Under The Big Top

Our youth group went to the circus this afternoon. It was a first for me!

See what great seats we had! Great job Linnea!

"I don't know about all this. There's a whole bunch of people that I don't know."

But luckily Mommy and Daddy were there to make sure I was ok.

At first, a lot of tiny white ponies came out and did tricks to music - which I can relate - I do tricks to music all the time.

"I'm gonna have to try that at home."

Now we're talkin! I wasn't scared at all of the motorcycle noise.

And even more of them came out and got in this circle cage and went round and round without hitting each other. It's a whole new career for Brother to look into.

That was awesome! Two fingers UP!

Now what's next? Bring on the animals!

Brother was excited when Mommy said he could be in the circus! All the popcorn you can eat!

At intermission it was time to harass the crowd.

I LOVE THE CIRCUS!

See my shirt - its an elephant to go with the circus theme!

Katey got some cotton candy and it came with a hat! I wasn't too thrilled with it. Unless its my Bye-Bye Hat, I'm not interested.

Mommy liked it though!

It's like I'm in the circus. I can fly through the air too.

This is for you Miss Linnea! She's so skinny and never eats. So Mommy was excited to finally catch her eating something.

A shot of my death-defying feat.

CLOSE UP!

Is intermission over yet? The parents are getting tired of bouncing me around.

Roaring like the tigers on stage!

They're just big kitty cats really! And you guys know how much I love cats.

It's all I can do not to go down in that cage and pull some tails!

They'd love me. I have a sweet face.

My mother in law Brandi was there - Lacey stayed home with her Daddy.

"You know preacher's kids are good for marrying!"

She was a big help to Mommy. She got to wrestle me. Check out the video. I'm good for upper body strength.

I got passed around to visit Katey. The ladies love me.

Since I was starting to get a tad unruly, we decided to skip out. I lasted for over an hour so we were pleased.

On the way home, we made a quick detour to the Library. But...it was closed.

What a nifty fountain. I could really do some damage in this baby.

Make a wish!

Doing my: "I'm tired and want to sleep but I'm too jazzed to do so," movements.

Done. Beat.

I did pretty good for a one-year old who's been up and on the go all day!

Not sure what this week will hold. Stay tuned!

Nursery Youth Group

Since Lacey and I are still too little to go downstairs for Youth Group, Mommy and Brandi took us back in the nursery during this week's Bible Study.

But first, there was the Opening Hymn. And you know what that means....WATCH! The voice you hear mostly is Daddy - and he doesn't even have a mic on!

Why is Lacey looking at me like I'm crazy? Everyone dances like this.

I showed off my climbing/sliding skills. Chicks dig a guy who is athletic.

Lacey tried to climb up the slide the wrong way. I told her what Mommy tells me..."That's a sure-fire way to get your butt busted, mister!"

Another athletic skill of mine is STANDing on the Sit-N-Spin.

In awe.

"This is the man you want me to marry?"

See what a gentleman I am, moving off so she can take a turn.

OK - that was fun for a few seconds. That's about all I'm good for.

Look what a good cook I am. This kitchen is my favorite toy in my classroom. It makes real live cooking sounds.

Lacey wanted to watch to make sure I knew how to cook.

Apparently I don't because she came over to assist.

"You wash...I'll dry."

I wanted in the crib so I could play with the activity center in there and of course Lacey followed me. She can't stay away from me for very long.

"Why is there a stinkin' GIRL in here?"

"Why is there a stinkin' boy in here?"

I laid down and let her tap me with a blue cord she found.

Uhhhh....this CAN'T be good...

Fighting for our territory.

Raise your hand folks if you think this looks like Robin Denise!

Watch as I turn this crib into a trampoline!

Brandi brought out the snacks. She rattled the bag and we both looked up in excitement!

Cause we never get snacks apparently....

She rattled the bag again...it's like we're trained mice. I also know what the "beep" means on the microwave - Dinner for Luke!

It's hard to walk on sheets.

Notice how delicate Lacey is eating her cracker.

And then there's me.

