Sleeping with My Boys

Although there are moments when I wish Lucas could put himself to sleep, some of the sweetest moments of my entire life have been spent snuggling with him... and it's even sweeter than Tyson is always there too.

Lucas Table

Grandma and Grandpa got Lucas this cool new table for his birthday. He likes to sit in it while he has a snack and watches The Wiggles. On Friday I was leaving for work and had just made myself an english muffin with peanut butter on it. I was carrying my breakfast towards the door and Lucas was hanging on me and whining saying "geggles, geggles." I thought he didn't want me to leave for work, but we finally realized that he wanted that english muffin so he could eat it while he watched The Wiggles! As soon as I gave it to him he turned around and, without even looking at me, said "bye"very casually. Little turkey.

Notice that he's eating baby food in the first picture. It's funny because he never really liked baby food when he was a baby, but now I guess it's cool to eat like a baby. I'm just happy he's getting some extra calories...

Lucas and Tyson are partners in crime. Lucas is constantly sneaking Tyson little bites of his snack, lunch or dinner. Tyson quietly accepts - of course!

Special Baby Day

Today was a special day for me and the little baby in my belly. We have "known" each other for 11 weeks (really 9), but I've yet to feel a bond. When I was pregnant the first time it was so new and exciting. It's exciting the second time around, but it's not new and glamorous. I'm also much busier than I was when I was pregnant with Lucas and have been lucky to have a very easy first trimester. The combo of being busy and not really being able to tell that I'm pregnant makes it very easy to forget sometimes. Another thing that has been holding back the joy of this pregnancy is the feeling of guilt of how this change will affect Lucas. He's still nursing and very attached, so I imagine that this will rock his little world. I know he'll adjust, but for the first several weeks I felt a feeling of betrayal. That feeling is fading, so that's good.

Jeff and I decided a while ago that we'd not find out the gender of this baby. We figured it would make it more exciting. Last night, however, we decided that we would find out. I told him that I want to know if it's a boy or a girl so that we can pick a name and I can start imagining life with this new little person. Plus I think it will be easier to talk about the new little brother or sister with Lucas. Today I had to drive into work, so I had about 30 min to myself in the car. My mind was drifting and thinking of little girl names when a song came on the radio about a baby girl (carrie underwood's new song). Next thing I knew I was in tears imagining Jeff holding a little baby wrapped in a pink blanket.

So I felt like I bonded with the baby for the first time today. I've been thinking about him or her all day and wondering what they will be like. We have an u/s on April 10th, so we may be able to find out the gender then.

On our way to Atlanta...

Thank goodness for portable DVD players! We saved the movie Cars just for this trip. We figured Lucas would love it since every other kid seems too. He watched for about 10 min and then asked for Nemo. The rest of the trip he wanted to watch Nemo or "Stein" (baby einstein). I told Angela to get him some Cars figures for his birthday in anticipation that he'd love the movie. Even though he didn't like the movie, he still likes his new cars... Ramone and Lightning.

Tee-Tee is such a great traveler...

We even stopped for a quick lunch with Dan in Charlotte

Memorial Park

On Saturday, before Lucas's party, we went to Memorial Park to play with the dogs and so Jeff could go for a jog. This is the park that Jeff and I used to go to a few times a week and run together... when we were first dating. It was fun to visit it again and to see Lucas running around there. The first pic isn't from the park... it's a building that was damaged in the tornados a couple of wks ago... check out the windows.

Lucas's Family Birthday Party

When we found out that so much family was going to be in Atlanta we decided to throw Lucas a 2nd birthday party. It was also a way to guarantee that I got to see as much family as possible while were there! Atlanta is so big... my sister and brother live there, or outside of there, but they live about 90 min apart... so it's hard to get everyone together.

We found the greatest location... a small, seemed like family owned, restaurant with a porch on the back that could contain the three kiddos. It was so nice to just be able to let them run around while we ate and chatted. Lucas took a while to warm up to everyone, but once he did he had fun running around. He and Ty got into a little rumble when L

The "Lucas" look

Opening the Nemo gift that Ty gave him

Fighting with Ty over his new truck

Lucas is a little pyro. We practiced singing happy birthday and blowing out his candle for a week before his party. I thought he would LOVE doing this... but he got stage fright and said "no" when I told him to blow out the candle... sigh...

Mama and Dada with the birthday boy!

Lucas was sticking his fingers in the icing as fast as he could...

Then he was eating the cake like a dog...

Ty liked the cake too!

