And the Fun Begins...

So, poor baby Luke is sick. This starts the (hopefully not) never-ending round of colds & flus that houses with little kids get to "enjoy". He was only in the nursery two times before catching his first bug. :(

He got a stuffy nose starting on Wednesday and still has it. I thought I might be getting it also last night, but I seem fine today. We'll see... It's been hard seeing him miserable. He doesn't like the little suction bulb thing AT ALL! I've been taking some suggestions for helping his mucus drain (proping up his matress with a pillow, trying to have him upright for a few minutes before he eats, and having him play in an upright position as much as possible). That way I'll have to use the bulb less often. Because of this, Luke's been playing in his infant seat alot instead of his play mat. So here's a cute picture of him in it. :)

Even though he's sick, he still manages some smiles and happy times. He is more cranky in general than usual, and sometimes he'll cry for a long time in the middle of his naps (even when I'm holding him). But, when he's awake after eating, he's happy! That's my boy!

Nathan got me some pretty flowers on Monday, just because! Aren't they lovely? There were two other gerber daisies (one pink and one yellow) and a lily in addition to the carnations, snapdragon, and various other fillers. This picture was pretty though, of the most lush daisy. :)

And here's a cute picture of Luke on the couch with Cinnamon watching him. He made a face at the time, so it looks like he's having a conversation with Cinnamon! :)

Are You Happy?

Mr. Luke sure is!

I have a treat for you all - some videos of Luke smiling and "talking" and gurgling! I finally managed to get him on video. He is noticing the camera more now, so for awhile, he would stop what he was doing and focus on the camera. You'll notice in the first video that he doesn't really notice the camera, but is focused on me. In the second one, even when he notices it, he continues to talk and smile! He's sending out love to all his fans! :)

It rained this weekend!!! That made me happy. :) It was so homey and nice. Here is a picture from our porch after some sun came out - shining on the trees with the dark clouds still rumbling in the background.

Here is a multi-generational picture: Nathan, his dad, and his son. Passing down the Hughes name to the next generation. :)

Welcome Baby!

Vijay Nathanael Savage was born to my good friend, Joanna, yesterday! He was born at 2:36pm and was 6 lbs, 3oz and 19-1/4 inches long. He's sure a cutie! I went to see him last night with my mother-in-law. He's so tiny! He was delivered via c-section about 3 weeks early (so he's technically full-term). It was amazing holding him, knowing a complete little boy was all tucked up in this little package (he was still swaddled). Joanna is doing pretty well thus far, although still definitely recovering. If you know her, keep her recovery in your prayers - and their transition into being a family! If you want more pictures, here is a link to their blog: http://www.savageindianfamily.blogspot.com/.

And because no post is truly complete without pictures of Luke (who seems gigantic compared to his new friend Vijay!), here are some I took of him yesterday!

This first outfit is one that Nathan's cousin, Michelle, bought for my sister-in-law when then thought Sophia was going to be a boy. Since she turned out to indeed be a girl, I was given the outfit for our little boy. However, Sophia was due in November and Luke was born in July, so it's always been to hot for him to wear it. This week has cooled down significantly here, so I decided to try it on while I can still snap it closed (he's already kind of outgrown it!). :) Also, check out his cute little toes all flexed in the last one!

I also took a picture of Luke wearing some socks that my cousin Anna made for him.

Whirlwind Addendum

I forgot this fun tidbit of information in the last post:

Luke went in the nursery for the first time on Sunday! He did VERY well. He spent two services in there. We dropped him off, then went to Sunday School. He was supposed to eat around 10am, and I left the bottle with instructions. However, when I went in to check on him between services, they had not fed him yet (probably because he was so content and happy that they never had a need to check and see what his instructions were!). He was hanging out in one of their baby swings (he had never been in one before, so that was probably a new phenomenon for him). So I told them they could feed him then (around 11am), and off we went to church. When we went back to pick him up, he was still happy and had eaten all the contents of his bottle (4oz, a little more than he has ever eaten before from a bottle). The nursery coordinator said, "Bring him back! We like the little ones." :) So far, he has not gotten sick either (the only real concern we had with leaving him in the nursery), but I'm not sure what the incubation time is for colds and whatnot. So, I think it was a success! It was refreshing to be able to pay attention to both Sunday School and church with an undivided mind. :)

Whirlwind

Here is a recap of the last several days - and it has sure been a whirlwind of activities!

Luke is super-smiley these days! If you have a chance to hold him when he's awake, you'll most likely be rewarded with a eye-sparkling, face-lightening smile! He may even talk to you! Here he is enjoying Joanna and Shirley on Tuesday and Wednesday (respectively).

The poor little guy finally managed to scratch himself pretty badly on Wednesday during his nap. :( Amazingly, he hasn't really done much harm to himself up until this incident (it's on the bridge of his nose - actually drew a little blood!).

