Finished Book!

This is very exciting to me for several reasons. One, it's a craft project that was actually finished. Unless I'm making something as a gift, I don't often finish projects. My guest bedroom is a graveyard of projects that have a couple hours work into them. So Yay for finishing something! Second, it's amazing because it just is. Really. Let me show you.

There's a cover page but that's not the exciting stuff. It does explain that it's a book of seasons, though, so I'll just tell you that part. So the first spread is Spring. Because I say the seasons "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter." So does Alex. Josh says "Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall." So does my mom. There was a great deal of discussion about what order to put the pages in.

Anyway, Spring. On the left is a garden with carrots, potatoes and lettuce. They all are in little pockets and can be taken out to put in the basket on the right hand page. The watering can isn't attached so can be used to water the garden and the plant on the right page. When not in use, it hangs on the little hook you can see behind it. The plant is fun because it grows! If you pull the plant it comes out of the pot until it has three levels of leaves. And then you can pull the button at the bottom of the pot and the plant shrinks until just the top little bunch of leaves is visible. Still trying to teach Luca it only goes so far in either direction.

On to Summer!

These have six different flips flops spread across the beach, and the pail on the right side holds the mates. They all have a little magnet in them so you can match the pairs. Or just put a couple together, if that's more fun. Which it sometimes is.

Time for Fall!

On the left side is a basket with a bunch of leaves and acorns that can go in and out of the basket. We thought about trying to make a rake or something, but have you ever tried to make a rake out of felt? It's tricky to make it look like something other than a very spaced out broom. So, no rake. On the right page Luca learns early to root for the KC Chiefs. Very exciting, the goal post folds down flat but also will stand upright so you can paper football like flick the ball between the uprights. That will be more of an in the condo game than an on the plane game.

Finally, Winter

On the left side is an adorable little penguin who is on a ribbon like the plant on the Spring page so he can go in his igloo or hang out with the seal by the pond. Seriously, that penguin is super cute. On the left page is a build your own snowman. You can make two, or a big tall leaning one, or whatever you little heart desires. And the pieces all hide in the snowbank when they're not being used.

The back cover has a pocket on it for any loose pieces if we don't have time to put them on the page they belong. I am so immensely proud of this book! AAAAANNNDDDDD, we are almost done with another one! It's looking like by the time all is said and done there will be three books. I hope Luca enjoys playing with them as much as Mom and I enjoyed making them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Shocker, I made cookies for Thanksgiving! Got to use something new to do them too: food mist. It was a little weird spray painting the cookies, but it really had a cool effect.

Used sprinkles on a cookie for the first time too. Josh thinks it looks like the acorns have little afros. I wanted to use just brown sanding sugar but couldn't find any anywhere. And I looked lots of places. But every store had the chocolate jimmies. Still cute =)

This year we are all thankful for the stuff we are lucky enough to take for granted: our health, housing, employment, all that stuff. We are happy to spend the holiday with lots of family, many that we haven't seen since the last holiday season. I am thankful that Mother Nature has so far been holding off on the freezing temps and snow. Mostly, though, I am thankful that Josh doesn't have a leg to stand on anymore when it comes to his ban on Christmas music, lights, and trees in and on our house! ;) Happy Thanksgiving!

It's a delicious leaf pile!

Recently...

Josh and I had Chinese the other night, and I always use chopsticks to eat mine. While we were getting dinner ready Luca was driving me crazy, so I gave him a pair to play with. And then he wanted to bring them to the table. Since they're an eating utensil (that I was going to be using) it didn't seem right to tell him no. Good thing too, he showed us he's a pro! That's a corn kernel wedged in between those chopsticks. Now he's ready to travel with Grandpa =)

One time (One Time!) I stuck a clip we use to close chip bags onto Luca's shirt. One time. Now he likes to take them and try to put them on himself. On this particular day we had a lot of clips not holding onto anything, so Luca gave them a purpose.

We have a bunny that has been sitting most all day in the same spot for about a week. You can see him from the window over the kitchen sink and from Luca's bedroom window. He's there when we're washing up after breakfast, he's giving himself a bath around lunch time, and I've never seen him leave, so I have no idea how long into the dark he stays. Luca learned the word "bunny" because of him. Josh named him Reginald. He doesn't even move when Jude goes outside. Reggie has learned that Jude is way more interested on the dogs that might be on the other side of the fence than the bunny on his side. So he just stays still until Jude leaves. Then he goes back to staying still... Luca asks to check on him several times a day.

