Attitude

Fun with Charles

On Saturday Lucas and I spent a few hours with our friends Charles and Wendy. We were planning on going to a place with lots of bouncy areas, but it was closed, so we went to a children's museum in Cary instead. Wendy and I decided to move Lucas's carseat into her car so that we could actually have a few minutes to chat in the car - great idea! The rest of the day was spent chasing them around the museum, holding them forever while they watched a toy train go around the tracks, and trying to get through lunch (I pushed Lucas too far, so he wasn't having it).

Old buds checking out the scenery.

"Hey Lucas, I think that fish looks like Nemo!"

Playing one of their favorite games that they invented several months ago... They chase each other, Lucas plops down on the ground like a silly monkey, Charles laughs, Lucas laughs at himself, and then they do it again.

Shutters

After nearly 8 months of being in our new house, we finally got around to ordering window treatments. We debated between shutters and some sort of Roman shade, but went with the shutters and are thrilled! They look like they were built with the house and add so much coziness. The first thing Lucas did when he woke up this morning was roll out of bed and then go open every shutter within his reach. He also enjoys dropping his bouncing balls in between the grooves and then saying "help, help" until we come rescue them.

Park with Lucas Edward

The other day we went to our new favorite park to play with Lucas Edward. We love the park because it has a stream and because it's dog friendly, so Tyson can run free and make new friends. Here are the two cuties playing very seriously with the rocks...

Pics with Mama and Dada

Sandy and Susan are always telling us to get in more pictures with Lucas, but it's hard. Here are two failed attempts...

(Jeff had his eyes half way closed)

It's so hard to leave the park!

Virus

Our little Lucas woke up on Wednesday morning with a fever of 102.8. I knew the night before that something was up. He asked to go to bed at 7:30, nearly 2 hours early, and then slept until 7:00 the next morning. He usually only sleeps 9-10 hours. When I felt him I knew immediately that he was sick. After snuggling and nursing in mama and dada's bed for about an hour he asked for some juice and started crying very sadly when I told him we were out. Then he asked for water and gulped it down with a big "ahhhhh" afterwards. As I was on the phone with Kate telling her not to come over Lucas threw up for the first time in his life. It wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. He just opened his mouth and fluid came out. He looked confused, but just asked to nurse when it was over. I scooped him up and we snuggled in the bed for a couple of hours. He was too uncomfortable to sleep, but he nursed and snuggled the whole time. For the rest of the day we were either watching Nemo or snuggling in the bed. He literally didn't want to leave my arms all day and he wanted to nurse non-stop. He got very sad when I had to take a break to use the bathroom for 1 min. He finally fell asleep around 3pm and when he woke up at 5:30 he was completely better. He hopped out of bed and was acting very silly. This morning he has been acting very goofy too. I guess he has lots of energy built up after resting so much yesterday.

I thought it would be the end of the world if he got sick this season. Sometimes I feel like that next straw will definitely break the camel's back, but it was actually a wonderful day. Lucas and I got to spend all day snuggling. I was able to be there for him and he reminded me of how great it feels to slow down and rest. I'm so glad that I was able to spend so much time with him. I know my days of him spending so much time in my arms are numbered!

Happy Birthday Lily!

Lucas got invited to another one of his girlfriend's parties this weekend. His friend, Lily, turned 2 on Valentine's Day, so the party was heart themed. Lucas was stoked because he got to wear his heart breaker shirt... very appropriate since he was one of only two boys at the party : )

Lucas thought Lily's house was the coolest because it had balloons, cupcakes, a toy screwdriver, a ramp, and an empty dishwasher box. I had a hard time getting him to leave. He liked the playhouse that was made out of the dishwasher box so much that we made a special trip to Sears on Sunday to get one, but they said they smash their boxes, so no luck... dang.

Lucas enjoying a pretzel as he decided which toy to play with next.

Lily blowing out her candle and Lucas eyeing the cupcakes.

The coolest playhouse ever.

