Write to Remember

I have been bad about writing lately, I know, it's hard. Life seems to fly by and every time I think I want to post something, something new happens and I think - oh, I should write about that instead, then you go and do something cute and...it is just one long run-on sentence in my head. I can't stop life long enough to actually follow through and write everything I wish I could. So, let me make a list of the funny things that make us take pause everyday and thank god, or some higher being, that you are our son.

Things that make us laugh:

- You carry "lotion" around with you wherever you go. Unfortunately it is not lotion, it is a brand new stick of Right Guard deodorant, that has become "lotion"

- You pretend to rub the "lotion" on your legs and say "Lot-an" as you rub back and forth

- You sit in the back seat of the car and say "driver...beep, beep, beep" over and over because you are just figuring out to sing the Wheels on the Bus song

- You now have to have a collection of three monkeys, two doggies, one duck, one "phone", and one or two books, just to go to bed at night.

- And when we come to get you out of bed in the morning we find, three monkeys, two doggies...all on the floor, and you, with a look of disbelief on your face, that they are all out of your crib

- When I put you to bed you ask for me to sing - but if I don't sing the Birdy song the way mommy does, you say "No" and ask me to "Rock" instead of singing

- If you aren't carrying around your "lotion" you carry around a pocket calculator and pretend it's a phone. You sometimes have animated conversations and other times you insist that it be placed in your "pock - et" until, of course you need it out again to talk.

- You run to the TV after a nap or when I get home from work and yell "Geme" and want to watch Hockey or Basketball. Then you push me to the ground and yell "Timber" and want to jump on me

- You try to carry around mom's extra purses, but they are just as big as you are and you have to hold your arm above your head to have the loop stay on your arm

- You see a tennis ball and no matter what you say "Abbey" because that is what Pappa Roger and Grandma Lis's dog likes to play with

- You still can't hear the word Grandpa, and not say "Fire, Help" because you helped Grandpa K build fires over Christmas

The list could go on forever but these are some of the little things that make you who you are, and make your mom and dad fall into bed exhausted, but laughing each night.

An Evening with Rick

The benefits of DirectTV? You get XM Radio. The downfall? Rick Springfield with no commercial interruptions! H thought it was pretty fun though.

Stolen Moments

Lately I have started to find a pattern between your mother and me. It happens right after the chain is pulled and the fan starts whirling, the lights turn off and our "good nights" are said. I can hear us both punching pillows molding them to our preferred positions—our bodies searching for the familiar grooves in the mattress, which now that your mother is pregnant again, seem harder for her to find:). But as our bodies slowly melt into our familiar positions on our sides of the bed there is a moment of silence, each of us looking at sleep square in the eye wondering if it will come swiftly or if it will take its sweet time.

Then there is that moment—a huff or a roll, something alerting the other that it's not quite time yet. And then it happens. It usually starts with a funny moment in the day. Like how you demand that we "sit" when trying to get you out of bed. Or how now that you are in your hording stage, you "take" random things. Everything from the most inconspicuous item, a Nilla Wafer, to the most conspicuous, our dryer vent. It all ends up underneath your arm as you say "take." Usually moving from one point to another, gathering things and setting them down in what would appear to be arbitrary places. Moving to-and-fro with assembly line-like precision until your 19 month old curiosity kicks in and you find something else to distract you. Or we tell each other about the new word you learned that day and how we can't comprehend how much you are talking now. And by the way, "when did he start saying "watch" before he jumped on the pillows?"

We spend those last moments in the dark, talking about you. How special you are. How brilliant you are. Knowing that we have no other baseline for your brilliance, but knowing that you must be the most brilliant of all the children in the world. We know that you are special not because of any one thing but rather because of one important thing - you are ours.

We share these moments in the last moments of our day, and though I have never asked her, I know that she is smiling as we talk. Our moments to reflect on your perfectness, on our happiness. Our moments to share softly together in the darkest part of the night our most bright spots of the day.

And then as quickly as the conversation starts it ends. Usually with another non-verbal cue, a heavy breath, a prolonged silence, and we both know that sleep is creeping in. So we roll over and wait. Listening to your breaths over the monitor, us laying side by side and knowing that no matter what happened that day, that because of you we had a good day.

