Birthday Party

I kept hoping that this birthday party would be like his first, and I would be able to wear a sun dress and set up the picnic table outside. No such luck. Instead of making room on the patio for more chairs, I was making room in the bedroom for coats. Ah well. We still had fun!

Luca was a big helper leading up to his party, dusting with the wand from the vacuum cleaner (the only non-scary part of it) and making decorations for the cupcakes Uncle Dan brought.

Mom does not look entirely convinced of his helpfulness

Naturally, I made cookies. They turned out pretty cute too! I didn't actually eat any, but lots of people took home leftovers, much to Josh's disappointment--less for him!

It's like an old air mail envelope

With our birthdays not that long ago, Luca had become a pro at blowing out candles and he was very excited for his chance! We had to do it twice because he blew out the first one faster than people had their cameras ready. Which was just fine with him =) And we switched out his pretty candle cupcake for one without frosting when he started eating, so he managed to avoid itchy face. Win Win!

It was wonderful getting to see and chat with all of our family, plus Alan surprised me by bringing my Kindergarten teacher too. Last year Kimmer surprised me, this year Mrs Simpson, wonder who the surprise guest will be next year!

We are excited to start planning for Luca's new wooden swing set. The "garden" needs to be torn out of the backyard and we need to buy lots of lumber, but we are waiting for the weather to cooperate. I am really looking forward to being able to send the kid and the dog in the backyard and letting them play without being at the park and having to keep a close eye on Luca and a leash on Jude. It's gonna be a good summer. =)

This year we also had a surprise for everyone else. The last present Luca opened from Josh and I was a t-shirt that said "Big Brother." We're expecting a little one in September! We are all very excited!

Thank you to everyone who came to help us celebrate Luca's Birthday!

Two years old!

I can't believe it's been two years since we met this little sweetheart...

To say it has flown by is the understatement of the decade. We had a rough first month learning how to be a kid and parents, but it all got sorted out. He has a huge personality and makes us bust a gut regularly. Just in the last couple weeks it seems he's grown up a lot! His vocab expands daily and his motor skills are improving too.
He's started walking up the stairs like normal with just putting his hand on the wall for balance. (I think it's funny when he does it at my parents house because the one thing I remember my dad getting mad at us for the most growing up was running our hands along the walls.)

Luca saw this pic and said "Baby!"

When he doesn't want to do something or eat something he says what I'm pretty sure is "No, no fun." Like the reason he doesn't want to is because it doesn't sound like something that would be fun.
We love Sandra Boynton and have all of her CD's. He has taken to singing the song "Singing in the shower" and it is the funniest thing. In his own tune he sings: "Singing....shower....singing...shower" Cracks us up.
He also likes Phineas and Ferb and sings some of the words with the opening theme song. My favorite part, at the end of the theme song when Candace yells "Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence!" He says Mom about a beat before her. Love it.

2 Years later the blankey doesn't cover as much

He does this sumo walk that's pretty funny, spreads his legs out like he's in second position and sort of staggers around.
His imagination is amazing, we especially see it in his kitchen. For example, the other day I was loading the dishwasher and he would do something in his kitchen, run to the garage door, run back to the kitchen saying "more," and back to the garage door again. After a couple passes I wondered what he was doing and looked. In his kitchen he would cup his hand under the faucet for a second, then run over to Jude by the garage door and pet him. When I asked him what he was doing he said "Jude, wet." Another day I was doing something in the kitchen and he was taking stuff from his kitchen into the table. I thought he was feeding Bunna who was siting in his chair. Then from the dining room I hear him yell "Dinner" so I come around the corner and the table is set with a plate, fork and cup at my place and his place. We dined on a felt ravioli and blueberry. He's such a sweetheart.
We have a tradition where the birthday fairy visits and the birthday person wakes up to a decorated house. This year the birthday fairy hung streamers and ribbon in the door to Luca's room. He had so much fun walking back and forth through it that he didn't want to come down for breakfast.

Tonight we will be having grilled cheese and fruit salad--Luca got to pick his birthday dinner =) We feel so lucky to call this little character our son!

A Trip to Indiana

It was my Kindergarten Teacher's birthday this weekend so Mom and I decided to take "her great-grandson" to wish her a happy birthday in person. As an added bonus, she lives in the same town as my older brother so we got to stop by and spend time with him too.

As always, it took Luca about a half hour to open up at Mrs. Simpson's house, but once he got going man he was a riot. Running around in circles and dancing and telling them to follow him into the other room. What was especially funny/weird, Luca was terrified of her grandfather clock chiming. To the point that she had to turn off the chime because he was on the verge of tears. About every 5 minutes the whole time we were there (even after she turned off the chime) he would say "Clock all done." I tried explaining it was just music and we like music and even danced to the chiming, but he was not buying it. So weird.

Back at Alan's house, he had just got new gun parts, so Luca was ever so helpful with putting them together.

