Soccer Craze

Lucas was in his first sport this spring- Soccer! And needless to say I think he takes after his dad because he is very good. His coaches seemed impressed, he is quick and pretty skillful with his legwork for his first time playing. I didn't keep count but I think in the midst of 8 games he probably scored over 20 goals. Now keep in mind they play 3 on 3 and there is no goalie..but it was still really exciting to watch!

at his last game
practice

lucas took a pic of one of his friends and i thought it was pretty good.

lucas got a pic of all his screaming fans

Wordless Wednesday- Check it out mom! I can carry Daddy on my shoulders!

Wordless Wednesday- Lucas: "MOM!! What is that?? Are those GIANT marshmellows??

No Modesty

So I will just start the preface of the story; we got back from Loews tonight with new sand for the sandbox/water table (which I got free on the side of the road end of last week *bonus*). The kids played in the driveway a bit and then we headed for the deck to pour in the sand and water the plants etc. By the time I got the plants watered the kids had managed to cover themselves (and by cover themselves I mean within 10 minutes they had poured sand on eachothers heads) so in we went for bath time. Lucas was about to get in the bath and remembered that his Batman was still in his purse, (yes I said purse)...let's call it a man bag for now. I thought he had just left it in the car. So when he ran off to grab it, already naked and ready for bathtime I didn't think too much of it. But as he ran out of the bathroom he is mumbling about his motorcyle...and then it starts to click in my head.......oh no! I get up and start yelling after him to stop but he is in this "Don't worry mom I can get it myself!" mode where he is not listening to anything I say while making a mad dash outside...So I would like to apologize for those of you who may have been driving through the Burg this evening and all the sudden got quick view of a naked butt running out of the house and onto the driveway to grab his "man-bag" which he had NOT left in the car but on the handle bars of his "batman motorcycle" (bigwheel) out in the driveway. So needless to say by the time I caught up with him it was too late, naked as can be with no shame out in the driveway. When I started to explain that he shouldn't go outside naked and he just asked "Why mommy?"
This was after the event that happened the week before last...I put the kids in the car for school but forgot their bookbags inside and ran in to grab them and ran to Lilly's room to grab her blanket. When I get back to the garage Lucas' car door is open and he is not in the car anymore. I called for him and he yells from the side yard outside the garage..."I'm out here mom! I needed to go pee!" "WHAT?!*!?" ...And yep, as I step around the garage opening there he is pants down to his ankles peeing in the grass...niiiice. So again, for all of those during rush hour on their way to work that morning, I apologize. No modesty what so ever. I will add this to the list of things we are working on!

Interview with Lucas

Saw this on facebook and also on my cousins blog, thought it was cute. So I "interviewed" Lucas and wrote down the exact words he said.

All About Mommy
By Lucas (Age 4)

1. What is something mommy always says to you?
Don't call names.

2. What makes mommy happy?
love.

3. What makes mommy sad?
when I don't listen to you.

4. How does your mommy make you laugh?
by playing jokes, hehehe.

5. What was your mommy like as a child?
a baby.

6. How old is your mommy?
4.

7. How tall is your mommy?
umm...all the way to the top.

8. What is your mommy's favorite thing to do?
to work.

9. What does your mommy do when you're not around?
be scared.

10. If your mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
fighting bad guys.

11. What is your mommy really good at?
reading a book.

12. What is your mommy not very good at?
putting me in timeout.

13. What does your mommy do for her job?
work on computer.

14. What is your mommy's favorite food?
slimedogs.

15. What makes you proud of your mommy?
when I call you beautiful.

16. If your mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
a cartoon.

17. What do you and your mommy do together?
clean up.

18. How are you and your mommy the same?
we both have green shirts.

19. How are you and your mama different?
i dont' know, you're a girl.

20. How do you know your mommy loves you?
like being friends.

21. Where is your mommy's favorite place to go?
to stores.

Thankful Tuesday

My children are amazing. I seriously cannot get enough squeezes from them. I am definitely not a perfect mom by any means, and I am sure some days I rank lower on the scale than others. Having a two and four year can be interesting with just the amount of things they say and how they say them. Sometimes you are suprised, sometimes you are bewildered and sometimes you just have to smile...or even cry. Lucas was so sweet today, and I would have add it to my top 10 favorites. Random out of the blue he comes up and gives me a hug and says:

"Mom, I love you"

So I picked him up and squeezed him and told him that I loved him too. Then he says,

"Mom, you are the most beatuifulestest girl in the whole world".

