Luke's Naked Mile

There are some things that you don't want to forget as a parent... even if they are embarrassing and demonstrate your poor parenting ability.
Case #1:
The other evening we got a good rain storm finally. We decided to go out on a walk afterward before bed time. Lucas walked much more quickly than usual and took himself straight to the park. At the park he played on the wet slides and tunnels for a few minutes and then came over in front of the bench we were sitting on. He started grabbing at his shorts.
me: Lucas, don't take off your pants.
L: But, they're dirty.
He takes off his pants and heads over to a fun puddle on the sidewalk he was playing in.
me: Now, he's gonna want to take off his diaper.
Sure enough, two seconds after he took his pants off, he removed his diaper. He promptly went pee in the grass, then continued to play in the puddle. He started just splashing around, then sat in the puddle and eventually lied down in the puddle and put his head on it's side like he was going to sleep. We couldn't do anything but laugh. He was having so much fun naked puddle jumping. (FYI - it was dark and there was no one around).
Then, he picked up his diaper, swished it around in the puddle... much like a sponge, and threw the diaper at his parents on the bench.
We just cracked up, it was so funny. Finally it was time to head home so we put his wet shorts back on, took off his wet shirt and walked home. We were fortunate to run into some friends on the way home, and also play with a couple frogs. It was a good night.
Case #2:
Tonight Lucas took his diaper off to pee on the potty. Ben put a new one on, which was promptly removed within 5 minutes, so I went and got the new boxer shorts I bought for his b-day. We put those on him and he seemed happy. Then we decided to go on a walk, so we put other shorts over his new undies.
We went outside and Lucas decided he needed to drop his pants and pee - in the neighbor's yard, but we managed to hurry his naked bum back to our yard at least and we let him pee in the grass. Once again, no one was around... I hope. I put his pants back on and we continued on our walk. Lucas chose to wear a pair of Ben's shoes, so it was slow going. Eventually he took them off and walked barefoot. We just went around the block, but when we were about half-way done he had a bit on an accident in his pants. He then decided to rid himself of his wet drawers and run down the street. As much as we hollered he didn't come back, so I decided to chase him, wet shorts in hand. He was having so much fun running away from me feeling free in the breeze. When he got to the end of the street, he crossed it (away from our street) and kept running. I was laughing so hard, trying not to have an accident of my own, that it was hard for me to catch him. I finally caught up at the end of the block, both of us laughing. Of course, we gave him a stern talking to, put his pants back on him, and then headed home. He still ran away from us, but Ben chased him that time.

That kid just cracks me UP! Despite all his naughtiness, he has so much personality and I just love him for it. He's so personable and friendly, and loves talking to people - anyone. Tonight he introduced us to the kids up the street again, "These my friends, Mommy & Daddy..."

On another note, today for the first time, people approached me about my bulging belly. This sweet old lady at church came up and told me she noticed my shirt was a little tight, and asked when the baby was due. Another guy checked with Ben first before taking a risk at offending me. I guess I'm officially fat. :)

Look who turned 3!

Well folks, we survived! The terrible twos have passed us by, and now the blissful threes are upon us.
Lucas woke up this morning in a great mood to find lots of little balloons scattered on the living room floor. I made the mistake of displaying the presents, but not wanting him to open them all right away...

We let him open one right away, and another when he accompanied Ben on a trip to the gas staion for ice. While they were there, the attendant also gave Lucas $1 for his birthday - very sweet. Then we were off to his 10:30 party. On the way to the party we realized we never fed the kid breakfast, so I passed a fruit leather back to him hoping it would suffice. (It's not like I didn't try to feed him, he was just too busy playing with his new cars, then I was too busy getting ready for the party!).
We met some friends at a cute little park so the kids could play. I made subs for lunch accompanied by fruit, carrots, and chips. FYI - kids love cheese Doritos. Lucas only dined on watermelon, chips, carrots, and about 5 Capri Suns. Seriously, F-I-V-E.
I made a bug cake for Lucas this year. I was going to make an ice cream cake, but decided that would bite me in the bum if I tried to bring an ice cream cake to a Texas park in August. Instead I made a log roll cake (white cake, orange chocolate whipped cream filling, chocolate/orange frosting) topped with bugs. Lucas loved his cake.

Unfortunately he was upset about something right before cake time and didn't want us to sing to him, he also slapped the cake in outrage that we would suggest singing at a time like that. But, he was very willing to sit and eat the frosting while I served up the cake. He dipped his "3" candle in the frosting over and over. I tried to provide him with his own pile of frosting, but sometimes he chose to scoop directly off the cake instead... sorry, guys. I just realized he never had a cupcake either - just frosting. No breakfast, no sandwich, no cake.

(Here you can see the damage done to the cake. The last picture is supposed to be a shot of Lucas's chocolaty hand, but you can also admire my blossoming physique).

