17 Months

Dear Lucas,

I know you're now officially 17 1/2 months, but if you'll go back and read our summer thus far, you'll see how busy we've been!

This month started out with some more holidays!  Mother's Day, Mimi's birthday and Memorial Day!  We got to see your Uncle Josh, Aunt Jana and your cousin Colt!  You all did a bunch of fun stuff together:)  You rode a horse for the first time and you went swimming!

You had so much fun!  However, you also started teething that weekend, so you were a little sickly:(  You had a fever and were real fussy.  Those were your only symptoms; until it was time to eat!

You became really picky for a few weeks and we were worried you'd never eat your normal faves again!  I'm sure it was because your gums were so sore, but it scared us for a little while.  Those canines still haven't popped in, but after about a week your appetite was back to normal!  Now you eat everything we do again...but we've added pineapples, chips and taquitos to your diet!  Your absolute favorite thing to eat, however, is cookies!!!!!!  You say "cookie" all the time!  You are quite the little cookie monster and you don't care what kind it is...you'll eat it:)

You're still sleeping like a champ!  Your bedtime has been closer to 8p during the summer and you're sleeping til 8a every morning!  I'm glad the light when you go to bed hasn't affected you.  You nap everyday between 12p and 1p and sleep for 2-2/12 hours each time.  You are still a great car sleeper too!!  I love that about you:)

You have swam a lot this summer and you've been on lots of trips to the lake, to Pryor and to Tulsa to see Uncle Cal and Aunt Cassie!  We are so lucky to be able to spend our summers with you.  We have been so busy and been on many adventures!

You are now officially running everywhere, but your biggest accomplishment this month has been your vocabulary!  You say anything we say.  You repeat very well.  You know many animal sounds, many body parts and you love "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "The Wheels on the Bus".  You even do the motions with me.  We still laugh because you sometimes say your words at random times.  Our favorite is the other day in the bathtub you blurted out "goat"!  Haha:)  It was so funny!  You make us laugh all the time:)

You are still in size 4 diapers and 12-18 month clothes.  Some shirts you wear ar 2T, but your shorts are still 12 months.  You are so skinny!!!  You have the tiniest waist.  However, you are a ball of energy and always happy, so it's alright!

You still love to look at books and play with cars.  You love hitting your golf ball and sliding down your slide and you love rolling the ball back and forth.  Daddy loves that you can "play catch" together.  It's been his dream since we found out you were a boy!!!

We still have many adventures coming this summer and we are so glad you are going to be joining us:) You have such an easy-going personality and we just love spending time with you.

You're the sweetest little boy and you have really showed your affectionate side this month showering us with kisses and hugs at whim.  Most of the time we don't even have to ask for them:)

We love you so much and are so proud of the little boy you're becoming!

All our love,
Mommy and Daddy

Summer: Week 4

We've been out of school for a month now!  I cannot believe it.  It's just flying.  I hate that:(

Oh well, we've still enjoyed every second of it!!

On Monday of last week, we traveled to Tulsa for Uncle Callen's birthday.  Cassie did a great job throwing a Harry Potter themed party:)

She did a great job with decorations and little favors and the food was yummy too.  Callen wanted Mexican food for dinner; so we had guacamole, salsa and taquitos:)

Lucas had his first taquito and he really liked it!

He also enjoyed the cookies and the jelly beans:)

Here is the birthday boy and his lovely wife!

The birthday boy blowing out his candles

The hostess and I

And Lucas trying to get some last drops out of my empty root beer! I just thought he looked hilarious, so I had to snap a picture;)

Tuesday, we hung out outside all day and he got in his much-needed-aired-up pool in his jammies:)

Wednesday, he had another taquito and loved it just the same!

Friday, the three of us went to the park.  Lucas crawled through his first tunnel!  He was a little scared at first, but once he saw me on the other side, he went on through.

Saturday, we went to Joplin and we shared Chinese food and Lucas had his first fortune cookie.  I realize now that I should've kept his fortune, but I didn't.  I just got one of the food...fried rice and honey chicken!

We then headed to the lake!!!  We went to the lake once last year, but he was so tiny and he didn't get to enjoy it.  This time, he did!

He liked the ride (though it almost put him to sleep on several occasions)

He liked watching Daddy ski

He liked driving with Papa Rock

He liked seeing Aunt Megan

And he especially liked being in the water splashing with Mommy and Daddy

All in all, another busy but very fun week spent with the ones I love:)

Summer: Week 3

Last week started with a trip to a local coffee shop/book store in Miami called Chapters.  We had yummy coffee and a yummy lemon bar.  Nick and Lucas enjoyed a little game, too.

 Tuesday, we went to a friend's house to swim and another couple and their kids came over to swim too.  It's not very often with our busy schedules that we can all get together, so we had a good time.  They had set up a little water park in their backyard and the kids had a blast!

Here's Lily and Lucas (future husband and wife!)  Haha:)

We got one good shot of all the kiddos!!  It was not an easy task!!

That night just the parents went to dinner and to the mall.  It was so fun and much needed!  Lucas stayed the night with Papa and Nana that night.

The next day I headed to my school to help paint.  We are painting every building and classroom and since it's such a small school, we volunteered to have a painting party.  It was a lot of work, but we got a lot done!  We had some fun, too.  I'm such a messy painter;)

The next day we had a family fun day at home.  

