so much to do, so little time...

it seems like i can never just take a few minutes to update my blog. partly because i have this crazy desire to add photos to every.single.post. maybe it's just me but i always find that blog posts are so much more enjoyable when plastered with pictures (maybe that's the visual nosy in me, lol). so this post, going against every grain in my body, is going to be text only (boring! i know!!).

**UPDATES**

- i'm really, really enjoying practicing my new photography hobby, so much so that my dh is getting a little irritated with all the spending (photography is not cheap!) and all the countless hours in front of the computer, researching, editing, and researching some more.

- today/yesterday (4/28/10) is/was our 3 year anniversary! i can't believe the past 3 years have gone by so quickly. i'm so looking forward to the next 30 years with the greatest man in the world, imo anyway.

- i turned 30 last week (4/22/10)!!! i'm not one for celebrating my birthday, actually told the hubbs that i wanted to do absolutely.NOTHING and he honored that request by throwing me a surprise party with 15 of my closest friends in attendance. ((this is where i'm dying to insert photos but i'd be breaking my "no photo" post goal, err!))

- we're going to cabo next month!!! 8 glorious days on the beach with my two favorite boys by my side, so so so excited.

- my "job" called me, gave me a 4-day notice that i'd be returning to full-time work (i'm still currently a SAHFNM). after the emotional roller coaster of that day, they called me back the following day and asked if i'd rather start at the end of June.. well helllllooo, heck yeah! so my official start date is Friday, June 25th. that's 2 whole months to TRY and prepare leaving my baby boy to return to work. kind of excited, nervous, scared, and sad at the same time. i know that 2 months sill isn't enough time but it's a heck of a lot better than 4 days!

- ok, this is it for now. i'm sure i'm missing plenty but it's late and i can't think straight (as if i ever could!). oh, and did i mention that i'm OBSESSED with photography-related purchases?! my hubbs is about ready to trade me in for a less compulsive shopper-of-a-wife!

*i'm in the process of writing a couple more posts so you'll be seeing those (with tons of pics) shortly ;)

Luke's tooth has company!!!

Luke's second tooth came in on Tuesday, just 12 days after his first one made its debut. I can't believe they're coming in so fast. This second one sure seems to bring more pain than the first, maybe because the first is still causing some pain too, I'm not sure but I know that Luke and I are both over it :(

it's a bad angle but if you "click" to enlarge & look closely,

you can see the second one peeking through right next to the first.

Bye bye closet doors...

i got so sick of having his closet doors in the background for his monthly pics... so say hello to savage thunder grey seamless paper :)

what a different little model he is when daddy's here to help huh?!

Luke's FIRST tooth!!!

luke cut his first little tooth last Thursday. i've been so busy with the aftermath that i haven't had much time to blog. poor little baby, for the most part he's doing well, we've only had to give him tylenol a couple times.

rewind to last thursday. i was nursing him around 5:30, dh was already home. luke kept pulling off (which isn't really uncommon these days), but he only ate a total of 2 minutes before he started screaming and pounding his hands into me (my arms and breasts, wherever they landed really). when he dug both fists into my arms, screaming, i knew something was wrong. so i pulled him off, laid him on the bed and, sure enough, i felt the tooth coming through! i tried to check it out but luke was doing all he could to shut me out. dh came to help soothe him, i ran to get the teething rings in the fridge, a cold wash cloth, teething tablets, you name it, i had it out! after we were able to soothe him a little (thank you hyland's teething tablets), i was able to snap some pictures. again, luke wasn't being very cooperative.

you can't really tell but dh is swabbing his left ear, trying to get him relaxed so i could take the shot

it worked!

but then he started crying so dh picked him up..

hehe, sorry baby, we need more pics (mean mommy!)

ahahaaha! why do i LOVE this pic so much?!

close up of the baby tooth

fast forward a week: luke, for the most part, has been his usual cheery self with exception of a few days. yesterday, especially, was an exhausting day for both of us. he was super fussy (which is so unlike him) and nothing seemed to soothe him. it seemed like all he wanted to do was sleep, but needed me to nurse him to sleep or else he'd start screaming if we got anywhere near his crib (again, not like him). i didn't mind of course, and days like these just make me so much more grateful that i get to be home with him! daddy's home with us today, so glad luke gets to hang with him and give mommy a little down time... i'm exhausted, more emotionally, trying to figure out how to make him feel better really is taxing.

on another note, sorry i know this entry is super long already, luke (just yesterday) started making crazy funny faces, like squinting and pulling his upper lip up. it's so hilarious, me and hubbs get such a crack out of him, especially when he does this while growling like a dinosaur, lol!