"WHAT! I can't help it - I just have a big mouth that can hold an entire cracker all at once!"

Trying to see how many fingers I can stick on my body at one time.

Mommy's working on getting a picture for our future engagement announcement...

Mommy and Brandi think arranged marriages are the way to go these days. We'll see when we're 21 - if we don't hate each other - then its a deal!

Apparently I was moving in on her space but oddly I didn't seem to care - I just kept on truckin.

Brandi told us to raise our hand if we want another cracker. I "sort of" did it.

This is THE picture!

"Lacey's mommy and daddy cordially invite you to attend the wedding of their daughter to Mister Luke on June 5, 2029 at 2:00 p.m. at Danville Baptist Church."

The finger on my nose adds whimsy to the occassion, don't you agree?

Tomorrow is the Circus - so hang on!

Christmas In April *MORE VIDEO*

Mommy just realized the movie on here was only 30 seconds of the 2 minute video. She's fixed it now. Feel free to enjoy more of my dancing! You can never get enough. There's even a really good close up of me! (Ignore the "Evaluation Copy" on it, we had to download it to software in order to get it on my blog) - but you'll get the idea.

Remember back in December when I was a lamb in the Youth Christmas play?

Well, Miss Jennifer (my future soccer coach) caught my part on video. Check out my smooth dancing moves. Lambs always dance during the singing of hymns.

I was the hit of the evening! If you listen closely, you can hear mommy snort with laughter in the background.






Thanks Miss Jennifer for capturing the funniest thing in the world!

P.S. Is it just me, or have ya'll noticed here lately that my mother is constantly dressing me up as random baby farm animals??? And then putting me on stage to perform! I'm starting to see a pattern here.

My 16 Month Stats

I visited Dr. Matusic today - I received a clean bill of health.

-I gained one pound since my appointment in January. I now weigh 21 pounds, which is at the 5% for weight.

-I also grew one inch, putting me at 30 inches, which is at the 30% for height.

-My head is holdin' strong with no change at an 18.

-I got 2 shots. Mommy is delaying the dreaded MMR shot until after I'm 2, cause she's a total paranoid freak and is positive I'll get autism from it.

We're not concerned, I'm just gaining weight in proportion to my height. As long as I'm not losing weight or shrinking, I'm in the clear!

After my bath, I hung out in my room for fun.

See the bunny on my book - it's Me! Baby Luke! Mommy got this picture book made from Walmart that has me all through it.

I'm famous!

Am I in this one too? Gotta love Rainforest!

I wanted to go bye-bye so I grabbed my sandals. I don't CARE that I've already had a bath and it's only 50 degrees outisde.

I know how to do velcro!

We are totally goin' outside, Mommy!

"Whatdya mean NO??!!"

Dr. Matusic said pointing and grunting is a form of communication. If that's the case, I'm talkin up a storm! Watch the video!

"If I put my riding cap on, can we then go outside???" Daddy puts this on me when the sun is out so I know what this hat means. Another video.

Mommy and baby feet.

"Why are we NOT outside WOMAN!"

For a change of action I moved into the parent's bedroom for some twirling fun.

Graceful. Just like Mommy.

Dancing with my computer.

Just call me the Dancin' Outlaw, Jr. Watch me go!

"Yes, I know what I'm doing. It's not my first computer!"

BUSTED...with a paci NOT at nap time...and with Daddy's tie.

Hurricane Luke tidal wave.

Giving my puppy dog face to get my way.

Too bad it doesn't work on Mommy the anti-kid nazi. But I did manage to sneak Daddy's church calendar book. I have to go ahead and book mine and Lacey's wedding day.

Good night everybody - from Luke The Hobbit. I can't help I'm scrawny - I'm too busy to eat.

Stay tuned! Next entry will be my first trip to the Circus - this Saturday. Mommy can't wait. Loud noises....stinky animals....bratty kids kicking her chair. It'll be GREAT FUN!

My First Swingset

Sorry I haven't blogged this week - it was Spring Break and I thought I needed a break too!