And admist the tears that started to roll, I whispered, "Thanks buddy...you have no idea how much that means to me".

Wordless Wednesday...A boy and his dog (and yes they are really sleeping)

It is official...I have a 4 year old.

Well, I have been calling Lucas "almost 4" for a few months. And I think you can definitely see a difference when this age hits. It is a fun age to watch b/c he asks ALOT of questions trying to understand everything, talks back quite a bit (and sits in timeout quite a bit), and really just has so much understanding but at the same time, so much innocence. Some questions catch you off guard and some make you laugh. I think at the very least the next year will be quite an adventure and I am looking forward to it.

So, the dinosaur birthday bash went well, small crowd but it was nice. My favorite part actually happened after most people left... Lucas runs into the house after playing in the garage on his new Batman "motorcycle" (tricycle), "Mom! Am I still 4?" "Yep, you are still 4!" I answered. And with so much enthusiam and excitement he ran back in the garage to tell Hannah that indeed he was still four years old! Too cute.

And thanks to watching the skills of my cousin at Lilly's party, I attempted a 3d dino cake...have to say I was pretty impressed with myself!

Lucas loved his stegoaurus cake and his first request after blowing out the candles was, "Can I have a piece now? I want to eat his head!" (Nice).

And by now, he was a professional gift unwrapper and did not need any help from his friends or sister...but they snuck it in anyway.

Thought I would share some other funny pics of the little dinos that rocked the house. Kids are just too funny and cute.

There were all kinds of dinosaurs at the party;

scary drooling dinos, rock star dinos, dancing dinos, and even bus driving dinos. Good times.

Confessions of a 3-1/2 year old...

Well, I like the fact that 3-1/2 year olds tend to tell the truth, it will definitely be harder to punish them when they start lying. Here are a few examples...

Lucas walks over to me after I hang up the phone.

"Mom?"

"Yes."

"I just hid under the table and ate butter while you were on the phone."

"Hmmm... (trying not to chuckle) Well, thanks for telling me, but you know you aren't suppose to eat butter all by itself."
"I know...but it tastes really good!"

All of the sudden from the other room I hear

"NO LILLY!" (followed by crying from Lilly).

I walk in, "Lucas, what just happen?"

"Ummm...Lilly took my car away from me."

"And what did you do?"

"Ummm...I pushed her down."

"Lucas, we don't hit or push your sister. Give me the car and go to time out."

"I don't like timeout."

And just this week Lucas and I are in the bathroom after just waking up. Lucas goes potty and then looks at me "Do you need to go Mommy?"

"Yes" I reply.

"Poop or pee mommy?"

"Just pee."

"Ok, I will put the seat down for you."

"Well, thank you Lucas, that is very nice."

"Don't worry mommy, you have a big butt so you won't fall in. I have a small butt and I can fall in."

"Yes, you are right pumpkin." (As I think to myself at 6am...Did my son just tell me that I have a big butt? Nice.)

From one extreme to another...

I am sure you lost sleep last night, wondering what the BIG suprise was...well it may not be too extreme in the overall aspect of life, but it is pretty extreme in our little world. We have been talking about this for about a month, and just putting it off. We would hear little things every now and then "Mom, my hair is in my eyes." But when you asked if he wanted his hair cut he would say "No, I can just push it over like this." I thought at least a trim before school started would be nice since he was starting to look like a shaggy dog at times. But still didn't get that accomplished. So, this past weekend while up at the lake THE TIME CAME...

Cute adorable Lucas really had no idea what he was in for. But we were kinda tired of most of the time it looking like this...
Bed head to the extreme!!! Wonder where he gets all that wave and body?? Definitely not from his mama!

So with popcicle in hand, Tim began his first haircut he has ever given. We started with just the sides and back and was going to leave the top longer like it use to be, but after Tim was done with the clippers, I started scissors on the top and pretty much butchered it...so we decided just to buzz it all! (Can you see the 3" lock of hair on his shoulder?)

