What I love about Bruno

I love....

that he was potty trained at 6 weeks.
his amazing eyes.
the way his jowels jiggle when he tries to bark.
that he let me hold him like a baby when he was small, and still tries to get me to hold him now - 160 lbs later.
his complete adoration for Matt.
that he's a complete scaredy-dog. Runs in the complete opposite direction of any scary noise.
how he gladly lets Minnie mother him all day long.

when given the option to go anywhere in the world, he just wants to be follow Minnie wherever she goes.

that he was once chased all over the dog park by a Bassett Hound completely freaked out. All the humans were cracking up. Later found out from the hound owner that was his dog's favorite game....pick on the big un's.

his happy dance when Matt brings out his dinner.

his love for all people.

the way he "hugs/leans" people.

how relaxed and low-key his personality is.

that he accepted Lucas into our family and will spend hours laying on the floor in his room keeping an eye on him.

Oh, and I love how BIG his nose is!

Yummy in my Tummy

Finally got Lucas to sleep tonight after a rough couple days for him. He's come down with some cold-thing, and poor little man is a little ragged. He normally sleeps great at night, but last night his stuffiness turned to congestion and he was up every couple hours. He was so congested that it would wake him up and made it hard for him to eat.

So after I finally got myself lucid this morning after that lovely night, I started to really get worried about him. Called our Pediatrician and went in around lunch time. Definitely sick....part of me was wondering if I was just being a worry-wort. At least I wasn't imagining things. Swabbed him for RSV, gave him a breathing treatment and a prescription. Long night turned into a long day. But now he's drifting happily in dreamland accompanied by his trusty humidifier. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and brighter....with the RSV lab coming out negative.

But here's a snapshot of what a food-induced coma looks like around this house. Can't you just see the satisfaction radiating right off that chubby face. This is a boy that loves his food.


Another food-coma picture. But you can almost see his little dimples. They come out every once in a while. And yes, I do realize how MASSIVE his cheeks are. And yes, I know you want to pinch them....everyone does....I practically have to slap hands when we're out in public. What is it about baby cheeks that make normally mature, appropriate, and polite people reach into a stroller and pinch a sleeping baby? Oh well...the price of being absolutely, perfectly cute.....

FYI: He was 11 1/2 lbs on his 1 month check up. Today when I took him in he was 12 1/2lbs. Do the math....it's ridiculous.

UPDATE: The RSV test came back negative. Whew!! that's good. So this weekend we're going to keep it quiet and see if we can get him feeling better. If he doesn't improve by Monday, we're going back in to see the doctor.

Bath Time

Haven't posted in a few days so I thought I'd add a few pictures of bath time. It's quite a task around this house because Lucas has a love/hate relationship with his baths. I'm hoping the "love" part will win out when he gets a little older and has more fun. We'll call this post "The several stages of bath time".

Stage 1: Undressing in room. I didn't get a picture of this since it takes 2 hands to keep this wiggle worm from dancing right off the changing table.

Stage 2: Introduction to water. He's never quite sure what to think when we put him in.

Stage 3: Realization. Now it's hitting him what's coming. Takes a little reassurance from mom that everything will be "okay." Ya think he believes me?

Stage 4: Enjoyment/Letting loose. Once the soapy rub down starts - he really enjoys things. He'll talk to me and even let out a few toots. He is a boy after all...

.Ahhhh.....we love this part of bath time!!

Stage 5: Washing hair. Don't have any pictures of this phase because this is where he has a melt down. Washing hair is HORRIBLE! But unfortunately for him it's essential.


Stage 6: Aftermath. Here he is trying to come down from his hysterics. And we try to dry him off, lotion, then dress. Today was extra special because Lucas was screaming, and then the dogs starting barking at a "boogey man" doing landscaping next door. I didn't think I've ever heard such a raquet. It was slightly frazzling. Afterwards I bundle him up for some well deserved cuddle time.

I am actually typing this blog with a sweet, clean, and sleeping snuggle bug in my arms. Life is all about multi-tasking these days.

A Visit from My Sister

My sister MaryBeth came to visit us on the 16th. Can't even tell you how excited I was. We had a blast. We mostly just hung out around the house with Lucas, but we did make a few excursions out to shop. I had a blast. It was AWESOME to see her again (I don't see my sisters enough!).




She pretty much turned into a baby hog....but I didn't mind. And neither did Lucas. He really warmed up to his Auntie. She fed him during the day and would play little games with him. You can tell she's a pro.

Minnie was doing her Momma-Dog dutie and kept an eye on MB and Lucas. But mostly she just wanted to be in all the pictures. This one cracked me up because she sat up right as I clicked the picture.

