Why We Love Our Neighbors

Besides the obvious good fortune of having a good friend who lives across the street who happens to have a toddler Lucas' age, we also have many other awesome neighbors just a short walk away from our doorstep.
Lucas LOVES visiting Ellie (age 7) and Isaac (age 4). They are so enthusiastic about showing Lucas their toys, backyard fort, and having him join in their fun. Isaac and Lucas like to play in the sandbox together, crash doll strollers into eachother junkyard-derby style, and jump on the couch. :)



Bright is a friendly guy who lives diagonally from us and always has time for a chat... or to pull a grown man and his son in a wagon around our front yard at racecar speeds! Weeee!

Kiddie Acres

Lucas and I love this place. It's a tiny old-school amusement park right off the highway that's been in operation for 30 years. I used to go to a park (Quassapaug) just like this as a kid in Connecticut! I'll have to get my mom to send me the photo of myself as a 4 year old in one of these little boat rides to compare with Lucas doing the same thing! :)

Laila Lou

Lucas and I had the opportunity to babysit Laila while Ravyn and Sufyan went for a mama-son bike ride last week. She's now 10 weeks old and as cute as can be. When she approaches the apex of yumminess at 5 or 6 months her parents better watch out because I'm going to eat those fat little legs! :)
Laila has reflux and therefore frequent bouts of bloody-murder scream-crying that amazingly doesn't diminish her cuddly-cuteness. We were bouncing around by the stove exhaust fan (because it's really loud and womb-sounding) while I sang to her and the lyrics that came out were all about Laila Lou, which isn't her middle name (she doesn't have one) but it's just so fitting for her girly adorable self. I may have heard Ravyn call her this before but there's just a nice ring to it. Luckily, the stove trick worked and we had a happy baby in just 10 minutes. Lucas was very interested in playing with Laila and I loved watching him try to incorporate her into his play.

Uncle Ray Visits!

Master Architect

March Cuteness

I LOVE his smile and will do anything to get one! :)

Dad's and Janice's Visit!

Janice brought with her the most giant stuffed doggie all the way from China. Did it get it's own seat on the plane? :) Lucas LOVES it and quickly named him Lucky. The first stuffed animal with a name other than his fur color! :)
During their visit we went to the zoo,


where we rode my favorite choo choo (it meanders past the animals in natural habitats and through the hill country)


We also visited Mayfield Gardens to see the peacocks. Look how close they let us get!


And we went to the medieval festival




where Laith tried his hand at knife throwing. Blind. :)


We had such nice weather the whole visit. We decided to go for a walk around Town Lake where we were accosted by a greedy duck. Here the duck is negotiating with my dad for any crumbs that might be in his pockets
We had a great time with you Dad and Janice! We look forward to our next visit with you!

The Cutest Surprise in a Box

We're in the gradual process of making Lucas' bedroom more colorful and this new laundry hamper fit the bill for decor AND for a fun game of "where's Lucas?"

Tucson!

Lucas and I had a wonderful trip to Tucson while Laith did some work on our kitchen to get it closer to completion.

Lucas was great on the plane but it's always hard for him to get a decent nap in with the frequent stewardess/pilot announcements and loud talkers around us. Once he slips in the sleep department, it's a downward spiral. I was so exhausted from so many frequent wake-ups, tossing and turning (we shared a bedroom), and stubborn bedtime resistance dramas that I didn't take very many photos. I also didn't bring my pro camera with me because it's heavy and I didn't think I could manage the weight of a camera bag plus a toddler. I'm regretting that now because this was the first time in 5 years that my mom has had both my brother and I in her house at the same time. It should have been heavily documented! :)

It was great seeing Ryan and May for the short time our visits overlapped and hearing about their latest travels and experiences. Those two really live life to its fullest more than anyone else I know. Luckily, Ryan is a good photographer and when he shares his photos, we get a glimpse of what it must be like to charter a private boat out to James Bond Island in the south pacific, ride a baby elephant in the middle of the city, or party in the penthouse of a Las Vegas hotel. Needless to say, we had a good time catching up. Lucas took to May immediately and happily let her hold him and snuggled with her on the couch to watch cartoons.

Though it was rainy most of the time, Lucas and Meemom had good times together indoors- playing with his new fire engine toy, making crescent rolls (he calls them "popping rolls" after I told him we had to pop the cylinder open with a fork), reading books, and playing squealing bed-jumping games. As Lucas grows up, each visit is more fun than the last and we're looking forward to the next time already. :)