Luke's Life Lately...

My NINTH MONTH of Life has been pretty exciting, 

so here's what I've been up to lately...

I started the month with my first airshow at a local air force base. I loved watching the jets zoom by, especially the Blue Angels. It was really loud though, so thankfully Mom and Dad found me some ear plugs to drown out some of the noise and protect my ear drums. My Dad is a chaplain for the Airforce and has always loved their planes, so it was particularly special to explore the airshow together. 

I love being more mobile these days, and I crack my parents up with my backwards crawling. Mom recorded my first full forward crawl on May 22nd...so about halfway through this month I was officially very much on the move. Now I can chase after my brother and get into whatever he's into. I am so excited to get into things with him! As the month went on, I also began pulling up on everything to stand. 

I had my 9 month check up and I'm growing like a weed. I'm already 19 pounds! My brother is only a few pounds more than me. It's no wonder we fit in the same size four diapers these days. The doctor said I looked great and I didn't have to get any shots at this month's appointment, so I was very happy about that.

I'm really getting into new foods. I tried yogurt for the first time and man is it delicious. My cousin Talia really likes yogurt, so Mom let me try some and I loved it too. I'm not surprised because it's one of Levi's favorite foods too. I also had my first apple sauce pouch. It was so easy to suck it out of the pouch when we were out and about and I needed a snack. I've been watching my brother suck these down and now it's finally my turn to have one all to myself.  Mom said she's excited to have these easy go to snacks. 

Nana, Tati, Uncle Chris, Talia and Uncle Victor came for a visit this month for Memorial Day Weekend. We started the weekend admiring all the Memorial Day flags in the Boston Common, then we had a picnic and all the cousins got to go for a ride on the carousel (my first ride by the way). We also had had fun exploring Gloucester and Rockport. Uncle Chris declared my nickname should be the "Lukeness Monster". It's a perfect nickname from him since my brother's is "Leviathan". Gotta love being crazy sea monsters together! The big guys all went to a Red Sox game and I got to hang out with Levi and the ladies. We did some shopping and wore our Red Sox gear to cheer on the team...even Talia joined us in her new Red Sox gear. 

I actually got to do quite a bit of traveling and visiting this month because we had fun trips planned for the next two weekends. First, we traveled to Martha's Vineyard with the youth group for the spring youth retreat. I got to ride the ferry in our car...craziness! I loved hanging out with all the students. The girls liked holding me and passing me around and I certainly didn't mind the attention. We stayed at a great retreat center in the woods, but it was super close to the beach...so I made my first beach appearance and I LOVED playing in the sand!

We kicked off the next weekend with my FIRST RED SOX GAME! We had seats with a great view and Mom was very excited to get my first picture at Fenway where she's taken Levi's every year. It's a pretty cool tradition, one I'm sure will be neat to compare and enjoy as I grow each year. I know she cherishes the pictures, so I try to smile and be as cute as I possibly can. I loved clapping for the Red Sox while watching the game in Mama's lap. 

Speaking of "Mama"...I've been "mama-ing" a ton these days. Dad says now it's time to work on my "dadas". I have to keep him on his toes, so I'll surprise him with a dada eventually.

We wrapped up the month with a trip to Charlottesville for Mama's 10 year UVA reunion. Levi and I got to hang out with Great Granny, Grandma and Grandpop most of the weekend. I had so much fun clapping at Great Granny and checking out the cows on her farm. I'm a city boy, but I love getting to enjoy a taste of the country life with my brother! It's especially special to visit Granny's because we get to visit with so many cousins who live close by.  I can't wait to go back to the farm and run around with all the big kids. Mom and Dad were out a bunch throughout the weekend, but I was really good for Grandma, Grandpop and Granny even with this being the first time I was away from Mama for any extended period of time really. I'm still waking up at night, so I got my one on one mama time in the wee hours once Mom had gotten home.

There have been many firsts lately...
        Apple sauce pouch.
        Crawl.
        Red Sox Game.
        Memorial Day.
        Beach Trip.
        Visit to Great Granny's Farm.

It's been a great seventh month of life out of the womb and I know I have LOTS of cool first life experiences to look forward to. Lately, it's been a MOBILE NINTH MONTH of life.

The Business of Being...Levi

Well I've been hanging around this world for  EIGHTEEN MONTHS now and here's what I think about things so far...That's right folks, I'm ONE AND A HALF YEARS OLD! 

