Over the hills.... Part I

Luke made his triumphant return to Maine this past weekend, and had lots of fun with Grammy and Grandpap. In addition to enjoying turkey, biscuits, sausage, and a taste of pizzelle, he enjoyed spending some quality time on the Seacoast.

Luke quickly found out that he had a partner in crime. If you needed to track him down, you could usually find him on Grandpap's lap.

Note the hobo toy in his hands, thanks to Grammy. That's right, it's a lid to one of those free Good Seasonings cruets.


He also enjoyed rolling around the living room, and quickly found out that banging the handles on the china cabinet is all kinds of fun. Don't let the innocent smile fool you.


He also enjoyed lots of stories...


...and more than that, playing with the things he found in Grandpap's shirt pocket


Coming up in post number II... Luke falls asleep on Grammy, explores more pockets and ties a fly.

Peek-A-Boo Part Two

Recently Luke has started initiating rousing games of peek-a-boo on his own. Here you can see him snuggling with Dad, but playing peek-a-boo with Mom.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

After weeks of failed attempts and baby-sized frustration, Luke has figured out how to roll from his back to his front AND from his front to his back - and can now hit "repeat" for minutes on end.

Here, we have captured him in his element:

Peeeeeeeeeeeek-A-Boo

There is nothing terribly original about this clip, but Luke has mastered and even delights in a rousing game of peek-a-boo now. He'll peek-a-boo around newspapers, magazines, pillows, even corners. In this video you will also see him dismantle his booster seat, thus rendering the "dishwasher safe, removable top for easy cleaning!" useless and requiring mom to wash the dang tray underneath every night.

Go Pack Go

We think we may have taught Luke his first trick? We were listening to yesterday's Green Bay/Bears game as a family, and when the Packers scored, we cheered "yayyyy Packers!" Luke responded by clapping and cheering to the best of his ability. And then kindly kept it going long enough for Mom to catch it on film.

Kleinkind

Last weekend we brought Luke back to the location of his shower, the immortal crazy German bar, Helmers. Though it is not the same after the renovation (and the removal of the Bavarian Club, the best sandwich of all time) we still enjoy it, even if we can no longer sit in our favorite bench seats at the end of the bar.

After charming our favorite waitress, Luke got right down to business, supplementing his baby food dinner with lots and lots of meatloaf and mashed potatoes.




As you can see from the mess, he wasn't shy about eating right off the table


Don't Touch!

Despite all appearances, he only drank out of the blue bottle



Luke was sure to get every last bit of the meatloaf


Finally, exhausted from all of the German goodness, Luke had to take a break.

Am I Not Snuggly Enough for You?

Sometimes Luke wakes up before Mom is done getting ready in the morning, so he hangs out in bed with Dad. On this day, he was being unusually snuggly and not wriggling around whining about the fact that he was not yet eating. I couldn't resist snapping a picture - but instead of capturing his sweetness, I caught him being grumpy about the flash. Or maybe he just doesn't like mornings. Or had a case of the Mondays?

This past Sunday we went out into the blustery fall day to take Luke out to lunch & for a trip to the playground. After some time on the swings, Luke was chilly, so we all headed home. He and Dad then had a snuggle under Luke's new quilt from his friends, Jen Bonnell and her mom, Mizz Karen. They enjoyed some cozy time and busted out his Little Bear book from Grandma & Grandpa Casey.

Within a few minutes however, I think shortly after Little Bear learns that he does not require a winter coat because of his fur, Luke couldn't take how cozy he was and gave in to temptation.