The kids played around the park and the dads played soccer in the heat. Luckily, no one suffered heat exhaustion.
After the party we headed home for a much needed nap time for all of us. (During my nap, I did make note when it was almost 2:36 - the time Lucas entered the world, then I drifted back to sleep). After naps, Lucas enjoyed playing with his new toys and then we headed out for a night of IKEA and outlet malls, followed by more presents at home. I felt bad for taking the poor kid to IKEA on his birthday. Hopefully I can make it up to him tomorrow. I already promised pancakes for breakfast, but then we need to shove as many veggies down the kid's throat as possible.

Happy Birthday to my little man!

B-day Prep

Lucas's birthday is on Saturday and I'm not so ready. There will be some sort of festivity involving cake at some point, but I'm waiting to hear back from the Parks dept about a park rental. We might just end up at our house...

As far as presents for a 3 year old, does anyone have any favorites, besides cars and trucks? Any good learning toys? A Leap Frog?

On another note, we have started the Big Boy room. We want to get it done by Saturday, but probably won't have it 100% completed. Here's a look at the disaster area in which we currently reside. Notice the styrofoam all over the floor and in Lucas's hair. Nice:

Saturday Adventure - Austin style

We needed an adventure today, so Ben deciding putting our 2-year-old son in a canoe would be appropriate. I was a little hesitant because I thought Lucas would freak out when he got in the boat. I also thought he would refuse to wear his life jacket. I had horrible visions of him falling out of the boat, me going into get him, getting tangled up in nasty plants, and eventually consumed by a giant man-eating turtle. Luckily, none of that happened. Lucas was a little hesitant, but wore his life vest. I wore mine too, to be a good example (and just so I would be extra buoyant if I did have to go in after the boy).
He wasn't too happy about the boat, but managed to whine less than he does at the grocery store and didn't throw a fit. He just held onto his three plastic bugs the entire time.
We saw ducks, swans, geese, turtles and some big fish. We went out onto the main part of Lady Bird Lake, down past the Lamar bridge, and under the bridge for the train. We were fortunate to have a train pass over the bridge while we were there; although, Lucas did mention that it was too loud, but he still liked to see the train.

After persistent whining to go home, we headed back to shore. We played at Zilker park for a bit and then headed to Sandra Bullock's new restaurant, Walton's, for lunch. Ben has eaten there twice for lunch and loved it. Today we had a strawberry steamed milk that Lucas enjoyed, raspberry soup (cold), spicybird panini, and a Reuben sandwich. Ben previously enjoyed his salads more than today's sandwiches, but maybe the chef had an off day.

After lunch it was home to a much needed nap time for all.
Tonight we ate leftovers for dinner and then headed down to South Congress to Big Top Candy Shop - an old fashioned store full off all sorts of great stuff. We bought a few bulk candies and hung out for a bit, then it was off to the store and home to bed. Ahhh... what a day!

Recent Lucasisms - August

Potty Talk - A few weeks ago I was cooking dinner when Lucas disappeared. I went to the hallway to find an empty diaper on the floor. I then opened the bathroom door to find Lucas going pee on the potty! With this kid potty training is going to have to be on his terms - he did it by himself when he wanted, and he still does. He is, however, terrified to go poo on the potty, but we're working on it.

Commando - if Lucas could have it his way he would go naked all day. I allowed it the other morning in the name of potty training and he did a great job - just a little accident on the kitchen tile, but he finished up on the potty. Last Saturday Lucas took his clothes off and was running around naked when the doorbell rang. I tried to catch him, but he beat me to the door. The UPS man got quite a show.

Oh my Goodness! - Lucas is so cute how he says, "Oh my goodness!" He uses it at appropriate times with so much amazement in his voice. Love it.

Big boy bed? - Lucas tries all the time to sleep in the guest room. We would let him if we could ever get him to stop bouncing off the walls in there. We're going to try to get his Big Boy room set up for a birthday present. We have three weeks...

Swimming - I met Ben and Lucas at the pool one night and was so surprised to find Lucas putting his head underwater for seconds at a time. He'll also "monkey crawl" around the whole pool jump in from the side now. I really want him to be a good swimmer because he's gonna have a perfect swimmer's body, like Michael Phelps, but without the marijuana.

Role Playing - Lucas likes to role play with Ben and me. Sometimes Lucas is the daddy, Ben's the mommy and I'm the baby. It's always fun to see how he acts and comforts the baby.

Talking Toys - We love listening to Lucas jabber away with his toys. Whether it's his cars or his farm animals, they have lovely conversations.

Baby Update - I'm almost 17 weeks along now. I went in for my 16-week checkup yesterday and everything looked good. I've been having lots of painless contractions the past couple of weeks, but the doctor wasn't worried. He just told me to drink lots of water, so I can spend even more of my day on the potty. We will have our big ultrasound on Sept 15th!
Oh, and I'm finally feeling good again. I'm back up to my pre-pregnancy weight and getting a gut. I can also feel the little kid move around in there, which is nice.

Happy Birthday, Nana!

We hope you have a wonderful day, Nana! Wish we could be there celebrate in the 110 degree weather with you... Instead we're stuck here in the 103 degree weather.
Perhaps you should head to Bahama Bucks for a birthday cake flavored shaved ice! We love you.