Housewarming Party

We loaded down the car and headed to Houston for Chris and Christy's Housewarming Party Saturday afternoon. They had a full house where we enjoyed visiting, eating 3 kinds of cakes, and playing horseshoes! We had so much fun being loved on and Luke enjoyed extra attention from Grandma and Granddaddy. Luke also had his second trip to Lupe Tortillas!

Our trek back home started at 9 am and ended back at our house at 7pm! We made LOTS of pit stops and had 2 blow outs...not a car blow out, THIS kind of blow out:

We stopped off to have a steak lunch and play pool with Granna and Pops:

We also stopped in College Station to visit with our friends, the Walls, then we stopped again in Waco to take Luke to Rudy's BBQ... you can never start too early with these things, you know...

(This is outfit #2 of 3).

5 Months- Our Cup Runneth Over!

Luke, you have been busy this month! You rolled over, you cut teeth, you giggled, and you had 3 ear infections! It has been a month full of smiles and full of tears. You are giving us a preview as to how "on the move" you are about to become and we are excited, but hesitant to leave this familiar state that we are ending- mainly, leaving a room and you being right where we left you! Just one late night after you rolled over the first time, you came out of your swaddle, shimmied off your wedge and were on your tummy, sideways in your crib. As I turned you over, you looked up at me smiling as to say "Look what I did!" Wow, this is a sight I didn't expect to see so soon!

When we got pregnant, people said life would never be the same and we would "Give Up" so much. I would agree. Luke, your Daddy and I have "given up" our selfishness- you have made us team up together for the common goal of your wellbeing... together, we are trading off sleep, washing endless bottles, making up silly stories with weak morals at best, and "initiating bedtime sequence" for you, but as one. I have "given up" silly chatter that before you, I thought really mattered- who is dating who, who wore what, who said what about whom... it all seems so silly to me now. I have "given up" a clean house and I still daily have to come to terms with that. There is always a pile of laundry to do, always a floor that is dirty, always more dusting to get to, but it won't matter to me in 5 years that I put it all off to play with you, to hold you, to read to you. Yes, we have given up some freedoms- movie nights, date nights, shopping excursions, vacations, but we wouldn't trade any of it for a second without you! You have grown our hearts in ways that we never knew possible- you are making us better versions of ourselves and showing us how far we can really stretch, emotionally and physically-- so one day, when you begin to look at us as your role models, we hope you like what you see. We love you, sweet boy.

A New Kind of Sleep

Luke LOVES to roll now-- even while sleeping, so I have had to get creative on how to keep him in place so he sleeps soundly... the best so far is a sleep positioner- he still moves, but at least he doesn't end up on his tummy in panic mode!

Before sleep positioner (Ummm... is my child breathing in there?):

After sleep positioner (still working on not sliding off of the wedge):

(I realize neither look perfect, but the "After" is a BIG improvement- less thrashing at 2am.!)

On a Roll, It's Official!

Look who rolled over back to tummy FIVE times yesterday! (4 months, 3 weeks, 1 day old)
(Luke was paying back Granna for keeping her up all night)

Granna Saves the Day!

For the past few weeks, I have been running on empty- it seems like our family has been taking turns being sick and it has taken it's toll on me... I guess my mom could sense it because she called me Friday on her lunch hour and insisted she would come if I just said yes-- of course, we said yes since Luke has been fighting a cold, helping hands are never refused! Just after that phone call, I got a call from Luke's daycare saying he was running a fever and I needed to come pick him up- a trip to the pediatrician revealed that he has double ear infections from all of his cold congestion sitting in his head (this is his 3rd ear infection and looks like tubes are probably in his future). As we were waiting in the CVS parking lot to get medicine, I sat in the back seat trying to calm my screaming child with his bottle knowing full well he didn't want to suck a bottle with ears on fire. I resorted to singing "Jesus Loves Me", then broke into tears. Seems like at that moment, the song went: "Jesus loves me, this I know?? For the Bible tells me so." And with the second verse being a statement, I pulled myself together and faked a pep talk to both of us... Granna was on the way-- I could make it a few more hours! I did. Thank you Momma for helping hands and a full night's sleep... everything is clearer now! Jesus loves me, this I know!

The DEAL of the Century!

Diapers. What an expensive necessity. Like any other trip to Walmart, I went coupons in hand (Brent's mom mails me her coupons!), ready to save a little-- my box of 84 diapers was $20 and with my coupon, they would be $19. Throw it in the cart and head to the $25 formula, and on I went... as I got to the end of my shopping list, I forgot something in the baby section, so I doubled back to pick up one more item... as I got closer, I saw a cart freshly rolled out with a $5 sign posted at the top and SWARMS of people- I got closer and it was diapers!!! There were 2- 72 ct. packages of my Pampers left- I reached for one- examined it- looked good then reached for the second one-- it was gone! Oh well, I thought to myself... at least I got one package. I went to go pick up my other item that led me there in the first place and as I walked back by the cart, the Pampers Snatcher had put that second pack back!!! I got 2 packages of Pampers Swaddlers for $10... what a DEAL! But wait... there's more-- they let me use my coupons- both of them- getting my total for diapers down to $8!!! I walked away with double the diapers for less than half of what I intended to spend! What a day!

(PS- to all of my other friends with babies-- the other diapers on the rack were pull ups and gender specific, so I didn't think those were what you all use... otherwise I would have been that lady!)

