we made it!

We made it to Albuquerque. We left Austin late, so we got into ABQ at 7:45 instead of 6:40. After a trip to Costco for dinner (Lukie's fave hotdog spot) and lots of fun with toys, I had the kiddo in bed at 11:00. Midnight his time. He woke up from his nap at 2:45, so it's been a looooong afternoon for him, but he didn't seem to mind. I hope he sleeps.
Oh, we did have a fun surprise! When we stopped in Lubbock the Stebbings boarded the flight and sat right across the aisle from us. They were headed to SLC. Lucas and Kaden were super-psyched to run off the plane and through the airport together. We eventually got them to stop running and we went our separate ways, but it was fun to see them. They're looking fab.
More ABQ updates to come as we have our adventures. My skin and nose are already missing that Austin humidity. And Lucas and I are already missing you (unless you are mean).

Cheerios and Thomas

If you give a boy what he wants, he'll tell you what you want to hear.
I was vacuuming downstairs so I let Lucas watch Thomas and eat some Cheerios (dry) on the couch. While I was slaving away in the kitchen he walked around the couch and screamed, "I luck you, Mama. I luck you, Mama." He loves me! He really does. (I did check with him and make sure that luck really does mean love). What a sweet boy.

American Baby

I got out of the shower the other day to find this. It reminded me of that rose petal scene from American Beauty. (But not dirty)

Instincts

Lucas and I were playing with Jeana and Kate this morning and I noticed the difference between little boys and little girls.
Kate was wearing her pretty ballerina leotard and pink dress up shoes. Her hair was in a pretty pony tail.
After lunch she asked to change into another dress, too. Jeana mentioned that they go through many changes of clothes throughout the day. We don't do that at our house, but it just comes naturally to Kate to play dress up and accessorize.
And naturally when Lucas wants a toy that Kate has he puts her in a headlock and throws her to the ground.

Birthiversary

I had a very good Birthiversary this year. I was dreading it because I turned a horrible age that I didn't plan on turning for at least 5 more years.
We started the Birthiversary weekend by taking the family pictures on Saturday, which was a much more successful event than we had ever dreamed.
Sunday Ben made my birthday cake from scratch using his mom's recipe for an almond/raspberry cake. It's a very dense, rich yellow cake with almond paste and raspberry filling. It was not only beautiful, but tasty. I was proud of Ben; although, I did get scolded for advising him on baking... or bossing, as he puts it.

That night Andrea dropped Clay off on her way to a church meeting. Clay watched Lucas while we went to dinner. When we got home I opened the door to see Clay jumping to attach a sign to the wall. "Ahhh... Clay decorated for my birthday" I thought. Then I walked inside to see streamers, balloons, and Audrey. At this point, I though Jeana came to help Clay and Andrea decorate the house. Then the rest of the crew came from the stairs to surprise me. And I was really surprised! I thought we were having people over Monday night.

It was very sweet and fun. We have the best friends ever! If I had to turn such a dreadful age, this was the way to go. Check out the cool sign Ben designed.

Notice how it matches the cool streamers and balloons. Thanks, everyone!

Family Pictures

Have I ever mentioned how Lucas is nearly impossible to photograph?

For our anniversary we decided to try to get some good shots at a studio...not a super-cool studio, but a studio none the less. We finally got some decent shots. Gagus and Gampas, you'll have to wait to see them, but here are a few from the gag reel!

(BTW, my hair was a lot darker when I got the lowlights 2 weeks ago... It's faded a lot)

six

1 beautiful little boy
2 happy parents
3 countries visited
4 cars
5 places lived
6 years of wedded bliss

And more adventures to come. Happy Anniversary, Baby. Here's to our future.

Recent Lucasisms - November

Stinky pants: A few times this week Lucas has told me he had a dirty diaper (which isn't new), but he then lied down on the floor when I asked him to so I could change his diaper (this is NEW!).
Another thing about poopy pants. When I change his diaper I ask, "Lucas, did you go poop in your pants?" He answers "No." Then I ask who did and he answers, "Gagu." And then he laughs. I don't know which grandma is pooping in his pants, but could you two please stop?

