Url Oma and Url Opa's Hand-Made Gift to Lukka

Once Oma found out I loved home-made gifts, she knitted Lukka a cardigan and matching hat, and then a sweater with matching mittens when they came to visit in August. This Christmas, she sent a great knitted cardigan and matching hat. I never tire of home-made gifts!

Lukka's Christmas Surprise

Well, Lukka got the first of his 'two front teeth' on Christmas morning...and we can see the second peeking up from underneath the gums. They are on the bottom, instead of the top (like the song goes)...but still, a fun Christmas surprise! He's been using one of these lately, so I should have known:

BathTime!

Lukka's first bath in our kitchen sink--he loved playing with the clean pots and pans on the other side (it kept him oblivious to me scrubbin' him all over!). So much easier than bending over the bathtub!

Learning to Crawl

Lukka is showing us how determined he is to become more mobile. He has been really pushing up on his arms so that his stomach is not touching the ground, but today he pushed himself up so much that he was able to support himself with his knees, too. Stefan and I watched, took pictures, and thought about the dreaded day we would have to remember to shut doors on the second story and buy a gate for the first story of our house (so he wouldn't crawl and, eventually, fall down the stairs). He will inevitably become more curious about outlets, as they will be eye-level, and he'll pick up anything on the floor my Swiffer missed. But today, we just enjoyed this new stage, because we know it will be awhile...ok, at least a few weeks!

(Disclaimer: Stefan was running at 9 months, Lukka just passed his 6 month-mark!)

Sorry for the second picture's grainy/fuzzy quality, but it shows the 'knee master-ship' best. The third pic is Lukka lost in a sea of white! It is his fleece snowsuit and he can hardly move in it. Can you tell which is Randy (from A Christmas Story) and which is Lukka?! :)

Funny Day

Lukka was in rare sorts today. Stefan can get a small giggle out of him every once in awhile by tossing him around in the air like a beach ball, but today he was cracking up. I have never heard him laugh so hard and for so long. If you didn't hear about when he first started laughing, read below--or for the short version: The dogs were rough-housing and getting into it. Tonight, Stefan was teasing me with a rolled up magazine and poking me in the stomach while I was trying to get some work done. Lukka thought this was hilarious! He couldn't stop laughing every time Stefan hit me with the paper. All I could think is, Oh no, he's going to actually like watching the Three Stooges.

Here's a few recent pictures of him. The one on the blanket is him smiling his 'morning smile'--big and robust after over 12 hours of sleep, and the other is one of my current favorite outfits (thanks Mom M!) a "Vintage" Hoodie and a pair of OshKosh Overalls.

A Slow Week

Well, if you'd been following our other blog, ssmast.blogspot.com, you could know that Lukka has been very sick this week--some rampant form of the flu we think, as 6 adult family members all came down with the same thing after holding him for as little as an hour! He had a temp (albeit minor) for the following three days after the ER visit, and I didn't take him outside for that time (and did lots and LOTS of laundry). Thursday we went to my grandmother's house to visit her, my mom, and my aunt, and he was fussy for most of the time...still needed rest. It's amazing to me how much babies need (and are not afraid to tell you in the form of : whining, crying, sniffling, pouting, etc, etc.). One more thing to put on the 'baby needs' checklist is a humidifier, something I'm sure we can find by rummaging through some basements of relatives who aren't using theirs.
Here's a picture that I took this week of Lukka getting over his stuffy nose/flu. He is happiest in dad's arms (of course, dad isn't the one putting ointment all over him, draining his nose, putting a thermometer you know where!) and by the look of it, you wouldn't even be able to tell he's sick!