My Dad, the Nurse

Lukas was outside playing in the sandbox with Tommy. I was inside doing dishes and Pat had just gotten home from school. Lukas came running in, went right past me with Tommy in tow. I could hear Lukas say to Tommy, "It's okay, Tommy. My dad's a nurse" . Apparently, Lukas got a little owie on his finger and came in to have his daddy, the nurse look at it! Pat looked at it, bandaged it up and then checked his heart beat with his stethascope to make him feel all better. It was too cute!

Growing Up

I feel like Lukas is growing up so fast. He loves to color and concentrates so hard at staying in the lines. He does really well. He can put puzzles together and enjoys them. It's fun to see how many things he can do by himself. He likes to play with Max, but it doesn't last long before they start fighting. :( And Max is at that cute age where he's just learning to talk and everything he says is adorable. Lukas picks up on that and will start talking like Max to get attention. Pat and I have tried to compliment him when he does big boy things so he gets that positive attention. It's hard not to be annoyed, but we love him. He is looking forward to preschool which starts in October.

Birthday Boy

This is the day Lukas has anticipated for the past month! He's turning 4 today! We've been planning and sending out invites and getting things ready all week. We baked and decorated cupcakes on Friday and for days we counted how many more sleeps until this day finally came. Yesterday his Tia Patty came over to give him his present b/c she and Uncle Andres couldn't make it to the party. He loved getting a present early and was so excited. He got the coolest Batman toy from them, and I think I like playing with it as much as he does. Then today we woke him up early by singing to him and Max gave him a present. He was grumpy to be woken up and then realized what day it was and he immediately had a smile on his face. We started early and I wore everyone out by planning three seperate parties. We had a friend party in the morning and Pat's family for lunch and my family for dinner. (I just feel that it's better to keep them seperate and smaller so that Lukas can focus his attention on each family and not be so overwhelmed). I think it turned out wonderful! He chose a Go Diego Go! theme for his parties. Everything turned out so cute and he had a blast ALL day! We had the first 2 parties at the park and the kids loved playing on the playground and just running around. Except I forgot to put sunscreen on Lukas and now he has a little red face and neck! Oops! And it was at a splash park and Lukas got soaked.

I didn't think the water would be on, but sure enough it was! He had lots of fun running around with his friends (Tommy, Holden, Eli, Eliza, Jeffrey) and then when his cousins came later, he still had energy to run around with them. We had dinner at the house and my family came for that. It was great to see how happy Lukas was all day and how cute he was saying thank you and hugging everyone. Wow, he's 4! He is sure smart and it's amazing to me how much he knows and learns each day. We love him and feel so blessed that he is part of our lives! All day he kept saying, "I'm the Birthday Boy".

You could tell he felt special and I hope he knows how special he is! Each time a new party would start, his eyes would get wide and he'd say, "Another party? Is it still my birthday?" He has cupcakes 3 times and got so many fun gifts! He is worn out and will probably sleep in tomorrow...oh wait, we have church at 9. And he has to give a talk in primary. So he'll have a nap after church, then. :) We love you Lukas, Happy Birthday! And THANK YOU to everyone who came to the parties and gave such cute, fun gifts.

I Can Do It By Myself

Lukas is at a fun age where he really likes to be independent and do things himself (I think he's always had this desire, but can now actually do things himself). And I really like this because I no longer have to change his diapers, make his bed (unless I want it to look good), force him to brush his teeth or dress him. However, there are some disadvantages to this. He dresses himself, and therefore he grabs the first thing he sees and puts it on. Nothing new, right. But it can be embarrassing. EXAMPLE: I took the kids to the Thanksgiving Point Barn to meet up with a friend and her kids. Lukas dressed himself for the day and was wearing his too-small Buzz Lightyear PJ top (that he wore to bed the night before), his new batman socks with crocks and shorts and batman tatoos all over his legs and hands. I love his independence, but c'mon! Today he wore his cute shark shorts with a long-sleeved striped polo shirt. It just does not go together, but I what can I do? I am just happy that he can do it himself. :)Other things Lukas can do himself:

• get a snack from the pantry


• go to his blog and play Toy Story games or games on Noggin


• make his own bed (not very neatly, yet)


• get himself in and out of the tub (as long as I get the water temp right)


• walk to and from Tommy's house


• open the garage to get his bike out


• put his helmet on and go for a bike ride


• clear his place after dinner
• say a prayer for the food or our nightly family prayer

Funny Things I Say

Lukas says some funny things. Like this week he said...

• "You lost your luck, Mom".
• I was telling Lukas that Abuelo (Pat's Dad) was coming over. Lukas said, "Is he the one I'm shy of?"
• Lukas was telling me that he wanted me to lay with him for bedtime. He was pleading with me and saying, "But mom, you're my girlfriend. I like being around you. You're my partner".
• We were driving to the park and I took a wrong turn and had to flip it. Lukas said, "You went the wrong way, Silly".
• "Me needer" aka me neither
• He calls McDonald's "Old MacDonald's"
• "I'll just be happy when you get me milk."

Meanie

Lukas is quite the character. He gets frustrated easily and starts acting the way I act when I get frustrated (uh oh!). He'll stomp out of the room and say "fine then". He constantly is fighting with Max. The second I'm out of sight or my back is turned, he'll hit, push, bump or be mean to Max. It gets me so mad, but I don't know what to do to stop it. He goes to time out a lot or gets threats, but nothing seems to really work b/c he keeps doing it. Some day Max will turn on him. And I'll turn my head.

I Can Draw

One of Lukas' new favorite games it to play "Bic-tionary" (aka pictionary). He basically draws the same thing, but labels it different. Here is my favorite...it could be a dinosaur, Max, Buzz or Mike Wazowski. You decide!