This is mostly where Minnie would hang out. Wherever the baby was....and she usually layed on MB's feet.

We tried to get a nice picture of us together before she left on the 20th, but we kept getting the giggles. Sister thing I guess. We did manage to get a decent one. But this one was funnier. I do have some great pictures from when we dyed our hair, but I was forbidden from posting them. And I'm trying to be good.....but one of these days I just might have to....they're hilarious!

Thanks for the visit MaryBeth! Wish we had more time together, and wish you lived closer. But we'll remember this visit forever! Love you!!!!!

P.S. - we need to figure out how to do a sister's weekend and wrangler Lisa in the mix! Or our other sisters too.....you know who you are (Jen, Michelle, Debbie, Mary) !!!!

Just for Isaac - One styling Dude!

Cousin Isaac insisted that Lucas get some Vans. Hello! They're just the coolest shoe ever. Well, we couldn't disappoint family, here we are....

With a little help from Auntie Mary Beth we found a stylish pair for Lucas to sport around, and another for when he get's a little bigger.

These have to be the cutest and funniest item of clothing he owns. Thanks for the idea Isaac! We love you and miss you California Smith/Crews' a BUNCH!!

Lazy Saturday Morning

Matt has a 3-day weekend this week, and we were feeling very lazy this morning. Matt snuck out of bed and took care of Lucas for his morning feeding so I could sleep a little longer. When I woke up and found them, this is what I saw.





Even Lucas was feeling lazy. He just wanted to snuggle on Daddy's pillow in bed.

I decided to go make some breakfast downstairs, when I hear Matt calling me. I walk into this cute scene. "Momma" Minnie taking car of her baby.

It still amazes me how careful and gentle she is with her new baby. She just loves him so much!

1 Month Old

Lucas turned 1 month old on Tuesday and we went to the doctor's for his Well Check. Here are his stats.

Weight: 11lbs 4oz
Height: 22 inches

He's in the 75 percentile for weight, and 60 percentile for height. He's been having some stomach troubles for the past 2 weeks, and after consulting the doctor, switched him to soy formula. So now he's a Soy Joy baby. He's SO much happier.

The world is an exciting place. Lucas loves to follow your face and watch you talk to him. Sometimes he looks like he's really trying to figure out how to move his mouth to talk back. He gets a really serious look on his face. Whenever there's sunshine out, he's looking towards the windows. And he's really starting to enjoy his toys. This picture is Lucas with his stuffed animals in the crib. "Just chilling with his peeps!"

This little boy cracks me up. He make the best faces. Lucas has been growing like a weed. His little thunder thighs drive me crazy, they're so cute. And his little personality is really blossoming now. He has definite opinions about life. He's a strong boy, being able to lift his head and wiggle all over the place.

Just had to add this picture to the post because his cheeks look HUGE! I swear sometimes the angle of the camera adds 5lbs to my poor baby. And his cheeks are big enough without any help from technology.

Our goals for this next month are as follows:

Go on more walks

Learn how to smile

Spend more time on tummy

Learn to be more patient for food time (mommy wishes, but doubtful)

Play with toys more

Sleep through the night (mommy's most excited about this one!)

Happy one-month Lucas! We're so excited to see what's in store for you in the next coming months!

A boy and his toys

The world is an exciting place for Lucas. And Matt and I get a lot of enjoyment out of watching him experiencing everything for the first time. He's getting a little bit older and we're starting to see his preferences for all the "baby" items around our house. I've snapped a few photos of Lucas hanging out in his "toys" around the house.

This bouncy seat we inherited from a friend of mine and it plays music as it vibrates. Lucas digs it alot. We keep it downstairs so he can hang with Mommy when she's cooking/cleaning.

This play yard is pretty new to Lucas but he gets excited about the colors. You can see Minnie's legs in the background, so as you can deduct, the dogs love having him on the floor with them. I had a hard time getting Tim out of the picture. He loves to hang out right next to the baby.

This is the "beloved" swing. It matches the other baby seat we got from Chad & Mary (which he also loves, it sits by the computer). This swing works cradle style (as in the picture) or swing style. And if that's not cool enough it plays 3 different recordings. There's classical music, nursery rhymes, and nature sounds. This is hands down his favorite..... as you can see by his smile, or is that gas?

This is also going to be a favorite toy for Lucas. Our Ipod and docking station. Right now it's on his dresser because Matt downloaded some lullabies for him to listen to. Lucas really responds to music, I have a feeling he's going to be addicted to it like his parents. I sang to him alot when I was pregnant, in the car, in the house, even at work. Matt being a rock fan, found Metallica's hits in lullaby form. It's so funny, you wouldn't be able to tell if you didn't know the band.







I was just lucky enough to snap this picture and thought I'd share it with you guys. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this little man.

