Toddler Mix Martial Arts

Dancing Fools

I spent some time going through the videos from the last couple of months and I just love this video. Andea and I didn't plan this, but we are exactly matching our outfits and once Lucas started playing his music we couldn't help but dance. Once he stopped, the dancing stopped and once he started, the dancing started...he thought it was hilarious. So Andea and I are the dancing fools! Anything to make the little guy laugh!

Marshmellow Fiasco

Not so happy in the snow! :(

We have been casually trying to put Lucas on his potty since ten months old. He has been very good about going #1 and #2 before his bath at night. We use cloth diapers and I am just about getting to the point where I can't use them anymore...it is just way too disgusting when he goes #2, if you know what I mean. So last week I thought, let's try and get him to go periodically throughout the day.

Filthy clothes after lunch prompted me to take off his pants and let him run around...But, he has figured out how to take his diaper off, which he proceeded to do. Then not ten seconds later, he starts squatting on our carpet and making that, "Poopy face" Oh man, so I ran him upstairs to his potty and waited and waited and waited...trying to be extra patient because the day before I wasn't patient enough and as soon as I put on his diaper...he pooped. So I am still waiting and while waiting some more, I think...what if we try marshmallows, you know, like a reward system for sitting on his potty.

So I run the little guy downstairs, still naked with his potty and grab a fresh bag of marshmallows. I open them and set them on the bathroom counter and as he sits on his potty he gets a marshmallow. We did this for about two minutes and then I gave up...mostly because Lucas had figured out how to stand and sit and every time he sat back down he got a marshmallow...it wasn't working. I was overloading my kid with pure sugar.

So we ran the naked guy back upstairs and got dressed. We came back downstairs and our gas fireplace was out, so I thought I should call the gas company. I was going through the stupid automated thing on the phone and stopped for a moment to realize...the house was silent. What and where are Dodge and Lucas. Good things don't happen when the house is super quiet.

I go into the bathroom and to my surprise, Lucas is sitting in the corner of the bathroom shoving marshmallows in his mouth. He has managed to pull and empty the brand new bag of marshmallows on the floor and Dodge is sucking them up like a vacuum cleaner. Lucas has marshmallow goo dripping down his face and probably has shoved at least 12 little marshmallows in his mouth. He is looking at me with chipmunk cheeks, trying to close his mouth but it is so full he has a little opening between his lips and he is using his hands to shove it all in. He gives me this guilty pleasure look and I seriously can't help but just laugh.

Meanwhile, I am still on the phone with the gas company. I am trying to throw all of the marshmallows from the floor away in the garbage can and I am trying to get Lucas and Dodge out of the bathroom and back into the living room. Lucas turns around and starts trying to pick out the marshmallows from the garbage can! Ughhh man. I am so bummed that I didn't get a picture of those two in the bathroom.

Lucas' Dedication and Casey's Baptism

October 3, 2010Today was a very special day for our family. Casey was baptised as a Christian and together we dedicated our Son, Lucas. It was a very small ceremony with just our immediate families, but very meaningful. Our very good friend, Pastor Greg Asimakoupoulos, did the ceremony for us at Mercer Island Covenant Church.

The Bible verse for Casey was from Romans 12:1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.

Lucas' Bible Verse was from Matthew 19:14: Jesus said, "Let the little Children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Having a child sure helps you get a glimpse of the unconditional love that God has for his children. Lucas is everything to Casey and I and that instant love that we felt when we first laid eyes on him is just a fraction of the love that God has for us!

Lunch with Daddy at Work

September 30th

Lucas begged me to go and visit Daddy for lunch so we headed to Redmond and had lunch with Casey. He was so excited to see Casey when he came down from his office. Thanks for lunch, Daddy!

Laughing and Tantrums

Casey and I didn't realize that tantrums would start so early. I guess I just always thought of tantrums during the "terrible two's". But Lucas has started a few tantrums and boy they can be exhausting. Casey and I have tried really hard to just ignore them. We allow him to have his tantrum and we just ask him to let us know when he is done. We go on with whatever we are doing so that we don't give him any attention. But we try not to take his happy moments for-granted. And they help us forget the few times he gets frustrated and mad.

September 29th

Lucas is fully walking. He can almost stand up from a sitting position without having to pull himself up, but not quite yet. Last week I set him down by his toys and walked into the kitchen and I turned around and he was standing right behind me...scared the begeezee's out of me. I had no idea he would be right there. It has been so fun though. We walk to go see the ducks across the street at our lake and I love holding his hand and walking with him! I love how he finds interest and fascination in the smallest things, like a dandelion or a rock, or a sprinkler head. He gets focused on these little things and just takes a 180 degree turn to go check them out, for ten minutes! Casey can't wait to be able to walk around the block with Lucas and Dodge!