In April...

There has been swinging in our backyard...

There has been excitement of a new swing set at Maw-Maw and Pa-Pa Lucas's house...

There has been trying new foods...

There has been visits from 2nd and 3rd cousins...

There has been Easter baskets...

There has been Easter egg hunts...

There has been time with the Aunt Kelly...

There has been snuggles after bath time...

There has been riding on scooters and walking in walkers...

There has been 2nd Birthday celebrations with cousin Brooke...

There has been playing with Great Grandma Von Bon...

There has been climbing up stairs...

Believe it or not... there has been so much more! This is just a sampling of the 216 snapshots of special moments we have had in April.

April was good....See ya in MAY!

Love from the Lucas Family!

AND... It's April!

The last few weeks in the Lucas house have been busy! The kids and I spent some time in Iowa for Spring Break. I made the 5+ hour trip there and back with very little excitement! Just the way I like it and expected it would go. I felt blessed to spend some quality time with my family. Laura and Mom took some time off  work and we were able to spend a good amount of time together. Laura and I went shopping together and shared many laughs as she picked some new clothes out for me and I complained the whole time. I will admit though, I have been complemented on almost all of her picks! The weather was great, 70's almost every day! Therefore, we spent a lot of time outside. Mckenna and Brooke were a kill to watch! They truly started to play together. They played hide-n-seek with Papa Ken, hid behind the curtains and behind Brooke's bed and raced Uncle Chris in the backyard! I had the kid's pictures taken while we were there and had too short of a visit with Aunt Marge, Uncle Jim, and Aunt Karen.(Notice what Auntie Marge is already training Mckenna to do?)

When we returned home Matt and I took Mckenna to Disney's Princess on Ice. We decided to buy the mid-priced tickets and it was totally worth it. We were the second row from the ice on the right side. Most of the action was faced forward but since it was "on ice" the skaters moved all around. I was able to take enough pictures to create a memory book for Mckenna to look back on someday. At one point I had to take Mckenna to the restroom and as we went all the way to the top she was yelling, "I'll be back, hold on, I'll be back!" Then once we were in the bathroom she was telling me all about Princess Tiana and kept asking, "What's next?" Matt and I will definitely remember this moment with her and will tell her about it for years to come!

We have spent so much time outside lately. We have been swinging up a storm, BBQing, and soaking up the sun! Mckenna and Quentin have enjoyed every moment of it. The patio furniture is out, the flowers are up and the trees have opened their leaves! We couldn't be happier around here. Although, I think Matt would argue he could have waited a few more weeks for mowing season to start.

Mckenna

When I look at Mckenna, I think "where has my baby gone." I get tears sometimes when I look at her because she really doesn't even look like a baby anymore. I think she looks more like a little girl. She uses complete sentences and can really express many of her feelings. She has taken a little step back in the way of potty training. She has had several accidents lately, we are thinking some more potty celebrating and "nemmies" (m&m's) is needed! Mckenna is a singer! She can sing the lyrics to several children's songs as well as some of the chart toppers! She will request "Sometimes I Get a Good Feeling" and "We are Young" when she is riding in the car with Daddy and will sometimes spontaneously start to sing! One of her favorite phrases lately is "probably no" or "probably yes".  It makes me chuckle every time she says it! We tried to see the Easter Bunny but she refused, holding tight and saying no. Later in the evening I asked her if she wanted to go back and see the Bunny and her predictable response, "probably no". Mckenna can tell you what the majority of her books are about. The other night she wanted one more book, she grabbed one of the shelf (one we haven't read in a long time), and said, "I want sharing book". She was totally right, the book was about sharing! I couldn't believe it! She has her "terrible two" moments sometimes, but most of the time she is very sweet to us and her little brother.

Quentin

 Quentin is on. the. move! He is into everything and prefers Mckenna's toys to his. He began army crawling right around Spring Break and hasn't looked back. He will get up on his hands and knees, rock back and forth, but he still hasn't figured out how to make crawling work. He is getting really quick and will choose where he wants to go. He loves to splash in the dog water and when we say "no" he will look up at us. He can move from the crawling position to the sitting position and vice versa. He can play for long periods of time sitting up and spends very little time on his back. We are still doing baby food, however, I have been trying small bits of banana and recently he has gnawed on a watermelon on the rind. He loves the watermelon until it breaks off in his mouth, then he chokes and spits the pieces out. Not quite ready for chewing. He continues to be a very happy baby and we hear his cute little laugh often!