Valentine's Day Heart Breaker

We had a pretty low key Valentine's Day this year. We agreed on no gifts, but treated ourselves to a nice dinner on February 13th. It was much more relaxed to go out the day before the mad rush of reservations.

Here is our Sweet Lucas sporting the t-shirt that SaSa sent him for his Valentine's Day gift.

Does T.V. promote good sleep?

Hmmm, not sure, but two things did happen at our house last night - we let Lucas watch t.v. for the first time in over a week and he slept through the night (yay!). Regarding the t.v. watching, the ban on it went well for the first several days. The weather was beautiful and we spent a lot of time outside. Lucas never even asked for it. Then he started mentioning Nemo and pointing to the t.v. We told him that Nemo wasn't there and he was fine with it. THEN one day at the end of my work day he came into my office and found the Nemo DVD that I had hidden upstairs. He got so excited and started saying Nemo over and over again, so we watched a few videos on youtube. He was still not asking for the t.v., but a couple of days ago we got him a easel that has a chalkboard on one side and a white board on the other. ALL HE WANTED US TO DRAW WAS NEMO! It was like he was possessed. He would say, "Nemo, memo, ne-ne-ne-nemo, me-moe, please..." Last night he remembered that Nemo was on the t.v. and started begging to watch it. He was saying Nemo non-stop in his sweet little voice and big blue eyes. 10 min into the movie Jeff and I wondered what we were thinking to say no more t.v. We had a great family evening of watching Nemo and playing with Lucas's toolbench. I even got to sneak away for a few min and make dinner. I was so afraid that he'd ask for it non-stop, but he hasn't today so far, so maybe the one week ban DID do us some good. Everything in moderation.

Schroeder Look-alike Meter

I knew it would turn out this way because Lucas really looks like me in the picture that I chose...

Good while it lasted...

"The Kid", as Jeff and I call him after a night of little sleep, is waking up twice a night again! I don't remember the specific dates, but it seemed like after Sandy helped us wean him from night nursing over Christmas that it took him a couple of weeks to sleep through the night. Then he slept through the night for about a month straight. After that he started waking up about once a week, then once every other night, then once every night and the past two nights have been twice a night! We don't know why he is waking and we don't plan to do anything differently... but we're really hoping that it stops soon! Last night I slept from 9:30-12:30 and then was tossing or awake until 5:30. Jeff wasn't much better... it's just too hard to sleep when you know you are going to be woken up again in just a few hours. Come on Lucas, pleeeeeeeeeease!

Sunday Night

We figured we'd end our social weekend with a bang, so on Sunday night we went to Mike, Jill and the boy's house for pizza and salad. Lucas ate two pieces of pizza, which didn't surprise me because he always eats a lot around other kids. You can see below how he's eating it just like the rest of us.

After dinner the boys took a bubble bath and then ran up and down the hallway for an hour. Max would run and Lucas would chase him, and then Lucas would run and Max would chase him. Max got sneaky about halfway through the game and started hiding in a room off of the hallway, so when Lucas got to the end of the hall and turned around he would put his hands in the air and say "Hmmm?" (where's max?).

Lucas loved the "spee-man" pjs that they let him borrow.

Sunday Day

On Sunday morning we met Mark, Wendy and Charles at The Third Place for breakfast. I just love the setup there. We were able to sit at a table and watch the boys play with a box of toys they have setup for the kids. We got there at about 9:00 and decided that 8:30 - 9:00 is the best time because there are kids everywhere and nobody cares. At about 10:00 Lucas and Charles were the only kids and they were both getting bored. Wendy and I stretched our conversation as long as we could, but had to make a quick exit when Lucas started protesting louder than acceptable. Wendy and I see each other all the time, but we hardly ever get to talk because we're always chasing the kids, so it was very nice.

After breakfast we dropped Jeff off at home (we think he has a stress fracture in his foot) and went to a nearby park that is just a park - no playground. It was so much fun! Tyson was able to go too, which I love. We spent an hour and a half walking around, throwing rocks in the creek, collecting sticks, watching the trees blow, and just being silly. I didn't think it was going to go so well because 10 min after we got there Lucas fell in the creek! Luckily I had some clothes that I was planning to take to the Goodwill in my car, so we didn't have to go all the way home.