Abandonment: Lucas has declared that he wants freedom from his highchair. He now eats in a normal chair like mom and dad. He probably doesn't eat as much because it's hard for him to sit still. And I find myself not only cleaning the floor, but the entire chair - every rung of the back, after dinner. When Lucas is done eating he likes to take his dish and put it in the dishwasher. Then he starts the dishwasher, which is a little annoying, but still cute that he want to be helpful!

Foodie: Lucas is a pretty healthy eater. His favorite foods are blueberries, watermelon, strawberries, grapes and now apples. Sometimes we find ourselves saying, "Lucas eat some more of your cheesy pizza and you can have more grapes..." The other day I think I actually tried to get him to eat potato chips. Yesterday on three separate occasions he went to the fridge and got out the bag of grapes and an apple and brought them to me.

Dance Machine: Lucas and I enjoy watching Dancing with the Stars together. He's really cute because he gets up and dances sometimes. Then he always applauds and says, "Yay!!" when they are done.

Family Matters: When Lucas reads a book, he always points out the mommys, daddies and babies. Even in a dinosaur book. Last night we were looking in our Little People caveman book and he pointed out mommy, daddy, baby, gagus and gampas. Even the dinosaurs have families.
The other weekend I took Lucas to the Childrens Museum and he was playing with the cow display - a couple cows, calves, and a barn. He made a mommy cow a daddy cow and two babies. I didn't bother to go into how both cows were female... We'll talk about alternative families next time. I think it's great that he likes having a mommy and a daddy (I assume).

Learn, Baby, Learn: Lucas has his letters down. Now he's getting really good at lowercase letters and numbers 1-9. Ben is a good teacher after work!

Name Game: If you ask Lucas his name, he says "Baby." I think "Lucas" is just too hard for him to say. Or maybe it's because all three of us are named Baby in this house.
FYI - he is getting better at other names. He says Mannie for Maddie, LiLi for Lisa, Clay, Kate, and a slew of ofther names... He also says K, green and orange now thanks to Gagu.

I'll get more pictures up as soon as we get them put back on the computer. iPhoto is currently out of the office.

Mommy Sad?

Yesterday during nap time I stumbled across a blog that a friend had told me about a few weeks ago, but I had since forgotten. It is the Nie Nie Dialogues by Stephanie Nielson. In August Stephanie and her husband, Christian, were in a private plane crash that killed the pilot and gave them severe burns. They are currently recovering from their burns in Mesa. Stephanie's sister, Courtney, has taken over her blog reposting favorite entries from before, but also has her own blog where she writes about her new life (taking care of her own son, plus Stephanie's children) and updates on Stephanie and Christian's conditions. She uses her blog to raise money for Stephanie and Christian's recoveries. Stephanie will be needing skin grafts for years.

Stephanie has amazing faith. Her love for motherhood and for her Mr. Nielson is inspiring. As I was reading these two blogs, I was crying my brians out thinking about what these families are going through. Lucas came into the office and saw me and suddenly got very worried.
"Mommy Sad?" he said
I explained to him that I read something that made me sad and that I was okay and that I loved him very much.
"Mommy okay." Lucas said.
"Yes, Mommy is okay."
This went on all night. We drove to see Ben at work and have dinner downtown and while we drove Lucas kept saying, "Mommy okay?"
Lucas is such a sweet boy and I'm glad that I can be his mommy. I'm glad that I was the one that had to carry him across busy downtown streets last night while he fought me so he wouldn't get run over, and I'm glad that my husband was there to chase him out of the restaurant when he escaped. I'm glad he has such spirit, which I often blame on Ben's DNA, but it makes him who he is and he is wonderful.

Read about Nie Nie and C Jane if you need to be inspired... or cry.

Bike Rack Ben

Ben entered a contest to design a bike rack for the Downtown Austin Alliance. He was one of three chosen winners and his bike rack will be built in front of the Art Museum on Congress.

Ben will be a busy boy now trying to find all the bike gears to use. When he first entered the contest, I didn't know he would be responsible for making sure it got built, but he is.

You can read about it and see the other winning designs here.

Congratulations, Baby!

