Christmas in PA

We went up to PA to celebrate Christmas at Mimi and Popi's house. Uncle Mike, Aunt Jill, Madison, Simone, and Hannah were visiting so we were able to exchange gifts with them. Caitlynn and Luke loved the clocks they got for their rooms. Uncle Rusty got them a Thomas the Train table, which Caitlynn LOVED! She also received a doctor set and lots of stickers. Luke got a travel bag with his name on it and it was big enough for him to fit inside! We all went to Candy Lane at Hersey Park with all the girls while Mimi and Popi stayed home with the babies. Caitlynn loved going on the rides with Madison and Simone. They also had a light show and she enjoyed bobbing her head to the music. While we were all in PA, we got some new family photos. Here they all are:

Christmas Day

We spent Christmas morning as a family at our house, which is a tradition we quite enjoy! Nonna and Pop-pop spent the day with us too. Caitlynn and Luke must have been VERY good little children as Santa must have unloaded half his sleigh at our house! It was an all day opening affair this year. Some of Caitlynn's favorite gifts were: Princess tent and sleeping bag, Princess dress-up clothes, socks and sneakers, rain boots, pink snow boots, a microwave, and play dough. By far, her favorite gift was a purple bike(and is was ONLY thing she consistently asked Santa for)! Some of Luke's favorite gifts were: drums, guitar, mini-piano, tool bench, pj's, sippy cups, Puffs, and Yogurt Melts. Luke's favorite activity of the day was taking the wrapping paper out of the bags. Both of the kids received a wagon, which had to put together right away for rides around the house. It was another great Christmas and we loved being able to celebrate Luke's 1st Christmas at home!

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve with the Harbold family in PA. We started the day with a visit to Grandmom Harbold's house. Caitlynn, Luke, and their cousin Hannah all dressed up for a photo with their Great Grandmom! Then, off we went to Uncle Tom and Aunt Dot's house for the annual Christmas Eve gathering with the extended Harbold family. We got to see Mimi and Popi, Uncle Rusty, Aunt Jill and Hannah, and Nonna and Pop-pop came too! Santa even stopped by for a quick visit. Luke didn't mind sitting on his lap but Caitlynn barely stood next to him. She did remember to tell him she wanted a bike for Christmas! It was a whirl wind visit for us all!

10 Months Old

Luke is now 10 months old and we can barely keep up with him! He weighs 21lbs 6 ozs and is 29 in long. He is crawling all over the place and gets faster with each passing day! He pulls himself up on everything and always wants to "know" what is going on. He can climb the stairs all by himself and we can never leave the gate open anymore. You can see him in his stair climbing action in the video from a previous post!

This was a big month of "firsts" for Luke. He cut his first bottom tooth on November 23rd and his second one on December 11th. This explains all of the drooling and crankiness he has been having lately. He also said his first words on right after Thanksgiving. He looked right at Ryan and said "Hi Da!" Ryan was one proud papa that day! Luke had his first bout of illness towards the end of the month. He had a high fever and had to stay home from daycare for 3 days. Mimi and Nonna came down to watch him so that Ryan and Laura didn't have to take off all the days he was home. We are lucky to have the extra help! His high fever was from Rosella and he ended up with an ear infection. Though it was a rough couple of days, he was put on antibiotics and was well for Christmas!

Luke follows the same eating and drinking patterns from last month. Sometimes, he even sleeps in till 6:00am before waking for his morning bottle! Because his teeth broke through, he is able to eat more table foods. This month, Luke has tried the following foods: turkey, mashed potatoes, Yogurt Melts, ground beef, cheddar cheese, and egg yolk. He has LOVED all the foods he tried! Luke also has two teeth now (both on the bottom) so he is enjoying "chewing" more items now!

Other special memories from this month include celebrating Luke's first Thanksgiving, visiting Santa and having no tears, chopping down and decorating a Christmas Tree. We can't wait to celebrate Luke's first Christmas and see what next month holds!

