Oh Christmas Tree!

It is that time of year again...time for the smell of fir trees and cookies, listening to carols and celebrating the birth of Jesus. We had a beautiful day (in the midst of rain, rain, and more rain) available to go pick out a tree at the tree farm in Ross, Ohio. I remember going to the tree farm when I was little. It was always such a special event in my family and seemed to kick the season off right. One year we had terrible weather - I think there was a foot of snow on the ground and my dad had to dig out the tree before cutting it down! I'm sure Lucas won't remember this particular tree picking event but I hope this tradition is one he will come to treasure like his mother.

While we are talking about trees...I feel the need to tell you about the dilemma of decorating it with a baby and two ornery dogs. First off, you can't put any ornaments that are glass or will easily break toward the bottom. Second, anything that is round and looks like a ball must be out of the standard poodle's reach (last year he kept thinking they were toys dangling there for him to take!). Third, heavy ornaments must be at the top on the thick branches. So, you end up with a lot of ornaments at the top. Geez. So, if you are someone who likes to gift ornaments to others, keep in mind their household makeup before purchasing - a thought I never had until this year :)

In the field with Daddy and Bompa

Sooo Pretty!

Our tree!

The trees loaded up and ready to go...doesn't that barn just inspire you to be a photographer? It is so rustic :)

Lucas's first glance of the decorated tree - We decided to decorate during his nap so he awoke to a different tree in the living room

It didn't take long for him to find his "First Christmas" ornament. It is a wooden figurine of a little baby boy and was sent to us from his great aunt in Germany

The tree

Cincinnati Children's visit

It is official! Lucas had a successful visit at Cincinnati Children's Hospital :) The final results from his bloodwork this time showed no elevated liver enzymes and completely NORMAL organ function! Yay!! We have follow-up bloodwork in 6 months but other than that he is good to do more important things...like sit in his toy bin :)

I must take a moment to reflect on the miracle of life. It will never cease to amaze me how precious the gift of life truly is. There are potential roadblocks and trials beginning at conception, continuing through pregnancy, and then lasting throughout life. At this moment I have either close friends or chance meetings with strangers that have revealed this truth. I pray for strength for those Mommies and Mommies-to-be every day and hope they feel my support.

First Haircut

As you can tell from these first two pictures, Lucas was probably due for his first haircut a looooong time ago. It was beginning to look a little like Tom Brady in the back...and there were a few strands in front that were getting interlocked with his eyelashes. The final straw was on Halloween when more people thought he was a little girl than a boy. They didn't even ask if he was a boy or girl! Nope, they just skipped to, "oh, how old is she?" I don't know why I was putting it off so long. I guess I just feel like once those first little baby whisps are gone he officially is a toddler. And, sure enough...he looks so grown up with his freshly shorn locks.
He really did not enjoy the clippers

Sporting his best Magnum from Zoolander

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful"

Puppy Love

Happy Halloween

Lucas dressed up as a pumpkin this year. We let him choose which costume he wanted and he liked the bright orange of the pumpkin over the pokey little puppy costume I thought he would like. I guess bright orange is way more fun than white and brown :) He wore it all day - to the library, the office, and the grocery and finally for trick or treat. We just sat outside and handed out treats rather than taking him to other houses and he had a great time seeing all the costumes the other kids were wearing. But I think his favorite part of the evening was walking around on the driveway with help from Daddy.
When I was little we actually went up to doors and rang the bell - this is the second place we have lived where people sit on their driveway instead. Is this what people do everywhere? Some of our neighbors even had their firepit going. Too bad ours rusted through from teh salty air in NC and didn't make the trip. It sure got cold around 7:30.

My attempt to have a toddler friendly halloweeny meal.

Hallzooween

We took Lucas to the Cincinnati zoo for their Hallzooween event this year. He was a little young for the trick or treat part of the event and we didn't dress him up in his costume because it was a little too hot, but, he loved watching the gorillas eat out of the pumpkins, the cheetahs running, and all the other kids dressed up :)

Going to the zoo as a parent is entirely different than it was pre-baby (as was expected). I had more fun watching Lucas get excited and pointing out animals than seeing the rare animals myself. We also had to cut our visit shorter than I would have liked because Lucas was just too tired to take in more. This really presented us with a new parenting dilemma: what to do when you have paid money or set aside time for the ultimate family excursion and your bambino gets tired halfway through? Do you leave? Do you stay? What happens when you have multiple children (different ages have different staminas)? I think it is important as a parent in these situations to tune into your child and not worry about the other families around you. Lucas was telling us in no uncertain terms that he was tired - so we left. I am sure with baby number 2 it will be a different story.

Emotional Development

Lucas has started to show a range of emotions... some of them more uplifting than others ;) My favorite is when he snuggles up to someone/something and loves them or when he gets so excited he laughs uncontrollably. My least favorite is a tie between when he throws himself on the ground kicking and screaming and when he pinches or hits me because he isn't getting his way.

I am pretty sure Lucas might be a little early in this area of development. According to most emotional development models he should start doing this between 18 months and 2 years (and he is 13 months). Maybe it is because I am highly empathetic and he has picked up on this? Whatever the reason, I can't help but feel like a broken record sometimes. "Lucas, no, don't do that because it is dangerous", "Ouch Lucas, don't hurt Mommy", "Lucas we don't flip over on the changing table", "No Lucas do not climb out of your high chair because you could fall"."No", "No", "No".

I can't help but wonder...Does this make me a bad mom?