8 Months

You have come alive and we are now the family at restaurants we used to stay away from... we sat you in a restaurant highchair about a week ago and you immediately began reaching and stuck your hand strait in the ramekin full of mustard-- what a mess!

You eat 3 times a day, have 5 bottles of formula and 1 bottle of juice. Your favorite vegetable is green beans and fruit is a toss up between applesauce and mangos. You have a mouth FULL of teeth- 8 total (4 on top and 4 on bottom).

You LOVE your walker and walk backwards in the kitchen around the island. We squeel a "beep" every time you push off and get the cutest smiles out of you!

You still LOVE to bounce:

Your favorite toy at day care is the paino... Daddy sits you in front of it most mornings and you bang away!

You clapped for the first time on June 22 copying Daddy!

You crawled for the first time on June 24th at day care. They slipped and told me that you took 3 "steps"...

NO to Government Run Health Care

Our Government is bankrupting our Social Security and Medicaid programs- now they want to run our Health care and tell you and I what doctors to see and what procedures we can and cannot have. The competitive "entrepreneur spirit" will be taken out of the marketplace and doctors will loose the drive to work harder, new doctors will not enter the profession, and lines will be LONG. The government says the money is already there, just misallocated on unnecessary treatments where more should be done to keep people well, not treat the sick- this means the MRI I got 2 years ago to determine I needed surgery to have Luke would have been denied. In trying to create legislation, they are keeping medical professionals out of the discussion. Please join me in the fight to stop this! I NEVER sign petitions, but this is one that is from a national radio show- when they get 1 million signatures, they will send it to the President's desk. I can't sit here and do nothing.

Click HERE to read and sign.

IFF goes to the Farm

One of my coworkers (Otto is below by the grill)owns a neat property outside of town-- he had us all over for BBQ and fun! Here are a few pictures:













Jennifer saw a fingernail scratch on Luke's nose and told me I was unfit to properly parent--she thought she needed to take him home to "save" him. Thanks, Jennifer! :)

Happy Father's Day!

To the men in my life who have shaped my views of Fatherhood... Happy Father's Day!

My Heavenly Father: The Author and Perfecter of life... who designed a way for me to personally know Him- my Teacher, my Refiner, my Friend.

My Earthly Father: A true example of provision for his family, dependence on the Lord, encouragement for his girls to succeed, sacrifice of his time and money, pure love of his wife, and a playful wit who never meets a stranger.

My Grandfather: A man full of wisdom who loved his family to his core- his favorite bible verse was Proverbs 3:5-6 and he showed that verse to be true. A man who had the softest hands, that could fix anything, play beautiful music on the piano, and tie any knot you could name. A man with the whistle of a bird that displayed kindness and gentleness.

My Son's Father: An answer to every prayer I ever prayed. To see the love of my life take on a "new" personality of Father and to take it seriously is a true gift. To engage in this little one's life doing the "Naked Baby Dance" for bath time and saying bedtime prayers every night are the moments I most look forward to.

My Husband's Father: A kindhearted man who hugged me the first moment we were introduced who welcomed me with open arms into their family. Someone who wants the best for his kids. A man who I want on my team when playing monopoly (with all of his special side deals)!

Baby Dedication

Our little guy was dedicated this past Sunday at church-- our families came in town and filled up the whole pew, front and center... it was a special time for all of us as we committed to raising Luke according to Biblical principles. It is a humbling thought to think that we have the sole responsibility to expose our son to God's love and grace so that he might make the decision to follow Christ and spend eternity in Heaven. The thought is overwhelming, but having our parents sitting beside us and following their example is truly a blessing.

Our wonderful family:

Luke's Nursery Worker:

Initiation

When you come to the Brewer's house, you must read for babies to sleep:
Uncle Chris:

Aunt Christy and Aunt Jamie:

Grandma:

The initiation book is none other than Dr. Suess' Lorax... the hardest book in the world including made up words like Truffala Trees, Thnead's and Brown Barbaloots.

Backblogged!

Uncle Chris came up to visit Luke mid-week and they went to the Stockyards to see the daily cattle drive:

Boys being boys!

Two peas in a pod wearing matching Hurley t-shirts:

Petting the horse with Grandma:

Grandma Brewer Visits

Jamie brought Debbie up last weekend to stay for a week while I was in New Jersey for work... it was the hardest thing in the world for me to lay my baby down and walk out the door-- I have never prayed harder for safe flights and health for my family like I did this week. I certainly had to take captive my travel doubts and trust God to bring me home safely. Luke was in good hands, that is for sure! You know he has been spoiled rotten when you pick Luke up from daycare after having a week at home with Grandma and the Nursery Worker's ask if Grandma visited! Apparently, Luke wanted to be held the whole day and given their full attention, letting them know by pitiful sobs and holding his hands out... he knows how to work that charm!

Brent, Jamie, and Debbie took Luke (and Allie) to the Forth Worth Water Gardens:

Luke's Aunt Jamie and Grandma came bearing gifts:

The penguin that sings and rocks (this scared Luke at first, but he later warmed up):

And this cool ball blower... after Luke went to bed, the adults played Who-Can-Catch-The-Most-Balls-In-One-Turn... Brent won by a narrow margin of 2 balls!

The boys hung out:

And typed on the computer:

Here is Luke's contribution (renaming Internet Explorer):

Brent's Mom graciously let us have a night out, so we caught a Texas Country band (Paul Eason) playing for the opening of the Red Door BBQ with Brent's sister! We had a great time-- we even enjoyed the couple who busted out a "4 Step" half way through... you may be curious as to what a 4 Step is... the only way to describe this dance is flailing arms and HUGE steps covering the whole dance floor in a matter of seconds!

The BABY Ate It.

Luke's FANTASTIC Mommy let him "hold" his daily report card on the 3 minute drive home from daycare... this is what I retreived from his hands... after fishing most of the biggest spit ball I have ever seen from the roof of his mouth, I promptly called on of my nurse friends to make sure we were not in an emergency situation. Apparently paper is water soluable and we are fine-- lesson learned :)

Tubby Time!

We have upgraded to the tub side seat... after Luke kicked out half of his bath water on the floor, we decided it was time to make the switch! What a ham!

Double Take

One of our friend's just returned from a business trip to Israel... he met Brent's Isralei twin... take a look! What a handsome man!!! A little creepy though! :)

Ugh!!! Not THAT again!!!

I know most of us get in the same cooking rut and use the same recipes over and over again. I am SO TIRED of spaghetti and stir fry I could scream! Luckily, summer is upon us which means we will fire up the grill more... Anyways, My Mother In Law sent me a Recipe Exchange which got me thinking it might be fun if all my blogging buddies exchanged recipes to spice things up at home! If you feel so inclined, please share your favorite recipe by clicking the comment icon... keep them simple-- you know I don't have time to flambe! Here are a few to get you started :) Happy cooking!

Egg Cups
1 egg
1 strip of bacon for each egg cup
Additional Toppings

Spray a muffin tin with Pam. Line each muffin cup with 1 piece of raw bacon (Use center cut bacon or turkey bacon). Drop one egg into each muffin cup. Lightly stir each one using a small whisk or fork. Add any additional toppings you like - shredded cheese, bell peppers, tomatoes, bacon bits, green onion, etc. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until bacon is done.

Grilled Zucchini
1 zucchini, sliced
1 bulb green onion, sliced
1/4 c white onion, chopped
1T margerine, cubed
1T soy sauce
2 T Teriyaki sauce
1t sesame seeds

Mix all ingredients together and place in foil lined grill basket. Grill alongside main dish until translucent. SOOOO Good!