My Baby Turns Two!

On January 17, 2012, Lucas turned two! I can't believe it...my baby is growing so fast! His birthday fell on a weekday, so we celebrated with a few of his favorite things...

my sweet lil punkin-head with his "bickey mouse", caterpillar, and "bunny"--all his friends he sleeps with every night. how could you not love being greeted with this smile every morning???

special treat--doughnuts with sprinkles for breakfast!

anthony enjoyed his doughnut too!

this is lucas saying, "I'm two" and trying to hold up two fingers

sweet little munchkin

we made a special trip to the mall later for a chickfila lunch--lucas loves their chicken nuggets

anthony loves drinking out of a "big boy cup"

then it was time for a merry-go-round ride

we sure had fun!

he didn't want it to end

show me your silly smile!

anthony's silly smile

later that evening we went to chili's for some more food and fun...

here's mama with her birthday boy

daddy and anthony looking very manly

lucas got to open a present from nonna and nonno

what could it be???

a new mickey mouse movie!!! he was thrilled!

And here are his 2 year stats from his check-up at Dr. Goebel's office--

weight 21 lbs, 4 oz (not on growth chart)

height 33 1/2 inches (30th percentile)

Lucas is doing so great--he loves life, he loves to laugh, he adores his brother--still copies everything Anthony says and does. He has a HUGE vocabulary--we just can't get over how he speaks in full sentences most of the time. He is very independent--he loves the phrase, "I do it". He is a fantastic eater--of course, fruit is still his favorite. He is a great sleeper, still about 12 hours a night. He is still in his crib. He never slows down, not even when he's sick. He loves to tease everyone in the family. His favorite TV shows/movies are the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the Cars movie. Lucas is a great helper around the house--he is a big helper when it comes to chores. He loves throwing and catching balls, but his favorite activity of all is probably wrestling with his daddy.

We love you Lucas! How blessed we are to have had you in our family for two years!!! Can't wait to see what God has in store for you!!!

Starting off the New Year with Some Fun!

These boys know how to have a good time! Here's how we started off the new year with a bang...

some floor time with daddy--they LOVE having daddy's undived attention!

we had some beautiful weather in january! we spent a morning playdate at gran's house! (thanks, jill!) anthony and caleb enjoy pretend food and technology.

lucas grabs his share of the food as well! see the trampoline in the background? the boys LOVE jumping on it, especially if there are balls to bounce around. we did some swinging too, but i forgot to get any pictures of that. :(

the kids got a special treat--feeding apples to the horses!

although climbing the fence was just as much fun to these boys!!!

they did a great job!

here are the kids from the group that were able to make it that morning...

back row: taylor, hudson, anthony, joshua

front row: caleb, kason, and lucas

the boys went hiking with daddy one day when i had to work

they love being outdoors! and big boy lucas can keep up these days all on his own!

just a little entertainment for your watching pleasure...

they love seeing themselves dance in the reflection of the fireplace! and these days, it's all about "watch this" and "look"!!! they are so proud of themselves! :)

New Years Niece

Just because I am such a proud auntie, and I believe I have the most adorable baby niece EVER....

here is baby Reese's new year's picture! Can I take her home with me??? :)

Ringing in 2012

Well, the New Year's celebrations may look a little different now than they did pre-kid, but that doesn't mean we don't know how to have a good time! We started off our New Year's Eve with dinner at Ghengis Grill. Then, we came home to do some sparklers with the kids (which are illegal in McKinney, so shhhhhh...don't tell anybody!)

anthony is excited to see what we have planned

lucas is excited because anthony is excited :)

wow--pretty cool

anthony loved it

daddy with his big boys

mommy with her babies :)

after church on New Year's day, we took the boys to the trains at northpark exhibit

lucas' favorite part was pointing out thomas the tank engine and james

anthony loved watching any of the trains whiz through tunnels and under and over bridges

close-up of one of the trains

loved the little new york city skyline (and the taxis and tiny people)

replica of the TX state fair with "Big Tex" and lots of fun rides

it was super-croweded, so i didn't get too many pics of the boys, but they sure loved it

close up view of the white house

little lincoln memorial with the ice skaters out front

the boys had a fun time of celebrating the start of 2012! hope you did too! happy new year to all!

A Few More Christmas Pics

okay, i know i'm still stuck in 2011 here, but i just had to add these last few pictures from my sister mandy's camera of our time in memphis over christmas. love all the pics of the kids! they are growing up too fast!!!

papa, meme, and their four grandkids

meme gets some snuggles in with little lucas

my baby is so big these days

had to get a twin pic of course!

anthony is all smiles with grandad (his great-grandfather)

me and the hubby--so cute

justin entertains all the kids

(while the rest of us take a 5 minute breather! haha!)

loved every minute with you all!!!

we're so thankful for our wonderful family!

Merry Christmas, 2011!

2011 was our year to travel up to Memphis to celebrate Christmas with the Bellican family. The boys always do such a great job traveling in the car, and this trip was no exception! We are always so excited to visit our families--I just look at everyone's faces and am blown away by how blessed we are--we love each other so much, and we all love seeing each other and spending time together.

The first night we got there, we were treated to some good ole' Memphis barbeque
(Corky's, of course!)

During the day on Christmas Eve, we simply enjoyed each other. These boys loved hanging out together. Not sure if they were watching Thomas or Mickey Mouse here, but whatever it is, they are into it for sure!!!








tractor-ride traditions!

One of the main things the boys look forward to when they visit "The Big H" (aka my parents' house) is a tractor ride with Papa!!!

Bookus gets a turn! (yes, he still calls himself that--so sweet!)

Later that evening we all went over to Aunt Mandy's house for dinner. The kids got to open a Christmas Eve gift...





new pajamas for all! aren't the cousins cuties?

We finally got the kids down and settled in for some Wii playing.

Super Mario, anyone?

our little family on Christmas day

Anthony takes a pic with Aunt Michelle and Uncle Josh
(isn't my sis gorgeous?!?)

So, apparently, while we were all playing the wii, Mandy and Justin's van got broken into, and their GPS was stolen. The cops came out to take a look--the boys were fascinated by the police car. Here are Anthony and James trying to get a good look.

Little Lucas wants to see too!

meal time was never calm with these three--don't you just love the smathering of crumbs on the floor? notice they are mostly under lucas' chair--my messy boy!

we had a "help yourself" lunch of different kinds of soup--yum!

From right: our cousin Jeff and his girlfriend Kristen (in town from Atlanta), Michelle and Josh

Meme plays Santa while the boys tear into their gifts--they loved it!

Baby Reese loved watching all the action!

Lucas was so excited when he opened his mickey mouse!

the first thing he did was give mickey a big hug, then a kiss--my sweet baby

anthony was so excited to open some new construction trucks underwear!!!

the boys all got helicopters that flash lights and make lots of noise!

Reesy-Piecey in her Christmas bow--
Can I take her home with me???

these goofballs are nothing but trouble

but they sure do love every minute of life

i think i'll keep 'em!!! :)

Thanks so much, mom and dad, for a wonderful trip! It always seems too short! Wish we had gotten a group shot--that one's always a little tricky! We sure had fun, though! Thank you so much for working so hard to make this Chistmas memorable and special for all of us! We love you so much!!!