5 Months Full of Laughter

Wow....what a month full of laughs, giggles, big smiles and sickness. The best part about your 5th month was the amount of personality that you revealed to your Daddy and me. You are the goofiest little boy with the best sense of humor. When I was pregnant with you, I would try to imagine what kind of personality you would have. Would it be more like your Dad (conservative, until he gets to know you) or more like me (outgoing and willing to talk to anyone who will listen). Well, it appears more and more everyday that you are a Daddy's boy, with just a touch of Mom in you. I can't wait to get to know more about you in the upcoming months.

This was the first month that you got really sick, multiple times. At the beginning of this month, Mommy had to go to Girls Camp with the Young Women. So, Dad and Mom decided to start transitioning you to formula. When I was up at camp, Daddy called to tell me that you were sick and had hives on your body. The next couple of days were spent with you throwing up and on Benadryl. Mommy could finally get you into the doctor and that is when we discovered that you are allergic to the protein in milk. This would explain all the times you would throw up a lot if I ate ice cream. Now you are on a hypoallergenic formula and gaining weight like a champ!

The next hard struggle this month was your battle with Croup. It made my heart hurt just watching you try and get sleep at night. I would hear you have a cough attack and would immediately take you into the bathroom and we would sit in there with the hot water running and steam for about 10 mins. As soon as you were able to breathe again, you would just lay your head on my shoulder, stuck your thumb and fall back asleep. All you wanted to do was sleep, but just couldn't breathe. During the first 3 days of Croup, I only got 9 hours of sleep total for 3 nights. Even though this was a big battle for you to fight; you smiled and giggled your way through it. Daddy and I rarely ever heard you cry, you just coughed a lot.

This month:

• You started grabbing and holding your own bottle
• You started giggling out loud
• You decided that you no longer need a binkie (those are for babies)
• You only suck your thumb when you are tired
• You love to grab Lulu's snout when she comes to kiss you
• You know that when you see your Daddy it must be play time! You get so excited and get the biggest smile on your face when he comes home from work.

Even though you had some tough trials to face, you had a wonderful, fun-filled month!

Tummy time is the best time!

Especially when Lulu comes to hang out.

Your cousin Jake came out to visit while Uncle Nick and Aunt Morgan went to Uncle Nick's 10 year reunion. You and Jake hung out together that weekend and had a BLAST! You thought he was so funny and so smart. You would try to do exactly what he was doing. You and Jake went swimming together and took your first bath together.

Who needs boring pajamas these days, when you can be an astronaut?!? You love your new pj's.

"Hey Mommy, I can put my foot in my mouth."

"Wow....I never knew that I had a right hand, until now!" This month you were completely fascinated and in awe with your right hand. Every time you would notice it, you stopped exactly what you were doing and would just stare at your hand. You never really seemed all that amazed with your left hand. Maybe you will discover that one in the upcoming months.

As Grandma Barton has said, "Lucas' Exasaucer is like Lagoon!" You love being in your exasaucer and playing with all of the many toys. You love being able to be upright, and being able to see eye to eye with your doggies. Thanks to your Grandma Grable, you get to have this niffty toy at our house all the time! Thanks Grandma Grable!!!

You and Grandpa Grable are like two peas in a pod. Whenever we go over to Grandpa and Grandma's house, you and Grandpa are always out on an adventure in the backyard. After walking around and looking at his garden, you and Grandpa decided to hang out on the deck.

You LOVED this camp light.

One of your big accomplishments this month was sitting up. You could only do it for a few seconds, but you were able to say up on your own. Good job little man!

After you were over Croup, you started a big growth spurt. Mommy and Daddy had a hard time keeping up with how many calories you needed in a day. So, you got to start eating rice cereal from a spoon! Wow, you are growing up too fast.

You could not stop giggling at your cousin Gage this night. Anything he did just made you laugh so hard that you got the hiccups. You and Gage are going to have so much fun as you grow up!

Fun Adventures with Mommy

This month, you and I had some relaxing and fun times together. One thing that you and I love to do is to sit and relax before your bedtime. You love to snuggle up on my shoulder, suck your thumb and fall asleep. I could just sit there for hours and hold you, I love you so much!

You and I may do a lot of the "calming" and "relaxing" activities together, but I can definitely get you to giggle and smile. You think it is so funny when I blow raspberries at you.

Fun Adventures with Daddy

You and Daddy do all the fun, manly, adventure type of activities together. He can't wait until he can take you to do everything that he does. You and Daddy are going to be best buddies.

Sharing some of Daddy's drink.

Watching the rainstorm together.

Looking at the clouds and trying to figure out what shapes they are.

Towards the end of your 5th month, you decided that you needed to constantly be chewing on something. It didn't really matter what that "something" was, just as long as it was in your mouth at all times. The easiest thing for you to always grab is your burp rags.

