Happy Birthday Papa

Wishing you a very very happy birthday! We love you so much and can't wait to see you on Friday!

Lots of Love and kisses,

Shelby, Brad and Henry (your buddy)

"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"

On the way to work this morning Ain't No Mountain High Enough came on the radio and I looked back and Henry was rocking it out! Head bobbin' and feet kickin'! So I cranked it up and we pretended to be Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell.

My child LOVES, and I mean LOVES, to dance. Brad turns on VH1 Classics in the mornings just so Henry can dance to the music. It is quite possibly the funniest thing you've ever seen. I laugh so hard I cry most every time he does this. And he'll just look at me like 'What's so funny Mom?"

My Boys

Twins!

Early B-Day Loot

Aunt Tishie came to town on Thursday night and spent the night. Henry had so much fun opening his early birthday presents...a BeeBop Band and a big ol stuffed dog named T-Dog!

He loves his new drum set and rhythm instruments.
But he loved the bag even more.

Thanks so much for coming to visit. So glad you're feeling better and we can't wait till you come back.

Love you!

Meltdown 2008

scene:

baby in buggy in Publix.

beginning to get restless.

try giving him keys, snacks, bottles of pizza sauce, boxes of rice. ANYTHING.

baby's mood escalates.

screams/shouts begin.

wants to crawl out.

trying anything to distract.

kind old ladies were trying to distract.

nothing works.

getting lots of looks.

decide to bolt.

leave 1/2 full buggy in middle of isle.

walk out of store.

I've been warned that this would happen over the course of parenting a toddler. (And in just 2 short weeks Henry will be considered a toddler, I think.) Nana said she had to do this before when her children were young and this is what kept running thru my mind the whole time. "It's ok to just leave it here and walk out. It really is." So that's what we did and it was ok. Funny thing is, as soon as we walked out he was just fine. Not sure what went wrong, but all was right in the world again when we left.

So I was back at Publix last night...by myself...at 7:45. Lovely!

Vocabulary Explosion

Just this week Henry has really been talking so much and you can see him really studying when you're trying to teach him something. We ask him to repeat us when we say a word OR ask him what sound a certain animal makes. Below are a few examples (some of which I've posted on before):

• Duck (ck ck ck)
• Lion (arrr arrr) (this one Nana and Papa taught him)
• Cow (ooo ooo)
• Doggie (dadoo, uff uff)
• Daddy (datee)
• Uncle Daniel (Dania)
• Thank You (tk u)
• Banana (nana)
• Uh Oh (whilst continuing to drop things just so i'll pick it up...nice!)
• Mama (and not just when sad anymore)

I love that he is such a little sponge right now and is trying so hard to learn new sounds!

Sleep Update

*this post is mainly for my journaling purposes and so i can go back and look at sleep patterns with subsequent kiddos

As a lot of you know, Henry has been waking up at like 5:30ish for about 3 or 4 weeks. This seems to all be related to his ear infections I think. BUT, for the past 5 nights, he's gone down b/w 6:30 and 7:00pm and slept until 7:00am. HALLELUIA!! I realize this could be short lived, but for now we'll take it. As a result HOWEVER, his naps during the day have gotten worse...at least for me. His morning nap is usually at least 45 min and sometimes an hour after he goes down at 10ish. Well, lately he's up after 20 or 30 min. This is clearly not long enough b/c he's pretty cranky when he wakes up. So at the advice of another mother, I am going to try and keep him up until lunch time and feed him and then put him down. Hopefully he's tired and full enough to STAY asleep! I know 12 months is kind of early to wean to one nap, but I think some children are ready by this point. I'll let ya know how it goes.

***update: Not ready for the one nap just yet! I fed him at 11:30 and he was literally falling asleep in the highchair. I felt sure he would sleep for a couple hours, but no such luck. He was up after 55 minutes. He went back down in the car for another hour or so. Oh well, at least we know.

Rainy Days and Mondays...

Won't get us down! We've got errands to run, trucks to push, dogs to chase, naps to take, lunch to eat, books to read, noise makers to shake, teddy's to love, and gold fish to snack.

Have a happy President's Day!

Nana & Papa's or BUST!!!

*i could kick myself for not getting more pics of Henry with Nana and Papa, but this is all I got. this was right before we left on Sunday afternoon. henry took his longest nap of the weekend on his Papa.


Nana and Papa were nice enough to keep Henry for Brad and I this weekend and I have a feeling they had waaaayyyy too much fun! They took Henry shopping, to Como's Pete's for grilled cheese and fries, the G'ville Zoo, and to the park. I know Henry enjoyed being with them so much and can't wait until the next time. Nana and Papa are in for lots of fun with all these grandson's they've aquired over the past year!

Thanks Daddy and Deb so much! We love you!

