15 Months

Again, I'm late putting this post up. With the house looking (and finding!!!), who can blame me?

Lukas is such an active little person these days. He still likes to take a 2 hr nap in the morning and another 2 hr nap in the afternoon, but in between those naps he goes non-stop. He is starting school September 2! I'm so excited for him! He's going to have so much fun, and learn so much more than I could teach him all by myself.

Lukas at 15 months:
- is about 22 pounds
- has, I think, 14 or 15 teeth (it's really hard to count teeth on a squirmy toddler)
- eats everything but broccoli (this he gives back as soon as you give it to him)
- says (or signs) 12 words: Mom/Mama, Daddy (yadi), bye bye (buh buh), Mel (Meh), thank you (ta-tu), you're welcome (eyum), Cheetoh (ee-toh...once), Mema (once), cat (once), milk (signed), please (signed), all done (duh)
- talks in sentences (with inflection and everything) in his own language....and expects me to understand it
- eats with a fork with about a 40% stabbing success rate...once it's on the fork he can easily get it to his mouth
- eats with a spoon with about a 50% success rate...about half of it ends up getting dumped somewhere between the bowl and his mouth, but he's getting better
- currently makes everything into a phone and talks on it
- follows simple commands
- loves to color
- wants to do everything that Mommy and Daddy are doing...he's very "helpful" with household chores
- loves animals, especially cats, to distraction....if it wasn't so hot this summer we'd be at the zoo a lot
- is finding out that anything can become a drum...and recently a flute
- loves puzzles, books, music, and blocks
- knows what shoes are for....and even puts on Mommy and Daddy's shoes
- knows how to brush his teeth and hair
- has discovered the wonders of swimming this summer...he is now a fish
- loves Mommy and Daddy more and more every day!

Smiles!!



Greeting Daddy at the door is a very exciting time of the day!



The next few are eating chocolate pudding. As you can see, he had a ton of fun eating it.

Fun with Mema and Grandad

Lukas went to visit Mema and Grandad July 18-20 so Mommy and Daddy could have a small break. Here's the proof they sent back with him that he had fun!







This was the first time he rode the carousel, and he didn't quite know what to do with it.





The second time around he had a lot more fun!



Trying on shoes....he got 2 new pairs!





He apparently talked on this phone all weekend.



While at home alone we were able to go on a date, as well as put in a major day of house hunting. Not a product of that day, but we have found a house we like and have made an offer. So, now it's all in God's hands!

5 Years

We recently celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary (June 28th to be exact), but we've been so busy that it got missed in the blog world. In the 5 years that we've been married our lives have gone through changes (good and bad) that I never would have dreamed of. However, to be at the point we are today (very happy, with a wonderful son and fantastic job for Eric) I wouldn't have traded any of our experiences. We have been very blessed!

My family at 5 years!

Squid takes Denver

Over the Fourth of July weekend we went to Denver, CO for my cousin's wedding. Let me tell you the trip was interesting. The fun all started before our trip actually started when we took Lukas to the doctor last Thursday. The diagnosis was inconclusive...maybe the beginnings of an ear infection or maybe just teeth. So off we went with a prescription if we wanted to fill it just in case. We decided to fill it and that turned out to be a good decision since the next day his snot turned green.

On Friday (July 4) Lukas took his first airplane ride. We booked using my generous father-in-law's miles, and somehow we ended up in first class. The extra space was great! He did great on the way there, only getting a little fussy near the end.

Here's the pictures of him all ready to go. I know there small and kinda bad...sorry. We didn't realize until later that Eric's phone, which took the picture, had been changed to the lowest resolution.





When we got to the Denver airport we met my parents. Lukas took Grandad on a tour of Baggage Claim.



The Swaynes documented at the airport safe and sound.



The next few days were a mixture of continued sleep deprivation (he was not sleeping well before we left town, and being in a hotel and sick certainly didn't help that) and an attempt at fun (which with a family reunion of sorts how can you not have fun).

Squid and Aunt Ashley (who was a lot more awake...and therefore more fun than Mommy and Daddy)



Lukas and Great-Aunt Phyllis (who has more energy than all of us combined)



My cousin Jeff and his new bride Megan were happily married on Saturday (July 5). The wedding was at beautiful country club (which I probably should remember the name of, but I think that's how out of it I was all weekend). The view was amazing. We ended up watching the ceremony from inside instead of on the deck with everyone else because Lukas got his thumb smashed in a chair so he was screaming through half of it. Thankfully we got to see and hear (thank you microphones and speakers) and not put a screaming baby on their wedding video. We are all so happy to have Megan in the family now, and the two of them looked very happy together (as they should on their wedding day).

Jeff and Megan Wilson



Lukas is trying very hard to get out of this picture.



The Swaynes with my cousin Tim. Yes, there are 3 Wilson brothers.



