Cruisin' at the Home Depot

As many of you know, Steve and I are definite DIY'ers. Maybe its a little nerdy, but we always enjoy a house project. As Debbie says, Home Depot is our favorite store. Anyhow, we took a family trip over to the HD and Luke and Nola rode around the store in style. Had to share this picture ... we even got Uncle Dave to admit that it was 'cute' when we showed it to him.

(Note his shirt -- thanks Aunt Kelly! RTR!)

My 1st Trip to the Central Park Zoo!

We took Luke to the zoo for the first time yesterday and we had a blast! We met up with our good friends the Kantor's and we all had a fabulous time checking out the animals. We saw the polar bears, penguins, seals, birds, monkeys, bats and snakes and Luke really seemed to enjoy himself. He would look at the animal and say "Ohhh", which we interpreted to mean "What is going on here, these don't look like my dog". We wished we would have been privy to his internal dialogue because we can't imagine what he must have been thinking. It was really cool to see him checking things out and exploring - we love this age!

After the zoo we walked over to the Children's zoo which is adjacent to the main zoo. This was our favorite spot. Luke was climbing along the fence sticking his hand in for the sheep, goats and alpaca to lick him! We were kind of surprised that he was so willing to get this close to the animals. Once we were done feeding the animals, we strolled through the park and took the subway back home. Luke is SUCH a flirt on the subway and likes to smile and laugh at the ladies. After Luke had picked up two very nice girls who talked to him and laughed at him the entire way back to hoboken, an older gentleman leaned over to Steve and said "Well, he won't have any trouble with the ladies, will he!". He was so tired and hungry, but the girls kept him entertained and happy which was so nice for me and Steve.

Thanks Lauren K, Evan, Maya and Maya's very sweet grandparents for a wonderful day at the zoo!

Checking out the seals with Dad ...


Talking football with my buddy Evan ...


Checking out the turtles ...


This rock is cool ... nevermind the tasty catfish in the tank...


Baaa....

One year checkup!

Luke had his one year checkup and we are happy to report that he is doing great! He is 23.5lbs and 30" long. He ended up getting 2 shots yesterday and he was a trooper! The doctor was very happy with his progress, which is music to our ears.

I crack myself up...

We had to share this little clip of Luke. This is what is referred to in our house as "slap happy". Basically, he gets so tired he is just beside himself and laughs and laughs and laughs until he just falls apart and needs to go to bed. He's quite a character these days :)

Click on the link to be taken to YouTube to watch the clip :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktYIogZpm9c

Fun in the sprinkler!

Debbie & Jack and Mona & Christian came over for some fun in the sprinkler last week! It was impromptu, so no one had a suit and once the diapers swelled up, they came off! There were 3 little naked booties running around and giggling in our backyard and there is no telling what the neighbors were thinking. Luckily it was during the day, so hopefully no one was home.

Thanks for an awesome playdate!

My first set of wheels!

Grandma Mehl stayed with us for a few days after Luke's Birthday and she spoiled him a ton before she left. She bought him his first push car and he is already busy picking up chicks around town. (Nevermind that the chicks have to ride in the trunk :) The car has a cup holder and he has become quite obsessed with it. He takes his sippy cup out and gets a sip of his drink, puts it back into the cupholder and looks up at us with a big cheesey grin. Apparently he is impressed with himself each time he does this and when we giggle at him it just encourages him to do it again ...and again...and again! Oh well, he's a well hydrated little boy these days!

He is starting to talk more and more and the babbling is slowly turning into words. He said "ball" this weekend when our friend Dave handed him a ball, so we were all excited. Ah, the little things :) He is also taking about 5-10 steps at a time, but he needs to be coaxed into doing it. He can definitely walk, but he knows he can get around faster if he crawls. In some ways, I can't wait for him to walk and in others, it scares me. But, he's going to walk someday and I am guessing he will stay a little cleaner on his feet than on his knees.

Below is a picture of Luke cruising in our backyard with Dad...