Happy Love Day

I'm so behind!

Lucas had a lovely set up for Valentine's Day, but I didn't get one picture of it:( Or of Daddy's!

But, I did take a picture of the set-up I got delivered to me at school:)  Nick and I went super simple with Valentine's Day this year!

We went to Sho-Gun for Valentine's Day like we do almost every year!  Lucas has been every year since he's been born:)  Three Valentine's at Sho-Gun.  We go for my cousin Megan's birthday and we spend the evening with the people we love, our family!!

My two favorite boys:)

My little man enjoying the rope surrounding the water:)

My Mom and Sister

Rial girls:)

And my one True love!

So fun!!!  Great pictures:)  Great family:)

Here's a look at the past few years and how much Lucas has changed since that first Valentine's Day!!  And you can see how my hair changes every year;)  Haha!!

 
He's so big now!!  I do love that boy:)

Recap #2

The first weekend of February, we went to Miami and spent time with your cousin Colt!  We hadn't seen him or Uncle Josh since July at the beach.  We missed them so much and we were sad that Aunt Jana couldn't be there:(

The boys are just about 11 weeks apart and they are really fun to watch!

We spent Friday evening at Grammy and Grampy's and Papa and Nana were there too!  It was nice to see them with both sets of grandparents together!  We also had a yummy dinner:)

Lucas loves Aunt Megan's rocking chair:)

Colt loves Elmo and Lucas loves "Cars".  They are so cute with their fleece jammies:)

We had breakfast at Papa and Nana's on Saturday morning then spent the rest of the day at Grammy's again.  Great-uncle Steve, Grammy's brother, came over and the boys loved when he read to them:)  It was precious!!

They liked to play on Grammy's phone too!

We had another yummy dinner and a great time just watching the boys interact with each other.

Me and my main squeeze in our lovely self-portrait:)  Thanks for the t-shirt Uncle Josh!!

We went to church and had a great lunch at our favorite local Mexican restaurant and spent the evening at Papa and Nana's.  We had a great visit with some extended Maxson family, but sadly I have no pictures:(  I was getting bronchitis that day, apparently, so I wasn't really with it!  I'm sad about that, but I am glad I got some good pictures of the boys together and I'm thankful for the visit we had!

We wish we could see them a lot more!!!

Recap #1

Oh my goodness!  It's been almost 2 months since I've visited this ol' blog.  I know my readers haven't really missed me, but this is for us and Lucas anyway:)  I want to make sure we have major events of his life documented.  Since I'm not doing monthly letters anymore, I forget to update and I don't want to do that!

So, I'm breaking these recaps up and they will have a lot of pictures...

Recap #1 is our weekend vaca to Big Cedar with Mimi, Poppy, Uncle Cal, and Aunt Cassie!

We didn't do a lot, but we had fun hanging out and exploring Big Cedar!  We just relaxed and enjoyed each other and got away from life for a little while:)  We were gone exactly 48 hours from Friday evening to Sunday evening, so it flew by!

Mimi and Poppy took Lucas exploring while Cal, Cassie, Nick, and I played Shuffleboard!!  The weather couldn't have been more perfect:)

We then found some gorgeous parts of Big Cedar and took other pictures:)

We had some great food that weekend, did some great shopping, rested, and just had a great time with family:)  They are the greatest and we love spending time with them!!!!

2-year Letter

Dear Lucas,

I can't believe you are a 2-year old toddler!!!  It's amazing how fast these two years have gone.  It's sad, but so fun at the same time.  I can't explain it:)

You are talking and learning at lightning speed!  You talk all the time and ask all kinds of questions.  Some of them you ask over and over again, but I don't mind:)  Your little voice is so sweet and soft and it's even better than I could've ever imagined!  This last month of your first year was so busy!  We had Christmas events, New Years, a move into an apartment, and a birthday party!  