Why we love Arizona

The weather has been amazing this week with highs in the 70's. So this morning we decided to take everyone out on a nice walk. It was great! The dogs had been rowdy the past few days so I know they needed it.

We have this great set of greenbelts around our neighborhood (that aren't green right now). So we wandered around and up to the orchards behind the housing development. Not a very long walk but the dogs were loving sniffing the air and walking on the grass.

We ran into another dog walker and Minnie took a protective stance while Bruno had to run over and check on the baby. I'm glad they feel the need to watch over our newest addition. But we may need to work on keeping them from being over-zealous about it.

This was Lucas' first outting in the "great outdoors". He didn't dig the sunshine on his face, but when he realized it wasn't going away, he gave up and went to dreamland.

We can't say that we love Arizona in the summer when it's 115 outside. But it's soooo worth it on days like this!

Superbowl 2010

We had plans to watch the SuperBowl with friends, but I came down with a cold. So we opted to keep it quiet and watch from home. While I was busy feeling yucky Matt took the opportunity to bond with Lucas. The tradition has started....

Here are a few more pictures of the boys together. I love seeing Matt with Lucas. Just melts my heart.

A house full of babysitters

When you have a house full of dogs that have been your babies for almost four years, you wonder how it will work out when you bring home your bundle of joy. I know I had plenty of anxiety during my pregnancy visualizing all the possibilities.... mostly the bad ones. I'll blame that on hormones.

We have 2 Great Danes and one little beagle mix. With dogs as big as Minnie and Bruno, I worried about them not noticing Lucas and squishing him. And Tim thinks he is my only baby. He often gets a little grumpy when the other dogs encroach on his "momma time." You can only imagine all the scenarios that were going through my head. I thought, "This could be really bad!"

Well, actually no!

They're wonderful! All three of them have really taken to Lucas. They love to greet him in the morning with a sniff of the diaper and a kiss on the ear (since mom won't let them kiss his face.) Bruno is a pretty low-key dog, but he likes to keep an eye on Lucas when he's in his crib napping. He'll follow me in his room and check on him with me like he needs to give his approval.

Minnie is a very sensitive natured animal. And she loves to mother the other two dogs, so I knew she'd be very tuned-in to Lucas. Whenever she here's him cry she has to come check it out and make sure I'm doing an OK job. And when his door is closed she keeps watch over the monitor.

Tim, who I was the most worried about, has turned out to have really fallen in love with Lucas. I wonder if it's because he's tiny too. Someone Tim can bond with over being such a small creature in a land of giants!

What a relief it is to know that our WHOLE family is excited for Lucas to join us!

Pregnancy & Lucas' Big Debut

This pregnancy had been pretty hectic for me. First off, I was working around 60hrs. a week during the first trimester and I was exhausted. Luckily, there was a restructure at work and I went to working 40 - 48hrs. a week for the rest of the pregnancy. Thank goodness! My doctor classified me as high risk considering my history and during the last 2 months I had to go in for Ultrasounds and Non-Stress Testing every week. We also opted to be induced at 38 weeks.

January 16th we were scheduled to go into the hospital at 2am to get the ball rolling. But unfortunately something was in the water and our hospital was inundated with women going into labor and they pushed our "reservation" back. We waited around all day. I was getting extremely cranky, so we finally decided to just go out to eat. Well, that's when they decided to give us a call back and we got checked in at 2pm. They told us that we were lucky to get a bed at all, several inductions were cancelled.

I was given Pitocin at 4:30pm and started the laboring process. I opted to go without pain medication and breezed through until I hit about 8 centimeters. At that point it got a little ugly and I won't share what poor Matt had to listen to me say (hehe.) The good thing is that I went from 8 centimeters to baby in my arms in 30 minutes. The doctor had to come flying into the room just to be there in time to earn his paycheck!

Lucas was born at 8:27 pm. He weighed in at 7 lbs 15oz and 20.5 inches. I had to laugh, because the whole pregnancy I would talk to my belly and remind him that I would not deliver a baby over 8 lbs, and he squeaked in right under!

Since then it's been a haze. But I'm loving every minute. I'm learning to live with little sleep, and the occasional shower. And I have to say, I don't mind. I love my son more that I thought would be possible. And I love to see Matt being a Daddy. We've waited a long time for this baby boy to join our family and we couldn't be happier.

We have joined the blogging nation!

Okay, I've been following some blogs of friends for quite a while now. And I've always thought to myself, "I should start one of these...". Well, I finally did it. After Lucas was born, I wanted a way to share our little life, and his milestones with family and friends. So here we go! You'll have to bear with me, this is new, and I'm not sure what I'm doing. But it'll be fun!