Hawaii

This November we were able to convert a portion of T's stockpile of miles & hotel points into the most amazing vacation either of us can remember.  We pushed aside our winter gear and packed up everything needed for a tropical clime, and the four of us headed to Kauai for an indulgent stay in Princeville.  Luca made huge progress at swimming thanks to long, daily sessions in the most beautiful pool ever.  He also mastered the Hawaiian "shaka" sign (otherwise known as hang loose, but properly taught to us by our new friend, Kaleo) and was entirely at ease in his island setting.  Julian was a champ, too, even on our multiple flights to and from Kauai.

The cherry on top of this trip was being able to spend Thanksgiving with the Mazzoccos on our way back home.  Quality time in 'Zaccoland (as dubbed by Luca) certainly softened the blow of leaving paradise.

Ketchup (is overrated)

Just a quick "catch-up" of some favorite pics from the late fall/early winter...

Lake Harriet

Happy Campers

Lake of the Isles Trees - 2010 and 2011

Julian in San Jose (7 months)

On the Court at The Barn

Cousin Sleepover

Halloween

This Halloween was the best I can ever remember.  Luca and I spent the whole month of October slowly decorating the inside and outside of our house, and developing a keen taste for treats.  Once the big day arrived, T was able to take the day off from work, so was able to head up pumpkin carving efforts and trick or treating.  To his chagrin, I accidentally taught Luca to say "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat," which some neighbors found funny and others, maybe not so much.  Julian was a reluctant but adorable dragon (though 99% of people who see him say he was a dinosaur - apparently he didn't look very ferocious) and Luca was THE fastest Batman in town. 

Last Fall days at the park

Taking a break from pumpkin carving 

Big sweet face, little dragon costume

 

Ready to trick or treat

Batman, preparing the jack o'lanterns

Onset of chocolate crash

Into the leaf pile he goes...

Julian at 6 Months

Julian, 6 months old??  Well, actually, he's now 7 months old, but we're a little late to the party, mostly because time is flying by so fast.  And because that face is so sweet, it's hard to tear ourselves away to do anything else but jump through hoops to make him smile.

At his 6 month appointment, our little one weighed in at 19 1/4 lbs and was 27 1/4 inches long, both measurements falling in the 75th percentile.  He seems to have taken a page from the book of Allen when it comes to head size, though - he's in the 98th percentile with an 18 inch melon.  

Most notably, JR has the sweetest, meltiest smile.  And he has six crazy teeth that he has just started grinding together, much to our dismay.  He's starting to pick up foods with his little fingers but refuses a bottle and is mostly only interested in milk as nourishment.  He still loves his big brother, despite said big brother's open mouth "kisses" (licks) and insistence upon controlling every toy in the house (more on that later).   And he's working on his baby skills, like smiling, rolling, smiling, sleeping, and smiling.  

First Day of School, Ever.

This is one of those milestones that seemed to arrive both way too fast, yet also right on time - the first day of preschool.  Luca started at a wonderful neighborhood school this fall and has taken to the new routine (mostly) with ease.  He does occasionally tell us that his teacher, Heidi, is a pirate, and we're not exactly sure what that means, but we think that he's having fun and learning to socialize.  And that's what matters.

Schoolboy, ready for action

Somebody in this picture might be carrying a clipboard.  

Julian at 5 Months

Our sweet Julian has made some huge leaps forward in the last month or so.  In his 4-month post, we neglected to mention that he got his two bottom teeth at around 3 1/2 months.  Since then, he has added two more which you can just barely see in the photo above.  Strangely, he did not get his front teeth, but rather the next ones out, giving him a slightly vampirish appearance.  Part of me hopes that he can keep the front teeth under wraps until after Halloween.  He would make the cutest little bat.

Along with the teeth came a clear interest in expanding his dining options, an interest that he exhibited by reaching for every cracker, glass of water, or sandwich I held in my hand.  What he didn't know is that the path to cheezits and chicken parmigian panini is paved by sweet potatoes and pureed peas - but he doesn't seem to mind.  In fact, he took on his new options with gusto and almost immediately reached for the spoon so that he could feed himself.  

Julian's other new interest is the jumperoo.  He loves it.  Go JR, go!

End of Summer Round Up

With tomorrow's projected high coming in at under 60 degrees, I suppose the time has finally come to acknowledge that summer is over - at least meteorologically speaking.  And so it's time to hit the highlights of August, our fireworks finale at the end of the summer.

