Fruity eyebrows and oatmeal earlobes...

We've been making lots of messes here at the Summers household lately. Luke is trying his hand, (and wrists, and elbows, and eyebrows, and ears...) at feeding himself more. One of his favorite breakfasts is a toaster waffle (organic multigrain, of course...this kid eats better than anyone else in the house,) smeared with "spreadable fruit" and/or applesauce.He's also been practicing using a spoon. I got this great bowl with a non-slip bottom that doesn't tip over very easily and a good spoon that seems to be easier for him to use. He did pretty good for the first "real" attempt. (I've let him play around with a spoon and food a little before.) One of the things I really have to get over is the mess. I just need to let him do it himself without worrying about how messy he's getting, or where the oatmeal is actually going. I constantly have to fight the urge to help, or clean up a dollop here and a splatter there.
Ok, well he still hasn't quite grasped that the spoon is typically only used from one end...He doesn't quite get the whole "scooping" idea yet either. He likes to just whack at it with the spoon. It makes some great squishy, messy boy-entertaining noises.He continues to walk a few steps here and there, but I have yet to catch it on film, (photo or video.) *Sigh*

He sure is learning all sorts of new things lately. He's babbling with more different sounds like "up", "dat", "dee" and "bop". He may be starting to understand "up", too. Everytime he says it, I repeat it back to him and show him what "up" means by lifting his arms "up" and "down" or by lifting him up and down the way he likes, (I lift him up high then quickly drop him back down so it feels like he's falling. It usually brings out the giggles.) :o)

More pics and blogs to follow shortly, (hopefully...) :o)

First steps!!!!!...and cheerio bombs

Lukas took his first steps yesterday!!!! He actually took a couple shaky steps a few times. He'll hold onto a cupboard or coffee table and then let go and take a few steps on his own. I'll hopefully get some pictures of his attempts soon.

Until then, here are some shots of his latest "hobby", dropping food off the side of his highchair. (If you click on the picture to see it larger, you can see him getting ready to let a cheerio fly.) He doesn't even watch while he does it, he just drops it over the side and listens for the sound it makes when it hits. The other day he was even giggling every time he would hear the tap-tap of a cheerio bouncing off the mat under his chair. (If you look to his left, you can also see his breakfast of waffle lying on the floor. But waffle makes a much different sound as it plops to the ground...not as satisfying as the cheerios.)
Our little cheerio-bomber, so pleased with himself...

First birthday party

We had Luke's 1st birthday party on Sunday. I made him his first birthday cake, a little healthier version of a carrot cake. Ok, call me a boring mom, but I didn't want to deal with a little guy hyped up on sugar.
He loved to play with it at first...

He especially liked to smack at the cake and splatter icing all over...Then he realized that it actually tasted pretty good...After cake, I took him in to clean the icing off and get him in some clean clothes and it was time for presents. He opened his first present all by himself, probably because it was a box with a lid that opened like one of his favorite cupboards. :o)
After the party when looking at the pictures, I wish I would have gotten shots of more of the guests. Here he is with Grammie Candy...This is Luke's little friend, Tim. He's about 3 months younger than Lukas, but already wearing larger clothes! Look at the two boys together... I wouldn't be surprised if Tim was taller, too!
Here's Luke's little friend, Abby, making a funny face. She had a good time playing with some of Luke's new toys.Daddy tossing the birthday boy to get some good giggles...All in all, it was a whirlwind, (and probably not much fun for some of the adults,) but it was nice to see everyone and so nice for everyone to come.

Happy Birthday Lukas!!!

Wow! My baby boy is 1 year old! At one year he is:
- Sooooo close to walking, taking a step here and there almost on his own,
- almost weaned onto cow's milk (I'm almost done with my dairy duties!! This time around, anyway,)
- starting to jabber with more different sounds,
- drinking from either a baby bottle, cup (with no lid) or plastic water bottle, but NO sippy cups, (who knows why),
- still loves anything that opens and closes; cupboards, doors, books, the fridge, mommy's locket...
- or anything that makes music or sound
- a picky eater but starting to tolerate more table foods, fruit is a favorite

We have a party planned this weekend, but I couldn't let the day go by without some special fun so we let him "open" a couple of gifts he's gotten already. A package arrived from Germany just in time for his birthday from his "big brother Nick" and family (our exchange student from '06-'07). Danke Behnke familie! They gave him a cute outfit and a little tractor book in German, (which I will try to read to him correctly, auf Deutsch, without sounding like a 1st grader.)

