October 31, 2013. Happy Halloween!

Last year at this time, Luke was recovering from his orthopedic surgery...more eventful than we had expected!  This year was Luke's first opportunity to celebrate Halloween!  Luke has an advent calendar, and received a special trinket ever night for the month of October!  We have had so much fun this month, and Mommy knows that this calendar will only become more and more fun as Luke gets older!  Luke celebrated by wearing his skeleton pajamas to bed this week!  He decided to be a puppy for Halloween ...just like Tommy and Lily!  We practiced his bark all week!  Luke celebrated with a Trick or Treat parade at school, and came home with more treats than he knew what to do with!  He spent the evening admiring his treasure!  I'm so grateful he had the opportunity to celebrate with the other children at school, because we weren't able to go out in the neighborhood!  We had terrible wind and rain storms, and even had two tornados touch down near the airport!  Luke was none the wiser, and he had a great Halloween!

August 10, 2013. Luke's Gotcha Day!

It's been a year now, since Luke and I arrived in the States.  I remember every minute... Like it was yesterday!  Bringing Luke home from China last August was the single most important event of my life!  Our lives have changed forever now!  I am eternally grateful and forever blessed.

Luke and I spent the day with Grandma.  She gave Luke a beautiful pewter train engraved with his name, date, and first arrival of the adoption.  What a gift to treasure!  Mommy bought Luke his first toolbox and pretend food for the kitchen!  Both of these toys were well received!  My cousin Jerry was in town visiting from New York and brought his fiancée.  It was such a pleasure meeting Anna, and we all loved the opportunity to get to know her a bit!  Jerry and Anna are getting married in the Fall.  They both loved spending the afternoon playing with Luke, and getting to know the youngest member of our family.  Later, we ordered food from our favorite neighborhood Chinese take-out to celebrate!  We all watched a little of The Lion King, and Luke had a full day.  Our first Gotcha Day was a tremendous success!

 



Summer 2013 Photos!



March 31, 2013. Luke's First Easter!

Well, Easter Sunday started quite eventfully for Luke!  He was so excited to know Koko, bob, and the Easter Bunny were visiting all in one day!  Luke fell, face first, and bloodied his lips and his right front tooth!  He recovered fairly quickly, but as you can see in the photo, the fall temporarily slowed him down for a couple of minutes!  Nothing a frozen teething ring can't take care of!

Our afternoon was really nice ...Luke had fun with the toys in his new Easter basket, and we all enjoyed a nice meal with friends!  A couple weeks after Easter, Koko brought a special gift for Luke ...his first Radio Flyer.  What a treat!  Luke loved assembling the bike with Koko, and he was riding that afternoon!  He still hasn't mastered the big-boy pedals, but all in good time. He always has his Mickey Mouse car to act as backup!

February 9, 2013. Luke's First Stride Rites!

This might be one of my proudest moments yet!  Luke had surgery down at Cincinnati Children's, and things got a little tricky because of his reaction to the anesthetic that caused his lung to collapse!  The bar and orthepedic shoes (23 hours a day) was nothing to sneeze at, beleive me!  We all did great... Luke did the best of all!  I have to be honest, he never complained!  From this point, Luke only needs to wear the bar and shoes at night!  What a blessing!  Luke, the playground just became so much for fun for you!  Luke loves his new shoes!  Have at it, little boy!  You've earned it!

    

 



December 25, 2012. Luke's First Christmas Home!

This Christmas Season could not be more special and more joyful!  Luke is healthy, happy, and ready for Christmas!  We've had a few visitors to the house to wish us a Merry Christmas.  Uncle Jerry and Aunt Trish stopped by while they were in town.  We enjoyed spending the afternoon with them, and Luke had a chance to open his gifts while they visited.  It was wonderful to see Uncle Jerry and Aunt Trish, especially at Christmas!  Koko and Bob were able to come over for dinner and exchange gifts before leaving town for the holidays.  We always enjoy time with Koko and Bob, as they are dear friends.  They love Luke very much!  Mr. Russo, our neighbor across the street, stopped by to bring Luke a Mickey Mouse piano book of Christmas song!  This book has been a favorite, and I'm sure will be for many years to come!

On Christmas Eve, Luke and Grandma made sugar cookies for Santa, using Grandma Miko's cookie recipe.  He had so much fun, and really loved every minute of decorating and baking!  So did Grandma!  After the cookies cooled, Grandma helped Luke select a couple of the most special sugar cookies for Santa's Christmas plate!  Luke placed the plate of cookies on the little table in front of the Christmas Tree, so that Santa would surely find them!  Luke left him a glass of milk, too!

The next day we awoke to Luke's first Christmas morning!  There are, of course, no words to describe the joy felt by all of us that morning!  Luke could not believe his eyes as we walked down stairs!  Santa gave Luke a Lakeshore Red Barn with farm animals, mothers and babies.  Santa also gave Luke hand-painted glass Christmas ornaments from China.  These ornaments are so beautiful, and to know they are painted from the inside with very small brushes, makes them more amazing!  Mommy gave Luke a book about the Twelve Days of Christmas, with DOGS!  Mommy also gave Luke an FAO Schwartz Chocolate Labrador stuffed animal!  Grandma gave Luke a wonderful figurine of Micky Mouse dressed as Santa, getting ready to climb down the chimney with his bag of toys.  Mommy's friend from Colorado, Janet, sent Luke a great winter beanie from the Colorado State University Rams.  Lisa sent Luke a Denver Broncos ornament for the tree, as well as his first Denver Broncos shirt!  Mommy's friend from Fort Collins sent Luke his first Nativity with baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.  Luke loves the toy Nativity, and I can tell it will be a favorite for years to come!  What a wonderful addition to our Christmas traditions!  Luke's first Christmas morning was truly joyous!  Luke, Mommy loves you, and Merry Christmas!

Uncle John, Aunt Deb, Josh, and Ashley came over for Christmas dinner, as they do each year.  We always have so much fun when we get together, and this year was no exception!  After dinner, we all visited and exchanged gifts.  Luke received a red monster truck, a walking puppy that barks, and a shape-sorter tugboat for the bath.