happy 3rd birthday

My sweet baby boy turned three on Friday! Where has the time gone? Unfortunately, over the weekend Lucas got sick and we had to cancel his birthday party. I'm not sure who was more disappointed - Lucas or myself. We spent most of Saturday on the couch, snuggling and watching movies while I kept him hydrated and cool. On Sunday, he was feeling better and several family members came by with gifts which helped ease the disappointment of missing his party. In the last year, I have watched him grow by leaps and bounds. It's exciting to think of what the next year has in store for him - and our family. 

So without further ado, here are a few milestone/accomplishments of Lucas's past year...

• His vocabulary has increased by tenfold! Last year at this time Lucas was saying words and stringing together simple sentences. However as the year progressed so did his vocabulary. I love listening and recording his conversions - with himself, with family members, with the dog and with his toys. He is like a little sponge, soaking up everything he hears (good and bad). 
• He is turning into a little athlete! Between riding his bike, hiking with Mamma, playing baseball, golf, soccer and basketball, I foresee sports in my near future. 
• He has developed strong opinions and has been testing his negotiating skills. Ahem..yup...this one hasn't been much fun as the others. 
• He loves to sing! This ability/desire to sing did not come from me. Before having Lucas, I told my husband that I would never sing with my kids. It just wasn't something that comfortable doing. However, over the past year I have found myself singing nonstop! Lucas loves to sing his Sabbath School songs, VBS songs, camp songs, songs he hears on Curious George etc. We have even made up new lyrics to old songs to suit whatever mood he and I are in...for an example "I'm a Little Tea Pot" is now "I'm a Little Fire Hydrant." Just please don't ask me to sing it... 
• Lastly, I love hearing Lucas say "I love you Momma." It warms my heart to hear those words. 

Happy Birthday to Thursday's Child

Happy 3rd Birthday to my blog... 

Alara's baby shower

This past Sunday, I was blessed by friends and family with an amazing baby shower. A big shout out and a ginormous thank-you goes to my lovely party planners - Sarah and Amber. These two ladies did a fantastic job and went above and beyond all my expectations. I am truly blessed to have you ladies in my life. 

our little egg baron...

I've renamed Lucas as the Easter Egg Baron. This is the first Easter where he was actually into participating in the egg hunt. We started with one small basket, and about half way through the hunt had to switch to a fireman's hat that I found. I think he found the most eggs out of everyone. Thankfully, most of those eggs were plastic...I really wasn't looking forward to bringing home several dozen real eggs. I hate egg salad sandwiches. 

Now if only I could get him to cheerfully hunt for this missing toys, shoes, socks, pants and other "lost" items we'd be set! 

This muddy picture makes me smile. Years ago, my Mom took a similar picture of my sisters and I in the same spot planting our Easter flowers. However, we were wearing light and flowery Easter dresses, and there was less mud. 

A few weeks before the Easter party, my Mom called asking for recipes for making baking soda volcanoes. I remember thinking "what do volcanoes have to do with Easter?" Is this a new trend in Easter celebrations?  Apparently, during a lesson about the letter V, one of the boys asked my Mom what a volcano was. This led to the idea of making oozy, muddy boy friendly volcanoes at our Easter party. I gotta give my Mom credit for diving in with four muddy boys. 

Boys + mud = fun!