Dear Lucas (18 Weeks),

Boogs, we have survived another week! Today you are 18 weeks old and four months have gone by. Everything is going smoothly except for the fact that my baby that rarely spits up has spit up more in the last two days then he has in the last four months total. I'm not sure what is going on but it doesn't seem to bother you. I am clueless as to why. We haven't given you any solids since Sunday. I looked up spitting up and everything I found says that most newborns spit up and they grow out of it as they grow older. You are going in reverse! I guess my baby has to do everything his own way. Maybe you are just paying us back for letting them stick needles in your chubby baby thighs on monday. At your two month appointment you didn't seem to be as bothered by your shots... but then you didn't have your cute chubby baby thighs yet.

I've really caught on to this whole mother thing. 99% of the time I can tell what you want or need just by the sounds you make or the way you move your body. You also don't mind me snapping pictures of you anymore. When you see me holding the camera you will stop what you are doing and look at me. I have the hardest time now catching pictures of you playing because you always notice what I am doing and you stop and look.

You are quite the rolly polly now. You are always rolling from side to side in order to reach a toy or look at something from a different angle or at someone when you hear their voice. As soon as your Dad walks in from work you stop whatever you are doing and look and smile at him. You make sure you get in your Dad time! You will start crying and when nothing I do can fix it, I pass you to your Dad and you instantly stop. He just soaks up all that attention. I remember when he felt so helpless to get you to stop crying. Now I bet I could leave the two of you together for longer periods of time without getting an SOS call from your Dad after an hour.

With all that rolling around your new favorite toys are your feet! It doesn't matter to you if you are wearing socks or have bare feet. Ever since you figured out how to put your toes in your mouth you will entertain yourself for the longest time. While I could be using this time to get things done most of the time I am sitting next to you laughing along with you.

You are also starting to really look and touch your toys before you put them in your mouth. You still taste everything you can but now you really take the time to feel everything with your hands. Even while you are nursing you hands are wandering touching my clothes, tugging on yours, or running over the back of your head grasping at your soft baby hair.

At night you are sleeping better than ever. Usually you are in bed at 8PM and fast asleep within a few minutes. You usually sleep for 5 hours waking up to nurse around 1AM. Then it is back to bed until 6 AM. If I get you back to sleep before your Dad leaves for work you will go back to sleep until around 9. If you see your Dad you get excited and stay awake for a while and then go to sleep around 9AM. If it is dark outside you will go right to sleep. It is harder during the day. I have to get you down when you are sleepy but not falling asleep or you will just fuss. Today I let you sleep on my chest while I sat reading a book. We haven't done that in the longest time and I loved listening to you breath while I rubbed your back and felt the top of your head under my chin. Pure bliss.

Oh and I've found a good use for your clothes you have outgrown... they fit Jadie perfectly.

My Mom

A Boy and His Bear. Lucas is winding down for bed telling him all about his day while his Mommy puts new sheets in his crib.

Growing up I always felt closer to my Dad. It's not that I didn't love my Mom just as much but my Dad and I have similar personalities and senses of humor. Since Lucas' birth though every day I see myself slowly turning into my Mom. Now it is rare for a day to go by when I don't call my mom to ask her a question, get advice, or excitedly tell her "he put his foot in his mouth all by himself!"

My Mom is the kind of person that will do anything for anyone. Growing up it wasn't surprising to come home and find some stranger that needed a place to stay bunking in with us for a night or a few days or for even longer. My mom gives rides to strangers she will use whatever money she has to buy food for someone that is holding a sign asking for money because they are hungry. I remember one time when we lived in Texas and I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. It was the day after Halloween and my bag of candy was in our car. My Mom saw a family in a van asking for food and she didn't have anything else to offer them so she gave them my Halloween candy. Growing up she also tried to convince us to have Birthday parties and ask our friends to bring us canned goods to donate instead of bring birthday gifts. At Holidays there is always someone we haven't met yet that doesn't have any family in town so they are invited to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas with us. At Christmas she would also give to every single salvation army bell ringer she ran into even if she had just donated at another store an her before. When I was younger I thought my mom was just wasting her time and sometimes I would be really annoyed but I've come to love her for it. That is just the way my mom is and when other people would judge a person because of their race or their past all my mom sees in a person.

