first crop

Mike has been busy this summer growing beans, tomatoes, green peppers, and herbs in our back garden. He was so excited and proud this week when he picked his first bowl of beans. They were delicious!! A few bean portraits...

(This picture looks slightly reminiscent of the pictures we recently took of Luke. I think Mike has become rather fond of his beans!)

summer coming to an end...

As Labor Day approaches summer is slowly starting to come to an end. Only a few more weeks of pool time, bare feet, and sun kissed noses before fall is officially here. I'm always a little sad at the end of the summer but at the same time looking forward to all that comes with the fall... leaves changing color, cozy sweaters, and cool nights around the fire pit. I also love all the sales on school supplies! Even without a classroom to buy for- who can pass up 30 cent glue sticks? I'm sure I can find them a good home! It is hard to believe that our baby is almost 8 months old (on Friday!). He has grown so much this summer! We enjoy him more everyday!!

Luke loves grass! He was really enjoying the opportunity to pull up as much as he wanted to!

He is starting to practice crawling on his hands and knees! We are now baby proofing everywhere!!

Crawling on his tummy is still faster!

Notice I am ready to jump in and catch him at any moment!

elusive teeth

Three weeks ago we noticed two little bottom teeth in Luke's mouth, but it has taken almost that long to FINALLY get a good picture of them. We made several attempts to get a picture with Luke's mouth open...at meal time, play time, enticement with cereal puffs, even turning him upside down. However, we just couldn't get a clear picture. So here are his first little teeth making their debut! Don't be fooled- they may be small, but they are sharp!!

my little dust mop

Who me...?Luke has perfected the "army crawl" and can now successfully move all over living room, "dusting" the floor as he goes! Hmm...maybe I should attach a Swiffer pad to his shirt. Today he managed to leave the living room where he was playing with Daddy and crawl all the way to the office to find Mommy. We think we are in trouble!!

good morning!

When Luke wakes up from sleeping we often find him peering through the crib slats and looking for Mommy or Daddy!

summer so far...

We have been enjoying a fun and easy going summer at our house. Lots of days spent playing with Luke, running errands, working in the garden, completing house projects, and visiting with friends and family. Summer always goes so quickly and this year is no exception! We can hardly believe that our baby reaches 7 months this week on July 29th. At his six month checkup a few weeks ago we learned that he remains in the 90th% for height (28 in.) and 75th% for weight (18.8 lbs.). He is growing so quickly, everyday I think he looks bigger! We've experienced so many milestones since his birth, here are a few recent ones...

Trying new food!! This was the night we introduced peas..."Mom, I don't think I like peas!"

Peaches are way better!
No matter what I do Luke always ends up covered in his breakfast and dinner. This morning he did an especially good job of spreading the peaches across his face, into his hair, and all over his p.j.s (I promise he was wearing a bib!). It's hard to tell but there are little cereal pieces sticking to his shirt too!

Luke outgrew his baby car seat...his little toes were hanging over the edge!

Sleeping in his new car seat after dinner out.

Luke is ready to move!! He is trying so hard to crawl. He is able to "swim" on the floor but hasn't mastered getting up onto his hands and knees. He is highly motivated by things like the remote control, Lily, and anything that he can't have (i.e. dishes, magazines, glasses, cups, etc..). He loves to stand like a big boy!

We've gone swimming a few times and he loves to splash in the pool.

I gave Luke his first big boy haircut. I am still fixing it. Cutting a wiggly baby's hair is super hard. Much harder than I initially anticipated. At least hair grows!!

Luke LOVES Lily! He likes to watch her, pet her, and try to eat her tail. We highly discourage any tail eating. However, as you can see in the picture below I think Luke is convinced that if he could just get a little bite Lily would be pretty tasty! Don't worry he didn't actually eat the dog's nose...much to Luke's dismay (and our relief) Lily always moves before Luke can chomp down.

gift from tyler

Recently our friend Tyler gave Luke a special gift and letter. Luke loved opening his gift almost as much as he enjoyed the gift itself. The paper didn't taste as good as it looked, but it was really fun to play with! Thank you Tyler for the gift!!

The letter to Luke reads, "Dear Luke, I really wanted to see you! P.S. I wanted to give you something that is good? Love, Tyler" I especially love the drawing of Mike and me holding Luke!