A Year in the Life of Luke Thomas Youngblood in the Laundry Basket

We have come to the end of the laundry basket growth perspective photos with Luke.  I seriously cannot believe this series has come to an end.  Every month it seemed the 17th would roll around more quickly than the month prior.  And each time, he resisted being in the basket more until he was just standing near or holding onto the basket because I couldn't keep him inside.

Today, Jon and I decided to take the gate away from around the Christmas tree to see if he would stand in the basket in front of the tree.  Amazingly, he did well for long enough to get some great shots.  

I will do another post later about his birthday celebration, but for now--for the first time all in sequential order--here is:

 A Year in the Life of Luke Thomas Youngblood in the Laundry Basket

1 week old- December24, 2014

2 weeks old- December 31, 2014

4 weeks old- January 14, 2015

6 weeks old- January 28, 2015

2 months old- February 17, 2015

3 months old- March 17, 2015

4 months old- April 17, 2015

5 months old- May 17, 2015

6 months old- June 17, 2015

7 months old- September 17, 2015

8 months old- August 17, 2015

9 months old- September 17, 2015

10 months old- October 17, 2015

11 months- November 17, 2015

12 months old- December 17, 2015

First round of Christmas

Last night my parents came through town, so we had Christmas early with them last night.  The kids were super excited to get a few presents early!  I think this is great so they aren't overwhelmed with too much to play with all at once.

 Brilee was so excited about her large Beanie Boo that I couldn't get a good picture since she was squealing and jumping up and down and hugging it through the bag :)

 Lilly was super excited about her large Beanie Boo Unicorn also.

 They have been carrying them around non stop since opening them and at this very moment are doing school work while the Boos "watch" them.

 Sean got a plunking target to use with his bbgun.

 So, of course, he was out first thing this morning trying it out with his bb gun.  He got it for Christmas last year, and wasn't able to use it a whole lot at our previous house, but has plenty of room now with our acre property.

 He is one happy (almost!) 9 year old.  His birthday is on the 29th of this month, so he has everything all in one month.  Luke's birthday is tomorrow, so they can be sympathetic with one another and their December birthdays ;)

 We had a hard time getting Luke interested in opening his present.  He kept wanting to play with Jack's garden tools and the wrapping paper.

 He loves this spinning ball that has a suction cup to stick on his high chair tray.  Maybe now I can keep him in his seat longer after he finishes eating :)

 Grandpa with his mug with all the kids pictures on it.

 His yearly huge Snickers bar.

They had to leave out this morning, but will be back in town on Sean's birthday so spend longer with us then.  We had a nice short visit and the kids are excited for Luke's birthday tomorrow!  More pictures sure to come then!

Oops!  Forgot these pic of Jon with his ammo ;)

Little Oaks

The kids sang in the "Little Oaks" children's choir tonight at church for a service with wonderful carols and special music.  Who can't resist little kids singing?  Video is at the bottom.  I'm glad I recorded it during their practice, because I barely got to snap these photos during the actual service because I was wrangling a wiggly Luke.

Waxhaw Christmas Lights/Brownie Decorating Party/Day of the Dozens

What a great little city we live in!  It was a beautiful day with gorgeous weather, so we took advantage to take an evening stroll through downtown Waxhaw to view all the lights and decorations.  They offered free carriage rides, but we opted to just walk through the city.  The above picture is the view from the top of the train bridge.  My Google photos created a nice panoramic picture from 3 pictures I took from atop the bridge.

Luke moves in with Jack...

I took the long overdue plunge and moved Luke's crib into Jack's room... So now it's officially the "little boys' room."