Walking on Sunshine

He's walking!  =D

 

Lucas has been getting around a lot this past week.  And I finally was able to get proof of his walking (a good distance) on video last night. 

 

 Our little Luke Sky-Walker!

 

His main mode is still crawling since it gets him where he's going faster.  But he is definitely getting more confident with standing and walking.  He'll master this is no time!

 

We are a proud Mama and Dada.  :)

 

The 1-1

 

 

Eleven months old. Queue the countdown.

 

I can't wait for his next check up so we can see how big he's gotten.

 

This month was pretty eventful. I'll let Lucas explain that to you...

 

Milestones

 

I now have four teeth! Yeppers, that's the bottom two plus two up top. Not the very two front top teeth but the two teeth right next to them. Mama says I have fangs now and she should dress me as a Vampire for Halloween. I have been working on the top two center teeth as well for a very long time. They look so close but they just haven't cut through yet. Maybe this month!

 

Do I make a good Vampire???

 

I had my first school pictures taken. Mama says if I weren't so darn photogenic then they wouldn't have to spend so much money on me. :)

 

 

 

 

I've been crawling around super fast as usual. And been scaling all the furniture and walking along the walls as usual. The other week I was doing my usual and got distracted and got a boo-boo. I hadn't been to the doctor in two months so we made a special trip this time. But I could tell how worried Mama and Dada were. I got extra kisses and hugs and snuggles. And I also found out how to climb onto the couch now. And I do it just to irritate Mama knowing that she'll chase me. I climb into my little blue chair that sits up against the couch and then I crawl up from there. It's a fun game!

 

 

 

We went to a place called the Melting Pot the other weekend to celebrate how Mama and Dada have been together for ten years. I was a third wheel they said and it was fun!

 

This past week I've been doing my usual moving about. Mama would shout out at me, "HANDS!" and wave her hands in the air like a crazy woman. Or sometimes she would try to make me clap, "CLAP CLAP CLAP!" she would say. So I figured I was supposed to play along and raise my hands or clap my hands. A few times her and Dada would get excited when I did it. I just didn't understand why, but I was happy they were happy. We played this game again this weekend with my Nana and Grandpa too. I would walk along with my Dino and when I stopped they would yell at me, so I would raise my hands and they would all get excited again. What a bunch of weirdos. I finally figured out what the excitement was about though. Mama said I stood with my hands up for a whole six seconds. And then when we would walk around I would let go and step a few steps before down I went. Apparently that was a big deal too. Those old people really get happy over the strangest things.

 

On another note, we also learned that I don't like bubbles in my bath. 

 

WAAAHHHHH!

 

Mama says this next month is special for me. I can't wait to see why!

 

And the countdown begins...

 

First of the Month

 

 

It's that time of month again.  There is a lot of significance to the first of the month.

 

The worst being that awful Rent check we have to write.  Ugh.  Like pulling off a Band-Aid!!  {Fortunately that closely follows the end-of-the-month Pay Day.}

 

On the better end it means, for me, a fresh new pair of contacts.  Ahh...  My eyes thanked me this morning once those fresh new contacts were placed onto them.  So refreshing!

 

It's also the time that we do a few things around the house like replace the air filter {ooh, gotta remember to do that since the Hubby is out of town}.

 

We also try to administer the pets' flea prevention and heart worm medicines at this time {yet another thing to remember to do tonight}.  And with that comes special canned food meals for them!  They enjoy their treats.

 

And for Lucas, it usually means that he just turned a month older.  Just on Monday he turned 9 months.  Which also means that he's beginning his tenth month of life now!  {Only 17 years and 3 months left to go...}  Hmm, I still need to think of a tag line for his monthly photos... 

          And this just so happens to coincide with his new wardrobe that I have to go through.  He's entered the 9-12mth sizes and I haven't yet sorted through all those clothes to de-tag and wash, and then pack up the old.  I think I'll save that to do this weekend perhaps.

