So many faces

My kid loves to eat. He's been enjoying apple juice from his sippy cup and eating puffs (for you non-parents, think fruit flavored Cheetoes). He lets us know exactly what he thinks of everything....

 mmmmm...juice....

 Chewing on the cup is even better than drinking...

 Woah....my bib tastes just as good!

 Oh no...cup down!!

 I'm not going to grab those puffs by myself...

 This is making me sleepy....

 Surprise! That was a little bit of deliciousness ....

 Nope, don't know how to chew with my mouth closed....

 That was lip-smackin' good...

 Notice that the puffs are all gone...

 Whew! I'm out of that stupid highchair...

And now I'm ready to play until my next meal.

Saturday Playtime

As you can see, Luke loves his playtime! Yes, we're working diligently on crawling, but those pictures usually don't produce a smiling face. However, Luke LOVES to stand up! We've got it down to the one arm hold now even though it scares the heck out of mommy. Now we're worn out from playing so it's time for mommy and daddy to watch Inception (which is supposed to be a good movie from what we hear), and Luke to eat his final bottle and hit the hay.

We all seem to be feeling better...

Hello friends!  Well, we think we have gotten to the bottom of the mystery of our fussy kid.  You see, today, at school, he ate three times and when Melissa was picking him up at 5:30pm, he was starting his fourth bottle of the day.  Then when we got home he sucked down a 6 oz bottle and wouldn't fall asleep at 8pm until we got him a few more ounces!  So it looks like our little duder is getting to be a little bigger.  Now that we know that Luke is just hungry, we are able to help him a lot more, and means we aren't worrying as much!

Here you see that Luke is feeling much better.

Here you see a happy Luke after his 18 bottles during the day.

Ralphie is trying to get my attention.  He thinks his younger brother gets too much.
 

Sophie doesn't really care.  She just wants to rest her head.

Boo-hoo-ing

It's been a sad few days in Luke's life...and we can't quite figure out why. The poor little guy has been a bit fussy lately, which is just not like him. I'm sure a lot of parents say this, but really, the kid doesn't cry. At first we thought it was teething, but today he started the dreaded ear pull. So, we gave him a bit of medicine and we'll see how he is doing in the morning. Needless to say, there have not been many photo opportunities. Never fear - we'll get some more posted soon. Keep your fingers crossed the little guy feels better soon.

Luke has learned how to sit up!

So Luke did a little Skyping with his grandparents tonight.  He does a pretty good job keeping his balance (as you can see) but he does still flop back.  We have had a few faceplants.  He's fine, we promise!  He likes to play with his toes which seems to keep him balanced too.  Whatever it takes!  His therapist has told us that he is the earliest Downs sitter she has ever had.  Only 2 within the last 25 years have come close to Luke, but that was it.  We are really proud of him!  One day, we will finally get that saddle on Ralphie and Luke can ride him like a tiny horse!  (Don't delete this Melissa!)

Top 10 of 2010

It has been a big year for the Godinez family. Here are our Top Ten Memorable Moments of 2010:

1. Luke joins the family! - Nothing changes life like having a baby for the first time. After years of dreaming about having our first baby, Luke was finally here. Despite the rough start with his health, the 20 days we spent in the NICU reminded us to never lose faith in God, strengthened our relationship as a family, and showed us of the support and love of our family and friends.

2. Luke comes home from the hospital. - No more plugged in baby! After countless hours in the yellow room, staring at the monitors, and praying for a quick recovery, Luke was finally home for good. That's where we started the real test of parenthood :)

3. Graduation! - After 6 months of intense studying, ridiculously long hours, and lots of trips away from home, Patrick graduated from Weapons School. He and I got a little vacation in Vegas thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Godinez coming to spend the weekend with Luke.

 

4. Baptism Fiesta - We don't do things on a small scale in the Godinez family. Why just have close family at a baptism when you can invite all of your family and friends. Since everyone had put in so many hours talking to the Big Man to help Luke get better, we thought that it was only fitting that we celebrated his baptism in true fiesta style.

5. 1st Christmas - Even though he is too little to have any idea what the excitement is all about, there is nothing better than having a little kid around at Christmas. Luke may have been more interested in eating the wrapping paper this year, but everyone enjoyed spoiling the heck out of him.

6. Thanksgiving - We defied all social odds in the entire world, invited both families to Thanksgiving, forced two grandmas to share a baby, and WE ALL SURVIVED!

7. 4th Anniversary/Michael Buble concert - Ironic that Melissa got to see her Canadian boyfriend for her wedding anniversary. Despite Patrick's doubts about spending an evening with Michael Buble, even he agreed that it was a sensational concert. Luke enjoyed a quiet evening at home with Grandpa and Grandma Godinez.

8. Frequent Visitors - Living in Minot for three years makes us value the time we now get to spend with family and friends.  Whereas we used to be separated by 16 hours or boring highway and usually ridiculous amounts of snow, our family is just a short car ride away.

10. Quiet evenings at home - Nothing is better than quiet evenings at home with just us and the dogs.

Happy New Year

New Year's Eve/Patrick's B-day

Last year at this time I looked like this....

And this year, we looked like this...

Although ringing in 2010 last year in New Orleans was a good time, nothing really beats celebrating with friends. On Thursday, Luke and I took Patrick out to dinner at Baja Tacos for a family birthday celebration.  Then, we started a new family tradition (something we picked up from some other professional party throw-ers we know -- a.k.a: Patrick's parents), and threw a neighborhood fiesta for Patrick's birthday/New Year's.  It was perfect because no one had to drive, no expensive babysitters were needed, and who better to celebrate with? The night was even complete with a White Elephant Gift Exchange. Let's just say the house was filled with fairy ferrets, gnomes, racy dice/handcuffs, and a butt-shaking snowman - enough said.