The past six months have been busy but would you expect anything less from me!?! I've been doing some traveling and enjoying all the fun things around Boston with my parents, grandparents and friends.

Mom took her first trip overnight without me and I got to hang with Dad. She just went to New York for a cousin's bridal shower and came back the next night. Dad and I had a ball. He took me to a triathlon convention. We played at the park, and we even squeezed in a trip to the grocery store. I had recently transitioned to just one afternoon nap and I took an epic nap for Dad that day...it was over three hours. You're welcome...haha!

Of course that left Mom wondering why I don't usually take naps like that for her, but I've gotten better over the last six months when it comes to sleeping. As long as I have lots of fun activity in the morning, I usually take a good 2 to 2.5 hour nap each afternoon. I go to bed between 8pm and 9pm and I sleep through the night until between 7am and 8am. I think my parents appreciate that especially since my mom is exhausted from being pregnant with my brother.

Speaking of which, I am slowly starting to understand that I'm going to be a big brother in just a couple months now. Mom and Dad keep talking to me about this brother that I'm going to have and at first I was pretty clueless. In fact I would get a little jealous when they would hold other babies, but I've gotten better about that. I've even been known to give babies a little kiss and hug like my cousin Everette.

Mom and Dad love my hugs and kisses. They ask for them ALL THE TIME! Sometimes I like to play a game and say, "No!" but eventually I give in and show them some love. It's pretty funny. Other times I just come over and give them a kiss or hug because I feel like it, which I know they love even more. My grandparents were also tickled when I'd come over to give them a kiss or hug when we've visited.

I've gotten to spend tons of time with my grandparents over the past six months between visits to Boston for my first birthday, a really fun vacation to California where Dad was for school, as well as a visit around Easter, a couple visits for the funerals of my great grandpa and great nana, and then a nice, long two week visit to Virginia while Dad did his military reserve days and now one more visit while he's leading a missions trip to Colombia. I am so lucky to see them as often as I do since we don't live in the same city or state even!

With those trips to visit my grandparents and a trip out to Chicago for James' birthday, I've definitely kept up my jet setting status. I love to travel though I am a lot more antsy on airplanes these days. What can you expect...I'm a walking, almost running fool these days. I love to climb everything possible and just move around as often as I can. I definitely keep my parents busy being on the go.

All that moving around makes me hungry and I love to eat. I stopped nursing around 14 months on my own. I love fruit the most of anything...grapes, strawberries, blueberries, tangerines, apples, tomatoes and raisins too. I am pickier about my vegetables, but I will eat peas, corn and sometimes cooked carrots. I'm willing to try other veggies like broccoli and green beans but I don't love them yet. I do love chicken, turkey and marinated steak.  I've tried a couple bites of fish but didn't love it and the same goes for pork chops. I really really like to dip my chicken in ketchup or barbecue sauce. YUMMY! I've even been known to dip my peas in ketchup and of course I've dipped a few french fries as well. They're great for just dipping and licking off the ketchup. Mom and Dad prefer I actually take a bite of the French fry. I also LOVE buttered noodles. I'm not a fan of spaghetti sauce yet, but I love to eat buttered noodles and when I'm finished I love to rub my hands in my hair. I think it's pretty funny, but I know Mom wishes I wouldn't since that means I definitely need a bath, which by the way I LOVE!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE taking baths! They are so much fun! I still prefer my infant/toddler tub to the big tub because it sits up higher and I don't slide around. I have to admit I get a little nervous in the gigantic bathtub. It's so fun to splash and I've started saying the word splash and bath too!

I am really starting to talk now. Mom and Dad can count over 15 words that I now know how to say. It all started with Dada and Mama, but now I say "pease (please)" all the time and I sign that word too. I also say "thank you". Sometimes I sign "more", but usually I just let everyone know I want something by saying "please". One of my other very favorite words in the last month is "slide". I love to slide and Dad got me one that he set up in our living room for now. I think it's eventually going to go out on the patio, but right now I love watching Sesame Street perched on my slide. I still love Elmo and have started saying his name whenever I see him at home or even in stores. I say "M-elmo". I've yet to say yes, but I am a pro at saying "no" in fact it usually goes more like, "no, no, no". So those are all my favorite words and on top of them I say, "bird, woof, down, duck, nana as in banana, ball" and I've repeated "giraffe, waffle and big bird".

