Luke's First Birthday!!

So I have definitely slacked with my blog lately.  The last few months have been a bit of a whirlwind! Between traveling for the holidays, some yucky sickness (both Luke and me), Luke becoming very mobile, and the daily demands of work and life, I have had very little time or energy to blog. But I really want to get back into it! And what better way to start than with a recap of Luke's first birthday?!

Hard to believe he was ever this small!

It still feels surreal to say that Luke is one year old! Everyone says that once you have children, time starts to pass faster than you ever dreamed possible, and I finally understand that. In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that I was bringing my sweet little bundle home from the hospital.

But at the same time, it's kind of hard to remember what life was like before him. :)

As the months started closing in on Luke's first birthday, I found myself going back and forth about what kind of party to have for him. Do I invite friends or just stick with family? Do I have it at home or some other venue? Do I keep it simple or go all out?

In the end, I opted for something that was somewhere in the middle. We kept it just family (which ended up being a pretty good crowd of 16 people!) and had the party at our house. I chose sock monkeys as a theme. I love the red/brown color scheme, and since one of our baby showers was sock monkey themed, I already had quite a few things I could use to decorate. I scoured Pinterest for ideas and then conspired with my extremely creative sister-in-law Sarah to recreate some of the things I found.

Sarah did an amazing job!! She not only replicated some of the ideas I found, but made them even cuter than the originals!  I seriously think she might be the most creative person I know.

 She even surprised me with this adorable chalkboard with all kinds of fun facts about Luke.

Isn't she awesome?!!

I ordered invitations from Etsy and had them printed at Staples. Very inexpensive and cute!

The party was starting at 11:30, so I decided to do an appetizer/finger food lunch. We had veggie bars, spinach artichoke dip, meatballs, fruit, and a cheese tray. Good, simple, and all things that I could make ahead!

I had originally planned to make either a cake or cupcakes, but then my sensible (and wise) mama talked me into letting her buy a cake at a local bakery. I am SO glad she did! Not only was it much less work, but it turned out great! I took them a picture of something I found on Pinterest and just like Sarah, they made it even better! And it was delicious!

They even threw in a little smash cake for Luke free of charge (more on that later!)

Sarah and her husband Lance arrived the night before the party and worked tirelessly to help us decorate, set up tables and chairs, fix food, and entertain Luke. We could not have done it without them! Everything came together perfectly and just in time.

 

I wasn't sure how Luke would handle so many people and all of the excitement and attention, but he did GREAT! His only meltdown occurred when we tried to get him to wear his birthday hat.

He was clearly not a fan.

After some socializing and picutres, we ate lunch and Luke opened some of his presents. Of course he was more interested in the bags and bows than the actual gifts, but he did pretty well.

 

Then it was time for cake!

Up until this point, Luke had never really had any kind of dessert (unless you count fruit or graham crackers as dessert, which I definitely do not), so we were all very curious to see what his reaction would be. At first, he wasn't quite sure what to make of something so big on his high chair tray or of the strange texture of the frosting. But once he got managed to get a little on his fingers and into his mouth, his eyes were opened to the wonderful world of refined sugar! Before we knew it he was shoveling it into his mouth!

We were so thankful to have so many of our loved ones come to celebrate Luke's first birthday! We had family from Arkansas, Texas, and all over middle Tennessee make the trip to be with us, and it meant to such!

 

He is such a loved little boy and we are very blessed to have him in our lives. Happy Birthday, Luke Ellis!

Luke is 7 Months Old!

Is it just me, or has this last month flown by?  Luke's 7 month "birthday" really snuck up on me!  It seems like he just turned 6 months.  For some reason, it always seems like once October hits, the rest of the year passes in a blur.  This year is no exception.  Here's a little update on what Luke (and we) have been up to. :)

We had Luke's 6 month photos taken as well as some family photos of the three of us and some with my side of the family.  Luke was such a trooper, and we were very pleased with the photos!

 

 

Luke has been trying lots of new foods.  He really likes bananas, avocados, and applesauce.  He's also done pretty well with green beans, sweet peas, and of course sweet potatoes.  We're still feeding him purees, but I've also been giving him little chunks of soft food, and he does great with them.  He's still not interested at all in feeding himself, but I'm sure that will come with time.  For now, we are enjoying watching his reactions to each new food he tries.  His facial expressions are hilarious!

Luke's first two teeth made an appearance this month.  He had one really rough days, but overall it wasn't as bad as I had feared.  Amazingly, it didn't affect his nighttime sleep.  He's still sleeping like a champ-usually 11-12 hours a night!  We are pretty lucky!


We've all been enjoying the beautiful fall weather we've had lately! A couple of weekends ago, we went on a little hike with my parents in a nearby state park.  We walked on a paved trail for awhile with the stroller and then we tried another short trail with Luke in the Gemini carrier.  He's generally not a big fan of carriers, but he put up with it for quite awhile.  I think having so much to look at outside helped!

 Luke loves being in his Jumparoo!  Sometimes he bounces so hard we think he's going to break it!  His little legs are getting super strong too.  He can support his body weight with very little help from us.  Such a big boy!


