Dear Lucas (5 years 9 months 1 week and 2 Days),

In just a few weeks you will be finished with Kindergarten and I'm looking forward to having you home for a few months. A few weeks ago was your Spring break. Originally we had planned to do a few fun things but unfortunately your Dad and I were sick almost the whole time. However, you got to go spend the night with Grandma and Papa for the first time and you thought that was pretty neat. You are already asking when you can come back. I think it is already decided that you can go to Vacation Bible School with Grandma and stay the whole week.

Being in Kindergarten you get to go to awards day, which they didn't have last year in Pre-K. For the last two marking periods you have made perfect attendance. I love being able to get to attend school functions during the day.

Another fun activity that you are now old enough to participate in is Jump Rope for Heart. You haven't quite got the whole jumping rope thing down yet but that is okay you never gave up.

The last day of school before Spring break was pretty fun. I got to go help hide 472 Easter eggs for your class egg hunt. Well, maybe hide is the wrong word. There were so many eggs that we were just throwing them on the ground. I am pretty sure it took longer for us to put the eggs out than it did for your class to scoop them up. Each of you had to pick up 23 eggs. You got to practice your math skills while having fun with your classmates.

You got to go to another special Easter Egg hunt. Every year we get together with your old playgroup pals and have a hunt. This year was no different. The crowd was a little smaller than it usually is but it was still a lot of fun. Afterwards we spread out blanket out and had a picnic in Forsyth. I really love the weather this time of year.

We went to the Sidewalk Art Festival again this year and you really enjoyed it. We got there after the actual festival was over so we could see the art a little better. In my car I keep a "park bag" and it has a blanket to sit on, balls to play with, sidewalk chalk, and water bottles. When you noticed there were a few empty squares in between some of the artwork you asked for your chalk and started to draw. People kept walking by telling you what an awesome job you were doing. On the way back to the car you told me, "I'm the best chalk drawer in the whole world." I'm still not sure what you ended up drawing.

You have officially kicked off the swimming season. You were a little scared to go in the pool at first and you were worried that you won't remember how to swim. You slowly inched your way in and before long you were doing cannon balls off the side of the pool. It is going to be a fabulous summer.

One of your favorite things to do lately is to swing. You learned how to pump your feet and really get yourself going. Now you take every chance you can get to swing. You are always begging to go to the park or to Grandma and Papa's house. Your Dad keeps talking about making a swing for our backyard. I guess we need to make sure he gets right on that!

On Easter we got together with all of your cousins. In a few months there will be a totally different photo op. It is looking more and more like Joshua and Joseph might be moving away soon and this fall you will be getting a new cousin. Your Aunt Lisa and Uncle Ted are pregnant with their fourth child. Right now everyone is waiting to see if it will be a boy or girl. I just hope there will be lots of chances to take pictures of all 7 of you.

Sweet pea, I love you to the moon and back!

Mommy

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

This year our annual Easter Egg hunt was out our house. It was a pretty awesome feeling to FINALLY be able to have everyone over.

See You Laters

When Lucas was 8 months old I stumbled across an online ad for a playgroup. I never imagined that Lucas and I would make such amazing friends from this group, but we have. Sometimes we have to say "see you later!" to some of these wonderful people. A few weeks ago we had a meet up so the kids could do just that.

Our Annual Playgroup Halloween Party

2006

2007

2008

2009

Dear Lucas (4 years and 3 Months),

Now that you are in school, time seems to have sped up even faster. I didn't think that was even possible! You've been in school for two months now and we really have our whole routine down. I drop you off at school every morning and then a few days a week I pick you up and then when I am taking care of your Great Gram your Dad picks you up. Every day you come home with some new fact or song that you learned at school. Your excitement about learning new things is so great and I'm so thankful that we were able to send you to school this year.

At the beginning of the month we went out of town and picked you up from school early. When I walked in the classroom you didn't see me so I just watched you playing during your free play time for a couple of minutes. It was really neat for me anytime I get to observe you in your school environment. You just seem so grown up and independent there. As soon as you saw me you got excited and said "Hi Mom!" and ran over to me and gave me a big hug. You do the exact same thing every time I pick you up from school and it makes me feel on top of the world.

One day a few weeks ago you came home talking about how you had a "girlfriend" at school. When I got to go on your field trip to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend I got to meet her. The two of you were pretty much inseparable. You guys had to stand in line together and sit by each other at lunch and on the hay ride. I noticed her calling you "Lukey" a few times and that cracked me up!

