10 months of "light" in our lives

Joyful. Friendly. Enthusiastic.

Only a few words to describe this chunky 10 month old.

She wakes up with a go-getter attitude and big grin to accommodate that.

We prayed daily for a little one full of joy, and our prayers were answered a hundred times more than what we could have ever imagined.

This month was the first time I ever left Lux in someone else's care. I went to MOPS and left her in the nursery, and was super nervous about doing so prior to it. But when I got there, her eyes were huge and she was already grinning as she eyed all the toys that should was just waiting to get her hands on.

I kept making excuses to check on her...and each time, she was fine. (i peeked through the window, and she caught me, and gave me this HUGE grin, started slapping the other kids tray, as if to say, "hey, hey look! it's my mom! its my mom!!!")

 Lux face times family pretty often, almost everyday-its our only way that she can get to know her family members that all live far away. She always shows offf her new skills, her toothy grins, and whatever the toy of the day is.

Here she is talking to her Grandma (Ryan's mom) who played peek a boo with a bunny that she was sending Lux for Easter. Lux was enthralled. She couldn't keep her eyes off the screen!

 Lux and I have our snuggle time during her bottle feedings...

I don't know when we'll ever get to snuggle once she's done taking bottles, because she's just. that. busy.

nobody got time to sit still!
At least, that's what she thinks.

 Lux has a super special spot in her heart for her daddy.

Watching those two together could make any grumpy day, the best day ever.

Daddy has taught Lux so many things, and whenever he's home, she MUST be right near him or have his attention somehow. 

Daddy teaches Lux all the important stuff: How to play with cars, how to splash really wildly in the bathtub, blow raspberries, and click her tongue.  and wouldn't you know it, she's SUPER good at imitating us.
I think daddy is the reason she's so brave and fearless. 

Lux got a super cool "just because" gift from her Lola and Lolo and its quickly become one of her favorite things to play with. She pushes it around, climbs over it, into it, out of it...its the toy that holds her attention best these days! She and daddy had a wild time the first time we put the car together:)

(she watched me while eating her lunch, and alexio watched her...very closely.)

Another fun part of the month was her determination to eat with a fork and spoon...

she refused to swallow her food unless she was the one that put it in her mouth.

Currently, we're helping her stab food with her fork and then she puts it in her mouth, and then claps for herself and does a happy wave dance. The spoon is more of a challenge, but i try to sneak extra bits of food in her mouth with it.

She also learned how to drink from a straw...by stealing my cup and sucking water out:). 

She was soaking wet by the end of her experiment with the straw, but she had so much fun, and backwashed a ton into the cup. Now she can drink from the straw without so much of it leaking out:)

This girl is dauntless. fearless. and super strong.

I have a tub pic of her, and she looks RIPPED in it. 

Seriously. I want my kid's abs. 

anyways, she loves to climb, and balance on whatever she can. 

I see a lot of me in her when she does this, because, if you ask my family, I climbed everything in the house! (and broke my arm like three times doing it!)

(this one cracks me up. She was beyond thrilled to climb on top of this box, but then realized she was stuck and started wailing for help to get down. I let her figure it out, and she did;))

We had a passover night at church and Lux and her buddy, Helen, ran around as fast as they both could go. It was HILARIOUS watching Lux. She was screaming out of pure delight and thrill as Helen pushed her around. No one had every made Lux laugh that hard besides Daddy, so he and I were cracking up. She slept so hard that night!:) 

Oh, and this month she got her top front teeth. 

She proudly ate an apple by chomping into it with those new pearly whites. 

My dear Lux,

Your daddy and I couldn't be more in love with you, with your spirit, with your spunk, and with your attitude. Your energy and joy fill us with happiness and thankfulness that you are ours. Where did you even get your fun loving spunkiness from?? You make us laugh so hard, your joy is contagious, and your friendliness makes everyone stop, say hello, and talk to you. We're blown away with how confident you are and we pray that one day you will come to know an even greater confidence in Christ. We pray for your heart, that your energy and happiness will be used to reach out to others for Christ. You already are following by example, by your imitations after us, especially after your daddy, and we pray that we'll continue to strive for excellence in Christ as we see you watching and looking to us as an example. We love you little girl. 

Love, Mommy and Daddy