As a special treat, Mommy gave me a bite of a chocolate bunny that Mammaw Saunders gave me for Easter. What a face!

Check out my new swingset! Our neighbor had it on sale so we snatched it up fast!

"I promise I won't stand up, Daddy!"

I think I'm too tall for this one!

It's time to try out the slide.

Check out what a great rock wall climber I am!

Almost to the top.

Think I can do this by myself?

Here I go. All by myself! Are you people crazy?

Back on for round two. My swingset has a steering wheel and a telescope - just like a pirate ship!

Is this the face of a pirate? I'm Captain Luke!

Ahoy Mateys!

"Pirate ship - right ahead!"

Slide trip number two. I'm a pro at this.

PLOP!

"How come I can't go up this way - I bet you can!"

"Bet I can get in the swing this way, too!"

I'm as tall as my swing.

After I'd had all the fun I could stand - we went for a ride.

Cruisin' the Hills.

Wait! Stop! I see a bird.

"No, you're just seeing things, Mommy - I'm not trying to stand up in a moving vehicle or anything."

Let's try this again.

Do I need to call for a tow truck?

I started to get a little pink, so we went inside to play.

Then the meltdown hit - I wanted to go back outside and I didn't understand why we weren't out there!

And...did I mention that I woke up at 6 am this morning and only had a 2 hr nap today. So I've been up since 11:30 a.m...

And its after 7 pm.

After dinner and a bath, it was time to wind down for bed. My newest routine is playing with my learning puppy dog. I don't like to actually learn anything, I just like to play the music button.

"Don't interrupt the routine, Daddy."

"Why can't we have a real dog?"

Mommy says she doesn't need anything else in this house that POOPS.

Ok - it's nearly 8 pm - going on being up for 8 hours straight...

CRANK MONSTER!

Mommy had to capture this on video. Anyone who is thinking of having kids...or heaven help you if you're already pregnant...you need to turn this up really loud.

I'm a professional random crier. I like to just roam around and whine.

For a change of scenery, I read a new book to Puppy.

Well...that lasted for about 29 seconds.

Check out the new PJs Mim got me - theyre a size 18 months but I'm still a scrawny Hobbit, so I have plenty of room to grow into them.

Daddy came upstairs and that put me in a much better mood - (so did a spoon of Motrin since my teeth are on the verge of exploding). Here I am swirling - watch my dizzying fun.

Squashing Daddy.

He's my own personal amusement park.

Nite - Nite! It's 9:00 at night - I haven't been up this late since I was a baby! Maybe I'll sleep past 6 am tomorrow???

Yeah right! Catch ya on the flip side!

Happy Easter

Tradition at our house is the Easter Bunny hides our baskets and we have to go find them. "Mommy, I can't find my basket!" (That's it in the corner - Mommy says I'm like Brother when it comes to finding stuff)

"Morning Brother - wanna help me find my basket?"

"Wow Brother - you're GREAT at finding things, no matter what Mommy says!"

The Easter Bunny brought me a Frog kickball basket!

The Bunny hid Brother's basket clear up on top of the door!

He got a Soccer themed basket since he's a soccer superstar! The soccer ball is a pillow that is really a speaker for your ipod!

In five seconds, I had already broken my basket. Are you shocked?

Also in my basket was Sidewalk Chalk! Another first for me! I'm ready to go RIGHT NOW!

We had cinnamon french toast sticks (frozen - not Mommy-made) and I was in such a good mood that Mommy didn't even mind taking pictures of my nose.

You gotta give the fans what they want, Mom!

Right nostril...

Now to the middle...

"It's great fun - everybody should try it!"

Just not at the breakfast table.

"You're funny, Mommy!"

Showing off my sneaky 'this is how I get my way with Granny' look.

And my Mommy's famous 'I'm gonna bust your butt' look.

Doing some yoga.

Here's a video of Brother saying "Oh No You Didn't" and making me giggle like crazy.

As part of the Peeps costume I'm wearing white tights. It was very tricky getting tights on a squirmy little boy. It was a first for Baby AND Mommy!

