Daddy and Lukas

Lukas loves Daddy! Every Saturday morning we will wait until the clock turns 10:00 am and I tell Lukas "time to get Daddy up!" He squeals with delight and we go get Daddy up! Sometimes he will walk in and climb on my husband. Other times he will jump on the bed to wake up Daddy or sometimes he just climbs right in bed with Daddy! It's cute and I have to say this may be a favorite part of my whole week. Watching Lukas and Daddy cuddle or wrestle!

Stack'em

Lukas has been playing a game all over our house. He will find whatever he can and stack it. He got into the lazy suzan (as usual) and he decided to stack the peanut butter, soups, and veggies. Toddlers are full of creativity!

Water Buffalo

A few weekends ago my Mom's cousins from the Twin Cities were down. We all got together and had lunch at my Grandma's favorite buffet. It's called the Harvest Buffet. Since we were a bigger group they gave us the room used only for groups. This room has hunting stuff on the walls. There were animal heads and fish on the wall everywhere. Lukas was fascinated! He kept asking us "whats that?" We would tell him whatever the animal was that he was pointing at. My Uncle Mark (Lukas's Great Uncle) kept filling him in on whatever animal he was pointing at. My Uncle is a big hunter and it was neat them hanging out by each other. This was one of the first times he didn't sit by my husband or I. He sat with Great Uncle Mark and Great Aunt Michele. He had a really great time! While he was eating he would shimmy his shoulders back and forth. They kept teasing me that he was copying what I do. Even though I don't do that at all! It was all in fun though! It is silly how he does that!

Tutdown!

More football has been watched lately! Our Minnesota Vikings made it to the NFC divisional championship game and we lost sadly. The game was fun to watch with Lukas though! My husband and I really got into it, and Lukas did too! We would get up and cheer when they got a touchdown or a 1st down. The second touchdown was scored by Brett Favre and Sidney Rice I jumped up and down screaming. Lukas was behind the chair getting Daisy's ball and he hopped out from the chair and screamed! He had his arms up in the air and just screamed "tutdown!" It was so cute! Too bad our Vikings didn't make it to the Superbowl, but my other favorite team did. We are now going to be cheering on the Indianapolis Colts! Go Colts!!!

Awww I'm In Love

It's no secret I love my little guy, but he will melt my heart all over again all the time! This morning when i dropped him off at daycare he got down and went to play right away. I said "Lukas, come giving me a kiss and hug." He gave me a cute little grin and walked over gave me a kiss and then said "Mama" in a cute sweet voice then gave me a big squeeze! He can be so sweet! I love him so much!

Tired, Teething, and Hungry

Well it's about that time again...more teething! Yep we are in for another round with another molar. He has 10 teeth now, but I think another is on the way. This week he has been clingy, tired, and very whiny. Yesterday we went grocery shopping and the whole time he cried and screamed. He wasn't happy at all! I don't know what was bothering him the most. He has been tired lately from phasing out his morning nap, he has also been teething again (we know this because of his nasty diapers and constant thirst), and going grocery shopping close to supper is never a good idea. So who knows which one was bugging him the most, but it was awful in the store. Once we got him home and he ate supper, he was in a much better mood. However, he was still clingy and he did go to bed early last night. It was a very long and trying day. I'm am so thankful the weekend is coming. Then he can sleep in and be his happier self! Plus we've got a lot of fun coming this weekend. He will be going for a sleep over at Grandma's Saturday, and then Sunday is the Vikings NFC Championship game! We will be decked out in our Vikings gear routing on our Minnesota Vikings!!! Watching football with Lukas is very fun! Can't wait!

Silly Happiness!

Lukas absolutely loves going to Grandma's house. He gets all excited when I say we are going bye bye and we go to my Mom's. He gets to play with all his toys there and play with Grandma, Uncle Eddie, their dog Prancer, and sometimes Uncle Curt and his dog Mia. He got to spend the night at Grandma's this weekend, because we had our work Christmas party to attend. When I went to pick him up he didn't want to leave. Lukas and I went back over for pizza last night and he still didn't want to leave when it was time to go home. I think he is starting to understand what "Going to Grandma's" really means. He gets the special treatment there...for sure! He is a very loved little boy!
He has also been enjoying talking on the phone lately. When I say he is talking...I mean he mumbles and says a few recognizable words. I think my Mom really enjoys his mumbling and trying to communicate on the phone!

