Lucas' 3rd bday!

It's been awhile and I know some of my family are waiting for some bday pics, the baby is coming anytime:) so I'm going to try to post right now before heading off for some sleep.

Lucas was really looking forward to his birthday this year so I really prayed the baby would wait to come until after it was over...thank you baby! He especially was looking forward to a cake of his own, had talked about it nonstop since Kai's bday and would pretend it was his birthday all the time. So here's the cake,(the face of a Japanese cartoon character he likes, whose head is a sweet bean paste filled cake-he rescues hungry people:)),which he ate no more than a few bites of, if that! But he loved that it was his, and sang right along with all of us putting his own name in when we sang happy birthday and did a great job blowing out his three candles!




We let him open a present here and there through the day, he was very happy for anything he got, but my favorite thing was when his aunt brought a little container of japanese style pickles for supper(which he loves!) and showed it to him, knowing he liked them. He thought they were his present from her, and very excitedly proceeded to show everyone! He hoarded the leftovers even the next night, keeping them by his plate and shutting the lid after he took some, normally being very sharing, but noone could have any when it got low. We never had the heart to tell him that they weren't really his present...little did she know how little she could have gotten by on:)!
He loves to color, cut,write, etc, he's always been good with fine motor skills, so we got him several workbooks, a maze book, a book to practice cutting and a japanese beginning character writing book. It was the first thing he opened and he worked on them all morning, his attention span amazed me! He did so much of the mazes and cutting exercises I thought he would finish the books. He did them by himself for the most part, just showing or asking me occasionally, which was nice for me to get things ready for the evening..





He received a package from the US actually on his birthday morning, thanks to the Lakes, whose timing is impeccable! What a fun thing to get a package with your own name on it! Here he is opening it with Kai looking on.
Kenji's parents and little sister and kids came to celebrate and ate supper with us. They were a great help as I decorated the cake and prepared supper, thank goodness for family! The shoulder rub Kenji's mom gave me as I sat down before we ate was wonderful...



Lucas got a big boy bike with training wheels from his grandparents..it's a little on the big side, but he was pretty excited to have a bike like his brothers.









Lucas is a very affectionate and sweet kid, he loves to share the treats he gets with everyone and often sidles up to me and lays his head on me and says "my mommy" with a sweet grin on his face. He's taken to wanting his blanket more than usual lately, not just for sleep as it has been for ages. I imagine that he's wondering about the changes his new baby brother or sister will bring as his most often expressed wish for when it comes is to play with it. He's loved my pregnancy, talking to the baby and touching my belly alot. He's in that bragging about being big many times a day, and the next second fussing about not being able to do something and needing us to do it for him stage, just not sure whether to move on or fall back:). He has a habit of saying to Kenji and I, "I want to do---with you because I like you", again with a sweet little voice and smile. He's also ornery as can be if I didn't mention it.....:)For example he likes to practice his Anpanman punch and Ultraman kicks(good old fashioned Japanese cartoon character and the bane of boys mothers.."you're playing right?? not fighting?") on new people to break them in--yeesh, what a brat! I'm sure they think,(that's what mom is thinking for sure!), but it isn't long before he's won them over with his sparkling smile and endless affections.



He loves music and is dancing to the "singing book" his dad got him...which they all love. He's a crazy kid and makes us laugh alot, he's quick with sincere thank yew's(he sometimes has a funny little accent:)) and sorry's. We love him much!