"Promise me, Woman - you will NOT show this picture to my girlfriends when I'm 16!"

It was time for my first nap but I had to be on stage in 5 minutes. The show must go on!

Apparently my head is "slightly" too big for this tiny hole.

Mommy's favorite picture of the day. She's getting this framed. Makes her laugh out loud! Thanks to my mother-in-law Brandi for getting this fabulous shot!

Ok, everything's better - Daddy's here.

Do Peeps have trouble cutting teeth too?

"Do I really have to wear this on stage???"

Then I ran to Mammaw for help!

Before the Peeps made their entrance, Lacey and I played back in the Nursery since we're the smallest of the Peeps.

Showing the fun profile of my costume.

A video of Runaway Peeps during "He Arose" opening hymn!

Brother is Jesus - his beard kept falling down and he banged his toe up this morning. But all in all, a star performance.

Once the Peeps made their appearance I ran straight for Daddy.

Then I played chase with Ron the Rooster.

The official picture from the play. At least I'm not crying in this one.

After a monster 2-hr nap, we headed to Mammaw's for Easter dinner. I thought I'd bring along my new ball for entertainment.

Two cool dudes, ready to party.

Mammaw trying to feed me, but I'm really not interested.

Well...whatdya know...more eggs!

"Hey - why does Mammaw have plastic eggs hanging from her tree?"

It's like magic!

Checking out Mammaw's stone turtle. She has all kinds of fake animals running around the house.

Daddy chasing me up the hillside. I kept trying to escape.

...Inherited Mommy's great athletic ability for scaling the hillside...

Another fake animal. This is Mr. Squirrel who greets you as you drive up the driveway.

More fake animals....I can neither confirm nor deny that I stuck my hand in the yucky frog stone bath.

What kinda plant is THAT? I bet it tastes good.

This is Mommy's "Aint Mauna Jean" - (she says Aint instead of Aunt) - she says she loves me like I'm her own.

And this is Mommy's Uncle Jack. We were enjoying looking at the Birdfeeder my parents got Mammaw and Pappaw when they came back from Hawaii. LONG BEFORE I WAS BORN!

And windchimes like at Mim and Poppys!!! I'm an expert at these.

Mammaw found me a bubble mower so I took it for a test drive.

ANOTHER fake animal. This goose was around when Brother was my age and she has this exact picture of him.

Beeping the goose's nose.

Then we went indoors to act out Wrestle Mania!

I was in charge of holding Daddy down so Brother could win!

Spongebob came on so we all had to stop everything so I could hear.

This is one of my favorites...an ambulance! Daddy says we'll probably be seeing a lot of these as I get older.

OK! WHO is going to play ball with me?

That was fun! I'm famished - what's for dinner?

Such a big boy!

A close-up shot of a Big Boy showing off my eyes!

"Hey, don't tell me we're done!"

Doing my Godfather movie impression.

You know you can't feed me with socks still on me - is this your first day, Daddy?

"I tried to explain it to him, Mommy."

GOT IT!

Brother brought up his new ipod speaker soccer pillow and played some music. Here are a few videos of me dancing, for your viewing pleasure.

Getting my feet in on the action.

This is my imitation of Granny when she shakes her finger at me.

And...more dancing.

I got the music in me!

Hope everyone had a good Easter. Mommy wanted to leave you with this image. Hee-Hee-Hee.

She's killin' me folks...she's killin me.

My First Easter Egg Hunt

Last year, Easter was super chilly and I was super small, so this year I got to actually participate in our church's Annual Easter Egg Hunt!

I wasn't sure about it at first. I was glad Daddy was there to show me the ropes.

Getting my very first egg - a yellow one!

Here I go - putting it in the basket!

Going after a red one next.

I had to take my hood off - it was just bringing me down!

I'm starting to get the hang of all this.

How many do I have so far?

Lacey was there but she was having a little Robin breakdown so we just took a quick picture to mark the occasion.

I got away from the crowd and headed to the sidewalk.

Back for more! You can't stop me.

I know how to do it now, Daddy!

This is a pretty egg - might be even tastier!