I'm using this letter to show everyone your birthday theme. Since we had only been at the apartment for a week when we threw the party, I knew it had to be simple.  I chose Dr. Seuss for your 1st party and I wanted to stick with the book theme, so I chose the "If You Give A..." books.  You are obsessed with them!  You read them to us:)  It's so sweet.  All we have to do is give you the first few words of the page, and you do the rest!  It's amazing.  What a child can do when their parents just read to them.  You are picking up reading faster than some of my kindergartners!!

Also, since we've moved, you've transitioned into a full-size bed!  We didn't want to pack up and rebuild the crib at the apartment when we knew you'd transition in the next few months anyway, so we just did it:)  You've made it an easy move!  You've slept through the night every night (with the exception of your night terrors that happened even in your crib) and you don't get up at all!  A few times at nap time, you've gotten out at the end and knocked on your door to let us know you were awake, but that's it:)  I'm so happy that it's gone so well.  It's much easier on Mama's back to put you in the bed! Mimi got you special sheets and stuff for your bathroom to match and Mama and Daddy got you a new comforter for your birthday!  It's been super fun and you love it!

You've also pooped in the potty 4 times since we moved!  This is so exciting:)  It hasn't been consistent, but it's a step in the right direction.  We know it's going to be hard and there have been times that you've told us you needed to and you haven't, then there's been times that you haven't told us and pooped in your diaper.  It's been frustrating, but we want to make this transition smooth too.  So, we haven't pushed you.  We want to really tackle it over Spring Break where we have a week off to be home with you.  We'll see how it works:)

We had your 2-year check-up with your new pediatrician (which we love!) and you are doing great.  You are only 12% for weight and 40% for height, but he said you look wonderful!  He said if you are eating well and seem to have plenty of energy, then not to worry about it.  You do eat great (most of the time) and you are a ball of energy (all the time), so we aren't worried:)  You are growing and we can tell.  You are in 2T shirts and 18-24 month pants.  You have a long torso just like Mama, so some of the 2T shirts after being dried are too short on you.  It's the same problem Mama has:)

You still absolutely love Mickey Mouse and you still absolutely love Lightning McQueen!  You want to watch them all the time or play with two of your new Christmas presents.  You got a Lightning McQueen wooden track with a wooden Lightning, a wooden Mater, and a wooden Sheriff.  You love taking it apart and rebuilding it more than anything else:)  You also got a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with all the characters and you love putting them up the "heligator" (elevator) and putting them down the slide!  You also got lots of sticker books that you love:)  You got one book that is reusable (like window clings) and you put them in their scenes and take them off and rearrange them constantly!!

You miss hanging out with Uncle Cal and Aunt Cassie everyday, but we try to make it a point to see them at least once a week besides church.  Speaking of church, you are doing a really great job in nursery and you are getting ready to transition to the 2-year class!  We are loving church too and we love the friends you are making:)  You can sing "Jesus Loves Me" all by yourself and
"The B-I-B-L-E"!  It's so cute:)  You have the sweetest singing voice!

You are just the best thing that's ever happened to us and we ask ourselves everyday how we got so lucky!  We are so proud of all the things you accomplished over the past year.  You have a gentle spirit and we know God is going to do great things with you and your life!  We can't wait to be there to witness it all!

We can't wait to see what the next year brings.  We don't want to wish it away, but we love all the new steps you take:)  We just love you so much!  

All our love,
Mama and Daddy

2012: A Year in Review

January - We celebrated Lucas' first birthday

February - A trip to Memphis to see Nick's brother Josh, his wife Jana, and Lucas' cousin Colt

March - Lucas started walking

April - I started my wonderful friendship with Mika while walking the streets of our neighborhood

May - Another great Memorial Day weekend with ALL our family:)

June - Trip to Dallas for our 4th anniversary

July - Accepted new jobs and a trip to Florida

August - Packed up and moved to Pryor with my mom and started new jobs and a wonderful Bible study at LGFWB

September - Packed up and moved to Broken Arrow with Cassie and Callen

October - Found out Cassie and Callen were pregnant

November - A new church, a birthday and another time to be thankful

December - Work parties, Sunday school parties, new Christmas Eve traditions and a wonderful break

This year has been crazy, to say the least!  So much has changed, but through it all God taught us patience and taught us that His plan is always perfect, even if it's not what we think it should be.  We have learned to rely on Him and trust His hand.

