A look back...

Wow, I cannot believe how fast this past year has flown by! Well actually the last two years or so have been a blur. Lets see what happened in our lives since 2006 for starters... my mom battled lung cancer, I got a new position at work, we lost mom 9 1/2 months after her diagnosis (I was 5 weeks pregnant), being pregnant with Lucas, selling our old house, moving into an apartment for 4 1/2 months, being put on bed rest for 9 weeks because he wasn't growing like he should, and moving into our new house when Lucas was only 6 weeks old(it was supposed to be ready 2 weeks before he was born)....I really think I can say that I have felt EVERY emotion, and faced so many stresses that I am not sure how I have made it to now. Wow....it seems horrible once I write it all out and look back... But it all ended with the addition of Lucas, he was most definitely the icing on the cake, and the light the arose out of the darkness, our little sunshine!!! That is actually where his name came from, Lucas means "ray of light" :)

I really think that Lucas' lag in growth and me being put on bed rest was a wake up call from God to focus on me and reflect on what was going on in our lives. I am so thankful for that wake up call! Our lives have been so blessed and we are truly thankful for the opportunity to become parents and the many lessons we have learned and those that are still yet to come. Wow, where does time go to? It "flies" is certainly an understatement!!!

Anyways, to help celebrate Lucas' first birthday this upcoming Saturday, I thought I would share some pictures and stories in this post about what our lives were like one year ago.


This is what our new home looked like a year ago. They were heading into the homestretch but it wasn't quite ready for us! There was still about 7 weeks of work left. We were ready though, an 800+ square foot apartment can get pretty cozy really quick when you have 2 adults, a baby on the way, LOTS of baby stuff/gifts, 2 big dogs, and a cat. We were busting at the seams... 7 weeks felt like an eternity!!!

This was Lucas' nursery a week before he came. As you can tell, not your typical nursery the week before a baby arrives...What were we thinking?

This is pretty much what the pups and I did all day and night. Well that, and consume massive amounts of food - at least it felt that way when you are so pregnant and your belly doesn't have that much room! 3 meals, 3 hefty "snacks", plus two Boosts a day is what Dr. Love prescribed for my bed rest. When else in your life does a doctor tell you to eat fried chicken, greasy cheeseburgers, milkshakes, etc. like they are going out of style!?! I think I watched every home improvement, baby show, TV re-run- On demand cable, and the laptop computer were my buddies! Well that and my snoogle pillow which I shared with Bailey :)

I ventured outside of our little apartment rarely for a quick meal, to ride out to see the continued progress of the new house, or my weekly trip to the doctor to find out how the little man was doing and see if we were granted another week at home. We were under strict scrutiny but in great hands...About a month or so before he arrived my fluid levels started dropping. They were also monitoring him closely each week for further delay in growth, lack of movement, strong chord blood flow, and good practice breathing. If any of these areas started to not look good, he was coming out! Ready or not! Those are not appealing words when you are 35 weeks pregnant...So for the last three weeks, my bags were packed and in the car just in case we heard those orders....

This was me and Lucas, 1 year and a week ago :) Not the most attractive picture but I must say I loved being pregnant. Aside from the bed rest and lack of sleep near the end. It was so amazing to know that a little life was growing inside of you, feeling his every move. That was always a fun time - I think every night when I went to bed he would have a party- somersaults, you name it, and then he would get the hiccups... ;)

Only 4 more days and our lives were going to be changed forever....:)

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

Well this was the "message" we received when we got home Tuesday evening... Not from Lucas as you all might think, but from our furry child, Bailey (AKA- pigpen, trouble...). In case you were wondering, dogs and Desitin DON'T mix well. Go ahead and laugh, get it all out....

Yeah, so for whatever reason she decided that day that she would try a new culinary adventure and consume a tube of the thick, white, creamy, butt paste. I love this stuff for Lucas cause it can heal up/prevent diaper rash in a flash due to the consistency. This very same property ended up being the horrible side of this "adventure" for our beloved Bailey dog. Well, the dog and the carpet....

