1st Thanksgiving at the Whaley's in Brook, Indiana

Luke celebrated his first Thanksgiving with the Whaley's in Brook, Indiana this year. It was a busy Thanksgiving with 3 new babies this year - Luke, cousin Ruby Snyder, and Jake Whaley. See them with their proud papas...

Here are some more fun pictures from that day:

After the big feast in Brook, we headed down to Shelbyville for the remainder of the weekend. Luke had lots of fun and giggles with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Debbie. Cousin Alex also came over one day to play and cousins Jonathan & Ruby came over for a sleepover! Luke also took a daytrip to Indianapolis to visit Steven Mottl who came all the way from Tucson, AZ for Thanksgiving with his grandparents. It was a great weekend!

Luke's 1st Oaken Bucket & meeting Lucy May!

The Wiskers headed into the city to catch the Purdue/IU game on 11/21/09 with the Mays and the Schupperts. Fortunately for Luke, he has not seen the Boilers lose to those dreaded Hoosiers EVER! Purdue won the game 38-21 and the Oaken Bucket is in the right hands. The day was even better because he finally got to meet Ms. Lucy May! I think that Lucy must have an eye on Luke, or rather a hand on the thigh!

Luke turns 5 months!

It's hard to believe that Luke is now 5 months old! I was updating his baby book the other day and realized how much bigger he is now. He is weighing in at 18 lb 8 oz and looks to be 27 1/2 inches long.

This was a big month for Luke. He started eating baby food. He has tried sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, squash, and peas for vegtables. As for fruits, he has tried apples, pears, peaches, and bananas. He has been eating them all pretty well - but if I had to guess I think his favorites are peaches, pears, and green beans. I also think he went through a growth spurt at about 4 1/2 months. He started waking up at 1am and was feverishly hungry so we solved that problem by giving him more food during the day, which seems to be doing the trick. His daily eating habits are: 6am = 6 oz breastmilk, 9am = 5 oz breastmilk, 12pm = 1 container of baby food (vegetable) + 2 tablespoons of oatmeal + 1/2 scoop of formula, 4 oz breastmilk, 3pm = 6 oz bottle, 6:30pm = 1 container of baby food (fruit) + 2 tablespoons of oatmeal + 1/2 scoop of formula, 8-8:30pm = 5-6 oz breastmilk.

Luke is also doing very well at Chesterbrook Academy. His teachers tell us everyday that he is just such a smiley baby and he loves observing the other kids in his class. They do alot of fingerpainting and texture activities. He also seems to be laughing alot now - especially at how silly momyy and daddy are! He has learned to roll over both ways - but doesn't really like to do it. It seems like he rolls over maybe once every 1.5-2 days.

Unfortunately, this week Luke was diagnosed with pink eye on 11/4. He had to stay on eyedrops for 24 hours before returning to school, so mommy got to take Thursday off and spend time with Luke. The pink eye seemed much better after even just a day and we finished taking the drops on Monday, 11/9.


This chair doesn't seem so big anymore!

Halloween 2009

Luke loved his first Halloween. He was Mommy & Daddy's little Luke O'lantern and I don't know if I've ever seen a cuter pumpkin ;) At school, all of the infants rode the buggies in a halloween parade. Here's Luke at Chesterbrook with his classmates:

The night before we carved his first pumpkin. We actually put him inside it. It was funny because when we first put him in, you could tell he thought the pumpkin insides felt weird. But then he started giggling and laughing and seemed to like it. Such a cutie!

Halloween was a busy day for him - we went and got his picture taken at Picture People, then went to the Schupperts and then went Trick or Treating ( at just a few of the neighbor's houses!) Luke and Haley were so adorable in their costumes - it makes my heart melt!

Goebbert's Pumpkin Patch

Luke went to his first pumpkin patch at Goebbert's Farm in South Barrington. This place was packed! We met our friends the Grunds, Schupperts, & Ohs and all of our kiddos. I think Luke will like this much better next year - I think he was a little overwhelmed by how many pictures mommy wanted to take! All in all, we had a great day - picked out 5 pumpkins, had kettlecorn and warm apple cider! Plus, we got to sit in Paul Bunyon's chair!

