Merry Christmas!

Our family on Christmas Eve - we have no idea why Luke has this look on his face. He is always happy until the camera comes out!
Dying to take the ornaments off the tree
Perfect Christmas morning picture - bed hair, milk cup, pj's, and a fun new toyIf he would only keep this hat on!

Let it snow!!

Luke didn't know what to think about the snow. He wasn't too happy about it falling on his face either. Sorry for the bad picture - I need to learn how to take better pictures!
I think Luke was trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue!
Our house in the snow
Neighbor kids on our street made a snowman. Pretty cool how kids all over the world like to do this!

Family moments

Hiking in the mountains

Our family by the beautiful gorge
Our team

Sure looks like we are in the middle of nowhere .
Luke was definitely ready for lunch after a long hike!

Recently our team went camping (in the freezing cold) in the nearby moutains and we had a guest from the US, so we took our Saturday afternoon to go hiking out to where they were. Luke did really great and so did his Daddy who carried him in a backpack for 2hrs! It was so beautiful and quiet out there. Kstan is considered the Switzerland of Central Asia so we need to get out to the mountains more often!

Happiest kid on the block

These days Luke seems like the happiest kid in the world. Of course he has his moments but over all he is usually laughing and giggling and smiling. He loves attention so much and is learning how to ham it up for everyone. He loves to wave to everyone as we go down the street in his stroller - even though others aren't waving. He even waves bye-bye to us when we put him to bed!!

I love my little guy!

Sorry it's been so long!

Hey there, all our avid blog readers - sorry for the delay! Seems like the last month has been a blur. Here's what we've been up to - Luke turned one, we welcomed 3 new teammates, Luke cut 3 new teeth, traveled to Kazakhstan for his 1 year checkup and shots, fully transitioned Luke to a sippy cup with cow's milk, had 2 weddings on our street (yes ON the street), prayed for my dad's surgery, had 4 rooms in our house painted - not to mention just the normal day-to -day life! So seems like I've been hanging on by a thread, especially the week he was teething. It was pretty bad but we all survived. He seems to really be showing his own personality and preferences now. Lots of crying fits these days but also lots and lots of laughter and fun. I think his 2nd year of life will be quite interesting!

Oh I almost forgot - Luke's new favorite thing is BOOKS! You can tell him to go get a book and you'll read it to him. He immediately goes to his books, picks his favorite (which this week is Olivia Counts to Ten) and he brings it to you to read. We were so surprised that he can understand that. He definitely knows the words "outside" and "eat" so we better not say those unless we mean it!

Local friends and our team at a birthday party

Luke letting us know he is NOT happy. (yes during the teething week)

HAPPY boy!

With a fun friend at a birthday party

Our new team

We're really excited that our new long-term has arrived! We are still waiting on 1 more single guy and a family to join us after they finish preparations in the States. We're having a great time getting to know each other and dreaming of big things this year.
And yes of course Luke is not looking at the camera in this picture. A 1 yr old is way too busy to stop and look at a camera!

Happy Birthday Luke!

It's still hard to believe that Luke turned 1 on September 14. This year has gone by so quickly but what a joy it is having Luke in our family! We had a big party with a lot of our friends here and Luke had a great time. My friend even made him a special giraffe cake (he's obsessed with his giraffe blanket to sleep with) but he didn't like it! But then a little later he gobbled down some grapes - so maybe he likes fruit more than chocolate cake! I'm sure in time he will learn what really tastes better.

A week of firsts

What's this new stuff they're trying to give me???

My new cool pj's from my Aunt Julie

It's been a BIG week at our house! Luke had his first taste of cow's milk and it didn't go over so well. But by today he had fully transitioned to it and likes it a lot as long as it's room temperature. And tonight he took his first steps! It was so precious that I got all teary. Maybe it's that his birthday is tomorrow and I can't believe his first year is already over. Forrest was holding him up and just let go and Luke got his balance and seemed so surprised! Then he took a few steps towards me and giggled he was so happy! He did this a few times, back and forth to us. It was so sweet to see him so proud of himself. Everyone here keeps telling me that he needs to learn to walk before his 1st birthday - well he's on his way!

"When can Luke come out?"

We've been in our house for about a month now and Luke has quickly become the most popular kid in the neighborhood. Kids come to the door all day long asking for him. Some of the boys push him around on his bicycle/stroller thing and make funny faces at him and he belly laughs. He thinks they are the greatest thing in the world and they love it because he adores them. All the kids fight over who gets to push him or hold him. I can only imagine the trouble they will get Luke into in the future!

Sweet little face

11 months old

First haircut

Today Luke had his first haircut! We were trying to wait until his first birthday but we had a great opportunity that we couldn't pass up. An American friend's sister is here visiting and she knows how to cut hair and she volunteered. He has been looking a little scraggly lately and several of the neighbors have asked if he was a girl! Here they often shave babies' head in the summer (to make the hair grow back thicker) so I've been afraid to take him to a hair salon. It went perfectly today , of course thanks to a baby DVD playing and Gina worked super fast. I got teary eyed of course because he looks like a BOY now and not a baby !

He's a hit with the ladies

Last week we finally moved into the house we are renting and immediately Luke has become a hit with the neighbors, especially the children. I'm not sure if it's because he's a baby or a new kid or an American, but the little girls are coming constantly to the door asking if Luke can come out. They all beg to hold him too! Here's a funny picture of one of the little girls who comes all the time. He's almost bigger than she is!

Fun in Issiq Kul

At the end of our week we had a staff conference in Issiq Kul, a beautiful lake right beside the mountains. Definitely the most beautiful place we've seen in Central Asia. We didn't have much time for swimming but at least Luke got to sit in the water a little bit. He liked it so much he tried to crawl into it!

We are SO glad to be home after a week of traveling with Luke. He's quite a handful but still a ton of fun. What a personality he has!

First trip to an amusement park

We also tried out an amusement park with our friends and their kids. Not exactly Disney World but it was still fun for Luke. He was pretty tired by the time we got there and I'm not sure he knew what to think about it all. Maybe it was a bit too much for him!

Checking out all the playgrounds in Bishkek

Luke LOVED the slide!

Yes, he's trying to crawl UP the slide. Can't get enough of the slide.

In Biskek last week Luke had a blast trying out all the playgrounds in the shopping malls there (yes shopping malls! and fun for mommy too!) He loved the slide the best of course. Now that he's so mobile he's having a blast moving always. Maybe by the next time we go there he will be able to walk!