Pitter Patter

What fun news to report today! We are expanding our family in September! I was at work and couldn't wait a moment longer to find out if I was pregnant. I knew I was just by how I felt but I needed fact plus confirmation! And here it is! The top stick is from finding out Luke was coming and the bottom one is our latest! I just can't get myself to throw away a memento from two of the happiest days of my life! Our due date is September 5, 2009....there's just something about those September babies I guess!

Merry Christmas!

Taking a ride in your new waggon!
Catching some z's

Your Snoopy phone was a hit!

I think this may be your favorite gift yet! A little radio of your own! It even plays Rhianna!

We had a great Christmas this year. You spent Christmas Eve at Nana and Papa Schneider's house with Daddy. Mommy had to work this year. From what I hear you were a busy boy removing things from Nana's pretty tree! On Christmas day we went to Mike and Suzanne's for a wonderful breakfast. We were very late and everyone waited for us which was sweet. We knew we'd be in for a long day if we woke you up early! Around nap time we went home so you could rest up for the next party! You didn't nap much but on the way to Nana and Papa Eschingers house you caught some z's. We had a wonderful dinner and a great time opening presents. You were a great boy and went to bed so we could play Mexican train. We didn't leave until after midnight!

Bounce U

Today was a fun day we met Mike, Suzanne, Will, Cate and Stephen at Bounce U. It's a fun place with a bunch of air filled things you can bounce on! You were skeptical at first and didn't seem to be enjoying the bouncing but you loved to run around. That was until we found one that was full of foam balls to toss! Then you were in heaven!
Daddy giving you a pep talk to go down the big slide. You hated it! Mommy later went and it was really fast and pretty steep! No wonder you didn't like it. Maybe you won't like rides like Mommy...or you'll learn to love them and go with Daddy!

What a fun way to burn off some energy! Great idea Mike and Suzanne!

Such a big help!

Laundry days seem to come around all too often! You are always willing to "help". Usually this means taking all the clothes out of the basket and placing them around the house! Sometimes you even throw them over the loft edge at the dogs....I wonder where you have seen that before! It's always fun to sort the laundry because the laundry bags seem to be your new favorite hiding place for little treasures! I've found all sorts of things including my shoes, a comb, lotion and the telephone!

Meeting Santa 2008

It's that time of year again! We are off to The Minors house and look who just happened to stop by! We had our annual Christmas party with Tom and Carole Minor and as usual it was great fun. This year you were old enough to try a candy cane and you loved it! You were a busy bee tonight running around checking everything out. Grammie Carole has so many pretty things for you to admire...we would have hoped from afar. We only managed to break one snow globe! What a mess! Thank goodness you are so cute and Grammie didn't seem to mind. I guess we know what we have to look for when we go shopping now :) You weren't quite ready to sit with Santa solo so Daddy went with you. You loved the toy horse he brought you that makes gallop noises!

Where have the days gone?