 Love from the Lucas Family!

It's March Already!

I can't believe it's March already. We have had an incredible winter this year. I can think of more days we have been outside because of the warmth instead of the cold and snow. In the past couple of weeks we have had Mom and Dad visit and celebrated Grandma Lucas's 88th birthday.

While Mom and Dad were here we worked on creating a "castle" for Mckenna. She loves it. It takes up about 1/4 of her bedroom but dare I say, she plays in it alone sometimes! We also, again, enjoyed the nice weather and had BBQ with the Matt's parents on Sunday.

Grandma Lucas's birthday party we fun. We went to a local restaurant and were fortunate enough to be in a room to ourselves. The kids could run around and play without distracting other diners, this takes a lot of stress off our shoulders! It was nice to visit with the family and fun to watch the kids interact. Matt's grandma was very appreciative and enjoyed the celebration!

Love from the Lucas Family!

Some Updates

This girl...

is growing so much! Mckenna's vocabulary is exploding! Talking in sentences is an understatement! She can carry on a conversation with you, tell you how her day was, and express all of her love for you with words. You will often hear her say, "That's a great idea!" or "You're welcome, Dad!" or "I wanna wrestle!" or the ever so hard question to answer... "WHY?" Kenna will cuddle close to bed time, watching one of her favorite movies. She is still a ball of fire and is CONSTANTLY on the move! She loves coloring, blowing bubbles, playing play-doh, and being outside! The swing-set in the backyard is going to get a TON of use this summer, I can tell. Kenna is in the "helpful" stage, she will help fold laundry, fix her dinner, pick up toys, bring dishes to the kitchen, the list really is endless! She will tell you that she loves her "brother-sister" even though we have told her over and over Q is the brother and SHE is the sister. Mckenna has become such a daddy's girl, spending time with daddy is top on her priority list. Recently, her and daddy went to the store and came home with a few "extra" items, because "they were having fun." Mckenna's biggest accomplishment lately is learning to use the big girl potty! Yes, that's right, Mckenna is wearing "big girl underwear" and telling use about a million times, "Mommy, I gotta go potty!" She isn't perfect yet, but give her the choice to wear a diaper or undies when we leave the house and she will hands down choose the undies! Celebrating bowl movements has become a BIG part of our day around here! :) We really are amazed at how much she has grown and we are very proud to have her as our daughter.

This guy...

 smiles all.the.time! Quentin is also growing leaps and bounds. When I say he smiles all the time, I am not exaggerating! He is such a happy baby that we didn't even know he had an ear infection. He never complained, it took a rash all over his body to get him to the doctor to find it! Quentin was so kind to give his mother the gift of sleep for Valentine's Day and has continued the trend. He has slept through the night since last Tuesday, and it is awesome. I recently put away the floor mat, the one with all the toys that hang down, because he no longer stays in one place  on the floor. If he is put down on his back, he will quickly roll over to get a toy. Once he is on his belly he will start to scoot himself, backwards. That only means the forward movement is in our near future. Matt says he will be crawling by the Ides of March. (I didn't know that was March 15!) We will see, if so Kenna better watch out! Q or as I like to call him, Boo, is now saying "da-da" pretty consistently. He is pretty vocal, after all he has his sister to compete with! He is eating cereal/fruit in the morning and veggies/fruit in the evening. He is a pretty good eater, but just like his sister, when he is done you know it! We are also amazed at how fast he is growing and couldn't imagine our lives without his smiling face lighting it up!


With all that said, life keeps moving at a fast pace. I am trying my hardest to keep up and savor each and every moment!

Some pictures to highlight the current events in the Lucas household...

Little Gym show day, a visit from Papa Ken and Nini, playing in the snow (the only snow we've gotten), enjoying Valentine's Day, and playing a little doctor! The little moments, that's what it's all about!

Love from the Lucas Family!