I love playing in water from the fountain/ splash pads around town to the frog pond and beach. Mom even got me a water table to play with on the patio. I loved the beach once I got used to the feeling of the sand. It was so much fun to dig and splash at the shoreline. I even got to play with a bunch of my cousins at the beach this summer! I'm not swimming yet, but Mom and Dad plan to take me to swim lessons this fall or spring. Oh and I took my first class this spring...it was an awesome music class and I absolutely LOVED it! I hope I get to take some more...hint hint Mom!

I've grown a ton. I weigh almost 24 pounds now. I am learning new things every day and showing off all kinds of new skills.  By the next post I'll be a big brother and have someone to teach all my tricks and play with, so I'll keep you posted with how I feel about that whole new gig! 

 Of course there have been many firsts...
             New words.
             New friends...Ethan, Sawyer, Jack to name a few!
             New classes and experiences!
             New foods to try.
             First two haircuts!

As you can see, I have also become quite the Daddy's boy in the last couple months. He's the best!

Overall,  in my EIGHTEENTH MONTH I've enjoyed the business of being CHATTY and ACTIVE!

Thanks to Amy Murgatroyd Photography for these handsome photos!

The Business of Being...Levi

Well I've been hanging around this world for  TWELVE MONTHS now and here's what I think about things so far...That's right folks, I'm ONE YEAR OLD! 

I started this month off with some crazy teething. I have 8 teeth now that have fully come in. I ran a fever and everything. It was so bad this month, that Mom actually bought some cherry flavored stuff that helps numb my gums. I like that stuff. It really dulls the pain. Getting teeth is NO joke let me tell you! I have also started brushing me teeth. I got this really fun banana tooth brush for Christmas and I love it. Mom even started putting a tiny bit of toothpaste after the doctor told her to go ahead.

I am using those all my nice new teeth to eat, eat, eat. I love chicken chili. It is so delicious! I am also obsessed with fruit. Mom and Dad threw me a Very Hungry Caterpillar party for my first birthday and you'd think I was a caterpillar as much as I love apples, tangerines, bananas and grapes. I also love bread and pasta of course...what person doesn't...and I'm Italian, so it's in my blood. I've become pretty interested in utensils lately. I try to use spoons and forks, but I have yet to master it. Plates and bowls are another thing, I would rather use them as a toy and spill whatever is on them rather than let them contain my food, so I'm still eating from my highchair tray and Mom got this cool suction place mat for when we're out since I keep trying to toss the plates on the floor. I don't know why she won't let me. The Greek do it when they're excited and it looks like fun! Oh well.

In Levi fashion, I got to travel again this month. Mom and I headed back to Virginia for a couple exciting parties. We threw a baby shower for Mommy's friend Amanda in Northern VA who is having twins. We got to hang out at Amanda and Andrew's house the night before the shower and I was so excited about my soon to arrive new friends that I didn't go to sleep until almost 11pm. I was a party animal. I thought the party was already started, no one filled me in on the fact that is was actually the next day. The next morning we decorated for the party with all sorts of cute Two Peas in a Pod themed stuff and celebrated Madison and Austin. I was the only boy at the party, but even I had fun. How cool would it be to come into the world with a best friend.

Then later that afternoon, Mom and I drove to Richmond for Aunt Haley and Uncle Justin's gender reveal party. Mom was sure they were having a girl, but guess what?!? I'm going to have another boy bud!!! I am so excited! We are going to have SO MUCH FUN when we hang out. Just wait till me and Liam and the younger guys are old enough to explore at the cabin! Better bring extra clothes Mama because we're all going to be wet from the creek like when Tati was little. I can't wait to meet my new buddy Aunt Haley!

I have also become really comfortable with all of my grandparents. I mean I did get to hang out with them a bunch at Christmas and then I was back for another week long visit a few weeks later. As soon as I see them, I reach for them and want to say hi. They really like that. They all came for my birthday too, so I've gotten to see them a lot and I love it! We're all spoiled. My next visit will be California when Nana and Papa come along and then a spring break visit with Grandma and Grandpop. Of course I see them all weekly on the computer and I'm getting more excited about that too.