I can't believe it's already the middle of December! We have so much left to do before Christmas! Not to say we haven't been busy! You are learning new things each and every day. I just said to Nana and Papa Schneider "I wonder when Luke will learn how to drink from a straw". And the very next day you did it! You are more stable on your feet and run all over the place. You still love to splash in the dogs water bowl and have endless amounts of fun playing with all the lotions and bottles under my sink! You're trying really hard to communicate with everyone. Your vocabulary is expanding rapidly. I even swear you've said things like "I'll get it" and "over there". You do say things like thank you, mama, dada, nana, papa, Tee Tee (Katie), baba (bottle), dawg and something that sounds like Macy. You even yell at Sakai just like Mommy and Daddy! Also you are big at pointing to what you want. Which is working much better than the crying we had before! I've been trying to teach you body parts but you aren't quiet interested yet. Although you will give me whatever is in your mouth when I ask you "Luke what's in your mouth". No matter what it is I usually get it back covered in drool. Speaking of drool you are back at it! You have at least three teeth coming in! The two on either side of your current bottom front teeth and a molar in the back right. I'm not sure what else is going on in there as I get bitten if I inspect! OUCH! You had your third haircut this week and it went better than the second one did! You were a wiggle worm but there wasn't any screaming. Phew. You are also very excited when it comes to meals (as are mommy and daddy) because you love to feed yourself now! You've mastered a fork (you love to stab things) and understand the spoon it's just nothing seems to stay on it long enough to make it to your mouth! One of your favorite places to go is Sweet Tomatoes. They have all your favorite foods all in one place. I can't even being to tell you how amazing you've become at your breathing treatments. You sit like such a big boy and take the whole thing with minimal squirming. And you love taking your pill at night. I'm half tempted to try one because they must be very tasty! Luke you still LOVE the telephone. In fact today the phone started to beep...which was a good help in letting me find it under your puzzle. However the battery was dead because you'd been "talking" for over four hours to a number in Errol, NH. I could do without seeing that phone bill! Next time you can just call Nana...she's local!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a busy fun filled day we had! We started out at Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Mikes for round one of turkey and stuffing. I've never seen you eat so much EVER! You had chicken nuggets, turkey, butternut squash, mashed potatoes, peaches, lefse and home made whip cream! I thought you might explode! Let's not forget the sweet potatoes...with eak an egg white wash. You didn't have a reaction thankfully but we dosed you up with benadryl anyway. The wash was on the yummy nut topping that I wasn't giving you but it still made my stomach hurt knowing we came so close! With our tummies full off we went to Nana and Papa E's house for more celebration!
Nana and Papa's house smelled of turkey the moment we walked in! This year was extra special not only were you able to enjoy turkey but because you got to share it with your cousin Adeline, Uncle Matt and Aunt Michelle who were home.
You had a great time with Adie. You popped bubbles and ran around outside, shared some crackers, played with a yoga ball and all the other toys and shared a bath together at the end of the evening. You two are too cute to watch play. It's fun to think in a few months you'll be walking around saying apple and glasses like your big cousin Adie :)

The Phoenix Zoo

Snack time in Monkey Village.

Feeding the ducks was a favorite!

Strolling through the petting zoo. The sheep were fluffy like Pekerman!

Daddy had the day off today so we planned a fun day to spend together at the zoo! After a little driving around we finally found it. It had been a while since Mommy and Daddy had been to the zoo. We stood in the long ling to get our membership and then we were off! It seemed like we weren't the only family that was out to enjoy the nice cool weather as the zoo was the place to be. There were lots of people and you enjoyed watching all the older kids run around and play. You loved to watch the ducks swim around and the red bottomed baboons even came right up to the window to say hello! Next time we head to the zoo we'll pack more snacks and drinks!

Finally cool weather!

It finally feels like fall in Arizona so we've been spending more and more time outside. Today we had lunch with Nana, Nana K and your great Aunts Lizzie and Cathi. We sat outside and enjoyed the weather and you were a perfect little lunch date. On the way home you slept in the car and were ready for more when you woke up! We ran around in Nana's back yard, played in the grass and even went for a long walk with Maggie. Thank goodness the heat is gone for a while!

All things allergy!

What an amazing little boy you are becoming! Today you had an appointment with an Allergy and Asthma specialist. You were a dream. They poked your back to test you for allergies and you didn't move a muscle. While we were waiting for the results you went a little nutty but it was your nap time so I can't complain. You only turned off the doctors computer half a dozen times or so! Much to my relief you are not allergic to dogs or any of the other common allergens. You remain VERY allergic to eggs. We were given an epipen jr. just in case you have eggs. A little scary but somewhat a relief as well. You were also diagnosed with reactive airway disease (again). This is a way for the doctors to say you have asthma without really saying it yet. Tonight we start out on your twice daily breathing treatments of pulmicort and once daily dose of singular. We are going with the route of prevention rather than treatment. The breathing treatments contain some steroids which should help get you through a rough winter. Since you can't get the flu shot (it contains egg) the doctor suggested that every one in your "posse" get a flu shot. So to all of Luke's friends go get yours! The doctors warned that it would be a very bad thing for Luke to come down with the flu. We also received a prescription for a higher dose of albuterol, zyrtec and benadryl should we need it! This doctor is my hero if he keeps you well! Fingers crossed...winter is on the way!

