Spring is in the Air

We've had occasional days that tried to trick us into thinking that Spring had arrived, but it really wasn't until this last week that it really felt like Spring. There were birds singing and eating at our bird feeder, kids running around in shorts and t-shirts, and sunny days (4 consecutive days without rain). However, this doesn't necessarily mean that everything is bliss. Along with Spring, comes Katie's list of "Things we need to get done now that the weather is nice". (It also brought out the feral cats fighting under our deck, but that's a different story.) Katie got the garden weeded and prepped for planting, which we will hopefully get done this week. We also hope to refinish a dresser that has been sitting in our living room for the better part of 6 months now, and build an entertainment center that better protects both our equipment from Lucas, and also Lucas from electric shock. Hopefully, somewhere between all of the Saturday's we already have scheduled away, we'll be able to have some barbeques with the neighbors, do some fun things and enjoy the change in weather.

Echo........echo

Lucas has reached the stage of his development where he repeats, or attempts to repeat, everything you say to him. Sometimes it can be cute, while other times it can just be annoying. The other day Lucas was playing on our deck, throwing a ball over the side and his friend, Rhett, was throwing it back to him. When Rhett had to leave to go back inside, I said, "Lucas, tell Rhett goodbye". Lucas stared at me for a second, turned to Rhett and said, "Tell Rhett goodbye". Then he got mad when Rhett left.

Signs of Growing Up

Lucas has been more cranky than normal the past couple days, but we didn't think much of it until I was tickling him the other day and noticed something. Lucas is getting 2 new molars! Every time I look at them I think how painful it must be for a tooth that big to break through the skin for the first time. At least the incisors and cuspids are pointed on top and can 'slice' through the skin, whereas with molars it seems more like using a sledge hammer to knock down a wall.

The boy was born to sing...

Lucas has developed a fondness for singing the past few weeks. It started with "singing" along with the hymns at church (much to his joy, our embarrassment, and the dismay of the lucky family sitting in front of us). Recently however it has expanded to involve the use of actual words and the intended song can actually be deduced. Lucas' favorite songs are "Wheels on the Bus" (but only the "horn" verse) and "Ring Around the Rosie" (but only the last two lines). The best is when he does his own arrangement of "Ring Around the Bus" and combines the two into something that sounds like "beep, beep, beep.....beep, beep, beep......all fall down!"

(I know the picture has nothing to do with him singing, but it shows his love of music, and he's just cute.)

Galoshes

All winter long Katie was "heck"-bent on finding Lucas a pair of galoshes once Spring rolled around. Pennsylvania gets more than its fair share of rain in the Spring and Lucas was sure to not only have plenty of puddles to splash in, but we were confident he would want nothing more than to stomp in every puddle he came across. While it is true that Lucas does enjoy splashing in puddle while wearing his galoshes, what we hadn't anticipated was all the other things Lucas likes to do while wearing his galoshes. Lucas and his galoshes are nearly inseparable. Given the choice, I'm sure he would wear them to church (fortunately we're smart enough not to give him the choice).

Sunday Best

(Guest writer, Craig, continues his tirade.)

Lucas tried out his new church outfit for Easter. As one of our neighbors said, "Lucas is always dressed to kill." He looked pretty good, ignoring the runny nose.




Lucas also got a visit from the Easter Bunny, to complement the modest collection of candy he had already collected.

Lucas was actually more interested in setting all the chocolate sports balls on the table.

Egg Hunts

(Guest writer, Craig, continues his attempt at humorous prose.)

Lucas had the opportunity to have his go at 3 different Easter Egg Hunts this year. One community hunt at a local park, one hosted by the YMCA, and one with the neighbor kids in our backyard area.

When we went to egg hunts last year, Lucas wasn't quite old enough to understand what was going on and why he should be interested in grabbing all the colored eggs, especially when it seemed like all the other kids wanted them much more than he did (he was so accommodating). This year, Lucas not only grasped the concept, he also realized that if he got a head start into the field, he could grab as many eggs as possible without those pesky, meddling kids getting in his way (ahh, our conniving child.) It took some effort to keep pulling him back behind the rope and trying to distract him. Once the bell sounded, though, he was off.





The egg hunt at the YMCA was a unique experience. Lucas has been taking Mommy/Tot swimming lessons at the Y, so when we found out they offer a swimming pool egg hunt, we signed him up. For the older kids they actually sink the eggs to the bottom of the pool and they have to retrieve them. For the kids under 3, they are allowed to have a parent help them go collect the eggs that are floating on top of the water. Fun stuff.

Finally, on Sunday morning before church, we had an egg hunt for all the LDS families that hadn't left town. As you can see, everyone had a good time (not pictured is Rhett Van'O who was not having a good time when the picture was taken, but had fun getting the eggs). As you can see from the pictures, Lucas takes his egg hunting very seriously....

From left to right: Cooper and Sadie James, Cole and Parker Butler, Lucas, Autumn McDaniel, Hank Van'O (seated)