Baby's got a brand new dump truck

We were so excited for Luke's first Christmas morning that we forgot to take video.

But once reminded by Jodie, we took this quick snap of him telling us that he loves his new dump truck.

Otherwise, as you'd expect, he loved ripping through wrapping paper and boxes and generally loved all of the attention from Grammy, Grampa, Mom and Dad.

Christmas on Snowshoes

I'm a little late writing about our wonderful Christmas with Dick & Jodie (aka. Grammy & Grampa Millette) in Vancouver.

Dick & Jodie stayed in a festive inn that was the highlight of our neighborhood's Christmas decoration tour, we ate lots of nice meals, toured a Christmas lights festival on a miniature train, explored the Athlete's Village for the forthcoming Winter Olympics, participated in the craziness of Boxing Day shopping, and Luke had a great time playing with his adoring Grandparents.

Oh, and somehow we convinced D & J to go snowshoeing with us on Christmas Day. It was a gorgeous winter day and (unless they were lying) they seemed to have a really nice time.

For those people (like Debby) that didn't believe it, here's a photo for proof (Jodie was the only snowshoer wearing a real Burberry scarf :-)

Good Catholic Boy

As we approach Christmas I realized that I didn't mention that Luke was baptized on September 27th, before I stared the blog. His home parish is (and will always be) St. Augustine's in Kitsilano.

Bill and Brigitte were visiting and graciously stood in for Luke's Godparents (yeah, we had to pull their arms. By the way, the real Godparents are Uncle Chris and Aunt Kim).

Luke wore a 45+ year old Christening gown that was worn by many Duffys, specifically Bill, Kim, Keith, Kian, Declan and Burke (and maybe William too?).

So I was horrified when Luke ripped and chewed on the fine lace of the gorgeous gown during the ceremony, but Brigitte said not to worry - she'd have it in perfect condition for our next baby!

Speaking of the wonderful Brigitte/ Grandma Duffy, this page shows my favorite photo--so far--of her and her 5th grandson.

Climber

Luke is getting lots of practice pulling himself up on furniture, which so far has included most structures in our apartment including--sadly--the trash can, which he loves.

And the coffee table is a current favorite. Here's a clip of him and the coffee table.

What happened to the naps?

When it rains, it pours.

Yesterday Luke figured out how to pull himself up to standing at the coffee table.

I really thought the learning curve would be a bit steeper on these feats, or that we'd have a bit more time between them. I guess he's a quick learner.

So with all of this new movement you'd think he'd be very tired.

But instead it has seemed to put a roadblock in his napping routine.

For the past few days it has taken an excruciating HOUR to get him down for his twice daily naps, after which he sleeps for something like 15 to 30 minutes. Yesterday afternoon it was 10. That's really not the return on investment I'm looking for!

It's getting difficult to follow the advice I've read/ heard, ie. make the effort to get your child on a twice-a-day nap schedule at this age, whatever it takes, including crying it out, etc.

I'm motivated to get him back on a sleep schedule because I'm working more now, so we could both really use a two-hour, twice daily nap! Plus, I'm tired from chasing him around so I could probably use a nap myself!

And on cue, he has just awoken from what was supposed to be a long nap; he has been down for 30 minutes.

I guess I'd better go get him... for all I know, climbing out of his crib is today's new trick!

I suspect it's only the beginning...

I must say, Luke has become quite challenging since he discovered his crawling skills and super-baby strength.

I was trying to wrap Christmas gifts and he was into everything, despite the obstacles that I tried to put in his way.

Before I noticed what he was doing, he tore and slobbered his way through almost a whole role of wrapping paper, then tried to climb into a box of gifts that we're mailing, before tipping it over and disrupting my precisely-packed parcel!

This afternoon I also found him trying--and almost succeeding--to stand up at the mirror on the closet door in his room.

And bedtime was icing on the cake.

Note that yesterday--after the standing-up-in-the-crib incident--I lowered his crib mattress one level down.

So, he was crying a bit as we put him down (after 2 months of working fairly hard on sleep training, it's still a weakness for all of us). But we noticed that he was quiet after just a few minutes, which was surprisingly fantastic.

Then, of course, we hear something topple over in his room.

Keith goes in and I hear "oh... my....." So I run in and see Luke standing up in his crib, again--even though the mattress is about 6 inches lower than it was before-- smiling and looking proud of himself... again.

