Lucas' buddies

Well we have been busy this past week again. But it was good busy! We had lots of great visits with good friends and family too. We were able to catch up with some good friends finally since it seems every ones summers are winding down. For all of you teachers out there, I hope that you have a great school year! I know that it is tough getting back into the groove after having the summer off :)

Lucas and Kaden got to play outside of TLC for a change! Kaden is just three months younger than Lucas and I'm sure they will be buds! He is the son of good friends- Emily and Kevin whom we met several years ago and are in a small group with at church. It was so much fun watching the boys play and catching up with Kevin and Emily. We all agree that they seem to favor one another, especially the lack of hair ;) He is a big boy, I think they are just about the same size now... :) Kaden and Lucas are also in the same "class" at school so they get to see each other often!

We spent Saturday evening with the Black family. Lucas loved watching Hayden and Ethan play. He adores older kids and watches them so intently, taking in every little motion and sound. It is like he wants to be just like them! We too had a great visit with Erica and Jaime, she is a wonderful friend from college/sorority sister and we always have a blast when we all get together! Here is a picture of Jaime and the boys :)

We took a quick trip to Fredericksburg Sunday to visit with Todd's family. Lucas loved playing with all of the family! He had fun with grandma Schleigh, great-gma, aunt Kristi, and uncle Barrett at our first stop. He got down and dirty on the front porch showing off his new pulling up skills. We forgot about the camera there, sorry to not include pics :)Then we ventured over to Grandpa Bryant's and Nanny's where Lucas was greeted by lots of happy faces! He got to visit with several great-great aunts, what a treat!!!

Then we were off back towards home and our final friends :) Will, Rachael, and Hunter came to visit and have dinner. We used to be neighbors and over the years they became great friends. We miss them being just a quick walk away! But we look forward to Hunter and Lucas being buds ;) Lucas was intrigued yet again, this time by a younger baby. He checked Hunter out big time and shared his toys like such a big boy. I think Hunter had the most fun in the jumper :)

So even with all of the running around we did, we had a great week and really enjoyed our visits with everyone. We are truly blessed with such loving and wonderful friends and family! I hope you all had a great week and are enjoying the final weeks of summer. We are off to the outer banks this weekend and can't wait for a week of relaxation and fun in the sun. :) If we have internet I will try to update more often!

Tickle Time with Mommy

I must admit, I really don't know who has more fun during these times each day. Some might say Lucas since he is the one belly laughing through it all...Some might say me since it brightens every bit of my day just to hear him laugh and see that big grin on his face :)....and of course we can't leave out daddy when he is around too! I think he enjoys watching both of us :)




It never ceases to amaze me just how much he changes every day, week, and soon I will be saying year! It does not seem like it was almost a year ago that this little angel entered our lives. I can truly look back and say that I had NO IDEA what we were in for. When you are pregnant you know that you are going to love them, and you can't wait to meet them, you are excited, anxious, worried, scared- full of so many emotions. BUT, until they enter your life you really have no earthly idea just how blessed you are to have been given the opportunity to be a parent. The love you feel for them is unreal, like no other. I know that all of you other mommy's and daddy's out there agree. As for those who are yet to be, you wait ;) What an awesome ride... They are just such precious gifts from God placed on your care for what seems like such a short time :) He is the joy in our lives and we are so lucky to be his mommy and daddy!!!

Can you believe it? In just 6 more weeks and he will be ONE!!!! :) I had every good intention on getting the invites for the party out next week before vacation. I am not so sure that will happen (shocker, I know), if not...save Sat. 10/4 for us, the invite is coming!!!! ;)

Dinner with Great Friends

Well I promised I would try to get pictures of our dinner date with friends Friday night and I managed to make it happen! We had a great time with Emily and Richie. Emily is a very dear friend of ours from Longwood days. We were pledge sisters in our sorority, roommates, and she was a bridesmaid in our wedding. She has always been a great friend who has touched my life in so many ways. We go stretches of time without keeping in touch the best but she, along with so many other close friends, are in my thoughts daily. Too bad we aren't back at LWC and right down the hall from each other, I miss those days and friendships! Some of us that are in the area get together every month or two and catch up, I always look forward to those dates :)

There was so much to catch up on that the time was just too short :) We went to Casa Grande a local mexican chain here in Richmond. The company was the BEST part of the evening :) We all enjoyed our time with the Gallimore's, especially Lucas! Well, I think Emily enjoyed it even a bit more...She hadn't seen him since he was 6 weeks old and her and Heather were gracious enough to help us move into our new house. Needless to say he has changed a bit since then.

We had a fantastic time chatting and enjoying supper while Lucas provided the entertainment. Dinner was pretty yummy, the margarita was pretty tasty too, BUT I won't go into our service in detail, which left LOTS to be desired. I will just say one thing however because I feel the need to get it off of my chest and that is partly why I love blogging....

This is a fantastic country that opens its doors to everyone. We only ask that if you choose to call USA your home, please enable yourself to speak the native language, and I do mean English, I would do the same if I moved to a foreign country....Enough said, I digress;)...

Here are some pics from din-din, the superb waiter (not so much) was gracious enough to take our picture, sorry for Todd's half head, we didn't have the heart to try and ask for another picture to be taken after our communication barriers.





