Three Years

I've learned a lot in three years!

I've learned how patient he is...



I've learned how funny he is...



I've learned how romantic he is...



I've learned how kind he is...



I've learned how Godly he is...



I've learned how gentle he is...



I've learned how wonderful he is...



and I've learned that my love still grows and grows for him!





I love you Nick!!! Happy anniversary! Can't wait for many more years together:)

The Great Nursery Debate

Long before I was pregnant, I swore up and down my child go to the church nursery as soon as possible.

I knew it would help me in the transition of going back to work, since I'd be able to get used to him being gone only a few hours at at time and I would be in the same building. I also knew when I was in church and Sunday school, I wanted to focus on what the Lord had for me that morning and the relationships I made while learning new things about Him.

I also knew it would help him in getting used to the idea of being away from me and being good for others. I had seen it all to often: a child who's never away from his parents or family members screams the whole time he's in nursery. He doesn't know how to act with others that aren't his immediate family. I didn't want this for my child. My husband was in complete agreement.

Until now, it's been wonderful! Our relationships with those in our Sunday School class have flourished and it's been so nice to be free to worship on Sunday mornings. I always knew he would be taken care of and I didn't need to worry.

The last few weeks, nursery hasn't gone as planned. Not horrible things like they dropped him or let him sit in a poopy diaper the whole time: nothing like that. Just little things that have me second-guessing taking him to the nursery.

As I've said before, my little man is very chill. He's established a wonderful routine and usually sleeps in his carseat during church in the morning or sits wonderfully in their laps the entire time, just laughing and smiling. Every person who has watched him in the nursery tells us how great he is and how easy-going he is and how he never cries!

He always eats before church, so per his routine, he doesn't need to eat until about 11:30a-12p. We go to early service, so he usually eats breakfast at 7:30a. We always pack a bottle just in case we go out to eat for lunch or need to run errands. He shouldn't need it in the nursery. If he gets even the slightest bit fussy, he needs a nap. He falls asleep 2 hours after eating breakfast, usually.

This is exactly what we told the ladies in the nursery last Sunday. When I went to pick him up at 10:30a after Sunday School, they told me he didn't eat all of his bottle. "What?! He didn't need a bottle!", I thought. "Did he take a nap?" I asked. "No", they said. I was a little frustrated. His routine was all off and no wonder he didn't eat his bottle! He wasn't hungry! He started getting fussy and instead of laying him down in a crib, they stuck food in his mouth. First offense. No big deal.

This past Sunday's offense takes the cake! I randomly went into the nursery after church before Sunday School with my friend who wanted to see Lucas in his tie. I walk in and hear him screaming bloody-murder...haven't heard this since the day we brought him home from the hospital! I asked how long he'd been crying like this and they said "About 30 minutes!". OH MY GOODNESS! WHY DIDN'T THEY COME GET ME? I'M 5 FEET AWAY IN THE SANCTUARY!!!!

It really upset me. My son never cries, so if he's crying that hard for even 5 minutes, it's too long and something's wrong. It took me 20 minutes to calm him down...only after giving him a little Tylenol and stripping his clothes off. He'd been crying so hard and so long, he was sweaty! I just don't understand. I don't know what happened to make him so upset, but it was awful:(

I just don't know what to do. Since Lucas is so easy-going, we are wondering if we should just take him to church with us so we can monitor his napping and we will take him out if he gets a tad fussy, which is rare. Since he's usually very quiet, we figure we can keep him in there with no problems.

Help! I want to put my focus on the Lord and worship, not on my son for that hour, but I also don't want to worry that they're not going to come get me when something is off. What to do? What to do?

5 Months

My Dear Lucas,

We can't believe almost half a year has gone by! It has been such a joy to have you in our lives. We can't imagine our lives without you in them. You have grown and changed so much this month! You're now a baby, no longer an infant.

You smile so much now! All we have to do is look at you and you squint your eyes and smile real big. You even get so happy, you squirm:) It's wonderful!



You laugh a lot now too:) We used to have to do so much to make you laugh, but now just silly faces and looks and the excitement of a tickle coming on, will make you squeal and belly laugh!

