Baby Dedication

I know it has been awhile since I last posted anything and that is pretty much due to the exhaustion around our house! Lucas is not handling teething very well and is up A LOT of the night! He sleeps for a few hours and then wakes up in so much pain. We both feel so sorry for him when he screams and shoves his hands in his mouth. I have been getting him back to sleep, after about an hour of screaming, by laying in the spare bedroom with him and letting him fall asleep chewing on my finger. We have tried everything-teethers, Tylenol, homeopathic drops, wet washcloth, EVERYTHING! When I checked his gums last night I found that Tooth #2 has finally made an appearance. Hopefully, he will start managing the pain better. Until then, we will be praying for sleep!
Lucas began eating sweet potatoes this week. He is not too fond of it by itself, but when I mix in a little applesauce, he chows away. I can tell that laundry stains are just going to get worse because that sweet potato is very difficult to get out. Last night he ate shirtless and I could tell he thought that we had lost our minds! Today I made him some pears and he absolutely LOVES them. I read that it takes between 15-21 tastings of a food in order for a baby to establish a true like/dislike for them, but I know that this is his favorite food so far. It has been so much fun making his food and watching him try all of these new flavors.

We had such a memorable weekend around The Wheeler House! Saturday we spent some time hanging out around the house and then headed up to the Outlet Mall for some shopping. Lucas thinks he is such a big boy cruising around the mall sitting up in his stroller and wearing his "cool-dude" sunglasses. We went to a few of our regular stores: Ralph Lauren, Charlotte Russe, and Le Gourmet Chef. We didn't get to play around too much, because I was on a search for an outfit for Lucas' Dedication ceremony at church the next day.

After the outlet mall, we headed to The Ridge to eat dinner with our close friends, Shawn and Dylan. Dinner was great and Lucas did such an amazing job sitting in the restaurant's high chair for the first time. Lucas did get covered in sweet potato though (if you look closely, it is up his nose!)










After dinner, they came over to our house and hung out (Dylan and I had to drag them off of the computers and out of Ben's office!) We don't get to hang out too late anymore, but we really enjoy hanging out with them.

Sunday morning we woke up bright and early so that all 3 of us could get showered and dressed up for Luke's Dedication ceremony at church.










We had the service at GiGi's church, Sandy Springs Christian Church. The lovely Linda performed the dedication and Lucas could not have been more adorable!!! He was so good throughout the service.
We had all of our family there for this special occasion (Grandma, Pop-Pop and Uncle Taylor and Mimi, Pops, and Aunt Brooke and even our closest family friend "adopted" Aunt Kathy.)









At the start of the service, they had the entire family come up where we all accepted to help guide Lucas through his life as a Christian. Then, Mrs. Linda walked Lucas around the church to meet his new church family. Ben and I were presented with a rose and Lucas' Certificate of Dedication when it was complete. During the sermon, Lucas fell asleep while Ben was holding him. He woke up to the choir singing at the end. After the service the members of the church had the opportunity to meet the smiling and ever-so-happy Lucas. I'm not kidding, he was perfect and we could not have been more proud!


















After church, the entire family (Kathy and Linda included) went to Chicago's for lunch. When we got there Lucas of course had to flirt with the hostess. On a side note, I will never understand why people think it is ok for them to touch and put their fingers in a baby's mouth. I mean seriously, we don't know a thing about that hostess, yet she seemed to think it was ok to put her fingers in MY baby's mouth to feel his teeth- COME ON! Think about it, a stranger, that touches menus all day which go into several people's hands, and then back around to the hostess, is NOT clean. We don't even allow our family to do that unless they have washed their hands. I know I am a germ freak and that Lucas needs to be exposed to a certain number of germs in order to develop his immune system (which people still feel the need to tell me all the time), but seriously, let's not spoon feed him a disease. Ok, I'm done venting, but that is such a pet peeve of mine!

Back to lunch, which was sooo delicious!! It was such a special day and I am so fortunate to have family around to celebrate with. Aunt Brooke bought Lucas a new music toy, which he LOVES! MiMi and Pops bought be a new beautiful charm to go on my Pandora bracelet. I will always treasure that bracelet because Pops bought it for me when Lucas was born and they have added charms to it since.

After such an exciting day, Lucas took a long nap on the way home. He then ate some yummy sweet potatoes for dinner and enjoyed pooring water down his chest. After dinner we gave him a bath, yes the germs again, but he was just touched and kissed by so many people. We love giving Lucas a bath and he loves it too, but my favorite part of a clean baby is that oh-so-sweet smell. I could just breathe in his smell all day!









This week Lucas and I will hopefully be going to see Keri and Baby Ana Scot. Friday, Lucas will be 6 months! I just cannot believe how fast he is growing! Check back soon for more updates!