Apparently he reached over and swiped a nightlight that was standing on the bookshelf next to his crib.

So, the saga of Luke the freakishly strong baby continues.

Keith couldn't help but be a bit proud of his strong-legged boy... I'm sure he's already planning Luke's future as a downhill ski racer!

Wait, how did that happen?

I haven't even had a chance to post a new video of Luke's rapidly improved crawling skills (I've been too busy cleaning the floors nonstop!) and what do you know, he developed a more impressive trick.

Well, he has slept through the night for the past three nights and that's pretty impressive for sure, but I'm actually talking about a trick that makes my life harder, not easier.

This morning when I went to get him up I found him standing in his crib, hands on the side, smiling at me and clearly quite proud of himself.

Though I absolutely should not be encouraging this new talent, I really wanted to see how he did it. I figured you might want to see too :-)

You gotta crawl before you can walk

So just the other day I posted a video of Luke "not crawling exactly..."

...BUT - the 'not exactly' has turned into DEFINITELY crawling in just a couple of days.

Since this is my first child I'm not sure if this is normal progression or if he's freakishly coordinated, but either way, we are not ready for this to happen so quickly!

We have a 5'x8' area rug in the living room that I now put him on with toys while I'm working or doing things around the house. And starting yesterday his new trick is to crawl toward where I am, tenuously feeling his way over whatever is blocking him (usually rolled up blankets, pillows and other things that I thought were overly pre-cautious barriers).

Sure, he's moving slowly but I'm still shocked to turn around from making a sandwich, or whatever, to find him coming after me!

So anyway, today I was debating whether to take a shower (terrible--I know!--but who knows if he can crawl out the door, down the hall, press the elevator button and get out onto the street! It's cold out and he wouldn't even think to put on a coat!)

But the shower seemed worth it, so I risked it, sitting him in front of his beloved bookcase and erecting a blockade (aka. laundry basket) in front of his door, while I freshened up.

When I returned my sweet Monk was sitting just as you see him in the photo, happily playing with/ chewing on his books, having a conversation with himself, as happy as can be.

I guess I got lucky this time. And it looks like we need to shop for baby-proofing stuff.

Six months already?

Today was Luke's 6-month birthday and I can't believe how fast the time has gone, or how much he has changed/ grown/ stolen our hearts since he arrived.

In celebration, we fed him applesauce -- his first sweet food. He smiled and smiled with each bite, which apparently means that he likes applesauce.

And incidentally, that also made it very easy to get the spoon in his mouth... so everyone was happy.

We had a busy weekend in advance of the half birthday...

Friday was his 6-month check up... He's 16 lbs 4 oz, 25.6 inches and he charmed everyone in the waiting room with smiles and giggles.

We took him snowshoeing on Saturday and as you can see from the photo, this baby just loves being outside. Yahoo! We hiked at Cypress Mountain, the site of freestyle skiing and snowboarding for the forthcoming Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Olympic madness is already starting on the mountain... it should be an exciting February here.

We also brought the Monk to Keith's work holiday party (don't have a babysitter yet), where he charmed everyone again (it's a recurring theme) and was apparently the talk of the office this morning.

He's growing up so fast... practically leaving for college (sob, sob).

Scooter

My parents used to call me Scooter when I was little and now I understand how I must have earned the nickname because suddenly we have a Scooter of our own!
Luke is on the move.
It's not crawling exactly, but he's stringing together a series of rocks, rolls and...well...scoots, that manage to get him across the floor. He doesn't go very far in this clip, but you'll get the idea.
I think being a Mom is about to get a lot more exhausting!

Mother's little helper

Yahoo - the child can feed himself!

Well, sort of. It wasn't too long before he tilted it upright and lost the milk flow... then dropped it... over and over. But it was a good few minutes of entertainment / nourishment for him and free hands for me!

We'll keep practicing.

All he wants for Christmas

Just in time for Christmas Luke's two front teeth have arrived. I guess shopping for him will be easier than I thought. Also on his list: crawling. Keith and I think he'll get that in time for Christmas too because he's getting really close.

Along with the new teeth his palate now includes oatmeal, butternut squash and carrots -- all washed down with a big serving of drool.

You can sort of make out the two pearly whites in this shot, which is the best one I could get after days of trying!