New Nephew

Well, there is a new baby in our family! James and Courtney had a son on Monday evening the 21st. He is a beautiful baby boy, just over 8 lbs! Very sweet, very cute! I think Courtney is really happy, tired but happy. I haven't seen James yet but my mom says he is pretty excited too. It is a complicated situation, but a healthy baby is always a good reason to celebrate, and I want to wish both James and Courtney congratulations! There is nothing like a child to teach you what real love means, ti completely overwhelms you, how such a small person that you didn't even know a day ago can instantly grab your heart like nothing you have ever experienced before. I have learned sooooo much from being Luke's mother and I wouldn't trade a moment of it!

This sweet little boy doesn't have a name yet, but we are looking forward to hearing what Courtney will chose! ;-)
I got to go visit them today and took these pictures. Luke came with me and was enthralled with the baby, I think he must have kissed him at least 5 or 6 times. When we were leaving I almost think he was trying to tell me to bring the baby with us, but I think that baby needs to stay with his momma. Hopefully someday Luke will be as thrilled with a baby brother or sister of his own!

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Luke and I also went up to the floor I used to work on in that hospital to see my old coworkers and it was really good to catch up a bit. They are such good people! I found out that there are a couple of new babies that have been born or are on their way! I just wish I could have seen everyone. They were amazed at how big Luke has gotten and kept telling me that he looks like his momma! It's kinda nice to hear since most people tend to think he looks like Greg! Of course they don't know Greg so maybe if they saw Greg they wouldn't think he looks like me.

Fun with Friends and Family

Saturday the 5th Luke and I headed down to Derby to hang out with Amy, Derrick and Glen. Derrick made an amazing lasagna and they had french bread and a zucchini cake for dessert and I brought applesauce and a salad to add to the meal. It was delicious! After supper Amy and Glen and Luke and I walked down to nearby park. It was twilight and the park was shaded, but it wasn't really as dark as it looks in the pics below. Amy has a really cute little red wagon that we thought the boys could ride in to and from the park and things started out well.

About two blocks from home Luke decided that he wanted to be a big boy and pull the wagon! Thankfully he let Amy help!

Both boys had fun playing on the slide and the merry-go-round at the park, but it was getting dark fast so we didn't stay too long, especially once the mosquitoes came out to play!

Thanks for a fun evening and some really good food!

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We were at my parents house on Thursday the 10th because I was on call and that way if I needed to go in my mom could keep Luke for me. My Grandparents were there too and everyone was doing green beans together. Luke really enjoyed chewing on them but he didn't swallow them, after a bit he would spit out lots of little pieces of green beans wherever he was at and then go back for more. Here are some pics of the little cutey and a couple of short videos.

Luke was helping by throwing beans on the table....

Since they couldn't keep up with him he decided to help by eating a few so they wouldn't have to cut as many!

Grandpa got a kick out of Luke's antics!

Taking a few for the road!

This second one is of him dancing to a veggie tales sing along video my mom has. He was just too funny so we had to catch it on tape.

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Saturday we got to talk to Greg's parents on the telephone a little bit. At first Greg was just talking to them but then I realized who he was talking to and told him to put them on speaker phone. As soon as Luke heard his Papaw's voice he got a big grin on his face and then ran over to the book shelf and took down a book of pictures that his Mimi made him. Then he ran over to me with it and opened it to the page with Mimi and Papaw's pictures on it and started pointing to them very emphatically! It was so neat to see that he knew who we were talking to and recognized them by their voices alone! When he ran to get the book no one had mentioned who we were talking to at all, all he could here was Papaw's voice talking to Greg about football! Such a sweet baby!

The big race!

On Thursday the 10th I went with my parents and Luke to watch Wes run at his first cross country meet of his high school career! It was an invitational at Hesston so there were a TON of kids in each race, and the kids were divided by grade and gender. Wes' group ran a 5 k. Here he is warming up with one of his teammates.

This is the start of the race!

Here is Wes crossing the finish line...

Here is an exclusive with Wes just after he finished the race.

My cousin Erin also ran, here is a bit of her race. She came in 20th in her group earning her the last medal!

Welcome Nolan!

Two very good friends of ours had a baby, a very beautiful and precious baby boy, on September 2nd. Kevin and Jen named their son Nolan Keith after her father. They live far away and that makes me sad, that we can't be there in two minutes, that we don't get to hang out with them all the time, that we didn't get to see the looks on their faces in person, that we have to wait until October to hold this precious baby. But Kevin, is a photographer and he has taken and posted several beautiful pictures of he and Jen and baby Nolan already and he said I could steal a few to post.

Aren't they cute!

This last one was taken at 40 weeks pregnant, she was over due by almost a week when Nolan finally made his appearance!

She is a super woman, doing it all with no pain meds at all! She had a super fast labor too, especially for a first time mom, and she and Nolan are both perfect.

Such beautiful love!

I love the one below of Kevin with his son. It captures so beautifully exactly what I hear in his voice every time we talk to him about his son!

Kevin's pouty face on Nolan's mouth!

It is so exciting for me to watch (from afar) as they have gone through this pregnancy and birthed a new family, falling completely in love with this new little person in a way only a parent can fully understand. They are tired, of course, as Nolan is now a week old, but SOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy! I remember how those first weeks went by in something of a happy sleepy haze, but I also remember things getting easier each day, by two weeks things were much easier and we were starting to get more sleep, so hang in there guys! And as both of them have expressed in their posts and on the phone, I remember being so in love with my son that I was completely happy to change diapers and walk the halls and wake up every hour or two to nurse him during the night. I can hardly believe that my son is now 1 1/2 yrs old!

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Maybe it is kind of silly to post these pics on my blog when they have all been posted already on Kevin and Jen's blogs, and anyone who knows them has probably already seen them, but I just had to. The pictures are so beautiful and I couldn't resist sharing a little of their happiness (and mine!) with all of you! I am so happy for them, so happy that two such wonderful friends have been blessed with such an incredible responsibility and joy. So here's to Kevin, Jen and Nolan! We love you and can't wait to visit in October! Don't stop posting pictures ever!