Because of my mother I've always felt compelled to drop change in the salvation army red bucket (more out of guilt than charity though I think) and when a telemarketer calls I always listen to their speech and politely turn them down instead of hanging up on them or cutting them off, but that was as far as I would go... that is until today.

I found myself (and Lucas) being woke up from a nap by a knock on the door and Jadie barking at the Window. I looked out the peep whole first seeing our resident crackwhore (okay so I'm not quite there yet Mom but I have my reasons) standing on our porch. To be fair I don't know if she does crack... but lets just say I know the other part is pretty much true. When we first moved in here she knocked on our door and Curt answered. She offered to cut our grass for $10 or ummm service him orally for $5.00. Curt politely declined both offers and shut the door. I wanted to "politely" say something to her then but Curt wouldn't let me go outside. A few weeks later we saw her get into a parked car with a man and disappear... in the morning... a few feet away from a bus stop... so anyway. . A few times over the past two years she has had the nerve to knock on the door and ask me for rides. She is always cracked out on something and I've always told her no.

So why today did I open the door and agree to give her a ride up the street especially now that I have Lucas? I'm not sure. (I partly blame my Mom and her half of my genes. ) She told me some sob story about how she had to drop off medicine for her son at his Dad's house and how she lived with her mom and her son lived with his Dad because her son is mixed and her Mom doesn't approve. She was holding this big bottle of what looked like penicillin in one hand and a lit cigarette in another. Since it was 2 minutes away I agreed.

While I was getting Lucas in his car seat she ran back to her mom's house to "get more of his stuff" and returned with a trash bag full of can cokes (I know because she checked to make sure they hadn't busted and I saw them) she was no longer carrying the medicine that I could see. She was for sure on something and just kept spouting off about how she was 31 and had 5 kids and was 14 weeks pregnant with twins (and then asked if she could smoke in the car, I said no) I politely nodded. She went in dropped the bag off and came back out to the car. On the way back she told me she was concerned about me driving a "jeep" with a baby in the car. When she got out of the car she told me that her name was Candy (figures) and if I ever needed anything she would be there for me.

From now on I plan on sticking a "SHHH Baby sleeping" sign on the door and just not answering it. As you can see I have a hard time saying "no" to people. While I admire my Mom for the way she is I know she does things out of a pure want to help people. I just don't want to hurt peoples feelings. Afterwards I realized how dumb it was to give her a ride... I know she'll come back now. Also who knows what she was picking up? I'm still not even close to believing her story about her sick son. She could have gone crazy on us because of what she was on or a million of other things. I think from now on I'll just stick to doing nice things for people I know... and telemarketers.

The highlight of my day was when Lucas (the baby who has only spit up 4 times in his 4 months) spit up all over his body fluid phobic daddy... and I'm not just talking a little clear drool... it was white chunky spit up all over both of them... it just made me smile for so many reasons...

Then about twenty minutes later he shared the same present with me. I think it was the water he drank from his little baby cup. He drank it really quickly and almost choked some of it down. I'm sure he swallowed a few gulps of air.

Changes

Leaves in our front yard

Today an old friend of mine sent me a link to her updated online photo album and it made me a little sad. Half of the pictures were of her little boy but the other half were pictures of her, her husband and I guess the friends she hangs out with now.

Ashlee and I became friends at Windsor High. She was a year younger than me and I was a senior when we met. We played Varsity Volleyball together and double dated at prom. We worked out at the gym together and it was with her that I skipped school with one of the only two times that I did it my entire life. I was her "date" to her sisters wedding when her boyfriend couldn't go. We used to sneak cigarettes together and cover it up with febreeze. We did tons of other stupid stuff together because we were young and carefree.

Even after I graduated High School we were still close. When I was l was looking for any way out of Savannah it was Ashlee that talked me into staying. I auditioned to become a Covenant Player and was accepted and would have left in January of 2001 but I didn't think about it seriously because Ashlee begged me to stay to see her Graduate High School. I met Curt in February.

