7th Annual Memorial Day Trip

This weekend we went to Ocean Isle Beach with our friends from college, a tradition we started in 2001. We had a good time this weekend, but I must admit that it wasn't quite the same with Lucas Bryant and the other kiddos there. Having a toddler on vacation is just like having a toddler at home, but with more distractions, which was nice. We know now that vacations aren't for relaxing anymore! Lucas went full speed the entire weekend, stopping only for sleep (which he actually did pretty well). Lucas woke up around 8am everyday and hit the beach with his friend Hunter by 9:30. We stayed there a couple of hours, went home for a nap, and then hit the beach again in the afternoon. Sunscreen works! I'm so happy that we were able to spend so much time on the beach and have no tan lines to show for it. I was worried about his little baby skin. Lucas loved the beach, which is after all just a huge sandbox. He spent a lot of his time face down, as you can see in the first picture. He thought it was fun to walk fast with his hands raised in the air above his head and then belly flop into the sand. He tolerated the water, but didn't seem to really like it. He'd let it hit his toes for a few minutes and then asked to be picked up.

Lucas after a belly flop

So little.

Snack Break

Day 2

I wonder what Lucas was thinking here?

Lucas feeling the ocean with his little toes.

Mr. Serious taking a break for a picture.

Lucas, Jeff and Mike made a tunnel in the sand so that they could throw a ball in one hole and have it come out the other. Lucas tried to copy Jeff by sticking his arm in the hole, but it was too deep so he fell face down in the sand...

...Daddy consoling Lucas after the fall.

Lucas loved our friend Mike. Mike was here a few weeks ago and was being silly with Lucas, and everytime he saw Lucas at the beach he'd do something silly. Lucas wouldn't go to him, but he'd share some smiles and laughs with him.

Mike showing Lucas how the new game works.

Schroeder Fam

Where was Tyson?

Tyson is too much of a baby to go to a kennel. He's never been and I think he'd freak out if he had to spend the night in a strange place and not on a bed. He's spoiled. Our neighbors love dogs, so they were happy to invite Tyson into their home for the weekend. When we picked him up yesterday they told us that Tyson wouldn't eat his food, so they made him some rice and chicken (suckers!). When they took Tyson outside to go on a walk he would only go in the direction of our house. They love dogs so much, and were so worried about his separation anxiety, that they'd walk him to our house, knock on the door, and then tell him that nobody was home.

Tyson was kind of quiet last night. I think he's reconsidering his options!

Toothbrush

What's better than a new toothbrush? A new toothbrush dipped in flour, of course!

Tyson's New Look

What a ham.

Tired of the photo shoot.

Stare down.

Tyson wins, but Lucas gets in the last swipe.

Lucas pulls ahead?

It's hard to tell, but I think Lucas may be taller than Tyson now. Cute little guys.

Today

March

I just rocked Lucas to sleep. There was one moment when I looked at him, where the moonlight was hitting his face in just the right way, that I knew I was holding an angel in my arms. I keep telling myself that this is life. These are the good days. Live in the moment. I've always been a worrier and have spent a lot of time living in the future. Lucas has taught me in one year what all of the Dale Carnegie and Chicken Soup for the Soul books couldn't come close to teaching me. Thank you Lucas! Mommy loves you.

Tyson Update

I haven't blogged much about Tyson lately. He is such a good boy. I feel bad that I walk past him a lot during the day. I always try to talk to him or include him, but Lucas moves so fast that sometimes I zoom by him without acknowledging him. His special time, however, is at night. He usually cuddles up between Jeff and me and receives lots of hugs, kisses, and back rubbing. He and Lucas are going to be good friends one day. They play now with stuffed animals - Lucas holds onto the animal and Tyson rips it from his hands. When we play this game with Tyson he sprints away in hopes of being chased. When he plays with Lucas he doesn't run away, but instead moves a few feet away and challenges Lucas with his barks to try and get the animal. Tyson must have had a tiring weekend. Here he is snoozing in the corner last night (he needs a haircut).

