Uh Oh

Luke had his first real injury a few weeks ago. I say "real", but luckily it did not involve emergency rooms or large amounts of blood. The injury has already faded, as has most of my guilt regarding the situation. I now feel comfortable sharing.

So, the day started like any other. Happy baby, lots of smiles, food throwing at breakfast; you know, the usual morning. However, he was unusually crazy and destructive with his toys. Then he pulled the garbage can down on himself. I had just dumped the garbage and the combination of empty can and crazy baby resulted in a big crash. This did not cause the injury, but it was foreshadowing for what was to come. After picking up the the little monster and redirecting him onto a new path of destruction, I immediately looked at our wooden IKEA bar stools. They are literally the last pieces of un-baby-proofed items in our place. (Along with the garbage can, I guess.) Matt and I tried to tether them to the wall or find some way of making them safe, but we had been unsuccessful to this point. So, of course, this is where Luke wants to spend all his time. We are just very careful to watch him and hold onto the stools when he's playing over there.

On this particular morning, Matt pulled out the video camera to capture something cute Luke was doing. He left it out when he went to work so I could try to get some video during the day. Wouldn't you know it, Luke decided to do something video worthy in front of our arm chair. I turned my back to grab the camera, turned it on, realized it was on playback and switched it to record; in the 6 seconds that took, Luke crawled the 8 feet from the chair of cuteness to the bar stools of death and pulled BOTH of them down on him. On his head to be specific.

I don't think I have ever moved so quickly. I just remember picking one of the stools off of his little body and telling myself to stay calm while wondering how quickly I could drive to the emergency room. I won't dwell on the next part of the story because it makes me feel bad, but Luke really only cried for a few minutes and I realized that there was no immediate brain damage and I calmed down enough to call Matt. Of course, as soon as I heard his voice I started to cry. (What a silly reaction. How did evolution allow that one to pass through?) I thought for sure he was going to have a shiner, but it ended up just leaving a bruise above his left eye. I tried to document the injury, but the child would not stop playing and hold still for two seconds. I also took this as a good sign.

So I had to get sneaky and take pictures when he was occupied.

Needless to say, the stools are now in storage.

So, there it is. One down and I'm sure a million to go. Would it be strange if I just put him in a helmet all the time?

Sac Town, Day 1-3

Day 1 included a delayed flight but just the best baby in the world. We chilled at the airport for a long time and I managed to keep him awake so he slept nearly the whole flight.

Day 2 (through 3) opened with an extra-needy Luke, which I mistook for him just extra-loving his mommy. In reality, daddy's food poisoning last weekend may have been a little flu bug that Luke brought with him as a carry on. Sorry to all those on flight 2378 from SNA to SMF. He didn't want to eat all day and then started vomiting at about 6:30pm. Then there was projectile vomiting at about 7:15pm. Then there was a third round at about 7:30pm. Then he passed out. I had a very nervous night that included a bottle of water and lots of walking and rocking from around 1-3am, but he managed to keep most of his water down. When we woke up at 6:45 he had 9 oz of water. Seriously, 9 oz. And still, very little wetness in the diaper. Apparently he needed it. Poor baby. He doesn't want to eat much today, but he did manage a whole piece of toast with breakfast. The kid loves toast.

BUT...2 very exciting things happened before the puking began. Thing 1 is that Luke did his first spontaneous wave at a stranger in the grocery store. So sweet! And as he's laughing about the wave I see that he has a 3rd tooth breaking through up top! What an adventure at the grocery store! I'm sure that teething wasn't helping the sick situation, but when it rains, it pours, I guess.

So now we are hoping that all goes well the rest of the day and tonight. We are supposed to go cut down the Christmas tree tomorrow and eat pumpkin doughnuts (with Nicole's recipe!!) and decorate and have family fun, but only if the little man is up for it. He is happy and playful and cuddly, but I can tell he's not 100%. Sick baby makes me sad.

Also, big thank-yous to the Movo's and my fantastic mom and family who kept me very calm about the whole "Oh my gosh that is so much puke coming out of my child!" situation. I guess when you have kids you just get used to seeing them throw up sometimes. Awesome.

I hope all is well with everyone. I will post pics when i get back to HB. Merry Christmas Eve, Eve!

Adventures in Eating

Luke is learning to feed himself real food, instead of just using his mesh bag for everything. (But seriously, those mesh bags are amazing and have totally spoiled me. He loves being able to feed himself and it gives me a chance to do other things in the kitchen while he's eating. Plus, now I'm nervous and hover-y when he eats because I'm afraid he's going to choke on everything, which he usually does but then coughs it out. In short, get the bags.) I picked up some little puffs to work on his eating skills, and cut them in half at the suggestion of my friend Nicole. Good call because these things don't immediately melt and I would have been a crazy person until figuring out for myself to just cut them in half, so it saved me from freaking out and it saved Luke from having to watch it. Can you say run on sentence I know I can.