So last month's big news was my first steps...well I am walking EVERYWHERE now! I LOVE WALKING and I'm getting pretty good at it. I hardly ever crawl. I'm not running yet, but I'm working on my speed. Watching these Olympics are giving me a need for speed. Watch out Mama and Dada, I'm going to be running before you know it. PROMISE! For now I'll enjoy the cheers and claps as I toddle around.

My favorite words are still dada and mama and I am finally saying both pretty regularly. I've also made it pretty clear that I know who's who. This month I've also started practicing all sorts of other sounds like Nnnnn and Bbbbb. I babble all the time. A friend from our small group is always saying what an extravert I seem to be like Mama. I've also learned to scream, not sure where I picked that up, but it's lots of fun. Lately I've also started pointing and making noises to communicate when I want something. Mama keeps using the words then as she gives me what I've asked for. Don't worry Mama I'll be talking too before you know it.

I'm FINALLY sleeping through the night. It only took 11 months and a couple tough nights where I had to fuss a little. It was just so much fun waking up around 4am for a quick hello with Mom, but I guess those days are gone since she didn't come in to say hi, so I guess I might as well stay asleep. I wake up pretty consistently at 6:40 in the morning, but then I snooze till 8 with Mom and Dad.  I'm still a bit of a stinker when it comes to naps though. I hate going to sleep, but I do get cranky so I guess I still need a couple naps a day though Mama has tried one nap days to see if I'd sleep any longer. I still slept an hour and fifteen minutes, so we're back to two naps since I still get sleepy in the morning. 

The month wrapped up with my birthday celebrations. Nana came to town earlier in my birthday week and baked me a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. I loved seeing the candle! Mom made me pancakes to kick off my special day and we did some shopping because I needed a spot to keep my new birthday toys. Mama got a cool shelf thing to keep my toys in the living room. The rest of my grandparents, Tati and Uncle Chris got in town for my birthday weekend and helped get everything ready for my party. Like I mentioned earlier, I had a Very Hungry Caterpillar party and it was really fun. So many of my friends and my parents' friends came to celebrate my special day. I could tell it was all about me and I was in such a good mood the day of my party. I napped well and was ready to party. I had 12 little friends at the party and we played with my new toys from Christmas and enjoyed all the party food. Then everyone sang Happy Birthday to me and Mama gave me a red cake (the Caterpillar's head). I was a little tentative and didn't dive into my cake, but it was fun to touch the icing. It was so sticky! I'd never felt anything like it. I'm told this cake stuff will really grow on me. I felt so loved by everyone who came out to celebrate. Even my Great Uncle Victor made a surprise trip from Pennsylvania with our cousin Maryann for my party. It was really nice to spend some time with them since I'd only gotten to hang out with them briefly at Tati's wedding really.

Thanks everyone for all the love, support and excitement this year for both me and my parents. It has been an amazing year and I have a feeling things will only continue to get more and more interesting!

Of course this has been another month of firsts...
             Baby Shower.
             Gender Reveal Party.
             Birthday Party.

Overall,  in my TWELTH MONTH I've enjoyed the business of being A TODDLER!

The Business of Being...Levi

Well I've been hanging around this world for  ELEVEN MONTHS now and here's what I think about things so far... 

I started this month off by meeting the man with the big white beard...Santa. Mom, Dad, Nana, Poppy, Tati and Uncle Chris all took me to Macy's in New York City to meet Santa Claus. To be honest, he was SCARY! I loved seeing all the twinkling Christmas decorations in the Christmas village while we waited to meet Santa, but as soon as we walked in I FREAKED out! I calmed down once Mom and Dad sat with me as long as I wasn't right next to HIM! The rest of the day we spent wandering around NYC seeing the holiday decorations. It was a fun way to kick off this the Christmas season. Mom and I took a train home to Boston that night. It was my first real train ride outside of the T or subway. 

In other BIG news...I took my first steps this month! I side stepped to start off and it brought Mom to tears. I guess she doesn't like her little boy growing up so quickly. Who can blame her really. Then throughout the month I began taking more steps usually a couple at a time. I still prefer to crawl because I get places quicker, but when Mom and Dad are sitting across from each other we play this fun game where they stand me up and the other person holds out their arms, so I can walk to back and forth to them. It's a really fun game and I feel safe giving this walking thing a try since I know they're right there to catch me. I think the most steps I've taken at once has been between four and five while we were playing this game of theirs. I have yet to venture out on my own though. I'm sure I'll get around to it any day now.

