Missing Daddy

As most of you know, Brad has been gone all week working to restore power. Last night, Lucas and I had to put together a care package "present" for him. Lucas got into making a special card for his daddy. He's done great, but he's ready for his Daddy to come home. So am I. We miss him. Here are a couple of pictures we took to send to Brad.

Ahrrr

Just can't resist to share this story!
Brad and Lucas went to McDonalds Friday night. While they were eating, a little boy came in wearing glasses and had a patch over one eye. Lucas looked at Brad and said "Ahrrr, he's a pirate." Then he looked at Brad and said, "I don't have an eye patch". He loves to pretend that he's a pirate. I guess we'll have to find him an eye patch.

Smoky Mountains 2008

We just came back from a long weekend in Pigeon Forge and the Smoky Mountains. We met Gigi and Papaw there on Friday. We took a drive to the Sugarlands area and took a short trail. Lucas was intrigued by the "mountain sticks". I guess he really hasn't played with a lot of sticks since we don't have many trees. We'll have to get him out in nature more often. On Friday night, Lucas had to go ride rides. He even rode the go-carts with his Daddy. He loved them. He kept going by us and giving us thumbs up. On Saturday, we spent the day in the mountains. We went for a picnic by the stream at Metcalfe Bottoms, then went for a drive thru Cades Cove. We saw a big black bear walk through the woods right beside the truck. Of course, Lucas was asleep through the whole thing. After he woke up, we rode the horse and buggy through the woods. We saw a couple of deer, but no bears. After we ate, Lucas, Brad and Papaw went swimming. On Sunday, we went shopping. When we came back, Nana and Pop Pop were there. Lucas was thrilled to see them. On Monday, we went for a picnic at the Chimneys picnic area. Lucas loved the water. After we ate, we went back to the stream. Lucas took his shoes off, threw lots of rocks, and came back out of the stream soaking wet. He told me "I like this water". It was cold, but he had a lot of fun. He brought home a "mountain stick" and a few mountain rocks for the landscaping. Later Monday evening, we went to the Tool Warehouse and the Smoky Mountain Knife Works. Lucas had quite a ho-down with the critters at Knife Works. We had a really good time. I think that Pop Pop will have to recuperate from his visit with Lucas. Lucas gets pretty wound up around him.

Making Memories

This weekend, we went to Gigi and Papaw's house. On Saturday, we just hung out. We went to visit Judy, then we went to NaNa and Pop Pop's house. Lucas enjoyed visiting Judy's. She gave him a rocking chair that plays lullaby when he rocks. It's just his size. He loves it. Lucas had a good time in NaNa and Pop Pop's back yard. He discovered eating apples straight off of the tree. I don't know how many apples he ended up eating. He loved the Granny Gossett apples. He filled his basket with apples, then took them to the fountain to wash them. Pop Pop helped him dry them, then he showed Lucas his cars. Lucas asked him to give the blue car to him. He said "Please Pop-Pop, give me blue car". This is one time that his speech was clear. Pop Pop never answered him, but he did let him sit in his cars and pretend to drive them.

Back at Gigi's, Lucas enjoyed green popsicles.

On Sunday, we had a cookout at Gigi's house. The whole family came. Lucas crashed right before everybody got there. He woke up right after we ate, so after he ate a hot dog, he went outside to watch Buzzy on his slip and slide. He wouldn't slide, but he enjoyed watching. After that, him and Buzzy had a fun game of Red Rover on the front porch. They had a ball. Henry hung out with us too. He's a really good baby. He'll have a ball someday with Buzzy and Lucas. These are all memories that Lucas will have when he's older. He'll always remember his trips to the country and the fun he has doing the things he can't do here in the city.

Lastnight

Last night, we went to visit Gigi and Papaw at their hotel room. Lucas, Brad, and Papaw all enjoyed the pool. Lucas mostly stayed on the steps, but he did jump in to Papaw a few times. We didn't get to visit nearly long enough, but we're glad that Papaw's procedure went well today. We'll see them again soon. Maybe Papaw will take Lucas to get the mow mow that he wants.

Eyes Wet?

Does anyone know what makes your eyes wet? Lucas' new thing is that every time he cries, he says "My eyes wet". He just can't understand why they are wet and just can't stand it. It makes him cry harder because his eyes are wet. Anyone have any solutions?

Visit to the Zoo

We went to Louisville today and got Lucas a haircut. After that, we went to the Louisville Zoo (along with several thousands of others). It was crowded, but we still were able to see everything. We took the stroller, but Lucas walked the whole way. He's growing up way too fast.

Scotty, the baby elephant, was out with his Mommy. He's a year old. We saw him last year, but he really doesn't look a whole lot bigger. He's cute. Lucas just said "Ooh, big"!
His favorite animals were the monkeys. The gorillas were all inside today. They were being lazy when we saw them. 2 of them were laying down and one of them was against the glass holding his hand up to the kid's hands. After seeing all of the animals, we rode the train. Lucas waited until the end to ride it and was thrilled. He's always up for a good train ride.

Good News

Today, I heard the results of Lucas' tests. He has what is called a "wandering pacemaker". In other words, he has an irregular heart rate. Dr. V stated that it is normal in children his age and he will grow out of it. We do not have to see him again.

The Past Week

We've had a pretty eventful and stressful week. Just by accident, I noticed that Lucas has an irregular heartbeat. We saw the pediatrician on Monday and the cardiologist on Thursday. So far, everything has been normal. Lucas came home with a monitor on for 24 hours. I am soooo proud of him. He went through everything like a trooper and never tried to take it off. The only thing that bothered him was removing the tape. We should hear something from the cardiologist by the middle of this week. We are praying that everything is normal.We've made up for everything this weekend. Tonight, we surprised him with his own golf cart! He was real excited to see it. He wasn't real sure about the gas pedal at first. It runs just like a big golf cart. It goes forward and in reverse. It has a golf bag with clubs, tees, and balls. It even plays "It's a Small World" when you hit one of the buttons on the horn. Once he got the hang of it, he liked it pretty good and went up and down the sidewalk. He's not too sure about turning around. He kept getting out to try to turn it around. He can't get the hang of steering it. He keeps moving the steering wheel back and forth. If this is any indication of how he'll drive someday, we're in trouble.

On the go.

Close call with the car.

Ready for a trip to the golf course.

This and That

Lucas and I went to see our friends Jane and Butch. Lucas had a really good time. Butch gave him a huge golf club and ball to play with and some cookies. You know that they became fast buddies. Now, he keeps asking about where Jane and Butch are. We'll have to visit again soon.

Yesterday, Lucas and Brad stayed gone all day so that I could finish up my class assignments. Last night, I treated Lucas and Brad to pizza. Lucas had a great idea. They went to the pizza place in the mall and ordered us a pizza. While they waited for the pizza, Lucas rode the merry-go-round. The pizza was huge and had huge pieces. Lucas tackled the huge piece of pizza.
This is after eating some of the pizza. It wore him out.
Lucas went to his first concert on Friday night. Our friend's son, Chaz McKinney had a concert for the debut of his first CD. He's only 13, but he's really good. Check out his website: http://www.chazmckinney.com/. Lucas had to take his guitar with him. He loosened up and clapped and hollered. He had a good time. Now, he's really into his guitar.
He's really getting down.