Bedtime Conversation

Lucas: "I love you"
Me: "I love you more"
Lucas: "No, I love you more"
Me: "Nope, I love you more."
Lucas: "Nope, cause Mommy, I love you to infinity and beyond."

Overhead Conversation

Lucas: "Daddy, I love you!"

Curt: "I love you more!"

Lucas: "I love you to the moon!"

Curt: "Well I love you to infinity!"

Lucas: "Well I love you to INFINITY AND BEYOND!"

Slave Driver

Tonight Lucas and I sat down to get his Valentine's Day cards ready to pass out to his classmates tomorrow. He signed three cards before he turned to me and said, "I think I'm getting tired. You can just do the rest. I'll go take my bath." So Curt went and filled up the bathtub and I slaved away feeling out Toy Story Valentines. When Lucas was clean and wrinkled he got out of the bath and headed over to check out my handiwork only to find me still working on his cards. "What? Mom you are not finished yet?!?!" Then he sat down beside me and started stuffing envelopes and talking about how excited he was to pass out the cards to his friends tomorrow.

Tonight was one of those nights that make me thankful for all the little unsung things that my parents did for me as a child (like buying Valentine's Day cards or cutting my PB&J into 4 little triangles.)

Christmas Day

Christmas morning we woke up to find that Santa had come while we were sleeping!

Santa left Lucas' presents laid out under the tree.

Lucas was really excited to see his own set of tools in his stocking.

After checking out the loot from Santa it was time to open presents.

Lucas was excited to see a Buzz Lightyear (and a Woody)

He was also VERY excited to see the bike that Daddy picked out just for him.

Christmas afternoon we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Hunter's house.

Uncle Michael helped Caden open his presents.

Talking about trains with Grandpa Hunter

Curt enjoyed some snuggle time with our youngest niece and nephew.

Aubrie wanted to hold a real baby.

GreatGram This is My Best Friend

Dear Lucas (37 Months),

I wish we had a camera crew to follow you around and record all the funny things that you say everyday. I can't believe all the funny stuff that comes shooting out of your mouth and there is just so much that by the end of the day I've already forgotten the funny thing you said over breakfast. So far 3 has been so much more fun that 2 (with a little bit more attitude on the side!) Tonight we were just hanging out and you asked me a random question and I just shrugged my shoulders and you crouched down in front of me and with every bit of seriousness you looked into my eyes and said "Use your words!" That is the phrase I always tell you when you are whining or throwing a fit. I cracked up laughing and you did too.

Lately you have become OBSESSED with "Toy Story!" I am not willing to admit how many times you have seen it in the last few weeks (let's just say you already know just about every single word to the movie) especially since you've been sick the last few days. Yesterday when you begged to watch it for a million and two times I told you that we couldn't watch it because the DVD needed to rest and if you kept watching it over and over it would break. I don't know how you fell for it but you did and I silently celebrated! Well, the first thing you did this morning was walk straight for your DVD and pick it up and say "It's rest! Look Mommy, all better! It is all rest!" You talked on and on about how rested the DVD looked and how Woody and Buzz had a great nap and you were so serious.

Another thing you are into lately is pretending you are going to school. You will put your backpack on and tell me "Goodbye Mommy, I go to school now! I love you! I'll miss you" and then you come by for a kiss before you "go to school." School is in mine and Daddy's bedroom and I'm not sure what goes on during "school" because you never stay long. After a minute or two you come back and say something like "We went to the beach, there was a crab. It was fun! I missed you!" Then you repeat the game over and over. It is so cute!

I think tonight I was speechless for the first time in maybe my entire life. You came running up to me with a tampon swimming from your fingers going "What's this?! What's this?!" I didn't even know what to say. I knew if a named the thing in your hand that then you would ask me what it was used for and I'm just not ready to go down that road with my three year old son. I just laughed and told you to go ask your father. Your Dad (who won't even be SEEN within 2 aisles of the feminine hygiene aisle) told you it was a "pop gun" and then from there it was a microphone and a rocket ship. You even wanted to sleep with it... this will be one of those stories that you will probably "cringe" if we ever retell it in front of you when you are about 15. Is it wrong that I am looking forward to those times just a little bit?

Today we went to Vidalia and spent a little time with our family that lives there. You had so much fun seeing all the animals and just investigating everything. When I was a kid I used to LOVE going to Vidalia and visiting my Grandparents on the farm. I had the best time horseback riding, fishing, and picking fresh corn. I wish you could have known your Great Grandma back then, she was so different then she is now. I remember her playing football outside with us grand kids and "plaiting" my hair. I also wish you could have met your Great-Grandpa. He would have loved you and I know you would have adored him (that is his dog that you "rode" today.)