Lucas and I had fun with photo booth on the computer (little chipmunks)

And then we spent a lot of time in the backyard.  Lucas insisted on wearing this hat all day, but he looked like Payne Stewart when Daddy was teaching him how to golf.  So cute!

Nick grilled steaks and Lucas had his first corn-on-the-cob.  He loved it!!!  Ate whole thing with his little hat on:)

Friday, we went to Grammy and Grampy's to meet Lucas' step-cousin Anna.  It's Nick's step-brother's daughter.  Grammy and Grampy got to watch her over the weekend.  Lucas didn't really know what to think of her, but they both definitely enjoyed the wagon!

Saturday, Aunt Cassie came to visit and we spent the day at the pool!  The last time we went, Lucas didn't enjoy it too much.  This time, he didn't want to get out!

Nick and I ended the week with a domino game with Aunt Cassie, some homemade chocolate chip cookies and Diet Dr. Pepper!!!

Another fun, busy and great week!!!!

Wednesday Love

This is our 3rd spring in this house.

The first year, we planted lots of shrubs and flowers.  We'd never done it before, so we just bought things that looked pretty.  We didn't know anything about our flower bed and the amount of sun it got, so there were some things that grew really well and some that didn't grow at all!

The second year, Lucas was just a few months old, so I didn't have time to plant anything.  It was just too crazy around here!

This year, we were a little smarter about what we bought and where we planted it.  We moved some things around to different beds where they got more shade and made sure we bought things that were okay with lots of sun for the front!

It looks gorgeous and I'm so excited about it!  We made a bed in the back yard for the first time and everything is growing so well!

Here's the front porch.  Please ignore Nick's shoes in the background;)  We had some monkey grass last  year, but it did so well we added more this year!  The petunias are looking amazing and the lovely purple arrangement is from my mom!  Just love it;)

This is a smaller bed to the right of the porch.  We added two azaleas to the ends this year.

We also added black mulch to every bed this year and it gives it just the pop it needed!

Here's the larger bed to the left of the porch.  We need to trim the giant Crepe Myrtles and we added a Japanese Maple to the left this year, so it's so tiny, but I think it looks good:)  I can't wait for the marigolds to bloom some more.  I love the yellow!

We added some flowers to the bed on the side of the house and we moved the hydrangeas and hostas over there so they would get more shade!

And like I said, we added a bed to the backyard this year.  I love it too:)

We do need to weed a little bit in the paving stones, but I'm just so happy with the way everything turned out this year!

Summer Week 2

We had another busy, fun week!  Memorial Day started off with a rough night!  He woke up at 2:15a screaming crying and burning up!  I knew he wasn't feeling well on Sunday and I knew he was teething:( It was so sad.  Everything was hurting him.  I finally got him to drink some cold water; we gave him some Tylenol; and at about 3a he went back to sleep.

He woke up at 8a (Thank Goodness!) and was really sensitive.  We went outside and all he wanted to do was sit in this chair (you can see how puffy his little eyes were)

and look at himself in the window.  No swimming, no sliding, no golfing.  Hate it when he's sick:(

We ate lots of popsicles last week.  Those were the only things that he wanted.  His little gums were so sore.

We did manage to make it to my friend's to help her paint her nursery.  Her little boy Hudson is due in September and helping her get his room ready was so much fun.  Despite Lucas being extra sensitive, he did a great job.  He got some paint on him and made Mommy get a lot of paint on her, but mostly he sat in the living room and read books.  I did bring his chair (Thanks Goodness, again!) and he eventually gave up and went to sleep.  This was the first time he fell asleep in there.  It was so cute!

Thursday, began a whirlwind weekend!  We headed to Tulsa to meet my mom and sister.  I needed a dress for my dear friend Erin's wedding on Saturday.  We started at Kohl's, then took a break to eat at The Cheesecake Factory.  It was yummy.  Since Lucas was teething, he wanted nothing but soft foods.  So, he ate a lot of jars of sweet potatoes and squash last week.  Here he is using his own spoon and smiling at Mimi:)  Making a mess, but very happy!!  He even got some on Mommy's finger, as you can see!

We shopped for about 3 more hours and couldn't find a dress, so we ended up going back to Kohl's and buying the first one I'd tried on.  Shopping is no fun when you're looking for a specific item in a specific color!!

Friday morning, I rode with my friend Brittany to Erin's bridal luncheon.  It was a lovely gathering of her friends and family.  There were lots of laughs and lots of tears as we reminisced on how we met Erin and how important she is to each of us!  Here's Brittany and I with the bride!

Friday evening was the rehearsal, then we headed to the groom's parents' house for the dinner.  It is a gorgeous house right on the lake.  We had a great time!  Heather was able to join us for that, so the Fab 4 were reunited!  Erin iso so tall!!!

Brittany and I had a good time with Scott's dad's many pairs of glasses laying around!

Saturday morning started with messing around in Pryor with Mimi and Aunt Cassie.  Mimi went to the bank and got a sucker for Lucas.

We had a great time at the wedding that evening, but sadly my mom was the only one that took pictures.  I have none:(  It was gorgeous, Erin was gorgeous, and we had lots of fun!!!!!

A crazy week, but another wonderful one!!!