Thank You....

As I was rocking my "baby" girl at 3:30 a.m. this morning I couldn't help but cherish  the moment. It is not very often that she falls asleep on my chest as I rock her to sleep these days! As I rocked my first thoughts went to my mom and dad. Often I hear stories of when I would show up at the side of their bed in the middle of the night and Mom would go back to my bed with me until I was asleep. I wondered if Mom was sometimes uncomfortable and beyond exhaustion as she lay there waiting for me to go back to sleep. No doubt cherishing the moments when she could snuggle up with me! Then I thought about all the things that our parents have done for us in our almost five years of marriage. They will spend hard earned money on us if it is needed, paint rooms even when backs and shoulders ache, put up sheds even when the heat is awful, take care of babies to give breaks, spend a week sleeping on an aerobed, and the list goes on. Parenting doesn't end when your babies grow up and get married, it changes. As the child I often ask how it is possible to say "Thank You" enough for the sacrifices our parents have made to make Matt, Mckenna and me happy. I just want them to know, we THANK them for everything they have done and will do!

Last week Nini stayed with us for the entire week. She got to stay home with Mckenna and endured the 6 a.m. wake up call every morning! I think Mckenna wore her out but I know that Mckenna loved EVERY minute of it, as did Nini! They shared some special moments together, much like this moment looking out the window. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Mom alone as well. One night we went downtown to meet my cousin Ali for dinner. I really enjoy Mom's trips down here and feel very lucky that mom has these opportunities to come spend time with us!

Dad came down on Friday and spent most of his weekend working around our house. He put down more trim in the bedrooms, painted our new room, moved furniture, painted Mckenna's new room... and the list goes on! Matt and Dad have really spruced up this house and it looks better and better everyday! I promise to post pictures, or maybe a video, of our new look as soon as the carpet is in and Mckenna's room is finished!

Nini and Papa Ken had the pleasure of sharing their love for ice cream with Mckenna when we heard the tune of the Ice Cream Truck in the neighborhood. I love that there is an Ice Cream Truck that goes through the area, I never realized they were real until I moved to Missouri! :)

Saturday night the weather was perfect for a BBQ and fire! Some much needed relaxation for all!

Mother's Day was spent finishing the paint and trim in Mckenna's room. Mom and Dad were here until 4 and when they left Mckenna and Matt surprised me with a trip to the mall to purchase some new tennis shoes! I love them and it was special having them there to help me pick them out! I really did have a nice Mother's Day!

This week Mckenna and I worked on some art for her room. Mckenna was the artist and I was the cleaner-uper! :) I think this is the first time we have had success with finger painting and boy it turned out nice. I will unveil the painting when the room is complete!

The weather was cruddy this weekend so Matt and I have spent the weekend doing some more work around the house. Mckenna's room is almost finished and will be ready for new carpet some time soon! Two more weeks of school left and 8 weeks 5 days till Baby Brother (hopefully) makes his appearance!

Have a great week! Love from the Lucas Family!

Special Weekend!

Easter weekend we were in Iowa for Brooke's 1st birthday and for Easter! We had such a nice time on our short trip! Saturday we celebrated Brooke's birthday at Chris and Laura's house. They put on a great party and we all had fun!

Eating her birthday "Brookie"

Mckenna was the "little helper"

Riding in Brooke's new Radio Flyer Wagon

Saturday night we went out to dinner with Marge, Jim, Mom and Dad and then went home to put an extremely exhausted Mckenna to bed and play some Mexican Dominoes. Matt and I had so much fun listening to Marge and Jim and Mom and Dad get on each other for steeling plays! Really, Mexican Dominoes is probably our favorite game lately! Matt was winning in the fourth game with a measly 16 points, then Marge put the "Tiger Woods" hex on him and he ended up in second place!

Easter Sunday started in a bustle because Mckenna ended up sleeping WAY longer than we expected and we were using her as our alarm clock. It always works out that way... We ate breakfast in shifts and had to meet mom and dad in church. Mckenna was an angel during church and not so much at our Mexican lunch afterward. It was a good Easter in Iowa... even though we spent most of our day in the car!

Happy Easter from the Lucas Family!

