Then and Now

This past Friday, we picked Lucas up from school early and headed to Helen, GA for our annual trip. This was Lucas' 5th trip there. It is really cool that we're able to take him somewhere that I've been going since I was a kid. I thought it would be fun to compare pictures of Lucas on our trips to Helen.

Then: October 2005- Barely 2 Months Old. Lucas had just started to sleep in his Bassinet and instantly became attached to him lovey that got nicknamed "Baby"

Now: His still sleeps with his "baby"

Then: October 2006- Content to sit still and be quiet

Now: Nothing quiet or still about him now

Then: October 2007- He had a lot of fun hanging out with his Aunt Lori

Now: Aunt Lori has her own little one to entertain

Then: October 2008 - Still has a bit of that cute baby look in his face

Now: He looks so grown up

Our Adventure Packed Weekend

Friday morning we packed up the car and headed for our annual trip to Helen, GA. We thought this was going to be a pretty smooth trip because we came armed with a portable DVD player. Lucas could not believe that he was watching Veggietales... IN. THE. CAR.

Before we were even halfway through the drive Lucas managed to bang his head on a McDonald's playground fence and get a bruise on his head AND throw up all over himself and his Dad TWICE in less than 5 minutes. Thank goodness for extra changes of clothes, soap and water and baby wipes! Once everyone was cleaned up Lucas and Lori ended up passing out in the backseat.


We were the first to arrive at the Lodge so we let Lucas explore the porch and playground. This is where I first noticed that his bruise was a perfect grid mark from the fence and he had also managed to scrap his chin and nose as well. Lately it seems like all Lucas does is fall down and hurt his face and head... I know it is all part of the whole childhood experience but I'm starting to think about investing in a good helmet that he can wear 24/7... maybe I'll search for headgear for kids with overprotective mom's on eBay.

Pretty soon the lodge was full of family and food and Lucas just wandered from family member to family member so that people could tell them how cute he was or how smart he was and steal a sticky toddler hug. Being the little ham he is he loved every minute of it.

Saturday morning a few of us got up and went for a walk. I had planned on leaving Lucas at the lodge with our family but he wanted to come along so we let him. I knew it wouldn't be long before he was asking to "please, hold you mommy?" only he always fails to mention that it is really me that will be doing all the holding.

Lucas actually did a lot better than I thought he would. He walked all the way to our halfway point (which just happened to be a field of cows that Lucas "moooed" back and forth with.)

On the way back Lucas' little legs got tired and he was able to hitch a ride on his Daddy. At first Lucas seemed a little unsure of the new higher altitude so his Daddy held his hands and reassured him that he wouldn't let go and Lucas was fine.


For lunch Saturday everyone brought a dish to share. Curt ended up helping make deviled eggs while Lucas watched. When he was finished Curt let Lucas lick the spoon. Lucas returned the favor by spitting out the small bit of deviled egg into Curt's hand. I think he was expecting them to taste like scrambled eggs and was surprised when they didn't.


In the afternoon Lucas and his Papa met on the basketball court for a short game of hoops. When Lucas realized that he couldn't quite slam dunk just yet basketball ended up being more of a soccer game.

When playing with the yellow ball got old Lucas invented a new game... make Grandpa hold the seesaw while I try to crawl to him.


While Lucas played Curt built a fire in the fire pit so it would be ready for making s'mores after dinner.


When Lucas noticed that one of his cousins was sitting still watching the smoke and the fire he decided that he wanted to do it too. He is very much in his "monkey see, monkey do" phase right now.


After dinner I went with my cousin Nicole and my sister Lori to downtown Helen while Curt put Lucas to bed. We just walked around looking in the little shops and watching all the crazy people that were dressed up in German costumes. We didn't go too wild because we were back at the lodge by 10:30.


It's a good think we didn't have a wild late night because Lucas ended up waking up a little before 3AM and not wanting to go back to sleep. He was chewing like crazy on his blanket and I am pretty sure he is teething again. Thank goodness for the portable DVD player because we were able to keep him in the room and quiet until a little before 6AM. Curt instantly fell back asleep and started snoring. Every few minutes Lucas would scream "STOP IT!" in between trying to stick his feet into my ribs. Between Curts snores, and Lucas constant need to put his feet on me I could not get back to sleep. Just as I was about to decide which one of them I should throw my pillow at I took Lucas downstairs and let him run back and forth across the lodge and gave him his breakfast. A little after 7 we woke Curt up and I handed Lucas over to him and I went to sleep for about 30 minutes.