Luke is also getting much more vocal.  He coos and gurgles and "talks" to us constantly.  He especially seems to like making noise when we're praying at church!  He smiles and laughs all the time.  He really is a happy little guy.

 I could go on, but I will restrain myself. :)  Luke is such a joy and blessing!  We are really trying to savor every moment because they really do fly by. 

~Rachel

Things don't always go according to plan...

I'm a planner.  Always have been, probably always will be.  Before I go to bed each night, I have a rough plan in my head for the next day.  I plan my work time, my down time, even my weekends.  I plan our dinner menus a week at a time so I only have to make one trip to the grocery store.  I like to plan vacations at least 6 months in advance, and before we leave...you guessed it: I like to plan as many details of the trip as possible!

I've always kind of been proud of my ability to plan and organize.  I love the satisfaction that comes when an event or get-together I've planned goes smoothly.  I love the security that comes with knowing what's coming next. 

Lately, though, I think God is trying to teach me some lessons about planning.  A little over six months ago, sweet little Luke Ellis entered our lives, and since then my plans have been going out the window.

I have Luke dressed in an adorable outfit for church, and right before we walk out the door, he has a giant diaper blow-out.  I schedule a conference call for Luke's usual nap time, and he decides he's not taking a nap.  The latest example occurred when we recently introduced Luke to solid food.

During my pregnancy, I decided that I wanted to breastfeed Luke for the first six months before giving him any solids.  Thankfully, through the support of family and friends, I was able to do that.  Now I totally understand that many moms cannot or do not want to exclusively breastfeed, and I am not judging them at all!  But it was something that was important to me, and I am thankful that I was able to do it. 

As the six month mark grew closer, I began researching different approaches for introducing solids.  Being the planner and nutritionist I am (for those of you who don't know, I work as a Registered Dietitian), I wanted to come up with the best possible strategy.  I read a lot about an approach called Baby Lead Weaning (BLW).  I won't go into all the details (you can read about it here, here, or here), but basically, the idea is that you give a baby small amounts of soft, easy to eat foods and let them feed themselves.  Proponents of BLW claim it saves time and money (no baby foods to make or buy) and exposes babies to more diverse flavors and textures, leading to less picky eating down the road.  I have some friends who have had success with BLW, and after talking to them and doing my research, I decided it was the way to go.  Let the planning begin!

I went back and forth on what food I would give to Luke first, but finally decided on sweet potatoes.  They're tasty, healthy, and can be cut into a variety of shapes that would be easy for him to handle.  On the day of his six month "birthday," my parents and brother came over to take pictures and celebrate Luke's big milestone.  I carefully peeled, chopped, and steamed the sweet potatoes.  We sat Luke in his Bumbo seat, laid his feast in front of him, and got the cameras and iPhones ready.

Nothing happened.  He showed not even the slightest interest in the sweet potatoes.


Luke's face perfectly demonstrates how he felt about his
first taste of solids.

I put a little sweet potato stick in his hand.  He immediately dropped it and began to fuss.  I tried "helping" him take a little bite.  He got a disgusted look on his face and spit it out.  As a last resort, I mashed some up, mixed it with a little breastmilk, and gave him a little with a spoon.  He seemed to like the taste when I put it on his tongue, but as soon as he tried to swallow, the texture made him gag.  I added more and more breastmilk, he finally managed to swallow a little before getting so cranky that we gave up. 

Despite my best efforts, my plan had failed.  I felt discouraged and frustrated.  Thankfully, my family was there to offer a little perspective.  My mom reminded me that the only thing Luke had ever swallowed was liquid.  Of course something else would take some getting used to!  Jake sweetly encouraged me that we would try again the next day. 

And we did.  And Luke did a little better.  Every day since he has eaten a little more.  In addition to sweet potato, we've given him pureed green beans and mashed avocado, and he has done great!

Luke especially likes avocado!

While I hope to transition him fairly quickly from purees to finger foods, I'm not going to stress about it.  Luke will eventually learn to feed himself.  I won't be sending him to kindergarten with pureed green beans and a note asking his teacher to spoon feed him.  Despite the fact that things didn't go according to plan, they will work out.

The whole introducing solids thing is just a humorous example of some of the bigger lessons I feel like God is teaching me:

• Don't sweat the small stuff.  In Matthew 6:25, Jesus says, "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear.  Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing."  He goes on to tell us, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."  I need to stop spending so much time planning and worrying about the physical, temporary things of this life and more time focusing on what really matters.
• Have faith in God's plan, even when mine doesn't work out.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."  God knows what is best for me far better than I do.  There have been several times in my life that I have prayed fervently for something to happen (or not happen), believing in my heart that what I had planned was the best possible outcome.  When God didn't answer my prayers the way I wanted him too, I was confused and frustrated.  But months or years later as I looked back on the situation, I realized that God had something far better planned for me than I ever could have imagined.

Okay, this post has turned out to be much longer than I intended, but it's really something I have had on my heart lately.  Please feel free to share your comments!  How do you deal with upset plans?  Any tips for not sweating the small stuff?  I would love to hear about lessons God is teaching you!

~Rachel