Cheeseball

Luke hamming it up for his first year photo shoot. Tracy of tracy lynn photography loved him!

And who could blame her?

N'awlins

A few weeks ago Luke and I took advantage of Kenny's government-sponsored trip to New Orleans to tag along. While Kenny slaved away in this lovely building...

Luke and I walked the streets, trying its various delicacies. Because the best vacations revolve around food. 

Luke tried (and loved) a Muffaletta from Central Grocery, beignets from Cafe du Monde, crawfish from Deannie's, crab from Gallatoire's, and pralines from Southern Candy Makers and Leah's. He also sampled some jambalaya, gumbo, sea scallops, foie gras and his first (thirty or so) french fries. 

He took his first ferry ride...

squawked the entire way through the WWII museum (which Kenny was able to join us for)...

walked along Bourbon street (and was refused from bars--who knew carding meant obviously underage people as well)...

and heard some jazz.

USMNT

*America's reaction to the US beating Ghana 2-1 in a fantastic nail-biter with a last-minute corner kick:

Luke's reaction after his parents yelled/screamed "goal" in their excitement:

Or perhaps he was rooting for Ghana.

06/15

Luke...

I am your father.

Happy Fathers' Day.

The Cake-Smash

Luke completely decimated his first birthday cake like a pro. 

He stuck his face into it, ripped off large chunks, threw it all over the floor, and completely cleared off his tray by shoving the remnants down under his legs and squishing around in the mess. 

Here is a little tidbit from the end. Forgive the peanut gallery (myself included) and the odd camera angle. Still...

best cakesmash ever. 

Presents galore!

As far as we can tell, Luke has a rather complicated relationship with presents. 

He enjoys ripping the paper--the sounds, the destructive aspect of it, how it just keeps coming--but unfortunately for the rest of us, Luke is blessed with a wonderful feeling of contentment and is perfectly happy with just one present. Well, not even the present, just a little slip of wrapping paper. He also hasn't quite grasped the concept that boxes covered in brightly colored paper mean toys and clothes. So after catching a glimpse of his present (or successfully ripping off a piece of paper) and playing serenely for a few minutes, daddy would have to hide said present or piece of paper so he would focus on the rest of his wrapped ones.

Every. Single. Time. 

And Luke is not easily deceived, so it took quite a bit of effort to keep them all hidden. By the end of the stack we were having to open the gifts for him and try our best to keep him entertained and happy. When all of his presents reappeared after everything was open he was overjoyed!

He loved everything. Thanks to all of our wonderful friends and family members for making his birthday a happy one!

It's my (first) party!

As far as we can tell, Luke enjoyed his birthday.

We had a very small little gathering the Saturday before with a few of our and Luke's friends and Mere Mere and Opa D. Luke was a very gracious host--he smiled for all of his guests, played nicely with the other kids, ate some pizza, kept his birthday hat on the entire time, then happily destroyed a small cupcake for everyone's amusement. 

More fun to come!