When Curt and I got married it was Ashlee and Bo (her now husband) that we hung out with the night before we got married. If it was the weekend chances were they would be at our apartment. We went camping together and Curt got Bo a job where he worked. Ashlee and I still snuck the occasional cigarette together (still from our parents) Then Ashlee and Bo got their own place and they started hanging out more with Bo's friends and we started hanging out less. Then Curt and Bo both got different jobs it was even less.

We've kept in touch over the years mostly through emails. When Ashlee knew of a job opening she told me about it and got me a part time job working at Dan Vaden. Ashlee got pregnant and had a baby shower but I couldn't go because I was leaving to study abroad in Trinidad. Then Bo and her got married and we were invited to their Beach wedding only we couldn't get in touch with them to find out where and when exactly they were tying the knot and we missed it.

When I was pregnant with Lucas, Ashlee asked me to show her how to sell on eBay because she wanted a way to be a stay at home mom with her son because she was tired of missing out on spending time with him while she worked and he was in Day Care. I spent the day showing her how things worked. She was still smoking, but I wasn't (and I'm still not). After that we talked on the phone a few times but right before I had Lucas they stopped and it was back to the occasional email.

Then there is Ashlee # 2. The last couple of weeks I've tried to get a hold of Ashlee from my childbirth class. I haven't talked to her for about a month. We used to call each other at least once every few weeks just to check in and see how each other's little boy was doing. She was supposed to be moving down the street from me this month. I tried to call again today but her phone number just rings but no one ever answers(but it isn't disconnected.)

Maybe I'm not meant to be friends with Ashlees. Or maybe people come into your life for certain purposes and then your friendships slowly just fade away. If it wasn't for Ashlee #1 I might not have stayed in Savannah and met Curt. There would be no Lucas and my life would be so different. I wouldn't have gotten so close to Lisa or met Brandi. Pregnancy would have been a lot harder not having Ashlee #2 to discuss important things like swollen ankles, food cravings, and how exactly you time a contraction. So I guess I won't count out making friends with another Ashlee just yet.

4 Month Check up

At Lucas' pediatrician all of the patient rooms have different characters painted on the walls. Some how ever since Lucas' very first Check up he always gets the pinocchio room (He loves to look at the painting now) Lisa was with me at the first appointment and took a picture of him and looking at it tonight he doesn't even look like the same baby! He now weighs 13 lbs 2 oz and is 25 1/4 inches long (it is neat to think he is over 2 feet tall!)



Everything is going well. His Dr told me to start putting neosporin on his nose and to start giving him bottle water from a cup and within the next month in a half he'll be able to drink from a sippy cup by himself. I tried giving him water tonight and he sucked it in his mouth and then let it run down his chin.

The poor little guy got more shots today. At his 2 month appointment they just made him tired but today he was a little cranky so we made sure we were extra sweet to him. He was grumpy all night until I got on the phone. I was talking to Lori and he wanted to join in. While he was showing off his baby talk skills he discovered that he could grunt at will (instead of just went he was passing gas or pooping). It was the funniest thing... He would change his voice getting lower with each sound he made. Lori and I were laughing. I think his first word will end up being "Hi" because that is what I say to him all the time and while he was talking to us both Lori and I could almost swear he said "Hi"

Things That Change When You have a Baby

This Morning Playing on the Floor

Change
1. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
2. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
3. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.
4. You're less self-involved and more self-motivated.
5. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
6. You respect your body ... finally. (Hooray for baby-making!)
7. You have stronger opinions and are stronger willed.
8. You respect your parents and love them in a new way. (Hooray for grandparents!)
9. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.
10. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child. (Hooray for the tooth fairy!)11. You lose touch with the people in your life that you should have banished years ago.
12. Your heart breaks much more easily.
13. You think of your baby 234,836,178,976 times a day. In fact, you're so busy with this that you forget everything else.
14. Every day is a surprise.
15. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
16. You think before you speak.
17. You become a morning person. (Hooray for watching the sun rise!)
18. If you have a son, you no longer curse men. (Hooray for all men!)
19. If you have a daughter, you hope she won't endure your same heartaches.
20. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

Lucas is 4 Months Old

Tomorrow at 3 we have his 4 Month Well Baby Visit. I can't Wait to See how much he weighs and how long he is!

So I guess Max would be Jadie's Uncle?

