Playtime

Here are some cute videos of Lucas with his new toys...He got this truck that plays songs and then shakes and drives away that he sometimes loves and other times is afraid of. It is yet another example of a toy that can work for both a child and a dog because it always gets the attention of the dogs.

The second video is an example of how he usually looks right now...smiling and crawling with a ball in each hand. He got two toys for his birthday that had these balls slightly smaller than the typical busy balls. He can get a pretty good grip on them so he seems to always have them in his hands crawling around. Sometimes it reminds me of those scary wheeler dudes in Return to OZ- any 80's baby will get what I am saying as soon as they watch it...sorry if this incurrs nightmares!

Lucas Turns One!

Lucas has turned the big ONE! yay! I am sitting here with a loss for words because in some ways I still cannot believe I am a mom, let alone a mom of a toddler. Lucas has brought so many blessings to my life and I am just thankful for such a precious child.

Lucas had a great first birthday party where he was surrounded by family and friends who love him to pieces. I tried to time the party just after lunch when he is usually the most awake and active for the day and I am so glad he got a good nap in before the guests began arriving. He completely skipped his second nap because he did not want to miss anything (sounds a little like me...). I didn't take many pictures so here are a few from the party!

With the beautiful Natalie - I just love his fire engine shirt I ordered from Etsy... it had his name and a #1 on it

Checking out Cameron - Lucas is the first baby in our group of friends and most of our family with kids live far away (we typically only get to see them for holidays and big get-togethers and I have yet to establish us in play groups here in Ohio) so, other little ones are a novelty for him. Little does he know that this is his betrothed :)

Check out the spoils! He is such a lucky little guy!

Eating a big lunch of beans and fruit - I tried to have things I knew he would love to eat because the distractions would be hard to overcome!

Meeting his great-granny for the first time

Of course turning one is not all fun and games. Lucas had to go the Doctor to make sure he is doing ok and to get some vaccines. I am always nervous about what the doctor is going to say about his weight and this is his first well-baby appointment in Ohio so we had to cover his entire health history (which continues to make me tear up; man, I am such a weany). Other than a little eczema on his feet the Doctor said he was doing great (pending his next appointment at Childrens).

Here are his stats:

Weight - 19 lb. 12 oz.

Length - 30 in.

Head - 18.25 in.

Physical Development: Lucas can... cruise, wave, clap his hands, pick up tiny objects, stand alone momentarily, "play ball", put things inside other things and then take them back out

Social and Emotional Development: Lucas will... smile and squeal with delight when he sees someone he knows, carefully study new people and then usually smile at them, play independently, play with grownups (child led and adult led), notice other little ones (he actually carefully reached out and held Finn's hand at the party), hug, and kiss

Cognitive Development: Lucas is... always trying to figure out how things work by manipulating toys, putting things inside others and taking them out again, talking in his own little jibberish language to himself and others, responds to "no" and other conversations

Speech: Lucas says... Mom, Dad, Hi, Yes and is working on doggie

Party Prep...

I can't believe how fast this year has gone...Lucas is now a one year old and the baby days are behind us and the toddler years in full swing! As you can imagine I had to throw a party for my little man and so it has been a busy 1-2 weeks of preparation (type A preparation means I am one exhausted mommy)! I will post more later about my one-year-old...for now about the party :) The picture above was used for his invitations...below are some pictures of the other prep we did...

I really wanted a professional photo shoot of the cake smash session - it is a new trend and every picture I have seen is super adorable. Unfortunately, I am new to the area and do not have an established relationship with a photographer or any moms that could recommend one for that matter. I did get one recommendation for a local photographer who turned out to have a beutiful protfolio but I was too late to book her before the party. So, Ross and I tried to create our own cake smash session. Ha! It was fun and pretty much unsuccessful in the photo department but hey - he knew what to do with cake at his party!

First the icing threw him off...he kept shaking his hand and flinging icing all over the room

Ross tried cutting a piece so he could get past the icing

Lucas then tried to move the cake stand with his foot

I tried showing him how yummy it was...no luck!

The theme for the party was Firetrucks and the crowning glory was this awesome firetruck made out of a moving box. Ross is such an amazing Daddy - I asked if he thought it could be done for the party and he went above and beyond by putting in lots of hours. Lucas loved it!

Side of truck - notice the sweet ladder and wheels

Lucas inside the firetruck smiling at everyone around him!

He was bouncing and squealing with joy!

Of course it isn't a party without a party hat! I found this great blog with a template and tutorial for how to make a party hat out of fabric. (http://imakestuff.typepad.com/i-make-stuff/2009/11/birthday-hat-tutorial.html ). First I brainstormed with my mother in law about whether or not we could pull it off. Then I went to my local craft store and got the supplies. I think the finished hat turned out great!

Lucas's first birthday hat

Checking it out

Look at my hat!

And of course, what is a party without decorations?!?!?! I wanted the feeling of the decorations and the party to be more crafty and home made than from the store so I tried to designate certain things to be purchased and other to be made. I bought plates, cups, napkins, plastic silverware, #1 candle, and a table cloth. Then my friend Tricia made the birthday banner and we made tissue balls as a substitute for balloons - which was perfect because I am secretly afraid of popping balloons and do not like to have them around a crowd of people. You just never know when one will accidentally pop and with the way my bladder is these days...it might not have been pretty. (http://diy.wed-central.com/?p=62)

Firetruck themed birthday banner... AWESOME!!!

Pom Poms!

Finally, I channeled my inner Martha and made a firetruck cake and dalmation cake with the help of my mom and my bestie Tricia :)

You can find directions for the firetruck cake on youtube

(http://bit.ly/betty_crocker_firetruck)

The dalmation inspiration came from a book my Grandmother had given my mother when she had my older sister. It is the Baker's Coconut Animal Cut-Up Cakes (copyright 1959)

Littlest Reds Fan

Accelerated Play

Pulling up on this little trike

knocking down my tower

It is truly amazing to watch the way Lucas plays with his toys and how they have become tools for his development. He has been playing with his stacking cups and busy balls for several months now and just this past week he began putting a ball in the cup. Then he realized how much fun it is to put stuff in other things (maybe because I cheered and acted ridiculously happy) so he took it to the next level and has been putting lots of stuff in his shape sorter cube (seriously, I found the remote in there the other night). He still knocks down any towers I make...maybe stacking will be the next!

Putting the busy balls in the shape sorter cube

Ball in the cup

Trip to the Aquarium

We took Lucas the the Newport Aquarium for a fun family day. This aquarium is awesome! It has lots of tunnels to walk through that make you feel like you are in the ocean with the fish and sharks swimming all around you. Lucas was pretty quiet the entire trip - just observing all the tanks and the people around us. He even did great for the little show they had which was a diver underwater in the shark tank telling us about the sharks and answering questions. I think this trip really highlighted for me the joys of being a parent - watching Lucas learn and be excited about the world around him. I found myself always looking at Lucas to see his reaction to the sharks, Denver the sea turtle, the brightly colored fish, or the jellyfish. I just love seeing the world through the eyes of someone who is experiencing it for the first time because it makes you stop and appreciate life. At the very end of the aquarium they had a penguin exhibit. I love penguins! Lucas was too sleepy by this point to really get into their funny antics. Maybe next time :)

Reason to Celebrate!

Lucas has finally learned to clap! We were at the Reds game on Monday night and I think he saw everyone around him clapping and smiling and just had to get in on the fun! I have played patty cake and clapped at the silliest things to teach him to start clapping with no success. All it took was a big crowd I guess!