May 31

Ok, this blog has not been updated in quite awhile-I know that and it hangs over my head every day.  I have decided that I will start with today’s date and then fill in the activities and photos going backwards until I am caught up.    I know that in years to come, I will be very disappointed if there is this huge gap in my blog and I won’t be able to remember all of the fun things we did or the cute things that Luke did so I am going to try to update this weekly or bi-weekly.  

Luke is now 5, his birthday was May 8^th.  This is always a bittersweet time for me.  Bitter because it was such a uncertain time in my life, very scary, but also sweet because I got the best gift ever out of the deal.    Being a mom is the hardest and best thing I have ever done.  It is a challenge every day to be the best mom I can and I know I fall short on certain days, I lose my patience, or I yell too  loud or I don’t pay attention to him or spend the time I need to on certain days, but I know that he knows he is safe and that I love him and that I am always there for him and we have a lot of fun together.  There is no better feeling in the world to see that smiling face and the Mommy!  And the big hug at the end of a long day at work.  There is nothing like the feeling of the little hugs and kisses and the snuggles I get all throughout the day.  There is nothing like the I love you that comes from his little mouth and the flutter I get in my tummy when I see him.    I know that I need to enjoy every moment, every smile, every hug, every tantrum, every tear, every question, every mess to clean up, every messy shirt, every day…because there will be a time when I won’t see him every day, when I won’t talk to him every day and when he may not want to talk to me.    I wish I could bottle this time! 

This is a fun time of year, with the prospect of lots of picnics, swimming, playing outside and all the fun holidays that summer brings.   We got Kings Island passes, so we’ll be making numerous trips to the water park, and the park to ride lots of rides.      

Right now, Luke is watching Little Einsteins, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Mike the Knight and some other shows.  He wants to wear the Avengers shirt that he got for his birthday every day (even though he doesn’t know really what that is-he hasn’t seen the movie)  but I have purposely not been washing it right away, otherwise he would wear it as much as he could.  He calls it his “cool shirt”.  Mommy, I want to wear a cool shirt.  This is something new because up until now, he did not have an opinion on what he wore.  He would wear whatever I would pick out and he also will only wear certain shoes.      

He is 45-1/2 inches tall and weighs 62 lbs, so that puts him in the 95-98^th percentile.  He has put on some weight, but I am thinking that he will be losing a lot of this over the summer.    We are trying to be mindful of portion sizes and our intake of mac and cheese (which he would eat every day if you let him!)  He is really just a very solid kid.  The dr. isn’t concerned about weight and he thinks he is very accelerated for his age.    The last visit we had for his age 5 well check, he got 2 shots.    This was the first time he was scared about this.  He was so nervous, that Dr. Co told him that he could come to his office to look at his Star Wars figures.  He is a huge fan.  Luke brought some of his little characters to show him and he always gets a kick out of it.    He really talked to him a lot this time.  Many times, he has an office full of patients, he doesn’t have the time and Luke will clam up.   We have noticed him getting more and more outgoing, especially, if the other person is very nice or receptive to him.

I think because of his hernias and the surgery he had 2 summers ago, his ab muscles haven’t really gotten developed so we are going to work on that this summer.  As a family, we are going to be doing some exercises and doing some family fitness time each day for at least 20-30 minutes.    I’ll try to make it fun and keep it interesting.   Tues night, he and Matt did push ups and sit ups and laps around the yard (my zumba night), and last night we took him to the river to ride his bike while we walked and then we threw rocks.  I have been walking with Norrenna, Sarah and Jody at 9 p.m. 2-3 nights per week or more so this has been great!    Matt walks with Greg on Tuesdays.    There is a zumba instructor at our church on Tuesday nights, and I’ve been about 3 times so far.  It’s nice because Tricia, Jenny, and Norrenna all go too so it is more motivating.  I am hoping that she’ll offer another night before long.  I just feel like I would get the hang of it better if it were twice and also the fitness part of it would be better.  It is a nice compliment to the walking that I am doing and a nice way to slowly build up my stamina.  

Will be posting pics of Memorial Day soon!