J&K Rogers: Thirty-Five Weeks

What a week! We started by traveling down to Cape Girardeau to celebrate Christmas with my family, then we flew to Florida to ring in 2013.

Christmas Eve at Meme and Papa's

Luke decided to try out Meme's coffee table

Staying warm by the fire with Grandma

Grandpa with his grandsons

Our newest gift, baby Cali

Liam helped Luke open his presents. We always open gifts in order from youngest to oldest. Luke won't ever get to go first, since Cali was born after him this year. But, he didn't mind being second. Presents are just so much fun!

Luke got a dump truck with blocks and a sock monkey from Meme and Papa, and he got some bath toys from Uncle Bob. I was most excited about a special gift from Meme. She wrote a book of memories as far back as she can remember. I can't wait to read this book over and over to Luke. We have so many special memories in our family.

Meme and Papa watch as we open our gifts

Luke is worn out from so much Christmas fun, but he won't let go of one of his new blocks.

Snoozing with Daddy and Sock Monkey

Luke got ready for bed on Christmas Eve knowing that Santa would fill his stocking at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Grandma and Papa had to add two new stockings to the mantel this year (Cali and Luke). Grandma seems to be running out of room for stockings, but she assures me she can lengthen the mantel to add many more stockings in the future.

Reaching for Grandma and Papa's lights

Baby Cali's first Christmas

Baby Cali with her daddy

Luke helps Grandma open gifts

Luke loved his stocking! It was stuffed with great goodies: a baby's first Christmas ornament, socks, an Eeyore wrist rattle, overalls, baby lotion, an owl handkerchief, and some owl ornaments to add to his collection.

Luke was also pretty excited about his gifts. He opened a toy piano, a toy car set, and a new board book, Llama Llama Nighty Nite. Papa Green got him a new red wagon to ride in when we go on walks this spring. Uncle, Aunt, and cousins got him a crib aquarium toy, an Illiniois Vet med onesie, and some special bubbles for babies.

The boys playing their video games.

After all the gifts were opened...

The day after Christmas we loaded the car and headed back to Columbia to unpack and repack. After a night at home, we headed to the St. Louis airport for a trip to Clearwater Beach, Florida. The past two years my parents have given us plane tickets as our Christmas gift. We are also so thankful that my sister's in-laws invite us to stay at their condo. Here are Luke and Cali on their second plane rides (Cali has been to Seattle and Luke has been to San Francisco).

Luke did well on the plane until the landing. He was overly tired and wouldn't drink his bottle on the way down (so his ears may have been hurting). The guy next to us didn't seem too annoyed, but we did hear Liam (two rows up) say, "Is that Lukey crying?!"

Take a look back at Luke's first flight (at six weeks old).

Luke was so happy to go to bed and wake up at the condo well-rested the next morning. It was time to head out to the beach!

Luke's first glimpse at the Atlantic Ocean

Taking it all in

So much to see

Time to play in the sand with cousin Liam

Toes in the sand, part II

Take a look back at "Toes in the Sand, part I"

(taken at Lake Michigan when Luke was three months old)

Excited to feel the sand in his fingers

Look, Liam. I found a string!

Waving my string around

Luke's first ride on Daddy's shoulders. He loved it!

While he was up high he spotted a bird and watched it fly around.

Stunning baby blue eyes

Baby leg warmers for Cali and Luke. Daddy isn't going to like this one!

Funny face

Eating on the balcony while listening to the ocean waves. Luke gets a kick out of Liam feeding him.

Another trip down to the beach. We couldn't get Luke to look up for a picture because he was too interested in the sand.

Here we are poolside.

Although the pool was heated, the air was a little chilly to spend too much time in the pool. Luke was able to get in up to his waist (though he would have liked to go deeper). He kicked and splashed around just like he does in the bathtub.

Dressed and ready to head out to dinner with the family. Cheers to a great time so far!

Our family pic. Check out those new kicks I picked out for Luke before we left for the trip.

Baby Cali decided to wake up and check out our meal.

The next day, Jacob and I woke up early to head out to Universal Studios. Grandma and Papa watched Luke all day long. In fact, it was the longest I have ever been apart from him (almost 20 hours!). We left early in the morning so we could open the park, and we came home late so we could close the park.

Here we are at Harry Potter World. Hogwarts in the background and butterbeer in the foreground.

Checking out the shops in Hogsmeade

Lunch at the Three Broomsticks-a traditional English Harry Potter meal

We rode all the rides and saw all the sights at Harry Potter, so then we moved on to different parts of the park. Jacob especially liked the Marvel themed area. Here he is with his fav-Wolverine. (Can you find Jacob?)

We had a blast on the Spiderman 3D ride. We waited two hours and it was worth it! Right before the park closed, we raced back to go second time. The line was much shorter that time! We were exhausted from a long day and were ready to head home and see our sweet baby boy. I only had to call/text to check on him about five times during the day, and we only had to look at pictures of him on our phones every hour or so. What can I say? We loved our time with just the two of us, but we also missed him just a little bit.