Cecilia's Baby Shower Weekend

The 4 of us headed to the lake house for the weekend to celebrate Cecilia's last days as a 'free woman'! We had such a relaxing time and I feel so rejuvinated! We dined out and in, took in a chick flick, slept in, drank lots of wine, and sat around the table for hours just talking. It was bliss! Cecilia got lots of cute things for baby Hanna and we can't wait for his or her arrival in March!

To Jean and Sarah (and all mothers raising boys)...

Raising Boys

I scrub the wall of fingerprints, Pick up the mounds of clothes.
I sweep the dirt that shoes track in-Wish I could use a hose!

Meals are served from dawn to dark, Dirty dishes crowd the sink.
Just when they're washed and put away-Everyone wants a drink!

The washer pulls the dirty grime From pants worn thin and patched.
They look so very neat and clean-Yuck, look what the pockets hatched!

Broken bones and bloody knees, I should have been a nurse.
I take it all in shaky stride-Just grateful it's not worse!

Screams and shouts and arguments Test the keeping of my cool.
They left the neighbor's faucet on-See their new front yard pool!

A soothing bath is ecstasy, A reward at the end of my rope.
Raising boys isn't really bad-But first I must wash the soap!

A rose can say I Love You, Orchids can enthrall;
But a weed bouquet in a chubby fist, Oh my, that says it all!

(Roberta I. Teague)

Welcome to the World...

Bradley Mixon Lucas, Jr.

Born 12:01pm Feb 10, 2008

9lbs!!! 21 1/4 inches

BIG BOY!!

Brad, Sarah and Bradley are doing great and I even got to see the little angel today. He is ADORABLE and has a head full of blond hair!

Congrats Lucas Family!!!

11 Months

Henry is 11 months old today! I cannot believe we'll be celebrating his 1st birthday in just one month. He continues to amaze Brad and me with all of the things he learns and grasps every day. He has such a BIG personality and is becoming such a little flirt. He loves to 'talk and flirt' with the ladies at the restuarants we've been to.

His communication has grown so much this month. He says: dadoo (doggy), ruff ruff, daddy, mooo (for cow), uh-oh, tish(fish), mama (only when he's sad and wants something).

He is really cruising the furniture now and has attempted to take a few steps toward Brad, but gets scared quickly and sits down. He loves to walk behind his dump truck and cars.


He has become so "lovey" this month. He will go to his stuffed animals and put his head down on them and look for our reaction: "Owwwww!" He also hugs us constantly and this, of course, takes my breath away! Sometimes I get overwhelmed with how much I love this little person.
He is INTO EVERYTHING! And I mean EVERYTHING! As you can see above, he can now reach much higher now, so things that were safe before are no longer! We have our baby gates up and have to keep doors closed to keep him out of things. He's so curious!

He loves for me to read to him and has one book that he particularly loves. My First Words. I will point to cows, doggy's, fish, baby etc. and he tries to make the sound. We're working on body parts next (nose, eyes, mouth, etc.)

This (my keys) is one of Henry's favorite things to play with! I love this pic of him above....such a little beefcake!
Speaking of BEEFCAKE, Henry is really starting to be OK with solid foods now. This makes me very happy! He pretty much eats whatever we are eating with some exceptions. Still loves bananas and whole wheat waffles for breakfast!
I can't wait to see what this month has in store for us, sweet pea! I love you more every minute!

Mommy

Small Victories

Henry is a little on the picky side when it comes trying new solid "real people" food. So you can imagine my suprise when I put steamed broccoli on H's plate last night for supper and he ate it all and wanted more! Broccoli is one of my favorite veggies and i'm so glad he likes it too. He also ate a handful of baby lima beans. Now this could all change and he could very well hate them tonight, but for this one night....i'll take the VICTORY!

P.S. He ate an entire chicken salad sandwhich for lunch today. Homemade by Mimi...yum yum!

Just a Day at the Park!

I took Henry to the Parkshore Park this afternoon for a little time on the swing. We go by there from time to time and he absolutely loves it!

It is a GORGEOUS day here in the lowcountry! High is 70 degrees....i'm definitely getting SPRING FEVER!!!

Home Project

For Christmas I decided to make Brad a bar out of the bookshelves in our back room. I chose a brown paint that looked a bit too purple when put up on the walls, so 2 months later I finally got motivated to find the RIGHT shade (coffee bean) and painted the whole shelf. And it turned out really well!

Upclose bar shot
Whole Bar
Bookshelf

Sick...Again....

Well, it seems that Henry has come down with another cold and ear infection. We just got back from the Doctor with a new antibiotic (augmentin), so hopefully this will knock it out for good this time. Poor little angel! He was up and down last night. I don't the the 1st one ever really went away.

Also, I mentioned to Dr. Rhodes that I had given Henry some whole milk yogurt earlier in the week and he immediately broke out around his face and his stomach. I suspect he's allergic to milk, so we're gonna be giving Soy Formula a try and see if his skin and spitting up improves.

*This is probably way more than anyone cares to know, but really just for my journaling purposes.