getting into everything...

Lucas has a way of crawling really fast toward something new and finding new ways to open things. We have the kitchen completely baby-proof with Tot Locks. Sometimes I do open one of the cabinets to let him pull out pots and pans as that is something ALL babies should have the chance to try. Here he is in the foyer just figuring out how to open a drawer.

 

Happy birthday to you!  Happy birthday to you!  Happy birthday, dear Lucas!  Happy birthday to you!

I'm so thrilled to celebrate this day with my little man and list all the things he can do.  Lucas can:

• Wave to people.  Who knows if he knows the difference between Hi and Bye, but he loves to wave.  It's usually when the person isn't looking so I think it's more of a "Hey you..." wave.
• Pulls up and stands unassistant.  Apparently this means that walking is anytime now.  I'm not in a rush to watch Lucas teeter about wabbling, etc... but he's growing up!
• Says a multitude of consonants including:  Mama, Dada, Nana, Gaga, Nono, Doo, Goo, Go, Doe, Moe, Ss, St, Ts (weird I know), and so forth.  He babbles a lot.
• He's still not a big eater.  We're working on that.
• Cruises all over the place with his various toys.  His aunt bought him a really cool dump truck that makes all the truck sounds like backing up, the horn, starting the truck, etc...  It's really neat, and he can store his toys in the back.  He got an elmo, a Corduroy bear, etc...  What a lucky little guy...
• He points to things he wants.
• He tends to have a little bit of a temper.  I'm wondering if this is from me?  LOL

Anyway, here's some pictures from his big day.

 

  

  

  

 

a perfect sunset

Before heading off to the gym to try and pound out 5 miles... (I only made it to 3 before exhaustion), I captured this shot of father/son in the backyard. How sweet! The training for the half marathon is WAY behind, and I've already signed up so no backing out now. Wow. It seemed like it wouldn't be SO hard to train for it since I've done a full marathon twice, but I am SO out of shape. I feel like one of those people on the Biggest Loser looking so out of place on a treadmill. I will say that it was easier last night than a couple of weeks ago. I have to do that five miles this weekend for sure. Of course, my goal is to finish, but I'd like to finish with no injury from not training. Ugh, I'm such a procrastinator!

I returned home from the gym last night with Jeff showing off Lucas standing up on his own. Wow! Slow down little man! I'm not ready for you to grow up so fast. Believe me, just having this last year go by so fast really makes me understand why someone would have a baby back-to-back! I wish it was so easy to get pregnant just when you want to, but sometimes it takes longer when you are oldies like Jeff and me. *laugh* Anyway, Jeff was bribing Lucas with some gerber yogurt smoothie treats which he loves. It's so much fun watching the changes almost daily in his personality, etc...

Lucas has 6 teeth! When he smiles he does a little bit of a crossbite and winks both eyes almost like he's learning how to flirt so soon! He points to everything and says several words. I will admit it's hard to understand what he's saying sometimes, but he says "dog" for Jake, Theo, and Pate. He calls me mama and Jeff dada. There are other words and points at things he wants. How fun! He plays peek-a-boo, and he loves for us to read him books. (Cordoroy Goes to the Doctor being his favorite at the moment).

love of dogs and pointing

Lucas never ceases to amaze me with his continual growth and personality peeking through. As most know, I have three dogs. I have two that are very old (17 and 13) and a maltese that is 7. Lucas has this knack for crawling toward both Theo and Pate and head butting them, as seen above. Neither of them can move very quickly to get away. Lucas also likes to use them both as a pillow to lay his head on. It's hilarious! I'm sure they don't enjoy it, though, but maybe Theo looks pretty happy above. I videoed Lucas feeding Pate puffs last night. I figure Lucas will never remember these two old dogs, but I'll have the memories.

We went to the doctor yesterday because I wanted the doctor to check out his eye. The doctor suspects eczema but found out Lukie weighs about 19 pounds now. He's just so darn little! Another new thing is that Lucas points to everything. It's amazing watching him grow and communicate more and more with all of us. What a joy!

lucas crawls today

Lucas is becoming mobile. My mind immediately dances about trying to figure out how I'm going to adjust my life and the way I do things (particularly when no one else is here to watch him) to ensure that he won't crawl somewhere and get in trouble. First thing on my agenda is to purchase another playpen for the bedroom. I have one downstairs that is proving to already be a help when needing to do something, oh like go to the bathroom?

 

Some particular dates I meant to write down in his baby book today:  11/11 - first tooth.  12/10 - second tooth.  12/20 - first "real crawl" though his Nana swears he crawled on his Daddy's birthday.

a sneak peek

He's growing WAY too fast... more to come!

little cocoon

I will have to take a picture sometime of Lucas and how I get him to nap during the day.  There was a period of time around 4-5 months where Lucas was fighting daytime naps.  A dear friend of mine offered to show me a swaddling technique where you just swaddle the arms down by his side.  Lucas has this need to flap his arms like he's going to take off flying OR making snow angels.  It's cute but it keeps him wide awake.  I call this swaddling technique the "straight jacket swaddle."  Hilarious.

This morning, Lucas decided to fight sleep a little more than usual.  It took me 30 minutes to get him to go to sleep but that was almost 2 hours ago so well worth it.  He'll wake up happy and in a good mood and we'll head to Wild Oats to pick up some things.  He's a joy.

Lucas had his 6 month checkup yesterday and was 16 lbs and 8 oz.  He was 27 inches long.  What a big boy!  He did very well with his vaccines which I was proud of.  I decided to not do the flu vaccine but Jeff and I will get the Flumist.  Hopefully that'll help.

happy 5 months!

they really grow fast, huh?

month 4

What a wonderful experience this has been so far! This month's milestone for us is the lack of using the breastpump as before. You are finally getting it! What a joy to know that I pumped for 16 weeks and that you finally got it. It is SO much easier to just nurse and not have to pump and clean parts, make bottles, etc... In fact, it's strange this week not having to wash bottles. Wow!

I'm really getting used to life with you and wonder how was life before you? Your smile, the laughter in your eyes, and the little expressions you are already making. I cannot believe how blessed we are to have you in our lives.

We're struggling with daytime naps. You are such a fighter and don't want to miss anything! I'm hoping that now that you are older that we can try some sort of schedule, though I doubt it'll happen since your mommy is an ENFP. In other words, she doesn't have organization and planning in her genetic makeup!

We love you and feel so lucky to have you in our lives. We hope the very best for you. Everytime I put you down for a nap I pause and say some prayers for you. I really want the best for you in this world.

I just survived my first day working upstairs with a nanny downstairs. She is only here once per week as the other 2 days I work during the week is my husband’s and mother’s responsibility. It wasn’t so bad! He’s been refusing bottles for two days, but today he DID take one bottle from her. I have to make sure he does that or I will be tied down and possibly complaining for a whole new reason. I don’t want to do that.

She is a great nanny. She was young and seemed to have a lot more energy than me. I can say that meeting her and seeing her hold my little one made me realize how much more twenty somethings were made to have children. It’s hard as a thirty something sometimes. I can’t explain it, but I’m tired a lot and all the running I did earlier in life has my back hurting at times. I wish I could hire her for months… But, she’s through a staffing agency and as soon as she finds the full-time position she is looking for, I’ll be a second thought (I’m only one day a week).

Yesterday was Lucas’ 4 month appointment. He weighed 14 lbs 12 oz (25-50%) and length was _________ (will fill this in later) (25-50%). His head circumference was also 25-50%. He’s grown!

i'm lifting my chest and head to see the world

...and wanting to roll over