Baby's First Christmas a Success!

Luke's first Christmas was a lot of fun and he was introduced to many new things. He got his first taste of solid food - oatmeal - on Christmas Eve. He was really not interested in it at all, but we tried a few more times and on the day after Christmas he actually ate some! Since then he hasn't been as interested, but we keep trying.

We had a very nice time in Houston with Grandpa Ramon, Grandma Terry, Ana Maria, Theo and big cousin Elise. Luke and Elise cooperated with nap time when the big people were having their holiday meals which was a nice treat for us. Elise got to enjoy some of the adult holiday meals and even got a bit of the Chilean Sea Bass - such discriminating taste for an 11 month old!

Luke got a bunch of stuff - clothes, books, toys and bibs and he got to meet some new cousins and aunts and uncles.

When we got back to Austin on Saturday we had something else for him to try. Since he's past the six month mark and out of the most dangerous time for SIDS we decided it was time to move him out of our room and into his crib for bedtime. He's been taking naps in his crib, but he's slept in pack and play in our bedroom since we brought him home from the hospital. I think this was a harder move for me to make then for Luke. He had no problem going to sleep in there, even after sleeping almost the whole time back from Houston! We did have to do some more of the sleep training when he woke up at 3 AM. This time it took longer than when we did it the first time. We think it was because he flipped over to his stomach and was flailing about for a while. Again, it was not a fun night for us, but he eventually fell asleep after nearly an hour of non stop crying and getting set on his back again. Poor guy! The next night was better because he didn't wake up at 3, but he did wake up at 4:30 and was wide awake. That's too late to do this progressive waiting method, so I wonder what we're supposed to do in these cases. We just let him play in his crib for a while until about 5:30 when he started to get cranky.

Six Months

Last night we let him cry. For a while he'd been sleeping through the night just fine, but for the past few weeks he's been waking up most nights. At first we thought it was because of the Thanksgiving travel or because he was getting ready to flip over, but we decided it was time we did something before we had a big sleep problem on our hands. So, around 3 AM, after some time trying to comfort him and then lie him down again unsuccessfully we let him cry using the progressive waiting method. This method was suggested by our Baby 411 book and the way it works is you let them cry for 5 minutes and then make an appearance to let them know you're still there. You're not supposed to pick them up though. You keep adding 5 minutes to the amount of time you wait before you make another appearance. It was about an hour before the cries started to be interrupted by thumb sucking sounds. Finally the crying stopped completely and the poor little guy fell asleep! This was not fun for us, but as the book promised he was happy to see us this morning and seemed to have forgotten all about it! We'll see what happens tonight and the next few nights while we're at Grandpa Ramon and Grandma Terry's house. The book says we're in for several nights of this, but after that he should be an excellent sleeper! Stay tuned for how this turns out...

Tomorrow Luke will be six months old. Today was his six month check up and we had a lot of questions since it's been two months since he's been to the doctor. He had to get a bunch of shots too, including the seasonal flu and H1N1. Poor little dude! But he did very well and only cried for a minute or two. He's up to 13 lbs 14 oz and 25 inches long, which is a nearly two pound, two inch gain in two months. He's still on track for normal growth and he got the ok to start eating solids so it's time to set up the high chair and get messy!

Simpson Christmas Weekend

On Saturday uncle Brian, aunt Lisa and cousins Sabrina, Isabelle and James came to Austin to celebrate Christmas with us and Grandma and Grandpa. This was also their first time to meet Luke and Sabrina and Isabelle got to keep taking turns holding him. He didn't seem to mind all the handling. Future babysitters??? We had a yummy lasagna dinner followed by building a gingerbread house and opening gifts. Luke got a nice soft book, some bibs (picked by Sabrina) and a crawl ball. Hopefully he'll start playing with the ball soon!

On Sunday evening we went to The Zilker Tree Holiday Festival (formerly the Trail of Lights) and we hope to make it an annual tradition for our new family. As Brad said, "we haven't missed a year yet!" The weather was a little nippy, but not too cold and Luke stayed awake most of the time. Brad and I even twirled under the tree. Here's Luke enjoying the sights and lights.

Belly and Feet

This week has been all about the belly and feet. He discovered his feet a few weeks ago, but he's really been grabbing them this week and has pulled them just shy of his mouth. He just can't keep his hands off of them - especially when you're trying to change his diaper. He's still rolling over frequently and he's starting to get a little more comfortable after he lands on his belly. He's starting to prop himself up on his elbows and relax instead of flailing his arms and legs around while balancing on his tummy. I can already picture him lying on his stomach in front of some cartoons, thumb in mouth.

With the start of the holiday season a lot has been going on. We took our first big road trip to Picayune to visit my mom's side of the family for Thanksgiving. Luke did pretty well during the trip considering all the commotion and the lack of naps. He got to meet a lot of the family and we're so glad Gramps was able to make it on Thanksgiving so Luke could hang out with him a little bit!

After a whirlwind trip and 1300 miles we returned to Austin to get ready for Luke's first sleep over and baptism. He got to sleep over at Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Mack's house while Brad and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. He did just fine and I don't think he even knew we were gone! After the sleep over all the grandparents, Elise and the godparents, Ana Maria and Theo, came to Austin to celebrate his big day. He did very well during the baptism too.

Our little Houdini has been getting his arms out of the kiddopotamus almost every night so we're now wrapping him up with one arm out. We think he likes it because he can suck his thumb whenever he wants.

And the big news for this post is that he rolled over today! The first time it happened I didn't see it. One minute he was on his back and the next he was on his stomach. But when I put him on his back again he did it again! He's really starting to grow up!