10 Months

This little guy is growing way too fast. He is becoming so independent and wants to do everything for himself.

Luke at 10 Months:

• He is eating all kinds of finger foods. He enjoys these more since it something he can do for himself. It is pretty messy though.
• In true boy fashion he is into balls and things with wheels. He likes to throw a ball and then crawl to it and then repeat. He also likes to push things around the house that have wheels.
• One of his favorite games is to be chased around the house. He crawls really fast and then will stop and look back to see if you are following him. If you are, he gets really excited, squeals, and flaps his arms.
• He is still pulling up and cruising around all of the furniture. He can stand on his own and a couple of times he has been able to get into the standing position without pulling up. I don't think it will be much longer and he will be walking.
• He still hasn't said any words. I try not to compare him to other children but the few babies I know that are 10 months have said their first word. One day he said bye-bye to someone but he didn't know what it meant he was just repeating what she said. Hmmm, does this count as his first word?
• His favorite book is called Funny Farm. Each page is a different baby dressed in an animal costume and it reads, "What does the funny duck say? Quack." He giggles every time you make the animal noise.
• He isn't too interested in his toys. He would rather be in the kitchen cabinets, closets, drawers, etc. He is still into throwing everything out of drawers and cabinets. He is also obsessed with holding the remote. He has his own remote but he wants the one that works. We have about one fit a day that relates to him wanting the remote and me not letting him have it. We also have to keep bathroom doors shut or we will find him playing in the toilet water (don't worry he immediately gets his hands washed).
• He just went through a one week phase where he would scream for about 10 minutes each time you put him down to sleep. Thankfully, we are past that. It was wearing me out and several times it ended with me rocking him to sleep (oh darn!). Otherwise, he has become an excellent sleeper and napper.
• He is still not a fan of diaper changes. Just about the only thing that keeps him calm when I change his diaper is for me to sing to him. His favorite is I'm in the Lord's Army.
• He loves, loves, loves batth time!
• He still only has 2 teeth but has 4 on the top that look like they could bust through any day now. I'm sure he will let us know of their arrival at 2 am ;)

We are so in love with Luke. He fills our days with so much joy and we couldn't be any more blessed to call him our son!

Paci Mania

About a month ago I mentioned to Derek that we should consider taking Luke's pacifier away.  At that point he really only used it to fall asleep.  I figured since he didn't really have an attachment to it he wouldn't even notice.  Well, I never did it and I should have.  Now if he finds one he pops it straight into his mouth and sometimes he even whines for it.  This morning he found four pacis under his crib and pulled them all out.  As he was playing in his room he was rotating through each one.  I think I better make a point to only give it to him at naptime and bedtime. 

One in his mouth and one in his hand.

Switching them out.

Raise your hand

This is Luke's new "thing."  He started a few days ago raising his arm and then giggling.  We aren't sure what he is doing but he thinks it is hysterical.  He will also copy us if we raise our hands. 

Notice the silly faces that accompany it:

Yes, I realize he is in Christmas PJ's.  He is already wearing 12-18 month pajamas and so we had to move up to the pajamas we had stored away for this fall/winter.

Free Route 44

Right before summer my friend Megan introduced me to the diet vanilla coke from sonic. It is 44 ounces of deliciousness.



We quickly discovered that on the bottom of every Sonic receipt there is a phone number to a survey which provides you with a code for a free route 44. The thing is, even when you order a free one, you get a receipt. So all summer long I have gotten free diet vanilla cokes!

So I snort a little when I laugh.

I don't have time to stop and capture Luke's precious little moments as much as I would like.  Most of my time is spent chasing him around the house. Even though our house is baby-proofed, he still seems to find his way past these barriers we've created and sometimes even into places we can't even dream of. For example, today, he turned his clothes hamper on it's side, threw the dirty clothes out, and climbed inside....but I digress. Tonight Derek and I went to the Jones' house after church to eat pizza and hang out with our Wednesday night crew on a Sunday night.  While waiting in the car for the pizza I stopped just long enough to capture a glimpse of what we experience here at the Irons' house daily. This little guy is so much fun and extremely silly. I hope you enjoy:

The reason Luke is looking away from me in this one is becuase he is watching himself in the mirror.