Maybe when he gets new brewing equipment, Luca will come help with that too. A boy and his Uncle, bonding over beer and guns. Does it get any better than that? ;)

Classic pics

Because mohawks in the bathtub never ever get old...

And this is Luca's monkey face. He sticks his fingers in his ears and makes monkey noises. He's been doing it for a while and it cracks me up, but this is the first time I've been able to get it on film. Do people still use that expression even though average people never seem to use film anymore? Anyway, I love it.

Josh has a different interpretation of the monkey face

23 months

WHAT! Boy that happened fast, next month he's a whole two years old...

He recently found the pockets on his pants and looks like a little man when he stands with his hands in them. It's super cute. Until the first time I wash a crayon because I didn't check his pockets first.
He is talking up a storm. So many words, so many I don't understand, but lots I do. With Josh's birthday last month and mine a couple days ago, he's good at the word "Happy." We're not sure what he thinks it means, though. Sometimes he points to the birthday cake and says it, sometimes he points to candles and says it, and sometimes I can't figure out what he's referencing.
Unfortunately, he's also getting really good at the word "mine." Usually when referring to things that aren't his, like Jude's toys or my car keys.

Safely trying to check the empty oven

He's also becoming very polite, he says please, thank you, and you're welcome and has been saying Excuse for ages. My favorite is he says "Bless" after you sneeze. And sometimes after you cough. Unprompted. That was a little weird teaching him. I would sneeze and then say, "Luca, tell mommom Bless you." Felt a little greedy ;)
Thanks to my Dad's travels we have a handful of books in different languages. By far my favorite to read is "Gute Nacht, Gorilla" (because it has, like, 5 words in it. And I actually feel good about my guesses at pronunciation. Except for Armadillo. Gurtelteir. Even Alex didn't have any guesses.) ANYWAY, went to read it and Luca said what I thought was "Nacht" So Impressed! Then I started reading and he started knocking on the pages. Oooh, "knock." Close enough.

"Helping" Daddy shovel the patio for Jude

Bunna is still going everywhere with us. But never takes naps with Luca. He even gets a little mad when we ask if he wants to take Bunna with for a nap. Like, don't we know Bunna sits on the sofa while he naps!? Luca definitely has opinions and preferences.
I think Luca's favorite number is 4. He says it all the time. He's going to be 4 on his next birthday and weighs 46, not 26 pounds.
He likes sour gummi worms. He licked it, made a face and said no, and went right back for another lick. Sucked all the sour sugar off the whole thing before eating the worm.

Little man with his hair cut that makes him look like a kindergartener.

My Birthday

We now have a tradition of bowling for my birthday. Two years in a row makes a tradition, right? Josh, Dan, Luca and I all went out on a Saturday afternoon to celebrate at a bowling alley like the cool people do. With bumper lanes. Like with anything new, Luca was very reluctant at first. Just carrying him to the lane was enough to get the tears flowing.

They taught me that form when we had a bowling gym unit in junior high, I'm pretty sure.

 We let him hold a ball and after a couple frames he started warming up. After I took my turn I heard a ball hit the floor behind me, turned around, and Luca had thrown it. So, he was catching on! He would walk up to the lane holding your hand or leg or something and let you throw the ball for him. Dan demonstrates:

Dan did not have the same bowling unit in gym at his junior high.

Then he got pretty funny. He liked waiting at the ball return for his bright green ball to come up. So he waited, and waited. And when it came he called to one of us, pointed to the ball, walked down to the lane and stopped at the foul line, waiting for us to come and throw the ball.


He was a riot. And considering the whole thing happened during the entire time he would normally be napping, he was amazing. Plus, I broke 100 once! Yay bumpers

Also, to go with the super sweet bike that I got for Christmas, for my birthday I got a super sweet trailer for Luca to ride in behind my bike. I was a little nervous that Luca wouldn't like being in it, but once we put it together he and Bunna climbed right in. And Josh and I pulled him around the living room like it was a rickshaw. He loved it!

Jude didn't hate it either

And now that's one more reason I can't wait for Spring!

Bunna the artist

I saw (on pinterest probably) to put paint in a ziploc bag and painters tape it to a window. Finger paint without the mess. We did it a couple times this summer but Luca was never really entertained by it. So, bored and all cabin-fevery, we gave it another go.

All I could find was 2" frog tape, it's a bit excessive but it works

At first, not so interested. Then I smooshed my hand in it and showed him my handprint. Still nothing. Smooshed his hand in it, still nothing. Suggested we smoosh Bunna's paw in it, Ding Ding! All the sudden it was fun.

Interestingly, Bunna prefers to paint with his foot rather than his front paws. Never would have guessed. But the bag o' paint has been up a couple days and he'll still bring Bunna over to paint a little more every so often. He rarely uses his own finger though. Funny kid.