Curt's body, Jadie, Max, and Bob (Curt's Dad)

So we took Jadie with us to have Thanksgiving at Curt's Dads house. It was nice to see everyone. At first Jadie was scared of Max but by the time we left they were starting to become friends. Max didn't mind Jadie except when Bob gave Jadie some of Max's treats. Max and Jadie were too busy with each other that they didn't pay any attention to Lucas. Lucas didn't seem to mind much because he had plenty of Grandma's, Aunts, Uncles, a Grandpa, and a cousin to keep him occupied.

Lucas' cousin Steven was too cute. He has been asking to hold Lucas every time they see each other. The last few times we have always been at a restaurant and his Mom (Sam) would tell him that he could the next time we were at someone's house so he could sit on the couch. He held him long enough to get his picture taken and then handed him right back because he was crying. I guess he didn't mind too much since he asked if Lucas could spend the night with him one night. Too Cute

On the way home Curt and I talked about how busy we were going to be these next few Sundays. Next Sunday is our nephew Colby's 2nd Birthday Party, then the 11th is my Grandma's Surprise 80th Birthday Party(Dec 12 is her and Curt's Birthdays), then a Sunday with no plans, then it is Christmas, and finally my 24th Birthday on New Years Day (this year has got to be better than last year because no matter what there is little chance that I will be Pregnant with the flu KNOCK ON WOOD OF COURSE)

*Oh and and answer to Brandi's questions in the last post.

Question 1
Hampie cookies are called that because my Great Aunt Hampie would bring them to EVERY family gathering we had before she passed away a few years ago. They are really simple to make but when you bring them somewhere everyone is always impressed! (I took 30 cookies with me to dinner and before we even sat down to eat dinner there was only 1 left and I was told I should have brought more) There are four ingredients: Peanut Butter, Chocolate Bark, Marshmallow Cream, and Crackers (Like Ritz).

All you do is spread PB on one cracker and marshmallow cream on the other (you can spread them on the same cracker ...like you would if making a PB & J sandwich the RIGHT way... but it goes faster if you have one person in charge of PB and one on Marshmallow duty) and make a sandwich. Then you melt the chocolate and dip in the cracker sandwich and then place on wax paper to harden. It is the perfect blend of sweet and salty!

Question 2
You would never use both Jelly AND Cranberry sauce, only one OR the other and the cranberry goes on the same side of the sandwich as the peanut butter OF COURSE!

Eats

Instead of a Picture Today Here is a Video From Last Night

Tonight I stayed home because Curt's brother Michael came over and I made Chicken Alfredo for dinner (Curt hates white sauce so I never make it when he is home) We just talked, ate dinner, and both fell asleep (him in our comfy chair and Lucas and me on the couch) while watching some thing about the woman who ran over her husband with a car in Texas. He left after I started to get Lucas ready for a bath. After Lucas was in bed I started making "Hampie Cookies" to take with a Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake over to Curt's Dad's house for Thanksgiving.

Today we had the last bit of Thanksgiving Turkey that my Dad sent home with us Thursday night. I think the best part of thanksgiving food is the leftovers and the excuse to eat Cranberries. Today for breakfast I had a PB & cranberry Sandwich... YUMMY! and a turkey sandwich for lunch.

I LOVE the holidays! I think I'm going to start working on our Christmas card.

He Found Them

Today Lucas discovered that he could eat his feet without any help. First he had to hold onto his sock to get his foot to his mouth but pretty soon he was tasting his own little baby toe jam within a matter of minutes. He entertained himself for about an hour only taking a break to poke Jadie in the eye.

Eye See You Jadie

So that is what an eyeball feels like...

Cross my heart Jadie, if you come back I won't poke you again

Okay I forgive you

Lucas' First Thanksgiving in Pictures

First Course with Aunt Lori (it is Lori and Tony's first wedding anniversary today)


My 1st Thanksgiving Bib Thanks Aunt Lisa


Second Course With Daddy
(The little girl in the background kept trying to poke Lucas in the eye and steal his food)


Shane eating at the little kids table all alone.


Lucas and Great-Aunt Karen


Happy 2nd Birthday Colby (also today)
Colby, Uncle Ted, Grandma Valeri, Aunt Karen, and Lucas


Colby wondering why he got to blow out the candles and the cake was pulled away from him.