We celebrated Mimi's birthday this month and another holiday: Memorial Day! You had a great time meeting more of Daddy's relatives.





You also went to your first wedding (where you met your Grandpa Doug's siblings). This is also where you had your first mohawk:) Right now, your hair is growing so much in the middle of your head, so a mowhawk is the only hairstyle you can have! We love it;) You also had your first swim, and your first picnic:) What a fun summer this is turning out to be, and it's just barely started!







Some major milestones this month have included rolling over from back to belly. You still haven't mastered from belly to back yet, but we think you will soon! You get a little frustrated once you've rolled on your belly 5 times and you can't get back over. It's become a little tiring for Mommy and Daddy to roll you back over so many times! We're excited for you to learn this new skill:) But, we're not rushing anything! Another big milestone is eating solid foods;) We started you off with rice cereal. You hated it at first, but we made it a little thicker and you absolutely love it now! You're like a little birdie. We sit you in your Bumbo and you immediately open your mouth! After about a week of rice cereal, we introduced green beans. You didn't like them at first, then you tolerated them, then you cried when we fed them to you. We came to the conclusion that you don't like them very much, because once we started feeding you squash, you took to it like a champ!







You now eat oatmeal/rice cereal when you wake up in the morning, pears (we'll introduce a new fruit next week) and 5 oz formula for lunch, squash (we're introducing peas tomorrow) and 5 oz formula for dinner, and a 6 oz bottle before going to bed! Everyone is amazed at how much you eat!

They're also amazed at the schedule you've created. You wake up at 7:30-8a. You eat, play and go down for a nap round 9:30-10a. You wake up around 11:30a-12p, play and eat lunch around 12:45-1p. We play some more and you take another nap around 2:30-3p and sleep until 4-5p. You eat dinner then, play and get sleepy around 7:15p every night. You take baths every other night and you absolutely love them! We get your jammies on you, feed your night bottle, read a story and you're in bed every night around 8:15-8:30p. Then, we don't hear you until 7:30-8a again! You sleep almost 12 hours! It's amazing for Mommy and Daddy and when you wake up, you don't cry! We just see you moving on the monitor and hear you talking. We go in there and you immediately smile! You are such a happy baby in the morning and for that, we are eternally grateful:)



We are grateful for you, Lucas Rial! We love you and are soaking in every second of this summer! We are proud of all you've accomplished in such a short time and we know you will continue to grow and prosper all your life! We pray that you will grow strong and healthy, but mainly grow to love the Lord and serve Him with your whole heart! He gave you to us and we pray that you will give your life to Him!

Thanks for who you are!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

May Wrap-Up: Part II

Memorial Day!!!

For the past 4 years, I've spent every Sunday evening of Memorial Day weekend at my mother-in-law's house for the Buzzard reunion:) Yep, her maiden name was Buzzard!

There's always a lot of great food, relaxing in her beautiful backyard, lots of laughs, and always the game "Battle of the Sexes". Women have lost every year, which means the men always get their food first and the women always have to clean up!

As a teacher, when school is out, it's the unofficial start of summer. However, Memorial Day is that time for me. It's the time of new beginnings and the unexpectedness of what lies ahead. Five years ago, I had just met Nick and we spent Memorial Day weekend moving me into my apartment in Arkansas. A fresh start and the excitement of falling in love over the summer.

Last year, we invited my parents to Judy's for Memorial Day and we announced that we were pregnant! The beginning of extreme tiredness and the planning of a new life! Wow!!!

From this last year:







To this (Aunt Cassie wasn't there this year):



What a difference a year makes! This year, we get the excitement of what Lucas will learn and how he will grow and change over the summer! The excitement of rolling over (which he accomplished last week) and the start of baby food (green beans) and eventually sitting up:) Oh, how I wish this summer could last forever. I thought it was hard going back in March, it will be that much harder going back in August! He was just a newborn who slept a lot in March...now he's a little boy who smiles and giggles and talks and kicks and rolls over...He knows me and recognizes me now! What am I going to do when summer is over?

Well, we won't think about that:( I'll just enjoy this time of newness and adventure. I'll make every day count and every moment last!