Daycare: Bittersweet Goodbyes

Almost everyday when we drop Lukas off at daycare he will cry "Mama no!" and he doesn't like it when I hand him over to go to work. I will give him hugs and a kiss and feel awful leaving him when all he really wants is to be with me. I am sure the moment I leave he gets over it just fine, but it makes me feel so guilty. There is nothing more that I would love than staying home with him, but in this day and age we gotta work. So goodbyes in the morning are bittersweet. However, when I go and pick him up from daycare it's reversed. He wants to stay at daycare because he's having too much fun. He runs away from me and cries when we try to get his boots and coat on. So it's another bittersweet, but not for me...for him. He doesn't want to leave his daycare friends and fun! Toddler minds...sometimes you just can't figure them out!

Compliments

Here is a picture of Lukas at 18 months and me when I was around 2 or 3 (I am the one on the right). I have been getting compliments that Lukas looks like me when I was little. It made my day!

Lukas Language

Here are some translations when it comes to Lukas and his language!

monny = Molly our dog
b-key = blankie
cawz = cars
boti = pizza
a cup ah-t = a cup (not sure how the "a t" came from)
noh = snow
bia = Mia (Uncle Curt's dog)
Ampa = Grandpa
Ama = Grandma
key-key = cookie
dnce = dance
nana = banana
money = ice cream (not sure why he calls ice cream money lol)
b-ley = belly
nem-nems = M&M's

He also will put together a whole sentence and it will spew forth out of his mouth. We don't understand the words he is saying, but they are definitely a complete thought and statement. I was sitting on the couch and he walked up to me looked at me with a serious look. He then said a complete thought and statement, but I didn't understand it. I just nodded and said yep Lukas. He looked and me smiled and laughed. It made me wonder what I just agreed to! It was hilarious! It is getting easier to communicate with him , and he usually finds a way to communicate what he wants.

Touchdown dancing!

Since my husband and I both get into watching football Lukas gets into it too. He will go find a football and throw the "bootbaw" to Daddy and they then do the touchdown dance! Here it is!

Dinner #1 (Lukas Loved It!) with 2 new recipes.

1 (6oz) package Rice-A-Roni fried rice

2 TBLS margarine

1 chopped onion

2 cups celery

1 (150z) can Chinese vegetables, drained

1 (80z) can sliced bamboo shoots

3 1/2 cups cooked, chopped chicken

1 (10oz) can cream of chicken soup

1 cup mayonnaise

2 TBLS soy sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup chow mien noodles

-Cook rice according to package directions and set aside.

-Heat margarine in large skillet and saute onion and celery. Add Chinese vegetables, bamboo shoots and chicken and mix well.

-In saucepan, heat chicken soup, mayonnaise, soy sauce, garlic powder, and pepper just enough to mix well.

-In large bowl, combine rice, vegetable-chicken mixture and soup mixture and mix well.

-Transfer to greased 13x9 casserole dish.

-Sprinkle chow mien noodles over casserole.

-Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

I then made baked egg rolls to go with the dinner:

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/151/Baked_Egg_Rolls12956.html

Lukas absolutely loved dinner tonight! He thought the egg rolls were interesting at first, but he did eat them. The Chinese Casserole he gobbled up in no time at all! He had two helpings!

Scariest feeling ever!

My little boy had his first big visit to the doctor yesterday. He had to get stitches in his lip. We were at his cousin's birthday party and I had just got done changing his diaper. This usually does get him excited after a diaper change. He loves to be free again instead of having to sit still. Well he started happily running around and that is when it happened. He tripped and hit his face or lip right on a wooden rocker at Grandma and Grandpa's. It immediately started gushing blood. I scooped him up and started trying to clean it up so I could see what was going on. It just kept bleeding and bleeding! I called down stairs to my husband and he ran up in no time at all. Along came the rest of his family and we were all tending to Lukas. Grandma Kathy got a rag wet and we put it on his lip to try to clean it up. She gave us a look and said we would need to take him in. The cut was deep. So they helped us get ready and away we went. Lukas was so scared (I think more scared from us though.) We got him in to Urgent Care and they tried to do vitals...yeah right...that wasn't going to happen! Lukas wouldn't let them near him. So they got what they could and put us in a room so a doctor could come help us. A nurse came in and gave us some gauze with some numbing stuff on it to put on the cut. This was a numbing agent they use to make the area numb for the actual shots they were going to give him and for the stitches. I had to leave the room when they did the shots and stitching up. I couldn't handle it. I just sat and cried in the hallway. Once he stopped crying I was able to at least watch from the window. He did great! They got him all stitched up and he hasn't had any problems with it yet. The stitches are supposed to dissolve in 5-7 days. What a scary feeling! I can't even imagine how parents feel when their children actually get really badly hurt! I do know though...with the way Lukas runs around and dare devils all over this will probably not be the end of our visits to the doctor for this kind of stuff. I pray that he will be more cautious. Time will tell!