Xmas 2008

Sorry for the delay in posting these, we have been anxiously waiting for our new computer to arrive so it no longer takes us 5 hours to upload 5 pictures! Now that we have a beautiful new Dell computer, I will resume my regular posting of what we are up to. We have a lot to share so stay tuned...and enjoy these pictures from the Holidays!

Decorating the Xmas Tree

Harrison's first attempt at decorating the tree. It didn't last long nor turn out so well :)!

Enjoy!

The Sound of a Bell

I remember last year about this time I read H "The Polar Express" for the first time. It was a night when Liz was working and I read it to him by the Christmas tree, just he and I. He was barely six months and he just kind of sat there on my lap, slapping at the pictures. For whatever reason I started getting choked up at certain parts.

Tonight we were getting ready for bed and he was very adamant about reading "The Polar Express" I am guessing because he and Liz have been reading it, as it was sitting on the dresser. Again I couldn't help but get choked up reading it, and I think it was for very much the same reason as last year.

The story is about having the child-like belief in something. And as H sat there on my lap, crazily pointing out the train and the reindeer and the wolves, I couldn't help but look at the back of his tiny little head - moving back and forth with every flip of the page - and think of how awesome it all was. How he is just starting to understand the world around him and how he will get to believe in all of these wonderful things - how his slate is clean and how much fun is in store for him. I also think that a part of me remembers what it was like to have that innocence, to believe in that bell.

I know sadly we all stop hearing the bell, it sucks. So I have a wish for you...If you get a chance this Christmas close your eyes and remember back to the days of when a shiny bell could capture your imagination. Close your eyes and see if you can hear the bell and let a little piece of that inner child - the one who still believes that if you wish hard enough anything can come true - let that child out, even if just for a few moments.

An Important Phone Call

This is H playing with a set of "keys" from his first briefcase set. He was pretending that it was a phone and he seemed to be taking a very important phone call. Excuse the poor quality it was shot in a hurry with our point and shoot. Also, our house normally isn't that messy - I think "Hurricane H" blew in that day - see post below - enjoy!

November/December Pics

Little Path of Destruction

"It's like he just leaves a path of destruction behind him"

We have a little joke that when either one of comes home we can quickly take a look at the house and see what kind of day it has been with H. On days in which "Hurrican Harrison" has hit you can usually find Tupperware scattered about the kitchen, legos and books strewn throughout the living room, at least one golf ball rolling around the hardwood floors and usually Riley in a tizzy running around the room.

H has entered a stage in which everything and anything can suddenly be turned into a projectile. The little man has certainly discovered that he has quite the arm. Brett Favre he is not, but by the spirals in which his monkey and other animals can quickly be subjected to he is definitely working on his form.

The curious thing about his new found love of destruction is his complete opposite side that is often turned like a light switch. The side in which he suddenly wants to dance or be held and will sit for minutes with his head resting on your shoulders quietly mumbling as if he is whispering sweet nothings in your ear.

I am no child development expert, and I am guessing that this is normal and if we were to take him to a doctor the diagnosis would be "one and a half year old boy"! In many ways this double personality, the lovey little boy who cherishes his tickle times and hugs, and the one who likes to stare you down as he slowly raises a plastic golf ball over his head taking aim directly at the dog all while shaking his head "No" and smiling at you, is just the kind of son I want. One who isn't afraid to test the waters, discover and live life but has the compassion to understand when someone needs a hug.

Don't get me wrong, we discipline him, and I think that is one of the reason's why he will pick up all of his animal magnets off the kitchen floor two seconds after he walks by and sends them flying off the refrigerator with one swoop of his hand, or gives his dog a hug and kiss two seconds after attempting to swat him with stuffed monkey.

I love this age, and I am sure that we are in for more entertainment/struggles, but we welcome them, even if it means sending in a recovery team every night to pick up the pieces of a certain tropical storm!

NOT a Laughing Matter

As a new parent, and a parent of a blooming toddler, one of the hardest things is drawing the line between what actions are cute and funny and what actions need to be stopped before they get to be bad behavior. Now at nearly 16 months you can't really "discipline" other than NO. But Saturday I found myself in one of those in between moments.

We were cleaning the house and H started copying mom and dad and started "dusting" with a coaster. I turned to do something else and just happen to glance back and saw that he had stopped dusting and had pulled himself over the arm of the couch and was on the coffee table. Like a scurrying monkey he was making a mad dash trying to grab the phone before I caught him.