SHOES!!

Now that the weather is nice it was about time we got you some shoes to play outside in! It was so much fun looking at all the shoes. They didn't have the exact pair Mommy wanted but the ones we got sure are cute!

You caught on very quickly to walking in your new shoes.

So quickly that it was hard to get your picture!

Too many health updates

Whew what a week and a half it's been! We don't have many new pictures because it just doesn't seem very nice to take pictures of someone who feels as terrible as you do! We took our first trip to the Pediatric ER last week 10/8/08. You were having a hard time breathing despite a couple of breathing treatments. Rather than wait until the middle of the night we took you in to have you checked out. You had an x-ray, a throat swab and a nose swab. All of which were not your favorite things. You also got more tylenol and motrin and another breathing treatment! They sent us home after a few hours telling us you had a virus. We weren't much wiser to your condition when we left than when we came. But we were much more comfortable taking you home when they said you'd be ok. The next morning we took you to the doctor for an ER follow up. Now we got some real information. You had croup, a sinus infection and reactive airway disease. RAD is a way of saying asthma before you diagnose it. We were sent home with antibiotics, steroids and orders for 2-4 hourly breathing treatments. They also drew your blood and did another breathing treatment in the office. Once we got the antibiotics and steroids in you things took a turn for the better. As things go today you still have a bit of a runny nose and a little rumble in your chest but nothing compared to the wheezing you had last week which could be heard from the other room! Now our main issue is your lack of sleep! You are up past mommy and daddy! You've become quite a night owl. I'm not sure if it's because you are feeling better and don't need as much or if the steroids are keeping you up! Either way I miss my baby that went to bed early and slept in late! But am very happy to have my baby back that can breath!

Yay for cups!

Recently you've really taken to drinking out of a cup. A sweet friend of mine found this cup for you! Thank you Dana for thinking of Luke he loves his new cup! You like to take a few big sips and then you dip your fingers in it. You usually end up pretty wet down the front but that's ok!

Another health update!

Oh come on Mom more pictures?

Lukers and Macy are on the mend....well that was until the coughing and sneezing started! Luke you finally got rid of your mystery fever and rash and have now started coughing and sneezing up a storm! Ever since you were very little you would cough first and then sneeze. It was like you were helping it out a little. You still do it to this day. It's very cute...but do you think you'll be 15 and still doing a little cough before every sneeze?

Macy went back to the vet yesterday and got a clean bill of health. His little pug bottom is looking a million times better. We still have to clean it twice a day and finish the antibiotics but we got only good news this time!

My little hot potato

This is just a cute picture of you reading some mail. September is proving to be a rough month for the Schneider household. My sweet little Lukers is sick again and this time he is a toasty little guy. Your temperature reached a new high of 104.5, 40 minutes after you had Tylenol. I don't even want to know what it was before! Up until Monday evening nothing really seemed to be bothering you. That is until the massive amounts of drool started pouring out of you! Then I started to think maybe you had a bit of a sore throat. We went to the pediatrician to confirm and Mommy was right. Maybe I should go to medical school :) The doctor said you had a very red throat and that it was most likely a virus. You were tested for strep which you didn't very much like and that came back negative. So along with those results and the nice new rash you are getting Mommy and the Doctor agree on a virus. Fingers crossed you are at the tail end of it.

Speaking of the tail end of things our beloved pug Macy is under the weather as well. A trip to the vet Monday revealed an infection in or around his left anal gland. The doctors first gave very bad news of a tumor and 3-12 months to live but shortly (if you can call two straight hours of sobbing shortly) they changed their minds and it was now an abscess. Macy was placed on antibiotics and anti inflammatory medications. The abscess was drained as best it could be and we were sent home with instructions to clean it twice a day by flushing it out. All my nursing skills are being put to the test this week. I think I'd much rather have to deliver a baby at Target! So between giving Luke Tylenol and Motrin every four hours I am applying warm packs to a pugs bottom and flushing out, what I hope every minute, is just an abscess and not a cancerous tumor. Being a mother is proving to be harder and harder each minute.

