Dear Lucas (4 Years 1 month and 3 days),

I catch myself staring at you just about everyday and thinking "how is it possible that he is so grown up?" Everyday you seem bigger than you were the day before. You always wake up happy ready to face the day. You always want to know where we are going and what we are doing. You always want to be on the move and HATE days where we stay home.

We had your fourth birthday party on August 1st and you got to celebrate turning 4 with your family and friends. The party was a race car theme that you decided on yourself. You've already started planning your 5Th birthday and anytime anyone mentions someone else's birthday you have to remind us that you will be 5 on your next birthday and that you think you want a Batman birthday. I am constantly reminding you to stop being in such a rush to grow up already, you JUST TURNED 4!!!

You are one lucky duck and got to go to Disney World this summer not once, but twice! Our last trip in the middle of August was totally unplanned. We went so that I could take care of your Great-Gram while Grandma was in continuing education nursing classes. One of the days we were there we all headed back to the Magic Kingdom. You were SO excited to be there. One of the things you loved seeing was a big show in front of the castle because you got to see Peter Pan fight Captain Hook. You are still talking about it. You LOVE Peter Pan right now and beg to watch the Disney movie ALL THE TIME. We often read Peter Pan at bedtime and you want to be Peter Pan for Halloween. It's a little funny to me that the kid who can't wait to get older is obsessed with the Boy that never grows up.

You spent a good deal of the summer playing with your friends David and Gabe. They were usually over at our house at least once a week while their parents were at work. Back in May when they first started to come over you guys used to fight ALL THE TIME but as the summer marched on the fights were few and far between. You spent lots of hours with them in the sandbox and sitting on the front porch eating popsicles talking about hot wheels and super heroes. At the beginning of the summer you guys planted zinnia seeds and you all loved watching them grow and helping water them. Last week was our last time watching the boys on a consistent basis since you and David will be starting school on September 1st.

On Friday night your school had an Open House and you were so excited to go and see your school and meet your teacher. There are 2 Pre-K classes at your school and they had everyone meet together and then the assistant teachers took all the kids to their class while the teachers talked to us parents. You excitedly lined up and followed the other kids out of the room. I couldn't help feeling just a little bit like I had just turned my baby over to a perfect stranger and I started to cry as soon as you were out of my sight. I know that you are going to love school (you've been BEGGING to go for so long) and that it will be good for you but I am going to miss having you as my sidekick during the day. I ended up buying a charm with your name on it and making a necklace for myself so that I can feel like you are with me when you are school. I am also planning on wearing big sunglasses when I drop you off for your first day, so that hopefully you can't tell that I am crying.

After the teachers were done going over the basics with us (reminding us that everyone is expected to wear red or white khaki shirts and khaki or black pants and have a clear or mesh backpack) all the parents headed over to the Pre-K classes. You didn't see us coming in the door and you ran out another way. Turns out you had to go to the bathroom and didn't know where it was or who to ask so you went back to the room where you had left us to ask for help, only we were no longer there. By the time we found you, you were so upset because you were lost and had an accident in your pants since you didn't know what to do. You were so upset. Your Dad took you to the car to get cleaned up and when you came back you were still crying. Daddy tried to distract you by showing you the alphabet that ran across the wall. It worked for a second but when it was time to meet your teacher you hid under the table. I hate that your Open House went like that but I hope that since "all the bad stuff" already happened that your first day will be smooth.

We just found out that you need glasses. Turns out that you are extremely nearsighted and can only see things close up. This explains why you always stand right in front of the TV no matter how many times we ask you to move. I feel like I should apologize for all those times I pointed at something across the room and told you to please pick it up and you said you couldn't see what I was talking about and I would get frustrated. I thought you weren't looking, and it turns out you really couldn't see from across the room. You are very excited about wearing glasses like Grandpa and Daddy and you I let you pick out your frames all by yourself. They might not be here for a couple of weeks so you have to start school without them. I can't wait for you to be able to REALLY see. Last night you looked up at the sky and said "Mommy, the sky is so beautiful." All I could think to myself was just wait until you get your glasses.