10 sec after this he fell in the creek...

Lucas's new outfit...

Saturday Night

On Saturday night we had our new friends Lucas, Susie and John over for dinner. We all like Thai food, so we tried a new recipe with chicken, peanut sauce, veggies and rice noodles - yum!

Lucas Bryant had just as much fun with Lucas Edward as he did with Max and Ben on Friday night. The boys ate at the table with us, but of course finished a lot sooner. Luckily our house is designed so that we could sit at the table and keep and eye on them running back and forth between the family room and kitchen.

After dinner we gathered in the family room and the boys took turns jumping off of the ottoman onto the bean bag chair. Lucas Bryant is sure to be a gymnast at some point in his life. After that they found the stash of bananas and both enjoyed a healthy treat.

Friday Night

We had a super social weekend. Jeff and I used to love the weekend nights with no plans, but since there is no such thing as relaxing with Lucas Bryant around, we figure we might as well stay busy. Mike, Jill and the boys came over for some black bean stew and cheese quesadillas and then we went to North Hills for an ice cream treat.

Lucas seems to have moved past the parallel play stage and now enjoys interacting with his friends. He is especially fond of Max, who is 4 1/2 years old. Lucas blatantly copies his actions - it is so cute. Max is such a sweet boy - he gets down to Lucas's level when he talks to him and helps him do things, like pick out an ice cream flavor.

As you can see, Lucas enjoyed his chocolate ice cream!

Gummy Bears

When Lucas had a cold a couple of months ago I bought some medicated gummy bears, which were a huge hit. When those were gone I found some fruit juice sweetened ones that we now use as an incentive for him to get his diaper changed. Lucas calls them "babies". At first I thought it was just some strange way that he pronounced gummy bears, but this morning he was moving his arms back and forth like crazy and I realized that he was showing me the sign for baby, which is holding your arms like you are rocking a baby. As he was moving his arms he was saying, "baby, beebee, baby, beebee" and pointing to the cabinet. I reminded him that those are treats for when he gets his diaper changed and turned around and sprinted to the bathroom. I went to see what he was doing and he was laying on his back on the changing pad with his feet in the air. Nice!

What Lucas is calling us now...

• He calls Jeff "Dada" and "Daddy", which sounds like "DAH-de". We usually hear them back to back --> "Dada, Daddy, Dada, Daddy"
• He calls me "Mama" and "Mommy", which sounds like "MAH-me". We usually hear them back to back --> "Mama, Mommy, Mama, Mommy"
• Sometimes when one of us walks in the room he will smile at us and say "ma-muhhh" or "da-deeee" with a big grin.

Feels Like Summer in Raleigh

Fun at the park with our friends Susie, Lucas, Wendy, Charles, Kim, and Christopher

This is our new friend - his name is also Lucas!
We like to call him by his first two names, Lucas Edward and they call my Lucas by his - Lucas Bryant.

My little turkey coming down the slide.

Lucas’s Routine During the Week

I just printed this off for myself, so thought I'd add it to the blog. Just an idea of what Lucas does all day. It's not the exact same each day, but it seems most normal days kind of happen like this...

7:00am - wake up/play with dada/change diaper
7:30am - eat breakfast
8:00am - nurse and cuddle when mama gets home from gym
8:30am - get dressed
9:00am - mama goes upstairs/lucas and kate play
10:00am - snack
10:15am - play
12:00pm - lunch
12:30pm - mama/dada come down – lucas’s cuddles/nurses/plays
1:00pm - nap
4:00pm - wake up/nurse/change diaper
4:30pm - afternoon outing/play
6:00pm - lucas dinner
6:30pm - bath
7:00pm - get dressed in room/play/dinner with mama/dada
7:30pm - play in family room in play area
8:00pm - upstairs play (dada's tools)
8:30pm - read books in mama/dada’s room
9:00pm - turn on noise maker with dada/nurse/bedtime

