It's a Wonderful Life

We had such a wonderful Christmas at mom and dad's house last week. Lucas was really excited about all the elements of the season this year! He and I made reindeer food to put out on the lawn on Christmas Eve as well as made Christmas cookies for Santa!! Lucas got a lot of fun things from Santa including a train table (his favorite), a dog robot, and a speed racer race track. Here are some pictures from our wonderful trip!!

This is my brother Lloyd, whom I love dearly!!! Lucas thinks he world of him too!!



Lucas loved his Speed Racer Racetrack!!


Opening presents!!


Loving his new Doodle Pro--he loves to draw!!


Loving his train table the best!!!


Making yummy cookies for Santa!!


Lucas wanted Christmas lights outside...this was our best attempt!! haha


Scattering Reindeer food on the lawn!!


Making Reindeer Food!!


Lucas and his gingerbread house he made at school!!



After Christmas collapse!!

Has Lucas been NAUGHTY or NICE???

Has Lucas been naughty or nice this year?? I guess we need to consult the BIG MAN!!
See the following LINK to find out!!

CONSULTING THE BIG MAN

Santa Claus is Comin' a la JACKSON 5

Lucas loves the JACKSON 5! He especially loves their song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." If you are not familiar with this arrangement of the song, it is worth listening to BEFORE seeing Lucas's rendition of their great hit of the 70's!!

Visit to Santa

I love taking Lucas to see Santa Claus! He is always so excited. When we got to the mall, Santa was feeding his reindeer so we had to wait for 40 minutes for him to return, so we just sat in the line!! Lucas and I talked about what he was going to ask Santa for Christmas. He looked and me and said, "I am gonna ask for a Dog Robot, of course." Oh crap, I thought, what the heck is that?? This is the FIRST time I had heard of this alleged "Dog Robot." I was baffled at what I was supposed to do with this information!! hmmmm....I wonder if there is any way I can pass off the TRAIN TABLE Santa already has planned for a Dog Robot? So, we are on a search...a search for a Dog Robot. I took Lucas to Target the next day to go thru the toy aisles looking for such a toy, and we didn't find it. I thought he might be talking about that new stuffed dog that does tricks. I think its name is Biscuit, but evidently that isn't it. So I guess I am on a quest for a dog robot...FUN! Nonetheless, the trip to Santa was great fun, and Lucas was so excited to visit with him!

No Career on the Stage

Well, Lucas's Montessori School hosted their annual Christmas Dinner and Program this week. Justin and I were very excited, since this was our "first" experience with our child in a public performance venue--the first of many I am sure! Lucas is usually NOT a shy personality, however, he was NOT into being on the stage in front of everyone singing. Now those who know Lucas have seen his general ease and comfort with showing off his singing prowess. But for this, he was NOT interested...The boy did not sing ONE WORD. He just stood there, staring into the abyss, and staring at the other children (singing children) in a "what planet did you come from" manner. The ONE thing he was animated about was playing the jingle bells during one of the songs...Now, I use the term "animated" loosely here. I don't mean he was excited about it, or even had fun with it. Basically what I mean is that this is the ONE activity he engaged in. He played the bells. That was it. He was still adorable, however. He wore a Santa hat that was too little for his head. (When did his head get so big??) So, when the hat was placed on his head, his little ears stuck out like a true to life little elf!! So cute!! This was a special night for us. Even though, my kiddo wasn't the ham I know him to be, we all had fun, ate yummy lasagna together, saw Santa, won raffle prizes, and jammed to the hired band. We had a great time, and it is so good to see Lucas enjoy being with his friends. He really connects with other children, and that is wonderful to see. I am so glad he has made so many friends that he really seems to care for and love. He talks about them in and out of school, and his face lit up when we got to the hall for the program and he saw his friends inside. The great thing is seeing his friends' faces light up when they see him too. What is cuter is that they all hug each other. They hug their friends when they see them for the first time and when they are leaving each other. That is so special, and I love it. Here are some fun pics from the evening. The VIDEO is hilarious!! Lucas is the miserable looking one on the front row--didn't crack a smile, but was animated with those Jingle Bells I tell ya!!

He is THREE!!

Well, it is official. Lucas is Three Years Old!! Yesterday we had a party at Monkey Joe's, which is an indoor inflatable playground close to our home! We had a blast. Lucas had 16 friends come and celebrate with him!!! It was a great time for everyone. Many of the wonderful moms from my mom's group came, and I think we had as much fun as the kids did!! What a blessing to have such dear friends who care for us and our son. We are so lucky and count our blessing daily. I am so grateful for friends!! Lucas got some wonderful gifts including several Thomas Trains, some Hot Wheels cars and track, a Batman toy, some safari animals, the game Hungry Hippos, and much more!! The theme was Diego, and the cake was ADORABLE!! Lucas loved it!! All the kids loved the GREEN icing on the cake as well as the PIZZA. IT was so much fun, and it is baffling to think that my baby is now THREE. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by!! *SIGH*
Here are some pics!

