Banner Day

William had a BIG DAY yesterday! He got is 1st haircut, crawled for the first time, AND stood in his crib for the first time.

He was such a big boy getting his hair cut. He didn't cry at all. He wasn't exactly happy, but he held back tears.

And then, when we got home, I guess he decided he would start doing big boy things to go with his big boy haircut. He crawled trying to reach his favorite book 'The Pout Pout Fish'. My mom was there, so we have a witness! :)

I honestly wasn't sure if he would ever crawl. He's so close to walking that I figured he would skip crawling completly. But, according to William's 'Lollie', Philip crawled late (right around 1 year), and then almost immediately started walking. So, I bet he is close!

Yesterday is the perfect example of how he is growing up so fast.

The Broadmoor

We recently went to the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Philip spoke at a conference there for work - and William and I were lucky enough to go with him! We had so much fun just hanging out by the pool and enjoying the beautiful, non-humid weather, while Philip worked. The Broadmoor is beautiful - a true resort - and I hope we get to go back one day!

And now, we are back to 'real' life. William and I went to the Library today. There's a really good one over by our house. I had not been to the library in years. They have almost fully automated the check-out process, like self check-out at a grocery store. And they don't slip the little 'due date' card in the front pocket of the book any more. Sad. You just get a print-out of your receipt with the due dates listed. It seems more efficient, but just isn't the same. I bet William will laugh one day when I tell him what it was like when I checked out books as a kid!
He got attached to a Dora the Explorer book, and I checked out a cooking book called 'A Homemade Life: Stories and recipes from my kitchen table' by Molly Wizenberg. So far, it's great! Each recipe in the book comes with a story - and I already want to make almost every one. I have 4 on the menu for this/next week.

We're Back...

I have certainly not lived up to the 'Everyday' title of our blog... as a friend recently put it, maybe I should change the title to 'Semi-annually with the Lukefahrs.' I'll try to be more frequent with updates... which may be a little easier now that I am a full time stay at home mom.

Yes, as of July 12 I have a new job that I love very much! It has been so fun to get to experience little everyday moments with WP... like eating breakfast together, going to the park, going to the pool in the evening, and even staying inside just because it's raining.

There is a great quote from Sandra Bullock in a recent People Magazine about her recent adoption of Louis that nicely sums up how I feel:
"Now that you've gone public, how will you balance motherhood with your career?"
"I don't know. All I know is that I want to be able to enjoy being a mom. Doing all the things moms get to do, outside in the sun, in the world. The career will have to wait for a bit. I don't want to step into that world until I can find what room I left my armor in. You need touch skin to be in this business."

6 months

William has turned 6 months! He has passed many milestones since my last post (I guess that happens in 2 months...)

• He had his first Christmas


• He cut his first tooth! It's peaking through on the lower right side of his mouth - just one.


• He sits up! As with many milestones, it's hard to pinpoint when he first sat up, but it started around his 6 month b-day. And I know for sure that he can sit up on his own now (although I still stay nearby to catch him... he usually only makes it about 10-15 seconds without teetering!) He is still completely uninterested in rolling over. He has yet to do so on his own initiative, without prodding from me! Maybe we will be skipping that milestone - according to William's Lollie, Philip didn't roll over either!


• He says "da da da". He doesn't know that he is saying it, but this is one of the first syllables he has babbled that sounds like a word - and what a special one! The other babble of his that sounds like a word is "hi"... he is like a little parrot, and usually responds to a "hi" with a hi-like babble!
  

As of Jan 21, William has a new potential wife! Zoe Mae was born and is happy and healthy - praise God! And as of yesterday, I am now 28 (56 times older than William). I had the perfect birthday. Just having William would've made the day great, but Philip also took me to lunch and dinner. He brought me roses and a new dress. And, William's Lollie and his Mimi and Papa came over to visit. What a special day!

Here he is with Santa, with his favorite Christmas present (the wrapping paper), and in his blue footies - the way I always want to remember my baby boy!

