The Third Not So Easy

Luke has been a little off the last few days, leading me to hypothesize about the cause (this sort of behavior drives Mike crazy because I come up with all these ideas and possible actions to take and really, it may just be a bad mood). Friday morning he just screamed for an hour, which is very out of character for him unless he bumps his head or something. Could he be getting sick? (Mike and I have been fighting cold-like symptoms for more than 2 weeks now) Is he teething again?

Turns out it's the latter. Tooth number 3 is cutting through the gum up top. Phew! At least he's not getting sick. So, we can tackle with the appropriate mitigation strategies.

In other news, he is really starting to get around a bit more, when he really wants to. He doesn't respond well to on-demand requests at crawling, unless you're a cat. Let's just say the cats are getting more exercise than they have in years. I shot a video yesterday, which I promise to edit and post soon, of him playing delightedly with a cup in the kitchen. He was fascinated with dropping it on the floor and making noise for a long time. We also made the switch to a big-boy car seat. He doesn't seem to know much difference but looks to be a lot more comfortable.

Tomorrow marks the start of a big push for Mike and I...we will diet, paint, unpack, and exercise during the month of September that will be celebrated the first weekend of October with a visit from Grandma Ellen and Great Aunt Marlo. There are several goals:

1. Paint Guestroom #2 (already underway) to get rid of the navy blue ceiling and gummy sticky pads left behind by the removal to two sheets of metal stuck to the wall as magnetic bulletin boards.


2. Complete the Garage unpacking so that both cars can be parked (hopefully - it's a wee smaller than our last garage) inside by the end of September


3. Lose 10 pounds


4. Unpack 75% of the basement (not that we have anything to replace the boxes with, but we will want to decorate for Christmas eventually)

And since no blog entry would be complete without at least one pic of Lukeman, here you go:

A Week of Firsts

Luke delighted us this week with several new things. He started sitting up:

And crawling (one night he did 10 laps between Mike and I and just giggled and squealed the entire time):
We also took him for a swing ride up at the park for the first time. He got to swing in St. Louis at Uncle Bob and Aunt Marlo's and loved it so much that we decided to try it here. He's a wee small for the swings, but we managed to work it out and he loved it!

Grandma Bucciero visited last week, too, so we were pretty busy (hence the lack of blogging sooner). We had a great time!

7 Months Old!

My gosh how time flies. Every day is a new adventure and every day Luke gives us a new clue into his little mind. So fascinating to watch him figuring things out. One thing is for sure - he loves his Daddy!

Luke's First Blog Entry

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(Obviously, he liked holding down keys)

The Cute Toothlings

As promised, I finally managed to snap a picture of the elusive little teeth sprouting. Luke is hilarious with the camera - he's learned what it is and he tries to anticipate the flash by squinting.

He also has finally figured out that the cats are pretty cool. He's even gotten a bit daring by reaching for them. Sydney as of yet is fairly unphased and Pinochle is just a little confused by it and just has decided that perhaps it's better to move and avoid the situation.

Luke is definitely working hard on proper crawling. He can move around all over the place to go after a toy but it's largely disorganized movement. It won't be long! This week, Grandma Bucciero will be visiting so we've been feverishly getting ready for that. In fact, vacuuming is calling my name.

I'll Have the Onion Rings, Please

You would have to be a Niehaus to understand this one without any background. My mom's family has had a tradition forever of going to Ponticello's and having onion rings, salad, and pizza. We all measure any onion rings against theirs and I have yet to find any quite so good. In fact, many a boyfriend and girlfriend have been taken to Ponticello's for the "test." You couldn't marry a Niehaus without declaring undying love for Ponticello's. It is rumored to be have been the nail in the coffin for several relationships. So, not only did Luke get to go for his first time, but it was actually his first dinner out! Although, the poor kid had to settle on his dinner of sweet potatoes.

He was very intrigued by Great-Grandma and Poco. In fact, he put on quite the scooting/rocking/rolling show at their place on the floor. He loves being up on all fours and moving as much as he can, which isn't too much given that he hasn't quite figured out how to move his legs. We also decided to start him out young on some pinochle playing. He's really a fast learner!

We did have a great trip to Cape Girardeau and St. Louis, although it was extremely quick! Luke is certainly getting the hang of flying and hopefully, we can do this more often as it was such a rushed trip and there were many people we didn't get to see. Coming soon...pictures of not one, but both of the toothlings!

P.S. Not to brag, but it's August and I'm wearing a sweatshirt around the house! Apparently, this is a tad unusual.

Our First Tornado Sirens

We are safe and sound after a wild night! The sirens went off about 7:30, so we woke Luke up and herded the cats into the basement to hang out and listen to the radio for a little while. It was quite a night, even by Chicagoan standards (it led the news for 15 minutes). But, we are just fine and no damage to report. And, Luke was back asleep by 8:30. Mike looked at me and said, "Welcome back to the Midwest." At least we have a basement now.

We Sprung a Tooth!

Well, our suspicions were confirmed. Yes, we have a toothling sprouting on the bottom. Nothing yet that is very photogenic, but a little extra sharp when Luke is chomping on our fingers. Overall, it has been pretty easy for him, compared to some stories I have heard. Aside from waking up one night and just having some moods, he's been the same old happy baby.

He loves food so far. We've done peas and sweet potatoes, too, and he just loves them. It usually takes a second for him to remember what on earth we are putting in his mouth, but then he is quite entertained with the whole endeavor. Although, no more giggles like the first time!

Yesterday, we visited our first church. Luke made it through the entire service for the first time! Yippee! Unfortunately, I don't think this will be our church home. Two critical requirements were missing - no pipe organ and no music program. Overall, it was a very nice service and the pastor has been there 25 years, but Trinity just has left very large shoes to fill. In fact, I was trying to remember how I chose Trinity 9 years ago. I believe it was the fact that there was a bell choir and as soon as I met Marcia and Rob and Pastor Phil, that was all I needed. We miss Trinity dreadfully, but hopefully, we will find one soon to belong to.

In closing, I took a very large step in addressing my Richmond addiction - I shredded my Ukrops card (sniff, sniff) and send my frequent luncher punch cards to friends to use up. Even the cats are starting to return to old behaviors like hanging out in the bathtub. Different house, same old tricks.

Tomorrow, Luke and I fly to St. Louis for a quick visit to meet Poco and Great-Grandma Niehaus and Uncle Bob and Aunt Marlo and to meet some friends of the Grandparents Lukens. It will be great to see everyone!! We'll be back on Friday in time for the Olympics! I can't wait - it's the best thing to happen to television since 2004!