iPhone

August 2, 2007 will go down in history as the third happiest day in Mark’s life. He bought an iPhone. I have mentioned before that he is slightly obsessed with all things Mac. When it was first announced in January that Apple would be releasing a phone this summer, Mark checked several DAILY websites for updates on the iPhone, listened to multiple podcasts about the iPhone and even went so far as to print out a paper model of the iPhone. After playing with his new iPhone for several hours on Thursday night, he finally came to bed and said, “I love it even more than I thought I would.” I am really happy for him. It is pretty cool.

Two weekends ago we attended my ten-year high school reunion for Kingwood High School. I figured it would be weird and awkward—and I was right!! Perhaps it was a self-fulfilling prophecy—but I did not enjoy my time there. All my old high school insecurities returned in full force. But I’m not sorry we went, because I think I would have always wondered about it if I hadn’t gone. The best part was that I got to spend quality time with my best friends from high school before the reunion and I rarely get to see them.

So it was worth it just to see them. Plus, I did see some people I hadn’t seen since high school, so that was fun. But you can only catch up so much at a reunion. I was so thankful I had Mark there to talk to and pretend like we were really engrossed in conversation so I didn’t feel like I should be mingling. It really reiterated my desire to find someplace (neighborhood, suburb) to live permanently, so Luke and our future child can really feel like they are from someplace. My friends have lived in Kingwood since early elementary school (at least) and they saw friends and people they have known since they were little. I moved there in ninth grade, so I really don’t have the history they have. I always say, when asked, that I am from Kingwood, but I really don’t feel like I am from anyplace. So, I want to put down roots somewhere so our kids can know they are from someplace and go to elementary school and high school with the same kids.

Luke is almost 11 months old. I can’t believe it! He is standing on his own quite a bit. He pretends like he needs something to hold on to, but really he can stand on his own just fine. He also stands on his tiptoes and can reach pretty high. I learned that the hard way when he managed to reach the cord for our iPod radio player that is on our kitchen counter. It fell on his forehead and made a bruise.

I still can’t believe he pulled it down. He went to swim lessons all last week and caught a cold somehow. So we didn’t get to go to the second week of lessons. He seemed to enjoy the lessons. He has learned to “jump” off the side of the pool when I count to three. He is so much fun. I just love his little personality.

Yard of the Month and Luke's New Tricks

All of Mark’s hard work finally paid off and we were awarded the Chandler Creek Yard of the Month award. In addition to the sign in our yard, we get a $25 giftcard to Home Depot. I am very proud of Mark. I feel very comfortable bragging about this because I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I have never done any yard work because a) I hate yard work and b) Mark is happier doing it himself. He truly has a talent for landscaping and just recently our good friends were telling him he should start a side business of landscaping. I am glad he is getting some recognition for his hard work in our yard. He really takes pride in the yard and it shows! (The picture above doesn’t do the yard justice, but I wanted to go ahead and post this before Mark could talk me out of it!)

Lily is just over one week old and is getting more adorable every day. She seems to be a really good baby and rarely cries (at least when I have been around). Shauna and Jeff seem to be adjusting to parenthood wonderfully. Don’t forget to check www.jeffandshauna.com and Shauna’s blog to see pictures and video of Lily.

Luke will be 10 months old on Monday! I can’t believe it. He is pulling up on anything and is into everything. He has been doing the traditional crawl a lot more lately, but scooting on his belly seems to be his preferred mode of transportation when he wants to get somewhere fast. He has another tooth now, which makes 2 teeth total. He has been trying all kinds of new foods. He really loved the refried beans and rice from Chuy’s the other day. We are having so much fun with him. He says, “uh-oh” and “up.” He also waves all the time. Click here to see some pictures from our summer so far, including Luke’s first Woodson family reunion and his first ever Belton Fourth of July celebration.

Born on the Fourth of July

Our precious niece, Lily Ruth Olson, was born yesterday, July 4, 2007. She is adorable. She weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and was 21 inches long. Shauna allowed me to be in the room throughout the whole delivery, and it was absolutely amazing seeing my niece being born. Somehow Shauna lucked out and only had to push about 15 minutes (compared to my hour plus of pushing). We are so happy Lily is here and perfect and healthy.

Luke is doing all kinds of new things these days but I will post about those later. I wanted Lily to have a post all to herself. I know Jeff and Shauna will post pictures and video on their website once they are home and settled. Click here to visit their site.

Here are pictures of me and Mark with our new niece:

Here are the proud grandparents of two adorable grandchildren. They went from zero grandchildren to two in less than 10 months. It’s been quite a year!

Milestones

Well, unfortunately, it has been about a month since our last update. I guess I haven’t really followed through with my plan of updating more frequently. Luke is keeping us very busy. He is crawling all over the house! He doesn’t do the traditional crawl yet, but he does an “army crawl” scooting on his belly. It gets him where he wants to go, which is usually to the plants we keep in the house, floor fans and any cords he can get his hands on. We seriously need to baby-proof the house, but I’m not sure we can get rid of all the potential hazards. Luke also got his first tooth! He is so cute with his one little tooth.

We have gone to several playgroups. Now that most of the babies are mobile, they interact more and it is so much fun to watch them play together. We have been to the pool a few times. Luke seems to like the water, unless it is too cold. Luke will be nine months old on June 16. He is trying to pull up on things. He hasn’t quite gotten it down yet, but I know he will soon. Luke’s little personality is really developing. He is really social and he is very animated. He makes all kinds of faces. Here is a picture of Luke when he crawled into the bottom part of his exersaucer:

June is such a busy m

onth for us. On Saturday, my beautiful Mom turns 50 years old! I hope I look as good as she does when I am 50, that’s for sure. Mark and David also celebrate a birthday this month, on the 11th. Sadly, Mark will be out of town for his birthday. He has a work conference in Colorado that week. When he gets back, we get to leave for Luke’s first ever Woodson family reunion. We are so excited to introduce him to a lot of my family that hasn’t seen him yet. Then the weekend after that, I am going to Birmingham for my good friend Tara’s wedding. I am really excited to go and see my best friends from high school. It will be the first time I am away from Luke for more than a few hours. I know I’ll make it through, but I sure will miss him.

Shauna and Jeff are all moved in to their new house in Kingsland. It is really cute. The nursery for Lily is adorable. I hope Shauna will post some pictures soon. I cannot believe my baby sister will be a mom in just a few weeks. I can’t wait to see precious little Lily. Shauna and I figured out that Luke and Lily will be in the same grade at school. That’s pretty neat.

I’ll close with a picture of Luke wearing the little British soccer uniform David brought back from England last July. We’ve been waiting for the day he could finally wear it.

Shave and a Haircut...Two Bits

Okay, so the shave may be 15 years away, but Luke did get his first haircut on Wednesday courtesy of Grammy. She did a great job! Here are a few photos at Grammy and Paw Paw’s house.