Letters: 9 months old

Luke,

You joyful little bugger! This phase is so fun. You are a giggly, funny, joyful, happy little explorer right now. You've managed to master the art of crawling in the last month, along with pulling yourself up onto whatever you can get your hands on. Your favorite spot is at the front window. Before you could pull yourself up, you would crawl over to the window and struggle so sadly trying to see above the sill. (Lots of bumps and bruises in the struggle to see out that window!) And now that you can see above the sill, you spend probably ten minutes every morning checking out the scene out front...until you fall over. (You have yet to master the art of getting down after you've pulled yourself up.) You also figured out how to clap, and do so whenever Maren finishes singing or you hear some music. So fun!


Even through our ups and downs of the whole sleeping through the night bit, you have always, consistently, been a dream going-to-sleep-er. The typical scenario: walk into your room, lay you down with your little doggy blanket, and walk out of the room. Voila. No crying. No having to rock you. No bottle. Nada. That is, until the last week or so. Not sure what on earth happened, but suddenly you don't want to go to sleep. I lay you down... you roll over, crawl over to the side of the crib, stand up, and cry. I walk back in a few minutes later, and you reach out and grab at me. I hold you for a few minutes, rock you, lay you back down. You roll over, crawl over to the side of the crib, stand up, and cry. This continues for a while, until you finally are exhausted enough to quit fighting it. I have tried to wait you out, which sometimes works... but, it's just not something I'm practiced at with you! Oh boy. (Your dad, on the other hand, has some kind of magic touch - you don't put up nearly the fight with him. What's up with that?!) Once again, I'm blaming those teeth that might never show up. It's a phase.

Your big sis has a very up and down relationship with you right now. She'll go from hugging you, exclaiming "big hugs for Lukey!" to pushing you quite expertly out of the way when you come crawling for one of the toys. You don't seem to mind, either way. (She, however, earns herself a time-out pretty quickly for all the pushing...) If you're on my lap, she crawls over (yes, she sometimes crawls) and climbs onto my lap, too. Again, you seem pretty happy with whatever is in front of you. You are particularly interested in Maren's little potty, which makes a "da-da-da-daaaaa" when you stick your hand in it. It also lights up, which makes it a fascinating destination when momma is not looking and the lights are out...Sneaky little bugger, you.

I am happy to be your jungle gym, though! As it is well-described in this blog, you are a serious mover. You are rarely not moving, bouncing, wiggling, kicking... Especially when the music's going, you bop up and down, practically in time. There's a video of you going so crazy in your little high chair that the chair was literally getting some air. And we can't get you to stay up at the table when you eat... I walk into the kitchen while you're sitting at the table, and I come back to find you about four feet away from the table - still, thankfully, in your chair and bouncing your seat back and back and back... you somehow push yourself away from the table with your feet. It's really something to see.
Aw buddy -
You are such a delight to us. Thanks for being a light in our lives. Love you.
***************
And now... long past due, since last month I didn't get any pictures up (and then there was that whole episode with the camera that we don't have to talk about)...an ode to Lukey.




Here, a video that highlights his new ability to clap, his fascination with his sister, his total digging of any kind of music, and his overall and general cuteness.