Fun with Friends

The whole gang

Luke, the favorite nephew!

At one point it looked like we
were running a daycare!

We had a fun time at Nonna's last weekend. Lots of Andrew and Mandi's friends were able to join us to celebrate Andrew being finished with chemo. The weather was perfect and we all enjoyed seeing each other and catching up with Andrew. Luke stayed up way past his bedtime! We decided to stay the night at Mom's. It took a while for Luke to go to sleep. There was too much going on for him to settle down. We all slept great and got up the next morning and enjoyed a good breakfast on the patio before Andrew and Mandi headed back to Florida. We were so happy to see Andrew with more energy and feeling better!

Worn Out

Between helping get ready for Andrew's party and the actually party we came home to rest. Luke was worn out! He fell asleep on Paul. This pose was captured when we were trying to wake him up so we could get ready to leave. Obviously he had other plans...

Welcome Home!

Where did it go Uncle Andrew?

All smiles after supper

Tickle, tickle, tickle...

Luke teaching Nanny how
to use his truck

Luke always enjoys cousin Cynthia

Andrew and Mandi came home late Thursday night. Friday we got together at Nonna's with family and close friends. We had pizza on the patio. The July weather in Tennessee is unseasonably cool and we love it! We loved getting to catch up with everyone. Luke went from person to person getting them to do whatever he wanted.

Tonight Nonna is hosting a party for some of Andrew and Mandi's friends. Too much partying this weekend!!!

Floaties

I picked these little floaties up one day last week while we were out. Luke has decided he likes to wear them around the house. Never mind that we have not actually taken them to the pool yet. He likes to "blow" them up. It is so funny. Last night he insisted on putting them on while we ate dinner. That makes eating a little more difficult.

We are looking forward to our fun weekend. Uncle Andrew and Aunt Mandi are coming to visit! We have several things planned so family and friends can catch up with them. More to come....

Growing Up

Look at me!

Luke has an Auburn hat and a UT hat. He had to graduate to the larger size UT hat. He much prefers to wear his hats backwards and usually for less than a minute. I got a couple of pics this weekend when he was running around. He is definitely a little boy now! Some days I look at him and it is like I am looking at a different child. I can't believe how fast the past 18 months have gone by!

Itching

It did not look this bad

Mosquitoes love Luke! We have had a problem with him getting bit since he was an infant. This summer is no exception. We can not take him outside for more than a few minutes before he is covered in bites. We have used Off and some other insect repellents but nothing seems to work. He got two bites close to his eye Saturday. Of course any kind of anti-itch cream says not to apply in the eye area. I took my chances and kept him from rubbing it for awhile. When he woke up this morning (at 5:15!) it looked like his eye was swollen shut! We made an early morning trip to Wal-Mart to see if we could find something that would help the swelling. $100.00 later we were leaving with numerous insect repellents and anti-itch ointments. Don't worry, we also bought groceries! The swelling has gone down considerably and it does not seem to be bothering him anymore. We are going to have to find a remedy soon. Luke likes to be outdoors too much to keep him inside all the time!

18 Months

Luke felt the need to take the pot
into the laundry room and
try to put it in the dryer!

Well I am a little behind. Luke was 18 months old last Thursday. So much has happened since then that I forgot to mention it. We go to his 18 month well visit this afternoon. I am anxious to hear what Dr. Patterson says about Luke's two episodes from the weekend. So far we have not seen that side of our little fella again. Thanks to everyone who offered their advice and reassurance that this was normal behavior for a toddler. When one of my best friends sent me a lengthy email after she read my blog posting detailing her sons episodes I felt much better!

A Rainy Wedding...

Luke before he got upset

Angela and little Jake!

Unfortunately the best pic I got of
the happy couple...

Beautiful wedding!

On our second attempt to get to Mt. Juliet I kept thinking how sorry I was for Audrey that it was raining. The ceremony and reception were being held outside at her parents home. Of course we arrived after the ceremony had begun but we got a birdseye view from the patio. It rained off and on the whole time. At one point there was concern the tent was going to blow over. The wedding party and guests took it all in stride and enjoyed the evening despite the weather. The decorations were amazing. A lot of work went in to making the night perfect. The band was awesome and I even got Paul to dance with me! Even though the evening had a shaky start we had a wonderful time and enjoyed getting to catch up with friends.

Independence Day!

Corn on the Cob....