Lukas at the end of the night. By far Mema got the sweetest picture!



Our returning flight was not near as uneventful as as the first one. Lukas managed to wail through the first 1/3 of it. I got the lucky seat across the aisle from Baby and Daddy this trip, however due to wailing Baby I ended up with wailing Baby which then turned into sleeping Baby...thankfully. He then woke up as we were landing with his ears bothering him and started to cry again. Not a fun trip.

However, even though we were completely exhausted through the whole trip and Squid was "fun" to deal with, I'm really glad we went. I hardly ever get a chance to see this side of my family (especially all of them) and so even though I'm not sure I made the best impression on some of the newer members due to the fact that we were completely sleep deprived, I'm very glad to have seen everyone.

On another note, I'd also like to congratulate my cousin Dan and his wife Dana. They got married at the beginning of June. It was wonderful to meet her this past weekend, and now have her in the family as well.

14 Months Old

I'm behind on my posting, but I guess that's what happens when life gets busy.

Lukas at 14 months old:
- weighs about 22 lbs (I think part of it depends of what he wearing when they weigh him)
- will still eat anything and everything, but is starting to get picky as to when he wants certain things
- is walking everywhere he can go...and is really good at it
- is talking in sentences (paragraphs sometimes), we just don't understand his language
- is very strong-willed....This will serve him well for the future, but for now it means quite a few tantrums.
- listens to Mommy and Daddy fairly well...we are very impressed with how he listens to commands
- loves to read to himself and have books read to him
- has no clue why houses exist because outside is much better
- eats with a spoon with very limited success, but he does know that the spoon goes from the bowl to his mouth and back again
- drinks like it's going out of style
- loves to dip his food is sauces...if Daddy (Mommy doesn't use sauces usually) is doing Lukas also needs his own dipping sauce (and yes salsa is included...he's a good Texan)
- is technology's best friend
- loves animals, especially cats
- is constantly on the move (he walks almost constantly, and only stops to figure out something or read a book)
- loves Mommy and Daddy more and more every day!

He loves his Magna Doodle!



He really likes to ride this thing, although he cannot get on it or off of it by himself yet.



Bubbles are automatic smile-makers!



Lukas and Melody, best friends forever....although I think sometimes Mel would prefer Lukas hadn't dubbed her his best friend.



Eating with a spoon!

What a Saturday!

This past Saturday we met our dear friends the Bunts at the pool/baby water park. We had a blast! Although Lukas is not a fan of the big pool, once we got him accustomed to the shallower wading pool he had a lot of fun.

Lukas is bravely adventuring into the water that he only recently tamed.



Bunts and Swaynes enjoying the water.



They had a lot of fun with the water sprays.



As we were about to leave the unimaginable happened when Lukas fell face first into the concrete off of our cooler. As we rushed him into the first aid center and finally got the attention of the high school life guards on duty (not their most shining moment), all I could think of was find out where the blood is coming from and then we'll know how serious it is. The blood did stop, we left the pool, and then straight away called our doctor. We were much relieved to hear that according her he was fine, banged up, but fine. She recommended that if we wanted to take him to the urgent care to wait an hour for the swelling to go down.

Being first time parents (and first time crises endurers) we opted to definitely go to the urgent care. After a short nap for Squid, showers for parents, and directions to the place we were back on the road again. We ended up at Acute Care for Kids in Plano. They were wonderful! We were in and out in less than 30 min (and they said this was normal), and they were very friendly and reassuring.

We then rushed down to Medieval Times to celebrate Father's Day for Eric and Mike (my father-in-law) as well as Eric's birthday. I had no idea how that was going to go, but Lukas loved it! He was so fascinated by the horses and the lights. What a great way to end the day...so we thought.

On the way back from Medieval Times (almost to our house actually) Lukas starts vomiting. Not good! Vomiting was one of things they kept asking about as a possible sign of a concussion. So as Eric cleans it up (what a wonderful husband!) I am back on the phone with the doctor to find out what to do now. She recommends go to the ER.

So off to Plano Presbyterian we go. Luckily we managed to get there in a lull so we got back to a room pretty quickly. They did a CT scan of his head which thankfully came back normal. We were there for about 3 hours, and he ended up being diagnosed with a virus. Poor guy vomited on his clothes while we were there though, so we had to put him in a hospital gown. He was so cute (even though he felt terrible)!

Cute hospital gown...hope we never have to wear one again.



Finally got to sleep.



Not great quality but you can see his poor face.



What luck?! Squid managed to come down with a bug the same day that he fell face-first into the concrete. When we got home from the ER he had a fever of almost 102 which lasted (going down slowly) until the middle of Sunday night. Thankfully he woke up Monday feeling much better.

I truly hope we don't have such an exciting day ever again!

Friends

To all my friends out there, I just wanted to say thank you! You are all a huge blessing in my life.