It was so cool getting to go on your first real field trip. (A few weeks ago you guys walked down the street to the Fire Station, so if you want to be technical that was your first field trip... but I'm not counting it because you didn't ride on and bus, and because I wasn't there.) You were so excited to get to ride on the bus and it was so neat to see you interacting with all your classmates and to get called "Lucas' Mom" all day long. Now when I pick you up from school all your friends say, "Bye Lucas! Bye Lucas' Mom!" It is pretty awesome.

Your teachers are AMAZING. You can tell they really love their job and they especially love their students and you guys really love them back. This week your school had an after school dance for all the grades. You and a few of your classmates had a ball shaking your little booties and dancing with your teacher. I volunteered to help at the dance and it was only an hour long and I was exhausted! I don't know how your teachers do it. I am pretty that teachers must be undercover Super Heroes.

You've been begging to get a pumpkin to "starve" and make into a Jack-o-lantern. I've been meaning to get a pumpkin for a while but thought we had plenty of time. Then this week, I realized that Halloween is less than a week away so we stopped and got one.

On the way home from picking out the perfect pumpkin you talking a good game about how you were going to scoop out the pumpkin. Then you were going to give him circle eyes, a triangle nose, and a crescent mouth. When it got to the part of cleaning out the pumpkin guts you totally chickened out. You were having NONE of that! So I had to scoop out the pumpkin insides while you supervised. We were going to wash and cook the pumpkin seeds until our cat jumped up on the table and started chowing down. Turns out Babies the Cat LOVES fresh pumpkin, seeds and all!

Your pumpkin turned out just like you wanted him too look. Before we started carving you took a crayon and planned out exactly how you wanted him to look. Now every night before you go to bed you have to go outside and turn on your little light in the pumpkin before you go to bed.

This week we also went to your annual playgroup Halloween party. We've gone every year since 2006 when you were just one year old. Back then you were just barely learning how to stand up on your own. Since you are in school all day during the week we really don't get to see your playgroup pals that much anymore. It was so nice to catch up with them and reminisce about how young you all were when we had our first Halloween party. Halloween is going to be SO MUCH FUN this year.

Little boo, I love you to the moon and back,

Lucas' Mommy

Birthday Buddies

Lucas helped his friend celebrate her fourth birthday today. It is crazy to think we were at her 1st birthday just a few years ago. That means that they've been friends for almost their entire lives. Now that is pretty cool.

Our Little Fish

This past weekend we spent in St.Simons Island for a family reunion. Lucas spent every possible minute he could in the pool. He used to HATE to get his head wet until we got him a pair of goggles. (He had to have ones like his big cousins Shane and Colby.) Well this weekend he started going under water with them on and looking around and then staying underwater to show off for Joseph, his baby cousin.

Then he started asking to hold on to our hands so he could kick himself around the pool. We kept telling him that if he would let go of our fingers then he would be swimming all by himself. He said he wasn't ready for that so we didn't push. We left Sunday and headed home.

We had a playgroup pool meetup today and Lucas just jumped right in the pool and starting swimming around. He didn't even realize what he was doing at first. I had to tell him he was swimming all by himself one of the times he popped up for air. He was so tickled and proud of himself.

Joseph was also at the meetup today and when he saw his big cousin swimming by he started making the sign for fish with his hands.

We are so Blessed

I have been staring at this blank computer screen for what seems like forever trying to form the right words to explain the incredible surprise benefit that was thrown on our behalf last night.... to try and express just how thankful and touched we are to have THE MOST amazing friends and family in the entire world.

Because of their generosity Curt's urology bill has been completely wiped out and we'll be able to cover the initial Doctor bills before his surgery and all of Curt's medications. There is a huge sense of relief to not have to worry any more about medical bills. More than anything though we are most grateful for the love and friendship. It was so amazing to walk into this room filled with people who care about us so much.

"Me and a Kid"

This morning we went to Chuck E. Cheese's for a birthday party. In the car Lucas told me, "Mommy, I want to see Chuck E. I'm not scared of him anymore. I know it is just a suit." The rest of the way there he wanted to sing the theme song except he kept singing, "Chuck E. Cheese's, me and a kid."

Now he is EVEN more obsessed than ever with planning his 4Th birthday party.

A Great Good Friday Morning

The annual playgroup Easter egg hunt begins.

Sad bunny

Finally ready to join the fun.

Checking out the goodies.

Lucas' playgroup buddies.

Since we were at Gregory Park we had to stop and snap a picture here.

More pictures on my shutterfly.