lonesome.

Life pre-Lucas seems like it never really existed.  It's crazy because I find it hard to remember what it was like to not be a mom.  I got a little taste of what life used to be like on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  My sweet friend Taylor is getting married this weekend in Asheville, so we are using this opportunity to make a nice trip out of it.  The problem is, Brandon and I have opposing schedules in when we have off.  So Brandon headed to Asheville Tuesday afternoon with Lucas in tow because he has to be back home on Sunday.  I, however, was supposed to work Wednesday and Thursday of this week and am off until the following Wednesday.  So my plan is to head to Asheville Friday morning and go back home Tuesday evening, bringing Lucas back with me then.  So yes, we will have 2 cars in Asheville.  Make sense?

I have to admit, I got all teary-eyed when I watched Brandon and Lucas pull out of the driveway Tuesday afternoon.  Of course I will miss Brandon, but Lucas!  I haven't been apart from him for longer than a 12 hour work shift since the minute he was born!  And also the 41 weeks I carried him in my belly!  I was a nervous wreck.  I lectured Brandon on safe driving before they left (really? I've got to calm down!) and joked that he had 2 of my 3 babies with him.  (Meaning Lucas and the cooler of pumped breast milk he had to bring. My other child is the furry one, and she went to Asheville with my mom and dad the day before.)  The boys (and the milk) made it to Asheville safely and have been having a good time without me, and I actually got to head to Asheville today, on Thursday, instead of Friday since I was able to get called off of work.  But MAN I missed those boys.

I was in an empty house and it was too quiet.  I thought I would enjoy the rest and relaxation, and I did to some extent, but it was obvious that my boys and pup were missing.  I was lonesome.

I got to FaceTime with them both nights before bed and it did my soul good to see Lucas crack a huge smile when he saw my face on the computer screen.  Here is a screen shot of our date:

Life is sweeter with this little boy in it.  Brandon and I are so blessed to have such a crazy cute little munchkin.  I pulled into the driveway at Brandon's parents' house and they were waiting outside with Lucas in his stroller.  I was overwhelmed with thanksgiving as I kissed those fat cheeks and said a 'thank you' to the big Man upstairs for giving us this sweet gift.  

Here's to a fun time in the mountains!

fall is in the air

Again, friends...sorry for the lack of recent posts.  We've been too busy enjoying the fall weather that has finally visited us!  

Here are a few fall-themed pictures of the cutest baby boy in town.

Lucas with his very first pumpkin!

Lucas with his first toboggan hat.  My little lumberjack.

Staying warm by the fireplace

We enjoyed a fun fall day at the zoo with some
sweet friends and their babies from my work

I promise I'll try to be better about posting more since it's been a month (oops) since the last post.  We've got some fun things on the horizon (i.e. Taylor's wedding!  Lucas's 7 month stats! an Asheville visit! and the state fair!) that I will share with you.

Until then, we're enjoying our crisp, quiet fall days with our kiddo.  Happy fall, y'all!

6 month stats

We had Lucas's 6 (gulp) month appointment today!  He aced it with flying colors while wooing all of the women in the office with his big brown eyes and freely given grins.  Here are his 6 month stats:

weight: 18 pounds 1 ounce

length: 28 inches

head circumference: 44.5 cm

He got his 6 months vaccines, including the flu shot.  (Tis the season for the flu, be vaccinated!)  Our pediatrician was smitten over our sweet boy, per usual, and gave him rave reviews.  He is sitting confidently on his own but isn't crawling yet (and I'm okay with that!)  He smiles all the time and cackles and squeals and cracks himself up.  We continue to be overwhelmingly thankful for his health and development.  

Here are some 6 month highlights in pictures:

first bite of solid food!  yummmm sweet potatoes! (still his fave.)

Lucas still has a natural mohawk. Rockstar.

Enjoying my little cuddle bug

Bath time is now play time!
p.s. this ducky tub says up to 24 months....
ummm how?!  tight squeeze!

ahhhh!  Target!
riding like a big boy in the shopping cart

skyping with his girlfriend, Ella, on the
other side of the world

enjoying the cooler weather outside

Lucas and Lexi are still BFFs

swinging on his 6 month birthday

rapidly outgrowing clothes...
we call this the deep-V.

sitting up and playing at his tool bench
with Poppy like a big boy

Today after shots, see the bandaids!
squealing and happy, and slightly blurry
waving those arms

big big boy with big big dimples!

I am still in denial that we have a 6 month old.  He amazes us every single day as he grows and develops into such a little person.  We say it multiple times a day, every single day, "oh my gosh. he's SO cute."  It's kind of unbelievable, isn't it?

6 months with Lucas

My sweet, sweet boy. 

You are 6 months old!  That's half a year.  HALF A YEAR! I kind of think that's a big deal.  How are you growing up so fast?  I know I've said it before, but each day I think, "this is my favorite age."  But yet it keeps getting better.  I think that's one of the miracles of being a mama.  I catch myself being so proud of you for the silliest things, but I think that's how it's supposed to be.  