Todd arrived home to find not one pile of vomit but, 5- yeah, 5!!! 2 were nicely placed on the easy to clean up kitchen floor, thanks Bailey :) The other three were not so strategic. They were on the family room carpet. I will spare you from the gruesome details but lets just say it comes back looking about the same as it does coming out of the tube!!! Mix it with last nights vittles, some bodily fluids and voila, you got it! On top of that there was the destroyed plastic tube and quite a bit of cream smeared into the carpet too from her dining adventure. Looks like Chem Dry will be getting our business next week!!!

We love her dearly but for the love of God this dog has a few issues!!! Ever since I was pregnant she decides on random occasions to destroy something. Sometimes we are lucky and it is magazines, scrap paper, etc. Other times we have lost gifts (bag and all), books, games (board, box and all)...At dad's she has even managed to open aluminum cans of cat food,(her teeth were silver for a few days after that one- her own "grill" :) eat markers/crayons, cardboard boxes. A few years ago she actually scared us by chewing up a razor and a Christmas ornament held together with stick pins. The ornament prompted a visit to the vet for tummy x-rays, she was OK. You name it, she has tried it!!! None of these objects have been just laying on the floor, all have just been stolen from their "homes". I wonder what Hunter is doing while she destroys these things? Does he warn her or just walk away- see no evil...;)??? She definitely has the "guilty" face when we get home and question them.. Bless her heart!!!

So, I cleaned up the lovely mess and Todd made us a wonderful anniversary seafood dinner. I was getting over a nasty cold and apparently Todd was working on getting it, he is now on antibiotics hopefully on the road to recovery :) We had to eat in shifts though because we had a grumpy little boy on our hands. With two more teeth on the horizon, lack of naptimes due to the new excitement of the "moving world" around him, etc. lets jsut say Lucas was not really up for such an eventful night. Doesn't this all sound romantic and relaxing? ;)

All in all it was a great, eventful, 8 year anniversary evening! I am so lucky to have someone as fantastic as Todd to trudge through these "trenches" with day in and day out. Our life has changed so much since those early days at Chick-Fil-A, Longwood, and our first years of marriage. I always new that our life together would be fantastic. The evenings adventures proved that life is great when you share it with your soul mate and can sit back and laugh at even these moments together. We are living the life that I always hoped for, we are truly blessed. Vomit, drool, tears and all- Bring it on!!! :)

Ummm..Ummm...We love Chick-Fil-A!!!

After settling in (if you can call it that) from a busy weekend in Fredericksburg we had some things to take care of Monday evening. We were in search of new car seats for the ever growing little man :) He has just about outgrown his infant carrier and we are sick of transferring the seat back and forth between our respective vehicles. On days that we drive separate and I am headed off to the gym or running errands after work I always seem to inevitably look in the rear view mirror and see the seat when it should be in Todd's car! AARRGG... Well not every time but enough that it has driven me nutz...;) So now that he is too big to carry in and out in the seat we really both need separate ones in our cars.

So after heading home to let the pups out we were off to the West End for our little shopping trip. Of course we needed to feed ourselves while we were out since time was of the essence. Where can you always get yummy food that is somewhat healthy, fantastic service, and a clean, friendly environment in a short amount of time, well Chick-Fil-A of course! If you know us at all you know that we love this place and pretty much, eat there about every week or so now that there is one in Mechanicsville. We also have Chick-Fil-A to thank for Todd and I getting together (and a few GREAT friends of course-Sarah!). We worked there back in high school in Fredericksburg and hit it off. That was the best job (at least in our book) for kids our age. You could have flexible hours, work with great friends, eat for free, make pretty good money (well it seemed good at the time :), , get a college scholarship, and have Sunday's off...pretty sweet deal, huh? I digress...so with our love of CFA you should know that Lucas would love it just as much, and boy he does!!! We decided to document our adventure Monday night to share with you all.


He devoured quite a few nuggets ( I think it was 3???) and even shared some with mommy! This is a new feat for him, sharing, that is. He did not want to share anything - toys, food, etc. a few weeks ago. He would get so mad if you tried to take anything from him, even when you asked nicely for him to "share". He has since then seemed to learn how great sharing can be, now he thinks it is so much fun!

