First Talk

Last Sunday Lucas gave his first talk at in Primary. We wrote his talk for family night on Monday. He came up with the ideas and we helped it all flow and make sense. Within a couple days he had the talk memorized perfectly - better than me or Ben! On Sunday he was really excited.

Before he went up he looked at me with a grin and a thumbs up. When he got up there, he looked at me and looked at me and looked at me. I gestured for him to start, but he froze. I went up and helped him out and stayed by him the whole time, giving him cues.

We were very proud of him and told us "I'm proud of me, too!"

You can watch a video of him practicing here. Here are the words:
Today I'm going to talk about prophets and why it's important to follow to the prophet. Following to the prophet keeps us safe.
Noah was a prophet a long time ago. He told the people that a big flood was coming and that they needed to repent. The people did not listen to Noah. They only laughed. Noah's family listened to Noah and helped him build the ark.
When the floods came, Noah's family was safe, but the people who didn't listen to Noah drowned.
Even though there won't be another flood, there are still lots of dangerous things in the world. But if we listen to the prophet, President Monson, we will be safe and happy.

Potential

I know for a fact that this little angel was saved just for our family. I don't think anyone else could handle all the grabbing, poking, roaring, and intense affection. Evan handles all of it quite well, even with a smile and a laugh. I love little man so much - he makes my day. I know that he has infinite potential and it's up to me to provide him with an environment in which he may thrive. He is awesome.

On another note, we had a good weekend. Yesterday we hit up the Renegade Craft Fair in Austin. It was pretty cool. We bought something from Olaria Studio and I want to buy a necklace from Toast Jewelry some day when I have an extra $60... and then a little bird necklace from Figs & Ginger when I have an extra $74.

The boys were both good at the fair. Lucas was occupied by a tootsie pop and Evan chilled in the Baby Bjorn and eventually fell asleep. It was nice to not have the naughtiest kids in the crowd!

After the fair we headed to Threadgill's for lunch. This was our second venture there and once again it blew. That's our limit - no more Threadgills. The place has been around since the 30's and everyone in Austin loves it, but I'm afraid they all have poor taste. I think the real problem is that we are trying to remain slightly health conscience and the good stuff is mostly likely the chicken fried steak, etc. Ben got a veggie plate, which was full of cheese and fat, and I got a ham and cheese sammy to share with Lukie. Neither were impressive. The rolls were gross, and the booths were so tight that a person who frequented such a restaurant wouldn't be able to fit in them. Anyhow, enlighten us if you are a fan.

Funny Stuff:
Today at church I took Evan to the back of the chapel where he fell asleep so I just sat down in the back row for a minute. Lucas and Ben came walking back, headed to the bathroom. Lucas said loud and clear, "Mom, I'm going to go poop!" for all to hear. He got a chuckle from that part of the room.
A few weeks ago we needed to find something. Lucas and I decided to say a prayer to see if we could find it. We did. Now Lucas wants to say a prayer every time something is lost. The other day he said a prayer when he lost a piece of the remote (I found it!). He's so funny when he says prayers because sometimes he refers to himself in the third person, "Please bless Lucas that he can be a good boy," etc. And last night I was putting him to bed and he said "Please bless Mommy that she can have Lucas time tomorrow." I thought that was really sweet. I hope we had some good Lucas/Mommy time today.
Oh, and tonight at dinner he kept putting peanuts in his milk. He said, "If I put this in my milk, I will grow weed!" Hmmmm. Eventually Ben drank some of L's milk (gross!) and Lucas got mad and said, "Ah, now I have to cook some more!" And he stirs the peanut in with a carrot stick.

That's all for now. It's nighty night time... or at least it should be.

Pinewood Derby

Today we had a "No Rules" Pinewood Derby at church. Lucas painted his car yesterday, we glued some hair on him, and when Ben got home he attached the eyes.
Lucas really just wanted to play with his car when we got to the church, so he almost ruined it by the time the racing started. It barely made it to the end of the track, but I don't think Lucas really cared. He would always help it reach the finish line. By the time we left, Lucas's car only had three wheels, but that's what happens when you drive it around the gym for a couple hours, leaning on it the entire time.

Lucas got the "Best Monster" award. I don't know if it really was a monster, but Lucas was happy and ate his entire Crunch bar award right there (after a doughnut & fruit snacks for breakfast - go us!). Ben's car got 4th place. (Evan just wanted to say "Hi" in that last picture).

Chris was kind enough to take a video of Lucas and Ben racing their cars with his fancy iPhone.

Click HERE to see another video of Lucas racing with other cars.