I have to say that he is still absolutely adorable. Now those beautiful eyes stand out a little more and I don't even have to think about combing it! The funny thing is I started looking for pictures from the last time his hair was this short, and I determined...

...that he was six months old. Really the fuzz was just starting to grow. So can you get any more extreme from going from the longest hair he has ever had to the shortest? It did take me a few days to get use to recognizing him. The funny thing was that we did this "trim" while Grandpa and Uncle E were taking an afternoon nap...so guess who we sent to wake them up! They probably thought they were dreaming! So...what do you think??

Fun Weekend

Well, we started out the weekend with a trip to the waterpark on Saturday. There is a great park in Plainfield, their parks department amazes me. Why do we live in the "burg" again? Not sure. We didn't take the camera, but I would highly suggest if you are looking for a nearby place to spend an afternoon having fun in the water...go here.
Then on Sunday we got to go to the Brickyard 400 Nascar race in Indy. Thanks to my beautiful friend who is the best wallcovering rep a designer could ever have, I got offered tickets on Thursday and knew Tim and Lucas would love it! Thanks Misty! We didn't take Lilly b/c of the noise (she cries with thunder), but my friend Meghan watched her for us and we took her husband with us. Not sure that that was a fair trade off for her...but we do love her for it! The race was great, Lucas was pretty excited to see the race cars and the seats we had were AWESOME. They were right across from the pits at the end of the straightaway, and we could see turn 4. They were way up high, but under a roof (thank God since it was melting weather). Lucas actually picked Jimmy Johnson before the race started b/c that is "grandpas car" (he works for LOWES)...and he actually won! Guess we should have put some money down somewhere!

Here was our view of everyone singing "Star Spangled Banner", it was pretty cool to see all the pit crews lined up.Gentlemen! START YOUR ENGINES! Here is Lucas and daddy at the beginning of the race, Lucas was really great about wearing his ear muffs, he actually was trying to put them on before the race started!
And about 50 minutes into it, he was beat and crashed out on daddy. I think the water park from the day before was catching up with him...and it was nap time.

Can you see Lucas on Tim's shoulders?
After a little nap, we took sleepyhead for a walk to wake him up and walked under the track to the infield. Here is the "new" Pagoda.

We got to check out the pits up close and personal. Here is the Cheerios team. I think Lucas thought it was pretty cool to watch them change tires so fast.

So, only thing missing was Uncle Eric...should have made the drive down Uncle E! We would have loved to have you! Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!

THIS is Lucas

Ok, sorry for the confusion. But this is Lucas wearing my shoes. I think b/c of the angle it doesn't look like a 3 year old boys legs so therefore everyone is confused about what is really going on. It was halarious at the time...but I guess you had to be there.Some may think, "Wow Melinda your legs look great!"

And others may think, "Ummm...Melinda, your shoes might be a little too big for you!"

Or others THAT HAVE A CLUE may think, "Wow! Lucas looks great in brown strappy heels, does he have a matching purse?"

Oh how I wish my legs were that skinny, and I am sure the only thing that made you question it not being me is the fact that there isn't a giant scar on the right knee. Ha! Well, at least this is some motivation for me to get my body into shape so that next summer I can post a picture of my own beautiful legs! Kids are just too funny. Sometimes you can't capture it all on camera...and sometimes you can!

God through a 3 year old...

Lucas had said some of the most interesting God spoken thoughts lately and I thought I would share them with you;

We were getting off 465 onto 38th St and were stuck in Construction.

I said to Lucas: Do you see all the Construction Trucks?

Lucas: Yeah, what are they doing?

Me: They are making the road bigger.

Lucas: For Jesus?

Me: Well...no, not for Jesus, but so more cars are able to drive on the road.

Lucas: So that God can watch all the cars drive?

Me: Yes, so God can watch all the cars drive.

A few days later Tim and Lucas were taping up a box and they had one of those tape guns that you use for packing. Pointing to the wording (SHUR-TAPE) on the tape gun

Lucas says to Tim: Dad, do you know what this says?
Tim: No, what does it say?
Lucas: It says "Jesus is Alive!"
_______________________
A few nights ago we were saying bedtime prayers;
Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
The angels watch me through the night, until I wake in morning light.
God bless mommy and daddy, my sister Lilly, Wrigley, Oliver....(etc...rest of family), and at the end he said "And God bless my buddy Neil and all my toys".

