Lucas...

So I have been thinking a lot lately about how much life around here will change soon... of course, in many good ways. I've spent a lot of time just reflecting on Lucas and how much joy he's brought to us (and our family and friends). This morning he came in our room around 6:30 all smiles. He crawled into bed by me and actually fell asleep until a little after 8:00. I was able to just lay there and stare at him... and I decided I need to document more about him on the blog. More for me to have...in 5, 10, 50 years... silly stuff, and just what kind of kid he is. So here are just a few things I thought were important to record:
Lucas is 2 years and almost 9 months old.

Favorite things to do: Playing with his barn, tractor, and animals; read books to himself and be read to, all kinds of sports (particularly basketball, golf, football, and baseball), stealing people's chairs and waiting for you to come and sit on him, playing in the sink with lots of water and non-breakable dishes, bubbles, DANCING!, digging for worms in the garden, the "silo" park near Mommy's school, Toddler swim at Forest Park, dressing himself, bathtime, big machines (he can point out excavators, bull dozers, cranes, concrete mixers, big rigs, and back hoes a mile away), swinging, playing with his TOTS buddies, being tickled, Bible songs/Wee Sing songs, singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children" and "Old McDonald", playing Hide and Seek (but he always yells out where he is), playing with vacuum cleaners/mops/brooms, grocery shopping (he calls it going to the "shopping store"), Thomas the Train, and looking at photographs on the fridge (and telling us who everyone is).

Things he does NOT like to do: Going potty in his potty chair (He claims that it's only for Mommies and Daddies), getting out of the bathtub, getting rocks or dirt in his shoes, loud noises (firecrackers), having to get out of Grandpa's tractor,

Favorite sayings: "Look what I found!!" "Lucas' music please!" (in the car), when asked what he wants for breakfast almost every time he'll say, "toast, Cheerios, and yogurt, please", when measuring things with his measuring tape or weighing himself on the scale he always says, "8.99!" (no idea why!), "What's that called?", "What's that girl's/boy's name?", "Pot Roast Attack!" (you'll have to ask Eric about that one...it's a father/son thing)

Favorite foods: hot dogs, ketchup, any fruit (especially raisins and apples), Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, pasta salad, any cheese, toast, chocolate milkshakes, Daddy's homemade burgers, broccoli (yes!), peas, EL Fudge cookies

**While these are all his faves, he goes through spurts where he eats some things and then needs a break from them for awhile. Sounds a bit like his Momma!

Favorite books: This list could go on and on and on, so I'll just pick his absolute favorites: Freight Train (memorized), his little kid Bible (Jonah is his favorite), Mr. Funny, Cuddle, Curious George Goes to the Zoo, The Fire Engine Book, Matt, Wocket in my Pocket, My Big Truck Book, My First Words Book (Richard Scarry), The Tractor Book

Routines: (Summer schedule) Lucas wakes up anywhere from 6:30-7:30ish and just comes into our room and climbs in bed. Sometimes we get lucky and he falls asleep and we get some extra Zzz's. Call us crazy but I don't care- we do still give him soy formula once a day (as suggested by Dr. H) so he gets a little extra nourishment since he's a little guy. He gets to watch Curious George at 8:00 while enjoying his breakfast hors d'eurve (the formula). After breakfast is playtime- sometimes we head to the pool for Toddler Swim or swim in the plastic pool outside. After lunch is always naptime and he typically naps from about 1-4ish. Dinner is around 6 or 7. He plays outside (often basketball or in the garden) a lot. Bedtime is aimed at 8:45-9:00 but it's more likely that we finally put him to sleep closer to 10. Hey! The days are long and the weather is great-- why not! :) Naps/bedtime routine consists of reading 2-3 books of his choice, singing a few songs, and tucking him in "Snug as a bug in a rug!"

Lucas' Personality: Lucas keeps us laughing all day long. He's so full of energy and LOVES anything that involves playing. He's definitely all boy. Lucas doesn't ever mind getting scratched or bumped and could play with his sports equip/tractors/trains all day long. He's a great listener and repeats things that we say all the time (which can be a bit scary). Lucas loves to know ahead of time what's going on so Eric and I like to talk to him about upcoming changes/plans and he responds so well to it. It's amazing how much he understands! He likes being around people, especially his TOTS friends/family, but there are certain times he goes off on his own and plays by himself. Lately he has liked to sit on his rocking chair and read his books outloud. Lucas doesn't get upset about much of anything, but occasionally there are times he shows his frustration over things (tyipcal 2-year old things). We can usually talk him through it, though (this is getting better).

He's in size 4 diapers, 2T clothes, and size 7 shoes. Last weigh-in he was 26 lbs. but that was quite a while ago.