While Curt and I were packing everything up to get ready to go Lucas was brought to us with a rash and hives covering his arms. Our quick acting family had already rinsed his arms off twice right away and managed to find benadryl and hydro cortisone cream in a matter of minutes. We smeared his body in the cream, gave him the medicine and had to put him in jeans and a long sleeve shirt to stop him from itching. Around 10 he feel asleep in Curt's arms and stayed sound asleep while we put him in his car seat and left. We still aren't sure what exactly he got into but are leaning towards poison ivy since it was all over the woods around the lodge. Even with the throwing up, the lack of sleep, the strange rashes, and everything else we had an amazing time.

Fridge Rot

Me

Ever since we got back from Helen I have had a hard time sitting down and updated the journal and I'm not sure why. I guess it is because I'm trying to get our house back in order. Last night I cleaned the bathroom and scrubbed the shower and washed Curt's work clothes so he wouldn't go to work naked (or wearing his "good clothes.") Today I cleaned out the refrigerator and realized how much food we waste, especially when it comes to produce. I threw out everything from prepared salads, tomatoes, strawberries and bananas. From the freezer I tossed freezer burnt ground beef and chicken.

I'm having a hard time balancing sleep and housework. I am still on Lucas' sleep schedule from when he first came home from the hospital and not on the one he has been on for the last month or so. Before he used to wake up every two to three hours around the clock so I would just stay up and wait for him to wake up and feed him since I wouldn't get much sleep inbetween. I would finally crash about 3AM after he was back to sleep and then I would nap during the day between his periods of sleep and awakeness. Now he goes to bed between 10 and 11 and sleeps for about 5 hours usually waking up between 2-3AM and then goes back to sleep after an hour and sleeps until about 6 where he nurses for a few minutes and starts waking up about every hour before he is up at 8 or 9 for good only taking a few 30 minute naps during the day.

So I end up being tired and begging him to sleep and getting frustrated which I think only frustrates him. Instead I need to start going to sleep when he sleeps during the night and then I think we will both have easier days. This really worked well when we were in Helen when we went to bed about 10 Friday night and I was amazed how much sleep I ended up getting. I need to take advantage of that BIG chunk of sleep I could be getting and work out what I want to get done during the day while he is awake.

Another good thing that Lucas is doing is if he wakes up after I lay him down in his bassinet instead of screaming and wanting to be picked up as long as I come over and talk to him and give him back his pacifier that he has usually spits out and make sure he is holding his little snugly he will 9 out of 10 times put himself back to sleep.

He still has a stuffy nose left from his little cold he had last week but I got some baby vapor rub and put it on his chest and it seemed to really help. I need to start eating more of the fresh fruits and veggies instead of letting them rot to make sure that he is getting all the vitamins he needs.

Sleeping on his own

This is his first time sleeping in his bassinet in quite a while... Of course he woke up 5 minutes later.

So today I decided to start putting Lucas in his bassinet once he was asleep. I don't know why I haven't done it sooner. He has slept in it a handful of times sporadically but it has been a while. I thought this week I could get him used to sleeping there and we could take the bassinet with us when we go to Helen. That way he has a safe place to sleep and it will be a little bit familiar to him. Also we can take his monitor and not have to stay in our room all the time while he is sleeping.

I also gave him his security blanket after sleeping with it next to my skin all night so it would smell like me. It is suppose to comfort him and I think it does. When he woke up after five minutes of being in his bassinet he grabbed his little blanket and hugged it and just started "talking to it" and he lay there without fussing for almost an hour. Normally if he wakes up and is alone he will start to cry. I think the whole bassinet thing and his security blanket will help us make the eventual transition to his crib. Today I the slumber bear I ordered him arrived today. I bought it on eBay (of course.) It is awesome! It also comes with a security blanket for the same purpose that the bear can hold. He plays womb sounds AND they come on automatically when Lucas starts to cry. It is suppose to comfort him and help him get himself back to sleep. So far so good. Lucas is now asleep in his bassinet and has been there for 40 minutes, a new record for the day!

