Big Boy Bed

Greg is building Lucas a big boy bed. We need the crib for Baby #2, so the goal is to get Lucas into his other bed soon so he doesn't feel like we kicked him out of his crib and gave it to his sister. I wonder if it will work?! Lucas seems rather ambivalent about moving from a crib to a bed. He is spiderman around the house: jumping off couches, climbing up chairs, desks, tables, and anything else. But for some reason he has not escaped his crib yet. I'm not sure I'm ready for a world in which Lucas can get out of bed and wander the mean streets of our house at all hours of the night. I'm sure I'll wake up in the witching hours to find a tiny face staring at me, saying "Water please, and watch TV." But we might as well dive in now before there is an infant to worry about!
Here, Lucas helps build his bed:

Winter is Here

We have had such a mild winter (and believe me, I'm not complaining!) But this last week we finally got some snow. Here, Lucas tries out his snowsuit:

Christmas

Here are some photos from Christmas '11:

Christmas Eve Day: Happy to hear that Santa is on his way!

Apparently Lucas felt he needed the apples more than Santa's Reindeer...

Finally the big moment: Lucas is so surprised to see that Santa came!


Santa brought Lucas some new training potties and a potty book, along with some other toys. He seemed a little unsure, but tried it out...



Stocking time:

Christmas Rocks!

What did Ama and Bapa bring me???

LEGOS!!!

Lucas has been working hard at mastering utensils. Aunt Darby, Uncle Aaron, and cousins Sydney and Nash sent hims some cool construction utensils. They were so much fun Lucas wanted to take them to bed with him!

Santa was good to all of us this year. We have enjoyed many wonderful material gifts: a new house with new appliances, upgrades, and decor. But we understand that our real gift is each other. Our family is growing and we have so much to be thankful for!

Leaves Galore

Lucas has some fun playing in all the leaves:

We're Having a.....

Can you tell by this picture? Lucas is shopping for his new sibling...


GIRL!!!!

We are so excited to add a little girl to our family. Lucas will be a big brother in mid-April (due date April 16). He doesn't quite understand any of it yet but we have started to talk about his little sister. Right now when we ask him to say "sister," he just says, "No. BOY!!!!" So that's something we are working on. He's still got plenty of time to get used to the idea of sharing his mommy and daddy, and having his play space infiltrated with dolls and other pink paraphernalia!

San Antonio

We recently visited our good friends Ben and Kelly in their new home in San Antonio. It was so nice to ditch our coats and dig out some flip flops for a few days of warm weather! The real bonus of course was seeing our friends. We also got to met their beautiful son, Logan, for the first time.
The plane ride was not a fun one, and although Lucas has already traveled back and forth across the country multiple times, and even has a stamp in his little passport, he had a revelation on this journey: in his words, "All Done Airplane!"

Veteran's Day Parade: We inadvertently decided to visit the San Antonio Riverwalk during the city's parade to honor veterans. We had no idea it would be such a big event so we sat down and watched for a while. We learned that Lucas loves marching bands... and he hates clowns!


A little shopping in the historic El Mercado, the largest Mexican marketplace outside of Mexico:

...and adding to the list of things Lucas disapproves of: sombreros.

He may be scared of clowns and sombreros, but interestingly enough, Lucas thought the colorful Mexican wrestling masks were awesome. Greg took this as a sign and promptly bought one.

The Riverwalk

I love San Antonio!

Kelly and I (and baby-in-the-belly)at the Alamo:

Kelly and Ben took us to the annual Wurstfest festival, which is a German sausage and beer-lover's paradise. We took a little train around the area, fed some ducks, and yes, indulged in lots of German food & drink:


Anyone who knows me realizes that I am not particularly crafty. I'm not the mom-type who has construction paper and glitter anywhere in the house. So when one of Kelly's friends literally gave us the entire packet (pre-cut pieces and she pre-made the little paper turkey) for a Thanksgiving kid craft project, I figured it couldn't be that hard. Right? I can glue things together, after all. However Lucas seems as non-crafty as I am (it's in the genes!!!). Turns out he HATES having paint on his hands (or homemade goo, which we tried as well). Boy after my own heart!

Kelly did not have a problem getting Logan into the project. He happily slapped his hand prints on the page:


While we were at El Mercado we purchased some traditional San Antonio Easter eggs. The shells are painted with all kinds of colorful decorations and inside is confetti. The tradition is to break them over people's heads and let the colorful paper fall all over them. They have them available year-round because, well, who doesn't love cracking egg shells filled with paper over other people's heads?! Lucas LOVED this activity.


So, now we have a running tally: Lucas is not a fan of airplanes, sombreros, clowns, or getting his hands messy. But he loves (at the moment) marching bands, Mexican wrestling masks, trains, quesadillas, and breaking confetti-filled eggs over our heads. Oh, and he also really loves Ben, Kelly, and Logan! Thanks for a wonderful time in San Antonio!!!

The Halloween That (Almost) Never Was

Because of Connecticut's massive Halloween storm, the holiday was literally cancelled. Mayors across the state announced that children shouldn't go trick-or-treating due to the downed trees and power lines. Besides, no one had power anyway, so it would have been near impossible to navigate houses for candy! When our power went out we had to cancel the Halloween party we had scheduled, which meant Lucas didn't get to wear his costume, eat pumpkin cupcakes, or play with his friends.

Still, we made the best of it. The few areas that did have power welcomed a few trick-or-treaters. One of those areas was at Lucas' Grandma and Grandpa Kozbinski. We stayed with them for a week, and took Lucas to a few homes in their area.



We were invited inside to see this elaborate train and village in the neighbor's basement. It was so detailed - the homes had people inside; the businesses were stocked with goods; and airplane flew overhead; kids skated on ponds; there was even a ski slope with people going up and down it! We enjoyed the display as much as Lucas



It was Lucas' first time trick-or-treating. He caught on very quickly! He ended his night trick-or-treating at Grandpa's house!

Although Halloween was officially cancelled by authorities, we think it was still a success!