He loves to play the piano at his babysitters house, so for his birthday she got him his very own "first piano". It's like the old xylophone toys, but instead of just the little plastic sticks to hit the bars with, there are keys too. He loved playing it right away, while it was still in the box. :o) (Now let's hope he gets his musical talents from his mama's side...)


Even Rainer couldn't resist jammin' out some, um... tunes. (As I was saying about the musical talent...)
I suppose in this picture he looks a little evil, but I actually caught him in mid-squeal. All of a sudden when he's in his high chair, or car seat, or laying on the changing table (if he's in a good mood), he'll take a quick, deep breath in (sounding like someone just poured cold water down his back) and flap his arms around while making these breathy excited sounds, usually ending in a squeal. This is the best I've ever caught on camera and it makes me smile when I see it. :o)At one year, he now has 5 teeth; two on the bottom and 3 on the top. We're still waiting for his left upper front tooth but his right upper front and the next tooth on each side are already coming in. You can see them a little if you look reeeally closely in this picture...


Taking after his Grandpa Gratton, here he is belting out a tune...Something Warren Barfield, perhaps?Ok, ok... he's actually just perfecting one of his favorite, shrieky "boy noises", but a mom can dream...

If Warren Barfield comes to your area, don't miss it!!

I finally got to see Warren Barfield, live! I even got to meet him, get a picture and have him sign my ticket! My step-mom, Candy and I had a great time, great seats, and enjoyed some GREAT music, (while my mom watched Lukas since Rainer was sleeping and it was in the middle of his "night". THANKS MOM!!) In my humble opinion, a truly talented musician sounds great in person, not just on their albums. (I've been to a few disappointing concerts where it's obvious most of the talent comes from some sort of magic worked in the studio.) But Warren Barfield is blessed with God-given talent to the core, and I'm hoping someday he'll do some sort of a "live" album because I love the way he sounds with just a mike and his guitar, or when he's just "winging it". I'd be spoiled rotten if he played regularly at a local coffee shop or something. He's only going to get bigger and bigger though, I'm sure, and I'll be lucky to get the great seats I did at his next concert . I can't wait! I got there early enough for the sound check. (When am I ever early for anything?!?)


This was taken from our great seats! Gotta love small town county fairs. :o)

First ear infection...

Luke had been fighting a cold that seemed to just be getting worse and had been going on for at least a week, so I took last Monday off work to take him to the Dr.'s. When he woke up that day, though, he seemed to be doing much better. I thought about canceling the appointment, but decided to take him in anyway to make sure I was doing everything right since this was his first lengthy cold. I snapped some pictures of my fairly happy baby boy while we were waiting for the Dr. to come in and tell me that my son was just fine and only had a stuffy nose. (Lukas loves the crinkly paper on the exam table and thinks it's hilarious to drop things on it and make all sorts of noise with it.) But sure enough, after just a few minutes the Dr. told me he in fact had an ear infection! My poor little guy. :o( He's been such a trooper though, and has been a lot happier than I thought he'd be through the whole thing. That's my strong little man!

We're going greener...

I know this is probably not exciting to anyone else but me, but we have started to reap the rewards of our first attempt at a home garden! The other night we had a full salad of goodies entirely from our little garden, and it was wonderful. Mmmmm... :o) Next year we're digging in with raised beds and succession planting to enjoy more fresh goodies, longer.

(Psssst!...Don't tell Rainer that this is technically "organic". He'll think we've turned into liberals!)

My steering wheel is my drum set...

You know that embarrassing moment when you're at a stop light and you realize the people in the car nearby are laughing at you because they see you rocking out like an epileptic mime? For me, that was the intersection of Cooper Point and Black Lake Blvd. listening to Warren Barfield's "My Heart Goes Out". That was at least a few years ago, and now I'm going to see Warren Barfield!! Live!! Front row seats!! About a week from now I will be enjoying: (click on the links for a sampling...)

"Shadow"

"Love Is Not A Fight"

"The Singer Not The Song"

"My Heart Goes Out"

"Come Alive"

"Saved"

And my favorite, "Unleashed"

Wanna come with me? Let me know and I'll be glad to go pick up some more tickets tomorrow afternoon! The concert is next Sunday, August 10th, 2:00 pm at the Grays Harbor County Fair in Elma. Praise God and rock on!