My Little Buddy

In the past few weeks Lucas has gone from a baby to a toddler. It makes me a little sad... but at the same time he is at such a fun age. He is walking almost exclusively... he only crawls here and there. His little walk looks like a chicken because he bends his legs, but it is still so cute.

Today he wore his skinny jeans with a flannel and his vans. I thought he looked SO big!

This one is a little out of focus, but I love that smile!

Today we went to Costco. Usually it is me running like a mad woman trying to get everything I need before nap time hits. But today Lucas and I meandered through the aisles, sharing samples. Some things Lucas LOVED... other samples he made a "I don't think I like this" face. We laughed and ate. Pretty soon we will share a hot dog and gelato together... he's my little buddy. 

Merry Christmas!

Today was such a fun day. Andy and I have been plotting and prepping all month waiting in anticipation of Christmas Morning. We knew that Lucas wouldn't completely grasp the concept of Santa or what Christmas is, but we still couldn't wait. Last night I think I finally fell alseep at 2AM because I was giddy just waiting for Lucas to wake up.

Lucas could tell something was going on because he got to eat breakfast upstairs and Andy and I kept saying, "I think Santa came!"

Waiting on the stairs:

Did Santa come?

As soon as we set Lucas down he started smiling...

He went straight for the Little People Farm:

Then over to the Ball Popper:

But definitely the favorite was the Pick-up Truck Cozy Coupe:

Lucas is a little short to sit and walk Flinstone style... so instead he just stands and walks.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa... He LOVES it!

He loved it so much he opened all presents from the drivers seat... nothing would get him out.

My favorite childhood book- Where's Spot?

What a wonderful Christmas day. It was so much fun playing Santa and even better reflecting on the birth of our Savior. Christmas is so much more magical with Lucas and we are so grateful to have so many blessings, family and friends in our lives.

Merry Christmas!

Grandma and Grandpa Honey

Tonight my Grandma and Grandpa Honey came in town on there way to Salt Lake for Christmas. We have been anxiously awaiting their arrival ALL DAY! For those newer readers of the blog... No, there first or last name are not "Honey". My grandma always would say, "Honey, come here." or "Honey, can you help me?" And the name just stuck. Grandpa Honey. I think everyone calls him Grandpa Honey and we love our Grandpa. We keep hoping Lucas gets his 6"5' genes....

Anyway, the night was complete with a yummy meal at Frank and Finnas... one of our favorites. LARGE Diet cokes and Mexican. Notice the FOUR diet cokes on the table.... and you wonder why I love diet coke. I'm pretty sure my grandma used to put it in my bottle.

At dinner Lucas discovered his Tongue...

Of course Grandma came with some gifts in tow:

Cute card.... Izzy wanted in on the action.

What do you get Lucas if you want to be on his good side?

BALLS! Lucas played with them ALL NIGHT LONG. Surprisingly, his favorite was the football. 

Ever since I was a little girl I can remember Grandpa Honey clearing his throat every night before bed and first thing in the morning. In there house in Huntington Beach it practically shook the house. For all us grandkids it is just something we love about our Grandpa Honey. I guess I didn't even notice it when Andy says to me as are all getting ready for bed, "Is grandpa honey OK????" I looked at him and said, "Yes. How come?" And he replied, "Listen to him". It was then that I heard the nightly ritutal of the clearing of the throat. How funny that I didn't even notice it, but Andy heard it three doors down and was concerned. I told my grandma and we both giggled. She then said, "It's my wake up call every morning".

We love having them here and are sad they have to leave tomorrow, but we will get to see them on there way back home!

Slandsome

Whenever any of the boys in our family are dressed up (either for church, wedding receptions...or just date night) my mom calls them "Slandsome"... With Andy it is... "Smandy... you look Slandsome".

I think Lucas looked especially Slandsome for church today:

Wouldn't you agree?

We had to look nice for Christmas Sunday!

Today

Today Lucas and I have had a great day. We had our one year check up.

Height: 31" (84%)

Weight: 20 lbs 14 oz (24%)

Head: I don't remember.

Although he had 4 shots, he was a tough guy. To make him feel better we went to lunch with out good friend Jude.

(This photo was taken awhile ago at a previous lunch date... hence my bald baby)

But once we got home the real fun started. It began with our favorite game:

Where's Lucas?

Peek-a-boo!

 Our next favorite thing... my phone!

Hi Mom!

What a good day.

And so it begins...

Lucas hasn't even been 1 for a week and he is already throwing tantrums! What happened to my sweet baby? Now he has a mind of his own and thinks he can do whatever he wants. Yesterday morning was the biggest tantrum yet. It was time to get out of the bath. I pulled the plug, got down the towel and went to get Lucas. Lucas started screaming, raced over to the other side of the bathtub, pushed down the plug and stared at me. I think he was waiting for me to smile because he was so smart. Instead I pulled the plug and tried to pick him up. He started screaming even louder, arched his back, and wiggled his way until I didn't have a good grip and had to set him down. Naughty Shamers! Needless to say he won that round. Today I took all the toys our first, let the water go down completely and then tried to get him out. It worked a little better.

Lucas new favorite thing is Thompson's cage. Thompson doesn't think it is so great...it really isn't big enough for the both of them.

Somehow Lucas locked himself in the cage. It is out new time out spot :-) 

I can't wait to see what this kid comes up with next!

Come have a ball!

Today we celebrated Lucas' 1st Birthday with all our family and friends. I can't believe one year has passed since we took our little Lucas Henry home from the hospital!

In the past year we have...

Sent 3 missionaries off and welcomed two home;

We have had a helmet & cast;

We bought our first home;

We bought a puppy;

We've grown together as a family.

So on to the Birthday Celebration!

We decided to go with a "Ball" theme because they are Lucas' favorite thing. We basically just wanted to have Balls everywhere so the guests could play with them throughout the party. Let's just say Lucas was in Ball Heaven. He played on the grass the entire time crawling from ball to ball. Some Party Highlights:

- Lucas took his cake eating very seriously, barely cracking a smile.

- Homemade cupcakes and also had a cake for variety.

-El Pollo Loco catering--since Lucas' loves rice and beans.

- Skyping with Grandma Tracy so she could watch Lucas dive into his cake

- Beautiful 70 degree weather in December

A HUGE thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us. I know Lucas felt so loved having all his friends and family with him on his special day. We are so grateful that our Lucas Henry joined our family one year ago. He brings such joy to our lives and we can't wait to watch him grow.

Here are some pictures! (What you really wany anyway!)

Past 48 hours

Notice anything different about this picture?

Perhaps a certain Lucas is wearing normal PJ's? As in, NO cast!

Well my friends, the Coons family has had an extreme case of the stomach flu. Lucas' was in the form of explosive diarrhea which equals major blow outs, which then blew into and down his cast. After discussing with his doctors the pros and cons-- cons being serious infection and possible warts, we decided to take the cast off. So, he only had the cast for  1 1/2 weeks instead of 3. And now we have to keep him from crawling. So if you see Lucas in the Baby Bjorn over the next few weeks it's because he can't crawl. 

Good times.