dedication

Lee and I always knew that we wanted to dedicate Luca. Our desire is to raise him to know and love the Lord. In fact, that is the most important thing to us.

Once we found out that we were going to be able to go to Connecticut after Luca was born, we decided that we wanted to dedicate him there during our trip. Walking into Crossroads to dedicate our son was a pretty surreal moment for me. I have sat and witnessed babies get dedicated for years. I have prayed for countless lives while watching parents- some I knew but most of whom I didn't- dedicate their children to the Lord. Before the service started, Lee and I took Luca in to meet with Mrs. Pat to learn the order of the service and what was going to happen/what we needed to do during the dedication. She also presented us with a red rose and a white rose, a bible, and a certificate. While she was telling us about the symbolism behind the roses and talking to us- I started to get really emotional. Partly because I was back in my home church, the one I grew up in. Partly because I was there to dedicate my son, my precious baby that I have prayed for and dreamt about for many years- way before he was conceived. But mostly I was getting emotional thinking about our Savior's love, and how thankful I was for the most miraculous gift I have ever received, my sweet baby boy.

The dedication was wonderful. Of course, I was afraid Luca was going to get upset right at the moment we were called up, but he did great. Since it wasn't a typical baby dedication service (since we were only in town on that specific date), we were the only ones dedicating our baby. Pastor Sean was the Pastor praying over us, talking to us, and asking us our intent. It meant so much that Pastor Sean was there because he was the Pastor that married Lee and me. It felt extra special to have him, three years and three months later, praying over us and our baby. In addition to Pastor Sean, Mrs. Pat was there holding Luca, anointing him with oil, and praying for him. That was also incredibly special for me since Mrs. Pat has been in my life since I was really little. She was there for me from when I was in Alpha, Omega, and Children's church, she was my JBQ coach, my camp counselor, and a loving support for me throughout high school and college years and still today. She played a big role in my life and has always prayed for me and with me in my 28 years of life,  and now she is praying for my son. It meant a lot to us- as you can imagine.

While dedicating Luca, my parents and Lee's mom stood behind us. Supporting us, praying for us and Luca, and promising to help us raise Luca in His Word. Not only did we have our parents behind us, but also siblings, Lee's grandma, cousins, friends who are like family, congregation members that I have known my whole life- all praying over our sweet boy. It was such a powerful moment that meant so much to us. Knowing that we have people in our lives who love our boy, and who are lifting him up in prayer is a pretty incredible feeling.

I am so grateful for the dedication service. I am so grateful for the family members and friends who made it to the service, and who pray for Luca each and every day. While it was hard not having my entire family there (missed you so so much Sarah and Josh), we were so thankful for those that were.

Meg, my close friend and personal photographer took our pictures. I am posting a ton because I had a hard time narrowing it down- I just love them all! It was a special night that will forever hold a special place in my heart.

showing him off to the congregation :) 

Love this sweet boy- and when he reached out his arms for me to pick him up? My heart melted.

photo shoot time:

Lee's family :) 

Great Grams

Grandma Goodin

Auntie Taylor and Uncle Josh (Parker)

Auntie Heather

Nana and Papa

my family- minus S and J

So grateful the Alders came!

Love Lynn and her family :)

(I just love these two - you can just see her love for Luca oozing out, great capture Meg!)

Dont be mad Ame, but I had to include all these- I just love all the outtakes! 

It feels like just yesterday I was rushing to the hospital to meet Mason.

Meg is in front of the camera!

Auntie Meg and Auntie Amy

Love.

Is he not the cutest??

connecticut

Lee, Luca, and I took our first family trip to CT this past September. We went back for one week to introduce Luca to our family and friends. Before the trip back I thought a week was plenty of time to see everyone but let me tell you- it was not. At all. We tried to see as many people as we could in that week, but there were still many people we didn't get to see. It was Luca's first time riding on an airplane and he did great! He either slept or smiled at everyone who walked by. My dad says he thinks he may be a future pilot since he is such a great flyer.

I'm thankful for the time that we had, but as always it went by too fast. Our days were full of lots of love, laughter, hugs, and baby cuddles. It was absolutely perfect. :)

I think the best way to recap our trip is with pictures. So here is an over abundance of those. Enjoy!

Saturday:

After we arrived, we dropped our luggage off, got changed, and then headed to church to dedicate Luca.

Sunday:

Lots of visiting with family and friends!

Aunt Becky made me and Heather her famous apple torte :)

(Seeing Auntie Puddy hold Luca may have been my favorite moment from our trip. What I wouldn't give for my Nana to be here to meet Luca too.)

Monday:

Introducing Luca to self storage. 

Another pretty great moment from our trip- when Grams met Luca.

