10 Months!

Today, Luke is 10 months old...2 months from turning ONE! He truly gets cuter and more fun each month (and I'm not bias or anything ;).  This month he has learned to crawl....it's more of an army crawl/one-legged scooch but he sure gets around quick! Leaving him in one spot for a few minutes is no longer an option.  He has learned to shake his head no, loves clapping, and has lots of new expressions as seen below in the pics.  He brings so much joy to our lives every day!  Here are some of our favorites from this month:

So big in his rocking chair!

10 month pose

Cheese-ball face :)

Enjoying a gorgeous Saturday as a family

Sunset :)

3,000 mile friendship

Nearly 9 years ago I worked at a church as a children's ministry intern during the summer before my 2nd year in college. It was this summer that I met an amazing person who would become one of my closest friends! Susan is an amazing woman-her faith, love for her family, and passion for life is an inspiration to me. We are both teachers, mothers, and pastor's wives so needless to say, we have a lot in common! She and her family live outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Although we live 3,000 miles apart, we have maintained a close friendship over the years, have been in each other's weddings, take turns visiting one another every 2 years, and always pick up where we left off when we talk.

This last weekend she and her son, Peyton, flew out for the long MLK weekend. We had a blast!

At my wedding in 2007

Enjoying the sunset at Coronado Island

Precious-mama & son

Visiting the zoo with our little monkeys:)

The boys being sweet to each other :)

Ready for a walk to the boutiques in our neighborhood

Enjoying some girl time at Heaven Sent Desserts!

9 Months

Luke turned 9 months on December 28th! He is weighing in at 18.10 pounds and is 28 inches long. Milestones for this month are clapping his hands, saying "dada"(we pretend he knows it means daddy:), and crawling...sort of...it's more like a one-legged scooch.  He is smiley, talkative, and LOVES being held and played with.  We call him a social baby because he HATES being left alone for more than a minute or two. (which is why my house often is a disaster, laundry piled up, and dishes in the sink. Thank goodness for my husband!).

Oh come let us adore Him

This Christmas post is coming a little late, but I wanted to put some pictures up of Luke's first Christmas! We spent the week with my family and it was wonderful. Two of my brothers came with their families so there was a total of 8 adults and 8 children in my parents house. It was crazy, loud, fun and we loved every minute of it!

Little Santa:) The outfit was a gift from one of my students!

He loves his cousin:)

Getting fed Christmas dinner from Aunt Branka.

Silly papa:)

Christmas gift from Nana and Papa

Playing Uno with his cousins:)

Hangin with Aunt Abby

 We spent a few days the week before Christmas, at a cabin with college friends. This has been a tradition since my freshmen year of college at UCSD! Usually this is a skiing/snowboarding trip, but this year there was no snow! So we went ice skating, played games, and hung out in the cabin instead.

This Christmas was extra special having a baby to celebrate it with.  I felt so blessed and thankful for all God has done in our lives this past year. He truly is the reason for the season.

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. " Suddenly a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

~Luke 2:11-14