I have developed quite the appetite this month. I'm really enjoying solid food now. I'm still eating baby food now and then depending on what there is for me to eat and I love my oatmeal for breakfast, but I'm also loving chicken, cheese, bread and a variety of veggies and fruits. When I was in Virginia for Christmas, I ate all sorts of good stuff from pasta and meatballs, to cheese, scrambled eggs and pancakes and much much more. I'm a growing boy and I love food!

Related to food, I still love Cheerios and lately I've been trying to get everyone else hooked on my favorite snack. How, you ask? Well, by sharing of course. I love to share my Cheerios. I eat one and then I like to give you one to eat too. Sometimes I even like to share the one I've just tasted...gotta make sure it's good before letting you try it. Right?!

My first Christmas was magical. I attended my first Christmas party and slipped a gingerbread cookie past Daddy. It was YUMMY and I think the red icing traces that gave me away were a nice touch.

Mom and Dad kept a gate around our Christmas tree because it had lots of fragile ornaments, but I did enjoy starring at the twinkling light and trying to reach for ornaments. Then right before we left for Christmas in Virginia, we celebrated our own little Christmas at home and the gate got packed, so I had a whole hour of fun looking at our tree and all the ornaments close up. My favorite ornament to play with was the jack in the box because mom would spin the crank and a gingerbread man would pop out. Then I would try to push him back into the box. We played this game for a long time. Life with the tree only got better once we got to Virginia because my grandparents would actually let me touch the ornaments and play with them. My Grandma put all the ornaments at the bottom of the tree that I could play with and she made sure there weren't any hooks, so I went to town pulling them off. Playing with them and then trying to put them back on the tree.

I love watching Christmas movies like Rudolph, especially if it has songs. There's even a Veggie Tales Christmas movie that explains where Santa came from. Did you know he was actually St. Nicolas and he would give gifts out as a way of showing thanks for God giving us his Son, Jesus. Mom spent a lot of time this month reflecting one what Christmas traditions she wishes to start with me to keep Christmas focused on Christ, the real reason for the season. I was a little small this year though, so it gave her some time to figure out what we'll have fun with next year...like the elf on the shelf that encourages random acts of kindness and baking a birthday cake for Jesus. One tradition we did start this year was she did a Christmas craft with my little piggies...she painted my foot green and stamped it on paper to make little mistletoe cards to give to the family. My mistletoes were a big hit and fun surprise for everybody.

I must have been a very good boy because Santa and my family gave me lots of amazing toys from my very own back ho and huggable Elmo to my own sled that Poppy refinished for me and grocery cart complete with all sorts of play food some of which I haven't even tried in real life yet! Like tell me, what is this thing you call a donut? It looks pretty tasty! Mom took all sorts of pictures and she'll post them all later, so you can see how special my first Christmas really was. I got to spend lots of time with my amazing grandparents, aunts, uncles and extended family!

My favorite word is still Da-da...and I am pretty sure it refers to my dad because he gets pretty excited when he walks in a room and I point at him and say dada. Mom keeps working on mama with me, but I still only make the mmmm sound when I'm fussy. I'll keep her on her toes a bit longer...I know I'm a stinker;).

I'm also a stinker when it comes to sleep. Last month I showed Mom I could sleep through the night, which I know excited her, but I like to keep her on her toes with that too. I sometimes decide to sleep right through and other times I like to get up one or two times. There really is no rhyme or reason to it. Friends keep reminding her I won't go to college still waking up...haha...I'm sure they'll be right.

I'm doing better when it comes to the car these days. Mom and Dad have some good tricks that help too...like Mom downloaded Elmo's song and the whole Sesame Street CD. They also put a couple Baby Miracle videos about Jonah, Noah and creation on their iPads, so I can watch those in the car when I'm not sleepy. I love the music and seeing the animals moving around. It really helped keep me entertained especially on our 12 hour road trip back to Boston after Christmas!

It's crazy to think I'm going to be a year old next month! Wow how this year is flying. I have grown and learned so much already and there's only more fun to come!

Of course this has been another month of firsts...
          Steps.
          Christmas.
          Long road trip.

Overall,  in my ELEVENTH MONTH I've enjoyed the business of being FESTIVE.