Lucas has a slight obsession with peoples mouths and teeth. Have I mentioned that he has two on the bottom and two more coming in up top? We heard him grinding them this past weekend! :)Em is going to make a fantastic mommy one day! Lucas loved her, Richie too!!! We can't wait to do it again ;)

Wow, what a week!

I am sorry that I neglected the blog this past week. It has been a whirlwind! I really don't feel like a whole week has gone by...But, here we are back at Friday again. Wow, life really needs to slow down. I'll give you a quick recap of what we have been up to since last Friday.

We started the weekend paint shopping and prepping for our big Paint-A-Palooza weekend. After deciding on the three colors for the rooms downstairs and piling the cart full of the many needed accessories we had to get out of Home Depot to save the bank account ;) and get Lucas some much needed R&R. Saturday morning bright and early my brother John and Justin arrived to kick off the festivities. John loves to paint and does a great job so we were ecstatic to have his help. Especially since Todd feels his abilities are lacking and we also have Lucas to entertain! So the more the merrier! In fact, two more wonderful friends came over to help out too, bless their sweet souls ;) Maria and Kevin joined in that afternoon and in no time flat we had a freshly painted family room, kitchen, and primered dining room. Dad came down too to stain Lucas' bookshelf, there is nothing as fantastic as team work I tell you! I cannot thank them all enough for every bit of help, be it with Lucas or painting, we could not have done so much on our own!!!! Sunday, John and I got rolling again and knocked out the dining room and he did the hall bath. Justin helped too, he got to paint some primer, and decorated a beautiful birdhouse for aunt Heather! Plus he played tons with Lucas, I know Lucas enjoyed every minute of that.

We of course took moments out for fun too. Lucas got to go swimming in his pool, practice his so almost there crawling skills, and of course he eats like a champ, baby food is almost out the door completely. John made blueberry pancakes for breakfast Sunday morning, yummy!

We were whipped starting out the week and it just seemed to continue with our normal weeknight activities. I really think that 40 hours of work per week is totally overrated, especially when you have to add in lunch, driving to and from....depressing is the word that comes to my mind. I can think of a bazillion other things I would rather be doing!!! :) Work has just been really busy for me this week. Not much downtime at all and it seems like that will only be getting worse because we are understaffed right now, help is desperately needed! :( I digress....

So here we are again, it is Friday and I am so thankful for that! We are excited to go have dinner with one of my college roomies/sorority sisters/really good friend who I don't keep in touch with nearly enough!!! :) and her hubby. I will try to get one of the nice waiters to take our picture and share it next week. As for the rest of the weekend you ask? Well we get a slight reprieve tomorrow, we won't start painting until the evening hours when John and Karen get here. Until then Lucas and I will return to Home Depot for more paint....relax and play with daddy and the furry friends...and start paint prep....exciting, huh?

But I am psyched to have gotten so much painting done is such a short time frame. We are tackling our bedroom and bathroom this weekend, wish us luck!!! ;) Only two more weeks until vacation and we are looking so forward to it!!!!!

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!!!

Will Work For Food

We are really anxious for Lucas to start to crawl and day by day we have seen signs that he is progressing in that direction (or so I make myself think). He is a reacher like no other, his teachers comment about it all of the time. For a long time he would just sit in one spot and reach as far as he could to get something he had his eyes on. Well, the last couple of weeks that reaching has extended even more and he turns his body up on top of his little legs. Kind of a quaz-I pre-crawl I guess. Sometimes he will balance just right in that position and grab whatever he is trying to get. Other times he will lean even more until he does a belly flop on the ground in angst. This progress has been so much fun to watch....
Well last night was cheap pizza night at our house due to lack of dinner planning and who can resist a good mom&pop pizza place large pizza for $5.99!!! :) Lucas had already eaten BUT as usual what goes in our mouths must also go in his. So, I shared my pizza with him. First he started out with the meatballs which he absolutely loved and grinned about with each bite..
Background story- I tend to eat dinner sitting on the family room floor most nights so i can interact with Lucas at the same time, he is usually playing. We do plan on getting a kitchen table soon I think?!? ;)
Then when I sat my plate down to eat he decided that the whole slice looked pretty good! So he started reaching and "talking" to try and get some. I thought, hhmmm...he wants the pizza, what a great opportunity to practice the crawling position again!
Here is a video of the antics that followed....


Then...
Well needless to say my pizza was a little hairy after all was said and done, but well worth the laughs!!!

Here are some more pictures from last night's dinner escapade. The "sharks" AKA Hunter and Bailey started circling once he got the pizza crust. He even leaned towards Bailey once and touched her nose with it . She was such a good girl and didn't even attempt to snatch it from him! I can't say the same for Hunter, he has done it in the past and is waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike again! Not last night though since Todd was right there. He did leave drool on Todd's shoulder though!

This is Lucas trying to share his crust with daddy and then giving him a big kiss! It is so amazing how the simpilest evening can be so much fun in our house! Feel free to come by and join in the antics , we would love to have you ! ;)

NO-NO!!!

Here is Lucas' premiere video on our blog....Drum roll please! :)




He started this a few weeks ago. If we tell him no and start shaking our heads he follows along. Now all we really have to say is the word and as long as he is in the mood, the head does the talking! It is so fun to watch and he gets such a kick out of our reaction too. Endless hours of entertainment I tell you, who needs TV?? ;)