Smooth Moves

Here is Lucas dancing to his favorite song (the song that we sing at the beginning of Kindermusik class). Unfortunately, it looks like he has my rhythm...

Fake Laugh

Lucas has a new fake laugh that is hilarious. When he does it we both end up belly laughing. At first I thought that his little baby giggle was turning into a big boy laugh, but then I figured out that he was just copying us. He's so silly!

2 and a 1/2 Feet Tall

Snaggle Toofies

Lucas has the cutest snaggle teeth I've ever seen :-)

"Hi Dad - enough with the pictures...let's go take a bath and clean this dinner off my face!"

A New Park

A couple of weeks ago we finally got a video camera (we used the video option on our digital camera before). I am struggling with when to use which camera, plus I haven't taken the time to figure out how to get the videos onto the computer, so that's the reason for the lack of blog entries lately. I have tons of video if I can get around to uploading them!

This weekend Lucas checked out a new park with his buddy Charles. Pullen Park in downtown Raleigh is awesome. It has an amusement park feel because it has a carousel (that has been there since 1912), a train ride, and a little boat ride for toddlers.

Lucas and Daddy chose an ostrich instead of a horsey...

Lucas is looking more and more like a little boy...

After the carousel we relaxed in the park while Charles and Lucas tried to figure out how the wagon was put together...

Little buddies...

Even Tyson enjoyed the park!

Oops...

Life suddenly got really busy. I hate going a week without posting. I've caught up a little bit below...

Social Lucas

Lucas had a busy Saturday. He was so excited about the day's events that he started the day at 5am. I was worried because this made him due for a nap at 9am, right when swim class started, but luckily he took a 5 min cat nap on the drive over. As soon as I handed Lucas to Jeff so that they could get into the pool, Lucas started grinning. In class this week Lucas practiced "floating" on his back and blowing bubbles into the water (a little advanced for a 1yr old).

Not too sure about trusting dad...

Smiling at dad...

Kicking and splashing...

Charles and Lucas reaching and pulling for their toy...

Happy Birthday Charles!

After his morning nap Lucas headed off to Charles's 1st birthday party. It was a party for Charles's family, but he also invited his buddies Christopher and Lucas. The boys had a good time playing together. Lucas played well, but many times had to quickly crawl back to me to touch me and make sure I was still in the room. Here is a picture of Lucas and Charles playing with a toy, the boys with their mommies, and Lucas pooped out after the party (notice that he's clutching the gift bag that he got from the party)....

Bathtime Fun

Sophie decided she wanted to take a bath with Lucas...

She's such a helper - here she is washing Lucas's hair...

Look at my bottom teeth!

Not an accident...

Lucas Bryant started walking today! We are calling it official since he took 8 whole steps in a row.

After work we were sitting around in the family room and Lucas took 3 steps between pieces of furniture. After the first step he lost his balance and caught himself by putting his hands on the floor in front of him. Then he stood up and took the next 2 steps. We knew then that he knew what he was doing. A few minutes later he was standing up and so I told him to "come to mama". That is when he took 8 little steps toward me. He was so proud of himself.

Here is a video of Lucas's first day of walking. On most of his attempts today he would only get 2 or 3 steps in before falling.

First Step?

Lucas took a step this morning, but I think it was very accidental and probably won't happen again anytime soon. However, I want to document it so that I will remember it.

We were in the kitchen and he wanted me to pick him up. He was already in a squatting position, so he put his hands on the floor and pushed himself up to standing, then he reached his hands up in the air and took a step. I couldn't tell if it was a real step or just his weight carrying his forward. Either way, it was cute and we cheered for him!