All done!

Luke LOVES to eat everything we give him. Sometimes we are not sure when he is full! We started to teach him to hold up both hands for when he is "All done!" and ready to get down. Here he is showing off his new skill:

Luke VS Stairs 2.0

Luke has been making many attempts to crawl all the way up the stairs by himself but quits about half way up. Here he is making the entire climb. It took him awhile but he did it, all by himself!

Decorating the Tree

We got the tree in the house and decided to decorate it with the kids. Caitlynn loved helping with the lights and putting on ornaments even though all of them ended up on the lower branches! Ryan did help her put some up on the higher branches. Luke didn't care about the tree until the ornaments went on. He thought they made better toys for him and they ended up in his mouth quite quickly! We had to rearrange some of the breakable ornaments so that Luke could "help us" with the decorating. Looks like we will be spending lots of time putting them back on the tree this year!

Christmas Tree

While we were in PA, we decided to pick out a Christmas tree. We went to a local tree farm that Mimi and Popi get their tree from. This year, Ryan decided I was NOT aloud to pick out a tree that was taller than him. We were able to find something that was large enough for and about the same height as Ryan. Maybe we will be able to put the angel on top this year! We will see once we get it home and in the house,...

Santa

We decided to visit Santa while we were in PA. Mimi and Popi even came along. This year we didn't have any tears! Luke sat on Santa's lap and really liked the puff on the end of his hat. Caitlynn didn't sit on Santa's lap this year but she did tell him she wanted a "pink bike". When we were leaving, Caitlynn said: "Why didn't Santa give me a bike?" She didn't quite understand the idea that Santa would bring her gifts later on!

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving day in PA at Grandmom Harbold's house. Caitlynn loved helping with the leaf raking. It was fun to see the Harbold family and it was the first time some of them got to see Luke in person. They couldn't get over how big he was (just like his Daddy, some said!). Luke tried mashed potatoes and turkey for the first time and loved both! He even discovered his highchair tray went up and down and loved playing with it as seen in the video below. We were thankful to be able to celebrate with family!

9 Months Old

Luke is 9 months old and we can't believe how fast this past month has flown by! He has continued with the same napping and sleeping patterns as last month. He now has a new eating pattern as he is down to three 7 oz bottles. He has a bottle at 5:00am, breakfast at 8:30am, bottle at 10:30am, lunch at 1:00om, a snack at 4:00ish pm, dinner at 5:30pm and a bottle at 7:00pm. This month, lunch has tried the following foods: peaches, spaghetti, cantaloupe and pretzel sticks. He started drinking water in a sippy cup with his lunch and dinner, which he loves! Luke 1st tooth finally broke through and now it makes sense as to why he has been a little crabby lately! He looks so cute with his one bottom tooth!

This month, Luke figured out he could hold his own bottle. He doesn't do it all the time and isn't ready to take a bottle yet without being held by someone. He has made many growths in his motor abilities. He started to crawl and has gotten fast quite quickly! He is able to sit up from a lying position and is now pulling himself up on everything! It isn't uncommon for us to find him standing in his crib after his naps.

This month, Luke got to dress up twice! We held the Mom's Group Halloween party and went trick-or-treating with the Birrane's on Halloween. Luke was a dragon this year,a costume made by Nonna! We can't wait to celebrate his first Thanksgiving and for him to get a taste of turkey!

Hunt Valley and Hannah

Mike, Jill, and Hannah made the trip to PA to visit Mimi and Popi. We were able to meet them in Hunt Valley for lunch. We loved getting some cuddle time with Hannah and seeing how much she has grown in the past 6 weeks. It was fun spending some extra time with family!