I have so many good memories from that place of Summers and Christmases that sometimes it is hard to go back there because it just isn't the same. It was so much fun taking you there today though and I realized it is somewhere that we need to go more. I showed you the field where we used to ride horses and jump on hay bales. Then you asked if I ever went in the boat by the pond (I did, and your Dad even did one time too. It was actually the first place we ever went camping together.) and you just thought the whole place was so cool.

I can't believe that summer is almost over! There are so many things I thought we would have done by now. We've hardly been to the beach at all this year and it makes me feel a little bad because you love it so much. Gas has just been so expensive that we haven't gone even a quarter of as much as we did last year. I also haven't taken you swimming that much just in the pool. The last few times we've gone you've been using your water wings and you go swimming by me all on your own. It is such a change from how you used to clutch on to me because you were scared I would let you go. Now you go down the slide at Grandma and Papa's house and you've even jumped off the diving board a few times. I've got to get my little fishie in the water more before it starts turning cooler.

Bugga, I love you to the moon and back,

Mama

Rainy Day Fun

This morning we helped Lucas' friend Hannah celebrate her 3rd birthday. She was one of Lucas' very first friends that he made from his playgroup.

We left the birthday party and headed to the grocery store. While we were inside shopping it started pouring (thanks Fay.) Lucas thought it was so fun to get to be "rained on." When we got home Lucas was very excited to see that he had mail. He was even more thrilled when he realized that some very thoughtful friends from Arizona had sent him "Toy Story!"

Old Friends

I had completely forgotten about these pictures of Lucas from his first Disney trip in January 2007. He thinks it is pretty cool that he got to"meet Buzz and Woody" when he "was little."

The Stink Eye

This is what happens when you interupt Lucas' while he is running through the house screaming "to infinity and a yawn!"

"To Infinity and a Yawn"

This weekend we rented "Toy Story" from Netflix and Lucas became instantly OBSESSED! So much so he spent this morning running around in his Super Hero cape and Buzz Light Year undies (hand-me-downs from his cousin, and no he isn't potty trained) saying "to infinity and a yawn!"

Tonight something in his head clicked and he realized that the Buzz Light Year Costume and the Woody Cowboy costume that he got for Christmas were from Toy Story and he spent the rest of tonight prancing around saying, "You're my favorite deputy." Tomorrow I plan on returning "Toy Story" in the mail. I know this is going to cause a major melt down but hopefully it won't be that bad since "Toy Story 2" is supposed to be here tomorrow as well.

Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue

Dear Lucas (76 weeks)

We just got back from your very first time at Disney world. We went with your Grandma, Great-Grandma and your cousin Matthew. You were pretty good on the way down there and back because Grandma and Matthew kept you entertained while Mommy drove.

We left Savannah Sunday afternoon and got to Orlando later in the evening. You went to bed around 11:00 PM and at 12:30 AM you woke up screaming uncontrollably. The only way I got you to stop was to give you a bubble bath at 1 AM and let you brush your teeth.

I finally figured out you were teething and gave you some Tylenol which seemed to help. You finally fell back asleep around 2 am which means I didn't get much sleep before our 6:30AM wake up call.


We headed to Epcot first thing Monday morning.

The first Disney Character you met was Figment. You were not thrilled about meeting him and you kept trying to jump out of my arms and run away.


Since you didn't get much sleep the night before you feel asleep pretty early and snoozed on your Great Grandma for a little bit.

While you were sleeping the Grandma's stayed with you while Matthew and I rode a ride. It was a boat ride through Norway and it was probably good you were sleeping and didn't go because it had "scary" parts on it.


Since you didn't like meeting characters while you were awake I took you to see Snow White and Dopey while you were still sleeping. You stayed asleep for a pretty long time and only woke up because of the live music playing where we ate lunch. You woke up hungry, happy and ready for more fun.

You loved all the music you heard at Disney. One of the shows you really enjoyed was hearing the Voices of Liberty at the American Adventure.

Around 5PM we were all tired and wanted to take a break so some of us decided to leave the park and go back to the hotel and rest for a while.

We ended up taking a boat ride across the Lagoon before exited the park and you loved every minute of it. You most get your love of boats from your Grandpas.


When we got back to the hotel you wanted to explore the giant playground instead of taking a nap.

You have never watched a Disney Movie before but I think you recognized Buzz Light Year from a toy at your Grandparents' house.

