fossil! geezer! old fart!

(late in posting this, but the holidays are busy!)

my dad turned 50 on 12/13. what an old man!

we had a great birthday party for him at my parent's house. everybody gave dad $100 toward new golf clubs, but we each did it in a unique way. marcy and john made him a big 'happy gilmore' style check. jackson gave him golf clothes with "cart money" in the pockets. joel and i gave him a flower with a 'caddyshack' quote on the pot. natalie gave him an empty box (cause he'll get nothing and like it!) and mom gave him a basket of 'greens.' (which included jelly bellies, which he's obsessed with).

mom and marcy made some really awesome golf travel posters. for dinner we had a delicious italian medley of pastas, and natalie and will brought out the big guns with gelato and cake.

it was such a fun birthday party!

walking!

walking!, originally uploaded by alibean731.

we've got a walker in our house!

lucas is walking more and more instead of crawling. he doesn't even seem to realize that he's doing it!

it gets steadier every day. such a big boy!

thanksgiving

what a delicious holiday! the family first ate at the kothe household for a late lunch, then we were at the nihleans for dinner. this really is a great holiday for lucas, because he can fully participate! all of the food is fairly soft and mushy so he can eat everything - which he did. and food at both houses was so good!

lucas also truly enjoyed showing off his new, tentative walking ability as well as chasing after some kitties. check video here.

unfortunately, the holiday weekend did not come without some hiccups. with the new found ability to walk, there also comes some bumps in the road. or, on his head. lucas keeps knocking himself in the same spot on his forehead :(.

and this is also lucas's first time being sick. he's had a cold since friday. its mostly just a stuffy nose, but when you're 11 months old and can't blow your nose, that really sucks.

this morning he woke up pretty crabby. we were eating breakfast when all of a sudden he sneezed mid-bite. i was expecting him to be upset afterward, but he got a big grin on his face because he had sneezed out the snot that was making it hard to breathe. and, when i say sneezed it out, i mean he sneezed it ALL out:

i was laughing so hard when this happened - and lucas was happy too. all that pressure that was building up was finally alleviated! his nose is still runny, but i hope it's getting better.

first words!

lucas officially can say 2 words! goggy (doggy) and key-ee (kitty)., originally uploaded by alibean731.

lucas has said his first words! we've been *pretty* sure he was saying them for awhile, but now we're positive. and the words are....

goggy and key-ee! or, for those who don't speak lucas, doggy and kitty!

in this video, you can see lucas chasing around some of the animals at grandma sue's house. aunt bethany's dog simba is there too, but he's so tiny that lucas thinks he's a kitty!

little walker

while i'm not sure this counts as first steps, it sure is close!, originally uploaded by alibean731.

well, joel and i don't think this counts as walking quite yet (more like falling with style), he's very, very close!

first haircut

on saturday, lucas got his first haircut! we went to a place that specializes in kids cuts, and they were awesome. the cut was less than 10 minutes, which is perfect since that's pretty much his attention span. plus, he got to sit in a fire truck - awesome!

he looks very grown up now - can you believe he's already 11 months old?!?



.....also, now he looks even more like joel. i have almost given up hope that my genes are anywhere to be found!

obamanos!

for the first time since i was able to vote, my candidate of choice has made it to the white house! joel and i (lucas too) are so excited about the possibility for change that electing obama means: for our health care, taxes, job security, education system, social liberties and, most importantly, for our son's future.

when the news came in, tears swelled up and then overflowed during obama's acceptance speech. i am so excited to see this country moving in a different direction - and so excited for president barack obama.