On a lighter note Luke you are walking like a champ. Still choosing to crawl when you need to get somewhere quickly but each day you make it look easier and easier! We are still in the progress of getting the video up...things have been a little more like an Urgent Care than a home!

Haircut #2

You were pooped after your second haircut! I would have taken more pictures but you screamed through the whole thing! This haircutting experience was much different than the first. You wanted nothing to do with the car or anything else for that matter. You screamed like she was cutting your ears off! Thankfully you took a snooze in the car afterwords and were very cute with your new haircut the rest of the day.

These feet were made for walking

By the end of the day a video will be here!

Just yesterday you were learning to crawl and now with each day you are becoming more and more confident in your new found walking skills. You've been standing solo for weeks and have taken a few steps in between two objects but in the past couple of days you've just decided it's time to start walking! And off you went. Each day you seem to go further and further. I see crawling is going to be a thing of the past very shortly! You are such a busy little bee on your hands and knees how ever will we keep up with you when you move to running!

Wellness Update!

September is proving to be a rough month for you little Luke. You've been through several diapers of diarrhea, low grade temperatures and a yeast infection! Let's give it a rest now already! We've switched you to soy milk in an effort to help calm your little tummy down and it seems to be working. Another week or so of soy and we will try cows milk again. You really seem to love milk no matter what kind it is! You gulp it all down each time. Your little bottom is looking much better too thanks to the cream the pediatrician recommended. You are on the mend! Thank goodness too because you were quite the grump there for a while! We love you all the same we just prefer the smiles and giggles to the tears.

My Favorite Baby

Poor little Lukers! You are under the weather again. You've been grumpy since Sunday when we celebrated your birthday. Then you had two days of a tummy ache and now a low grade temp! I'm pooped just from watching you try and make it through the day. When you started to feel warm today I called the doctor and got you right in. Little did I know nothing (per the doctor) was wrong with you! I'm not sure why you are so fussy and warm but I'm sure we will figure it out! For the first time in ages when we put you to bed it's not the last we hear of you till the morning. Tonight you are making little whimpering sounds in your sleep and it's breaking my heart! Feel better really soon little boy...Mommy can't take much more!

Monkey Party!

One tired birthday boy!
Egg free MONKEY cup cakes!
You want me to eat THAT? But it's on fire!!

Your first birthday was great fun! We celebrated at Nana and Papa Schneider's house. We couldn't fit that many people at our house! You are so popular. You had all three sets of grandparents there, three great grandparents, four uncles, one aunt, two cousins, and one great uncle! We ate great food and had cupcakes and ice cream then we watched you open all of your wonderful presents and the fun day was complete. You were a little grumpy but perked up a bit towards the end! I still can't believe a whole year has gone by. Each stage of your ongoing childhood seems better than the one before! I love sharing every moment of it with you and look forward to all the fun surprises the future has for us as a family!

My Baby turned ONE!

Not a baby anymore! You're a cruising toddler!

1 year stats:

25.8 pounds 82%, 31 1/2 inches tall 90%, head 19 inches 92%

Your first bath as a toddler complete with a mohawk!

I can't even begin to tell you what a great year this has been. Watching you grow and learn new things has been truly amazing. I cherish every moment we share together and smile knowing we have so many more to come. You are a wonderful little boy for so many reasons. You let me sleep in most days and wake up with giggles not tears. You love eating and have since your first few hours of life. You have a great sense of humor and can make me laugh with the littlest of effort on your part. I love watching you sleep, feeling you breath and hearing you make the softest of snores. I love watching you figure new things out, ways to get around and playing peek a boo. You love swimming and hanging out with your Nanas. I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for all of us. More firsts, more giggles and more great Luker moments.

I love you Luke!!

Mom of the Year!

