Sixteen Months....

Today, Luke is sixteen months old....Wow! Time sure flies.

One HUGE change about this month's "photo in the chair" is that Luke was very unwilling to sit still...That's actually the biggest change I personally notice in him from the last month.

Other than when he's tired or if he doesn't feel well (which did happen this last month), he pretty much wants to be on the move.

With that in mind, here are the two best photos we were able to get of him this evening -- and these were taken with two things in Luke's lap to distract him a bit.





Luke is not quite yet walking fully on his own. HOWEVER, we think he has made major strides in the area of walking in the last month. He's a lot more sturdy while standing on his own. And, he seems to be proud of himself for trying.

Two weeks ago, he did take a couple of steps for some friends of our's. We weren't at home to witness it. We were out for "date night." Our friends were baby-sitting. I didn't even really mind that I didn't see it. I just want him to W.A.L.K. A.L.R.E.A.D.Y.

Since then, he's taken a few steps here and there on his own.

This evening, he actually was on his way to taking about 5 steps -- with us loudly cheering him on. BUT, unfortunately, the pants he had on today were a bit long and the cuffs had come undone. So, he tripped on his own pants :)

I know, I know -- he'll get there. But, for all of you parents who DID NOT wait on their toddlers to walk this late, believe me, it's frustrating -- especially when we know he could do it.

My prayer for Luke's walking right now has changed -- it used to be praying for walking. Now, I'm praying for Luke's confidence to walk.

Other things about Luke right now -- just in case you're interested.

1) He really likes to be sung to right now. In fact, we sing quite a bit throughout the day. He signs "more" for me (or Marc) to keep singing.

2) His manipulative side came out this month. He took to throwing his blanket out of his crib. Then, he's cry for me to come and get it. But, he'd just keep throwing it out. I finally let him cry for awhile....He stopped doing it for me. Then, this past Tuesday night, my parents were here. I hadn't told them about the blanket throwing. Apparently, he did it to them to get them to come into his room. Silly guy....

3) He's never been much for eating sweets -- that is, until this past month. He now likes to eat sweets, and we have to watch his intake to avoid him NOT eating anything else.

4) He has started to throw some mini-fits. Perhaps they're precursors to the 2-year old fits. Who knows? It gets interesting sometimes around here.

5) As I mentioned previously, he's always on the move -- even if it's not by walking. He'll crawl anywhere and obviously doesn't mind getting dirty (he's a boy, afterall). Case in point -- this evening, we were all three in Wal-Mart. He was a bit grouchy in the cart. He reached him arms up to me for him to pick him up. Just to get him to quit crying and fussing, I picked him up. As soon as I picked him up, he immediately wanted down to crawl. Uhhh...I don't think so. So, Luke went right back in the cart and cried for a bit. At least we've ALL heard crying kids in Wal-Mart before -- no big deal, right????

That's the "scoop" on Luke right now. We LOVE him a lot, but he does challenge us. But, parenthood isn't supposed to be easy. Don't we live in a sin-filled world? I have to remind myself that sometimes when I think it gets tough.

And, just for fun -- here's a photo of Luke from one year ago today. It was at this point last year when Luke became the chunky baby. Everybody was always asking us how much he ate....Hey -- we just fed him on demand!