Molars

Lucas has his 4 front teeth on top, 4 front on bottom, and now he's getting his first molars. I've heard these are pretty tough on babies. His behavior has been a little different the past few days. For his naps he hasn't wanted to go down and I've had to rock him to sleep. Last night he woke up during the night, for the first time in a few weeks, and I had to stay up with him for an hour just holding him (which are some of my favorite moments if I'm not overtired). This morning he was clinging to me, which isn't abnormal, but then he was clinging to Kristen. I didn't even think about it being his teeth since he already has so many in his mouth, but Kristen suggested it and I stuck my finger in his mouth and found a HUGE swollen spot. Poor Lucas. The little diaper rash and clear, runny nose also make more sense now. All in all he's being a trooper - doesn't seen that painful yet.

"Look mom, I can stand on my own!"

(for a few seconds with a toy in his hand to distract him)

Swim Class

Lucas had his first swim lesson yesterday morning. He is excited that he is in the same class as his friends, Lily and Charles. I took a lot of pictures....

"Gosh mom, it's too early for this."

At first Lucas was kind of unsure...

Here are Jeff and Lucas practicing kicking...

Still not too excited about the pool...

Getting a little more excited...

"I love the pool!"

Lucas and Daddy picking out a toy. Jeff would throw the toy in front of Lucas to give him incentive to "reach and pull"

Lucas was really enjoying himself...

Here is Lucas's friend Lily, with her Daddy, Shawn. Notice that Jeff is making motor boat noises with his mouth...

Jeff teaching Lucas how to get out of the pool...

The instructor helping out a little...

Finally, what Lucas had been waiting for, he got to jump off into Daddy's arms!

Sweet Charles and Lucas having a chat...

Lucas really had a great time yesterday. I hope that he enjoys next week just as much. When the class was over Jeff handed him to me so that I could dry him off. Lucas kept reaching back for Jeff and so we let him "jump" into the pool into Jeff's arms a few more times. That wasn't enough for him though - when we made him get out he threw a tiny tantrum by going limp, throwing his head back, arms up and screaming. Oh my.

Walking Video (with some help)

Here is another video...we're on a roll this week...

Videos

Here are some videos from this morning....

Lucas has just learned to drink out of a sippy cup, although he is just playing with it here. He threw in a fish face at the end of the video...



Here is Lucas showing us a little of his temper...and then a sweet kiss at the end...


Here he is dancing to the music from his first Kindermusik class. His face lights up when we put in an old CD that he hasn't heard in a while. Sorry about my singing - Jeff says I'm tone deaf.

Sweet Tyson

Here is a pic of our sweet boys taking a nap together (Tyson is between the crib and chair)...

Typical Tyson - Only looks at you if you say "cookie" or "walk"

11 Months Old

Our little Lucas Bryant is 11 months old. I told Jeff that it would be nice if babies were born as 11 month olds. We love this age the best, but of course I say that every month. As you can see from the picture above, Lucas is looking more and more like a little boy.

Below is where I update on Lucas's milestones. Boring for most to read, but this is my only form of journaling, so I have to capture everything here.

Signs that Lucas understands: milk, more, eat, dog, duck, frog, book, night-night, bye-bye, ball. We know he understand them because when I do the sign for duck or frog he will pick up the duck or frog.

Signs that Lucas can produce: milk, more, dog, night-night, bye-bye, ball, and eat

Words - The only change from last month is that we're pretty sure that he knows who ma-ma and da-da are now. He crawls up to me saying ma-ma-ma-ma and I wrote last week how he was calling da-da-da for Jeff. His other two words are still uh-oh and woof-woof.

Mobility - Just this week Lucas has become really interested in the toys with wheels that he can walk behind. His little legs are getting stronger, but they are still kind of wobbly. He's so proud of himself. He smiles really big when he's "walking" around the room.

Books - Lucas is still interested in books. He likes to turn the pages before we're finished reading them, as if we're reading too slow. This weekend he learned the sign for book. I showed it to him a few times and then, later that day, when I showed him the sign he went and picked up a book.

Food - Lucas is not a big eater. He's been nursing more lately, so I think he must get full that way. It may be a partial comfort thing since he's had colds lately. His favorite foods this month are peas and carrots.

