Ho! Ho! WAHHHHHHH!!!!

Today we hustled down to the mall after naptime to test Luca's Santa-friendliness. Though he's become acquainted with storybook Santas and even busts out a "ho-ho-ho" when he sees a guy in a red suit, the real thing elicited an unsurprisingly sad reaction. He even cried as he munched the candy cane Santa offered to placate him.

On the other hand, Luca thinks his Johnson cousins are top notch. He and Ben Casey have a particularly poignant connection that seems to have a lot to do with a shared admiration for things with wheels. Here they are at a stoplight.

Sledding

These were taken yesterday before the real snow arrived. The next Tomba la Bomba? My gut tells me yes.

Luca at 17 months

Yesterday the chief hit 17 months. We just had a catch-up appointment with the doctor and have fresh measurements, so we thought we'd share them.

Weight: 26 lbs, 1 oz
Height: 33 inches
Head: 19 inches

Our pediatrician was pleased to note the strong upward trend in Luca's growth, particularly when it come to height. He had a dip a couple of visits back, which could fairly have been attributed to either/both his actual growth or to the fairly unscientific kleenex box measuring convention that the office employs. Either way, he's heading in the right direction -- up.

Besides working on growing, Luca's been developing his ball-handling skills. Until he can transition to snowballs, he's enjoying chasing the tennis ball around the yard, and up & down our street.