School

Here is the little man at school with his wonderful, wonderful teachers. That's him in the middle of the group picture... with his fist in mouth (as usual). He will be four months old on Tuesday - hard to believe how fast he has grown up. He already looks like a little boy to me.

Elizabeth, I know how you feel - where has my newborn gone?

Survey!

So, I stole this idea from Annie's blog - thanks, Annie. I thought this was a cute survey... and I never do these. So, here goes:

1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while blogging?
Some of my favorite snacks/indulgences are Ben & Jerry’s, Pringles, and Edamame – not limited to ‘while blogging.’
2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without?
My husband. If he doesn’t count as a thing, food.
3. Beach, Mountains, or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice?
Farm? Why is farm even on this list? Mountains – too cold. Definitely beach.
4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty?
Vacuuming. (This was a tough one – I hate everything about cleaning the house – except the clean house that comes as a result of it).
5. Who do people say you remind them of?
It’s always someone I don’t know. “You remind me of my friend’s cousin so-and-so.” And then, they will look at their friend and say, “Doesn’t she look like so-and-so.” And the friend will say, “Oh, YES!” I never know if I should be flattered or insulted.
6. Prefer parties and socializing or staying home with the fam?
Staying home with the fam (shocker) … especially with my new baby boy!
7. What's your all time favorite movie?
Of all time: The Shawshank Redemption. Other favorites: Father of the Bride, Meet Joe Black, Family Man, Love Actually, and Stranger than Fiction.
8. Do you sleep in your make-up or remove it like a good little girl every night?
I remove it – love that clean face feeling.
9. Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you've never had a chance to learn? What is it?
I have always wanted to learn to speak another language fluently.
10. What's one strange thing you're really good at?
Picking which security line will move fastest at the airport.
11. What first attracted you to your spouse?
How handsome he is… and that he worked at Pine Cove.
12. What is something you love to smell?
Fresh cut grass and my baby. I think Heaven will smell like a combination of the two. Annie – I also think I have a super-sense of smell. Maybe I should add ‘smelling’ to #10.
13. Tell something about you that you know irritates people.
I’m not good at making – or even returning – phone calls!
14. When you have extra money, what's the first thing you think to do with it?
Buy William something fun.
15. Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest? Usually silent. Philip makes me laugh!
16. Where is your favorite place to shop?
HEB, Banana Republic, Loehmans, and…. Nutcracker Market!
17. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time?
Work out.
18. Are you a big spender or frugal?
Depends on the day. Usually frugal.
19. Who is your favorite character of all time? (from a movie or a book, can't be real)
I have always liked Jane in Pride & Prejudice (all Jane Austen characters for that matter. Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth….) I also love Hugh Grant’s character in Notting Hill and Tina Fey as Liz Lemmon in 30 Rock.
20. Would you want to be famous?
No way. I wouldn’t mind doing something to deserve fame. Like write an amazing book, or inventing something incredible, or saving someone’s life. But being famous for the sake of being famous would be terrible.

My Little Pumpkin

What a great Halloween! My little pumpkin looked so precious! As his Pops said, "He's his Mommy's little doll..." And he was. This will probably be the one and only year I get to pick his Halloween costume, so I took full advantage. Plus, as a friend recently suggested, being a pumpkin for Halloween is like a right of passage.

William was pretty happy the whole day, but didn't quite know what to think about leaning against a pumpkin while 7 people oohed and aahed over him. He kept looking at me as if to say "Is this Ok? Should I cry?" Both of our families spent the day with us. It was such a good Halloween that nothing could spoil it...

...Not even the fact that we only got three groups of Trick-or-Treaters (wah-wah.) And not even the PLETHORA of creepy Halloween decorations in people's yards throughout our neighborhood. Not even the fact that I ate the entire contents of the first round of (chocolate) Halloween candy I bought, and had to buy more (non-chocolate) the day before Halloween.

In other Halloween news, I learned this year that October 31 is also the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the church, which began the protestant reformation. Thanks to William's school, Memorial Lutheran School, for the tidbit!