I have been away from the blogging game for quite a long time now. To all those that are dying for updates on Luke, my deepest apologies. I could offer many, many excuses for my long absence, but if I can't/won't find the time to write about my life, why would I take the time to write that?
Anyway - I will attempt to very quickly bring every one up to speed on everything that has happened over the last month and a half. Starting in mid-July
Ken and Victoria's visit - I will say that having 3 children in the house under 3 ensures for a visit with never a dull moment. Grace has gotten quite tall and articulate since we had last seen her. We got the pleasure of meeting our niece Amelia for the first time. I must say that I have never met a baby that will give you a healthier self-esteem. Practically anytime anyone makes eye-contact with her, she beams with an enormous smile. Her middle name (Joy) seems very appropriate to me. You can find Ken and Victoria's perspective on the trip on their blog.
Luke's trips to his Grandparents - Shortly after Ken and Victoria's visit, I had two youth trips in three weeks. One was to Carolina Workcamp, painting houses for people in Greenville, SC. It was a great trip for our group, especially some of our younger members. The other was a mission trip to the New Orleans area with an organization called Hilltop Rescue. I very naively (I'm not computer savvy enough to know how to insert the extra little dot over the 'i', so you'll have to use your imagination) went into the week thinking that we would be working on the rebuilding process. What I didn't realize is that the vast majority of the city is still in the "tearing down before you can build back up" phase of reconstruction. We spent the week "mucking" or cleaning out houses that had not been touched since last September. It was quite an eye-opening experience to just how bad the devastation had been and how much is still left to do.
So, while Dad was out sweating like crazy (Greenville's heat index that week was over 100 everyday and New Orleans... Well it was New Orleans in August) and enduring all kinds of new and interesting stenches, (think of refrigerators that had been underwatter full of food for almost a year) Mom and Luke went to Macon to visit Grandma and Grandpa. On the first visit, his great grandmother and great aunt were also there. He quickly learned that he is spoiled at Grandma's house. Kim told me that during the week, that he would start crying the second he wasn't being held, something he does not ordinarily do at home. He also went swimming for the first time. The Sparrow side of him comes out in the water. He loved the pool and always enjoys his bath at home. That is until he has to get out. I highly recommend you heading to the Photosite to see the pictures of his first swimming experience. I'm sure roughly 20 years from now, Luke will be quite embarrassed as Kim and I show some lovely young lady these pictures. Also while in Macon, a friend of the family's who is a photographer took some portraits of Luke - you can look at those here. I'll warn you, they are incredibly cute.
General Developments - Luke is becoming more and more responsive. Which I am loving, because it means that he is getting more and more fun to play with. He is really beginning to smile now. His favorite time to smile is when you have his diaper off on the changing table. It is also his favorite time to try out the baby talk. He's getting rather skilled at the "guh" sound. He is also a hoss. At his 2 month check-up last week he weighed 14 lbs. He is in the top 95 percent of babies his age in height and weight. If i remember correctly, both Grace and Amelia were those ranges. The Kirby boys seem to have big babies. Maybe not the best news for Jill, my sister-in-law who is having her first baby in February. He also had his immunizations, and has had no problems from them. He was already kind of fussy when the doctor gave him his shots, which was probably a good thing. I think since he was already crying, he didn't really notice the needles, because he didn't change the pitch of his cry at all. As soon as we had him dressed and picked up, he had stopped crying.
Besides the pool pictures, there are a bunch of new pictures on the Photosite. I upgraded the account so that now it will hold a thousand pictures. I found it too difficult to decide which ones to leave up and which to remove, so look for even more coming soon.
