So Funny!

This was one of the first times we've seen Luke laugh truly spontaneously. He has always been smiley and will giggle with (or at) us, but this time he just let loose! Mike was playing with one of Luke's toy balls and when he started dropping it Luke thought this was hilarious! It is so funny to watch him process the ball dropping...watch for his eyebrows to lift after the first drop...then he starts to anticipate the ball drop...too cute!!

Butterfly Show

Over the weekend we went with friends from our small group to the Butterfly Show at Krohn Conservatory. The Krohn Conservatory is always beautiful and this exhibit it particularly fun with lots of free flying butterflies. After visiting our winged friends we took a walk up to nearby Twin Lakes park. We had wonderful day at the exhibit, park, and spending time with friends. It was the perfect way to spend a beautiful May afternoon!

The entrance to the butterfly exhibit.

Daddy and Luke at the Butterfly Show.

Here we are with our friends from small group...
Recognize these cute babies? Adam and Corinne were dedicated the same day as Luke. Adam and Corinne share the same birthday, December 26th and Luke was born just three days later, December 29th. It is so much fun to see all three babies together! I can't wait until they really start to notice each other.

Megan & Luke, Andrea & Adam, Betsy & Corinne

Tyneal & Bryce visiting with a friendly butterfly.

A few more cute pictures of Luke, Corinne, Adam, & Bryce at the Butterfly show...

A Friendly Butterfly

A particularly friendly butterfly visited with us at the Butterfly Show. It "landed" (with some help) on each baby! Aren't they too cute!!

Luke
Adam

Corinne

Bryce

Mother's Day

Wishing all of the very special Moms, Mommies, Mamas, Grandmas, Nanas, Mimis, Great Grandmas, & Moms -to-Be a very happy and blessed Mother's Day!!

Love,
Luke's Mommy

Baby Dedication

On Sunday, Mother's Day, we dedicated Luke at church. Baby dedication is sort of like baby baptism...just without the water. We dedicate Luke to God and promise to raise him in a Christian home that he might grow in faith and fellowship with Christ. These pictures were taken after the service with our good friends from small group who also dedicated their babies. I hope to post more pictures of the service, but need to copy them from family. (Visit the Schatz Family or Garten Family blogs for more pictures!) It was such a special day, we feel blessed to have shared it with our families, friends, and amazing small group!

The babies were too cute! Adam and Luke were so handsome and Corinne looked beautiful in her adorable blue dress. They all did fantastic during the dedication and even napped a little during the service. We were all so proud to share our precious babies with our church family!

Andrea & Adam, Betsy & Corinne, Megan & LukeI thought it was so cute to see Corinne and Luke so concerned that Adam is crying. They are definitely all going to be good buddies.

Garten Family, Schatz Family, & Miller Family

Luke and Mommy

I will be posting more pictures of our Mother's Day and Baby Dedication Celebrations very soon!

Happy First Birthday Maddy!

Clay, Jen, Ethan, and Maddy are friends from our small group. We were so happy to celebrate Maddy's first birthday on Saturday. It feels like not so long ago we were all visiting the hospital to see their precious baby girl for the very first time. Now she is so big!

Madelyn Joan Blanchard
May 9, 2007
The beautiful birthday girl!

This picture was taken post-cake. We didn't get to see it in person, but saw the pictures. Maddy definitely loved her pink birthday cake! Jen had to give her two baths to wash off all of the icing.

Maddy, Jen, and Ethan

Luke with Ethan and Maddy's Nana. Luke enjoyed the extra attention, but Ethan was not so sure about sharing his Nana. Thank you Ethan for sharing!

Four Months Old on April 29th

Luke is four months old (actually he is currently 4 and 1/2 months old)! He is growing like a little weed which was confirmed by is four month check-up last Wednesday. He is currently 15 lb 11 oz and 26 1/2 inches long. His measurements are about the size of a typical 6 month old, but that's o.k. because he was born the size of a typical 2 month old. He is a true joy to us!!

Doesn't he look like such a big boy in this picture?!
Luke Unwrapped...
He is officially sleeping without the swaddle. We love to see what position he finally settles into. One night Mike walked in to check on him and found him sleeping with his legs straight up in the air! Every time Luke started to lay them down he would put them right back up again!

There may be teeth soon! He is constantly chewing or sucking on his fingers.

So smiley!

One of Luke's favorite new tricks is grabbing his toes in the bathtub. This is an especially fun game when he tries to put his toes into his mouth. In this picture he was very happy to have both his toes and his fingers.

Family Picnic

Last weekend we enjoyed our first picnic at the park with Luke. It was a beautiful day and Mike and I had tried all day (unsuccessfully) to get outside and enjoy it. So finally after all the yard work, laundry, and house cleaning was done we decided to have dinner at the park. We stopped by Kroger's and picked up an impromptu picnic...which also meant we didn't have any plates...luckily we did have forks. It was perfect! We can't wait until our next impromptu picnic!

Luke resting in the shade of his carseat.
Luke and Daddy

I don't think I like my hat...

Luke and Mommy

Don't I look great in my new stroller!

Vote, Vote, Vote

Melissa Speelman, the very talented photographer who we did a photo shoot with in January, has entered the above picture from that photo shoot in the Capture Cincinnati Contest. In order for the picture to be included in the Capture Cincinnati Book and for Melissa to win fun prizes we need to vote for the picture! Please visit Capture Cincinnati to vote for "Mom and Luke." I'll let you know how it does!

Toes

Luke loves playing with his fishy play gym. He has recently become very aware of his feet and loves to grab his toes...and uses his toes to grab his toys. This is a great skill to practice on his play gym because he can grab the toys with his hands and feet and even make the fish "sing" when he presses the button with his toes. Of course what he would really like to do is put his toes in his mouth and he is just so close! I can't wait to share pictures of that : ).

Goin' to the Chapel...

We celebrated Julie's upcoming wedding with a bridal shower on Saturday. We had a very nice brunch and Julie opened lots of lovely presents. We are looking forward to the wedding on June 14th. Only 6 weeks away!

The Bride-To-Be

Just...one...more...ribbon...
Watch out Bobby! I think there were at least four broken ribbons at the party.

A gift from Jenny to keep things "steamy."

Luke was a little under the weather at the party. He woke up the night before with lots of nasty congestion. His first time being sick! Luke and Daddy were supposed to leave the house to the ladies for the party, but instead Luke napped in his bouncy chair all morning and Daddy took pictures. Luke may not have been feeling 100% but he still enjoyed lots of attention from his Great-Aunts and Great Grandma Miller!

My New Zooper

After weeks of research I finally found "the perfect stroller." Not only is it light weight and attractive but it has the best sun shade I have ever seen on a stroller. There is actually a napper shade that you can unzip in the canopy and this totally covers the baby. Perfect for my fair skinned little guy. Not to mention it also comes with a UV shade, all weather cover, and "baby boot" for cold weather. I could hardly wait to try it out when it arrived...luckily it was a good day for a walk. I love it and I think Luke does too!