I'm a terrible blogger, but not really

I'm just terribly inconsistent at updating this blog. I blame it on our outdated computer that constantly crashes and takes forever to upload pics. It's super unmotivating.

But I do have another little project -- a silly blog where I try to be grateful every day for the little parts of life that make it beautiful. My thankfulness thoughts don't make it to the blog every day -- sometimes they're written on receipts while I wait at a stoplight or are scrawled in my notebook while I sit through a boring meeting. But I do like the practice of pausing. breathing. Thinking about the parts of life that are beautiful and trying to appreciate the small things that are easy to take for granted.

Cultivating gratefulness

14 months of fun

Lucas is a total blast right now. I can't get enough of his silly antics; he constantly has us in stitches with his funny faces and new tricks.

Eating

Lucas' love affair with food has come to a close. He only wants to eat fruit or bread and has started pitching fits when I put other things on his plate. He also wants to eat with a fork or spoon at all times which is super messy and time-consuming, but kinda cute.

When I put something on his tray that he doesn't want to eat, he waves his hands back and forth and says "No, no, no" or "Stop it."

Sleeping
Lucas sleeps from about 7:45 p.m. until 6 a.m. and still fusses/whines/talks himself to sleep every night.

He decided to cut out his afternoon nap, so he's down to one 2-hour nap at 9 a.m. It makes for a very grumpy baby by 6 p.m., so we're trying to push his morning nap a bit. So far, he's not a fan.

Talking
Our little love is picking up new words all the time. He babbles constantly and tries to copy what we say.

New words:
Papa (his name for Josh's dad)
Tick-tock
Stop it (his favorite phrase)
Bubble
HOT
da (for dog or Dusty?)


Tricks

We have an independent daredevil on our hands. He has so many bruises, scrapes, and bumps from where he falls down and hurts himself. Usually he just stands back up, but sometimes he runs to me for a hug which I love.

Balancing on his garage

We go for a walk every night and he walks down the street either carrying a stick and yelling or clapping his hands and walking as fast as he can. He's on the verge of running which is a little scary for me.

He loves to go into the back bedrooms or bathroom and slam the door. He usually yells or cries just to let us know that he's back there, but then he'll play by himself for a bit.

He's a total ham and makes silly faces all the time.

We went to play with his two-year-old friend Brady the other night. Brady carries around a little stool so that he can always get an adult view of the world and is always jumping off of toys and chairs and couches. After playing with Brady for one night, we came home and Lucas got out his garage and got on top of it -- he's trying to be big kid.

Hugs. He finally gives intentional hugs and it's heart-melting.

We love our little man. He's growing up too fast, but he's getting to be more fun and interactive each day. I like watching his little personality form into a funny, strong-willed, outgoing little boy.

1st Hair Cut

Good job, Dad!

Mr. Dave has cut Josh's hair his entire life, and Josh is incredibly loyal to him. He's only let one other person cut his hair and then only because we were in NZ and I couldn't deal with the afro for much longer.

Our plan was to take Lucas to Mr. Dave for his first haircut. It was going to be a family affair with a pic of the three generations of Mitchell boys getting haircuts from Mr. Dave. But, alas, life happened and we couldn't get our act together.

Plus, grandma told us if we didn't cut his hair soon, his eyes would cross because of the hair falling in his face. I know it's not true, but I have that thing about crossed eyes, so I pressured Josh into a change of plans for Lucas' first hair cut.

We let him watch a cartoon for the first time ever and Josh went to town quickly, turning our growing baby into a proper little boy. Funny how a few snips of hair can transform someone so completely.

Beach fun

We went to Indian Beach after Lucas' birthday with Tom and Cindy and Eric. We got a little condo on the beach that also had a pool, so it was perfect for us.

This was Lucas' first time being able to play on the beach and in the ocean, and he was quite a little fish by the last day.

The first day he was a little sceptical and didn't want much to do with it.  We set his pool up under the umbrella, so he chilled there for a good bit of time. Josh made it feel like the ocean by filling it with sand crabs. awesome.

He also spent time relaxing in the new fun chair that Grandma Con got him. Just like the big boys:)

I love my chair, Grams!

Once he figured out that the ocean wasn't all that scary, he couldn't get enough of it. He did his little monkey crawl and Josh would run with him through the waves and he would just laugh and laugh. Tom would put him on the boogie board and pull him around, which was fun for about five minutes until he almost drowned.

When we weren't at the beach we were watching the Masters or playing games and running after a busy one-year-old. It was a fun trip, but definitely made it clear that the days of relaxing beach vacations are a thing of the past with a baby in tow.

Cuddling up with Papa.