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More 'then and now'

My earlier post inspired another 'then and now' picture!

Baby Luke at 2 weeks old!

Luke, the king of drool, at 3 1/2 months old! Look how he's grown!

What a difference a year makes!

What a difference a year makes!

One year ago today, I found out that I was pregnant. Talk about a major shock and surprise! Everything about it terrified me - how in the world was I going to 'grow' a baby, give birth to a baby, and raise a baby?! Well slowly the shock and pure terror wore off, and I found that being pregnant was actually not that bad! (I had a very easy pregnancy, with a few minor bumps along the way). Then what do you know, I made it through childbirth and now Nate and I are smack dab in the middle of raising our precious baby. Luke has truly enriched our lives, and everyday is a new adventure. I think we're doing a pretty good job with Luke, if I do say so myself. (Now tomorrow, Luke will throw us a new curveball, but that's okay!) I look back on all the emotions I was feeling exactly one year ago today and I can't help but smile at everything I have learned since then.

And for your viewing pleasure, some 'then and now' pics:

My first pregnancy pic!

Now I have this beautiful baby boy!



"I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13

Bathtime with Luke!

Bathtime is one of Luke's most favorite times of the day (other than meal times, of course!) He has just recently started grabbing for toys (which is so fun to watch!) so he had some major fun with the rubber ducky tonight!!

Wow, cool duck!

I want to see it, Mom!

Mmm...tastes like chicken!

Okay, enough of that!

I can do it myself!

I love the water!!!

Texas Rangers

The 2007 Rangers home baseball season is officially over. :-( There are still 3 games left in the season (in Seattle this weekend), but my least favorite time of year is almost here.

In a matter of weeks, the entire 2007 baseball season will be over. We'll have a new World Series champion. Who will it be? Only time will tell. Stay tuned for my annual post-season picks - I have only been wrong once in the past six years!! (I knew I should have never picked the Astros to win the World Series two years ago!!!!) But the point is, in a matter of weeks there will be no baseball until 2008. And that thought is extremely depressing!

I always go into a mourning period when October is over. I mourn the end of another season, and I also mourn the fact that ONCE AGAIN the Rangers have really nothing to show for their 161 games. I have finally come to the realization that while Tom Hicks owns the Rangers, they will never amount to anything. It's been liberating, actually, because now I have no expectations from the team so they really can't disappoint me anymore. But I do have issues with the management of the Rangers and why they can't seem to put together a winning team. I'm still saving up my money and hopefully one of these days I'll be able to buy them from ol' Hicks. THEN it will be World Series time in Texas!!!!!!!!! :-)

Anyone want to loan me a few hundred million smackers in the meantime?

A Sad Weekend for the Stroder Family...

Luke has his very first cold. :-(

It is just the saddest thing ever. I knew that the first time he would get sick was inevitable, but I can't help but wish that it would never have to happen! I feel so bad for my poor baby. His nose is runny and his eyes are swollen, red, and goopy. Luckily as of right now there is no fever, though. My heart just breaks when I look at him because I know that he does not feel good. It's just not fair that a helpless little baby has to be sick.

But he is handling it like a champ. He's still sleeping great (knock on wood) and his happy disposition is still shining through. He still has tons of smiles for his Mommy and Daddy, and has been 'talking' to us like crazy! He's also started to really laugh, and we've been treated to quite a few Luke belly laughs in the past two days. The only time he gets really angry at us (and by us I mean me) is when we use the dreaded bulb to suction out his nose. He hates that.

He is 100% better today than he was yesterday, so here's to hoping that this is out of his system very soon!

Little Aggie

We're starting the brainwashing early:

Luke begged me to let him stay up late last night to watch Texas A&M play Miami (on a Thursday night - um...what is that?) So being the wonderful, accommodating mom that I am, I agreed. Luke was pumped when the game started; he loves to watch football...

But only a few minutes into the game, we could tell it was NOT going to be a good one. Luke started to get a little nervous that the Aggies were going to suffer their first loss of the season...

When Miami took a 21-0 lead, Luke was pretty grumpy about it and I learned that my baby might have the makings of his mommy's sports rage. That's when it was time for my Little Aggie to say goodnight.

By the way, the final score was 34-17. =(

2-0!!

That is all.

Big Boy Jeans!

Just had to show off Mr. Luke in his 'big boy' jeans! He is getting so big!

(excuse the big puddle of drool on his little polo shirt!)

A dallop of Daisy...

Everytime I see the Daisy sour cream commercial - "a dallop, a dallop of Daisy" - I think of my Daisy Cakes. I can't help but feel sorry for Daisy; she went from being an only 'child' to having to share her precious attention with her baby brother. She loves Luke, and is very protective of him, but she also eats it up after Luke is asleep at night and she gets all of the attention from her mom and ESPECIALLY her dad. She is definitely a Daddy's girl!

Here is a day in the life of Daisy:

I like to sleep in in the mornings...