Lucas at Work

Lucas begins "working" the moment he wakes up every morning. He goes from what seems like a deep sleep to wide awake in a matter of seconds. He slides off the bed and toddles out of the room, then he toddles back in with some random object. Next he toddles (kind of like a penguin) into the bathroom and starts pulling our brushes, cotton balls, etc. out of the drawers. His favorite drawers downstairs are the spice drawer and the utensil drawer. It is crazy how he finds so much enjoyment going through the same drawers over and over again. I guess there is always the hope that he will find something exciting in there. Here are two pics of him reeking havoc...

Lazy Sunday

Lucas chillin' out while Dad made breakfast on Sunday morning.

Something must have been funny. This is his new silly laugh.

Lucas's Apple

I suppose only Lucas's mother would think this is cute.

Lucas Triumphs

Lucas has been fascinated by this jewelry holder for weeks. This morning he overcame the challenge of being able to stand on top of the floor shelf. I took it off the wall for him and he played with it for an hour. Who needs toys?

What's in your trash can?

Apparently Lucas thinks that it is time for me to get a new toothbrush.

Frustrated Lucas

Since Lucas was about 6 months old he has clinched his fist when he is mad or frustrated. He seemed to stop doing it for awhile, but with his new found walking skills, there is apparently much more to frustrate him. This morning, for example, he took all of the pots out of one of the drawers, and then got so mad that he couldn't pull the entire drawer out. He clinched his fists and screamed. His face turned red and his little body shook. Yesterday his little friend Sophie got in his way and he did the same thing. This is why we are working so hard on his signs... although I guess he has created his own "sign".

I'm working on a video.

The Yo-Yo Theory

I read something last night that perfectly describes how Lucas is right now. This theory says that "The farther the toddler ventures out for his quest for independence, the closer they need to come back to baby things to make sure everything is okay. Both the venturing out and coming back are necessary for growing up. And, like a yo-yo, they do gradually come back less and less urgently."

When we are at home Lucas is somewhat of a velcro baby. He's gotten better since he's been walking and can entertain himself with all of the fun stuff around the house, but he still has his moments of being quite clingy. He is especially clingy at night, now wanting to sleep on top of me most of the night. When we're at the pool, however, he almost wants nothing to do with me! He gets in and out of the baby pool by himself and explores the surrounding - his favorite things at the pool are the wood chips. Sometimes I even feel like I'm cramping his style by following closely behind him. He's probably thinking, "gosh mom, all these kids are going to think I'm a mama's boy".

At the mall last week he demonstrated the yo-yo theory perfectly. He'd squirm in my arms until I let him down, then he'd have a blast checking out everything in the store... until someone talked to him. Then he'd run back to "home-base-mama" and bury his head in my legs. I love it that he feels such safety with us.

So I feel the 13+ months of nearly constant attachment to Lucas is working out well. He's developing confidence and starting to spread his wings a little bit. When I'm burned out from being a mommy (only moments at a time) I remind myself that this is only the beginning and soon Lucas will only be checking in during meal times, no longer needing constant mommy attention. I'll savor it while I can.

The 20lb Tornado

We try to make sure the house is pretty clean before going to bed, but by the time I get down to the kitchen to where Jeff and Lucas have been for 20 min, it looks like a disaster. Every spoon, measuring cup, and spice jar is on the floor. If we're lucky we remembered to pick up Tyson's dog food and water before Lucas found them. Jeff says it was caused by our 20lb tornado.

We figured out that it doesn't do any good to get stressed out by the mini tornado, so we're looking at it as a chance to teach Lucas how to clean up after himself. We'll let him play with just about anything he wants, but we try to leave every room clean, so we'll sing a clean-up song before we leave the room. "Spices away, spices away, it's time to put the spices away". Lucas is getting good at throwing stuff back into the drawer and putting the spices back on their shelf.