So as I watch Luke try to figure out how to work that little thumb and pointer finger it's all I can do to keep myself from just putting the darn puff in his mouth. I want him to learn, but I also want him to finish a meal in less than an hour. So I decide to demonstrate for him. "Lukie, put your fingers like this," I say, demonstrating the skill and expecting the normal response of sweet doe eyes and charming grin with a head tilt. Instead, Luke uses his pointer and thumb and picks up the puff. "Holy crap!" I think, but manage to say, "Good buddy! Now put it in your mouth," followed again by a demonstration. And my freakin' genius child puts the puff in his mouth. So, he's brilliant, right? I'm thinking to myself that my child just learned to eat and now meal times will be so much easier. Think of all the things he's ready to eat! Plus, he's obviously brilliant with those kinds of observation skills at less than eight months old. I must go write this in his baby book!


But I stop in time to see him attempt fruitlessly to pick up the second puff waiting on his tray. In frustration he grabs his mesh bag of pears and sticks them on his head, then throws them to the ground. Then there is crying that will only be silenced by a bottle, as the remaining puff sits quietly alone on the otherwise empty tray. Sigh.


Reality is way less fun than crazy mom land. Maybe he'll learn to eat for real next week.

My Bipolar Baby

This morning Luke sneezed, then let out a little giggle. This is a normal reaction to sneezes and burps. A couple of seconds later we had a repeat performance, with the same result. Then, a third sneeze snuck out of him. This was too much to handle and he erupted in laughter. The laughter somehow caused him to whistle, a sound he has never made before, and apparently whistles are not funny. He looked at me, shocked, and immediately started to cry. Totally bipolar, but totally entertaining. Love me some Lukie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Matt and I just reminisced on last year's Thanksgiving and I wanted to share a sweet memory. After dinner we all went around and said what we were thankful for. Matt put his hand on my pregnant stomach and said he was thankful for me and the little guy in my belly. There were teary eyes and hand squeezes and it was a lovely moment that we played down out of embarrassment for being surrounded by so many people. But we remember. Who knew that I would end up with such a wonderful man? I'm a lucky lady.

I have so many things for which to be thankful this Thanksgiving:
Our lovely little Lukie who has made our life infinitely more special.
My incredible husband who is the best partner a girl could ask for.
A really special Mommy who is always there when I need a friend to talk to.
The health of all our family members.
Wonderful family and friends with whom to spend the day.

There are so many more things to mention (like Pequod's pizza) but I am also hoping to be thankful for the full night's sleep that Luke is going to let me have tonight, so I must go enjoy that (oh please please please please please).

I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Love and gobble-gobble,
Lisa (Luke's Mommy)

More Good Times in Illinois

We did more than just stay at Trump Towers and take our baby to dangerous heights, and that is what this post is about!


First of all, here is how our child looks all bundled up.



How cute is that hat? Thank you Nonni! He was surprisingly happy throughout the Chicago portion of the trip. (Edith -- Luke, like his mommy, enjoys seasons. Who knew?) He started taking naps again, which was a huge blessing. The best part is that he has continued taking naps since we've been home. Just a side note for parents who cross time zones with their babies, we kept him on CA time during the trip so we wouldn't have to readjust him when we got back home, and it totally worked. He didn't eat dinner until 8pm or go to bed until 10pm, but we had no problem getting back to normal when we got home. That may have been Matt's greatest idea ever.

Back to the trip. There is always lots of pizza eating involved in our Chicago trips, but this may have been our best showing, yet. Five days, four different pizzas. The first night was Joe's Pizza, a little place in Matt's home town, Wheeling. Then we headed to Chicago on day two and ate at Uno's.



Well, we actually ate at Due's. They have the same restaurant on each end of the block. Uno's was first and was so busy that they opened Due's. They are either very clever or super lazy with the names.

The next night Matt's friend Vince and his girlfriend, Erica, came and picked us up (both of them are fantastic and we would spend much more time with them if we lived in the same state) and took us to my new favorite pizza place, Pequod's. Bonus points to those of you who know what that name refers to. We met another of his buddies there, Ryan (10 toes), who is also fantastic. But the pizza was the big star. It has overtaken all other pizzas and moved its way to number one in my heart.

We had Giordano's the following night (with another high school buddy, Phil. He's a movie star in Hong Kong. Yeah, that's how we roll.) Giordano's is an old favorite, but refer to previous paragraph to see where my pizza loyalties lie.