Lucas wiped out and napping


The Cousins
Colby, Shane, Matthew, and Lucas


Mommy, Daddy, and Lucas

Dear Lucas (17 Weeks)

You are 17 weeks old today and tomorrow is your first Thanksgiving! I am so excited just to be together with everyone. Now that you can blow raspberries I can't wait for you and your cousins to get to spit back and forth at each other. Shane will be so happy that he has some way to really play with you. He's been asking every time when he sees you if you can play Play-Doh or climb with him yet. Now you can spit back and forth at each other (I know your Uncle Ted and your Dad will be so thrilled!)

Tonight, after you go to bed I'm going to be baking Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake. Your Grandma Valeri requested it special. Sorry you won't be able to taste it this year. I think you'll have Gerber Organic Applesauce to celebrate your first Thanksgiving. I can't wait for you to cook with me one day. I love to cook and try new recipes. When your Dad comes home from work and sees a recipe on the counter he always GROANS and says something like "oh great something new?" Every once in a while I found something new he likes but he likes the same old things for dinner. I'm sure though when you are helping me in the kitchen all you have to do is look at him with your big eyes and you'll get him to like anything.

Tomorrow hopefully I'll remember to take pictures with you and all of our family. Also, I need to get a good one for our Christmas card. I love this time of year. I love sending out Christmas cards and baking things to share and family dinners. I can't wait until we get our Christmas Tree. I already have plans of laying down under it next to you and watching you stare up at all the lights and ornaments. I'm just so excited to keep certain traditions going and start our own.

The Holidays couldn't be happening at a better time. You are so aware of your surroundings now but not yet able to get around on your own and get into everything just yet. You always want to know what is going on and who is in the room. I can't really nurse with the TV on anymore because you are constantly pulling away and turning your head to see who is talking. I think if I let you, you were turn into a baby couch potato. So instead I turn the TV off (there isn't really anything good on anyway) and you nurse and I read.

Your dad thinks you are a baby Einstein... and that you will be walking sooner than any other baby on the planet (and as your Mom it goes without saying that I think you are the cutest, smartest, sweetest....) I told him it was because you Graduated College before you were even born. He says it doesn't count just because I was pregnant with you when I graduated.

I am so excited that your love of books is really starting to grow. I do all the voices for you and really get into reading to you. You love to look at the colorful pictures and run your fingers over the pages. You haven't tried to eat any of the books though, which is good since we don't have any cloth or cardboard baby books. Most of your books were given to you by your Aunt Lisa or your honorary aunt Brandi.

Besides who needs to chew on books when you are bound and determined to eat a dog? Every day you seem to get a little more determined to pull Jadie to you so you can stick an ear, leg, or tail in your mouth. You even get mad when I wash your hands after you touch her instead of letting you chew on the dog hair that is stuck to your hands. I'm sure when you can get around on your own though that dog hair will become your fifth food group.

You just want to touch and taste everything. Last night while I was giving you your bath I was pouring water on you to rinse you off and you kept trying to grasp the stream of water in your hands. You kept looking at me like you "why can't I grab onto the water?"

Another thing you love to do is play with your feet. You can't reach them on your own just yet. When you are getting a diaper change your eyes light up as soon as you see those 10 little toes. I'm sure it won't be long before you have your feet in your mouth. Every day you try a little harder to get them closer. You've also figured out that if you kick your toy attached to the swing it will play music. I know the first couple of times you did it I know it was on accident but now as soon as the music stops you kick at it again. Today you figured out that it works the same way if you hit it with your hand.

Every day you and your Dad bond a little bit more. You used to look at him as "the man that burps me." Now you know he is your Dad. I think he wants to make sure you know he is your Dad because he still introduces himself to you at least once a day with a "Hi I'm Your Dad." "Or Hey Boy It's Daddy." When he gets home from work you smile at him as soon as you hear his voice. Also sometimes when I am holding you and he walks by you hold out your arms for him. He still loves to feed you your baby food and he is always doing funny little voices while he talks to you.

