The Holidays

Lots of things to update on. We had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. Luca was into Christmas this year. Not so much opening gifts, but playing with them and the wrapping paper. He loves the outdoors... we are realizing we need to move to warmer climate (for other reasons as well) because Luca never wants to be inside. We'll spend an hour at the park, he'll be so cold and red faced but will throw a tantrum when we bring him inside.

He now has 11 teeth and is getting another molar. He is a bit sick right now so he's not his usual happy self. He is a very sturdy boy. You wouldn't know it from looking at him, but he is now 30 pounds, almost 31. He is like a tank when you pick him up. He's saying many words right now, most of which only we can understand. He speaks mostly in English but understands both languages entirely.

He still loves his daycare although we struggle with teaching him to be nice... he has an enemy there that he fights all the time. They are the best of friends and worst of enemies every day! Enjoy the pics...

Watching Go Diego Go... his favorite show. He'll grab the remote and say Go Dego Go...


Sleeping


Peek a boo!


Saying "Woof" to the dog in the park.

On the way to the park

Waving hi

Father and son...

My sweet baby boy...

Watching Diego with his new friend, Big Toe (an Ugly Doll)

He loved the tree and luckily had no desire to pull the ornaments or lights off!

Christmas Day at Grandad and Nana's

His new motorcycle... he loves it!!!

This is a big wheel that he gets to play with at Grandad's

and his moose!

Update

Ok I know I've been horrible with the updates. Hopefully the video and photos below will make up for it.

Luca is growing so much every day. He is absorbing so much info too! It's crazy to see how fast he picks stuff up. His vocabulary is getting bigger by the day! He is also signing a lot. Some of his favorite things right now are reading books... and saying the word book, eating (what else is new), dancing to Go Diego Go songs, and talking on his phone. He also loves to dump stuff out. He'll put his toys in a box or bag and then tip it over.

He is learning his numbers and letters... or at least we're trying. He knows 'A' but often times calls all letters 'A'. He also knows 1 and sometimes 2. He is trying to sign I Love You which is the sweetest thing in the world! He loves to wave goodbye and likes to say 'woof' for dogs, although know one but us can tell he's saying 'woof'.

He spends his days chasing our cat Charlie around the house (the other two won't even let him get close) and reading books. He's now 28 pounds and growing fast! He is scared to death of bubble bath, which we can't understand because he loves bubbles! Very strange. He is learning to share and be nice, which has been a huge work in progress. He likes to have all the toys to himself at daycare, just like he does at home. But he's getting better.

He likes hugging and giving kisses although only when he's in the mood. And the hug had better be short... he doesn't like to linger. We are absolutely loving this stage in his life... it is so wonderful to see him learn new things every day and to really be able to communicate with him. He talks to us all the time, full conversations... we know he'll start speaking actual words so as he is so motivated to get his point across. Enjoy and I will do better at keeping his updated.

All his tricks

We tried to get all his tricks on one video for everyone to see... we succeeded in some, enjoy!

Photos and more photos...

Our Christmas Tree!


Giving Campbell a kiss...


Check out the milk belly!

Busy busy busy

Grandma and the grandkids

Finally, something that is bigger than Luca

My favorite smile :)

He is terrified of bubble bath!

Crazy hair...

He loves showing off his teeth

Taking care of business...

Showing us all he's 1 year old!

Our little monkey!

At his baptism with his Godparents Stacey and Brent!

Updates

Just realized I haven't updated the blog lately. Well I've been a bit busy being a single mommy for 3 weeks! Amauri has gone back to Brazil to visit his family so it's just Luca and I. Things are going well, but Luca's teeth are really bothering him so he's been waking up super early and having problems sleeping at night. I also can't leave him alone with his board books anymore. I gave him one last night in the car and he ate a corner of it... yes actually ate and swallowed it! I know he was hungry because he didn't touch his dinner, but cardboard?

This past weekend he got to hang with Grandma on Saturday, his usual, and on Sunday we went to the zoo with Grandad and Nana. He is getting better about his biting, although he did bite the new girl at daycare... but I know it's just because he's in love with her! :)

We are pretty much done with bottles. Unfortunately he learned to say 'ba' somehow and now asks for them. He also knows how to say 'ball' and 'more'. He can sign 'more', 'milk' and kinda signs for 'all done'. He pretty much uses the 'milk' sign to say he's done or he just shakes his head back and forth.

I bought him a few pairs of shoes last night. Now that the weather is colder and he's learning to walk (no where near being able to though) I realized that none of his shoes fit! He is completely uninterested in walking on his own. He won't even try to take a step. He is so stubborn sometimes it kills me!

Other than that, he is the same happy, hungry little boy! He loves to knock down stacks of anything so we spend a lot of time with his blocks. Stack them up, knock them down... over and over.

Parabens!

It's long I warn you, but so cute!

Europe 2009

I'm finally updating the blog with Europe and birthday photos. We celebrated Luca's first birthday in both Barcelona and Seattle! He is in the 95% in height, 89% in weight and off the charts on his head. Well, we all knew that, but the doctor confirmed it. Said we will probably invest in custom hats in the future!

Luca still loves to eat. He is going through a terrible biting stage that started when his top two teeth broke through but has developed into his way of communicating. We are working hard to break it as he breaks skin and leaves bruises! He is a happy child, sometimes whiney, and we absolutely adore him! He is becoming such a little toddler and is talking all the time. Not saying any words really but his face is fully expressive... like he just told you a great story. He does say 'ball' and 'ga' which is short for 'gato' the Portuguese word for cat. He loves cats, all animals to be exact.

We had a wonderful time in Barcelona and Rome. I only cried on the way to the airport... but didn't break down in Rome. Although the third day was a bit tough for me... I really needed to see my sweetpea!

Below are just a few pics. We have managed to lose the cord to download the photos from our big camera. So as soon as we find it, or buy another one, I'll post some more.

Barcelona here we come!

The calm after the storm... finally asleep after 15 or so hours of HELL!

Barcelona futebol match!

Swimming in the ocean with Vovo!

He loved the sand... ate some of it too :)

Sagrada Familia... in Barcelona

Goudi Park in Barcelona

La Rambla... super sized drinks. Europe has it right!

A kiss on his birthday from Biza!

Biza, Tia and a friend wish him a happy day!

He loves cake! Check out that gut!

Another gut pic... he's so happy to be full and messy.

We loved celebrating two birthdays with family and friends! Love to you all!