9 Months Old & Growing

Friday Lukas turned 9 months old. He's getting so close to one that I just can't believe it. How does time go by so quickly? So I captured him in his 9 month shirt, unfortunately I still can't find the 3 month shirt so these shots don't look nearly as cool as with Nik. Anyway, below is the comparison of Nikolas at the same age.
As you can tell, Lukas has a much larger and rounder cabesa than Nikolas did. Hope he grows into that.... Luke is also longer and heavier, a lot heavier. Luke weighs 21 lbs. and Nik at that age weighed 16 lbs. Which makes sense since Nik now only weighs 25 lbs. and holding.
Lukas in his new hat from Liz Koetje

It is hard for me to tell if they look alike at this age or not. What do you think? I must say, they are both stinkin' cute regardless.

Luke now can crawl pretty good and comes hunting for me when I leave for another room without him. It is hilarious as he crawls with his head down like it is too heavy to lift, either that or he is just concentrating really hard. He ends up running into things like chairs, walls, the sliding glass door..... He couldn't figure out what was going on with that one. Nikolas and I were watching him and Nik was actually laughing at his little brother. Poor baby:( Okay, mama kinda chuckled too. Luke can pull himself into a standing position, but hasn't started to try to walk around things yet and he also hasn't rolled over yet, except for maybe twice, which must have been a fluke. I keep waiting for these to happen as Nikolas was standing up by himself and starting to take little steps at 9 months, but i know i can't compare them as they will grow and learn at their own pace. It sure is hard not to though!

Nikolas learning to skateboard

These two unique little men have been entrusted to Tone' and I and we are so very grateful. In order to be the best parents we are able to be I am constantly reading about parenting and listening to others real life experiences. Yesterday I went to our church's class on parenting and there were some key things that stuck in my head. Well, actually, they stuck on paper as nothing ever sticks in my head, that's why i always carry around my notebook. I would be lost without it. I blame all this on pregnancy and sleeplessness, but really i think i have always been this way. Moving on.....

One of the things that hit me was when God made Adam and Eve he put them in the garden and would frequently take walks with them there. He showed them He cared for them by spending time with them and talking to them. It is a simple yet profound message to us parents that one of the main things our children need from us is our time and attention. It isn't toys or activities or the best clothes, or really anything that costs money and essentially keeps us from them longer in order to earn that money. It's just us. Their parents. Wow.

Looking back on my own childhood it makes sense. Some of my favorite memories are the simplest ones of me running down the sidewalk to the barn where my dad's office was and bursting in to say "hi". Learning to chop wood, drive a tractor and watching him chop chickens heads off were fun because it was time with my dad. Likewise, building a fort in the woods, bike riding and snapping beans were also my favorite memories as they involved just spending time with my mom. We had time to talk while we snapped, weeded, picked apples and plucked chicken feathers. Those memories are much higher on my list of favorites than our trip to Disneyland or Six Flags, and even more important than when i received my first Cabbage Patch Kid.

Now to remember this as the years go by and the boys (and girls?) ask for things. I don't want to never get them anything, so it will just be a balance of knowing what to get when and always keeping our relationships as the main attraction. Too bad we don't have any chickens.