Teeth!

Our baby's bottom teeth broke through the gums yesterday (4 months, 2 weeks, 2 days old)... what an exciting day! Luke has been feeling his sharp teeth with his tongue, with a puzzled look on his face- it is so cute! And, he was thrilled to let us have a feel too!

Cereal!

Luke just figured out how to hold his bottle, so we thought we should try cereal! He liked it, his Momma cried :) What a relief that we are starting something he can enjoy! He put his hands around mine and brought them to his mouth to control the pace... smart boy!

Aunt Jamie Visits

Luke's Aunt Jamie came up to visit for the weekend... the weather was not the greatest, but we made the most of her visit indoors :)
We sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in a round:

Jamie loved on her nephew:

And we hung out:

Luke and Daddy had tummy time:

Luke played in his Exersaucer! He likes it for about 5 minutes and then we pull him out before melt down... he may need a few more weeks to enjoy this toy to it's full potential:

A Sick Week- A Boring Post

We have had a very sick week in the Brewer household... as soon as we got Luke's ear infection figured out, I came down with a stomach virus, so Brent had 100% baby duty-- we now know why God designs the family with a Mother and a Father-- way too much to do when you go from 4 helping hands to 2.

So to close out our sick week, I thought I would write about how smart Luke is becoming on taking his meds... when he sees the syringe coming at him, he throws a royal fit, but he doesn't know his Momma is WAY more stubborn than he is (and my Dad swears this is a good quality for me :)

When we first started giving Luke medicine, I would shoot it in the side of his cheek and blow in his face to make him swallow... THEN he got wise to that and figured out how to hold it on his tongue and spit it out... we were going through way to much medicine with this method. So, THEN I changed it up... I went right past his tongue to the back of his throat (this being easy because he was screaming and the syringe was pretty easy to insert) and shot it down (this one scares me because of choking), but it worked... UNTIL he wised up and started crying with his mouth shut! I am not even kidding you- hysterical. So, we needed a new method fast! When we went to the ER, the nurse changed up sides, left- squirt, right-squirt, etc. This worked for about a day confusing him on which side the pink stuff was coming from, but THEN Luke started the tongue thing again. SO, again we change it up... NOW, I keep the syringe IN his mouth so he cannot get his tongue around the meds and has to swallow... it is working well for us at the moment! I am out of ideas, so hope this one continues to work!

Spring has Sprung!

I took the day off of work and headed to the Arboretum with my friend Sarah and her sweet babies. The weather was perfect, the flowers were beautiful, lunch was so yummy, and having a friend along to maneuver technicalities (strollers, feedings, etc.) was a bonus! Of the million shots we took, here are my favorites!

Ahhh, Photoshop :)

Week in Review

Luke has found his hands and wants to feel whatever is directly in front of him

Daddy loving on Luke (and hoping for a giggle!)

Luke went to his first bounce house birthday party for his friend, Clayton... while there, he met Darth Vader!

Luke had his first ER trip on March 10- he woke up unconsolably screaming with a fever of 100.2. After talks with the on call nurse and 3 hours of tears, we packed up and left the house at 2 am-- his ear infection from 2 weeks ago went full blown again, so he is on different meds which seem to be helping with the pain so far. They put him in a baby gown for his exam-- I would have taken a picture, but felt the circumstances didn't warrent a picture and the gown was purple, making him look girly :)

A little Perspective

Read this.

First Giggle!

Luke is 4 months 4 days old... we heard his first giggle today-- it is sooo loud and he uses his whole face! I called Brent and Luke giggled again for him on speaker phone! We will try to get it on video if I can ever figure out how to post them :)

Boys and their Buddies

In celebration of Texas Independence Day (Ginny is laughing right now because no one loves Texas more than Brent), we hung out with our buddies, the Carpenters, and had awesome fajitas! (Clayton kept trying to hop in the baby's picture, so he got to pick the big boy's pose for their picture :)

First Day to the Church Nursery!

Luke did fine on his first trip to the church nursery... he didn't sleep, but who would in a new environment! They read to him and he had his dirty diaper for them- hehe! We are missing out on being in big church, so once Luke gets familiar, we look forward to getting back into our normal routiene. Leaving him in the nursery is hard on me since he is in daycare all week, but I know that is the next hurdle to get over.

Welcome Back!

This is a post to brag on my Daddy! He was awarded a trip to Florida from his company's President's Council for his production volumes last year... I am so proud of him because he truly loves his job and loves helping people retire. He goes in early, works late, travels to his clients, checks his blackberry all the time and has a smile on his face during all of it. If there were a picture of work ethic, it would be my Daddy... from coming home smelling of bitter chemicals (when we were little, he was in water treatment) to forced career changes to sustain his family, to maintainig a bull attitude in a bear market, God has truly blessed him over the years and is finally rewarding his efforts- I love you Daddy and I am SO proud that you are mine!

Momma, I am glad you are back too! I have missed our almost daily phone conversations and Melody is just too busy to be your stand in :)

Allie B... Where Are Ye???

Our little girl was cold, so I wrapped her up real good this weekend! When the weather turns, she does not acclimate well, so when not hanging out on her hot pad or staying close to Brent, we will find her making a warm spot in the strangest of places. She has a song we made up for her, but to type it here would not do the song justice without you actually hearing it :)