Cheers! - This was in honor of the Fleming family (newly expanded)that got us hooked on this stuff, started our chicken "careers", and I guess our family :)! We had a great time with them this past weekend at Todd Fleming's wedding. Todd and Todd have been great friends since those days and he was in the wedding this past weekend. It was so great to catch up with old friends and share in such a special day for Todd and Rachel. We really enjoyed both the rehearsal and the wedding/reception. Lucas got to hang out and play with cousin Justin, Uncle John, and Grandpa Sexton Friday night. He was resting comfortably with Grandpa when we got back that night. On Saturday Lucas was in fantastic hands again at Aunt Kristi & Uncle Barrett's house. He played so hard with them and Grandma Schleigh that he was a tuckered out little guy when we picked him up Saturday night! He was dead asleep in Barrett's lap :)

We did pick out the new car seats but are headed back this weekend to get them after Lucas' one year picture appt. The GREAT sales clerk at Babies-R-Us ended up hooking us up with 30% off coupons that didn't start until today, so we will gladly save some money!!! This weekend will be pretty low key but busy as always. Lots of errands to run and things to do before the big birthday bash!!! Plus, I have to work in the AM, yuck! Not long though, just ~ 2hours which on one hand stinks since it takes me 30 min. to get there...but...Lucas and daddy get to have a fun morning together :)

Happy Friday and hope you have a great weekend! ;)

A new facelift....:)

Blogging has definitely become a hobby for me these days. I love writing our own stories about our family's adventures and Lucas' many exciting feats to share with those we don't see every day. Which seems to be the way of life for most of us out there. It would be great if we saw every member of our family and all of our friends that we have made from every facet of life each and every day, BUT...When you are working and raising a family, time is a precious gift that I so wish we had more of! So you add just a little distance between family and friends and it makes it even harder. But we love you all and that is why I wanted to do this from the get go :)

I have found so many other blogs out there that were started for this same simple reason... To keep in touch with those that we love. I have a few friends who are also new to this blogging adventure who I absolutely love to keep up with and this is such a great way to do it. It is so much fun to hear about their daily adventures, see pictures of how their families are growing and changing, laugh with their funny stories, and even cry with the sad ones. Blogging really is fantastic! You should try it!!!

But aside from them I have also found that there is a HUGE community of people out there with so many great stories to share for the same reason the rest of us are here. I find myself keeping up with so many. What is going on in there lives, the fun adventures they have with their families and friends, and saying prayers when needed for those who are going through difficult times! :) ...And to think that many of these are complete strangers... Kinda cool? I think so! God works in mysterious ways sometimes.... ;)

To me blogging is like keeping a journal but even better since you have pictures....kinda like scrapbooking in that sense, but you get the picture :) So I have decided to try to update the motif to reflect that. I hope you like it! I will have more stories to share soon, need to get some pics off of the camera, maybe this evening.

Until then!!!! Have a fantastic day and remember-
"truly living your life is not about the number of breaths you take but the number of moments that take your breath away! :) "

Vacation part 2 and Crawling

Here is the crawling footage I promised. Sorry that it has taken so long for me to get it on here ;) Getting settled back in at work has been a work in progress...
The video was taken on our camera and needless to say I was holding it vertically so I apologize for the neck strain :) This was about day three of crawling.



He is really truckin now! He chased after Nala Sunday night from the family room into the kitchen. I think all three of the animals aren't sure what to think of him now. Nala just runs and the dogs watch him with such puzzled looks on their faces as if they were saying "when did that happen?" and "where are we going to hide now!" I'll get some of that footage on here at some point for your viewing pleasure :) Here are some more pics from vacation:

Having a snack at the pool with Dad's help, I love goldfish! Thanks Preston for introducing me to them!!! :)

Playing in the shade at the beach...

