time! 

It was so much fun for me to spend time with Brandi and Diana.  We kept thinking "Wow! We have 7 kids!"  We've come a long way from being 3 new mommas with one baby each. 

And, look how happy they all are!! 

hahaha 

No really, the trip was amazing and all the kids played together really well.  Getting a picture to prove it was almost impossible!