Lacey yelled over at me to give me a heads-up. "What in the WORLD is that???"

"Help me, Mammaw!"

Ok - I'm safe.

But wait - the Easter Bunny has balloons now - I think I might like him again.

"See Mammaw...there he goes, catch him!"

"No Daddy - enough with the eggs - I want a balloon!"

Katey has them now - I'm on the case!

I have a blue balloon - now I can be a Super Egg Hunter!

Look at all these eggs at my mercy.

On the run...

Just randomly running - not after eggs - just randomly running.

Oh geez...more flower pictures for me.

Mommy's favorite flowers - TULIPS!

I bet they taste good - that's why Mommy likes them so much.

Showing Mr. Balloon the pretty flowers.

Lacey was back to normal so we got a few more love shots.

Don't we look so grown up here.

"See ya later Lacey...I gotta go mingle!"

"Ok...LOOK...is this like Santa??? Just in a white outfit?"

"I don't know about all this."

There's always room for pizza.

I was allowed to go back out to chase my balloon but only if I wore my hood.

Here's a video of me chasing and talking to Daddy. It's really windy - but you can hear me near the end.

Ok - let's see if my name got drawn for the ages 0-3 Easter Basket give-away!

Oh well...maybe next year. But I'll still clap for the winner. I'm a good sport.

And...we're back.

Playing ball with Katey and Jadon.

"See ya tomorrow in Nursery Class, Sophia!"

I was very well behaved for a 1 year old who has only had a one hour nap today!

"Let's hunt eggs here at home Brother."

"I'm gonna be an expert at this!"

"Whatdya mean its over?"

Dropping the eggs is just as much fun as putting them in the basket. I bet throwing them down our stairs will be great fun also.

Our official picture of the day. Let's get inside and get ready for Mim, Poppy and Kayla to come over for Brother's Adoption Day Celebration pizza party!

Night-Night everybody. Tomorrow is the Youth Easter Play and the little ones get to dress up as little yellow Peeps.

Stay tuned! Cause you know there'll be lots of pictures - and probably a video!

Easter Portraits

It's been a while since I had professional pictures taken - like all of THREE whole months - so Mommy thought Easter was a perfect time. This was Mommy's favorite of the day.

"You want me to smile AGAIN??? Are you kidding me?"

I bet if I'm quick enough, I could totally jump up and get that camera cord in my mouth before this lady knew what hit her.

Mommy says we look like a bunch of hobo's in this shot.

Double Trouble!

Since I didn't sit still for ANYTHING - they tried to get a shot of us on the couch. Mommy even brought Cubbie along to get in the act. I was still not thrilled with having to sit still (I'm doing Mommy's perturbed lip face) and Brother's belly is poking out on this one.

Quick background change. It was great fun running around behind the backdrops. Oddly enough, I smiled and laughed BEHIND the backdrops only. You can tell I'm already planning my next move.

Mommy brought a basket of easter eggs thinking how sweet and calm it would be for a nice picture. But alas, I had other plans. The eggs didn't make it to the first shot.

The only decent shot out of the whole day. I just wasn't "feelin" it today.

Our official Easter Card of 2009.

Sorry Mommy - I just wasn't up to pictures this month. Daddy even said, "No more pictures until I'm 5!" because I behaved so badly.

Taking pictures requires posing. Posing requires sitting still. I'm not up for all that, kids. Maybe Fourth of July I'll sit still for pictures.

Why are you laughing?

Soccer Opening Day

Brother is on the soccer team again this year. He loves it. This time last year I was too small and spent most of the game-time out in the Jeep napping. But this year...I'm rarin' to go baby!

Watching the team strategize.

I thought I could offer Coach Jennifer some pointers, but Daddy caught up to me.

Yeah....I'm "thrilled" to be sitting on Mommy's lap instead of running wild all over the soccer field. Oh...how I suffer.

The team lineup. Brother is number 12 this year. See the girl in the #9 shirt? She's one year older than Brother and look how tall she is. We're a bunch of Hobbits running around at the Saunders household.