All or Nothing

This probably seems kind of silly since I just posted about Elmo yesterday, but we decided last night that Lucas doesn't need to watch anymore t.v. for a while. Just like everything else with our kiddo, he's "very" into anything that interests him. On Saturday we thought it would be fun to introduce him to Nemo. He loved it and I think would watch it 24/7. I felt horrible on Saturday night because I felt like he had wanted to watch t.v. all day and I leaned on it because I had so much to do around the house. We did make two trips to the park yesterday, so he did something other than watch t.v., but when we were home he was asking for it to be turned on. Jeff and I discussed limiting it to a certain amount of time per day, but he's not old enough to understand that yet and will just get mad when we say no, so we just said we'd stop it all together. All of Lucas's toys are in the family room and he stays at our house with a nanny all day, so we have a different situation because he CAN watch t.v. all day. I know lots of mommies that only watch a couple of shows on the weekend, which sounds nice, but Lucas doesn't know what a weekend is yet : )

To help us with our new challenge, we decided to get out of the house this morning and have breakfast at our favorite little coffee shop (well, my favorite - Jeff hates coffee). After that we played at home for a little bit and then went to a high school that is close by and ran around their track. Part of Jeff's training is to know his time for a mile and a 1/2, so we took turns doing this and then ran some 400s (1 lap around) to see what our time was for those. Lucas had a blast playing on the bleachers and throwing around some tennis balls. The weather is 60 degrees today, so we picked a great day to start our new rule of no t.v. He's napping now, but when he wakes up I think we'll try and stay outside until dinner time...

Pics from Sunday

Lucas reading in the coffee shop

Lucas upset that we left the coffee shop.

Lucas working hard on moving sand from one area to another.

Mini Word Explosion

I've been told that girls develop speech faster than boys, so I haven't been alarmed when I read on all of Lucas's girlfriends' blogs how they are saying so many words and even sentences. I know Lucas will get there in his own time, but I must admit that this is the only phase that I'd give him a little nudge through if I could. He knows what he wants but can't always tell us, which frustrates him... and then us when he gets upset.

I may see a tiny light at the end of the tunnel. Just in the past few days Lucas has started saying many more words. For a while now he has tried to repeat a word if we ask him to, but this week he has started copying us without being prompted. For example, I was yelling for Tyson by his nickname, shih-tzu, and Lucas started yelling "she-zoo" as loud as he could. Then yesterday he got stuck in some bushes and he kept repeating "stuck, stuck" after I told him he was going to get stuck. Jeff and I have to watch our mouths now!

Two other cute things he is saying are "this" and "too". Last night we were asking him what he wanted for dinner and he pulled a frozen pizza out of the freezer, handed it to us, and said "dis, dis". And if he wants us to do something with him he will point to where he wants us and say "too" - like "mama do it too".

Something else interesting to note as that he will try and repeat any word that I ask him too, but when I ask him to repeat one of the words that he signs he does the sign and won't say it. He did finally start saying "help" this week, which is huge since he always wants us to help him do one thing or another.

Oh no, here we go...

Lucas has gotten Elmo fever. Now instead of "geggle, geggle" we hear "melmo, melmo".

Lucas and His Long Good-Bye

If you have to say good-bye when Lucas is near, you better allow a few extra minutes. If we are somewhere besides our house he will usually let it go with just a high five. If we are at home, however, you will get a high five, then kiss, and then a hug with a pat on the back. Just as you are turning around to leave you will hear Lucas's sweet voice calling you back for another round. He also does this at night when I am laying down with him and Jeff is about to leave the room... it reminds me of a kid that keeps saying he needs water before bed... is he really this sweet or does he just want to delay bedtime? After a few rounds of good-byes with his dada he will wave to him and say bye (which has gone from a southern accent to "BI-ee").

Lucas, I hope you always stay this sweet! We can't get enough of your hugs and kisses and pats on the back...