22 months ago we were a family of two. 14 months ago Luke was born. And for the past 33 weeks we've been preparing to welcome baby #2 into the world. Here is an update on our little ones!
Luke, 14 Months
Luke is a delight to our family. It's still very early for us to confidently discern his personality traits, but from what we can tell, Luke is a very good balance of an introvert and an extrovert. He can play in his crib by himself for as long as I prefer for him to, and he frequently laughs at himself, which usually occurs when he makes up silly noises (thanks to Daddy's influence, he has also learned to laugh at himself when he burps! Manner lessons are in this boy's future!).
He also thrives around others! He never whines when our good friends snatch him up at church, and it's obvious that he is very comfortable around his surrogate aunts and uncles. We're also thankful that Luke draws our family in town from all over! Within the past month and a half, we've had visits from both of Paul's parents, his aunt Kathleen, and his Uncle Adam. Uncle Van is using some of his vacation time next week to come visit him!
Any of our family and friends know that as a first time parent, I've been concerned about his low weight. Since he's been born, he has not exceeded the 3rd percentile of weight, and for a while he was below the 0 percentile. But thanks to bananas(!), that number has likely increased, in addition to his appetite as a whole. He has realized the joy of food, and his chunky arms and legs serve as proof of this discovery!
Luke began walking about 2 weeks ago during our vacation at Paul's grandmother's home in West Virginia, which was right when he turned 14 months old. I was hoping that he would walk during Paul's vacation, as I wanted Paul to see Luke's daily improvement of walking. We both really wanted Luke's great-grandmother to see him walk for the first time, too, and she gladly stepped in and helped him reach this milestone.
His favorite toys are his dump truck (thanks again, Susan!) and books. He loves looking at animals in books, and he usually makes the noises of the animals that he sees (dogs, cows, gorillas, lions, and tigers) . One of his favorites is the gorilla, and he enjoys beating his chest like a gorilla when he sees one. I've attached a video of his most recently learned animal noise- the cow!
Baby #2, 33 Weeks
This pregnancy has flown by! I've been very blessed to have very easy pregnancies with no nausea and little discomfort, but since entering into the third trimester, I have been exhausted! Most of this is likely attributed to chasing our little monster around all day, so these days I usually nap when Luke does. This little baby seems to be just as active as his big brother! I laugh to Paul about the unnecessary concept of us "counting kicks" at this point, because whether I'm awake or asleep this little one rarely stays still! This probably explains why he is breech right now, though he wasn't at my OB appointment 3 weeks ago. Prayers for this little one to flip before God brings him into the world are greatly appreciated!
Here is a picture of Baby #2 at 33 weeks along!
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We are thankful to God for His abundant grace in giving us these children, and we pray that we will rear them in a way that glorifies Him!