Luke's 6 month session - more pics

oops, i completely forgot to post these pics from his session with the amazingly talented Sarah K Chen (i have a good 5 drafts just waiting to be updated with pics, ahhh!). get ready for tons of pics (and this is a huge cut from over 100 pics that are all so beautiful!). check out her work if you get a chance, i really love her style and she continues to amaze me everyday. aside from her style, i really love how patient and kind she is with Luke. she has a beautiful daughter of her own and, to be honest, that particular detail really helped in choosing her as our baby/family photographer. you can see, i'm sure, why we love her so much...

he he, nice save Dad!

ahahahahahahaaaaa!

Splish splash...

.. i was takin' a bath! have i ever posted pics of ds in the bathtub?! i don't know how the blog has survived without them!! isn't he just the yummiest, squishiest baby boy ever?! luke loves bathtime, like really, really loves it. he'll be fussing because he's tired but once we start undressing him and getting him ready for the bath, oh that's another story, he's a happy, giggling boy. daddy gets his undressed and makes him giggle while mommy gets the bath ready. then daddy hands over luke and mommy gives him his bath. while in the bath we let him sit up, he loves it! messy/wet for us but oh so fun for him! He just loves splish splashin' and getting mommy all wet. i so enjoy watching him having fun that I don't even mind my second shower of the day. then it's a pass back to daddy to get luke all dry and lotioned up, in his jammies, a nice long swab of the ears, and lately, vick's up his feet, back and chest. then it's one last final pass back to mommy to nurse him to sleep... exhausted much?! i am! we do this every.single.night. it's really the highlight of my day (for sure) and luke's. so to finish this post off right, now that i've been jabbering it up, i'll leave you with some pics of luke in the bath tonight.

and this is luke's little friend, ugly batty, used as a decoy to keep the baby paws off the baby boy parts

7 month update

**let me start by apologizing for the very boring and repetitive closet doors in the background. luke's nursery is the only room in the house that gets any decent amount of sunlight so we end up there every month. i've looked into setting up some sort of backdrop but am limited due to the room size so... this is it, the awesome closet doors**

gosh it seems like these weeks are just flying by!! luke is almost 7.5 months old and i'm barely updating on what he's been up to. the past week we've been dealing with a semi-sick baby boy, doing all we can to keep him from getting worse. we put his mattress at an incline, have his humidifier running 24/7, vick's him up on his chest, back and feet every night (boo to the doctor who says this doesn't work), and just give him all the love, cuddles, and kisses that he can stand.

here's what luke's been up to the past month:

* 21 lbs 8 oz, 28"

*first cold at 7 months 3 days old

* cries when he something he has (that he shouldn't) gets taken away, like a bag of chips, lol.

* eats solids twice a day now, breakfast and dinner. has oatmeal and applesauce for breakfast (1-1.5 oz) and a veggie at dinner (1+ oz)

* still ebf, nurses 6 times/day

* transitioning from 4 to 3 naps/day (usually a 1-2 hr nap in the a.m., 1-hr nap at noon, and a 2-hr nap in the late afternoon

* bedtime is about 9 p.m.

* right eye tear duct is still clogged :(

* his hair (that fell out at about 4 months) is finally starting to grow back

* occasionally sleeps on tummy (but wakes up grouchy when he does!)

* still loves, loves, loves playing in the bath.

* favorite toys are: sophie, book teether, fisher-price musical/read along book, plastic bath book, taggies book (maybe we have a reader on our hands ;)

* LOVES having his ears swabbed

* on another bottle/sippy cup strike. he just flings it off his highchair now. ugh! all those hours of (painful) pumping usually end up down the drain because he refuses to eat out of anything but me!!

* and my personal fave... growls like a baby dinosaur!!!

i just love this age, he's so interactive and aware of everything around him. he's barely starting to show emotion when he doesn't get what he wants. he still never really cries, more fusses when i try to nosefrida his nose, lol, or we take away something he's managed to get ahold of that's not baby safe. once we gave him a bag of chips because we were picnicking at the park and dummy mommy forgot some toys!! see pic below, he was a good little model until we took the bag away.

here are some pics of how big my baby boy is at 7 months old :(

mommy playing with her new macro lens :)

look at all my hair!!!