The Lucas Family: Luke is ONE!

Our little Luke is ONE! This year has flown by, yet our life is so different now than it was a year ago. Luke has been a pretty easy baby since day one. For both of us, but especially for me, the transition from one kid to two kids was way easier than no kids to one kid. Part of it is just the type of kids they are. Luke is chill like George. Madeline is more high strung like me. The biggest difference was that we knew what to expect and were already used to life with a kid.

My maternity leave after having Luke was such a special time for me. I'm getting nostalgic because I just looked at a bunch of pictures from when Luke was first born. I truly feel like I made the most of my 3 month leave. I was able to soak in the baby snuggles and enjoy a lot of one-on-one time with Madeline while Luke napped. I really enjoy working, but as a working mom, I sometimes feel like I miss out on things, so I wanted to take advantage of my time at home. While I was on leave, we did three sessions of music class at the library, took lots of trips to the park, hung out with Terrisa and Parker, and watched a ton of Daniel Tiger. Sounds exciting, right? As boring as it may sound, it was actually pretty awesome and has left me with some lifelong memories. Enough about me...back to Luke.

As a big one year old, Luke is starting to babble a lot! He says daddy, mommy, uh oh, bye, and repeats other things here and there. Most recently, he repeated "peak-a-boo" clear as can be. He has also repeated "coffee"! He can wave and clap and points (more like reaches out) to things that he wants. He does a lot of walking while holding onto things, but doesn't walk on his own yet. He's slowly getting more brave and will transfer from one thing to the next. He likes to steal whatever Madeline has -- toys, food, milk, anything. He loves to eat and is a really good eater. He has been picking up food and feeding himself since he was six months old, so he an old pro now. He eats three regular meals and a few snacks everyday. His favorite food is black beans. His teachers at the daycare are just amazed at how much he loves beans. He is a quarter Mexican after all! He has 8 teeth (yes, EIGHT!) and is about to get two more. He sleeps through the night and still takes a morning and afternoon nap. He was into his paci for several months, but wants nothing to do with it now. He is a big boy and is in the 80th percentile for all of his stats. He is starting to become more attached to George and me, but quickly warms up to others. When we're hanging out at home, he likes to be on the move with his sister. They roam around the apartment and will play blocks or look at books together....for a second....until Luke destroys whatever she's playing with. He's a happy boy and is always smiling.

We love you, Luke!

Here are some of my favorite memories from our first few months as a family of four:

Going home with our new baby...always such a nerve-racking car ride!

First evening together as a family of four...

Going stir crazy!

Sibling love <3

The many faces of Luke...

What a sweet newborn he was!

Luke's Birth Announcement...

One year later....

Since it's just the four of us here in PA, we didn't do a 1st birthday party...we'll make it up to him later! It was actually kind of nice to skip the stress and work that comes along with a birthday party. We still celebrated him in our own little way. In the morning, before work and daycare, Luke opened a couple of presents. Madeline made sure to help him with that. During the day, he was spoiled by his teachers at daycare. His favorite teacher, Ms. Shirley, is so incredibly sweet and made him a little stuffed animal and fabric block. In the evening, we went to a burger place near our apartment. Luke enjoyed some chicken fingers. He was so tired from his big day, that he feel asleep on the car ride home. We tried to wake him up for cake, but it just wasn't happening, so we postponed the cake until the next morning.