Yum, yum!

I had to work Saturday morning so Paul and Luke hung out at Nana and Grandpa's. Luke had his first corn on the cob! Paul said he tried to hold it for him and finally gave up and let Luke do it himself. He ate a whole ear! Guess we have another fresh corn lover in the family. Saturday afternoon we rested and did some chores before we got ready for a night out. Paul cut the grass while Luke and I played inside. I happened to be flipping through the TV channels when the news broke about the untimely death of Steve McNair. It was very sad but it was also interesting to see how fast the news traveled from local news, national news, Facebook and Twitter. I guess that is the age we live in.

Paul and I had a wedding to go to last night. My friend Audrey was getting married to Jason Blankenship. What was so unique about this wedding, besides the fact it was on the 4th of July, was that it was a double wedding! Audrey and her sister planned their weddings together. I had been looking forward to this wedding since we got the Save-the-Date months ago! Nonna was coming to watch Luke for us again. The grandparents definitely got some quality time with the little fella this weekend.

I had warned Mom of Luke's "episode" the day before. Right before we left Luke smashed his fingers in the door but seemed to recover quickly. He was eating supper when we left and started crying when we were leaving. We did not think much of it since he has done that before. We had been on the road less than 10 minutes when Mom called us saying she did not know what was wrong with Luke. He was screaming and shaking uncontrollably and was fighting her. He did not want her to hold him but when she put him down he would get even more upset. I told her this was similar to what he had done the day before. It was also pouring down rain so we ended up turning around and going home. I was so upset because I was looking forward to the wedding.

When we got home Paul took Luke and he immediately calmed down and started drifting off to sleep. Even though it was only 6:30 we decided to put him in his pj's and try to put him to bed. Well, that worked. He slept like a rock and did not wake up until after 6:30 this morning! I guess this tells us that whatever is going on with Luke was not an isolated incident. We are going for his 18-month well visit this week so I will definitely be talking to Dr. Patterson about this and what we should do!

In the end we ended up going to the wedding!!!

The 4th on The 3rd!

Keeping Luke entertained

Notice he is chewing on his fingers

It's your turn Grandpa!

Sue and Claudia

Aunt Claudia and Cousin Lauren

After our crazy afternoon we were not sure if we would make it to Nana and Grandpa's cook out or not. Luke was perfect all night! Not even the slightest whimper which made us even more perplexed as to what could have happened earlier. Since everyone had different plans on the 4th we all got together on the 3rd to enjoy a great meal. Paula had the idea to do a traditional southern summer supper. We had fried chicken, fresh corn on the cob and green beans as well as cornbread and some yummy desserts. This kept anyone from having to cook over the grill in the heat. It was delicious!

Now that Luke is older Lauren and Faith like to watch Luke. It really is strange to actually sit on the porch and carry on a full conversation with adults without having to worry about him. They are great with Luke and he loves Lauren and Faith! We had a wonderful night and were so glad Luke was doing better!

Freaky Friday

This room looks familiar

Well, Friday morning started out great. Paul and I were both off for the holiday and had big plans for lots of yard work. We all loaded up in Grandpa's truck and went to Long Hollow Nursery for some mulch. Luke loves to get out there and run around. Nonna came to keep Luke entertained so Paul and I could work more efficiently. He was in to everything. Playing in the dirt, running around the yard and keeping Nonna on her toes! He took about an hour nap around noon. He was fine when he woke up but shortly after that he got extremely fussy. We had never seen him act like this....he was screaming and was completely inconsolable. We have thought that he was getting his two-year molars for a couple of weeks now. I put some oragel on his teeth and gave him some Motrin. This did not help at all. He screamed and carried on for about 45 minutes at which time we decided maybe he had an ear ache. I made a quick call to the pediatrician's office and they advised us to bring him in.

Within 15 minutes of making the appointment he was fine. He finally ate some lunch and was back to his normal self. We thought that the Motrin had kicked in and that we still should take him to the doctor since we were heading in to the holiday weekend. The doctor thoroughly checked him over and found absolutely nothing! His ears, throat and chest were fine. I asked if it could have possibly been a "tantrum" to which the doctor said they generally do not last that long. She said to watch him close and call if we needed anything. We were a bit confused but finely decided he may have gotten some dirt or mulch in his eye since he was rubbing them so much. We quickly headed home to get our things together for supper at the Troutts.