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

Mommy

My Lucky Ducky

Last week Lucas got to take his 2nd trip THIS SUMMER to the Magic Kingdom. My Mom had a continuing education nursing conference to go to and at the very last minute she asked us to go and care for my Grandma while she was in classes. Then literally an hour or so before we were supposed to leave, I talked my sister Lori into going with us too. Lori and I got to hang out quite a bit when our boys were asleep and that was a lot of fun. Also, unlike last time my Mom and Grandma got to go with us to Disney as well. This trip Lucas fell in love with Pluto and I ended up giving in and buying him a stuffed Pluto and he now takes it EVERYWHERE.

Magic Kingdom

This time last week Lucas and I were at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World. He was so excited to be there and so well behaved. Every day since we have been home he has either begged to go back or told me that he misses Mickey. He says he wants to go back soon, but next time he wants us to take his Dad with us. Sounds good to me! We got to the park a few minutes before they opened and saw the Welcoming show.

We were able to ride several things with no wait the first hour we were there. Then we went straight to meet Mickey Mouse with barely any wait (thanks for the tip Becky)

Lucas also got the autographs of a few more Disney friends. We rode a few more rides and caught a show in front of the castle. We also watched a parade before we headed back to our hotel room to rest for a few hours (since The Magic Kingdom was open until 3AM!!)

One of the first things we did when we got to the Magic Kingdom in the morning was get Lucas a birthday button. I guess it got so hot that his name rubbed off and when we were walking through the resort to catch our bus back to the Magic Kingdom, one of the employees suggested we go to the front desk to get his name rewritten. They ended up giving him a brand new button. He was so proud of it and enjoyed everyone wishing him Happy Birthday. When everyone anyone asked if he that specific day was his birthday he would say "I'm celebrating 4!"

When we got back to the park we rode a few more rides and watched some amazing fireworks.

One of the last things we did was visit Pooh's Playful spot and Lucas had so much fun running free with other kids and getting wet in the fountains. Luckily I remembered to bring extra clothes. However, I didn't have extra shoes so I used that chance to put Lucas back in the stroller and start wrapping up our Magical day.

On the way out of the park we stopped to let Lucas pick out a pair of ears and got a quick snack before catching the bus back to our resort. I think we were in our room about 2AM.

The whole day was a lot of fun and we pretty much rode every ride in the park that Lucas was big enough for and usually with little to no wait at all. I think the most we ever waited in line was 20 minutes. My only complaint the whole day was how hot it was, but then it was the middle of July. I lost track of how much water we drank but Lucas did AWESOME with letting me know when he had to go to the bathroom. The day couldn't have been more perfect.

Downtown Disney

The first night we got to Orlando, we tucked Lucas and my Grandma into bed and headed to Publix to pick up groceries. (Don't worry, my Mom's friend Connie was with both of them) On our way back from the store we stopped by Downtown Disney to check it out. I had never been before and was told by quite a few people that we HAD to check it out. It was SO COOL and one on one time with my Mom is hard to come by. We did a quick walk through and then decided to try and bring everyone back the next day.

When we told Lucas about all the cool things he was going to see he got very excited. He too thought Downtown Disney was REALLY cool. There were plenty of places to take fun pictures and lots of neat shops and resturants. One of the coolest things had to be all the creatures made out of Legos (like the Dragon and giant Transformer.)

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort

The whole reason we went to Disney world last week is that my Grandma, Mom, and Mom's friend were going to a Convention down there. We were lucky to be asked to tag along. The hotel was AWESOME and huge. Lucas loved the playground and the pool was really neat too. It had a water park type slide that Lucas went down 3 times by himself (with the help of a life jacket.)

Disney World 2009

Lucas and I got to go to Disney World last week. We had so much fun and I promise to spill all the details soon. Turns out Lucas came home from vacation with a cute pair of Mickey Ears and I picked up some sort of a nasty cold.