I know this is random but I really hope your eyes end up changing colors. Your baby blues keep taking freaky red eyed pictures even when I use the red eye reduction feature on our camera. I always end up edited out the red eyes before posting your pictures but then you get freaky black and grey eyes. I guess I'll have to love you even if your eyes stay blue... it just makes it hard since your mom is a camera freak. You are only 17 weeks old and already we have close to 800 digital pictures of you on the computer.

Oh and this week I've been calling you boogs... short for booger. One day I'm going to find a nickname for you that will stick.

Because He looks at Books Like He Looks At Dogs

I started the day early... Really early... With a good dose of guilt!

For over a week I've been going to bed at a "reasonable time," at 10 PM. I've been sleeping in my own bed with my own husband. This might not sound like anything special but for almost a year I've been going to bed VERY late... Most times not until 3 AM (started when I was pregnant because I've always been a night owl and Lucas would always start kicking about 2 AM) Once Lucas started to go to bed at 8 PM and only wakes up to nurse once a night now (usually 2 AM... hmmm I never thought about the time before) I realized I should start taking advantage of that and get some sleep!

Here is where the guilt comes in... Last night was windy and cold and it rained all night. I woke up on my own in the middle of the night (which is strange) because I had to pee. This might sound normal but it has been a long time since this has happened! Usually Lucas wakes me up and I just pee before going back to bed. I felt strangely rested and my breasts looked like they belonged to Pamela Anderson... Except they were fully clothed... And they were painfully engorged. On the way back to bed I glanced over at the clock and it was blinking and that is when I realized the power had gone out. I had to go into the living room and turn on the TV to the TV Guide Channel to find out what time it was.... 4:30 AM! That means that sometime during the night Lucas woke up hungry and must have cried himself back to sleep and I couldn't hear him because of how far is room is from ours and with electricity... No working baby monitor.

While I know that it doesn't hurt a baby to cry... It wasn't too long since Lucas has gone from 2 night feedings to 1 and I hate to think my baby woke up hungry and nothing happened to remedy his situation. It is painful... Literally. With every movement it was painful... I had to pump out some of the excess milk before I woke him up to nurse because my breasts were so full he wouldn't have been able to latch on. I almost thought about letting him wake up on his own but I was still uncomfortable and didn't want to risk getting a breast infection.

I know some people might tell me not to worry about it because some babies already sleep through the night at his age...(which for a baby only means a 5 hour stretch of time) and when he is ready that will be fine. I enjoy our night time feedings. The world is quiet and we are the only two up. He always finishes asleep with this little smile and he looks like a happy drunk old man as I tuck him back into his crib. Plus the guilt faded through out the day.

Today was a good day. I think Lucas might have worn himself out last night crying... Because he was very sleepy today and didn't fuss when he needed to take a nap... I'm so glad he is on a schedule... But it isn't a strict rigid schedule where he HAS to take a nap at this time or feed at that time. It changes each day but when he is fussy I look at the time and it is usually around the time he takes his naps each day. We're good to go as long as he gets in at least one good nap a day but if he doesn't get a good nap in the morning and I don't get him to lay down for his nap in the afternoon he turns into a little screaming face scratching monster or a baby. His naps make my day run smoothly. I get "me" time which I used to take when he went to bed at night which made me sleep deprived! Plus as long as he gets a good nap I'm able to go out and run errands and do anything I want with the day and I know he'll be a happy smiling laughing baby that enjoys seeing new things and hearing new sounds.

One thing I've started to notice that Lucas seems to relish is being read to. He seems to like books as much as he likes dogs... Only he doesn't try to eat them. Instead he just stares at the pictures and runs his hands over the pages. Today we read Pat the Bunny and Red Ranger Came Calling. I hope his love of books continuities.

One of my favorite memories from childhood is that my Mom would read to us every night. My sister and I would climb into my parents bed and listen to her read to us long after we could read on our own. She read the Narnia books to us and I can't believe how excited I am too see the movie coming out in December... But not nearly as excited as I am to read those same books to Lucas one day.

A Dog He Can Taste

Today I needed to go grocery shopping so I decided to check out the brand spanking new Kroger that is less than 3 miles from my house. I usually shop at Super Walmart (too crowded but pretty cheap) or Food Lion (expensive and the store is tiny so they don't have a lot of selection but easy to get in and out and closer to us.)