And, in super duper exciting news, mom and I are almost done with a quiet book! Pictures to follow soon!

20 months

When I decided to do these little monthly updates, I thought "Won't it be cool to look back and see how much has changed in a month!?" I still think that, but I also seem to think more frequently, "Seriously? It's been another month already? Didn't I just do the update?" I mean, is there a stronger adage than Time Flies? Cause that's the one I'm looking for.

In the last month, Luca has started morphing into a Myna bird. At unexpected times. One day we'll sing a belly button song, he pokes my belly button, his belly button, Josh's belly button, tries to find Jude's belly button. Then a week later he walks up to me and out of nowhere pats his tummy and says "button." And then he won't say it again. So crazy. So, his list of words has grown enormously, but his list of repeated words is still normal sized.
Funny story, we are apparently not teaching Luca the words for concrete things, like bed, chair, bowl, sofa, bike, whatever. We are instead teaching him abstract words like down, many, and full. So he likes his new words but has no idea what they mean. He just comes over to you, says "up" (he knows that one), then when you're holding him points in every which direction saying "down." Absolutely no idea what he wants, because it sure isn't down.
Also, he reads =) For a long time he has been careful in selecting books. He'll pull one off the shelf, look at the cover, and then either bring it to us or pick a new one. And he has favorite pages in the book that once we get to, the book is over. I haven't read past the "ALL THE HIPPOS GO BERSERK!" page in ages. Luckily, he's loved that book forever and so I don't need the pages to finish the book, I just recite them while he picks a new one. But so he picks the book he loves, and brings it to us doing something from the book. We have a book that's a song, and he brings it while singing "ooooooohhhhhh." Well we also have a Star Trek opposites book and he brought it over open to the page with the tribbles on it (One. Many.) while saying "Many." Had no idea he knew the word much less the page. So he reads. Also he knows "Full" in that book. You point to the page, he says the word. I have a call in to see the minimum age of Mensa membership.
He's finally calling people in pictures by their name instead of calling everyone "Alex." When I asked him to say "Kimmer" he said "cool." I said close enough =)
We tried skipping the morning nap for a week, figured he was probably old enough and it would let me get more stuff done and go places and such. What a terrible decision. I figured by a week he would have learned to lengthen his afternoon nap. He shortened it. We went from going on 3-4 hours of naps during the day to about one, one and a half. Terrible decision. We're back to morning and afternoon napping.
He loves loves loves playing with Jude and getting toys for him. And taking toys from him. Yesterday while Jude was chewing on a toy Luca brought him another one. When Jude wouldn't take it, Luca tried to open his mouth for him. But Luca is good(ish) about throwing the toy and chasing him to get it back and then throwing it again. And oh my goodness he finds the whole thing hysterical. In what I'm sure is unrelated news, Jude sometimes goes upstairs to nap under our bed instead of on the sofa like usual.
We are very excited about the holidays coming up: Thanksgiving, Friendsgivingmas, vacation and Christmas. It's gonna be great!

And obligatory Luca picture He just this last week found my mom's pots and pans. I assume it's because he has so much drummer blood in him, but he figured out that two lids is basically the same as cymbals. He's cute. And, I think it needs to be said, he does NOT want a drum set for Christmas. Unless the giver plans to keep it at their house. Pots and lids are plenty musical for us.

See Jude? He says "please don't give that kid anything louder..."

Playing in the leaves

Our two trees in the backyard had thrown down a fair number of leaves, so I thought it was time to rake them into a pile for Bug to play in. I haven't raked leaves in years. I know I never did at my parents house now, so it would have been before I was 13 when we moved. Really, ages ago. Wasn't sure I could remember how a rake worked. At first, he wanted nothing to do with the little leaf pile, but was happy to help rake.

Tines up, it was too hard the other way =)

Then he thought it was funny that I was throwing the leaves up and decided it would probably be okay to do that too.

Then he thought it was hilarious that I would stomp in the leaves and sit down in the middle of the pile. So he decided to do that too.

Even more funny was jumping in them, but since I had to help him do it, you'll have to imagine the little guys laughter. It was pretty awesome. By then his little nose was running and my hands were turning into icicles, so I told him if it was still light when Josh got home we could go back out. *Fingers crossed*