Luke's Been Busy

The beginning of December saw a lot of firsts for little Luke. He used his high chair for the first time and loves sitting with us at the dinner table. He smiles at himself in the mirror and gives the best most jolly laughs when we play with him. He likes to stand up and can do so well with help. He has also discovered his fists! We decided that Luke's mob name is "Lukey Two Fists" because of the way he holds them out and stares at them. Luke has been able to do baby push-ups for quite a while. The best feeling is when he just wakes up, pushes up and when he makes eye contact, gives the sweetest good morning smile! It melts the heart!

Luke's Baptism

Luke was baptized on November 30, 2008 at my home church in Savannah, White Bluff United Methodist. It is where I was baptized when I was a baby. It was a very special day and Luke did great. He was alert when Rev. John Haney showed him off to the congregation, and saved the scowl for later. After church, we went home and had a mini photo shoot and Luke showed his beautiful smile. We feel so blessed to have Luke; he is truly a wonderful baby.

Nana and Nanny visit

My mother and grandmother roadtripped down from Cleveland to meet baby Luke for the first time and spend Thanksgiving with us. Luke enjoyed meeting his Nana (mom) and Nanny (my grandmother) and had lots of love for the weekend.

As usual, Luke was his charming self and was a cutie. He immediately took to his grandmother and great-grandmother. We had a good time eating Thanksgiving dinner and shopping around the area.

Pops, Zia and Uncle Brad visit

Damien's dad, sister Anne-Marie and her husband Brad came to visit Luke for the first time mid-November. This also coincided with Ohio State-Michigan weekend, so Luke was exposed to the greatest rivalry in all of college football. He very much enjoyed lounging in Damien's lap as they watched the Buckeyes cream the Wolverines from "that state up north." Mario came over to watch the game too and Luke enjoyed meeting him.

Luke melted his Pops' heart the instant he held him. We would see dad carry Luke into the next room and when he was away from the rest of us, dad would talk baby talk to Luke. It was really cute! Uncle Brad is the baby whisperer, and Zia introduced Luke to cool fashions with her gifts of hip baby clothes, like a baby-sized Beatles tee shirt. Luke can't wait to grow into it.

Caleb's dedication

Kristin and Chad had Caleb dedicated at church on November 16. Caleb paid very close attention during the ceremony. The whole family was there for the special event. Afterward, we had chili and grilled cheese sandwiches with the Chandlers.

Popular with the Ladies

Last weekend, I took Luke with me to a Zeta get-together. I'm not sure if he enjoyed the conversation as much as I did, but he sure liked the attention he received. That's Jenni, Amy, Mandy holding Luke, Dana, me, Lori and Jennifer at Barbie's house (she was taking the picture!).

Travelin' Little Guy

We recently celebrated my Great Aunt Rachel's birthday with the whole family at a cabin in Pigeon Forge. It was the first time Luke met many of his relatives, including Rachel. They spent some quality time hanging out.

It was baby central in the cabin: Luke - 8 weeks with Lisa, cousin Caleb - 22 weeks with Kristin, and cousin Jack - 20 weeks with Kyla. It was the first time the 3 boys met. Caleb and Jack were very excited about each other; Luke not so much yet. He will probably be a little more interested at Christmas

It was a lot of fun seeing everybody! The changing leaves made a great background for a family photo as well.

Baby Boo!

Luke made his first visit to Savannah recently to see Grammy and Gramps. He celebrated his first Halloween there. Luke was the cutest little ghost ever seen. Alas, he's just a little too young for the trick-or-treating, so I wasn't able to sneak any of his chocolate! :)


We also did some shopping to pick out a birthday present for Aunt Anna. She celebrated 29 at the Georgia game on Saturday and in Savannah on Sunday. Luke really wanted to try her birthday "cake" - fruit pizza. He also went to church for the first time at my home church, White Bluff UMC. The ladies oohed and aahed because he's so adorable. Luke enjoyed his first Savannah trip (so did Grammy and Gramps) and did great in the car, and he's going back to visit soon.

Playtime!

Little Luke and his cousin Caleb hung out together yesterday. Caleb was having a great time laughing, squealing, and waving his arms and legs. Luke joined in the fun by waving just one of his arms, kicking one leg and emitting the occasional coo. Both babies paused long enough for Kristin to snap this great picture. They are such cute boys and more fun every day.

