Baptism

Today was a very special day for our family. Lucas received the first sacrament of baptism this morning at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. Father Adrian conducted the ceremony, just as he did for Ryan three years ago.

Lucas did amazing. I was certain that he'd have something to say about the water being poured over his head, but I think he actually enjoyed it. The ceremony was beautiful and Lucas was lucky enough to have the support of his family as well as his three godparents-Auntie Jackie, Cory & Diane.

After the service, we came back to the house for lunch and cake. I guess Lucas didn't realize he was the guest of honor, as he slept through the entire thing.

We thank God for our precious boy.

Catching Up

It's been busy around here lately, both boys were sick for most of the week. Last Tuesday was supposed to be Ryan's first day of school, but we postponed it so that he could start school on the right foot.
So, Thursday was the big day. Ryan was so excited. He started off with his breakfast of choice (Fruit Loops and a yogurt) and then got dressed. He was incredibly proud that he got to wear big boy underpants on his first day of school. He is completely potty trained now, he even keeps his diaper dry during nap and through the night. We're going accident free for 3 weeks now.
Anyway, I was a wreck and cried when we dropped him off. He, on the other hand, waved bye to me as he ran off to greet his teacher with a hug! Talk about breaking my heart! It was the longest three hours of my life, but he loved it. I think it'll be good for both of us (once I can drop him off without crying).
We were in a rush so we wouldn't be late on the first day so here's my best shot. Pardon the ugly bag, all the kids have to use this bag that they were given.


When Ryan got home from school we had another reason to celebrate. Lucas turned 6 months old! Already! We baked him a "halfy" birthday cake (an idea I stole from Deanna) and had Auntie & Gavin over for dinner.
Little Lucas isn't so little anymore. He weighed in at a hefty 18 lbs at his last appointment. Yes, you read that right, 18 lbs! He is rolling over now and he is just figuring out how to get around in his walker. Before I know it we'll be planning a first birthday.

On Saturday, we decided to check out the new Tellus Science Museum since they have a dinosaur exhibit. Ryan was in heaven of course. Dave and I have been wondering lately how much longer this dinosaur thing is going to last, but it's still going strong.

Last Day!

While on vacation we wanted to make sure that all four of us got to do something that we enjoy. Ryan, of course, got dinosaur world. Lucas got to spend all of Tuesday morning jumping in the jumperoo and had extra quality time with his daddy. I chose the beach and shopping. And that just left Dave. He insisted that he just had to go on an air boat ride. So, Friday morning we loaded everyone up and made the long drive to the Everglades to visit the Everglades Safari Park.

Ryan, daddy, Grandpa & Grandma all on their very first air boat ride. Lucas and I sat this one out!

During the wildlife introduction, the crazy instructor guy tried to put this icky scorpion on me! After I refused (several times!), Dave stuck his hand out and manned up. Yuck!


OK, I know you all know how I feel about animals kept in captivity. But, Ryan gets so darn excited about such things as the zoo and the chance to hold an alligator...so, meet Snappy, the baby gator that Ryan and Lucas got to meet. Ryan was psyched, and Lucas was super confused and just wanted to suck on his tail.

On the way out, we came upon this guy. I think he was eyeing Lucas, he seems just about gator snack sized!

And if that wasn't creepy enough, we decided to drive around a bit before heading back to West Palm Beach and came upon this guy just lying on the side of the road. We were about 2-3 feet away from him when I snapped this pic. I dared Dave to get out and touch his tail but, no dice.



A gigantic THANK YOU to Bonnie & Cesar for letting us stay at the house while you were away and for a wonderful vacation. We appreciate so very much everything that you guys do for us!

Vacation: Days 4 & 5

On Tuesday, we decided to have a relaxing day by the pool. Ryan absolutely loved it and wanted to be a little TOO independent. Lucas on the other hand, disliked every second of it. He prefers watching.

Later, we took Ryan to this park by the house, it was absolutely beautiful and even had a splash park inside.

On Wednesday, Dave's parents returned from Montreal and joined us at the Palm Beach Zoo. Ryan had quite a few close encounters with the zoo residents. Turns out he is quite brave with strange animals and creepy crawlies.

And the best part...the fountains!

Vacation: Day 3

Day 3 of our vacation turned out to be the greatest day of Ryan's life.

I present to you...

I have NEVER seen Ryan so excited. He ran from dinosaur to dinosaur screaming and laughing. It was absolutely the greatest day...for ALL of us. Ryan got to see dinosaurs and we got to see him be truly amazed.

Vacation: Day 2

We decided to spend our first official vacation day at the beach. For the past couple of months we have been telling Ryan that we were going on vacation to the ocean. At some point along the way he decided that dinosaurs lived there. He asked us daily for the past few weeks when he was going to see dinosaurs on the beach. So, when we got there, I ran ahead and buried some dinosaurs for him to "discover".

We had a great day at the beach, even though it was too cold to swim. About 10 minutes after I took all of these pictures, we were all in our sweatshirts.

After resting up a bit, we ventured out to downtown West Palm Beach for dinner and Ryan's favorite-the fountains.