(not sure why this one is so bright, but I loved seeing Danny hold our Luca!)

Tuesday:

More visits with family and friends!

Oh how times have changed! Seeing these three sit around and smile at Luca was so sweet. Next it's Tim and Lynn's turn- we can't wait until May!

Wednesday:

It was SO hot this day- and central air isn't as common in CT as it is in NC. 

Thursday:

We started off the day by going to Shady Glen for breakfast with Lee's mom and grandmother. 

Then we met Dr. Masse for lunch and got a tour of her office. 

Later that night, we had dinner with more friends. 

Friday:

We had a low key day, did some shopping at Evergreen Walk and ran into Michele! 

Some more visits from friends.

Saturday:

Loved this sweet moment with Luca and his Papa. 

A flight attendant gave us this toy for Luca. I thought it was so nice and I was excited about it until I realized that Lee had clipped it to my bag and it got stuck. The toy made a shooting noise that kept going off whenever my bag hit something, which got to be pretty irritating. Lee kept saying, "stop trying to shoot the aliens!" Which was funny the first few times. :) 

We had a great week, but I think this picture sums it up perfectly- it was tiring and busy! However, a kind of tiring and busy that I wouldn't trade for the world. 

two months.

Time is flying by! I can't even believe our Luca loo is almost three months old! (I know, I am a bit behind on blogging. My mom was here for a couple of weeks recently and when she first got here I was telling her that sometimes the day goes by and it's 4:00 and I realize I haven't eaten lunch yet. I am not sure what exactly I do all day, but somehow the day seems to disappear and while my day is incredibly busy, I don't seem to get a whole lot done. My mom told me that was ridiculous and I needed to make time to eat. By the end of the week- she knew exactly what I was talking about. And after she babysat for us? She was saying the same thing.) 

Anyways, here is what happened in Luca's second month: 

- Luca took his first plane ride to CT. He did great on the airplane. He slept on the first flight to CT and on our connecting flight he was awake and smiling, looking all around. On our way home,  he did the same thing. He was either asleep or smiling. It was wonderful being home to see as many family members and friends as we could squeeze in. I will attempt to write a separate post about our trip. Expect it to be up sometime around Christmas. Just kidding. Or not. 

- While we were in CT, we had Luca dedicated. It was so incredibly special to dedicate our boy to The Lord in our home church by the pastor that married us. It was such a beautiful life moment that I will never forget. I will write a separate post for this too. 

 - Sarah visited again. She takes time off of work, drives from Nashville and gets to Charlotte around 11 pm on Friday night, and leaves on Sunday afternoon around 4. She makes this trip once a month. I am so grateful that she makes the time and sacrifices to come see us so often- even if it is for less than 48 hours.

- We brought Luca to church for the first time. I arranged to attend the campus and service time that I knew my friends would be volunteering in the nursery. It was really hard leaving him, and I still struggle with it each week. I definitely cried as we walked away that first time (or every time). I make Lee pray with me each week after we drop him off, and I keep my phone in hand the entire service. I know it's whats best for us, but it is still really hard. Thankfully for me, for his first nursery trip Sarah was in town. She blogged about it here. She wrote "life just feels a little easier when you have your best people by your side. even in the small moments, like leaving your baby under the care of people who aren't family". I couldn't have said it better myself. 

- Luca started smiling a ton! He is a very happy boy. His smile seriously lights up my world. 

- He started grunting while he was smiling- like a laugh, but not quite. Lee kept telling me that he thought a laugh was coming soon. 

- Lee was right! Luca finally laughed for the first time on September 18. Lee was on his way home from work and I was sitting on the couch talking to Luca as we waited for Lee to get home. While we were talking, he started laughing. I was so excited that I said loudly, "oh my gosh! you laughed!" and I scared him and he stopped laughing. Way to ruin the moment Tiffany.

- He started focusing on something and following it with his eyes this month. 

- He fights sleep so hard. He will scream and scream, and then all of a sudden he's out. 

- His favorite song is "Be Still" by The Fray.  He takes after his Auntie Sarah on that one. :) 

Here are a few photos:

Luca met the family that I used to work for. It was so nice to see them (I miss those kids like crazy), and it was also so sweet to see their excitement to meet Luca. They were so cute- of course wanting to touch him and hold him. I wasn't expecting Jack (who just turned 2) to be too interested, but let me tell you, he was so engaged and didn't really leave our side the entire visit. At one point, Luca started crying because he was hungry and Jack instantly went to hug him to try and comfort him (see the picture below). It was probably the sweetest thing I have ever seen. 

(above photo: first smiles I captured with my camera)

(cuddles with Layla)

(grumpy 2 month photo shoot)