Today started off like any other day. We had a bottle, ate, took a nap and you know locked you in the car! My heart has never dropped to my toes before like it did today. We were getting ready to leave Old Navy and you DID NOT want to be in your car seat. So I let you kinda climb around and collect your toys until you were ready. In the mean time you were playing near the other door so I locked the doors so you wouldn't go falling out and knock your head! Well I forgot this when I finally was ready and closing the door. My little baby boy was locked in! The car wasn't running and my phone was locked in with you. Good thing a nice mother and daughter were walking by and let me borrow their cell phone to call Daddy. Daddy didn't answer because he saw the odd name on the caller ID. Well Mommy yelled for him to pick up! Within ten minutes Daddy came to our rescue! He said he got in his car Dukes of Hazard style and flew down the freeway thinking his car may explode! He didn't even have socks on! But he made it and we were quickly rescued. You were a little red in the cheeks and had a sweaty head but other than that you were just fine. You had a few Cheerios and some water and we were on our way home.

Hello and Good Bye!

We haven't quite caught your new trick on camera just yet so this cute picture will have to do!

Today was such a fun day! Nana Eschinger came over and we played and went swimming for over two hours. You jumped off the wall, kicked your legs so fast and even learned how to wave good bye! Your wave is too cute. Your hand opens and closes facing you and you do it over and over. Everyday is seems you do something new!

Swimming

You are a waterbaby! Luke you LOVE to go in the pool. I can't wait to see you swim as you get older. I have great memories of swimming all summer long and I hope you will too! You are starting to get quite adventurous by dipping your face in the water. In the bath you used to hate having water poured over your head but now you are dunking your face in all by your self! You kick your feet so fast it feels like you may swim out of my arms. You love to play with your rings and cups on the steps and even said "it's hot" when you touched the pavement!

Finger foods take two!

You are really enjoying being able to feed yourself. I just wonder how much actually makes it in your mouth! We frequently find things in your hair and stuck to your legs as well as having fistfuls clenched in your little hands! You are really putting all those teeth to work.

Finger Foods

Besides eating cars you've become quite fond of eating with your fingers! Some of your favorites include puffs, cheerios, goldfish, ritz crackers, nutra grain bars, freeze dried apples, pears and peaches, and yogurt drops! I'm sure we will be adding more and more each day with all of those teeth coming in! You have three teeth in so far and three more white enough to see but not yet through!

Obsessed with tampons!

Suddenly you are obsessed with tampons! You crawl all over the house with them. You take them all out of the box and put most of them back in. Some day you will be so embarrassed when I send you to the store to buy tampons...so I'm blogging this now to show you later that you used to think they were great toys! :)

San Diego Vacation!

Getting your toes wet for the first time at the beach.
That was a big wave! You loved it.
Having some goldfish on the bay side with Pops.
Just hanging out with the boys.
Sweet boy staring off in the distance.

This summer we were so lucky to get to go on vacation. Last summer Mommy spent in bed and Daddy spent it on crutches! Sadly Daddy had to work this summer but Lukers and Mommy got to run away to San Diego for four days. We had such a great time! All five of the Jacksons were there, Tom and Carole Minor and even Nick! The house was always full of boys! We went on several walks, an afternoon at the beach and one at the bay, a night at Belmont Park and lots of napping and hanging out. Luke you were a great boy on the plane. Flying over we had the whole row to ourselves! You enjoyed looking out the window, eating Cheerios and reading books. On the way home we had a full flight and you did great again! You only threw a few Cheerios and even fell asleep!

First Haircut!

VROOM off we go!

Today we decided that is was about time to trim up those sideburns and get rid of what was starting to look a little too much like a mullet! We waited until Daddy got home from work and headed over to Desert Ridge for your very first haircut. Mommy was a little nervous that you would end up looking like you just had your first hair cut and you wouldn't look like my little baby anymore. But you did great and the hairdresser listened and it turned out just how I wanted! You sat so still while she tickled your neck with the scissors and even danced a little to the background music. What a fun way to end our day.

Sitting like such a big boy!

All done! How handsome you look!