Luke meets Mrs. Chutorash & Sweet Potatoes!

Family Photo at Clybar!

Saturday we went downtown for brunch so that Luke could meet our friend Jen Chutorash. Jen moved to Canada after she married our good friend Eric in March. Hopefully, they will move back to Chicago soon! There we got to see the Schupperts, Erin, Maureen & Michael, Jaime, and Juanita. Purdue didn't fair so well - but since we're Cubs fans I guess we're used to saying - Just wait till next year!

Luke with Jen Chutorash, Karen, & Haley

Auntie Erin & Luke show their Purdue pride!

After the game, Luke tried his first solid foods (10/10/09). He did really well and ate all of his sweet potatoes. I think he might like them because I ate them a bunch for lunch at Elephant & Castle when I was pregnant!

Only a little bit messy!

Luke's Big Week!

Well, this past week was a big week for Luke and mommy. On October 5th, Mommy went back to work and Luke started his first day at Chesterbrook Academy. He was all smiles when Mommy dropped him off, but Mommy was all in tears. It is so hard to go back to work. Nevertheless, we think he likes it. He came back from the first day and barely could stay awake! They wore him out. He stayed busy all week meeting the other babies, doing art projects, listening to stories, and going for buggy rides. His teachers are Ms. Bonnie, Ms. Erica, and Ms. Jean.

Luke @ 4 months

Luke went in for his 4 month appointment on Tuesday. He was 16 lb 12 oz (84%) and 27 inches (97%). He's growing so fast and is so long! He's already wearing 9 month clothes! He is rolling over, but not everyday - only when he feels like it :) Here he is playing with some of his new toys!

I can spell! I love my new mat!

My new jump-a-roo!

Purdue vs. Notre Dame - BOO!

We got together with the Schupperts for the Purdue vs. Notre Dame game this weekend. Unfortunately, the Boilers couldn't pull out the win this year. I have a feeling that in practice this week, some time will be devoted to "when to call a timeout." Nevertheless, Luke & Haley were cute in their Purdue gear. Luke got a new mat like Bryce's - he loves it! Check it out...

Playdate with Bryce

With less than 2 weeks left of my maternity leave, Lana and I set up another playdate for Bryce and Luke. Bryce is Luke's crystal ball - they are 5 weeks apart but seem to be the same height/weight at their wellness check-ups. Bryce is eating solid food and rolling all over the place. His basment is also set up like a Baby Disney World. Luke was so excited for all the toys and fun baby equipment at Auntie Lana's house. We tried the jumparoo but Luke really didn't catch on to it yet. Maybe in a couple of weeks.

Final Stop - Indiana!

After wrapping up our east coast travels, we headed west for 13 hours (should be 10 hours without a baby). We were able to stop off and see Neil's old co-worker, Lauren Smith, who moved back to the Pittsburgh area. We even checked out her new basement which is an homage to the Pittsburgh Steelers!






Then we continued on to Shelbyville to see Grandma and Grandpa one night before heading back to Chicago. On Monday, Aunt Lisa & Uncle Matt brought Alex over to play. They are getting so big. Alex is a roly-poly and it's crazy to see how much 7 weeks makes a difference. All said and done, we spent 35 hours in the car! Luke was such a trooper - didn't really get grouchy till the last leg.

Luke's first visit to Herndon, VA and then onto Philly!

After spending the weekend in St. Mary's, we continued on our trip another 5 hours south to Herndon, VA, where I grew up. Luke's Ni-Ni (my mom) was so excited to see how big Luke had grown. She hadn't seen him since he was 2 weeks old. Aunt Molly also got to meet Luke for the first time. It was her first time ever holding a live baby and she did great. We enjoyed a week of my mom's chinese food, shopping, seeing Arlington National Cemetary, and meeting a bunch of new people.


We met up with Allyson & her boyfriend Steve. Allyson is my oldest (as in longest) friend - we met in 1st grade! Hard to believe that was 24 years ago! After a week in VA, we travelled 3 hours north to Jenkintown, PA (just outside of Philadelphia) to visit my high school friend, Lisa. She and her husband John are expecting Baby Foertsch on October 2nd. We're excited to hear news of her arrival!