Runaway

Today was stake conference at church. It seemed like half of Austin was there. The chapel, overflow area, gym, and stage were full. There was even a video camera transmitting to little TVs in the Relief Society and multipurpose rooms, which were also full.
We were in the multipurpose room, along with lots of other people with noisy kids. Lucas was having a hard day and refused to sit still. Finally I took him out and we went in a classroom and watched Elmo's World. Yes, I brought a DVD player to church and I don't regret it, so there. After about 30 minutes we headed back to try to sit by Ben. This time Lucas did a little better, but soon got antsy.
The final speaker was Elder Packer (Boyd K. Packer's son). He was nearing the end of a great talk when Lucas decided he would rather escape from the classroom than listen. So, I ran after him... straight into the gym. I figured surely he would be afraid of all the people and turn around.
Nope. Instead he headed right down a row of people. I followed (in my 4.5" heels) hoping he would stop soon, or that someone would see the panic in my eyes and stop him for me. Then he turned towards the chapel once he got to the center aisle. Again, I thought, "he won't go far. There are too many people in his way." But, no, he got to the last row of the people in the chapel, where I thought he would be trapped, zigzagged and made his way right into the chapel, where he resumed traveling at full speed. He made it all the way up to the very first row, turned left and was right in front of Elder Packer. Luckily he didn't go on to the stage (his favorite place to play) and luckily the video camera was in his way in the front row. As he tried to make his way around it, someone stopped him for me and I carried him out.
Sadly, we didn't make it on camera for Ben to see, but everyone else in the whole church got to see. I made it out of the chapel before I started to laugh/lecture Lucas. After that, I took him to the multipurpose room where we gathered our belongings and our dad and we headed to the car (only after Ben had to chase Lucas so he wouldn't run into the street, of course).
I talked to Lucas for several minutes about how he can't run away from me. I don't think he got anything out of it, but he did tell me he wouldn't run away anymore. I don't believe him.
He's been sweet ever since we got home.

Adventures with Gagu and Maddie

My mom and niece, Maddie, came to visit us last weekend. They arrived on Friday just in time to go trick-or-treating.
Lucas was Elmo for Halloween. I thought he would love his costume and want to wear it all the time, but no. He hated his costume and I might have scarred him forever by forcing him to wear it. He refused to wear the hat, so he always just looked like a furry red kid or a decapitated Elmo.
Here is Lucas with his friends (in order, Drew, Lucas, Kate (so helpful!), Anna, Riley, Audrey, Ocean, and Eden):

After T-O-Ting we went to a super-fun party at our neighbor's house. Then we were off to bed.
Saturday we decided to go out for lunch to Flip Happy - a place downtown that sells crepes out of an airstream trailer. When we got there there was a long wait, so we decided to go for hamburgers instead. That line was long too, so Ben dropped us off at the park and headed back to get lunch. After waiting in line at the hamburger place, he decided to wait at Flip Happy. So, about 1 1/2 hours later Ben made it back to the park to find 3 exhausted girls and a half naked sunburned boy. The crepes were good, though.
Saturday night was the Halloween party at church. I didn't make Lucas wear his Elmo costume. Instead he wore angel wings from last year and hardly knew they were there.
Sunday Lucas and Maddie finally go to play a little after church. Maddie is a good girl and sits in Lucas's chair like a champ. He loved having her to read to him. Now he expects me to do it ;).

Sunday evening poor Maddie had to head back to ABQ so she could go to school on Monday. I got to take her to the gate and make sure she got on the plane. I'm glad to report she made it home safe and sound with no incident.
Lucas also had a great time with "Gagu." They practiced learning his letters and also read lots of books.

Monday and Tuesday my mom and I went around Austin on various errands. The most important being to Hobby Lobby to pimp my kitchen (above the cabinets). We bought the candle holders, trunk, basket/greenery, and I already had everything else.

I'm so glad my mom could help me because I didn't know what to do, and would have bought too many plants and made it crowded. Thanks, Mom!
Tuesday after nap time Lucas and I took Mom to the airport. Lucas whined most of the way, but we got her there safe and sound. She met up with my dad in Dallas and they headed to Florida to stay with my grandma for a couple weeks.
We had a great time with our company. Thanks for coming Mom and Maddie!