May Wrap-Up: Part I

The month of May was crazy for us! Holidays, the end of school, birthdays, and lots of firsts in Lucas' life. So, for the next few days, I'm going to do my May posts!

This first one is Mother's Day!!

Wow! I can't believe just one year ago, I was cooking lunch for my mother and mother-in-law and families and I was pregnant and I didn't even know it! Now, I have a 4 month old and I'm actually a mommy:) It's been incredible and it's been such a joy these past few months taking care of Lucas and figuring out how we work together. He's brought so much life into our home and he's given me a real purpose in life. I was made for him!

Since my sister-in-law just had a baby too, we decided to do a scrapbook for Nick's mom for Mother's Day. I thought I might as well buy two of everything and make one for my mom as well. I'd never done one before, but I had a blast! The pages were all unique and it was hard to narrow down which pictures to use! This kid is so cute and so photogenic;)

Here's a picture of Mimi holding her scrapbook:)



And a family pic



Now, the pages:
#1 - Nine Months of Belly Growth



#2 - Pregnancy and Ultrasound Page (including the pictures when we announced the pregnancy)



#3 - Showers



#4 - Nursery



#5 - Hospital



#6 - Family



#7 - Mommy and Lucas



#8 - Daddy and Lucas



#9 - Mimi and Lucas



#10 - Grammy and Lucas



#11 - Bathtime



#12 - Sleepy Time



#13 - Miscellaneous



#14 - Baseball



#15 - Easter



#16 - Mother's Day



#17 - Memorial Day



I have the stuff to do a swimming page, an aunts, uncles, and cousins page, and a first foods page (which will all be blog posts in and of themselves). I have many more ideas and I will continue this scrapbook until Lucas turns 1! It's such a neat thing and I wish I had scrapbooks for every big event in my life! I love that I'm able to start this right now with Lucas!

4 Months

Lucas Rial,

Wow! I can't believe you are already 4 months old! This past month has been so busy! Easter, Mother's Day, two nights at Mimi's, and lots of big changes in you!



I wanted to wait until your 4-month check-up to write your letter to see how much you've grown! You weight 14 lb 3 oz (37%) and are 25 in long (55%). The doctor says you'll be going through a major growth spurt anytime now because you've only grown an inch since your last check-up:) We can see that you're growing, though. You are in 3-6 months jammies and a few 3-6 months clothes. You are in size 1-2 diapers, too.



You are still a champ at night! You start to wind down about 7:30p every night. You get a bath and get your bottle and are sound asleep by 8:30p and you don't wake up until about 6:45p. Sometimes we have to wake you up and you aren't very happy:(



You eat 6 oz every 4 hours or so and you just started rice cereal yesterday! It was quite an experience. You didn't understand that you were getting fed at first, so you were very mad! So, we fed you a little in a bottle first, then gave you some with a spoon. At first, you just let it fall out of your mouth, then you started sucking on the spoon and it helped you swallow. You did much better after that. We'll try some more tonight and once you have it down, we'll move onto baby food. I have no doubt you'll pick it up fast. You're such a great learner, baby!




You had a wonderful Easter and you made Mommy have a wonderful first Mother's Day! We made Mimi a scrapbook for Mother's Day and she loved it! It was full of pictures of you:) (Mommy will post all about that later) You stayed the night with Mimi twice this month. Mommy came later those nights, but you were already asleep. You have so much fun with her and Poppy. They always make you laugh:)



You laugh at so much now and people are always telling Mommy and Daddy how lucky we are that you're such a content and chill little boy. One thing that you've become more content at this month is tummy time. You've learned to hold your head up consistently now, and this makes tummy time more enjoyable now that you can look around. Mommy just loves seeing you explore and she loves your little booty, too:)



Mommy and Daddy just absolutely love seeing your little personality bloom! You will lay on your mat for hours and talk to us and we can't get enough:) You also love your bumbo and your bouncer and you love to kick! That's why you like the bath so much, I think:)









We are loving every minute of your little life and we don't want to miss one second:) In a few short days, we'll be out of school for the summer and we cannot wait! We have so much planned to take you to and so many things we are excited for you to see!


Thanks for making our lives so full:) We love you so much!

All our love,
Mommy and Daddy