Weekend in PA

We had another busy weekend in PA. Saturday was a Memorial Service in Philadelphia for Ryan's Grandmother, Fran Miller, who passed away on February 3rd, 2011. Caitlynn called her Gigi. This was the first time Luke got to meet Ryan's Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. Everyone loved seeing him but he was not a fan of being passed around. He was not a happy camper unless Laura was holding him (he loves his mommy!). On Sunday, we were up in Lancaster for Aunt Jill's baby shower. She is due September 29 and she and Uncle Mike did not find out what they were having! Caitlynn had a great time playing with Madison and Simone during the shower and Luke was much better about being held by others. It was a very busy weekend with lots of traveling but we were happy to spend it with the family we don't get to see all the time!

Lunch anyone?

Caitlynn loves to feed Luke! Here she is helping him eat his lunch:

Potty Time!

We started potty training at the end of June and Caitlynn has done really well! She rarely has accidents anymore and if one does happen, its due to her not being able to get to the potty in time. Here she is showing off her new skills and enjoying some leisurely reading!

Fun with Adalena

Laura's cousins Jason, Jess, Adalena, and Sonny dog came down to visit for the weekend. This is the first time they have met Luke! Adalena is Caitlynn's second cousin. She is going to be one in a few weeks. Caitlynn loved playing with Adalena and enjoyed chasing Sonny around the house. Adalena was really interested in Luke and did do some "sharing" of toys. It was fun to have the next generation of kids playing so well together. We can't wait for many more years of playing with the cousins and look forward to having the family grow!

5th Months Old!

Luke is now 5 months old. He weighs about 18 lbs and is 26 1/2 inches long. He is still wearing 6-9 and 9 month clothes but it is only a matter of time till he grows out of them! He goes to bed around 8:00 pm and sleeps until 5:00ish am, nurses and falls back asleep until 8:00ish am. He sometimes cries two or three times at night but usually not for more than 5 minutes. There are times when we have to change his diaper around 2:00 or 3:00 am, but this is become less frequent. He sometimes takes a 45-60 min nap in the morning and a 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon. He sleeps the best when he is in his car seat and we are driving. If Laura is really lucky, she can get Caitlynn and Luke down for a nap at the same time! Luke eats 5 times a day: two 5 1/2-6 oz bottles and nurses the other times. He also has started eating "real" food and has LOVED everything we have given him! This month, he tried rice cereal, green beans and sweet potatoes. we also introduced formula, which has kept down quite well. We ended up getting a sensitive brand for his lactose intolerance. This month, Luke met his cousin Ashton for the first time at a BBQ we had here at home. Luke also discovered we had a dog. Now, whenever he sees Rocco he smiles and laughs. It will only be a matter of time before he is chasing after him! He can now blow "raspberries kisses". Luke is putting things in his month and drooling a lot more so we think this may be the beginning of teething. We will just have to wait and see!

Luke shows off his skills...

Luke is laughing and smiling all the time! Here he is flirting with the camera:

Playing with Emmie

Caitlynn's friend Emmie came down from PA to play with her today. Emmie recently became a "big sister" too with the birth of her brother Landon in May. The girls had a lot of fun playing on the alligator, dressing up, and playing with dolls. Luke and Landon enjoyed some "down time" just hanging out on the floor. It was a great day and we can't wait for our next play date with the Voit's!

Mommy's Little Helper

Caitlynn has been a huge help at home. Here are some recent things she has been doing:
Feeding baby Luke his bottle when he is sad.

Vacuuming up after a day of play.

She really wanted to make sure the floor was clean!

Popsicles with AJ

We had dinner with our good friends the Stokely's. They have two little ones as well: AJ who will be 3 this September and Trisha who will be 1 in a few weeks! The kids had so much fun playing together. It was very busy with so many little ones to watch that we hardly remembered to take any photos! Here is some of Caitlynn and AJ enjoying Popsicles at the end of the night.

Who's hiding?

We have been leaving Caitlynn's door cracked at night as she was staying in her bed. However, she recently has been getting out of her bed her water, potty breaks, more books, etc. We usually get her back in bed quickly and she soon falls asleep. However, tonight she came all the way downstairs and proceeded to "hide" under the blankets thinking we wouldn't see her. It was really hard not to smile and laugh! She is a smart little cookie!

Rice Cereal, Part 2

Luke has been eating rice cereal every night at dinner time for about 2 weeks now. He has gotten really good at keeping the cereal down and really seems to like it! Here he is going to town!

4th of July Fun!

This year, we had a BBQ at our house to celebrate Independence Day. Uncle Andrew and Aunt Kitty were able to come up from NC and they even brought their niece Ashton, from West Virgina. Caitlynn met Ashton last summer but this was the first time she had seen Luke. Ashton loved holding and playing with him. Pop-pop, Nonna and Uncle Richie came down from NJ and Laura's cousins Lynn, JL, Betsy, and her boyfriend Brian stopped by too, as they are all local. We had a great time grilling out and enjoying lots of yummy food, desserts and beverages. It was quite hot and it eventually rained, which gave us a cool evening to set off pop rocks and sparklers. Caitlynn loved throwing the pop rocks and watching the sparklers. She even held one on her own! Almost everyone spent the night and we enjoyed some down time on Monday just hanging out at the house. The girls did a little shopping and later decorated t-shirts with puffy paints. Caitlynn decided everyone shirts were not complete without her hand prints. She was a mess! Luckily, her pool was filled so she was able to get cleaned off outside. We had fun spending time with our family!