Welcome Lucas Edward!

LUCAS EDWARD

October 9, 2009

7 lbs, 3 oz

21 inches

Our precious new addition, Lucas Edward, arrived October 9, 2009 at 3:12 am. By God's grace, it was a fantastic (and super-fast) labor and delivery. Almost three weeks early, Lucas made his entrance after we spent the evening touring the local fire station with TJ for fire prevention week. We had no idea when we put TJ to bed that he would wake up with a new little brother. We are so thrilled to be a family of four! And we are so excited to introduce you to Lucas!

Lucas after his first bath...

A Proud Daddy - Tim and the boys watching the President's Cup in the hospital room. He's starting them early...

TJ meeting his brother for the first time - what an incredible moment!

They're already BEST buddies!

Welcome home Lucas!

We are truly blessed beyond measure. We are so thankful for all that God has done in our little family, and we look forward to all He has for us in the future. We deeply appreciate your prayers as we adjust to our new life, and we are so thankful to share our joy with you.

TJ is TWO!

TJ turned 2 on September 23rd, and we celebrated in grand toddler style. TJ had so much fun with his friends, his moon bounce, and his surprise John Deere Gator from Uncle Eddie, Aunt Dana, Aunt Leah, and Uncle Chris. It was a great day! Our birthday boy is so worthy of celebration.

Tim's Father's Day gift this year was a family trip to the Strasburg Railroad in Lancaster. We avoided the summer heat and picked a beautiful fall day, which also just so happened to be Thomas weekend. We nearly missed the Thomas mayhem, and the boys had a fantastic time riding the train!

Happy fall!

Summer is Here and Gone...

Keeping up with this blog is not my strong suit. I understand that I'm completely overdue. We've had a busy summer, and it is impossible to believe the first of October is right around the corner. Much time has passed, and we have made so many wonderful memories as a family in the past few months. Here are a few highlights...

We had a great time with the Schultz and Sharp families in Congerville, IL (real farm country)...

TJ and his cousins LOVED the John Deere dealership!
We spent a ton of time in Cape May and at the bungalow with some of our favorite people, the Lags and the Kanes...


TJ couldn't get enough of the beach, the sand, the water, and his Mickey hat. He still asks everyday if we're going to the beach. Sadly, I have to say no.

TJ and PopPop riding the fire truck on the boardwalk...

The famous (and infamous) Cape May 4th of July Parade...

We had a WONDERFUL summer! It's so hard to believe it's already over, and it's even harder to believe TJ just turned 2! He is growing up so quickly, talking our ears off, and ready to be a big brother. Stay tuned for pictures from his 2nd birthday and in the coming weeks, our newest edition, Baby Lucas! We're so thankful and blessed.

Much love to you all!

It's finally Spring!

This Easter was the coldest Easter in the last 100 years, which made for a quick egg hunt even with a winter jacket. We had a great time, but we missed Tim... We missed him much more than he missed us.



It's a LaGuardia family tradition to take family pictures when we're all gussied up on Easter Sunday. Here is our 2009 family portrait. You may not be able to see Tim, but he is definitely on the big screen at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia!

When Tim came home from the Masters, both boys were thrilled with their new prizes! TJ wears his hat, or as he calls it, his "prize," all the time.

We skipped over Spring entirely and went from winter coats to bathing suits. It hit 90 degrees a few days last week, and we were loving the sunshine after a very long winter!
Here is a glimpse into typical Tim and TJ antics before bath time. I heard the screaming laughter from downstairs and couldn't help but try to catch the moment on video.

Our little boy is growing up so fast, and he is very excited to be a big brother in October!

San Juan and Snow...

We had the AMAZING opportunity to travel with our family to Puerto Rico a few weeks ago. TJ is a fantastic traveler! He loved the plane, the beach, the pool (or the "big bath" as he called it), and we had so much fun creating new family memories. We are richly blessed!

TJ loves his aunt and uncles!

He loved playing in the pool, and he managed to draw the crowds...

He adjusted well to "vacation mode"...

And he loved playing with daddy in the fountains at the baby pool.

As usual, he loves being one of the big boys.

This is one of my favorite memories. If we ever get back to PR, TJ will be way too big to sleep like this.

A brutal welcome back to our winter reality. On Monday, we were sitting on the beach, and on Tuesday, we were playing in the snow... Come on Spring!

We were sad to say goodbye to the beauty of Puerto Rico, but at the same time, we are so grateful for an unbelievably blessed life here in PA.

An exciting new year...

It's been a very long time, months, since I posted a picture or anecdote about our little spitfire. The world certainly did not stop turning. Life is busy with a 16 month old. And quite honestly, I've grown disillusioned with blogging about motherhood. I didn't realize that sharing the daily grind of life at home would cause me to answer so many questions from others about myself, which is not at all the point of sharing our stories. The bottom line is this: even in the most difficult days, I absolutely love my son with all that I am and I cherish every moment I have as his mom. Because I already know who I am, where I am, and whose I am, I'm thankful to be in a place where I don't feel the need to share my daily reflections with the cyber-world anymore. And therefore, back to the basics of blogging - pictures, cute stories, and updates on TJ. He is the most incredible little boy, and he's definitely well worth the read... Enjoy!

Here are some of our favorite memories this winter...

Pudding painting Christmas pictures for the fridge.

TJ's first trip downtown to see the light show and Christmas displays - a LaG family tradition...

First, the train ride. Then the light show at Macy's.
Intently reading the menu - TJ's first experience in Chinatown.

Christmas with the family...

All the cousins in PA for Schultz Christmas at Grandma's house.

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Fall is here...

Life has settled down this fall. The engaged couples are now happily married, the distant family members and friends are now closer after sweet travels and time together, and our beautiful and very full summer has come to a close. The quiet family time with "just the three of us" is a welcome addition to our new normal, and I'm amazed at how quickly we seem to sacrifice it when our schedule fills up with other things. Just like everything else about our new world as a family of three, we're learning to adjust, and with that comes learning how to protect our sweet family time and make memories of our own. This weekend we did just that...

TJ and Mom at the pumpkin patch!

Peddler's Village and TJ's first merry-go-round ride!

We are so thankful for our little family, for busy schedules that we share with people we love deeply, and for the quiet moments when we make memories all our own.