I think God is working through Lucas with those little reminders that He is always around and is everywhere you look, even in things like Construction and tape. :)

Working Hard...or Hardly Working?

My "outdoor office"
Lucas' "outdoor office"
Well, we have been able to enjoy the sunshine and warmth and still get a little bit of work done. One benefit of working from home, redlining drawings on the deck instead of a stuffy office...now I just need to get a laptop!

Shakin' Things Up!

Thought this picture that Lucas took of Lilly hanging upside down might bode well for today with all the shaking and quaking that is going on! Not sure if you felt the earthquake this morning but I sure did. I was actually up in Kokomo at my friend Kelley's house and was sleeping with Lucas in the same bed. I woke up about 5:45 to what I thought was Lucas continually kicking the bed but when I realized he was asleep and that everything in the room was rattling I wasn't sure what to think! Definitely couldn't be an earthquake in Indiana...must just be a jet from Grissom flying really fast overhead shaking the house. Oh well...back to sleep (for 15 minutes till Lucas was wide eyed and bushy tailed) What is it with early risers?? Did you wake from shake?

GO Lucas! GO Lucas!

Well, folks I think I can finally say that we are well on our way to being potty trained! It has been a many phased process.

Phase 1: He was 100% potty trained...but only when he was naked, which essentially means we could do it at home with a little nakey butt running around all day (until he got cold)

Phase 2: Running around with only underwear on, but as soon as you would put pants over them he would have an accident.

Phase 3: Finally able to wear pants and be a part of the real world. Still a few accidents but did great at school this week and we are moving forward!!(He actually has underwear on in this picture...you just can't see it)

Thought I would share another famous self-portrait! SO serious when he is in his photographing mindset. I will share more of his new pics later.

More Famous Pics!

Wanted to share more of Lucas' great photo skills. Actually got Lilly's face in this time!

And the best dad in the world!

Lilly and Mommy (and Steve in the background)

This is my favorite shot. Not only because of the obvious picture of his own feet but b/c if you'll notice his legs are naked also which probably means he was wearing only a shirt and by only a shirt, I mean ONLY a shirt. So... we are just glad nothing else is shown in this picture. :) Really need to start working on the whole potty training NOT naked thing. Hmmmm.

Bug soup anyone?

My grandmas and mom came over yesterday for a little birthday lunch celebration (for my grandmas whose birthdays are a few weeks apart from eachother). They did eat a delicious chicken salad lunch but little did they know what would follow! Lucas wanted to play his new game that he got for his birthday. They of course readily agreed with none of us realizing that it would later turn into a bowl of bug soup! Here is the chef hard at work preparing his concoction.

Everyone enjoying their spiders, dragonflys, bettles and more!

Yummo!! Eat up grandma!

This is the actual game from Discovery Toys. It is actually a matching, sorting, color, and pattern game. But they also have a recipe for Bubbly Bug Soup that you can concoct. I think it is actually one of the best games I have seen for this age group. It deals with colors, counting, building patterns, shapes (of bugs). And at the same time they are learning bug names and how to follow directions! It is always great to make learning time something fun! If you are interested go here or feel free to email my sister who just happens to sell this wonderful product! (Your welcome for the free plug Jo!) Have fun being buggy!

Lucas' first pics

We got Lucas a kids digital camera for Christmas and he loves it. Before he had a fisher price one that I got a garage sale for 10 cents (it actually used real film) and he LOVED to use it this summer so we found a deal on the new supposedly "drop-proof" kids camera and below are some of his first pictures...

His favorite train table of course...don't look behind at the rest of the messy house. This MUST have been an odd day since my house is always spotless. ;)
his favorite sister...well most of her.

kind-of an artistic approach to the push toys.

And I thought I would share this picture of the dog that he took vs. the other end that we also have a few shots of.
and the famous self-portrait!

Alot of dog pics in the bunch, probably b/c he is fun to follow around with a camera...moving targets are always more challenging. I am sure we will share more of Lucas' famous photos with you as his aspiring photo career takes shape! What do you think?