When I walked in a knew I would like it. The first thing I saw was a Starbucks (with a sign up that said Open Thanksgiving... Which I think is kind of wrong) and I got in line for a cup of over priced peppermint flavored caffeine. It was heaven! The Kroger was huge and every one was so nice. I didn't get to stay as long as I wanted because it was close to Lucas' nap time and he just wasn't having it!

Before we left we did go down the baby aisle and I saw the cutest little puppy dog baby toy that I just couldn't resist. It rattles and each of his paws have a surface for chewing and his ears make a crinkle sound. Finally a dog Lucas can chew on!

Lucas fell asleep as soon as we got in the car and as I was driving out of the parking lot I noticed that this Kroger had a gas station and gas was $1.91!!! So I filled up even though I already at least 3/4 of a tank full.

As we were pulling up to the house my mom called to see if we wanted to go to lunch with her and my Grandma. So I left Lucas sleeping in the car and I took the groceries in and drove over to my parents house. So he did get in his first nap but it wasn't as long as it would have been. Lunch was nice but Lucas didn't like everyone else eating except for him. By the time we got home he had missed his second nap and was so tired that he refused to take one.

I put him to bed at 8:00 and he was not a happy camper. He started screaming when he figured out what was going on. The second I started reading him Guess How Much I Love You, (the book I read every night to him) he stopped. He waited until I finished the story to start back crying. He finally fell asleep a few minutes later. He did wake up after 30 minutes to nurse. (He was so tired and fussy he really hadn't nursed very well before going to bed) I just put him back in his crib to go to bed and I think I will head off to bed pretty soon myself.

"Mom, Please let me taste the dog"

We spent the day at Curt's Dad's house. At first we had just planned on staying for a short visit because we haven't really been out for a long period of time since Lucas got on his schedule and we weren't sure how he would do. Lucas hadn't seen this set of Grandparents in a while (our fault not theirs) and they invited us to stay for dinner so we decided to stay.

Before we left the house we were told that we better bring pictures of Lucas with us. Bob just had back surgery not too long ago so we figured it was best not to argue with a man that has had disks replaced through his neck. The threat came because the only picture they had of Lucas was his birth announcement and it made me realize I better get out pictures to all his Grandparents.

I'm really glad we decided to stay for longer than we planned. I ended up going grocery shopping with Laurie while Curt stayed with Lucas and watched Star Wars Episode 3 on his Dad's big screen. It was nice to get out and talk with Laurie. When we got home I found a suprisingly calm husband who swore "he just quit crying," and and well rested baby "he did sleep though more than he cried."

Lucas is turning in to be quite the dog lover. His grandparents have the sweetest puppy named Max. As sweet and laid back as Jadie is Max is 100x more. He just goes with the flow. He liked trying to give Lucas kisses and Lucas loved grabbing onto his fur. Lucas is one strong willed baby! He kept getting mad at me because I wouldn't let him put the dog in his mouth. I'm sure as soon as he can get around on his own the first thing he is going to do is find the nearest dog and taste a mouth full of dog fur. I should have gotten pictures of the two of them but today Curt was the photographer so I'll just blame him. We're supposed to go back Sunday to celebrate Thanksgiving with them and the rest of his family and take Jadie to play with Max, so I'm sure there will be photos then.

Around 3 (his normal nap time) Lucas started to get fussy so I went back to Curt's parents room where Curt was already watching a movie to lay down Lucas... who amazingly went right to sleep so I curled up right next to him and we got an hour nap! When we woke up dinner was just about ready. Bob had made the most amazing chicken fingers from scratch and Lucas kept eyeing them while he sucked down his bottle. We stayed for a few minutes after dinner and got home just in time to do Lucas' night time rituals and put him to bed at 8:00. Again he "went to bed" without any tears. I went in at 8:30 to check on him and he was laying there smiling and laughing so I kissed him on the head and told him good night again and walked out. At 8:45 I checked on him again while talking to my mom on the phone and he was asleep.

Today ended up being a great day and it really got me excited about Thanksgiving and getting together with everyone this week! Also, now I know Lucas will sleep anywhere when he is tired enough. I'm glad he didn't end up being one of those kids that will only go to sleep at their own house or in their own bed.