Luke turns 2!!!

Luke turned 2 on Sunday, September 4th and we made sure to celebrate!!! We had a very eventful weekend in our family, but if there is one thing for sure, we made sure we had a very special day for Luke. Luke and Sean came down to the hospital early Sunday morning to kick of the birthday boys day! We opened gifts, the "four of us" and enjoyed our family time together. Grandpa and Grandma Merrick came late that morning to meet Ben and spend sometime with Luke. After his afternoon nap, Sean brought Luke back down to the hospital where all of his Bop, Nannie, and his Einck Aunts & Uncles greeted the birthday boy!!! We enjoyed watching Luke open up his presents, sang happy birthday, and then enjoyed pizza and cupcakes in the family lounge area. Luke had so much fun having his dear family spend the day with him, and all the attention.
Our lives have been completely overjoyed by the presence of our busy boy Luke and each day is as exciting as the day before. Our house is so full of life with Luke running around, I can't imagine what occupied our days before he was born. Luke is growing leaps and bounds hitting the 85th percentile in weight and 75th in height. He is becoming more and more of an independent little boy, often stating "Me this, Me that", wanting to do most things on his own. His vocabulary is expanding hourly...repeating everything, and loves to make any animal noise he can. He has become quite the Hawkeye fan, and runs around cheering "Let's go Tawks"! Luke is quite the emotional athlete, showing lots of emotions if he doesn't hit the baseball far enough or catch the football, saying "Oh No" and slaps his thigh! There are so many highlights I could go on forever...this little boy is full of life, energy, and loves to make people laugh! I love his outgoing, friendly personality. Luke has started his school up again, going two mornings a week and he enjoys his time at "tool" very much. Happy Birthday to our Sweet Luke, you have brought so much joy and energy to our lives and fill our hearts with pure love. We love you more than you can imagine and love that you make us laugh every day.
Here are a few pictures of Luke's Day, September 4, 2011.

Luke opening up his gift from Uncle Mitch
Sean brought Luke down early Sunday morning so I could see the birthday boy and he could open his gifts from us. He crawled into bed & cuddled with me and we watched his favorite TV show, Backyardigans, on the iPad.

Luke opening up his gift from Miss Judi

Uncle Nate reading Luke one of his new books

Opening up his Hawkeye shoes to match his Nike running outfit and Hawkeye tshirt from Bop and Nannie

A Birthday Song book that sings and lights up from Bop and Nannie

"Look at who is turning 2"

Luke modeling his new Hawkeye bibs from Miss Judi