Chair, Movies, Snacks and a Book from Papa Ken and Nini

Daddy helping Mckenna open the eggs

Look what I got! Little People to add to my collection!

Oh yeah... before I end this post... Guess who is sleeping in a BIG girl bed....

That's right, BIG girl Mckenna! And she is doing such a great job! She only came out of the bedroom in the middle of the night once.

Have a great week! Love from the Lucas family!

Spring!

Happy Spring! With the warmer weather and growing plants we have spent most weekends outside working. Two weekends ago Matt and his dad put up a shed in our backyard. It was quite the project and didn't go up as quickly as they anticipated it would but their hard work paid off.  It looks very nice in the corner where grass won't grow! You will have to take my word for it though because I still haven't taken a picture of it complete!

Since Mckenna wanted to be outside so badly and she was pestering the boys, Charlene decided to take her to play at her house. Before they left they planted a few flowers in my hanging pots though. Notice they are using a kitchen spoon... I couldn't find the hand spade in Matt's super clean garage, so we improvised! :)

Kelly came home that weekend also and we celebrated her birthday. We went out for dinner and then had ice cream cake at home. Mckenna couldn't wait for the cake, she walked around saying "cake" over and over again! She couldn't resist the temptation any more and stuck her finger in the icing while we were trying to get her to take a picture with Aunt Kelly!

Last weekend was pretty low key. Matt and Mckenna helped his parents move some things out of Grandma Tremmel's condo and I had my hair done! Sunday Matt helped his dad put up a shed in his backyard. Mckenna and I registered at Babies 'R' Us, shopped a little and napped a little! It was a much needed slow down.

Last night we took Mckenna to see the Easter Bunny. She did ok at first, petting the bunny's ear and saying hi. As soon as I tried to put her on his lap she got scared. So, I sat her on my lap and leaned way out of the picture. You can see that she is very unsure of the situation!

We will be in Iowa this weekend for Brooke's 1st Birthday and Easter!

Love from the Lucas Family!

Changes

The weather is changing. I don't think we have a high below the 60's in the forecast for the next 10 days! This is something to celebrate. This means Kenna can get "outsi" at least once a day! This time of year is hard to dress her for, it is almost like she needs one outfit for the morning and one for the afternoon. Saturday and Sunday we spent the majority of the day outside. Kenna and Mom, or I shall say Mom, picked up the gumballs in the back yard while Matt and I cleaned the garage out and Dad tore trim off the walls and painted. Sunday while Dad and Matt were putting up trim in the house we were outside enjoying the sunshine and the water table. Kenna had a great time playing will all of her outside toys!

Sitting with her puppy while Nini watches over!

Lovin' the water table!

Bawoon...

So happy for good weather!

Our home is changing! We are so lucky to have such great parents! They are helping us improve our home even more. This weekend the kitchen and living room were on the to-do list. There is still some work to be done, since we are getting new carpet at some point and time. But for now, what is done is beautiful! I can't believe how much a couple coats of paint and new trim can change the looks! Dad put in an incredible amount of work this weekend and we are so happy with the results!

BEFORE

Hard at work taking down the hardware and trim!

Thinking about paining...

AFTER

The new trim!

My beautiful kitchen!

The new paint!

The sports we watch around the house have changed, it's Cardinals season! Although, the Cards aren't looking good so far this year we are still rooting them on! I think baseball has been on the TV the last 8 days! We had John and Charlene over for the opening day. We had fun despite their loss. 

Mckenna is changing every day! She is beginning to understand when she has to go potty. She will come to us and tell us "potty" as she is pulling up on her shirt. We don't deny her the chance to try, although most the time she doesn't go. She has gone pee-pee on the potty twice and last night she went poop! We are not pushing her, just encouraging her. I wasn't expecting this until the end of the summer but she has expressed the interest so I guess we will go with it!

Another, big change and a sad one too. Grandma Tremmel passed away on Monday. She has been battling various things and has been in the hospital for the last 3 weeks or so. She will really be missed, as many of you know she attended all of our special events and Mckenna got to see her almost every week. Here are some precious moments with Grandma Tremmel...

Just a few days old with Great Grandma Tremmel

Christmas with Great Grandma Tremmel and Matt

This is definitely a season of change. Love from the Lucas family!

