4 Months Old

Our little guy had his 4 month well check up-- his ear infection is clearing up, but the Pediatrician confirmed he is cutting his two bottom teeth and he has all of the signs of Acid Reflux-- so we are on new meds and hopeful his teeth will hold off until the reflux meds kick in... we hope to make eating more enjoyable for our little Luke really soon.

Weight: 14.5 # (50%)

Length: 25 1/8 (50%)

Head Circumference: 16.5 (25%)
Diaper Size: 2

Clothes Size: 3-6 month

Luke, we are just loving getting to know you! Your personality is so fun and your smiles are contagious! You love looking in the mirror at yourself and you are so close to an actual giggle! We can't wait to hear your voice because your choos give us a hint of what we will hear... your demeanor is so pleasant and your voice warms us. You play well by yourself, but you love to watch the action around you. You fight us when it is bed time because you don't want to give in, but we usually win! You hate the taste of your reflux medicine and you test my patience every time you see the syringe coming at you... the first few times, I snuck it by you but now you have figured out how to use your tongue to spit it out-- then you smile real big like you have succeeded. How can I stay mad at that?! Your baby hair has gone and short blond hair is taking it's place-- you love bath time and close your eyes when I massage your head. The smell of baby lotion calms you and you smile as if you know you will get more kisses with your "man cologne" filling the air. Your face is one of amazement when Daddy plays "Lift Off" with you as you zoom around the house from a higher vantage point. You have discovered Allie and smile at her on occasion when she licks your hands-- you love to watch Daddy shave in the mornings and don't take your eyes off of him. You will learn so much from him! We are thrilled you are in our lives and look forward to what next month brings!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Luke, Do you want to be a Bear Cat?

He wore his Sam Houston onesie from Uncle Chris and this was the best picture we could get :) I don't think he wants to be a Bear Cat.

Luke, Do you want to be a Track Star?

He wore his Adidas pants from Aunt Melody and Uncle Justin in honor of their avalanche training course this weekend.

Luke, do you want to be an Astronaut?

Luke has fun playing "Lift Off" with his Daddy

Luke, do you want to be a Soccer Coach?

Luke went to his first soccer game viewing- he went to his buddy Clayton's "organized sports" soccer game and loved it!

That Pink Stuff

Well, under the direction of my good friend Sarah, aka. "ear infections expert" (seriously!), we took Luke to the Doctor last night and he has an ear infection, not teething yet as we had originally thought. Luke was a little trooper and got called a "flirt" a "charmer" and a "heart breaker" from the staff... I'd agree to all of those :) The cure for this ear infection is what I lovingly call "The Pink Stuff"... I didn't even know it had a real name, but apparently it is Amoxicillin- huh. All I know is that sweet bubblegummy smell took me back to my younger years of licking the spoon bone dry in an effort to make the taste last longer... Melody knows exactly what I am talking about! Apparently, Luke is fond of the taste too... I put it in with his formula and he inhaled it! Good boy.

Grandma and Granddaddy Visit

All ready for Grandma and Granddady to get here!

Playing with his new glow worm from Grandma (and figuring out what worms taste like)!

Loving on Luke:

Wathcing his Little People video:

The Brewer men watching a car auction on tv-- a scary resemblance!

Luke has picked out his "lovie"... his pony-- he loves putting the mane in his mouth:

Konked out after a fun weekend with the Brewers:

In other baby news:

1. Luke is teething. After reading up on the symptoms, we have ALL of them... Drooling,Gum sensitivity, Irritability or fussiness, Biting behavior, Refusing food, Sleep problems.

Grandma stuck her finger on Luke's gums and confirmed he has a hard spot where his first tooth is making an early debut.

2. We are pretty sure we have heard Luke say the following on several occasions:)
"Google"
"Uncle"
"Hi"
"Okay"

then and now

Busting out of that sleeper! Poor thing can't even straiten out his legs all the way... Granna must have dug it out of the back of his closet :)

(I'll have to get a "now" in the swing...this diaper was Newborn size that we had to roll down to fit him. Those socks are long gone and cut off his circulation if we can even get them over his ankles!)

Trying to Roll

Friday night, Luke almost rolled over on his changing pad-- my heart lept with joy (right before I ALMOST broke into tears), Brent laughed at me so I choked them back :)

Time out for photo shoot!

Happy Valentines

Pops and Granna

Granna laughing at something Luke did... she always scrunches up her nose when she laughs at Luke (even on the phone)-- I LOVE this picture!

Pops and Granna babysat for Brent and I so we could get away for a Valentines dinner at Del Friscos. We had the best time and the food was amazing-- the crab cake appetizer was all crab and no cake! Our steaks were crusted in peppercorns and cooked to perfection... we hated to leave behind even a bite, so we did our best! I think I recall Brent saying "Is it strange that I like asparagus because it is like a sophisticated green bean?"

Pops and Granna came bearing Valentines gifts! Luke got swim trunks to come swim at their house this summer:

Allie got a rose that said "I love you... I love you..." every time she chewed on it.

The family:

Wheeling through Hobby Lobby:

Loving on our Luke:

Poor thing is balding... all of his crazy hair is almost gone :(

Missing my Granddaddy

As we come up on 3 years since Grandaddy went to Heaven, I am remembering him THROUGH SMELL! The corn plant that Honey insisted that I take home from Granddaddy's funeral that sits in the corner of our living room IS BLOOMING with flowers! The smell is amazing (kind of like lilacs and jasmine)-- and fills up most of the back side of the house... from what I read this is a rare occurence in mature corn plants and the blooms last 7-10 days. Gosh I miss him, and I hate that he didn't get to meet Luke, but am so thankful for the memories and the subtle hints that he lives on in our hearts! Our "Sweethearts"!