He is into everything. Here he has my cherry chapstick and potting soil from the plant on his face. I had just told Jeff how much I liked my cherry chapstick.

Mother's Day

We had a nice day yesterday. It started early when Lucas woke up at 5am with a wet diaper that had gotten his pj's a little wet. He usually sleep until 7 or 8, so I changed him so that he wouldn't get cold in wet clothes. That was enough to wake him up completely... ugh. At 6 Jeff got up with him and let me sleep in. Lucas was only wearing a diaper because it was a little warm in our room. I told Jeff to make sure he put a shirt on him before going downstairs. About an our later they woke me up with breakfast in bed (which is impossible with a toddler, so we moved down to the kitchen). See Jeff's outfit selection below. It was a cool and overcast day in Raleigh and after breakfast I was thinking of how nice it would be to curl up on the couch and watch CBS Sunday Morning. Lucas must have read my mind because he took a 2 hour nap from 9-11. Jeff and I started to watch t.v, but it was just too cozy and we decided to take a 2 hour nap ourselves. What a wonderful Mother's Day morning!!

Jeff's outfit selection. Tyson's Halloween costume from a couple of years ago.

Playing with Daddy and his hat. Check out the cape.

Tyson Schroeder as Super Tyson last Halloween

Later On

Later in the day Lucas invited Charles over to go for a swim. It was a little cool, so Lucas spent most of the time playing in the wood chips that surround the bushes they have planted around the pool. He's such a boy.

Wendy and me with the boys.

Charles and Lucas

"Hey buddy, I remember you."

"Hey Charles, have some of my sand."

Charles showing Lucas his diaproval over having sand poured on him...

Belly Sleeper

1 year ago

today

Little Guys

Blane and Lucas at the park

Hangin Out

Lucas, Christopher and Charles

More Play Mommy

Lucas has been on a signing strike lately, so last night I was trying to show him how the sign "more" can be a good tool for him. We were playing a game where I would lay on the floor on my back and he would sit on my tummy as I bounced him around, like he was riding a horse. I would stop and do the sign for "more" and wouldn't bounce again until he did the sign. He caught on quickly and I was stuck pretending to be a horse for longer than I would have liked.

Anyway, last night Lucas was especially restless. Around 3am he decided that he was awake and ready to play. I was kind of grouchy because I wanted to sleep, but I couldn't help laughing out loud when Lucas crawled over to me, sat on my tummy and did the sign for "more". Little stinker!

Bradley Birthday Party

When we were pregnant we took a birth class that taught a natural childbirth method called The Bradley Method. There were 9 couples in the class. 6 of the 9 babies were born within a few weeks of each other. When Lucas was 3 weeks old we got together with these mommies and babies for the first time. We quickly realized how much we needed to lean on each other and were great about meeting every Wednesday for a "play group". When some of us started to return to work we weren't able to meet as much, but we still get together (with the daddy's too) once a month, and we always have emails going back and forth. I have had many moments of feeling confused, lost and frustrated the past year - I can't imagine how it would have been without these friends. Here are the kiddos eating their cupcakes as we sang Happy Birthday to them...

TV Lunch

Sometimes I position Lucas's high chair so that he can see the t.v. and watch a Baby Einstein dvd while eating. I can't believe how much he loves those silly things. He laughs at the same puppets every time...

"Geez Mom, please move out of my way!"

"There's nothing better than carrots and Baby Einstein."

Smells Like Teen Spirit

What "no fear" Lucas looked like in the neighborhood pool yesterday... minus the dollar bill.

Little Swimmer

Twins

Charles and his Mommy and Daddy were able to come over for pizza after swimming in the pool. Charles came over in an outfit that Lucas also has, so I put Lucas's on him and they were twins for the night...

"Hey Charles, you've got to try this stuff!"

Update to slideshow...

Wendy found a website that hosts slideshows to music. Click the link in the post below and turn on your volume. It's more fun with music.