Classes - We're taking a break from Kindermusik, but Lucas starts swim class this Saturday.

Sleep - Lucas has had a cough this week, but he is not letting him wake him up at night. He's fallen into a new pattern of going down between 7pm and 8pm and waking up around 6:15am. He usually wakes up twice between these hours and babbles/fusses/cries for 1-2 min before falling back asleep. During these times I lie in bed saying "please go back to sleep" over and over again.

More of Lucas's Little 11 Month Old Face

"I'm tired Mom. Photo shoot is over."

Toy Basket

I looked over this morning and saw Lucas sitting in the middle of his toy basket, just hanging out, occasionally looking over at the Baby Einstein show that was on t.v. I've gotten better at having the video camera around, so here is a peek into our morning. Right as I turned on the camera he picked up a toy dog and said, "woof-woof", so that is why I am telling him good job. (CoCo - thanks for the toy doggy - it's one of their favorite toys (L and T)...

Sleep is Underrated

Someone asked me yesterday if Lucas is sleeping through the night and I was finally able to say "yes". It felt odd. Actually, people don't usually ask me that anymore because they expect than an 11 month old would definitely be sleeping through the night. People only ask you that question when you have a 1 or 2 month old - which is crazy since it's probably not even healthy for a 1 to 2 month old to sleep through the night. Oh well, I'm sure I didn't know that before I had a baby and asked the same questions at the wrong time.

Anyway, our family has slept well this week and I feel normal again. It happened like this...

Quick summary.. for the first 4 months Lucas woke every 3-4 hours and was easy to get back to sleep; around 4 months we put him in his crib and turned into a co-sleeping family when Lucas would wake up several times and eventually we'd just bring him to bed with us. We thought we'd get more sleep, but Lucas's daytime temperament doesn't go away when he sleeps. He'd fidget the entire night and if I got any amount of sleep at all I'd wake up with a sore neck from contorting my body to accommodate Lucas's sleep; at 7-8 months we faced the option of being a grumpy family or "teaching" Lucas to sleep on his own. We were making great progress, but then we went away for a week during Christmas and it all went to hell in a hand basket. We started over, made more progress, and Lucas slept in his crib all night without us going in to get him for the first time in January. THEN he got a cold. THEN he got 4 monster teeth. During this time he needed to be held, so of course when he was well and we put him back in the crib, he wanted nothing to do with it. He went back to waking up every hour, even when we brought him to bed with us. It was like someone had injected him with speed before going to bed - he moved around like crazy. I even asked the doctor if it was possible that something was wrong with him! Jeff and I decided, with the doctor's help, to wait and try the sleep training in the spring when there were no more colds going around. We tried to wait, but the other night I had gone 4 nights in a row without sleeping more than 3 hours at a time. I was so frustrated that I threw a pillow across the room (and we wonder where Lucas gets his temper). Jeff, thankfully, stepped in a said that something had to change. We put Lucas into his crib and said we'd go in after 5 min. That was last Saturday and we've only had to go into his room once or twice this week, so we're on the 5th night of Lucas sleeping all night in his crib without any help from mom or dad. We're so proud of "our big boy!".

So, to get back to the title of this post, I can tell a difference in Lucas and DEFINITELY myself this week. Lucas wakes up happy and, although it may be a coincidence, has had tons of things click for him this week. He signed "more", "ball", and "duck" for the first time this week. Yesterday I looked over and saw him banging his shoes against his feet (trying to put them on). He does the signs to "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands" (clapping and hooray only). And, get this, when he's tired and we ask him if he wants to go night-night he will do the sign for sleep and has even pointed to his crib once this week. I couldn't believe that.

As for me, I am focused and getting more done. Jeff and I beat our 3 mile jog time from last week because (in my opinion) I had more energy and pushed us. We're just in better moods.

Sleep is totally underrated. Sorry for such a long post.