It's Been Awhile

It's been forever since I last posted - almost an entire year. That's close to a whole lifetime for Junior. He's grown so much, it's wild to look at the previous pics.

Here's a few new ones to get an idea...






















Well, maybe more than a few...










BTW - no, he's not taking a poo in that picture below and - yes, his fabulous and talented Aunt Sally made him that cool sweater.

Family Photo

Some recent pics...

He's so expressive - sometimes I forget that he's just a baby and I'm convinced he knows more than we give him credit for...

Swimming Lessons...

This past Saturday, Debbie took Luca for his first Aqua Babies swimming lessons. He was a little tentative at first - as you can see by the pics, but he eventually warmed up...

Four months later...

It's been over four months since the last post. Lots has happened in those four months. Luca is four months older - now clocking in at eight months and seven days old. He's crawling, babbling and pulling up. I am pretty sure he's starting to wave. He also "sings" when I sing to him in a humming sort of way, or when he is playing his toy piano. He's teething right now (the top two are coming through, eager to join their two counterparts on the bottom) which is making for a bit of a cranky boy. We're also having a bit of a sleep problem, but more on that later. The quick version is that he has stopped "staying asleep" when we put him down in the evenings. For naps, I sleep with him (at 10 and 3) which is fine when I need the sleep, but not fine when I want to get some things done or even just breathe a little. We are not willing to let him cry it out (not yet, anyway) so, for now I am going to start a slow process of trying to get him into the crib at nap time. All in all, though - he's becoming an amazing little boy. Funny and communicative. It's pretty cool to watch him grow.

More later - my mom is here and we are about to play a game of Set (while Debbie naps with the boy).

a scene from a lazy Sunday afternoon...

just like Sundays should be...

Luca has a best friend

This is Ethan. Although they've never met in person, Luca and Ethan correspond through their mothers and have decided that they are, indeed, best friends.





Ethan lives in Portland, Oregon with his mom and dad - just a plane ride away. The boys are looking forward to meeting each other in person this coming March.

Luca and Karen...

...hanging out at Sidewinder earlier this week.

a lick o' spit

check out the drool that's in mid-drip from his chin

a day with thomas and friends

We hung out with our friend Jack today. He's three and JUST became an older brother last night. Knowing that this new role would soon be his, Jack has been honing his big brother skills on Luca for the past four months. And, now that it's all official with the birth of his new baby brother Luke (pics soon to come!) - we decided to celebrate. Thomas the Tank Engine and his pals were in town, so - Luca, Jack, Debbie and I went to see what it was all about...

the Bush Vacation

I just checked my email and four people sent this to me today. It's a Photoshop classic and I felt the need to share...

excer-sauce-me

Fifth

Today is our fifth anniversary. Five years ago today, we stood in my dad's backyard, in front of one-hundred and twelve people and made a committment to each other. Fast-forward five years later and this is what we did today...

Of course, it's hard to start ANY day without a trip to Sidewinder.



Luca had his usual iced coffee while he read a bit of the Cinicinnati Enquirer.









Once he was all juiced up, he donned his cap and hopped into his car seat - ready to take on his latest adventure...






Luca slept most of the way to our destination - Yellow Springs, Ohio...



...but was awake and ready to eat once we arrived.




Then he got into the sling to do a little sightseeing and walk around town - but it didn't take long before he was napping again.







He did wake up in time to hang out with our friend Meredith who ate dinner with us at the Sunrise Cafe.


But, it came as no surprise when he decided to take an after-dinner snooze.




By the time we got to our next destination - Young's Jersey Diary Farm -




not only was he awake...



...but, he was driving one of their tractors...



...ALL BY HIMSELF!!!





Okay, Debbie was helping - but, just a little.









Next stop on the farm tour - the goats.




(don't worry, we washed his hands!)




Finally, it was time for the fun to wind down and head on home.





















All in all - it was a great fifth anniversary.