Toddler Mix Martial Arts

Dancing Fools

I spent some time going through the videos from the last couple of months and I just love this video. Andea and I didn't plan this, but we are exactly matching our outfits and once Lucas started playing his music we couldn't help but dance. Once he stopped, the dancing stopped and once he started, the dancing started...he thought it was hilarious. So Andea and I are the dancing fools! Anything to make the little guy laugh!

Marshmellow Fiasco

Not so happy in the snow! :(

We have been casually trying to put Lucas on his potty since ten months old. He has been very good about going #1 and #2 before his bath at night. We use cloth diapers and I am just about getting to the point where I can't use them anymore...it is just way too disgusting when he goes #2, if you know what I mean. So last week I thought, let's try and get him to go periodically throughout the day.

Filthy clothes after lunch prompted me to take off his pants and let him run around...But, he has figured out how to take his diaper off, which he proceeded to do. Then not ten seconds later, he starts squatting on our carpet and making that, "Poopy face" Oh man, so I ran him upstairs to his potty and waited and waited and waited...trying to be extra patient because the day before I wasn't patient enough and as soon as I put on his diaper...he pooped. So I am still waiting and while waiting some more, I think...what if we try marshmallows, you know, like a reward system for sitting on his potty.

So I run the little guy downstairs, still naked with his potty and grab a fresh bag of marshmallows. I open them and set them on the bathroom counter and as he sits on his potty he gets a marshmallow. We did this for about two minutes and then I gave up...mostly because Lucas had figured out how to stand and sit and every time he sat back down he got a marshmallow...it wasn't working. I was overloading my kid with pure sugar.

So we ran the naked guy back upstairs and got dressed. We came back downstairs and our gas fireplace was out, so I thought I should call the gas company. I was going through the stupid automated thing on the phone and stopped for a moment to realize...the house was silent. What and where are Dodge and Lucas. Good things don't happen when the house is super quiet.

I go into the bathroom and to my surprise, Lucas is sitting in the corner of the bathroom shoving marshmallows in his mouth. He has managed to pull and empty the brand new bag of marshmallows on the floor and Dodge is sucking them up like a vacuum cleaner. Lucas has marshmallow goo dripping down his face and probably has shoved at least 12 little marshmallows in his mouth. He is looking at me with chipmunk cheeks, trying to close his mouth but it is so full he has a little opening between his lips and he is using his hands to shove it all in. He gives me this guilty pleasure look and I seriously can't help but just laugh.

Meanwhile, I am still on the phone with the gas company. I am trying to throw all of the marshmallows from the floor away in the garbage can and I am trying to get Lucas and Dodge out of the bathroom and back into the living room. Lucas turns around and starts trying to pick out the marshmallows from the garbage can! Ughhh man. I am so bummed that I didn't get a picture of those two in the bathroom.

Lucas' Dedication and Casey's Baptism

October 3, 2010Today was a very special day for our family. Casey was baptised as a Christian and together we dedicated our Son, Lucas. It was a very small ceremony with just our immediate families, but very meaningful. Our very good friend, Pastor Greg Asimakoupoulos, did the ceremony for us at Mercer Island Covenant Church.

The Bible verse for Casey was from Romans 12:1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.

Lucas' Bible Verse was from Matthew 19:14: Jesus said, "Let the little Children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Having a child sure helps you get a glimpse of the unconditional love that God has for his children. Lucas is everything to Casey and I and that instant love that we felt when we first laid eyes on him is just a fraction of the love that God has for us!

Lunch with Daddy at Work

September 30th

Lucas begged me to go and visit Daddy for lunch so we headed to Redmond and had lunch with Casey. He was so excited to see Casey when he came down from his office. Thanks for lunch, Daddy!

Laughing and Tantrums

Casey and I didn't realize that tantrums would start so early. I guess I just always thought of tantrums during the "terrible two's". But Lucas has started a few tantrums and boy they can be exhausting. Casey and I have tried really hard to just ignore them. We allow him to have his tantrum and we just ask him to let us know when he is done. We go on with whatever we are doing so that we don't give him any attention. But we try not to take his happy moments for-granted. And they help us forget the few times he gets frustrated and mad.

September 29th

Lucas is fully walking. He can almost stand up from a sitting position without having to pull himself up, but not quite yet. Last week I set him down by his toys and walked into the kitchen and I turned around and he was standing right behind me...scared the begeezee's out of me. I had no idea he would be right there. It has been so fun though. We walk to go see the ducks across the street at our lake and I love holding his hand and walking with him! I love how he finds interest and fascination in the smallest things, like a dandelion or a rock, or a sprinkler head. He gets focused on these little things and just takes a 180 degree turn to go check them out, for ten minutes! Casey can't wait to be able to walk around the block with Lucas and Dodge!

11 Months Old

Bob's Corn Maze, 9.26.10It was a gorgeous Fall day last weekend, so we decided to go and check out Bob's Corn Maze in Snohomish. It was pretty fun, but we were not prepared for the mud ;) oops. You'd think we would know that there would be mud in a pumpkin patch located in a valley, but no. And the Snohomish joke going around that the "pumpkins are going green this year" is not a joke. It was surprising if we found an orange pumpkin.