Wow, this month was an adventure for all of us. You are such a sweet little boy with the goofiest personality. You are constantly making us smile and laugh. We love you little man.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

4 Months and Growing Like a Weed....

Lucas, I can't even begin to put into words how much joy you bring to our lives. You make your Daddy and me want to continually be better people. Thank you for your sweet, innocent spirit that you bring into our family everyday.

Your 4th month has definitely been the best month so far! You are becoming such an independent little man! You always have a smile on your face and you LOVE being in new places. I never have to worry if you are happy or not, which is such a good feeling for a mommy to have. You had so many new developments this month and it was so fun to be able to experience all those "firsts" with you.

• During your first 3 months you were in love with your tongue. No matter what you were doing, your tongue was always out. This month, your tongue doesn't seem as important to you.


• This month you decided that you didn't always need your binkie and will very rarely have it in your mouth. When you get sleepy, you will start rubbing your eyes and then you will suck your thumb to fall asleep.


• You are a very observant little boy. You love new situations and environments, but are very careful to study them before you show your personality. This is very much like the Grable side of the family. Once you feel comfortable in your new environment, you are very outgoing!

You had your 4 month check-up and here are your stats:

• Length - 24.5 inches - 50th percentile


• Weight - 15lbs 2oz - 50th percentile


• Head - 43 cm - 50th percentile

During your 4th month you were able to hang out with so many of our friends at all the many barbeques that took place. Here you are with Daddy, Rachel Hurst and Jason Carver.

You absolutely LOVE your Grandma Barton. We usually go to her place for Sunday dinner, but on July 4th, she came to our place to have dinner and watch fireworks. This was the very first time you got to see fireworks and your daddy wanted you to be able to enjoy them. So, we had to start early, while it was light, so that you could see some before you went to bed.

You and your Daddy are such outdoors boys. You love to just lay on a blanket outside and look at everything! Therefore, we thought it would be perfect to take you hiking up Milcreek Canyon. We bought this nifty carrier so that you could see exactly where we were hiking. We put a blanket over your legs so that you wouldn't get sunburned.

As I have said before, your Daddy loves bath time more than anyone in the family. Daddy decided that you need to experience your first bubble bath. You definitely enjoyed it and had so much fun! This was the first time that you laughed and played through your bath.

You and Daddy love to take afternoon naps together, especially when they happen outside!

Mommy has every Friday off and enjoys sleeping in. When Daddy gets up, he brings you into sleep with Mommy for the rest of the morning. This is one of the BEST parts about being your Mommy. I love our mornings together!

You love playing under your play gym. You love all the toys that hang down and the mirror that you get to look at yourself in. It is so much fun to watch you play under this gym. When you look in the mirror, you make different facial expressions and then laugh at yourself. You are such a character. During this month, you were able to grab and play with your toys! The best part is that you discovered the froggie sings when you pull on him. You are loving your new found freedom.

You can roll-over now! You are such an independent little man. Now you have the ability to get in the best sleeping positions. This was the first time you rolled over in your crib to sleep on your tummy. Once you figured this out, you are all over your crib. I start you out on your back at the bottom of your crib and you end up on your tummy at the top. You are so dang cute!

Your Grandma Barton found this cool floating tube that you can sit in while Daddy or I paddle you around the pool. You are such a stud!

Grandma Barton got this cool jumper for you to play in at her house. You don't quite get the concept of jumping, but you love spinning around in circles.

You had one favorite toy during this month and it was definitely your Cookie Monster. He goes everywhere with you!

How great is life when you figure out that you have feet and toes!

As a family we went up to the Palmer's cabin for a weekend getaway. Jared and Melissa's family absolutely LOVES babies, so you and Hilary got to hang out with the family while Mommy and Daddy went on a 4-wheeler ride. Lucas, I love your daddy so much and love being able to spend time with him. I hope that we can always show you what a strong relationship we have.

It took Grandpa Grable a little while to feel comfortable holding you. He just felt that you were too fragile and was a little nervous with how small you were. Well, this month he over came that feeling and loves to hang out with you. Whenever we go over to Grandpa and Grandma Grable's, Grandpa immediately asks where you are. In the below picture, he is walking you around the backyard teaching you all about the plants that he is growing. Grandpa Grable has a passion for yard work and gardening.

Um....this is your Uncle Trent. I really don't know what to say, except that you will have a lot of fun hanging out with him.

The best part about living in Utah during July is not only do you get fireworks on the 4th of July, but you also get fireworks on the 24th. You didn't seem all that interested in fireworks on the 4th, but you were really excited to watch on the 24th. You didn't want to take your eyes off of them.

Mommy kisses are the best! You laugh and giggle after every kiss I give you. I love this about you!

Thank you for the laughs this month. You bring such joy to our lives. We love you so much Lucas,

Mommy and Daddy