Tell Us This is Just a Phase...

The many faces of Lucas Dean.

So, Lucas is now 27 months old and he's been running us through the ringer lately. On bad days, he pushes us away, pointing to the other end of the room and shouting, "Go!", but mysteriously clings onto us and won't go down for a nap in the afternoon or to sleep at night (unless we're laying down next to him). Does he want us to go away or does he always want us by his side? I thought teenagers were supposed to send these kinds of mixed messages. Not 2-year-olds. In the end, we have decided to relax and not stress out too much about this new "phase." Seems like we just need to pay him even more attention right now and dig a little deeper into our storage of patience. All I'll say, is he's lucky he's so cute.

The rainy weekend presented an opportunity to head to one of our favorite haunts, the Minnesota Children's Museum. We met up with Karen's friend Worm from college along with her family (husband Mike and their daughters Ryan and Taylor) and Brian, Kristy and Ingrid Rolig. Good times were had by all and we were in and out of there before it got too crowded to move.

Our little Picasso during his "Purple Phase."

Notice the kitty nose and whiskers on his face?

Playing in the "Tot Spot," a pool that has ping pong balls and a maze of plastic tubes. He loved it. To his right is his friend Taylor.

Last weekend, we all headed up to Alexandria to the Rolig cabin. Jay, Brain and Jack put in the dock just before the torrential downpour. It's exciting to think the cabin is open for business. We look forward to many days there this summer. Pretty sure if we're looking for Lucas, he'll be down on the beach digging in the sand.

Fireside at the cabin with cousin Ingrid. I think they're gonna be lifelong pals.

They can't get enough of each other.

"Happy, Happy, Happy..."

This week Jay celebrated his 37th birthday.  Lucas loves birthdays, probably because he continuously says, "happy, happy, happy," to the person we're celebrating and he gets to blow out candles that he confidently knows how to do ever since turning 2. We light, and re-light, candles so he can have the satisfaction of watching the flame go out every time he blows.

 I was a little nervous about Jay's mood on Saturday considering I scheduled him for a day of yard work with my dad.  Was that mean?  I kept reassuring him that he was going to feel so good about the progress and promised him a nice night out after a longs day's work.  Maybe there were little grumblings here and there, but Jay did great, and so did my dad, and our yard looks ready for spring.  They cut a few branches, planted a bush or two, dug up some overgrown plants, busted out the lawn mower, weed whipper, and leaf blower, and lay some rock around our shed.  Being new homeowners, this is progress! To ensure he had some of his greatest pleasures on the weekend of his birthday, we packed Lucas up and had muffins at Turtle Bread Co. and on Sunday morning, enjoyed a family morning out to Starbucks(maybe the highlight of the weekend...sad, but true...we are addicts!) So unfortunately, we didn't take pictures of the yard to post, but here are some cute ones...

Hoppin' Down the Bunny Trail...

Spring is definitely here and our Saint Louis Park neighborhood has been buzzing with excitement. Jay, with the help of Jack, has been doing a lot of yard work, and we've been hanging out a lot with our neighbors. On Easter Sunday, we participated in an Easter egg hunt and even met the REAL Easter Bunny! Later, we went to Jack and Bonnie's for some family time and food. A perfect weekend.

We're still recovering from our run-in with the actual Easter bunny!

Someone is not quite tired and ready for bed yet. Daddy is, though.

Jack and Jay eliminating some trees behind the shed in the back.

Thanks for looking at the camera, Max!

Happy Easter from the Deans!