Do you like my impression of daddy's go-tee?Making good use of the sun hat and bathing suit Aunt Robin and cousin Kelsey got for me!
Get these goofy glasses off me!Is it time for a nap yet??? I am worn out!!!Daddy makes the best bed ever!!! I slept for a long time like this, mommy appreciated the break and the sunshine :)This sand stuff is pretty cool, except I did learn not to eat it (hence the go-tee picture above).....checking out the surfers with daddy....family photo shots courtesy of Grandpa Sexton, he came to visit for an overnight! We had a great time with him too!!! :)



How can you not love me????? :) With a smile like that, it is impossible!!!


Final fun on the beach, I really like to hear myself echo when I talk like this....;)





That is all for now!

Ahhh...vacation :) Part 1

Well we are home again, it really does not seem like we were gone for a week! Why is it that vacations go by so fast? I think 2 weeks sounds so much better....if only we could talk our employers into that, hey, the Europeans do it, why can't we? ;) I had every good intention to update this while we away since there was going to be so much leisurely time but the wi-fi was a no-go in our condo unit. So sorry that we were out of touch with you all!

We had a fantastic time down in Kitty Hawk, NC. The We spent our days relaxing, enjoying each other, exercising, the beach, the pool, and good seafood. We also got to visit with some friends and family that we don't get to see to often so that was a great bonus! We couldn't ask for much more. The weather was absolutely perfect from the time we arrived last Saturday up until Hanna began arriving Friday. We actually left a day early to avoid any problems the tropical storm might have brought down there. But we made up for leaving early by stopping at the Prime Outlets in Williamsburg for a little shopping. Lucas is in need of fall and winter clothes for the upcoming seasons and we thought we could catch some good deals.

This was such an exciting week for the little man too! It was wonderful to be with him day and night for a week. It is sad to say but that hasn't happened (and we all were healthy) since I went back to work! Man, I could really get used to being just a mommy...;) He had a big week of so many firsts, he is crawling now. It started Monday with a few moves and by the end of the week he was a baby on the move! I'll post a video of him in action on Monday. He crawls to get to wherever he wants to go except he will still get mad if I leave the room, he hasn't quite figured out that he can follow me now whenever he wants! His favorite thing to do is crawl to a table, person, etc. and then pull up. He knows that he is a big boy now, no more baby! He also started waving bye-bye, and giving high-fives (well at least holding his hand up to receive them). He uses his "all done" sign lots and is broadening his babbles with a whole new array of "words". Not really any real ones except his version of dog. But none-the-less he has his own little language that he "talks" to us in all day long starting in his crib in the morning. He is saying ma-ma and da-da just not really at each of us yet. Daddy also taught him to throw with a ball and now he throws those and his blocks, hopefully this will not happen during a tantrum! He is starting on those too! :) We are definitely going to have to work on "no biting", that is one of his favorite pastimes when mommy holds him. I have little bite marks all over one of my shoulders from our shopping trip yesterday! Of course he thinks it is funny when I yelp or say no, so hard not to laugh but those 4 teeth are killer!!!

Here are some of the pictures from the first half of our trip, I'll post more tomorrow:

Dinner out on our first night with Aunt Kristi and Uncle Barrett, Lucas even liked the seafood! I think he liked playing with them even better :) Isn't that what Aunt's and Uncle's are for? Well, make that fun and spoiling! We can't wait to get our turn again(we already have Justin, my brother's little boy)...Kristi and Barrett are going to be great parents to their little man who we will get to meet in just ~5 months!The Webb family came to visit on Sunday. Lucas once again had a ball watching Russell, he taught Lucas just how much fun splashing in the pool could be! He was so worn out that he slept through lunch while the rest of us enjoyed a great visit. Next time maybe Lucas will be able to keep up with Russell the wild man now that he too is on the move ;)

Watching all of the kids in the pool....Day one at the beach....playing in the sand is so much fun! Mommy kept trying to make sandcastles but I was a one man wrecking crew....

Here is our little party animal! We went out to a great barbeque restaurant, High Cotton, and could not resist the picture opportunity with the pig hat. Lucas wasn't to fond of it on his head though....That is it for now. We'll be back tomorrow with more. It is bedtime for now, gotta start getting ready for reality Monday morning. We are all hitting the hay earlier tonight after staying up and sleeping in for the last week.....Good night!!!