Here is where I reflect on the fact that the four previous paragraphs are about pizza. This may explain why I have not lost all the baby weight. Hmm. Something to think about.

On Saturday we headed back to the 'burbs and Matt's parents house for a family dinner. There were aunts and cousins and brothers and nieces and nephews and friends. Lot's of people and lots of fun. The majority of the time was spent being entertained by Matt's great-niece and great-nephew (I think that is what their official title would be), Morgan and Nathan. Both are so sweet and so full of energy. They very much enjoy having their picture taken and then immediately seeing it on the camera. "Take my picture! Take my picture! Let me see! Let me see!" was pretty much all that was said for a good 20 minutes. Here are some of my faves.


Morgan can do a head spin. That is crazy to me. It also freaked me out a little bit to watch it, but impressive none-the-less.

Dynamic Duo

Crazy Flippy Legs

And break time. Luke even needed a drink after all that exercise.

Out of nowhere, Luke decided to begin the "Separation Anxiety" phase of his infancy during this trip. He now must be within arm's reach of either mommy or daddy at all times. It makes me tired but it's also very sweet. We got these pictures with Grandma before it set in and she was no longer allowed to hold or even touch him. Nice Grandson.

Then Luke decided he'd had enough of this picture taking and he wanted the camera for himself. He will crawl over anything that gets in his way, including daddy's face.

On Sunday we went to Matt's friend Edon's house and met his wife, Mel, and son, Logan. Matt and Edon have known each other since Kindergarten, so it was fun to see them together again with kids of their own.

Logan is a doll face.

Luke is also pretty darn cute in his tiger shirt and jeans.

We also met their dog, Gigi. Luke was intrigued.

The grown ups and their sons.

Luke does not like it when people try to force him to kiss things. He is his own baby and he answers to no one.

And sometimes Luke gets so sleepy that he falls asleep while eating in a sports bar during the Bears game.

OK. That's all I got. Great trip, great to be home, long post, Lisa out.

Willis Tower (Formerly Known as Sears Tower)

Matt loves this place. We have been there three times together. He took me there the first time he brought me to Chicago to meet his family, and we took my mom when she flew in with us for our Chicago engagement party, and now we went again because they installed a new feature called The Ledge. It is a section of the 107th floor that is entirely encased in glass. You can stand on The Ledge and see all around you and all the way down to the ground below. It was freaky.

Luke has no understanding of heights or plunging to your death or crazy accidents that happen at popular tourist attractions, so he had no concerns about crawling around out there. I had trouble letting go, but it made for a pretty great picture. And yes, this was followed by lots of baby wipes and Purell.

Luke and Matt showing off their bravery. Luke was more interested in Daddy than the photo op.

And we even got a family shot. So what if I'm holding on for dear life.

And I'll leave you all with a picture of my dreamy husband. I was right, back in the day. He is a catch.

Trump Tower is Swanky

Matt and I had a free night from hotels.com and decided to use it at Trump Tower during our Chicago trip. I mean, why wouldn't we? It's freakin' Trump Tower. Here's what it looks like from the outside.





It was swank. I took pictures of everything because I want to live there forever but cannot currently afford it as I don't have a job that pays money. It only pays in laughs and cuddles. I wish it paid in laughs and cuddles and money, but two out of three ain't bad.


Here are Luke and I enjoying the nighttime view.




And here is just the view.




And here is Luke enjoying the morning view in his jungle jammies. He's the cutest Johnson by far.




Here is the swanky bed,



Matt and Luke enjoying the swanky iPod docking station,




the swanky coffee maker (every variety of espresso that you might desire),





the swanky bathroom,





and even a swanky do not disturb sign.





And here is the swanky baby loving the time with Mommy and Daddy!




They had robes and a pillow menu and a choice of every newspaper you could imagine to be delivered in the morning. We were spoiled and it was fantastic. They also spoiled Luke with a stuffed animal and a rubber ducky, a package of baby essentials (wipes, shampoo, body wash, lotion, 401k planning forms, just seeing if you're paying attention), a backpack with kid stuff that was all to old for him, crib, bathtub, and high chair all in the room. It was super fun and we were sad to leave.

Our next hotel was the Westin on Michigan Ave. It was a really nice hotel and half the price of TT, but they didn't give us refreshing hot towels upon check-in and robes and slippers were not waiting in our room. Needless to say, it did not live up to our newly raised expectations. We did not take any pictures.


Also, I have decided that our future home (including the already designed in my head steam shower in the master bathroom) will only have Kohler faucets. No other faucet will do. I think that Kohler faucets must make water happy because water just feels better coming out of one.

I hope you all have the chance to visit Chicago and Mr. Trump's Tower. Oh, how I miss them so!