This New Year will bring another home for us, a new season with a new baseball team, a 2-year old who will transition into a big boy bed and potty train, a new addition to the Balmos family, and so much more!  I'm excited for all this:)

I know no matter what that the Lord is my Shepherd and I shall not want.  He will provide for me and mine and I'm so grateful for the loved ones in my life and the opportunities I have to show Him throughout it all.

23 Months

****DISCLAIMER****
I can't seem to upload any pictures without them messing up, so you won't have any pictures in this letter:(  Sorry and I will upload when I can.
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December 13, 2012
Our dear Lucas,

We can't believe you are 23 months old!  You are just turning into a little boy and it's amazing to see.  Your kind spirit is contagious, but you also love testing the limits of your independence.  We love your affection and we love that you accept responsibility for your actions.  You are an amazing little boy.

You are talking so much!  You ask questions all the time and when we answer, you always repeat our answers like you are trying to soak it all in.  Your vocabulary is amazing!  Some things we didn't know you knew and you just blurt them out in a story or in a sentence and it just baffles us!!  Your favorite pastime is reading...reading...reading.  There are several stories you have memorized and it's so cute when you "read" them.  Those favorites are "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake", "The Little Mouse, The Red, Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear", "Goodnight Moon", and "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie".  You love these books and we just read the first couple of words and you do the rest!  I'm so glad you have this love.  I hope it never ends!

We celebrated Mommy's birthday and Thanksgiving this month.  You had a great time at both events.  You helped Mommy blow out her candle and you got to spend time with Cuz-aunt Megan and Cuz-uncle JD.  They just loved when they told you it was time for bed and you walked into your room with your paci, blanket and Geoffrey!  You still go to bed so easy!  We discovered this month that you are not a morning person, though.  You were used to sleeping in over Thanksgiving break and then when school started again, you didn't like us waking you up at 6:30a:(  We hate it too, but it has to be done.  We realized you need to gradually wake up on your own and we need to not try to calm you down.  You are pretty stubborn, little man, and sometimes you want to be left alone to calm down.  We are figuring this out the hard way.

You pooped in the potty twice this month!  We bought a cushy seat for the toilet and you are very interested in it.  Two times you told us "I poop" and you hadn't yet, so we rushed you in there and sat you down and you pooped in the potty!  It was pretty exciting:)

But you had your first real sickness this month, as well.  You were up all night throwing up and it was the most pitiful thing in the world.  About every 10 minutes you would get sick and cry and we knew your throat was hurting so bad, but you didn't want to drink either.  We stayed home with you on Friday from school and on Saturday you felt a little better.  Then Saturday night, Daddy got sick and on Sunday night Mommy got sick, so we all stayed home on Monday again.  I wish it was under different circumstances, but we did enjoy our time with you.  You were very snuggly and so sweet.  Ever since then, you have not pooped in the potty anymore:(

You are doing great in the nursery at our new church.  You are making several friends and so are Mommy and Daddy.  We are preparing for Christmas and doing our daily Advent calendar.  I don't know how much you understand, but we are trying to teach you the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate.  I'm excited to see how excited you get about that and Santa this year!  It will be fun and so different from last year!

We are also preparing to leave Uncle Callen and Aunt Cassie's house to move into an apartment just a few weeks before your birthday.  We are really excited and sad at the same time.  We have loved our time here and you've been such a great nephew:)  They are really excited about your new cousin coming soon and we are happy we are going to be so close.  Some big changes coming up for you!  Your second birthday, a big boy bed, no more paci, and a new home.  I know you're going to do great with all these changes and we are already so proud of you!  You are flexible and go with the flow and we are so thankful for that.  God knew we needed a baby like you during this time of our lives and we are so blessed to be your parents.

We love you so much!!!!

All our love,
Mommy and Daddy

HELP!!!!!

Why are my pictures uploading like this????