 

The first of the month is also when I usually update my blog's banner since I started changing those out monthly.  Of course, I haven't gotten around to that yet...been a little busy playing Single Parent, so I haven't done much more than even think about it.  Maybe if I have time tonight...

 

There's also significance for it being the first of August.  Like my specifically choosing to eat chicken nuggets at McDonald's for lunch (#notchickfila).  You can read a well-written blog post here about the issue.  And that's that.

 

Yum!

 

 

What's your typical First of the Month routines?

 

Little Swimmers Tested

We got our first chance to try out Huggies Little Swimmers® diapers this week.  Meaning...we took Lucas to the pool for the first time! 

First, we showed up in style - wearing TURTLE swimgear!

I've been trying to get him out there for awhile now.  Since our neighborhood pool opened up it's been packed.  But we went after work and it was empty.  Good for us!

Check out Hubby's RED NECK!!  :)

First, Hubby had to get him acclimated to the cool temperature.  The water wasn't too cold but it was mid-evening so it wasn't at its warmest.  Lucas seemed to take to it just fine.

Then we put him in his little car float {a $3 Dollar General find} and Hubby moved him around.  He definitely was weary but enjoyed it nonetheless.

Finally I got in the water {after my fair share of photos were taken} and swam around with him too.  I tried to show him he could splash just like he does in the bathtub, but he didn't seem interested.  He was still taking it all in.  :)

After about fifteen minutes or so it was finally time to get out of the water.  Lucas was starting to feel the cold by then.  But he officially got his feet wet!

Shortly after we got home Lucas got his bottle and then we quickly crashed. 

I can't wait to get him out more often.  :)

Racer Boy {in training}

This Saturday we took Lucas to his first race. 

We went to Hubby's old stomping grounds at New Bern Motorsports Park where he bracket raced his Dad's Camaro Z28 in the Modified "Foot-brake" class.  Hubby's own Z28 is still out of commission while refreshing the transmission and motor.  He usually runs his car {nicknamed "Chrissy" - short for "Crystal Blue Persuasion"} in the Top Eliminator "Box" class.

Crissy at our Wisconsin home

Hubby is the 2010 Champion at New Bern for both classes.  That year we actually lived in town and Hubby and his Dad were able to go regulary enough to join the points series.  They raced his car in the Top class and his Dad's in the Modified class.  And as I said, Hubby won both classes that year.  That's two trophies he took home!

Here's a quick set of photos back from when we were engaged.  My MIL took a photo of me in Curtis' race car so that they could blow up the picture and make the poster in the second photo for our 50's Sock Hop themed rehearsal dinner.  The joke is that once we were married the race car is now also mine.  :)  {And no, you don't get to see my poodle skirt.}

Now, in preparation for Lucas' first trip to the race track I had to make a few Amazon purchases...

First of all, it's super loud, because it's a race track.  All those cars suped up to try to impress everyone!  So I got these Baby Banz Hearing Protector Earmuffs - in blue of course.  And with Summer beginning I also picked out some Baby Banz Sunglasses in black. 

The ear muffs worked out great.  He rarely pulled at them and was even able to fall asleep wearing them.  Now the sunglasses he didn't care for at all.  We tried them first at the festival earlier that day and he just pulled them right off.  The sun wasn't too bad so we just left them off at the track.  His hearing was most important.

First things first.  Lucas had to get a tutorial on the race car with Daddy.

Hubby had to get suited up in his race jacket and shoes so he could get some time runs in.  Good luck Daddy!  Time to sit in his very own race chair for the track {his mini version of our folded chairs}.

Then, of course, Granddaddy had to take Lucas around to see some of the other race cars, like this orange one belonging to our old neighbor, Larry.  And he had to get a quick lesson about charging up the car.  Checked out the track real quick...  And then before first round even started he was out...needed a nap with Grammy.

And to end Lucas' first racing experience.  Here are a few Instragram favorites of mine from the weekend!

Alphabet Scramble: F is for...