Lucas's upcoming birthday preparations

We are really looking forward to Lucas's birthday this year. He is very excited about his upcoming party. In preparation for his day, I am putting together a wishlist through Toys R Us which can also be helpful for Christmas. We are getting Lucas a V-Smile for his birthday. For Christmas we are planning on getting him a train table with train track for his THOMAS trains. You can get to the website by following this LINK to Lucas's Wishlist

Look up the recipient's name for some ideas.

HALLOWEEN 2008

We had a great time taking Lucas trick or treating. His batman costume was a hit!!! We met at home, suited Lucas up in his costume and took him to eat PIZZA (his favorite). Then we went to the Halloween festival in downtown area. Lucas had fun jumping in the inflatable bouncers and playing games such as the bean bag toss!!
Following that, we went trick or treating in our neighborhood. All the neighbors and their children sort of met up and went around the neighborhood together! It was so fun, and LUCAS had a BLAST!!! This boy cleaned up with the candy!!! WOW...Such a fun time!!!

Fall Mountain GetAway

Last weekend, we drove to the mountains to see some fall foliage and enjoy some R and R. We got some great pictures of Lucas doing fun fall things!!! What a great time. Lucas's favorite thing was riding the Go Karts with DAD!! Crazy times...

Who ya gonna VOTE for???

FUN at MISS LA LA's

Lucas goes to an Art and Music Class on Wednesday!! Lucas loves Miss Lala, and I finally remembered to bring my camera today.





MT HUSBAND IS CRAZY!!! SCARF Dancing!!!!

He is BATMAN...

Well, Lucas has determined he needs to be Batman for Halloween. Now, granted, I have NO idea how he even knows who Batman is...He saw the costume in a PARTY CITY flyer and said "THat is what I wanna be." Then we started talking about super heroes and who they were. That seemed to intrigue him. We have talked about many other possibilities, however he has NOT swayed any other way. When this boy makes a decision about something, he usually doesn't change his mind about it. And furthermore, he doesn't want anyone else to try and change it for him either. He is VERY decisive about things. After we chose the costume, of course we tried it on him in the store because we had our doubts that he would allow us to put the mask on his face. Since he was a baby, he has NOT liked anything like hats or masks on his face. However, he put everything on and LOVED it. He wants to wear the costume ALL the time now!! Hilarious!! Speaking of decisiveness, after we got the costume, we walked Lucas down the birthday aisle to look at party themes/decorations. I figured his bday is in 2 months and maybe I could get an idea of what he might like as a theme for his birthday. He seemed to latch onto the idea os Scooby Doo....ok, here again, he has NO IDEA who Scooby Doo is...has never seen it or even watched a Scooby Doo show...strange huh??? I guess time will tell if he changes his mind about this. haha...Mr Independent...Instead of BATman, I'm gonna call him INDEPENDENT MAN!!! haha

Singing Lucas

Lucas loves to sing. We have been so busy with the new school year, life has been crazy. As crazy as life can get sometimes, there is nothing more grounding than hearing my sweet boy sing. He is my salvation on so many hectic days. I just love being a mom. Lucas has been moved into the 3 year old class at the Montessori School and is adjusting beautifully. When I go to pick him up in the afternoon, he never wants to leave!! We are still working on the potty training. He has just about mastered the pee-ing. He is in big boy underwear full-time, and hasn't had any accidents in several weeks. He even asks to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night sometimes! The jury is STILL OUT on the pooping, but I am not stressing about it. Justin's work has picked up a bit after a pretty hefty work slump with the economy being so crazy, however we have faith that things will improve. The Lord has always provided for us in times of bounty as well as times of need. My full-time teaching job is going very well. I am teaching 5 days a week at the college and staying super busy, but I love my job, and I LOVE the students at the college. They are so wonderful!! Here is Lucas singing his new song he learned at school. It is about catching a fish, in addition to counting!! Such a cute song.

LUCAS LOVES ART

Lucas and I have been going to this Art/Music class at Miss LaLa's Treehouse
Lucas loves to do the ART Projects. Last week we made scarecrows with paper mache pumpkin heads...Super Cool and MESSY project!! But Lucas had a blast...He calls the Scarecrow BABY LUCAS!! It is hilarious!!

FUN at Xander's Birthday Party

Today we went to a birthday party at the Bounce House which is an Inflatable Indoor Playground. This is right up Lucas's alley!!

GO LUCAS GO!!!! SLIDE BOY SLIDE!!!


LOVING THE PARTY WHISTLE!


HMMMMM YUMMY CAKE!!


LUCAS AND HIS MOMMY! I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOY!!


MY AND MY GIRL, NICHOLE (XANDER'S MOMMY)


MY BELOVED AND ME!! I LOVE THIS MAN!!


YOU CAN TAKE THE BOY OUT OF JASPER....