New Toy

Luke loves his Exersaucer. What will he do when he goes to Oil City for a week at Christmas? Oh wait, Nanny and Papa got him one for there.


The first time in Luke looked, but did not touch.


Oops, Mommy put me in the wrong way.


No matter, it's still a rockin' good time.


Getting the hang of the swivel feature.

Recording Studio

When most dads get home from work, they like to play games like Airplane or Let's Turn the Lights On and Off. I bet most dads don't set up recording studios in the spare bedroom! Conveniently, early evening seems to be Luke's most verbal time, so Jamie records Luke's babbling so Luke can listen to himself and we can listen to him later in life. I'm glad Jamie's doing this, because Luke has already stopped making some of his early sounds, like a very low pitched growl, and a high pitched Hmmm.


Test test test


Ah goo. Splllllllllssssssssshhhhhhhhh

Sleepy Cozy Luke

Rice Cereal

Luke completed a rite of passage yesterday as we got the green light from Dr. Winikoff for rice cereal. He (sort of) got the hang of it by the end of the feeding, while providing many laughs for Jamie and me.

The Sistine Chapel

Luke breathing life into his new buddy Samuel

Four Months Old

Luke can roll in both directions, suck his thumb, and get ladies at the Hope Depot to give his dad free trash can lids! He's also waking up one or two extra times per night (grrr...). He's filling out his long lean frame by growing chunky monkey thighs and a Buddha belly. We'll find out on Tuesday his new growth stats, and we'll also watch him scream his way through round two of shots.

What I'm Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Old McDonald Had a Farm

Welcome Sophie Grace! New photos added

My new niece, Sophie Grace Hehir was born last night (our anniversary) to proud parents Michael and Tina, and older sister Anna.

The details:
7 lbs, 2 oz
18 inches
10:52 PM arrival

Everyone is doing well but very tired! (Well except for Anna--she's never tired!)

Steelers Outfit: A Retrospective

Although it's still way too early in the season to do a retrospective on the Steelers, sadly Luke's 0-3 month Steelers outfit is too small for him now. Here are some highlights of Luke in his black and gold:


At week 4: first game!


At week 7


Yesterday with dad (almost 3.5 months. We measure in months now)


Koos and Xander, Jamie and Luke


Hey Xander, can I borrow your jersey when you outgrow it?


Of course you can, dear little one.

Walden Pond

A few weekends ago, Jamie and I decided to try Luke on another hike. This time we walked around Walden Pond. It was a beautiful New England day!


Getting ready to go


Family shot


This one's to entice all the out-of-towners to move to our neck of the woods!

New blog

I started a new blog! www.gently-used.blogspot.com It's not much right now, but I have a bunch of posts ready to publish over the next couple of days. Check it out this week and let me know what you think of the idea!

Don't worry, I'm still maintaining this blog!

Trick

Halloween didn't go exactly according to plan. For starters, I had planned to take Luke to the Spy Pond Halloween parade in Arlington, but I had a massive headache and felt really run down. Then, I took Luke over to Melissa and Eric's, so they could see Luke in his monkey costume. When I came back, I realized why I had such a bad headache: I smelled gas. Jamie called KeySpan and we spent Halloween evening with the gas guy, who found no gas leak, but did find mouse pellets. Apparently dead mice smell the same as gas (Who knew?) So there is a dead mouse rotting somewhere in our house. Halloween trick indeed.

Here's a picture of our little monkey, fresh from a nap and thrilled to be in costume:

Happy Halloween!

I'll be sure to post more photos that I capture today, but here's one of Luke with his BFF Ryan at the StrollerFit Halloween party on Wednesday:



And one with Mommy:

Brrrr...

Though we escaped the snow that hit much of the Northeast, it was in the 30s this morning! Time to break out the snowsuit...

One Woman's Trash

I interrupt the baby posts to post about another successful venture. I recently sorted through my fall/winter wardrobe and realized there were about only about three items of clothing that I could fit in. What's a girl to do? I could go shopping, but that seemed too expensive and wasteful (especially since I hope I will not be carrying around these extra twenty pounds forever). So I decided to hold a clothing/accessories swap. Yesterday my living room and dining room transformed into a mini boutique, and ten of us went shopping guilt-free! At the end of the swap, everyone left with little treasures.


Stef and her sparkly new shoes


Rachel found this pretty necklace


Bhuvana is excited about her new dress


Wendy shows off her new red coat


Meag and Alison show off their cute skirts and even cuter kids


Janelle couldn't decide between her purple dress and shiny belt. Athena and Hunter help her model.


Lief and his pretty pink headband???


OK, one baby photo. In the spirit of recycling, Luke got a new old bumbo from Hunter and Athena.

I'll definitely do this again in the spring! Stef and I were even talking about doing a "cabin fever" swap in January--books, CDs, DVDs, board games, video games, crafts, etc. This one we'll invite the guys to--Stay tuned!

Getting Ready for Halloween

This hat ignites many conversations with strangers, I tell you!

You're never fully dressed without a smile

And an adorable Ralph Lauren one piece. Thanks Deanna!

Hiking

Today we decided to take Luke for a hike in Prospect Hill Park, a wooded area about a mile from our home. Here Jamie is, with Luke in the Bjorn, ready to go:





What a beautiful day for a hike! Sunny skies, 70 degrees, beautiful New England foliage...

5 minutes later...

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!



Oh well, better luck next time!

Christening

This weekend Luke was baptized at Saint Catherine's Church in New Jersey by Father Patrick Rice. This was my church growing up, and where I was baptized. Luke wore a 114 year old Christening gown that has been in my family for four generations! After the Christening, we had a party at il Michelangelo restaurant with forty family members and friends. Here are some highlights of the festivities:


Godparents Kerry and Tim


The proud grandparents and Uncle Aaron


Group shot


This was a lot like shampooing, so Luke didn't mind


Yummy cake from the Viking Bakery


Family shot


You can see Luke's cute outfit better in this photo with Dad

I Heart My Bouncer

We tried Luke in his bouncer the first day he came home from the hospital. It didn't go so well:


But now, eight weeks later and with greater head control, it's one of Luke's favorite things to do. This is good news for us because he will happily sit in it and punch the bears while we eat dinner. The vibration is also, uh, good for his digestion.



Although Luke hearts his bouncer, this shirt reminds us that nothing beats being held and cuddled: