Luke is 6 months old....Already!!

 It's so hard to believe that this sweet baby boy is 6 months old already!  Time sure flies (that makes me sound old, but it's so true!)  At his 6 month checkup he:
Weighed 18 lbs, 6 oz (67th percentile)
Measured 27 7/8 inches long (91st percentile! Holy cow!)

He's wearing mostly 12 month clothes now.  The 9 month clothes seem to be too short.

He's rolling over both ways and is just starting to sit up on his own.  He's also moving around on his tummy reaching for toys.  He loves to pull hair and grab your cheeks.  

He is eating solid foods now.  I've been making all of his baby food and freezing it.  It's really been fun.  He loves fruits...apples, pears, peaches and bananas.  He also loves orange vegetables (sweet potatoes and squash are his favorite).  He's not so sure about peas and definitely doesn't like green beans yet.  I'm not sure what I'll do if we have a picky eater on our hands.  Lauren was always so easy with food (and she still is!) 

He is also communicating.  He loves to "talk".  He is just starting to say "gaga" and I'm sure it will soon be followed by "dada".  Why can't "Mama" be first?  He is definitely a Mama's boy, so maybe I'll get lucky.  He loves to snuggle and is really just a sweet, sweet baby.  Even his sister thinks so.  She loves to hold him and read to him.  If he's crying, she's the first to sing to him or try to entertain him. 

We are definitely seeing the daycare illness effects already.  Ugh.  Luke has pretty much been sick since the beginning of October.  He started with an ear infection at the beginning of October and since then we've had a second ear infection, broncilitis, nebulizer treatments for wheezing, a trip to the ER and he now has a second round of a cold.  When will it end?

Thanks for checking in on us!

Until next time--

Long Overdue!

No, we haven't disappeared.  Yes, this blog is still active.  Yes, I'm still here!!  So sorry for the long delay between posts.  Life with two kids is BUSY.  That's my only excuse...that and I'm avoiding this blog since I've had to gather pictures from three different devices before I could post.  But alas, finally an update on the Mead Family.

 

July was a busy month for us.  We decided to stay in Wheaton for the 4th of July.  We enjoyed the fireworks at the middle school on the evening of the 3rd.  Lauren loved them and Luke slept right through them.  So nice having a newborn.  Wheaton has a nice parade (2 hours long! yikes!) which we watched with the Rommichs and the Zorns.  Thanks to our friend Stacy, we had a prime viewing location in the shade.  She had to put our chairs out the morning before the parade.  In Grandview, you can get a great spot about 30 minutes before showtime.  We hosted a barbeque that day to celebrate Megan and Mike Mead's birthdays.  The weather was great, as was the food and company. 

Teeth cleaning.



All done!



Lauren had a few firsts this month.  She has her first dentist appoint and did great.  I was a little nervous but she climbed right up in the chair and let them clean her teeth.  It helped that they had princess toothbrushes and stickers.  It's hard to believe she's old enough for the dentist. 

Lauren also had her first professional manicure and pedicure.  It was too cute!  We had a Mommy/Daughter day and Lauren loved getting her nails painted.  She chose purple polish and sat so still until her nails dried.  Hopefully I didn't start something.


I'm not sure where the rest of the month went (or the summer for that matter!)  August went just as quickly.  We managed some time at the pool, had several barbeques with friends and families and mostly just enjoyed our summer.  Luke started laughing, which is hysterical.

  
Lauren keeps us on our toes as well.  She started a combination tap/jazz/ballet class on Saturday mornings.  She loves it so far.  The recital is in June, which I'm sure will be so cute.  She tells me she loves tap the most...like mother, like daughter.

I do have to share one more video.  We may have a mini-Tiger Woods on our hands.  Her golf game is pretty good.  I think we're going to have to invest in some real clubs soon.  Hey, Tiger started at 3, right?  Lauren and Justin were hitting some plastic balls in our backyard and she hit the ball so hard that it went over our fence and bounced off the neighbors house.  Who knew?  Guess we'll be practicing on the course (or at least in the park) from now on.

Thanks for checking in on us.  Look for September pictures soon!

Until next time--

Crivitz 2010!

We managed to make it to Crivitz for a few days before I had to go back to work.  Although the weather wasn't as warm as we would have liked, we still had a great time!  Luke loved his first trip and can't wait to go back.  Lauren loved fishing off the dock, throwing rocks in the water, and of course, we all enjoyed dinner at our favorites...Renee's and Schaffer's!   

Thank you Nonny, Boppa & McCabe for a great mini-vacation.  Enjoy the photos.

Lauren and Daddy fishing

They caught something! woo hoo!

Luke chillin'

Yummmm...blue ice cream!

Daddy, Nonny & Luke waiting on our ice cream

Boating "Crivitz style"...gotta keep warm!

Luke's first boat ride.  As you can tell, he loved it!

Daddy and his little girl.

Playing at the beach on a chilly day.

Throwing rocks at Cauldron Falls.

Luke's first trip to Cauldron Falls.

Three generations tending the fire.

Meet McCabe!

Until Next Time--

Luke 10 weeks

The little man is already ten weeks!  Where does the time go?  He isn't so little really...in fact, he is quite a chubby bubby!  He had his 2 month check up and weighed in at an astonishing 13 lbs., 12 oz!  Holy cow!!  Even the nurses were shocked given that he was 7 lbs. 8 oz. as his 2 week appointment (16th percentile) and is now in the 91st percentile!  He's 23 1/2 inches long (73rd percentile)!  Growing like a Mead!!
Luke started sleeping through the night around 8 weeks.  Such a blessing it is to have a full night of sleep.  He's been a good sleeper from the beginning, but we're all happy to not be getting up in the night.  He is now sleeping about 11-12 hours at night.  Usually he goes from 7:30 or 8 at night until about 7:30 in the morning.  He also takes four 1 1/2- 2 hour naps during the day as well.

He started smiling a few weeks ago as well and man, is it cute!  It just melts your heart when he grins from ear to ear.  It's so great to come home from a long day at work and see him smiling. 

And another check for the development chart...he is also rolling over from his stomach to his back!  We figured he would do this early since he did it twice on the examination table at his 2 week appoinment.  Maybe it's just because his cheeks are so heavy! :)  Click here to watch him roll.  (Apologies for the fussiness, I was trying to get him to roll over but he was really wanting to eat!)

I'm back at work and Justin has just taken a new job so our life is a bit crazy now, but we're adjusting!  I even managed to get the kids and myself out the door by 7:30 today to catch a train downtown since Justin was traveling.  We thank God everyday that we have flexible jobs and supportive work environments.  I'm not sure how we would survive without that flexibility.

Thanks for checking in on us. 
Until next time-- 

Lauren is 3!

On June 20, our baby girl turned three!  It's hard to believe it's been three years already, however, I can't remember my life without her.  The time has gone so quickly and I know I've said it a million times, but we fall more in love with her each day.  Three is such a fun age!  She's learning the world around her so quickly.  Her personality is such a joy.  Her questions are so insightful.  And like they say, kids say the darndest things! 

If you ask Lauren what she's going to do when she's three, her answer is:  go to preschool and eat peanuts!  One of those has happened...she has started preschool.  Bright Horizons offers full-time preschool and Lauren has our favorite teacher, Mrs. Ginny.  So far, she loves it!  Her days are packed with fun and learning.  Last week, they were studying Australia.  She can even find Australia on the globe!  Wow!  Preschool is opening a whole new world for her and she's soaking it up!  (The peanut thing hasn't happened yet, although she said tonight she'd like an english muffin with peanut butter for breakfast, so we'll see if she decide to be adventurous tomorrow.)

Lauren's favorite things right now:
Twirly dresses.  If a dress isn't twirly enough, she won't wear it.

Twirling everywhere.  Everywhere we go...home, in a restaurant, in a parking lot, at a store, she is twirling.  She's actually very good at it.  Must be a natural dancer!  She's just started her first ballet class and she loves it.  I'm hoping to find her a tap class in the fall.

 

Princesses!!  She's obsessed with dressing like her favorite princesses.  Mostly she chooses to be Cinderella, but Belle is a strong contender for second place.  She also loves to play with her princess dolls.  She'll spend hours creating storylines about the princesses and their princes.

 

Prince Charming & Cinderella!  Good thing Justin is so willing to be Prince Charming...I'm not sure who Cinderella would dance with if he wasn't.  If you ask him, I'm sure he wouldn't think it's too far of a stretch for him.  She says that she loves Prince Charming with all of her heart.  So sweet!  We're starting to plan a trip to Disney World so she can see Prince Charming in real life.

Mary Poppins & Bert.  Ask her and she'll tell you Bert's her best friend.  (It may be because her daddy also plays a great Bert!  Ask Justin to see his Step In Time Dance!)  She's obsessed with the movie and it's the only one she'll ever choose when we go on long car trips.  She knows all the words to all of the songs.

Noodles with Butter.  Lauren's favorite food and if given the choice, she would eat them everyday.  Corn on the cob, asparagus, bread and butter, fruit snacks, and mixed up cereal (regular cheerios with a few chocolate cheerios thrown in for good measure) all come in a close second.

Her Daddy.  She LOVES her Daddy!  Definitely a Daddy's girl.  Wherever he is, she wants to be-- like a little shadow.  She's very particular about what he is doing...she doesn't want him to play golf or go to work because she doesn't like him to go places without her.  She also doesn't want him to wrestle pigs or waterski with no hands (she doesn't want her daddy to get hurt).  She has told us many times that she wants to marry her Daddy.  So cute!  We'll see if she still feels that way when she's 13!

Lauren is really tall for her age.  She's 37 1/2 inches and is taller than many of the kids in her class.  She weighed 32 lbs at her check up.  She's perfectly healthy!  We couldn't ask for anything more.

We had beautiful weather for Lauren's birthday (which also happened to be father's day).  We enjoyed a Mickey Mouse themed birthday party at the Splash pad and then hosted our guests for dinner at our home after.  It was a wonderful day and Lauren loved it!

The day before Lauren's birthday, we had a fabulous lunch at American Girl Store for Elise's birthday!  What a riot!!  Lunch was delicious and Lauren was in complete awe of the store and all of the accessories for her doll.  Nonny and Boppa gave Lauren an American Girl doll for her birthday and Lauren named her Lolly.

Happy Birthday baby girl!

Thanks for checking in on us.
Until next time--

 

And she's not even 3....

At lunch at Panera on Sunday
Lauren: "I love that boy who keeps looking at me".
Me:  "What?"
Lauren:  "Mom, I love boys."

Oy....we're researching all girls' boarding schools now.

Luke is One Month Old!!

Man, how time flies. Luke is one month old already. I can't believe it. We've been enjoying our time at home, but unfortunately I only have a few more weeks before I have to return to work. Luke is a very easy baby (knock on wood!) and is a pretty good sleeper, especially at night. Most of the time we only get up once with him at night. What a blessing!

We enjoyed Memorial Day weekend in Wheaton. Melissa, Stephanie, Mike, Maggie & Molly came to visit and meet Luke. We had such a great time seeing them. Mike & Justin got to go to the Cubs v. Cardinals game and we visited Brookfield Zoo on Sunday. Too bad the weather was so hot! We were all hot and exhausted by the end of the day. On Monday, we took Luke to his first parade. Wheaton has a very nice Memorial Day parade and we managed to watch the entire parade and get back in the car before the downpour began.

At the Memorial Day parade

Luke with Aunt Maggie

Lauren and Stephanie

Molly "admiring" Luke

On the carousel. Lauren loved it. Molly, not so much.

We've been on the "Tour of Luke" recently to introduce him to our family and friends. Of course, everyone thinks he's adorable and his big sister loves showing him off! We enjoyed visiting Iowa for a few days as well and Luke got to see Papa and Memaw, as well as meet his Grandpa and Grandma Great, and his Great Aunt Becky and Great Uncle Denny, Aunt Kris and Ericka. We had a great time.
Enjoy some pictures:

Luke meeting Gigi

Luke with Grandpa Great

Luke with Grandma Great

Luke's BFF, Noah Simpson (6 months)

Cindrella and Belle, AKA Lauren and Jessie Simspon (2 1/2 yrs.)

We are also very excited for Lauren's 3rd birthday on Sunday! I can't believe that my baby girl is already 3! We love her more every day. Her personality is so funny and she is as sweet as can be (let's hope that remains after she turns 3! I hear three is worse than two!) We're planning a fun Mickey Mouse birthday party at the Splash Park, although if you ask Lauren she says that we're having her birthday at Disney World! She's a big dreamer! :)

"Cinderella" feeding her Baby Jo.

Lauren painting in Iowa.

Thanks for checking in on us. Check back for pictures from the big party!

Until next time--