Pic with Bryan and Jenn

Pic with Angela

Scott and SaSa chillin' out...

The very surprised and excited grandma (my mom) posing with the new baby...

Lucas and Wesly getting REALLY dirty!

Wesley giving Lucas a hug good-bye

Atlanta Aquarium

We went to the aquarium on Friday at 11am and saw millions of people waiting in line, so decided to try again earlier on Friday morning. We had to wait for a few minutes, but it wasn't really that crowded. We thought Lucas would love, but it actually frustrated him because he wanted to be at the front of every line and didn't like having to wait his turn. Jeff and I didn't really like it either. The fish were awesome, but it was really commercial and there were just truckloads of people pouring in... we reminded ourselves to steer clear of these commercial attractions. After the aquarium we hung out in Centennial Park for about an hour... the weather was beautiful and Lucas enjoyed picking up leaves and sticks much more than his aquarium experience : )

We saw Nemo!!!

SaSa and Lucas

I told Lucas to go touch the glass so that I could take his picture : )

Lucas was really cranky about 30 min into the aquarium trip. It was only 10:30, so we didn't think he was tired... but I guess he was just tired from the previous day because he asked to nurse and then immediately fell asleep in my arms. I told Jeff and Sandy to just see the rest without us, but then I figured that I could just carry him around. He ended up waking up about 20 min later, so it wasn't that much trouble.. but I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Lucas is usually scared of these characters, but he was all about Deepo... who by the way is Nemo's brother (the marketing team at this place is smart).

Lucas hanging out in the big city...

Hotel in Atlanta

We know so many people in Atlanta, but it doesn't seem like there is a good place for us to crash when we go to Atlanta anymore. We used to stay with my parents or with Scott, but my parents moved to FL and Scott now has a roommate. My sister lives an hour south (with traffic) and my brother a half hour north. Friends live all over the place, but since we were going in town for such a short amount of time and had plans with Sandy (Jeff's mom) each day, we didn't want to just use a friend's house for sleep at night. So, anyway, we decided to get a hotel room in downtown Atlanta. I was super excited because we have never done that before. Jeff and I can't decide now if we liked it or not. Parking and driving was kind of a hassle, and walking the dogs was kind of a pain, but it was nice to have our own space each evening. Plus, we had a room that joined with Sandy's, so there was more room for Lucas to run and she got to spend some extra time with him. Speaking of Lucas, he loved the hotel room.. see for yourself.

"Mom, this is the life..."

"Oh wow, they have ice here!"

Tee-Tee enjoying the view of the city.

Happy Easter

For the 3rd year in a row Easter has gotten overshadowed by Lucas's birthday. Oh well! I figure that next year is the first year that he'll really get it, so I'll make more of an effort then. I did manage to put this little basket together for him. He had gotten so many gifts the day before, however, that he didn't seem to care about it too much. He thought the eggs were kind of neat.

Sleepy Boys on the Ride Home

Lucas and Tyson were pooped from such a busy weekend. We really did keep Lucas on the move and pushed his sleep limits every day. There were so many distractions, however, that we managed to get through it with minimal tantrums. There was so much traffic in Atlanta this weekend that I feel like he spent half of the trip in the car, which he hates, so that means he did an even better job of keeping his cool. We were dreading the ride home, but once I got him to sleep he slept for 3 and 1/2 hours. Jeff and I really enjoyed that peaceful time. Tyson, as usual, slept the entire 6 hours!

Baby Schrades #2

We are happy to announce that we are expecting our second baby this fall! And, you'll never believe this, but Jenn is due with her second baby on just about the same day. I am due October 17th and she is due October 19th. Wow, isn't that crazy? Ty and Lucas are 10 wks apart and now these babies will be within days apart. What lucky little boys... or girls : )

He's a Snoozer

You know how it is... the alarm clock goes off at 6am and you hit snooze until 7am. Lucas is the same way. He wakes up around 6:30 and then likes to nurse and snuggle with me for at least 30 minutes. I can really tell a difference in his mood on the days when I don't have time to indulge this.. he's short tempered and unsettled. On the days when he does get to snuggle as long as he wants he is silly and cheerful. I've learned that it's worth getting whatever it is I have to get done before he wakes up so that I can have the time to ease him into his day. I really look forward to this because it's special time with Lucas and also gives me a few more minutes or rest...