Luke Vs The Stairs

Luke has been on the move ever since he discovered he can crawl. He buzzes all around the house and tries to pull up on everything! He recently has had a high interest in the stairs and has made attempts to climb them but hasn't been very successful. Here he is on one of his best efforts:

Halloween 2011

We kept up with our Halloween tradition of trick-or-treating with the Birrane's. Evan was very excited to spend some time with Caitlynn. They both looked adorable in their costumes and Evan received a lot of compliments on his "Thomas the Train" outfit. It was cold out thie year so Luke didn't get very far. Evan and Caitlynn were visited around 30 different houses this year. They both were much braver with going door-to-door to collect the candy. Their favorite part was eating pieces in between the houses! It was another fun year of candy collecting in Pasadena, MD with our friends!

Mom's Group Halloween Party

We hosted the 3rd annual Halloween Party with Laura's Mom's Group. A large majority of the families were able to attend. We had a great time catching up with everyone and seeing how big Caitlynn's little friends have gotten. The kids sure were a cuty bunch! It wasn't very easy to get everyone to sit for a picture very long (and of course not everyone is looking!) Our original group of 11 mom's and babies sure has grown over the years!

It's official,...

Luke is now on the move! Luke was been making attempts to crawl for quite some time but just hasn't gotten the hang of it. It's been mostly pushing up with his arms and moving backwards or rolling around to get where he wanted to be. Today, he was able swing both feet under him and crawl forward! Watch him go:

Tub Time

Luke loves to splash in the tub. He cracks up laughing every single time! Here he is having a great time with Caitlynn:

8 months old

Luke is now 8 months old and is busier then ever! He weighs about 21 lbs and is 28 inches long. He goes to bed around 7:30 pm every night and wakes up at 5:00ish am for a bottle then goes back to sleep until 7:00 am. He also takes two naps each day from 9:30-10:30 am and 1:30-3:30ish pm. Laura is officially done nursing so Luke is now just on formula and food. He drinks four 7 oz bottles at 5:00ish am, 11:00 am, 4:00 pm, and 7:30 pm. He also eats rice cereal at 9:00sih am and has a fruit and/or veggie at 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm. New foods Luke has tried this month were mango's, apples, and pumpkins. Laura has still kept up with making all of Luke's baby food and he has continued to love everything he has eaten!

This month, Luke figured out to grab food off of his tray and feed himself. He has now tried Cheerios's and Puffs, which he quickly learned were yummy to eat! He now enjoys both of these as "extra snacks" during dinner time.

Luke discovered how to roll from his back to his belly at the beginning of the month. Now, he is able to roll around all over the place to get what he wants! He enjoys being on his belly more often now and sometimes even pushes up and scoots backwards. we are sure crawling is just around the corner for Luke!

Special memories from this month were Luke and Caitlynn now have a new cousin! Ryan's sister Jill and her husband Mike welcomed Hannah Bella on October 6th at 6:34pm. She weighed 7lbs 5ozs and was 20.5 inches long. You can check out pictures of her on their blog that we follow: Raspanti Family.

Fun times with Daddy!

Ryan always seems to be able to make Luke laugh very easily. Here he is working his magic:

Apple Picking 2.0

We went to Baugher's Farm again this year to do some apple picking with Caitlynn and Luke. We got there at 10:00am to find it packed already! Caitlynn loved eating apples right off of the trees and probably ate 3 apples all by herself! Luke loved sucking on the apple juices but isn't quite ready to eat them yet (he needs some teeth first!). It was a great day and we had lots of fun picking 40 lbs of apples this year. Looks like Laura will be making lots of apple themed baked goods soon!

Who Looks Like Who?

We still think both kids look more like a "Harbold". What do you think?

Cheese Face

We were taking photos of the kids and Caitlynn informed us that Luke Did Not have "cheese face". Here she is telling me about it,...

7 months old!

