Singin' in the rain

To say it was unseasonably warm today is an understatement. It was near 60. And rainy. After dinner Luca wanted to put something in the recycle and I told him it was still at the curb because it hadn't been brought up to the house yet. So he asked Josh to go outside. Since it was not raining at the time, Josh took him. And Luca played in some of the puddles. When they came back inside Luca wanted to go out in the backyard and play some more. Since it was, you know, nearly 60* outside, we said why not and he and Josh went out.

He had so very much fun. There is a low spot on the patio that collects water and it had spread from about one side of it to the other. So he splashed and jumped and splashed some more.

Oh that grin!

By the time they came inside both Luca and Josh needed entirely new outfits they were soaked through. But oh he had fun. =)

Shoveling

Our driveway doesn't get much sun during the day, so even a small dusting of snow won't melt unless it gets warm enough. It is much more likely to freeze into a solid sheet of ice. Which, now that I think about it, since I found my ice skates might not be so awful... Anyway, Luca has been itching to use his new shovel, so with the whole inch of snow that fell the other day actually sticking to the driveway, we decided it was a good time to go outside. We bundled Luca up (finally got to wear his new-to-him snow boots!) and he and Josh went outside to shovel. Jude and I went outside to act as paparazzi.

He got the hang of it very quickly and was quite helpful. Until he got into the mulch and kept shoveling. Even though it was (at least by my standards) super cold, Luca refused to come in until the job was done. So I had to get a shovel and help the job go faster. He's such a good little helper =)

22 months

I'd like to start by saying my baby is going to be 2 years old in two short months. Holy Cow. This time last year I already had a theme and menu and decorating ideas and invitations. The furthest I've made it in planning so far is that I'm pretty sure we're having a party. Ah well, life.

On to new things!

He's stringing words together more often, and using them to react to his surroundings. For instance, he saw Jude licking the dirty silverware in the dishwasher (thank you Kody for teaching him that) and Luca said "Jude no."

Jude wishes he could say "Luca no."

He has also reached that wonderful, wonderful age where he'll go do things for me without questioning. "Give this to Daddy," "Feed your puppy," "Put this in the trash," and off he goes. Lazy me loves it. =)
He loves building with Duplos and has gotten quite good at it. He builds tall things and puts them on the window sill for the neighbors to see. He is especially talented at un-building things. If Josh or I make something impressive we have to take a picture or show it off quickly, because once Luca has it he amends it. Even more amusing, he usually dumps the entire basket of Duplos right off. And then puts the basket on his head and runs around the house. No joke. It's hilarious.

We've turned the downstairs into a giant play room and he loves it down there. I wish it were warmer, but then again there are very few times I don't wish it was warmer... He could stay down there all morning and then usually asks Josh to go downstairs when he gets home from work. Plus, with so many toys down there and our new storage unit, it no longer looks like a toy store exploded in our living room, which is hugely awesome.
Probably the biggest news this month, Luca no longer uses a Nuk. When we got back from vacation he had a head cold that left him very congested and basically unable to breath through his nose. Add a plug in his mouth and he just wasn't sleeping. So we went cold turkey and I just unceremoniously got rid of them. For a couple of days he asked for it before going to bed, but we just said no and that was pretty much the end of it. By the end of the first week he wasn't asking for them anymore. Also, he is down to just an afternoon nap. Unlike last time we tried it, he stretched out that nap to make up for missing the morning one, so we're all happy about it.

Also, Happy Birthday Josh! =)

Stuck his spoon in the frosting to sneak a taste of Daddy's birthday cake.

Taking Bunny for a ride

Luca got this stuffed bunny for his birthday from my kindergarten teacher. (Isn't that something! Mrs. Simpson rocks.) Recently he's gotten very attached to it, bringing it around the house to do things with him. He sits on the sofa while Luca eats snack, comes to the table for lunch, this morning it went on errands with us and came home and sat on the potty chair. Naturally, when Luca wanted to go fast, Bunny needed to come along too. And he was so happy about it =)

Also, it's funny the way he says "bunny." He used to make the "y" sound as "ee," but about a month ago switched to pronouncing it "yuh." Don't know why, but it meant Daddy went from "da-ee" to "da-yuh" and Bunny is now "bun-yuh." It's funny.

In other news, my college roomie's mom gave me a flower when I graduated from undergrad. (That feels weird to say, "graduated undergrad") It had been in her family for years and was blooming when she gave it to me. I had directions to put it outside in the summer, bring it in during the winter, and it would bloom every other year. That was 2006. When those blooms died, I continued to get nice long leaves, but never another flower. It survived 5 moves and is the only plant that is still alive from my college days. (I used to have a bunch. All named.) Then, a Christmas miracle...

Blooms! Big beautiful ones! And since I took this picture another one has opened. Plus the littler stem looks like it's going to turn into flowers too. Nothing for 6 years, then this. It is awesome =)