Boots

My little boy is putting on his own boots! Hooray! It makes me proud when he learns and accomplishes something so big! I say "Lukas go get your boots we are going bye bye" and he will go get his boots and put them on. He won't do it every time. It really only depends on where we are. If we are visiting someone or especially Grandma's he will not be putting his boots on voluntarily. However, if we are at home he is definitely excited to get his boots on and go bye bye!

Best Feeling in the World!

Last night after we got home from work Chris and Lukas were having a snack before supper, because supper was going to be a little over an hour. So Chris decided he wanted ice cream for a snack (yes we live in Minnesota, it's been below zero temps, and he still wanted ice cream). Lukas was sitting there bopping up and down in front of Chris saying "num num" so he was sharing his ice cream with Lukas. After I got supper in the oven I decided to crawl into the living room and scare Lukas. The dogs were trying to give me away the whole time I was crawling in there, but I made it in and popped out and said "boo!" Lukas looked surprised, but he ran over said "Mama" gave me a big hug and two kisses and he was back to begging for ice cream from Daddy. I sat there and looked at him. He makes me feel so happy and loved! His one little hug and 2 kisses really made my day. I love that he understands how to be affectionate and give us affection. Babies are great...but when they become toddlers and start communicating with you. Yes there are sometimes I wish he was still a baby and couldn't say "no" to me...but the feeling I get when he intentionally hugs or kisses me is the best feeling in the world!

Challenges...

Lukas will "almost" eat anything we put in front of him. He tends to like meat the best out of everything, but he has been opening up to other things slowly. Very very slowly! I have decided to give myself a challenge and cook 7 different and new recipes this month. My goal is to introduce more vegetables in a different way and try to keep them as nutritious as I can. I know most recipes call for things that aren't the "healthiest" option, but I will try to strive and introduce new things to Lukas on a monthly basis. This will be a challenge to be creative an think of new things to try or introduce the same thing in a different way. These are things Lukas loves: chicken nuggets, baked chicken, turkey (any form of it), pork (lion, or chops), hamburger (any form of it), macaroni, mashed potatoes, chicken noodle soup, cheese and broccoli soup, and the list goes on and on. Those were some of his favorites. OK here is how I will do this. I will pick 2 new recipes to try each week. I will post the recipe and I will let you know how Lukas liked it. This week will be our first run at this. We will be making a Chinese Garden Casserole on Sunday and having my Mom and brother over. This will be my first attempt at bringing something new to the dinner table and trying to get Lukas to try more veggies. This will be interesting.

Loves Tater Tot Hotdish!

During the winter we eat lots of hotdishes. One of my favorites is tater tot hotdish and we found out it's one of Lukas's favorites too! I whipped it up last night for supper thinking that I may have to warm him up some soup for supper if he didn't like the hotdish. We got all sat down for supper and he just chowed it down! He pushed the plate at me and asked for "mo" which is more. I gave him a second helping and that went down just as fast as the first helping! He asked for "mo" again, but Chris showed him he had missed some food on his plate. He cleaned up his plate and was a very happy little guy the rest of the night! My tater tot hotdish just consists of corn, cream of mushroom soup, ground turkey, and of course tater tots. Not much fat. I try to use turkey when I can. It's a leaner meat and better for you! I am so happy he loved it!

Funny little boy

Lukas is starting to be a really great copy cat. He likes to copy words you say, things you do, or actions. We gave him Daddy's old cell phone to play with after he got a new one for Christmas and he really loves it. Last night we were sitting there watching tv together before bedtime and he saw the phone on the floor across the room. He started giggling and said "oh Mama, Mama" and he went and got the phone. He pretended to dial the phone and put it in between his head and shoulder. He did a lot of mumbling then he giggle and said "oh bia." It was so funny! I think he was pretending to talk to Uncle Curt's dog Mia. He loves to ask for that dog all the time. So nautually why wouldn't he want to talk on the phone to her! Kids are so funny!

Playing the Wii

We got a Wii this Christmas with our Christmas money and it's totally fun. Lukas likes to watch us play it or sometimes copies us. Here is a video when we were at my Mom's for New Years. My brother and I were playing tennis on the Wii and he tried to play too with his toy.