I quickly ran across the room, told him NO and set him on the couch. He, as he has been doing lately, was talking, animatedly, pointing to the phone as if I had just interrupted a serious mission. I told him NO again. As I was about to turn away the little monkey stuck his tongue out and made the motor boat sound - you know the one - something like pffftttt.

I had to quickly stop from laughing out loud. I asked Liz if we were doing time outs yet and she asked "why"? As I told her SHE started laughing.

I was going to let it go, figuring that he wouldn't understand why he was going for a time out after the fact...well, the little turkey kept doing it, and laughing at me. So I put him in the corner and sat with him as mom set the timer for one minute.

He looked at me like I had just stolen his ball, threw away his stuffed monkey, and stolen his juice in one foul swoop. Of course he started crying as it was probably the longest minute of his very young life.

I think he has forgiven me, but now I know that phrase that parents always give and kids never believe -- "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you". Because well, it did hurt, a little, especially having to be the one who issued that first bit of cruel and unusual punishment to such a sweet little guy...but something tells me that this was the first of many to come!

Taking Time to Say Thank You

Tuesday is Veteran's Day, a day that is often overlooked by many as a day that simply means that the post office and banks are closed. Unfortunately growing up that was often my take, but as I've gotten older I've realized how much the military has affected Liz's and my life. We both have family who have served in different branches of the military, and their duty to country has ensured many of the freedoms we take for granted on a day to day basis.

So, Thank You, thank you to those who have put country above self, to those who have given so much to make sure that our way of life is preserved.

If you get a chance to personally say thank you to a veteran, please do so. It is the very least we can do for the many brave men and women who love our freedom so much they were willing to risk their lives for it.

Riding Trucks

I have been playing around with Flickr's video feature and uploaded this video of H trying to ride his truck. This is a Tonka dump truck that in no way is meant to be ridden but Harrison is obsessed with trying to find ways to do so....enjoy!

16 Months - The Boo Edition

These last few weeks have been pretty much awesome. I think this might be the most fun I've had as a parent, and there isn't a day that goes by that your mother and I don't talk about how "crazy" you are.

You have moved into your "collection" stage. It started with Gords, which you first started calling "ba's" You had to have one with you constantly. It has since evolved into grabbing whatever you see first. It starts the moment you get out of bed and carries on all throughout the day. Whether it is a gord, a monkey, a doggie, stacked cups, whatever, you get obsessed with "things" and have to have one in your hands at all times.

Your ability to remember things is uncanny. Long gone are the days where we could hide something or distract you to make you forget. Now you seem to lock in on something and won't forget it. You are/were obsessed with the hair dryer, constantly stroking your hair and saying "dra" "dra", even pointing to our heads. And again, the moment you wake up, you roll over, hop up in your little sleep sack, and say "dra, dra", before we even have a chance to get you out of bed.

You are constantly saying new things. Often times calling something one minute, then after we say the correct name, you catch on and start calling it by its correct one. It still amazes me and how quickly you catch on. In fact I've had to watch myself a few times. One day as we were watching a Purdue game I was a little upset, as I often am these days when I watch them, I stood up and threw my hands up and almost yelled. You jumped up threw your hands up and yelled right with me. A quick lesson in fatherhood of how much you watch us for your cues.

You have a bit of independence, and need to create your own spaces. You love to pick things up and take them to your little chair, set them in the chair, sit down, then reach behind you and hold them on your lap. It's as if the chair is yours and whatever you put on there is in your "safety" zone. You also love to climb up on the big couch and push off all of the pillows. And if mom or I are sitting on it, you try to push us off. Once we get off you sit there with a proud little smile on your face.

As crazy and independent as you are, you are still very much a cuddler. You love to sit on our laps, often times sitting on us, getting up, sitting on us, getting up....You have a crazy obsession with dancing. Apparently you and mom dance while I am at work, and now you want the CD player on and want to dance all the time. So much so that you grab our hands and stick them out straight as if we are ballroom dancing. If we don't dance with you right away you stand in the middle of the room and twhirl in circles. baby. Cuddling you at this age is almost as sweet as it was when you were just a little baby.