Babble Boy

Here's a video for Lucas's cousins who appreciate his antics. Our local friends get to witness Lucas's quirks, but for those of you who haven't seen him when his switch is on, here you go.
Lucas was talking all sorts of nonsense last night while he was eating a snack. He also had the hiccups, which made it even funnier. We have no idea what he was talking about... (FYI - he says "yup" for yes)

Lucas really appreciates his wardrobe. He likes to get several outfits and try to put them all on at once. I think he favors orange... even though he calls it "Yebby" (yellow). Here Lucas is sporting a polo from Lisa, orange pants from Andi, and brown shorts underneath the pants from Lisa. Thanks for the wardrobe, girls!

Elmo Pee Pee

I got Lucas an Elmo potty last month hoping that it would interest him in potty training. Sometimes he will sit on the big potty, but for some reason he's afraid to sit on the Elmo potty unless it's on the ground. So, this is how we're rolling right now until we're ready to go full speed ahead.

Double Ds

Just a few updates. Lucas is a total stud at knowing his letters. He knows all of them and can pronounce most of them. "W", however, is Double D. I guess like most guys he thinks a double D sounds pretty great. Also, E and B are both pronounced as "B." "V" is something altogether wonderful that involves lots of spitting... only a video can do it justice.

Still the fruit boy. A few weeks ago Lucas discovered the beauty that is the apple. He eats at least one a day now and enjoys them to the max. He even prefers a regular apple to one blessed with caramel. I don't feed him nearly enough veggies still, but he will eat lettuce with some salad dressing - first licking, then biting.

Lucas is a good helper after we go shopping. I put all the groceries in the hallway and he brings each item in one by one and hands it to me. It's great because it keeps him busy for 5-10 minutes and he is so proud of himself when he helps.

Lucas is also a good helper when we vacuum. He follows me around with his Mr. Sticky (basically a big fat lint roller) and "cleans" up after me. Yesterday Lucas took his finger puppets and put them in the little attachment holders. He was really funny. He also took the Mr. Sticky and stuck it in the power head.

Ok, so Lucas eats breakfast is just a diaper also. The vacuuming was right after breakfast. I promise he does wear clothes... sometimes.

Baker Boy

I was just looking through old videos and found this one. It's from Lucas's birthday when I was making frosting for one of the cakes. He used to sit still when he would "help" me cook. Now he's into everything. Tasting, dipping, grabbing and reaching.

Zilker Park

The other day Jeana and I went to Zilker Park with some friends. We were headed to the botanic gardens, but they ended up being closed, so the kids settled for a cool playground and lunch by the river. Lucas really wanted to go on the train ride, but it was sold out. I thought maybe he would settle on sitting in the train for a minute, but he wanted to sit in the drivers seat, which I don't think was allowed. Maybe some other day...

"Night night, Baby"

We think it's really funny to have Lucas and Kate hold hands.

"Ooh, a minnow!"

"Mom, there's slime in my shoe."

Bubble Fun

The toys you can invent while doing the dishes and cleaning the food processor...

Caught in the Act...

Lucas can open the dryer door, climb on top, grab all the detergents, oxy clean, etc. and make a complete mess. Yesterday he climbed into the dryer.

Last night Lucas picked my last onion in the pot. It was done, but I was just leaving it there until I wanted to use it. It also happened to be one of my biggest onions of the year.

Lucas and I discovered this fun new game last night while we watched DWTS. It was really funny.

On another note, Lucas rarely has clothes on in his videos. I promise you he does wear clothes. We just take him out of his dirty clothes right after dinner and that's when most of the videos are taken. Although, I did come home from getting my hair done on Saturday and he was still in his diaper running around...

And.... We're back!

After a 10 day hiatus with no internet, we are back in action. We switched from Time Warner to AT&T because for just a little more $ we got a phone line, DSL, and DISH.

