Luke is just getting settled

Rachel and Luke arrived at the hospital around 3am this morning. We were trying to get through the night and see our pediatrician today, but Luke could not sleep at all last night. By 2am Rachel was really worried and we started to pack his things up. He spent three days in the hospital with pnemonia this spring, so we know the drill.

Luke is on oxygen (not too much - just 1 liter) and getting checked by respiratory therapists every 4 hours. He is still working extra to breathe, and the constant runny nose just makes it harder.

Pray for rest for Luke and for us. Thanks so much to Mimi (Rachel's mom) for leaving work and watching Jack today. I'll update again tomorrow morning.

Back to the hospital

Rachel and Luke are on their way to the hospital. Jack and Luke both had ear infections on Friday (Jack one ear, Luke both ears) and have had really runny noses for almost two weeks. Jack is doing a lot better, but Luke has been worse as the day progressed - constant coughing and getting choked up on all the drainage. We had a call in to our pediatrician's nurse to get an appointment ASAP today (Wednesday), but Luke was never able to stop coughing, relax and go to sleep. The ER is pretty full tonight and we really wanted him to make it until we could see our doctor, but that didn't happen. Pray that Luke doesn't have to stay long tonight/this morning and that he recovers soon.

Luke Laughing At His Friend

Luke loves to laugh. He doesn't do it too much, but especially loves being around other babies. The boys' friend Walker spent the day with us and Luke loved trying to get his attention. Here is the video:

Quick update on the boys' weights

Mom always reminds me to post updates on the boys' weights. I never think about it - being with them every day, the little changes are hard to see. Rachel will see something new and gets disappointed because I'm not as excited (since I've already seen it - sometimes for a few days already).

We weighed them on their birthday and here are the numbers:
Jack is right at 19 pounds
Luke is 11 pounds, 7 ounces

Boys' First Birthday

It was a busy week last week! The Barnes grandparents were here for the week and the boys' first birthday was Thursday. We're just starting to look through all of the pictures - here are a few.

Luke playing and watching for his brother


When one starts playing, the other races to join in


Tuesday we went to baby story time at the library


Wednesday we went to a Star Wars party to celebrate the season premiere of The Clone Wars animated series on Cartoon Network


Wednesday night they opened their first presents - squishy, squeaky blocks and a helicopter

Busy Weekend

It's been a long week. Rachel has not been feeling well all week, so it's been very busy trying to keep up with the boys and everything else. She is at church this weekend for a women's conference. Here are a few pictures from last night.








Not enough time to post much more. Soon after Rachel gets home, I'll be headed to church to do the sound for this weekend's services. Afternoon rehearsals, Saturday evening service, then two more services Sunday morning makes for a fun but very long weekend.

Here are some recent videos. If you are reading this in email, click here to view the actual blog so you can watch them.

Jack and Luke watching one of their Praise Baby DVDs. At the end of the day when they are getting tired and grumpy, this will instantly quiet them and calm them down.




Luke and Jack watching and laughing at each other




Jack does NOT like being in the grass. He stands on one leg like a flamingo.

Lots Of New Pictures

We are loving the cooler weather - so glad that fall is here! I know it's been two weeks since an update, but we have been taking pictures and trying to keep up with everything the boys are doing. Jack seems to always get more attention and the most pictures, but Luke has been doing more and more lately.

Luke is still under 12 pounds, and every day he's eating as much as he can. He is still on high-calorie formula, but has never really liked trying baby food. Last week we found out why - Rachel had made some toast for breakfast and Luke kept reaching and grabbing for it! He has no interest in baby foods, but wants to skip right to table food. He likes pudding, ice cream, rice, meat and anything else we will let him try.



Luke has one bottom tooth breaking through, but it is very hard to see. He likes to make lots of noise, but keeps those lips tightly closed anytime you want to see inside. Jack has had two bottom teeth for a few weeks. His favorite thing to help his gums has been frozen pacifiers (his regular pacifiers chilled in the freezer). We keep a carrot for him in the refrigerator, and he likes chewing on it for a little while.



Luke is crawling around quite a bit now. He still doesn't go too fast, but can move all over the room to get whatever he wants. He still naps and sleeps in his Nap Nanny sometimes, but this is what happens when we try to keep him still for just a few minutes...



He won't even stay in the swing very long without trying to escape



The boys love playing together, especially now that they are on the floor together a lot.



The boys got Arkansas Razorback gear just in time for football season and wore them for the first game



They also have had Carolina Panthers outfits since before they were born. We've waited and waited and finally got to wear them this weekend for yesterday's game (too bad the boys didn't bring them much luck...)



One more picture of Luke in his favorite PJs