Spring Break and 18 Month Check Up

Mckenna and I had a great Spring Break. We spent the first half of break in Iowa and the second half at home. It was so nice to spend an extended amount of time with everyone! Sadly I didn't get my camera out once but Mom and Laura got some pretty good pictures of Brooke and Mckenna. I will have to get them from Mom to share. Mckenna and Brooke got in a lot of playing time. They are so fun to watch! Mckenna taught Brooke how to climb up the stairs (sorry Laura and Chris). Their other favorite game was peek-a-boo standing behind the doll house.

When we returned home Mckenna and I did some spring cleaning and closet rearranging. Ok, Ok I did the work Mckenna just looked for things to get in to! The weather sadly turned from 70-80 degree days to cold just as we returned, so we didn't get much time to go "outsi". This broke Mckenna's heart, she LOVES to play outside! Saturday John and Charlene dropped off a new toy... a water table. Mckenna was so excited to play with it but sadly it looked like this...
So we let her play with the water table in the house! She LOVED it! I don't know if it was because of the water or if it was because she got to run around the house in her diaper but she was so happy!

Later in the afternoon John and Charlene came back over for some "snow b'que" as Matt called it. While he did the grilling Mckenna, Grandma and Grandpa did the playing... in the snow that is!

Daddy did get in on some of the snowball making action!

Making a mini-snowman with Grandma

Eating the snow... her favorite thing to do!

Mckenna had her 18 month check up on Tuesday. She is 19lbs 14oz, in the 5th percentile for weight and 32 inches tall, the 75th percentile for height. She had to bring her baby in the stroller to the appointment and the Dr. had to check the baby too! Mckenna didn't cry the entire time she was in the room this time and even nervously wanted a hug from Dr. Dorfman. I think this made Dr. Dorfman really happy, I was so proud of her! Mckenna has many words at this point, sometime I need to really sit down and try to figure out how many words she really has. She can count to five along with us, not independently, but I think we are close! Yesterday she surprised Grandma Charlene by coming to her and saying "potty", insisting she sit on the potty. She didn't go, but I guess this is one step in the right direction. I have a couple of cute pictures from the doctor's office.... enjoy!

Pointing to the blue butterfly on the wall!

Touching the doctor's tools.

"Cheess" one of Mckenna's newest words!

Well, I think that sums it all up! Mom and Dad will be in town this weekend to help with some MORE home improvements! I will have pictures on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday... or when I get to it next week!

LOVE from the Lucas Family!

It Has Been Too Long!

So, I still haven't posted the results of our ultrasound. It is not because we aren't excited, it is because life seems to go at a faster pace when you have a toddler! Well, I would like to introduce baby BOY Lucas to the blog.

This little boy is just like his big sister, he didn't want to show us his face! Every time Katie tried to get a picture of his face he put his arm right over it! The good news it that he looks great! He is a mover, didn't stop moving the whole ultrasound. He has every part he is supposed to have and his heart looks to be beating strongly! Matt and I can't get over how truly blessed we are to have a little girl and a little boy! Come on July!

We had a nice weekend last weekend. Unlike the weekend before, yeah, the one where we were supposed to go to the Alumni Games. Mckenna had a fever all weekend and I stayed home with her while Matt went to the games. He had a great time, and scored two goals!

Friday night we did some family shopping and grilled when we got home. Mckenna was so excited to spend some time "outsi"! Matt's Grandma Tremmel is in the hospital so we visited her Saturday morning after The Little Gym. Mckenna and I did some shopping after her long afternoon nap. Sunday was Nate-Nate's birthday. His birthday was at McDonald's so it was Mckenna's first time. She really enjoyed playing in the play place and her "sigh" chicken nuggets. All in all it was a good weekend!

I love this girl!

Grandma say "look at the fishes" and Mckenna says "what's that", to the lock on the cabinet

Thanks to Aunt Kelly for braving the play place with Mckenna! :)

Again, thank you Aunt Kelly! High up in the play place!

Mckenna I head to Iowa tomorrow for the first half of our Spring Break! We are looking forward to the trip but will miss the heck out of Daddy!

Love from the Lucas family!