I am pretty sure the tractor ride terrified Lucas. Poor tractor wouldn't go into gear to start going and jolted us backwards and forwards with a very large noise. Let's just say the ride wasn't as fun as we thought it would be.

But the rest of the trip was fun and they had delicious roasted corn on the cob.

Wally and Donna's Wedding Anniversary

September 19th was my parents wedding anniversary of 29 years! They stayed at the Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland and Lucas thought it would be fun to surprise them and go have lunch together. It was a gorgeous day to be on Lake Washington. We had lunch on the water and then walked on the dock to see the boats and the airplanes and the dogs and ducks! What a fun afternoon. Happy Anniversary!

Sick Little Lucas

Okay, so as first time parents, we get to experience all of the "firsts" the good, the bad, and the ugly. I jinxed myself because the other day I was telling Casey, "Lucas is almost a year and he has not been sick once." Well, as soon as I said it, we both knew that he would get sick.

Sure enough, a week later, he started having a runny nose on Tuesday. Wednesday, he started sounding a little more raspy, but more of the same runny nose, and I happened to schedule a doctor's appointment for him just in case for Thursday. Well, Thursday morning at 3am, I hear this little tiny noise coming from his room. I went into check on him and he has this little tiny raspy cough. New Moms, you can totally relate to what I am about to say, Mom's who have, been around the block, let's say and have grown kids, may remember. And Ladies who are not Mom's yet, but will be someday, will experience this same feeling.

Hearing your child cough for the first time is the most heartbreaking, helpless feeling, EVER! There is absolutely nothing you can do for them and yet, you know they are not feeling well. I wish more than anything there was some magic potion that would make them feel better, Oh wait, I know, it's keeping my mouth shut and not jinxing the poor kid. It sure sucks having a sick baby.

My Sweet Little Piano Player

Music to My Ears: I think he looks really good at the Piano, what do you think, Casey?

A New Way to Tan

Carrot Tanning Lotion: It has been a little too warm for Lucas to go outside and lay in the sun, so he invented a new way to tan. He wipes his carrots all over his face and hair and tummy and hopes that when we are done he will have a beautiful orangeish glow. :) Wow, how long does this phase last. Good thing the weather is supposed to cool down...we can go back outside and tan the right way.

We Missed You Aunt Erin

Uncle James got to meet Lucas! He was even able to come to Lucas' swim lesson. We are hoping that James and Erin get to come over to Seattle in October to hang out with us! Lucas has been asking for Erin to come and play with him! :) We miss you both and can't wait to hang out with you in a couple of months. It has been way too long since we got stuck in the snow outside of our house in the back alley and James and Casey had to push us out. Probably shouldn't be driving a Honda Accord in two feet of snow! We had a lot of fun with you! :) We can't wait to see you again!

Our Little Mover at 9 1/2 Months

Crawling:

Climbing the Stairs:

Walking:

Everything happened so fast. I used to go to play groups with other babies his age and they would be rolling around, crawling, scooting, cruising...and Lucas always just sat in one spot and never really moved. He figured out how to crawl around July 19th and he took his first steps on August 11th. He is getting more and more confident and I would imagine that he will be walking on his own in a few short weeks.

Buns

Avery and Lucas: Can you guess which buns belong with which baby?

Nate Face

The Little Things

This is one of my favorite video's of Lucas. The door stopper has been one of those fixations he has had while he has been crawling around in wonder. This particular day, his fascination with the sound and movement of this door stopper had us both giggling!

We've Got a Crawler

7.19.10: First Crawl

If you would have asked me two weeks ago, I would have said, "Lucas probably won't crawl" Well, I was wrong. Here is the very first day he took one move forward. And, at the same time, he can go from lying on his belly to a sitting position. He is also pulling himself up to a stand all by himself. I went to check on him in the crib this afternoon and I totally expected to find him lying down on his back but when I walked into his room, he was standing up holding on to the rail of his crib starring at me with a big grin. :) And a whole new phase of mobility begins! I hope I have the energy to keep up with my little man! :)

Lake Roosevelt

7.16.10-7.19.10: First Vacation for Lucas

We drove to Lake Roosevelt to stay with Aunt Carol and Uncle Mick at their cabin. We prepared for our first road trip with the little guy. What normally takes 41/2 hours took us almost 61/2, but he did pretty good for his first long car ride.

We got to go on their new Pontoon boat, which was awesome. Janet and Mike came over from Spokane on Saturday and James stayed the entire weekend to help Mick.

On Sunday, we took the boat out for a long ride up the Spokane River searching for a sandy beach but they were all occupied. So we came back to the Anderson beach and played in the water for a while. Casey and Lucas played in the water had a blast together.

Our drive home was awesome. He had two naps and we only had to stop once in Wenatchee for a little break. We had a picnic at a park by the river and let Lucas move around a bit. He showed us the first signs of crawling at the park. :)

What a wonderful vacation! Thanks Carol and Mick.

Mom and Dad-Pure Entertainment