He still has his little cold but I have a cool mist vaporizer going at night and he seems to feel a little better. He also still has his colic in the evenings and it is better when I avoid milk and cheese... Which is hard for me. I did it for about a week and thought hmmm let me try them again to see if that is really what it is. It sure seems to have an effect. It is very hard for me to avoid milk and cheese though. I LOVE THEM! When I was pregnant I drank a lot of milk and when he was first born I did too. It just seems to bother him right now. Oh well, as long as I don't have to give up chocolate!

Tonight Lucas got a bath and he was so cute. He was kicking so much he was actually making little splashes which made him just laugh and smile. Now I wish we have a video camera.

I'm getting more excited about going to Helen the closer it gets. Now Lori's last class in canceled and she will be out of school at 11:00 so Curt is going to either work half a day or take the day off so we can get up there before it gets dark. Originally we would have left about 5:00PM and the last time we drove there in the dark we got lost. Also, now Curt can drop Jadie off at her Vet to be boarded for the weekend. This is her first time in the doggie hotel.

How is it October and still over 80 degrees?!?!

Lucas' cousin Steven is in town for the week and today we got to spend a few hours with him all to ourselves. Since I knew that the boys would have more fun outside then cooped up indoors we headed downtown.

Our first stop was Forsyth to play on the playground and have a picnic lunch. Before we left this morning Lucas was rash free. On our way to find a perfect picnic spot I noticed that the backs of Lucas' legs from the knees down were breaking out again. I am starting to wonder if he did pick something up from Helen and if it is on his car seat since that is the only thing that the back of his legs really touched and just about the only thing from our trip that I haven't washed. I think I'm also going to start putting pants on him (even though it is HOT) because he has these bug bites on his legs he keeps scratching and won't let them heal and he won't keep band aids on them.

Since I forgot a blanket to sit on we ate lunch on a bench in front of the fountain. I love letting Lucas eat outside. He seems to eat more if we can walk around (which he doesn't get to much at home) and all the crumbs go on the ground and don't have to be cleaned up.

One of the last things we did before leaving the park was let the boys hang on a tree branch.

Lucas wanted to get up in the tree after Steven did it but once he was actually sitting there he wanted to get down FAST.

From Forsyth we headed to River Street to ride the Ferry.

I wasn't exactly sure where we were supposed to get on the ferry so we just walked along River Street until the boys found a giant sandbox with a boat in the middle of it. I finally decided to text my friend who I knew where we were supposed to go and it turns out we were almost right there already.

Steven and Lucas were excited to finally get on the "big boat" (see, don't they look thrilled) Once they turned the boat on though it was really loud and I'm not sure if either of them knew what to think.

Once we got going they were really loving it. Lucas kept waving at all the boats passing by and kept pointing out the window saying "Looooook, water!"

After the ferry ride Steven got an ice cream cone and we started to head back towards the car but not before taking a few more pictures.

This has got to be the biggest real pumpkin I've seen in my life!

More pictures Here

Dear Lucas (63 Weeks),

You are turning into quite the little ham. I am still waiting for those eyes in the back of my head to come in. I feel like before I can even blink you are in, on, or under something you are not supposed to be. On top of all of that your OT & PT are working on your walking. I can't imagine what life will be like when you can walk let alone RUN!!!!

Now that you can climb on and over the couch by yourself I can't leave you in the living room alone. This morning I had to wash my face and brush my teeth so while you were playing in your room I closed the baby gate and hurried to the bathroom. You weren't a big fan on baby jail but I don't know what else to do. I could have brought you in the bathroom with me but you probably would have been trying to play in the toilet or trying to eat soap.

Today we saw your Physical Therapist Laura and she was impressed by how big you have gotten and all the new "tricks" you have. You are now going to OT on Mondays and PT on Thursdays (starting next week) Today at PT you stood for so long without holding onto anything. It was really neat! We were supposed to meet some of your playgroup friends after PT but you were so tired we just went home. On the way home we stopped to vacuum out your Grandma Andrea's car. I was worried that the sound might scare you but you just sat in your car seat watching me. Before we even pulled into our driveway you were fast asleep.