The Sweetest Guy I Know

Jeff and I say this to Lucas every day. We are so happy that all of the love we have showered him with for the past two years is paying off and he is becoming such a sweet, compassionate little boy. He is always on the outlook for a boo-boo so that he can kiss it to make it better. He gives the ones he loves kisses, hugs, and eskimo kisses whenever prompted and sometimes unprompted. If he is giving out kisses he always includes "tee-tee" - much to Tyson's dismay. He'll wave hello and bye-bye to anyone that smiles at him. It seems like there are a million other things that he does that makes us comment on how sweet he is throughout the day...

Can't stop hopping...

Lucas has SO much energy. He hardly ever stops moving. When I feel him relax in my arms at night as he's falling asleep I breathe a huge sigh of relief. Anyway, he moves in the form of running or hopping. If he's not running from point a to point b, he is hopping around the room. I've gotten 3 comments in the past week about his hopping. I just assumed that all 2 year old boys can't stop moving, but it seems Lucas stands out. I think that the reason he likes to hop so much is because we let him jump on his bed (it's low to the ground) and belly flop into a pile of pillows. I laugh because Lucas has been like this from day 1. The doctor told me at one of his first appointments that he has lots of energy and it's our job to teach him how to channel it.

Broccoli

Lucas's eating habits have kept me awake at night over the past few months. Until a couple of weeks ago I think more than half of his calories came from milk... at almost 2 years old! I worried about it and read about it, but the books say that you can't make them eat... all you can do is offer them food. Well just like every other phase that has consumed me with fear (like the t.v. phase) this too is passing. Tonight we went to dinner and he was asking for more and more chicken off of my plate (never has liked it before)... and I couldn't feed him the rest of his food fast enough. One thing I'm thankful for is that he likes vegetables just about as much as anything else (except for cake!). In this picture I had given him small pieces of broccoli, but he insisted on the "beeg" pieces on mama and dada's plate... and then he ate it like an ice cream cone.

When he's finished with his food he piles his glass and silverware on top of his plate, pushes it away from him, says "done" as he does the sign for "all done" and then tells Jeff "up please" as he does the signs for up and please.

"all done"

Happy Birthday Charles!

Little Charles had his 2nd birthday party this weekend. Lucas had a great time hanging out with all of his friends. In the first picture he is eating goldfish (of course) with his buddy Lucas and with Charles's grandma (Ba). He didn't care much for Cotton the Clown, and would only admire Elmo from a distance...

... but he WAS a fan of the cake!!!

Goldfish and Cake

My kid that doesn't like to eat was invited to a birthday party and, while all of the other kids were playing on the playground, sat and ate goldfish and waited for the cake to be served! In this picture you can see that the pavillion is empty except for Lucas and my friend Kim. Lucas is sitting at the table on the right eating crackers and keeping his eye on the cake. When the mom of the birthday boy picked up the cake can carried it to the playground to cut it, Lucas ran after and then stood right beside her as we sang happy birthday. When he got his slice he ran up to me and said, "cake!" with the biggest smile on his face. He finally played once he had eaten all of the junk at the party, but it wasn't on the playground... it was with the random rocks beside the playground. What a stinker.

Big Rocks

Lucas's new love is "big rocks". Jeff took him to the creek to throw rocks into the water one day a few weeks ago. He said something to Lucas about finding him a big rock and it stuck. Now if we mention going to the park Lucas says, "beeg rock, beeg rock". I think he could play near the creek and throw rocks in all.day.long. He doesn't want anything to do with the playgrounds anymore... which stinks because that's where his birthday party is going to be! Some other super cute things he says at the creek are "WHOA!" when the rock makes a big splash, or "huge!" when we tell him that we can't give him a boulder to throw in because it's to big.

Tyson enjoying the walk

First Professional Haircut

Before this weekend we had taken a couple of snips at Lucas's hair, but never anything drastic. This weekend we decided that it was finally time to get a little clean up. One side was thicker than the other and some days I felt like it looked like he had a comb over. We just wanted a base haircut and we may try to maintain it by cutting it out of his eyes.

Lucas did okay at the salon. It was a place for kids, so there were balloons, slides, race cars and firetrucks that the kids could sit in while they got their cut, videos, etc. Lucas refused to sit in the firetruck chair, so he sat in my lap instead. Since it was his first time he got two employees allocated to him. The girl that was cutting his hair had a balloon that she would show him in between cuts and the guy was showing him toys, like the Elmo doll that Lucas took from him and threw right down on the floor. The girl did a great job - I don't know how she did it. Every time Lucas realized that she was touching him he would throw his head back. The whole thing lasted about 4 min. Here is the cutie...