Luke is 7 months old and quiet the happy baby! He is approximately 19 lbs and is 27 1/4 inches long. He is wearing only 12 months clothes now and we are hoping he will stay here for a bit. He continues with a similar sleeping pattern of: napping from 9:30-10:30 am and 1:30-3:30ish pm and sleeping from 7:30pm- 4:30ish am. He is still nursing two times a day and drinking three 6 oz bottles of formula. We are still using the sot formula as we aren't sure if he has outgrown his lactose intolerance, and just don't want to chance it!

This month, Luke has tried the following new foods: carrots, peas, and butternut squash. He loved each of them! We did attempt to give him banana's once but they were to thick for Luke to eat. Laura has continued to make all of the food Luke has eaten and she hopes to continue until he is a year old. However, now that school has started, we will she if she has enough time to keep up with our little eating machine!

New discoveries Luke made this month were his tongue. He loves sticking it out at everyone! He thinks it is funny! He is also able to sit up on his own for extended periods of time. He can reach for his toys on his own, as long as they are close enough for him to reach them! Sometimes, he ends up on his belly and then he rolls over right away (he is still not a fan of his belly!)

We wonder if next month with bring us a mobile baby boy? We will just have to wait and see!

Bounce!

We recently took out the Johnny Jump-Up to see if Luke was ready to use it. He didn't quite get the hang of it but Caitlynn quickly remembered exactly what to do and was quick to show Luke the ropes!

Going to Bed Book

Every night, we read Luke "The Going to Bed Book". Caitlynn loves hearing the story and often sits in Luke's room while we read it to him. She has heard it so often, she now knows it by heart. She saw the book on the floor and decided she wanted to "read" the book to him all by herself. Here she is:

Horse Back Riding!

While we were in PA for a wedding and staying with Mimi and Popi, a local farm was open for horse back riding. Caitlynn also loves looking at horses but have never gotten to ride one so we decided to take her. She was a bit hesitant at first and she did not want to wear the helmet (probably because she didn't want helmet hair!). She eventually wore the helmet, sat on the horse, and was ready to go! She went around the arena one time with Ryan by her side, which was just enough for her. Maybe next time, she will want to go all be herself!

Hurricane!

The kids just experienced their first hurricane over the weekend! We were fortunate not to have lost power or have any trees down in our own neighborhood. Caitlynn doesn't usually like going out in the rain but today she insisted on playing on the deck. Here she is playing outdoors during the rainy weather:

Fun with Friends

We were watching Cori for a few hours the other week while her parents helped a friend move. Caitlynn had a great time playing with her! I was able to capture some of the laughter from the day.

6 Months Old

Luke is now 6 months old and we have no idea how the time flew by so quickly! He was at the doctors for his check-up and was 18 lbs 3 ozs ans 27 inches long, which is the 75% percentile for both. He got 3 shots and an oral vaccine and cried for less then 30 seconds. He immediately stopped when Ryan pick him up. The doctor was very happy with his growth and development and said he could be crawling some time soon!

Luke goes to bed around 7:30pm and sleeps straights through till 4:30ish am. He naps from 9:30-10:30am and 1:30-3:30pm. Luke eats a total of 5 times a day- three 6 oz bottles and nurses twice. He eats at around 4:30am, 9:00am, 1:00pm, 5:00pm, and 7:30pm. he also eats solid foods at around 11:00am and 6:00pm. New foods he tried this month are oatmeal, avocado (he was NOT a fan!), pears, and acorn squash. Laura has continued to make all of his food.

This month, Luke started to sit up on his own. He now can sit up for long periods of time and loves playing with his toys, especially if it is something he can put in his mouth! Luke doesn't have any teeth yet but we think they are coming soon. He is drooling a lot and puts everything he can in his mouth!

Luke traveled to NJ for the first time and met a large majority of Laura's family. He also went to Ocean City, NJ with Mimi, Popi, and the Miller's. Luke also just started daycare and is going to Marci's with Caitlynn. She was able to get him on a consistent napping schedule which he has continued to do at home. As Laura's school year kicks off, we are sure the time will continue to just fly by!