Dear Lucas

Dear Lucas,

Nine months ago, you entered our lives with as much energy as you have today. You are continually amazing us with your strength, determination and persistence.

You currently weigh 22.5 lbs and I believe you are about 29 inches long..but measuring you is almost impossible since you won't sit still. And your feet are huge!

As of this moment, you have 4 teeth. Your top two came in about two weeks ago and I can't believe how something so small could completely change the way you look. It's like you became a toddler overnight. Your smile has always been so huge and now you seem to beam with pride showing off your new "chompers". Too bad I can't seem to get a picture of them all at once..

You are constantly sitting on your knees, which I've never seen a baby do. It's absolutely adorable, but I'm certain it can't be good for you. I've finally stopped taking pictures of you doing it and started shifting you back to your butt when you sit like that just in case it's gonna mess you up. But, it is still WAY cute.

You also love to stand. You can actually stand still for about a minute free of any assistance. I can't believe how strong you've become in the last month. You're not walking yet, but I believe you think you can fly. You are constantly letting go of things, reaching your arms for me...and falling flat on your face, because you don't move your feet. Other than my wincing, you seem unaware that isn't how it's done. We work with you on it everyday. I know you'll get it soon.

You are mesmerized by your brother. It's amazing he can be your hero so early on, but I swear he is. Anything he does, you try to do, already.. We play in his room everyday and most of our evenings are spent in there. All of us play in there together, from the moment we finish our dinner until its time for bed. And we watch you play with Batman and his castle, Spiderman, four-wheelers, monster-trucks and look away from any teething ring, baby piano or ball we try to insist you play with instead. You'll have nothing of it. You only want to play with Ethan. It's funny, you will pound the Batman on top of the castle and on the stairs and lift the gates up and down..it's almost as if you are really imagining and playing along with your brother. It's amazing to watch your mind in motion...and the two of you play together, it melts my heart.

You are "choosy" with your foods. I never had that with your brother so I'm trying to learn what floats your boat. Partly because I want you to enjoy your meal, partly because I can't stand throwing away $$ when you don't finish something and partly because if you don't like it you scream. But when I do find something you like - look out! I can't shovel it into your mouth fast enough. Your feet just swing like you're trying to take off and your smile is as big as it is wide. Your brother loves to entertain you while you eat. I think we sort of taught him that since you used to always scream in your highchair and Ethan was the only one that could get you to stop. So now, he just says random things like "all done" and you laugh until you can't breathe.(I've shared this video before, but it was worth repeating..)

God, we love your laugh. All of us enjoy listening to you. A baby's laugh is always a joy, but there is something so boisterous, so hearty so from-the-very-bottom-of-your-belly about it we can't help but laugh with you. It's completely contagious. And the things that make you laugh, are fascinating to say the least.

You don't puke like you used to which we are all so excited about! Unfortunately, you are still not able to drink "regular" formula yet. We tried a few weeks ago and you puked everywhere. I felt so horrible for even trying it like I was torturing you even though you just smiled and crawled over the puke like it was nothing. I'm really praying that your little sphincter strengthens greatly in the next few months because we can't wait to switch you to whole milk and get you off this $26/can formula..but we will do whatever is best for you. We will ALWAYS do what's best for you. We feel very blessed that we no longer have to give you Prevacid and that you don't scream when you eat your bottles. We've come a long way over these past few months. I'm sure you're glad you don't have to take that nasty medicine any longer either.

You've never been a cuddler. And it doesn't look like you'll be changing that anytime soon. I've never known a baby that didn't like to cuddle, but you don't. That's been hard for me to adjust to, I'll admit. Some days I just want to rock you, body hanging over the edge of the chair because you've grown so much, but nonetheless, rock you. But, alas, you HATE to rock. I even sold our glider a few months ago because there was no point even having it. You would have nothing to do with it. You will hug for a moment and then beg to be put down. It's like you can't stand NOT moving. It's in your blood, I think. You did it when you were in my belly. I even asked the doctor if something could be wrong because you didn't just "kick" like other babies..it felt like you were trying to run or dig your way out. I told everyone that asked how I felt that you wanted out of there and you made sure to tell me often. I'm certain now it was true. I'm supposed to read you stories everyday. If the doctors could see what happens when I try to get you to sit for 3 minutes for a book, they would understand why I say "not exactly" when they ask if we are reading books. We look through books while we sit on the floor together. Well, I say "look at this giraffe" as you run past me. But, that counts right?

Which brings me to my next topic. Baths. I'm not sure what to say here. Between the crawling as fast as you can from one end to the other, the laying your face flat in the water to chew on some new toy only to choke yourself (and give this mama a heartattack!) to the kicking and splashing water all over my face to the grabbing my glasses off my head or the flipping out of my arms when I'm trying to wash your beautiful blond hair..I'm exhausted. I've tried chairs and seats and baby bathtubs. You just get out of them. You are not interested in being tied down or sitting still. But, I still give you baths. Because you love them. Because you smile as big as you can when I just say the word "bath" and start kicking your feet as soon as you hear the water running. I do it because I love you THAT much. (Plus, I'm pretty sure I'd get in trouble if I didn't.)

Sleep. You're really not into it. It's funny, when you first came home you slept all the time, like a baby "should" and we couldn't believe it because your brother never did. We were so excited. But after two weeks, the colic kicked in. You still slept pretty good at night (5 hours or more) but getting you to sleep became almost impossible. You didn't want to be rocked. You didn't want to be carried and sang to. You didn't like to be read a story. You didn't like to ride in the swing. You didn't like your carseat for the ol drive-em-around-the-block trick. Here we are 8 1/2 months later and I still have no clue how to put you to bed. I've tried everything and focus on consistency because I know you thrive on that. And it's still a hit or miss at night whether you go down. But what's worse is that you wake up every 45 minutes to an hour and we don't know why. I feel so bad because I know how tired I am and I know you must be just as exhausted. You can put your paci back in but you aren't even interested in that most nights. You don't want to be rocked. I haven't found a "lovey" you care about. You just stand in the corner and cry "mamamamamama" until I come in. I've been trying to do the whole "sleep training" like we did with your brother and wait a bit to let you cry. I don't even pick you up most times. I simply give you a hug and you fall back down and I rub your back and you go to sleep. That part we seemed to have gotten down pat. I just don't know what keeps waking you up so often. We've tried sending daddy in to see if we can break the habit but then you just throw a fit and it takes me 20 mins to calm you down. I don't know what it is, but I'm going to figure it out one of these days. Until then, I will come to your side and I will comfort you every 45 mins in the early morning hours. Because I love you THAT much!

You're brother loves you more than anything in this world. Through all the colic, the screaming, the attention you've demanded, he's never once said a harsh word to or about you. The way you grab his face and start jibber-jabbering is hysterical and he laughs and lets you pull his hair. The bond you guys have already brings me to tears. I'm so glad that God blessed us with you and your beautiful blond hair and blue eyes. You've captured all of our hearts in so many ways and have made us a true family. You complete us.

I can't believe you've been here for 9 months already...I love you so very much, my dear, dear Lucas. And I can't wait to see what lies ahead for us and how all your little "quirky" ways help transform you into the man you will become.