(this was when Mom & Dad let me snuggle with them)

Then I go outside for my daily sun...

It's my job to keep an eye on Luke while he plays...

(Mom's trying to train me how to put Luke's paci back inwhen we're in the car)

Then I squeeze in a little playtime for myself...

I don't let many people near my baby brother...

(back off, Heidi)

And now I'm exhausted...time for a nap with Dad!

Goodnight!

Luke Rolled Over!!!

And we missed it.

Here is a little background info - Luke usually wakes up anywhere between 4:30 - 5:30 am to eat. I get up and bring him to our bed to feed him so he'll go back to sleep until 7:30ish, and I get up and get ready for the day while he is sleeping. The past few mornings, however, he's woken up when I get up. This morning I put him back in his crib on his tummy - he's a tummy sleeper - and he fell back asleep.

At 7:00 I started hearing him make noises, so I went in hoping to give him his paci back and he would fall back to sleep. And what do I find? This:

So my little man rolled from his tummy to his back for the first time! And he did it when no one was watching :(

Cool weather!

The past two mornings I have shivered when I have taken Daisy outside. It's September in Texas and it's 60 degrees? Unheard of. Poor Daisy tries to tell me that it is freezing cold and does not appreciate the fact that she has to venture onto the cold, wet grass to do her business. She makes sure to shiver the whole time for good measure. I guess she thinks it makes me feel bad - HA! Little does she know, it just cracks me up.

It's only just begun...

Luke has already started freaking his poor mother out.

Last night - after an extremely fussy evening - I decided it was bathtime. Luke loves taking a bath, so I figured that it was a sure-fire way to end the fussiness that he was dishing out.

Well...let me tell you about my little daredevil. I sat him in his bathtub and he decided to try his latest "trick" in the water. His favorite thing to do now is to push himself on his side - his latest attempt at rolling from his back to his tummy. So Mr. Luke proceeds to launch himself onto his side - in the bath. Well I guess his mom had filled the tub up a little to full because he completely submerged himself in the water!!

I panicked and grabbed him up as fast as possible, not caring that he was soaking wet - which meant that I would be, too. I held him close and told him "Luke don't scare Mommy like that!" And guess what the little stinker did when I pulled him back to look at him? He grinned at me! It did not faze him one bit!

So this terrifies me as to what Luke has in store for me for the rest of my life. Something tells me that with Lukester around, life will never be boring!

Nate is 27 today!

happy birthday to you

happy birthday to you

happy birthday to nathan

happy birthday to you!!!

Luke loves the camera

My baby is a camera hog.

I think I have taken a picture of him almost every day of his life...and now when he sees the still camera or the video camera, you can forget it. He is such a hambone.

I got some pictures from my dad's camera yesterday - and realized that his photogenicness (is that even a word?) started very early.

Luke at 3 days old

Luke at (almost) 3 months

Isn't he the cutest?

Luke's First Rangers Game!

Luke's first Rangers game was on Friday, September 7th! I guess I should clarify - it was his first game in the "real world", but he went to many games with me when I was pregnant :)

It was a great experience. Both Nate and I were nervous how he would react, but he did amazing! There was so much for him to look at, and he was interested in everything. He loved to walk around the Ballpark, and when we were at the seats, he had to be standing up in our laps. He would laugh and talk to everyone, and he even watched the game some, too!

What was weird and different - for me anyway - was it was the first game I have been to that I really didn't pay much attention to the game! Watching my baby boy soak everything up was much more entertaining and exciting. And we left early - something we don't normally do! - at the top of the 9th because Luke was way too tired to last any longer. But I am happy to report that the Rangers won 5-3!

Here is documentation of Luke's first Rangers game...narrated by Mr. Luke himself...

I'm ready for the game to start! Hurry up!

Time out! I've gotta eat!

The Rangers are winning?! Cool deal!

Can you maybe stop taking pictures of me, Mom?

Okay, this has been really fun and all, but I'm wiped out...

Luke Thomas

Our precious baby boy was born on June 6, 2007, at 7:28 am. He weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches long. He seemed so big when he was born - especially after I pushed for two hours to get him out! But I look back at pictures from the hospital, and pictures from his first month in our lives, and I can't believe he was ever so tiny.

(Please excuse the rough looking Mom in this picture)

Now my baby boy is almost 16 pounds (if not heavier!) and is growing and advancing every day. His little mind is taking everything in, and he is so curious to get to know the world around him. He will "talk" your ear off, and if you make the sounds he's making back at him, he gets all excited because you're having a "conversation". He loves to sit and stand up, and his favorite game now is to lean over backwards - he thinks it is the greatest. He has to know what is going on at all times! He doesn't like being still, either, so when he starts to crawl and walk, we will never get to sit down! Every day with Luke is an adventure - but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Luke at 3 months old

Starting a blog...

So I decided that the best way to keep family and friends updated about our life is to start a blog! Here goes nothing...