You crack me up. For your birthday your Uncle David and Soon-to-be Aunt Ashley gave you a Mr. Potato Head. Every once in a while your Dad and I will catch you crawling around the house with the teeth or eyeballs sticking out of your mouth like a pacifier.

When we were on our trip to Helen this week you got a mini Mr. Potato head toy. It was a toddler toy and none of the pieces came off. You kept trying to take the green hat off of the mini toy and were getting frustrated that it wouldn't come off. I was just amazed that you recognized the little mini toy as Mr. Potato Head and logically thought that the little one should be just like the "real" one. Since we have gotten home it seems like you keep making sure your "real" Mr. Potato head still works like it should by taking the green hat on and off over and over again.

Being your Mom is so much fun. Tonight I watched you crawl into your Daddy's shoe box and just sit there. I started to push you back and forth over the carpet and you would laugh. Then I attached Jadie's leash to the box and started dragging you back and forth through the living room. Every once in a while you would hop out and go grab another toy to join you on the ride.

After 10 minutes of pulling you around the house I left to go to a bible study. For the first time you actually cried when I left. You stood there waving bye-bye and crying and it just broke my heart. Tonight when I got home I found your shoe box in the living room with more toys inside. I'm sure your Daddy cheered you up giving you more rides in your shoebox car. Lately he has gotten really great with calming you down and cheering you up. He has even invented the Lucas song which works wonders (he just sings your name over and over to the beat of whatever song happens to be playing at the time.)

Bugga, I love you to the moon and back,

MaMa

Dear Lucas (5 years 3 months),

This year seems to be flying by faster than before. Here we are smack dab in fall just a few days before Halloween.

We went to Helen at the beginning of October and you had a blast. You met cousins you never met before and had a blast. You literally played until you passed out. Your poor Dad ended up getting sick the very last night we were there and we had to leave early on Sunday. For the first time since you've been born we didn't get to take a family picture but I did get some great ones of you with your Dad.

For me one of the highlights this month was getting to have lunch with you at your school. I loved being called "Lucas' Mom" and meeting all your friends. You were so proud and happy that I was there and told Everyone, "this is my Mom, her name is Kari." It was neat to watch you at school. You guys all seem to get the same thing for lunch, like the first person in line picks what they want and then the kids behind just follow suit. You hate salad but you picked it anyway since that is what the kids in front of you were eating. Then you picked out the cheese, ham, eggs, cucumber, and tomatoes.

Your school has had so many fun things going on and we try to make sure we participate in all of them. The othere night was Pumpkin Math Night and you went to all four kindergarten classes to do different fun mathmatical things. You guessed how much candy was in a jar, weighed pumpkins on a scale, found out if pumpkins float (they do) and graphed how many pumpkins there were of each color.

Last weekend was your turn to bring Traveling Teddy home to hang out. Every weekend he goes home with a different student and they share a few pictures of drawings of their adventures and share them with the class on Monday. On Friday Traveling Teddy dressed up and played Super Heroes with you in the backyard. On Saturday we went to Lowe's with you to the free kids clinic and held the instructions for you. He got to bring home his very own pair of safety goggles. Then on Sunday you two went to the pumpkin patch up the road to pick out pumpkins and that night you filled out his journal with all your adventures.

If I had to guess the highlight for you this month I would think it would be bringing home the newest member of our family, Siren Firetruck. You have been begging for a kitten forever and we finally gave in a few weeks ago. Our neighbors have been trying to find her a home for a few weeks and kept offering her to us when you would mention wanting a kitten. One Friday I told you we could just go look at the kitten. I wasn't intending on bringing one home but we did. On the way home she made sounds like a siren so you decided to call her Siren Firetruck. We just call her Siren for short. Now that I think about it, you really named her Siren Hose Firetruck. I forgot how much I enjoy having a cat around. She is a real sweetheart and you couldn't be happier.

Sweet Pea, I love you to the moon and back,

Mommy