You are growing up more and more each day. Each day is filled with a new adventure, something new learned, and a little bit more of your baby-ness disappearing. As I've said this is the most fun I've had, and I think that we have had so far as parents. Your personality is overwhelming at times, but beautiful and I hope that you continue to have this beautiful spirit as you continue to grow up!

15 Months - The Special Place Edition

There are very few places in my life - or should I say in my adult life that I really consider special places anymore. Yes there are a few places that I love going to or that bring back fond memories but very few special places.

We went back to one of those special places with you last week. It was a place that reminded me of growing up. Of spending summers as a kid with my brother, where we got to be real brothers. Getting admonished for "horse play" in the house. Where we used to throw lawn darts up in the air and run around like idiots trying to avoid getting hit by them. The place where I learned what work really was...and not because it was hard work, but because I saw the passion that my grandfather had for his land, the perfection in everything that he did.

It was a place where you fell under grandma and grandpas rules, where you got to eat cereal with honey, from a honey pot on the table with a cool little honeycomb. The place where you stayed up late watching the Last Shogun because it was on TV and your grandparents watched that sort of thing...and you loved it. A place where magic happened not because IT was magical, but because the love, the peacefulness, the beauty of the land around it was magical.

It was the place where you played games with your grandparents friends and had fun, even when you were a teenager who wouldn't be caught dead letting your mom drop you off at the movies let alone playing games with your grandparents and their friends. Where you learned how to play lawn croquet and still, to this very day, can picture you and your brother stepping on the balls and knocking them out of the way, wondering how you had never heard about this game before!

You got to experience this place. Granted it was different than the way I had experienced it, but it was still awesome to see you there.

You got to pick corn out of the garden and pick fresh apples off the tree. And then walk around eating it for the next hour!





You got to ride around on the riding lawn mower...which I might add, we never had in our day!



You raised the American flag, just like so many of the Lucas grand and great grand kids have.





Unfortunately you didn't get to experience great grandpa singing Reveille to wake you up, like he used to do to us...though you didn't need it waking up at 4:00 AM and 5:00 AM in the morning!

It was a trip that you will never remember but I will and your great grandparents will. It was something that I wanted to do with you since you were born and will never be able to do it again.

They are selling the magical place. Moving on to something smaller, something more manageable. It is the right thing to do, they have worked hard to maintain it and its now time for them to relax. It's sad, but it is O.K. because I know that even though the house might be gone...the magic it brought to me, to our family, and now to you, will always be there. It will be in our hearts and in our minds. It has been passed on to you through experiences you will never remember but through love that you will always know.

This might differ than some of your other monthly updates but it's something I thought you should know about. Another little piece of your mother and I that has been passed on to you. Little bits of our family history, our family love that we may forget to tell you someday but that you should know about.





You can see all our pictures by clicking here

Our Trip to Purdue

Rain, Rain Come Again...

So I have to preface this video. The day before we shot this it was raining out and the rain was hitting the Chimney. You could hear the rain hitting the metal outside through the fireplace and H was absolutely enthralled by it. We gave him his bath that night and as soon as he was out he raced back to the fireplace to hear THAT noise.

We shot this the next night. It had just begun raining and he was obsessing over hearing the sound and wanting more (that is the sign that he is making). It is a little long - three minutes - but we thought it was pretty cute at how intense he was about listening to the sound and how he wanted MORE!.

Parenting

As a parent you can't really tell you if you are good, you hope that you are doing a good job, but you'll never really know for a a good twenty years or so...at least that's my theory. But as H has started becoming a little boy, and as we find ourselves trying to teach him and lay the groundwork for the years to come, I find myself learning new things everyday. So here a few of the things I have learned:

* It's OK to walk outside with your barefeet
* Sometimes it's ok to cut across the grass
* Letting out a shout, just because, is good for you
* Laughing at nothing at least once a day will make you smile...even if you are crying at that moment
* It's OK to fall down, it's even better when someone is there to pick you up
* Naps are good
* It's OK to cry
* If you can get applause for eating sweet potato's, standing up, signing, take it, and run with it!
* Your mom and dad will always be there for you...even when you don't think they are, they are probably three steps ahead of you

14 Months

I swear that you are going to think that your birthday is a week or two later than it really is if you go by my blog posts, but I am trying to stay as caught up as I can. I am also hitting a small dilemma, I've always said that I wouldn't be one of those parents who rattles off their kids age in months after a certain point i.e. "Harrison is 22 months", so I am trying to figure out the best cutoff - I think a proper time is a 18 months because then I can just say a year and a half.

