Just Hanging Out

Study Hall

Besides trying to walk, cruising in his walker, playing on the floor, jumping in his ExerSauer, and eating Luke is trying to exercise his intellectual capacity by reading and helping me on the computer.

Luke loves to look at the screen and will try to wiggle out of any

grasp just to get close to the computer. He starts panting and waving his arms once he is in range. And if given the chance he is drawn to pounding on the mouse pad and key board as hard as he can (ie.. beating the crap out my laptop). When re-directed to hit it on the side he will lunge forward to smash a more strategic spot. Thankfully the laptop has survived many of these incidents so I can write you this message.

Starting to Bundle Up

We have had some great late fall days, so we took advantage of them with stroller rides and trips to local parks.

Halloween

When Alyssa was growing up her favorite stuffed animal was a cow (appropriately named "Cowey"). Guess what Luke was for Halloween.... yes.... a cow.

Luke was her own real live "Cowey".

Even though Luke didn't get to go trick or treating he attended his first birthday party for his cousins Andrew and Bennett. Halloween with all of Luke's cousins was Pirates of the Caribbean meets Buzz Light Year with tag along characters of Cowey and the newest addition of Boden (who was only 3 weeks old at the time).

Fall Fun Part 2

We recently met our friend Pam and she took some pictures of us at a park. Luke was asleep for half the time so we got to catch up with Pam. When Luke came to.... she got some good shots of us playing together.

Fall Fun

Luke likes to be outdoors. Ever since he was a very small baby one of my tricks to stop him from crying was to take him outside. He continues to like exploring and looking at lots of new things.


Here are some of the latest pictures of him. We went with Grandpa and Grandma Krause to Eberts Farm. Even though it was cool and windy that day Luke was able to see his first Billy Goat, Pigs, Sheep, and lots of other animals.


Luke also got to play in his first leaf pile with Dad. He picked up some leaves to study. Otherwise he liked to bang on them and hear the crunching sound.

Colorado Vacation

Last week we went on a family vacation to Colorado. This was Luke’s first plane ride and it went very well considering he had a cold and cough.

We spent 2 days with our friends Julie and Derek (from UW-Madison) at their home in Longmont, Colorado. Their son, Daniel is about 9 weeks older than Luke. It was fun to spend time with them and share stories about each of our kids, especially since we are going through this time of life together. Daniel was crawling around and eating a lot more solid foods than Luke so it gave us a preview of what Luke will be doing soon (update: Luke ate half a container of carrots plus a cereal for lunch today).

Luke was not his normal self the first 2 days because he was sick and not used to his new environment. Julie and Derek also gave us some advice on altitude and dehydration. After taking that advice and using a humidifier Luke was back to his normal self.

So our time at Vail was very fun. We went on shorter hikes at least a few times each day. I got to go mountain biking down Vail pass, which was a 15 mile descent. Alyssa went mountain biking on Vail mountain, which meant she went straight up. And Luke hung out in Vail village charming everyone.

Our next stop was Snowmass, which is near Aspen. We did a 3 hour hike with Luke by Crater Lake in the Maroon Bells. The Aspen trees were bright orange and yellow and contrasted with the dark green of the evergreen trees. Everyone on the trail was impressed with Luke and one older lady (about 75) said one day he would be a mountaineer.

The last day and a half of our trip it turned cold and snowed. We had about 10 inches at our condo which was at 8600 feet elevation. So we built Luke his first snowman.

We are thankful for a fun trip and the opportunity to give Luke so many good experiences.

5 Months Old

I, Alyssa, can not believe how much love I have for Luke. I kiss him 30-60 times a day because I know I will not be able to kiss him when he is older. I love to hold him and tell him that I couldn't possibly love him more. He also makes me laugh and call him a goof. Luke is now over 5 months old and starting to outgrow a lot of his clothes.

Next its off to a vacation in Colorado. We will update you with pictures when we get back.

2 Months Late

Here are a few pictures from Luke's 3 month picture set. I am a little late in posting - he is over 5 months old already.

Its Been Awhile

Summer is a busy time and its hard to get time to update a blog. Here are some pictures from our vacation to northern Wisconsin. We spent time with both Dave and Alyssa's family during the week.

My Baby's Got Sauce

This last week (June 12th) was Luke’s first week at daycare and hence Alyssa’s first week back to work. Alyssa had a good week at work. After her first day, I asked how it went and her first comment was “Well, I didn’t cry.” Then she responded with how it felt natural to go back, that she didn’t miss a beat, and she still likes her job of being a physical therapist. Working three days a week seems to be a good balance between working and motherhood.

I take Luke to daycare and pick up on those three days. His teachers’ comments include, “He is a dream baby.” Translation: He is well adjusted and doesn’t cry very much. They all like him and think he is very cute. On his second day I picked him up in a and he was in different clothes - his shirt said “Wash and Return”. He got his original clothes dirty, followed by his spare outfit by pee-ing on them while being changed.

Meanwhile, when Luke is home with Alyssa he is learning a new skill – helping cook dinner. His chair on the counter allows him to supervise. He is talking more (coo-ing) and also smiling more everyday.

Sunday Drive

Alyssa’s granddad likes to go for Sunday drives. So last Sunday we took him to Watertown. It was fun to have both great-grandfather and great-grandson together for the afternoon. Granddad is 92 and Luke was 10 weeks old at the time.

Said another way, Granddad was 33,694 days old (including 23 days for leap year) and Luke was 70 days old. What a blessing life is – both new life and a full, well lived life.

We had fun at my parent’s house strolling around the yard and having a picnic. Also driving around the town to see the Octagon House, Keck’s Furniture (where he bought a couch about 65 years ago), and the Rock River. The Rock River is much smaller in Watertown than it is in Sterling, Illinois, where he used to live. During Granddad’s life he canoed every mile of the Rock River at various times.

Sweet Pea

Question: What happens when you have a wife that is always optimistic and positive and then you cross that with being a very happy new mom.

Answer: You get at least one, probably two, and sometimes three phone calls at work stating that “we have the cutest baby in the world!" Followed by a full description of why that is true.

Alyssa and Luke have been having fun at home, visiting family and friends, and going on trips to the parks in the area. But this week they took a road trip to visit me at work. We had a picnic lunch at a local park. And then a visit to the office to introduce Luke to all of my co-workers.

Luke seemed to enjoy being in the office. What do you think? Future Engineer? …. We will see.

For right now he is just a “Sweet Pea”. Thanks to Megan, all the way from Vancouver, British Columbia, for that cute outfit.