Christmas 2010

Christmas this year was so special and we felt so blessed. Words cannot describe the joy parents feel when they watch the joy of Christmas through their child's eyes. What a special time of year it is!!!

Here are a few highlights from

Christmas 2010...

A few days before Christmas Santa came and visited our house. It was so special to have the Arnolds over, with newest addition Lily and my parents.

Christmas Eve
Lucas climbing the mound of presents from Grandma and Grandpa.

So excited to start opening.

A skateboard and of course helmet.

A play slide and climber complete with attached basketball hoop.

Christmas Morning

Christmas Afternoon

Mike's parents house

Aunt Rachelle and Bruin the Bear.

The day ended with a family nap. What a wonderful Christmas :)

Lazy Boy

Lucas loves his lazy boy recliner. It is so comfortable! Mike and I wish that we could fit in it.

Santa Baby

This year was Lucas' 1st trip to see Santa. He was super friendly and not afraid at all. He just sat on Santa's lap pointing at all the stuff that was going on around him. After his turn was done Santa handed him a candy cane that was super yummy.

Christmas Transportation

Mike did a great job decorating our golf cart. The pictures do not do the amount of lights justice. We are having so much fun driving it around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights each night. Hopefully this 5 days of rain that have been happening/forecasted will be over with by Wednesday and we can get in a few more rides before the Christmas lights come down. And yes, Mike's hat is not just for the pictures he insists on wearing it everytime we go out :)

Thanksgiving 2010

We had a great Thanksgiving!!!

We had two great meals and spent time with family. Family makes the holidays so enjoyable and special.

Fulltime Teaching

I received a call a month ago from a principal letting me know that he had a 3rd grade full time teaching position open. Of course, I was so grateful for the opportunity but giving up my part time job at my old school with colleagues I loved and less time during the week with Lucas was definitely not an easy decision and one that Mike and I really had to think about. After thinking long and hard about it we decided that it was the best thing for our family for me to take the job. Of course, we have the best babysitters for Lucas (my parents, Grandmay and Grandpay) and to add to it Mike works from home which makes it run a little smoother. My parents have been so wonderful with Lucas and it makes leaving for work so much easier, since he waves to me and says "bye" every morning. My parents take the best care of Lucas and we could not express to them how grateful we are. Here are a few pictures from the last three weeks of what Lucas has been up to while Mike and I are at work and Grandmay and Grandpay are in charge.

Daddy Hair Day

"Daddy did my hair today."

Happy Halloween

I can't even begin to describe what a wonderful Halloween we had. There is something about seeing you child enjoy something so much that makes you feel so fulfilled. Mike kept telling me, "This is the best Halloween ever." Lucas was the cutest Yoda ever and he had the best time trick or treating, looking at all the decorations, and seeing all the costumes. Our row of homes really decorates and I wondered if he might be frightened with all the fog machines, scary music, lights, graveyards, monsters, etc. but oh no, he was fearless. What a great Halloween! Can't wait for next year :)

18 Month Check-up

Lucas had his 18 month check-up today.

Weight: 26 lbs. 15 ounces (70th percentile)

Height: 34 1/4 " (93rd percentile)

Dr. Ball said "he's a big boy."

Irvine Park

We went to Irvine Park a couple weeks ago. Lucas had such a great time and Mike and I had so much fun watching him run around. We got there at 10:00 hoping to miss the crowd which we did :) We jumped right on the train and about two minutes into the train ride it started to rain. Not just drizzle but rain. Of course it did not slow down Lucas, its even more fun when there is rain and mud to play in. After the train ride we went and picked out the perfect pumpkin and ran around the pumpkin patch. We then walked to the petting zoo. There was only one other family in the petting zoo, so it felt like we had it all to ourselves. Lucas fed and brushed the animasl which was so exciting for him since he is such an animal lover. Like always, he was fearless and just loved having a good time. We went home a little wet, dirty, and tired. It was a great day!!!