This is my new friend Gunner. His big sister is the one in #9 shirt. He showed me how to throw the rocks...I showed him how to EAT the rocks.

"Hey, Mister....do you know your kid is eating gravel?"

Then the grandparents arrived - and there's one of my nursery teachers Miss Sue in the background. I think she came just to see me, truthfully.

"This is how you do it, Mammaw."

"Watch and learn."

Yippeeee, Mammaw did it right.

Clapping for Brother after he did a really nice kick!

Hanging out with one of my fans.

And...another one of my biggest fans...

Ok, good - it's half time. Clear the field. Let me at it!

Scoring a goal!

Shaking and dancing on the net.

Mad because the game was getting ready to start back up again and babies had to leave the field. What kinda jacked up rule is that?

"Is it half-time again yet, Daddy?"

"But I'm squad captain...my shirt even says so."

"Mim, explain to him that I'm allowed to go out on the field with running teenagers and flying balls. You'd let me go out there, wouldn't you?"

I think Daddy's teething.

Daddy is laughing at me shouting at Brother on the field. I'm trying to warn him the ball is coming his way.

Back at the rock pile. Don't worry folks, they're all still there. I counted.

Brother hanging out after the game with his buds.

We're outta here!

That was fun! And I was very well behaved for a one-year old.

Yep...teething.

"I SAID I'M TEETHING, WOMAN...GIMME A BREAK."

Not sure if fingers or toes do best with cutting new teeth.

After a quick jaunt to Wal-Mart, I had a 2 hour nap. When I woke up I wasn't happy that Daddy wasn't immediately entertaining me.

Now you're talkin'!

Mommy has no comment.

"Watch out for loud motorcycles, Daddy. They sneak up on you fast!"

Thrilled to be outdoors. Even if I do have to wear a pompom Pooh Bear toboggan.

Right before we went inside for the day, I pulled off the hat and look at all this hair!

Mommy wanted to take this picture to show off my "six pack" abs. She has a friend she used to work with that has a 6 month old little girl and she weighs as much as I do now at 15 months - 20 pounds!!! That's just crazy talk. Look - I don't have time to sit around and gain a pound. I got stuff to do.

Don't hate me 'cause I'm beautiful!

Look Who's Back

Mammaw and Pappaw came back from Florida this week after being gone for 3 months! Since Mammaw is going to start babysitting me some, Mommy thought it would be good for her to come learn the Luke Routine.

"Let's wait outside for Mammaw, shall we?"

Playing with my Rainforest PopUp toy...just killin' time till the big arrival.

Yesterday Mammaw made a quick visit to bring us gifts. Mr. Tiger is my new friend. He growls when you mash his belly. And you guys know how much I like tigers!!!

"Just be patient, Mr. Scarecrow. She's on her way."

Wait till she gets a load of me!

Maybe I should call her to make sure she's still coming.

Mowing the road.

Running scared from a motocycle. "Who let them on Holly Hills????!"

Having a quick snack. You have to keep your strength up for visitations with grandmas who will most likely pinch your cheeks.

Working on my "Robin Frown Face" - do you guys think I have her down pat?

Hey - what a pretty flower.

I bet it tastes good - its purple!

I hear a bird up there. RIGHT there!

"Yes, Mommy, its a bird...I'm not crazy!"

See...way up high.

Yipppeee - Mammaw arrived and brought me an M&M egg.

"Hurry Mammaw, just give it to me."

Ok...look lady. You're too slow.

I stole it away. She's an old lady, too easy...too easy.

You can't keep a good man down.

Ok, one more chance.

Finally - Victory!!! M&M time.

Mammaw said she saw a bird so she tried to whistle for them to come down and see us in person.

It started to get chilly so we moved inside. Mammaw showed us what she brought for all of us. I was really only interested in stuff for me.

After some ravioli and fruit, Mammaw helped me take a bath. She got to see how fast and hurried Mommy is with me during bathtime and lined Mommy out. Here's our official picture of the visit. Notice my finger is nowhere near my nose, and I'm sporting my customary Luke-Face.