How to be a Super-Hero

Yesterday morning I was telling Lucas how his friend, Ocean, broke her arm last week.
He asked if it was broken off or into little pieces, and I tried to explain that it was just a little crack and that she had a cast on her arm to help it heal. Then his cuteness came out:
L: "Oh, I should help Ocean!"
me: "Yes, you could ask Ocean if she needs any help. That would be really nice."
L: "Then I be like a super-hero because super-heroes always help people!"
As we were walking in to church a couple hours later he was really excited to see Ocean and ask her if she needed help. He made sure we sat right in front of her during church.
He never asked her if she needed help. Instead he fed Ocean and Eden dried cranberries and Pirate Booty the whole time, which I'm sure was helpful to Ocean in some way, even if the little kids ate most of the food.

Sleepy Time

Today at church I noticed Lucas was a little warm. I didn't think much of it and dropped him off at nursery like usual. About an hour later I stopped by and saw Lucas lying under the table. The kid was asleep under the table! Out cold with all the other kids playing all around him. I just decided to leave him there to rest. When it was snack time he got up and went to another part of the room to lie down, then when he got up from that spot he was sad and crying, so Clay took him to me. My poor little man was burning up! He fell asleep again on the way home from church and then slept from 2-6 this afternoon (I woke him up, too).
He's so sweet when he's sick (no whining), but I hope he feels better soon.

Week in Review

We made a Chair Chart for Lucas. If he managed to stay in his chair during dinner or lunch, he could get a star. Finally, after about a week he filled up 10 stars! His reward was a second wooden train track and train. We actually got them both for Christmas, but didn't give him either one because we figured they were too hard to keep track of while we traveled. I think he was more excited about the stars than the train, but he does like to play with his trains.

I came home one day to find Lucas enjoying some Frosted Mini Wheats straight from the bag. They were mostly gone, so it was just crumbs. The kid was a total mess, as was the floor. But he sure thought it was great.
This week was busy. We had New Beginnings for the girls at church and it turned out really well. I was in charge of making them their little gift and dessert. Both turned out great.

Thursday I made about 50 cupcakes to take to Ben's work for his birthday. We did that on Friday and Lucas was really excited to go see Daddy at work.

Friday night Ben and I went on a hot date to the Alamo Drafthouse to see Slumdog Millionaire. It was the first time we had been to a movie together since August 2006! We enjoyed some potato skins and a milkshake. Lucas stayed with the Baldwins and they fed him dinner and everything. They were lucky he was there because they made a Lipton rice packet for dinner and Lucas was the only fan - he had several helpings. Apparently it was garlic flavor... Let's just say if Lucas was a car, he wouldn't have passed an emmissions test for a few days. It was amazing. Seriously.

Saturday I was off running around all day and Ben stayed home with Lucas. They had a nice day together and I don't think either one ever got dressed for the day. While I was out and about, I took part in a photo shoot for a make up artist and hair stylist going out on their own. They both needed photos for their websites. They turned me into a 1940's girl and Ben still hasn't stopped laughing. He even took one of the really bad shots with my eyes half closed and put it up as our background on the computer. To my credit, the photographer told me I had the shot of the day.
Yes, I agree, the hair is a little crazy. And it would have been better if I had a outfit to match, but oh well.
Saturday night I was getting ready to go to chaperon a church dance when I suddenly turned into an 80-year-old. I was trying to get dressed and totally got tripped up when I took my pants off, and fell onto the bathtub. I hit my arm, hip, and knee. I felt really sorry for myself and went to lie down, so then Ben and Lucas came over and lied down too. Lucas was driving his car on Ben and then managed to flip off the bed himself, so we had two pathetically sad people. I eventually managed to get dressed and go to the dance where I iced my arm as I watched the awkward intermingling of teenagers. I thought my arm might have a fracture, but I think it's ok. It is really swollen with a nice bruise, though.

Sunday was Ben's b-day. We had pizza and cheesecake and it was good. I think he had a good day, too.

This week...

We made the t-shirts for the Fighting Walnuts (church b-ball). Ben made the stencils, we spent two nights painting and one night ironing to make the paint stick.

Lucas got a balloon from the store. I removed the sucker and replaced it with a binky.

We got our bins in from Land of Nod for our toy room. I think the bins might cause more of a mess because now Lucas wants to see what's in each and every one. As for the room, it's still a work in progress.

And lastly, we attended not one, but two Valentine's play groups. We had to leave both early due to Lucas pushing other kids. Technically, we didn't leave the 2nd one early, but Lucas doesn't know that. What do I do?