This week begins the second half of the alphabet.  Whew.  Let's get this half of the Alphabet Scramble started out with the letter F!

Family - I have two sets of families.  The one I grew up with and my new family.  :)  Here we are!

Dad, Mom, Jon, Nick and Trisha

Curtis, Trisha and Lucas

Feet - I love baby feet.  Lucas is lucky he has my feet and not Hubby's.  {Just trust me!}

Fever - Fortunately, Lucas hasn't had too many of these, especially nothing major.  But he did get sent home from school one day because their threshold is 101 degrees.  He actually was only at 100.5 but they called us anyway.  But when Hubby got the call he could have sworn he heard them say "One hundred five" which of course is 105!  That's an ER visit we're talking about...  But they left out the "point" and really meant 100.5, so we panicked for nothing.  Better safe than sorry.

What'cha gonna do with that, Mama??

Finger Food - We recently tried this with Lucas and that was at Easter when he got a canister of Gerber Graduates Puffs (Banana) in his basket from his Grammy and Granddaddy.  We were all sitting at the table eating our Easter ham.  I broke out the canister and gave him one to play with and see if he would take it. I showed him it was for eating and put it in his mouth.  He had it in there for a little bit and then spit it out.  I put in his mouth a second time because it wasn't dissolved yet.  The boy choked on it!  Fortunately it wasn't too bad.  Grammy was able to baby Heimlich him.  Needless to say we will be holding off on the Puffs for awhile.

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Firsts - We've had some firsts so far.  But not the major ones like crawling or standing or walking or talking...  ::sigh::  He's not grown up just yet.  So his firsts so far have consisted of:

Milestones:

Solid Food

Rolling over

Sitting up

First Events:  Halloween,  Thanksgiving,  Christmas,  New Year's,  Super Bowl,  Valentine's Day,  St. Patrick's Day,  Easter

Formula - We were unfortunately unsuccessful at breastfeeding due to both problems with myself and Lucas.  He had problems latching correctly because he is slightly tongue-tied. {Here is a good explanation.}  In addition, I ended up not producing as much or as well as I had thought I would.  So within the first week we were using formula to supplement the breast milk.  Until eventually it was the breast milk that became the supplement to the formula.

          I absolutely hated pumping.  It might have been due to the fact that I would spend nearly an hour and only get two-four ounces of milk - from both boobs total!  It became more of an inconvenience unfortunately.

          So after two months of disappointment I decided to give up and Lucas is solely formula-fed.  It is expensive of course, and I'm finding a little bit of savings by purchasing from Costco.  I'm able to get a larger container for about the same cost AND I've been getting $5 voucher checks in the mail from Similac to use.  Those little registration cards at the doctor's office are good for something.  We also get free samples from the doctor's office whenever we go in for check-ups, like this week.

One of many firsts

Today was a day of firsts for myself and my sweet Lucas. 

It's been almost seven months since I left my last job due to relocation.  And now that Lucas is old enough I finally went back to work.  I found a great purchasing position with a pharmaceutical company except that it's a contract/temp position instead of permanent.  It's great pay and I have benefits through Hubby's company so that's not too important, but the stability of a permanent position would still be a plus.  My first day was today and it went well.  It was just orientation but I have learned so much more about the company and can see myself here if it works out.  And pharmaceuticals is brand new for me and I'm able to get the experience which is so desirable for the area.

Now Lucas had his first day at daycare.  He was the very first child there!  I left Lucas with one of the teachers and he's so used to being held by random people (family, not strangers!) that he didn't mind one bit with her holding him.  He just stared at me as I said good bye and went off to my new job.  When I went to pick him up he was wide awake and lounging in one of the bouncers at the daycare.  I knelt down in front of him and smiled.  He just looked at me like, "What?" 

"Don't you know me baby?!" 

"Did you forget about me already?!" 

Haha!  He did very well and took all his bottles they said.  He's such a good boy. 

Now I will leave you with a sweet picture of Lucas (or two)!