It was a complete nightmare dealing with AT&T, but hopefully it will be easy sailing from now on. I think my arch nemesis must work there and botched everything I ordered. After discovering a dead line in front of our house, digging up the lawn in two of my neighbors' yards, losing my internet order, reordering, and finally fixing the broken phone jack in the office (thanks, Ben!) we finally have contact with the outside world again.

I learned how much I rely on the internet on a daily basis. I use it as my main source of entertainment, communication, information (recipes, directions), and of course shopping. During my 10 days w/o all of that, I would like to say I learned to quilt, or play the bongos. I didn't, but I did get the ironing board out - twice!

Today I've been refamiliarizing myself with the web. I already have emails in to two people from craigslist - one for a Filter Queen (my vacuum) and one for a gig at a hair show a.k.a. free hair cut, and one email into Layers checking on the status of some clearance items! We'll see how much money I can spend now that I have internet.

I'll have more Lucas news up for you soon... Also, if you want our new phone number shoot me an email. We got a measured phone line (only $5), where I won't be calling out that often, but I can have unlimited calls in. We will probably screen our calls since we don't have caller ID, but not because of you.

thank goodness for baker friends...

I was just reminded of the most delicious night ever. Next time you are bored, follow the Holland's example and have a pie baking contest. After the pies have baked and cooled, come to our house for fair and honest judging. Bring fun siblings and it will be the best night ever.

uh oh - watermelon!

We love watermelon at our house. You can see Lucas enjoying a piece for breakfast.
While I was in the pantry getting the oatmeal for breakfast, Lucas was busy in the refrigerator. I suddenly heard a big crash and turned around to see a bowl toppled over with pieces of watermelon all over the floor.


Lucas knew this was bad news and started to cry a little, but I just had to laugh it off so I didn't cry too. Together we cleaned up the watermelon. Lucas ate a lot of it and threw the rest in the garbage for me. I was the designated floor/Lucas wiper as well as videographer.

And another video. This time with the poor kid slipping in the juice.

Potty Humor

Today after Lucas's nap I was changing his diaper. As I was finishing up, he got a little hyper and started playing with the wipes and swinging them every which direction. I looked at him sternly so he would stop, which he did for a second. Then he reached down to his side and grabbed the dirty diaper and swung it up. It swept across his face, poopy side down, and landed next to him. The poop fell out of the diaper and landed right next to his head, touching his ear. At first I was just shocked and we stared at each other. Then I lost it and started to laugh uncontrollably. I considered fetching the camera, but knew that something bad would happen if I left.
After my laughing fit, I told Lucas not to move. By then he had realized what happened and burst into tears, not moving because there was a big poo next to his head.
I grabbed the poo with the diaper and wiped the poo stripe off his forehead. Then I told him it was ok and we went to the bathroom and did a quick face/hair shampoo in the sink. Poor baby. He keeps touching his hair and saying, "pee pee."
I got these pictures afterwards. He's pointing to the poo stain. The sheets are in the washer now.

Threadless Voting Time!

Ben's been working on these four shirts for a long time. He wanted to get them all up so you can vote at once. They are at Threadless and if he wins and one gets printed he will get paid and some t-shirts. Then maybe he can wear something besides free Whataburger shirts he gets from the closet at his office! It's easy to sign up for an account to vote, so go ahead and get busy. We really appreciate it!
As for scoring, 5 is the best score. If you indicate that you would buy the shirt by checking the "$" than that's even better.

Naughty One

I was too lazy to get the camera from downstairs yesterday when I was writing, so here are the pictures.

Lucas helped me make cookies yesterday. He's such a pill now when I cook. All is hear is "up, up, up..." until I put him on the counter. He used to be able to keep his hands to himself, but now he's got busier hands than a 17 year-old boy.

Lucas likes to play hide and seek in my closet. He gets behind the clothes and gets lost several times a day.

Here's a picture of Lucas in his new crib tent. I know it's ugly, but having him stay in bed is quite lovely. (They make these for Pack n Plays too!)

Last night for dinner Lucas had some yogurt. It turned into more of a yogurt hand massage. That was a joy to clean up!

After dinner, Lucas felt like climbing Mt. Exhausted Daddy. It went well... until after I stopped filming and Lucas stepped on a land mine. Ouch!