2 parties, 1 day

luke has a couple of chicago friends who were born in October 2009 as well (jake and trip). i met the two moms at a prenatal exercise class through our gym and then we became fast friends after the three boys arrived as we shared in the early days of motherhood with questions about eating, sleeping, and scheduling. now, all the boys are officially 1. we had a great day celebrating with them.

luke dressed up in his monkey costume for trip's (a halloween baby) halloween themed b-day party. luke's not too sure about his costume as he's not a fan of hats or hoods these days.

luke playing at the train table - he loved it! (notice how he's out of his costume already).

luke finding his way around bubbles academy at jake's party.

enjoying pizza for the first time! he was the last one at the table. he loved the pizza so much! doesn't he look like such a big boy sitting in this chair?

choo choo

today our friends christy and audrey came down from grafton, wisconsin for a visit. we went for a ride on the chicago "L" train and then headed to the lincoln park zoo. we had a great day and perfect weather for exploring the city.

luke's first ride on the train.

luke gets his read on

teething bites

really hoping that one of these three things helps soothe those sore gums from luke's incoming molars.

ummm...luke and his bathroom hijinx

luke loves to hang out in our bathroom so we tend to keep the bathroom door closed during the day. well, i forgot to close it one afternoon and luke found his way in and did his thing...good times.

unrolling the toilet paper

followed by a little afternoon reading

one year ago today...

...our sweet boy came home from the hospital with us for the first time! after leaving him at the hospital on the 8th (such a sad day for us), we weren't sure when he'd get to come home based on the diagnosis we had received earlier that morning. we were under the impression it could be a couple of weeks. on the morning of the 13th we went into luke's cubby in the NICU to check on him and hear what the doctors said during rounds. he had had a good night without any complication (except for one heart bradycardia - slow heart rate - and come to find out - it actually couldn't be tracked in the charts). so, because he was doing so well, he was discharged to come home with us!! it was such a sweet day that we had longed for.

this evening as luke ate dinner in his highchair i just took a few quiet moments and watched him. my eyes filled with tears and my heart just leaped out of my chest. i still sometimes forget about his rough start to life because he is doing so well. i get subtle reminders every now and then (different doctor or therapy appointments the typical kid doesn't have and the scar still visible on his right hand), but everything in me says he is doing alright and developing like any other little boy his age. we praise God for all he has done for his child, luke, and know that God's grace is amazing. we love our precious boy luke.

Jeremiah 1:5

"Before I made you in your mother's womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work."

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

pumpkin patch luke

yesterday luke and i headed up to apple holler (or holl-a! as we affectionately called it) in sturtevant, wisconsin to meet our friends ms. amy and her little guy simon (9 months old). the warm weather was such a special treat and we really enjoyed our time at the pumpkin farm and apple orchard.

oh, and while we were there, we got the news that luke's newest cousin, Collin Matthew Johnson, was born that day. just one year and one day after luke. luke is excited to meet him and start showing him the ropes! he is a veteran afterall. :)

getting lost (but still having fun) in the corn maze.

group shot on our hay ride through the apple orchard. we were kind of confused that there wasn't any hay on the tractor, but it was still pretty cool. :)

luke and simon trying to pick out just the right pumpkin for carving and roasting of the seeds.

luke is 12 months old! 10.6.10

even with all the birthday posts, i wanted to stay true to our monthly updates. luke is officially 12 months old! and for old time sake, let's look back at what he looked like 11 months ago with our first monthly update. it amazes me how he has changed so much.

lucas quinn johnson. 12 months old on 10.6.10

lucas quinn johnson. 1 month old on 11.6.09

luke is officially a one-year old!

after luke had his first birthday party a couple of days early, we (or maybe just "i") basked in the last few days before he officially became a one-year old. i even got a little teary eyed the night before his birthday when i put him to bed for the last time as "a baby." this last year just went by too fast and in the blink of an eye we have a one-year old on our hands.

we are so proud of our luke and are in such awe over all the things that transpired during this last year. two days after he was born when we received his "infantile stroke" diagnosis we just didn't know what would be in store for him or us. he has been a joy to us each and every day (yes, even the days of lots of crying as a newborn). we thank God for this precious gift we've been given and give him all the Glory. i just love hearing his belly laugh fill our house, watching him discover new things, and seeing his little personality develop. i have a feeling we're in for a fun year ahead of us!

luke playing with his birthday balloons on his big day - what a cheap form of entertainment.

waking up from his morning nap. bed-head and all. if you look carefully you can see he even has a little birthday cake left on his face from his big party on saturday. oh, wait. maybe that's breakfast. ;)

if you didn't notice, it's luke's first birthday! just wanted to make sure everyone knew.

a special treat to spend his actual b-day with his gram and gramps!

luke's first ever birthday lunch (at one of our favorite neighborhood spots - harmony grill). it was such a nice day out that we even got to sit outside! a very special treat for the birthday boy.

the token pictures of mommy and daddy with the little man of the day.

luke's first birthday party!

luke had a great first birthday party over the weekend. he had a blast opening presents, eating cake and just enjoying the time with all his family. i guess i was just happy that he enjoyed it so much and didn't have any meltdowns during the party. our little monkey had a blast!

luke, the first birthday boy, in all his sock monkey glory!

luke and his proud parents.

luke's smash cake and cupcakes. and of course they were from sweet mandy b's (a local chicago bakery who makes the best cupcakes)!

posing in front of his mountain of b-day gifts (thanks everyone!)!

this kid loves a good book and his birthday cards fit that bill!

another shot of the birthday boy and his proud parents.

luke digging into his birthday cake. he was pretty delicate with it but enjoyed the sweetness!

and a little video of all of us singing "happy birthday" to luke. the quality isn't the best, but enjoy!