We just hung around the house on Thursday and Friday, so there as a little down time there. Here's the cute guy chillin' out.

Friday night, we went out to dinner with some friends to celebrate Nathan's brother, Matt's, birthday. Luke got babysat for that. After dinner, we picked him up and drove to the airport to pick up my sister! She flew in to visit for the weekend and to meet her wonderful nephew!

Saturday, we had In-N-Out for lunch (in honor of our Oregon houseguest!), then went to Georgia's baby shower. :) We relaxed and visited the rest of the day - enjoying the time to chat and catch up, and to enjoy baby Luke!

Sunday, we all went to church, then headed to Nathan's parent's house for the family celebration of Matt's birthday. This was a fun opportunity for Jennifer to see all my nieces and nephew in person again - they grow up so fast! Luke got into the party spirit!

I'll leave you with a adorable staredown from my favorite little boy! It's hard to get Luke to smile into the camera because he has started to notice it and would rather look at the camera in fascination than look at you and respond to your smiles. :)

Big Boy!

Luke had his 2-month doctor's appointment yesterday! He is 13 lbs 15oz, 24-1/4 inches long, with a head size of 42cm. He's in the 80-85% in all categories! So, he's proportioned "evenly" for himself, but is definitely on the larger end of things for other babies his age. :) I think he's just perfect! It has become sort of a tradition to take a picture of him waiting for the doctor, so here is a picture of him this time compared to a picture of him at his first appointment at 4 days old! :)

He had his first round of immunizations also - he cried initially a little bit, but was calm very soon. A man in the elevator on the way out commented on how nice it was when babies can sit quietly like that - and I commented that he had just gotten his shots, too! He got "Joe Cool" Snoopy bandaids (I think Nathan should be jealous - he liked Joe Cool growing up), so even though he's had a rough day, he's still happy to reward us with a little smile. :)

He was pretty content all afternoon, but developed a little fever in the evening and night. He would fuss when we moved him around and otherwise just seemed sleepy (like all other nights), so that seemed like the best medicine for him. He did fuss some at 3am, so I checked on him and he was moving around a little but not really awake. I figure the fever might have been breaking then. I decided to go ahead and feed him to help keep him hydrated to continue fighting the fever (he has been sleeping all night the past several weeks, so this middle-of-the-night meal was a special treat for the little guy). The fever seemed to be gone this morning but he's still a little tired looking, so hopefully he'll regain his stamina and regular energy soon. :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday - I turned 26! It's almost like age doesn't matter anymore. Time in my life is marked by other important events - anniversary, Luke's birth, etc. But, I still enjoyed my day! Luke was a little more fussy than usual (not very birthday-like behavior, but oh well). Nathan and Luke took me out to dinner at Chili's so that I wouldn't have to cook. I got some presents from Nathan and we watched "The Astronaut Farmer" after Luke went to bed (pretty good movie). We'll be celebrating more with Nathan's family tomorrow, and my sister will be visiting next weekend, so we might do some birthday-ish things then also. :)

Since it was a major milestone in MY life, I took some pictures of Luke and I together (always a good excuse for taking more pictures of Luke!).

I got some of just him as well.

And this one was when he was reading the newspaper with Daddy the day before. :)

Two Months Old

Yeah! Our little boy is 2 months old (as of Sunday)! Sorry this post is so late - life kind of got in the way a little the past few days (Labor Day, internet down all day, away from home all day, etc.). :)

And yet, Luke's cuteness was not affected! :) Here's a picture of Luke at last week's family dinner and later that night looking all cute in my glider.

Here is Luke's first time "in" the pool on Saturday. It was hotter 'n' blue blazes outside (over 110 degrees), and amazingly the pool was empty, so we decided to go down. Nathan wanted to get some exercise, but we figured I'd need to stay with Luke in the shade so I didn't put a suit on. Turns out Luke slept through the whole experience pretty much (we took him down with us during his nap) so I could have gotten in the pool myself for a bit. Oh well. Next time. I didn't want to go back inside to change just for a couple minutes. I sat on the edge with my calves in the water. :) Before we let him sleep undisturbed on the beach towel in the shade, Luke got his foot dipped in the pool water - the most we could allow him to do on a day that hot since babies aren't allowed to have sunscreen till they're 6 months.

Sunday was his 2 month birthday! We got to see Sarah & Anna at church, who were visiting from Northern California. It had been almost 2 years since we saw Sarah, and obviously our first time to meet little Anna! Very fun!

Lots of picture opportunities Sunday afternoon to document Luke's milestone! I take so many pictures it's hard to pick favorites!

That evening, Luke and I went to Golden Spoon to hang out with my friend Lisa - she enjoyed meeting Luke for the first time!

Now, I'll leave you with a silly picture that illustrates Luke's growing fascination with his tongue! :)