Buzz was so enormous that I couldn't safely get a picture of you standing in front of all of him. I would have had to back up farther from you then I wanted. If you decided to run off I couldn't grab you quickly.

After changing clothes and taking a break in the room Matthew and I headed to MGM studios and you went with the Grandmas back to Epcot to watch a fireworks show called Illuminations.

It was nice to walk around Disney without carrying a 2o+ pound baby around the park but I did miss you when I saw things you would like to see. While we were there Matthew and I went on the Tower of Terror which your Dad would have NOT liked since he is afraid of heights.

You slept a lot better Monday night and Tuesday morning we went to Animal Kingdom. When we entered the park there were Characters just hanging out so I took you to meet them. You seemed a lot happier meeting Friar Tuck sitting in the safety of your stroller than you would have if I was holding you next to him.

We didn't stay long at Animal Kingdom because we wanted to go to Magic Kingdom (and the Grandma's wanted to go to Epcot so we split up.) We did go on the Safari ride before we left and you enjoyed seeing wild animals a lot more than you did the "tame" ones.


Magic Kingdom was the busiest of all the parks because it is the most popular. It was a little stressful not to have the Grandmas with us since they helped me with you so much the day before but Matthew was a big help.

You adore Matthew and he was wonderful at cheering you up and distracting you when you wanted to get down when we were waiting in line (or at the hotel so I could take a shower.)

One of the first things we did at Magic Kingdom was get on this ride that takes you around Tomorrowland. A very small part of the ride was in the dark and you weren't scared but I think you were wondering where on earth we were taking you and if I would force you to meet more strange characters when we got there.

You were having so much fun you just passed out in the stroller without warning. Matthew and I ended up eating lunch while you were sleeping. While we ate we had to fend off the birds that are all over Disney just waiting for you to drop food. Your stroller got pooped on three times (each time landing on your tray) and Matthew and I just missed being pooped on when a bird pooped right in between the both of us.

When we finished lunch Matthew went to ride on a ride that babies weren't allowed on and I watched a parade while you napped on. I was surprised how you just kept right on sleeping through all the noise and the people. You woke up after the parade just as I found Matthew because some kid was standing near us and loudly started to call for his mom.

You woke up ready to have some more fun so we headed over to Tom Sawyer Island and you had a blast exploring and playing with Matthew.

The island has a fort on one side of it complete with a water well. You thought it was funny to stand in the water bucket and I had a hard time getting you to get out of it. Don't worry, the well was boarded up so you were perfectly safe.

Your very favorite ride out of all three parks you went to was It's a Small World. You just loved all the bright colors, dancing and singing characters, and the fact that all of this took place while you were sitting in a boat.

Instead of riding It's a Small World for a third time we went and saw more Disney Characters. I don't know why I kept taking you to see them since you didn't like them but since they never made you cry I figured you weren't suffering too much.

Your least favorite character was Donald Duck. You kept trying to escape and you would point at the Disney Photographer like "Hey man, put down that camera and save me! Oh yeah and Stop calling me Princess!!" The Disney Photographers kept thinking you were a girl which is making me consider you being a hippy baby after all.

The very last character you met was Snow White. I know you had already had your picture with her the day before but this time you were awake. You actually liked Snow White and I think it had something to do with her wearing "normal clothes."

After the Character meet and greet we took you to a big gift shop where I let you pick out a few things. You went straight for the pink mouse ears.

Matthew and I helped convince you that the black mouse ears were ever more fun than the pink ones and we got your name stitched on the back of the hat.

After the gift shop we rode It's a Small World for the second time and you danced and hugged your Mickey Mouse key chain through the entire ride. I wish every time you were sick or sad that we could just hop on It's a Small World because of I don't know if I have ever seen you as insanely happy as you were for the few minutes in that little boat.

Pretty soon it was the end of the day and time to watch the big Fireworks show before the park closed. You weren't scared of any of the loud noises. You happily munched on some snacks while you watched the sky fill up with bright colors.

After all of the rides closed we hung around to take a few more pictures. All in all it was a pretty good trip. You had an amazing time and you were well behaved. I was surprised by how much you DID NOT get frustrated. You even started saying "gee" for sippy when you wanted a drink. I was probably the one that was the big baby always complaining how much my feet hurt from walking or my back ached from carrying you around (you couldn't take the stroller in the lines for the rides) or how tired I was. I always missed your Dad and wished he could have seen all the fun you were having. Maybe we'll get to go back when you are older (and can stand in line without someone holding you.)

Bugga, I love you to the moon and back,

Mama