Please notice the snort in this one.  Sad to say, he gets this from me ;)

Center Stage

Our great friend, Candace Nelson, was the photographer at Daryl and Haley's wedding. She sent us this picture of Luke and I just had to share. It's like he is in the spotlight:



Very fitting for his little personality!

Shake it like a Polaroid

College

In October of 2001, as a sophomore in college, I surrendered my life to Jesus.  Because of Him, I have never been the same.  I grew up attending church a couple of times a year but never really knew what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus.  If you had asked me, I would have been certain that I was going to heaven simply because I had heard the gospel and believed that Jesus was God's son and that he died for our sins.  I had false hope in my eternity because I had never repented of my sins and surrendered my life to living for His glory.  One Fall night in my little college house on 12th Street in Tuscaloosa the Lord moved in my heart.  I heard the Spirit of the Lord say to me, "Daughter, it is time to come home."  It was right there in the quiet of my room that I fell to my knees and asked for forgiveness for denying him for so long.  Immediately, I was filled with the Holy Spirit and the desires I had for my life changed from that of selfish gain to living for His righteousness and glory.  I had not been to church in a long time and did not even own a Bible but I was as certain as ever that going forward my life would be different.  Not because of anything I had done but because of everything He had done.

For this reason, I have a passion to work with college students.  As a student, I was a part of the college ministry at FBC Tuscaloosa where Tim and Shelley Simpson pour their lives into college students.  I grew and matured in my walk with Christ because of their faithfulness to lead college students. 

Derek and I will have the privilege to do the same here in Troy.  Starting this week we will be working with the college ministry, specifically, teaching the College Sunday School class.  We are so excited about the Lord using us!  It is our prayer that he would use us in radical ways to bring the lost into the Kingdom of Heaven so that He will be glorified.  Please pray for the 7,000 college students at Troy University.  We can not wait to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of these students!!!

Baby Dedication

We had several things going on at church yesterday and one of those was Luke's baby dedication. It was such a sweet time.  I also want to mention here that I am so thankful for a church and pastor who's deepest desire is for the lost to come to know Christ and for God to be glorified in everything we say and do. 

Dear Father in Heaven

On this day, August 15, 2010

We ask You to set apart our beloved

Luke Michael Irons

To Your great glory.

Grant him a heart to love You,

To love Your Word,

And to love Your people.

With grateful hearts

For this precious gift of life,

We pray in Jesus' Name,

Amen.

Blessed is he who has believed that what the Lord has said to him will be accomplished! Luke 1:45

Our pastor, Luke Lane, and us before church

Dedicating Luke to the Lord

Grana and Uncle Deron came too!

Luke's new Bible from our church

We are so thankful for all of those in our lives who are praying for us and Luke as we walk this journey of parenthood.  Our deepest and sole desire is that Luke would know the Lord. 

What do you think?...Take 2

A few weeks ago I posted the side by side of Derek and Luke at 8 months.  Here goes the side by side of me and Luke at 9 months. 

Luke 9 Months

Leslie 9 Months

Wild Man Luke

We discovered a few months ago that Luke is a wild man when he sleeps. He is all over the crib. This particular nap ended in a mohawk. 

Haley soon-to-be Irons

Saturday we drove to Birmingham for the day in order for me to attend Haley's Bridesmaids Luncheon. Meanwhile, the boys were busy moving Daryl and Haley's stuff to their new apartment. I can't believe the wedding is Saturday!!! It seems like Haley has been a part of the family for as long as I have. The difference is Derek and I were out of college when we started dating and Daryl and Haley were freshman in college. I remember meeting her around the time Derek and I got engaged and she is such a beautiful, sweet girl who compliments Daryl's mild-mannered personality. She is not only incredibly beautiful on the outside but she also radiates a beautiful love for Christ. I'm beyond excited to see my sister by marriage and in Christ as a radiant bride THIS Saturday.