LOVE!

beautiful georgia mountains

in mid-july we headed to helen, georgia for a week. helen is a small german town in the georgia mountains. we had a great time relaxing, enjoying the sights and spending time with family. eric and i even got a chance to go tubing down the chattahoochee river - a must do whenever you're in helen!

downtown helen georgia.

at fred's. the best place to get boiled peanuts! oh, and peach ice slushees too!

just takin' a dip in the pool to cool off from the georgia heat.

way down yonder on the chattahoochee...

(see the people in the pink tubes in the background? this is what we did for two hours one morning).

ella and luke hammin' it up at dinner.

anna and luke feeling the sand between their fingers - this was luke's first time in the sand!

needing to cool off yet again!

luke is 9 months old! 7.6.10

9 months in, and now 9 months out! it is crazy to think that he has been in our outside world as long as he was in his inside world! it's also amazing how i can't get him to sit still for his monthly pictures any more. gone are the days where i could plop him on the red couch and he'd stay in one position. i miss those days, but i'm also thrilled with all the things he's doing now (and so is he!)!

happy independence day!

we had a pretty quiet july 4th weekend this year. it's always so nice to stay in chicago while the entire city goes other places. it's almost like we have the city to ourselves.

luke celebrated the day by playing some music on his favorite toy these days (the Leap Frog Learn and Groove music table - this is the first place he goes in the morning during playtime).

and then we headed out to visit the bowman family in their new home in oak park for a little pool time. grant and luke had a great time splashing around and staying cool.

and it wouldn't be a weekend if we didn't head to the swings and splash pad!

work hard. play hard.

luke is a hard worker and is quite the little assistant. whenever daddy brings work home luke wants to help him finish fast...

...so then it can be playtime.

luke randomness...

just a smattering of pictures of luke in action. he is so much fun to be around and i absolutely love calling him my son!

- he's still army crawling everywhere, but gets up on his hands and knees a lot and we feel like the real crawling is around the corner

- he is pulling himself up on furniture and toys around the house and we have to constantly watch him to make sure he doesn't fall over backwards or sideways while performing his new tricks

- he waves bye-bye

- he has three teeth now (2 bottom, 1 top) and loves to show them off with his smiles

- he loves to eat three square meals a day (sweet potatoes are his favorite!)

- he makes the cutest squinty faces at momma and daddy

- his giggle is still the best sound ever

- he is starting to flirt with cute girls (lifeguard today was one of them and sarah in the church nursery is a true favorite)

- and he sleeps through the night from 7 pm to 6:30ish am every day and takes 2-3 naps a day (pure joy for his parents!)

daily swing time at the local park.

luke being goofy. a too small shirt stuck on his head

this kid loves his reflection and watching the world go on around him through it.

luke using the mirror to look at his momma.

up on hands and feet!

green bean face!

this is how luke uses the exersaucer these days.

our sweet boy in his sweet dedication outfit again.

luke's last time in his infant seat (he graduated to the convertible carseat). he thought it was so funny to say goodbye!

strong like bull

we just wanted to remind everyone that luke is...

(special thanks to the Caifano family for the awesome t-shirt)!

luke's first swim

luke went for his very first swim this afternoon at the indoor pool at our gym during family swim time! we just kept telling him it was a giant bathtub (he loves the bath!). too bad the water wasn't as warm as it is at home. he did enjoy it, even the dunk his momma gave him!

about to get in!

splashin' around.

thumb in the mouth. luke seems to be bored already. guess we need to wake this kid up with an underwater dunk!

One...Two...Three...(blow in the face) and dunk (don't worry, there was a lifeguard on duty and she told me how to do it).

Post dunk...not quite sure what to think. Looking to Daddy for some help!

Daddy to the rescue! Time to do some water flying to take his mind off the surprise dunk.

luke goes to the water park!

or better said...the park that has a water feature for kiddos to splash around in. we weren't sure how wet luke would get so we slathered him with sunscreen and put on his swimsuit, rash guard, and sun hat. he didn't get super wet, but he sure had fun!

we're both giddy with anticipation!

taking a swing first to work up a sweat.

getting wet!

luke's a wiggleworm!

while luke is quite the wiggleworm these days (changing his diaper is near impossible), he just started taking a music class called "wiggleworms" at old town school of folk music in lincoln square. as you can tell from this picture, he had a ball army crawling around the room and getting up close and personal with the instructor. he also likes to shake his maraca and watch the bubbles float around the room. we are in for 8 weeks of fun this summer! now, we have to get gramps to get out his guitar when we visit next!