Coming Clean

As some of you will recall, Brent and I had a pumpkin carving contest in the Fall and let you all vote on the best pumpkin... the winner got a new pair of shoes. See pictures of pumpkins here. It was so fun to carve the pumpkins and watch the voting go back and forth for almost a month! There was SOOO much trash talking in our house-- even after I had won-- Brent thought I had cheated because the last night, the votes swung in my favor... over and over again I honestly told him I DID NOT CHEAT! Well, this Christmas, when my sister, Melody, was hugging me goodbye, she whispered in my ear that she rigged the contest! I didn't understand because 1. you could only vote one time and 2. I never told her which pumpkin was mine. We had a good laugh and I totally forgot about it... until today!

I called Brent and told him through the laughter what happened and he was just beside himself talking about "Allison Ethics" and some other babel ;) It was hysterical! Then, I called Melody to finish our conversation to answer the 2 questions mentioned above that still remained a mystery to me. SO, here is what REALLY happened: Melody is on West coast time, so the night the polls were closing, she waited until the CST voting zone closed-- she ran around to all of her friends work computers and voted for my pumpkin-- she went to the gym to vote-- she voted on their home computer and laptop-- hysterical! And, when asked how she knew which pumpkin was mine, she said she knew I would not have chosen an intricate design being 9 months pregnant, and adding paint to a pumpkin for creative points is something I would try in a ditch effort to win. What can I say, the girl knows me!

Only one thing remains-- the statements:
Brent: "It is unfortunate that such a regrettable act occurred during what was intended to be a good natured competition. It is a microcosm of the challenges our country faces during these tumultuous times. A time where those that do what is right and what is noble are forcefully drug into an immoral cesspool by those that do not have the sagacity to free themselves from the bondage of such earthly endeavors. Abraham Lincoln said it best in his lesser known Chattanooga Address when he stated, “Now we are engaged in a great pumpkin carving contest, testing whether that pumpkin sculptor, or any pumpkin artist of the like, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a pumpkin patch of that just contest.” It is heart wrenching that in the days, weeks, and years following that great proclamation that those words no longer bind our hearts. That a pumpkin carver cannot endure, cannot persevere, and cannot triumph because of the woeful actions of so few. A few that have cast their conscience into a roaring sea of their own transgressions." That's my hubby...honest "Abe" to the bone!

Melody: "I just wanted my sister to get a new pair of shoes!"
That's my girl! And that is why I LOVE HER TO PIECES! Thanks, Mel!

Wade is 30... Totally!

Our good friend, Wade, turned 30 and had a rad 80's themed birthday party this weekend!

Ghostbusters:

Rockin' HOT 80's chicks (Sarah complete with Banana Clip and Leggings):

80's trucker and slaptastic baby (Brent shed his puffy trucker vest and mesh hat in about 5 minutes!):

Ahhh, took me back to the days of watching MTV when Mom wasn't looking :)

What's in a Name?

Every week, I get an email update on Luke's progress. This week, you could look up the meanings of names... Joshua Luke.

Joshua means "The Lord is my salvation"-- Old Testament Joshua led his army in the conquest of Jericho and eventually all of Canaan, and was a leader of the Israelites. In short, he was a pretty tough guy that knew from where his salvation came, listened to the Father, and followed His direction.
Luke means "Light giving"-- Luke was a first century Christian who wrote one of the four Gospel accounts of the life of Christ and the book of Acts. He was known as the beloved physician.

So, what is in a name? Hopefully everything! Luke, our prayer for you every day is that you will come to know the Lord in a personal way (salvation) and that you would be bold enough to share what you know with others (giving light). Although we didn't know the root of your name when we picked it, it fits our hopes for you perfectly.

So, to that end, when we dedicate Luke at Church (saying we will raise him according to God's word so that one day he will make the decision to follow Christ (salvation)), we are supposed to pick a "life verse" for the pastor to read. The verse we keep coming back to is found in Joshua no less!

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:8-9
Amen!

One Word

This is one I haven't seen, so thought I would oblige! Not as easy as you might think! The instrusctions were to change the answers to suit you and pass it on... It's really hard to only use one word answers.

Where is your cell phone? Purse
Your significant other? Lifeline
Your hair? Brownish
Your mother? Proverbs
Your father? Compass
Your favorite thing? Eating
Your dream last night? Disturbing
Your favorite drink? Macchiato
Your dream/goal? Heaven
What room are you in? Office
Your hobby? Shopping
Your fear? Failure
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Kindergarden :)
Where were you last night? Home
Something that you aren't? Patient
Muffins? English
Wish list item? Massage
Last thing you did? Kiss
Your pet peeve? Selfishness
What are you wearing? Yellow
TV? Office!
Your pets? Allie
Friends? Thankful
Your life? Happy
Your mood? Sleepy
Missing someone? Melody
Drinking? Water
Smoking? Never
Your car? Accord
Something you're not wearing? Socks
Your favorite store? Banana
Your favorite color? Red
When is the last time you cried? January
Where do you go to over and over? Day Care
Favorite place to eat? Lupes!
Favorite place I'd like to be at right now? Hawaii

Lets Make A Deal!

Luke, when you are old enough to read this, you hold your Daddy to the deal you made tonight... if you let Daddy watch the Super Bowl and don't fuss through the entire thing, you can get out of getting in trouble at the time of your choice! Think carefully-- this is a pretty good deal you made! So far at half time, you are holding up your end of the bargain...

Sweet Baby!