On the day you turned 6 months old, it was just me, you, and the pup.  Dad was at work.  It was a beautiful day outside, just touching 80 degrees with nothing but Carolina blue skies above and a nice cool breeze that was such a refresher after the miserably hot summer we have had.  You and I (and the pup) took a walk down the Tobacco Trail to the nearby little park.  This was the same route that I walked and walked and walked in the weeks leading up to your grand arrival.  We watched the seasons change in that park, and here we are at the end of summer tasting the goodness of fall already.  This walk in particular was extra special I think.  It was so quiet, not another soul on the trail or at the park.  It was just us.  The weather reminded me a lot of the day that we brought you home from the hospital.  Surprisingly beautiful.  When we got to the park, I put you in the bucket swing for the first time and pushed you as you smiled.  We had a talk, you and I, like we often do.  But this time I told you about walking around that park with my big giant belly, anxiously waiting to meet you, our sweet boy.  Then I told you how proud I am of you for being more than we could have ever hoped or prayed for.  I told you how thankful I was that you were here at the park with me.  I also spent some time quietly sitting in the mulch as I pushed you in the swing, thanking God for you.  It was a good day. 

The past 6 months have been a whirlwind.  It has flown by so quickly, yet I can't remember life without you.  We have had our share of struggles, but let me tell you it's worth it.  Overall, you have spoiled us. You smile more than any baby I have ever seen.  And you are so.stinking.cute. it makes me want to crumble.  You are growing and developing perfectly and for that I am so thankful.  

When you're older, I know you won't remember your first half birthday.  But let me tell you, you are one awesome kid.  You smile and do this cackle-giggle-shriek when you get excited.  It makes Lexi nervous because it's so loud, but I think it's one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.  You sit up and sort of entertain yourself now!  You have finally decided to grace us with sleep.  THANK YOU.  You are eating solid foods like a pro and still love your mommy's milk.  You smile when you see me and daddy and you think that Lexi is way funnier than either of us.  I'm afraid you will be crawling soon, and just to be honest I'm not looking forward to completely baby proofing the house.  You make people stop in their tracks in public because you grin at them, and I know you make their day because of your sweet smile.  We have heard quite a few times, "you are going to have your hands full with that little ham!"  I guess we'll have to wait and see about that one.  You flirt with girls already.  What?!  

You have brought so much joy into our lives.  I can't imagine life without you in it.  I could go on and on and on, but just remember We love you and we are so proud of you.  

Happy half birthday, little one.  

  

he sleeps!

Y'all.  I have to tell you.

HE SLEEPS!!!

Can you hear it?!  The HALLELUJAH chorus?  I'm not sure how or why it happened, but our boy is sleeping now through the night for a glorious 12 hours.  I have 2 people to thank for this, I think.  Jesus and Brandon.  If you have forgotten about our struggles, check out this post to remind yourself. This past weekend, I was very very close to my breaking point, so Brandon slept in the guest bedroom for 2 nights and was on full on baby duty.  He did a little sleep training thing where he would let Lucas cry for 15 minutes at a time then go in for one minute and pat his little butt and tell him to go back to sleep. (Something that we tried in the past but due to my weakness for his sad cry, I caved and it failed.)  It was a long 2 nights for him, then on the 3rd night I worked a night shift and Brandon did the same thing.  Then BAM.  We have a sleeper.  I'm not sure what was said during those father/son talks in the wee hours of the morning, or if it was just a "hey I'm almost 6 months old now so maybe it's time to sleep," but honestly I don't care, because now we are all sleeping!

Hallelujah!

adventures in solid food

I have to admit, I was nervous to start Lucas on solid food.  After talking to friends with babies, I have heard about these negative experiences with solid foods and really didn't want to have that kind of experience with Lucas.  Besides, I am still breastfeeding and that is still going so well, so I didn't want to mess anything up.  So I changed my mindset about solids and decided that it is what it is.  I knew that he was getting everything he needs nutritionally from breast milk, so anything on top of that was just extra credit.  

We decided to skip the whole rice cereal thing and dive right in to something yummy.  We are making our own baby food with the help of an awesome contraption called the baby bullet.  

It's a great system that comes with a little blender, storage containers, and freezer containers.  It also comes with a really helpful book on what to do when and how to do it.  It's been very easy so far and it's good knowing that we are giving him good nutrients from good organic food and saving money at the same time.  I highly recommend it.  First up...sweet potatoes!!!  

First bite..."guys, I'm not so sure about this!"  Then he started to figure it out.

And now, more please!!!

Next up, AAAAAvocados!

We are introducing one food per week instead of the usual one food per four days rule since Lucas has had a struggle with eczema and it's link to allergies.  Both the sweet potatoes and the avocados have been a success, and Lucas is downing it like a pig.  He's eating solids twice a day and is usually drilling 2 tablespoons of food each time.  (That's twice as much as the book recommends to start out with, but hey, we have a fatty on board.)

Nana and Poppy were able to be here for Lucas's maiden voyage in solid food.  Poppy turned out to be quite the chef, whipping up sweet potatoes like it was his job.

I'm SO thankful that this has been a positive experience.  It's so surprising to me how proud I feel of out baby boy who 'gets it' when it comes to eating!  For some strange reason it's amazing to me that he now opens his mouth and leans forwards when he sees the spoon coming.  What a smart kid we have :)

he sits!

Check me OUT guys!  I'm SITTING!

Lucas decided that he was ready to sit up on his own at 5 and a half months old!  He's been sitting for 5 to 10 seconds at a time for a few weeks, but then all of a sudden he got the hang of it and now can sit like a pro!  As I'm typing this, he is sitting on a blanket on the floor and has been there for 30 minutes, no problem-o. See? This is easy!  (I have pillows situated behind him just in case he decides he's too tired to keep sitting...don't want him to whack his head on the floor, you know.)

 He looks so proud of himself while he's sitting and looking around the room, appreciating this new view!  

Way to go sweet boy!