Anyway...14 months. You are at an a difficult age now. Not because you are difficult - anything but - but more so because you are at a stage now where you are mobile, mobile to the point that you are almost running. And you are so inquisitive that you are constantly on the move - trying to pull up on things or pull things down to your level. So its difficult because you are quickly becoming this little person but you can't tell us what you want. You can't verbalize all of these new things that you are seeing and touching so it is hard for you because you can get frustrated so easily when we don't know what you want.



It is a fun time to be a parent. I am seeing myself as less a caretaker and more Sherpa. Strange analogy, I know, but it works. I see us guiding you more often now. Trying to show you how to manage certain things, like getting off the couch or a chair. Trying to show you that maybe taking a header off the couch isn't such a good idea and that if you just slide off backwards on your tummy, your feet will hit the floor first and not your head. And to see you pull it off for the first time without help is so rewarding.



You are also figuring out how to just be by yourself. Not that we are leaving you alone often, but the other day as I was trying to get your breakfast ready I couldn't hear or see you. As usual I went to "Oh, Crap, what is he doing" mode. I quickly went to the last spot I left you - your room - and found you just flipping through your dog book. Content, talking to yourself like you were reading. It was so cute. I actually walked away quietly so as not to disturb you...only to slowly peak around the corner again just to watch you one more time.



Your mother and I can literally watch you for hours with smiles on our faces. One of the greatest joys, now that you are slowly (or quickly, depending who you ask) gaining more and more personality is watching how you play with Riley. You regularly wake up and reach out for him as he comes into your room. You actually walk up and pet him or throw your arms around his neck and lay your head on his back. It's amazing, at least to me, because it was just this sudden shift of acknowledgment on your part. Like, I have a dog, and I can pet him, and I LOVE him!

Watching how you play with mommy is also adorable. It is great to see her scoop you up and watch your face light up. Or seeing you run over to her with something in your hand, like, "LOOK, PAPER!" "It isn't it amazing!" It's like you have to share everything with us and it just makes us laugh and melt all at the same time.

You met your cousins in California and it was great to see you guys together. You weren't quite sure of what to make of them at first but you slowly warmed up to them and they to you.



Sharing was a new concept to you, especially with two year olds. Negotiating who got to play with what was like brokering a truce between waring countries at times, but it was a great experience and absolutely fun to watch you play with your cousins. We are already making plans for "California Camp" and "Indiana Camp" when you all get a little older.



This past month has gone by so quickly. They seem to be flying by faster and faster now. We are trying to expose you to many things now, even taking you to the State Fair! You loved the animals and every time the big John Deere tractor drove by you had to point.

We are excited to see the fun we will have as summer turns to fall and to continue to watch you continue to grow up to be a little man!

Soccer Mom

"So Kiburz, you ready to be a soccer mom now?"

"Ah, Lucas, I'm a hockey mom, NOT a soccer mom!"

That a girl!

Sign of the Times

There are moments in your life when you realize that you are entering a new phase. There are the obvious moments, like when you graduate from school, get married, have a child. These moments, while defining rarely sneak up on you. They are moments that despite their huge implications, are manageable because you have time to prepare, understand them, and accept them.

Then there are the other moments, the moments that sneak up on you subtly, like a summer cold. You're fine one minute, the next you're not quite sure what hit you.



I am not sure how it happened. One minute we were talking about gas prices and the next minute we were comparing fold down seats, automatic sliding doors, and DVD systems (we opted out of that trap).



Now, mind you, my experiences with minivans center mainly around those sweet old Dodge Caravans. The sticky sweet feel of vinyl trimmed seats, the long road trips spent on a cooler next to the door. Not because I wanted to, no, because I was the only one who wouldn't complain the whole way. So my view was either the back of the headrest or the flashing landscape out the sliding door window.

So, yeah, I guess this van is an upgrade to those vans and not because of any of the features. Rather because at least I know whatever happens, I'll be driving or sitting in the passenger seat and not "riding cooler" across the great American landscape.