Monday bonus double post (The Heavyweight Champion of Cute)

Ok, so here is a bonus post to make up for slacking so much these past few weeks in posting photos. We've taken tons, so many in fact that my laptop is full.
Here are a few photos from yesterday that we shot after we gave him a bath and made him a squeaky clean baby.
Enjoy!

Five Weeks!

Little Luke had his five week check-up Wednesday. His weight is up to 8.5 lbs (13th%), length is 21 inches long (21%), and his head is 14 inches in circumference (6%). Good things come in small packages. Luke did well overall through the whole checkup, but he didn't enjoy the shot and let us know it.
He is starting to smile more and likes when we sing to him. Damien sings "Hey Jude" which he's changed to "Hey Luke." I prefer "Jesus Loves Me" and "If You're Happy and You Know It". Luke also likes "Rock-A-Bye Baby" that plays on both his mobiles as they spin.
I can't believe how fast he's growing!

One Month!!

WHEW!!! What a month! Luke is a spitfire! We've learned he absolutely hates having his diaper changed, hates changing clothes, but loves his mommy and daddy. He is the sweetest little baby boy in the world.
These past four weeks have been an adventure, that's for sure. Thanks to the Good Lord for coffee and mothers-in-law as both had been lots of help in keeping Damien sane. Lisa finds motherhood to be "awesome" and easier than she thought it would be. Lisa laughs in the face of explosive diapers because if she couldn't laugh, she'd be crying!
Luke loves kisses and has learned to make a kissy face to get them. He is also just starting to smile at us. If Damien could just capture them on camera... Luke is also trying to crawl, and is able to scoot about a foot or so when he really puts his feisty little mind to it.
Here are a few photos from the last few weeks. Everyone has been asking for new photos, and we've been taking lots of them, we just haven't had a whole lot of time to upload them. Have no fear, as there will be slide shows on the laptop during the upcoming holidays.

Happy 1 week birthday Luke!

What a week! Lisa and I are dealing with sleep deprivation pretty well. The diaper changing is not as bad as we thought. Figuring out his different cries turned out to be pretty easy to decipher so far. We did have an early-morning terrifyingly hilarious dirty-diaper-in-progress moment that taught us the awesome and frightening power of a baby's sphincter. We survived that incident wiser and wary of Luke's aim! We are learning all of little Luke's different faces: bird face, baby dinosaur face, volcano face, the unhappy elf, and the sly smile that means he has a surprise for mommy and/or daddy. Luke is wonderful and just so much fun to take care of. Lisa and I never thought it would be this great! Lisa is also doing great, recovering really well from Luke's delivery a week ago.
Here are some random photos from this past week, the first week of Luke's new life. Enjoy!

Luke Anthony Guarnieri

We welcomed Luke Anthony into the world on Wednesday, September 10, 2008, at 1:04pm. Luke weighed 6lbs, 14.5oz and measured 17.75in upon his arrival at WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia.

Luke and Lisa are in great health! I did the least amount of work yet have slept the most. Let me tell you, those padded ledges at the hospital meant for daddy are the most uncomfortable "beds" in all the world. And I can sleep anywhere, but I was whining about my back, then I realized that Lisa and Luke were the ones doing the hard work, so I shut up.

Lisa went into labor about 7:00am and decided to go to the hospital at 9:30. At 10:00 I met her and my mother-in-law at the hospital and were almost immediately put into a labor and delivery room. Lisa was awesome! She impressed the nurses and doctor by having a natural birth, without any drugs. She was all smiles and jokes between contractions while I cheered her on at her bedside. At 1:04pm Luke popped out, quite literally (I guess I said "whoa" or something like that because I remember the nurses laughing at me), and immediately showed off the power of his little baby lungs. I saw everything and cut the cord.

Luke most definitely does not like to be naked or unswaddled. (Which is fine, because I don't like changing diapers, but did it a heck of a lot of times in his first 10 hours of life.) He makes cute little squeaky sounds and loves to be held by his proud parents, grandma Susan, and aunt Anna, and I'm sure he'll love to be held by everyone else too!

The first photo was taken at 10 minutes old, as he was getting all his baby tests, getting poked and prodded, but passing all his newborn tests, exams, and pop quizzes with flying colors. The rest of the photos were taken throughout his first day of life. He'll probably be the most-photographed baby ever!