In Minnesota, people talk about the weather ceaselessly, for obvious reasons.  This summer was no exception, thanks to a long, rainy June followed by an unbearably hot July.  Thankfully, August treated us mostly right and we were able to spend long afternoons at various kiddie pools around town.  In my mind, this will be the year of the Lightnin' McQueen float ring.  We've purchased three of them.

August is always all about the special thing at the end...the Minnesota State Fair.  And this year, we had very special guests - the Rowans.  Their short weekend visit was extended thanks to a reprieve granted us by Hurricane Irene, and therefore we had ample time to enjoy the fair and many of its culinary delights and livestock viewing opportunities.

We saw pigs, large and small - though not the largest pig of record, 

which had mysteriously gone home early.  I think we all know what that means.

First trip to the fair

Tacos!!

Baby's First Snow Cone

Feeding the ducks on Lake Harriet with half of the Backers

Julian at 4 months

This face just about says it all.  At four months old, Julian is a very cheerful baby.  He's gurgly and giggly and would do just about anything to spend time with people, particularly his fortunate family members.  Anyone who's had a chance to hold him has noted that he's also quite a calm and peaceful boy.

Though he started out a pound smaller than his big brother, he's been quickly gaining ground in the stats.  At his four month appointment, he weighed in at 16 lbs 7 oz (75th percentile).  For height he was 26.25 inches (90th percentile) and his head circumference was 17.25 inches (95th percentile).

That last number would indicate that he has a healthy dose of Allen genes, and his overall appearance bears that out.  For now, his eyes are still blue - and the new hair coming in looks blond.  Both boys are crazy handsome right now and so endearing (when they're not causing a ruckus, and sometimes even when they are), it's hard to believe.  Tonight they had their first occasion of actively playing with each other when Luca invited Julian into his construction truck pop up tent, and the scene was so sweet that I didn't even mind when I was explicitly disinvited.  (An exception was made for my arms, which were needed to prop Julian up inside the boy zone.)  

Heaven in 2011 - CousinFest & Duluth

This time of year usually finds us reliving the haze of WE Fest activities, but 2011 was different for us thanks to the little guy, whose needs preclude his parents running off to Detroit Lakes for the weekend.  We also have him to thank for a somewhat impromptu visit from Grandpa Allen, Auntie Wendi, Lily & Tessa, who trekked out from the west coast to meet the new addition.  And are we ever glad they did!  Luca is positively in love with his cousins, and Julian quickly copped on and spent lots of time happily being doted on by his family.

The mutual admiration society of Auntie Wendi & Julian

 Our 2nd visit to the MOA - this time for mini golf . FYI, Luca is making this face on purpose.

Grandpa, discovering his baby whisperer side

The girls, getting goofy

The single, solitary problem with a visit from my family is saying goodbye and enduring the couple of days it takes to return to normal afterwards.  Just as we were about to give in to the post-cousin doldrums, T came home and we headed up to Duluth for the weekend.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect, especially because Luca has recently developed an interest in lighthouses.   We had to hot-foot it out to this one because of the black sky over Lake Superior, but made it without incident.

Another perfect (for 3-year-old boys) feature of Duluth is their historic railroad, which was serendipitously putting on a Thomas the train event on the day we chose to visit.  Luca was over the moon to ride on a real train, and we even found an old train car that was appropriately named after the lake nearest our house.

On our last night in Duluth we ate dinner at a local Italian restaurant, where Luca made the most of the opportunity to draw his first family portrait.  Look closely.  From left to right, there's T, Julian, Luca, then me.  Yes, that red devil bat person is me.  And we didn't even get a picture after he added my extra legs.  

Teeny Tiny Margle

What's the best thing about getting an iPhone 4 for work?  Being able to record and then watch videos from back on the home front while actually located (swamped) in Houston.

What's the best thing about this vidette?  The 4 margles. 

Our favorite of Luca's dwindling number of mispronunciations is far and away the word "marble".  There's no good reason that he can't pronounce it correctly (i.e., he can say both "mar" and "ble" without a problem); but somehow he has landed on "margle" and he can't shake it.  As luck would have it, he says it here no less than 4 times in under 30 seconds - providing me with endless entertainment while away from the little monster. 

Pow!!! Bam!!!

Batman took a spill last weekend (captured on my phone) while showing off his wheels.  Showing super-heroic resolve, he immediately signed up for more, with "Let's try again, Dad (/Robin)." 

The New Line-up

Time to roll out the comparison photo.

We originally did this when Luca was just a little older than Julian is now.  Back then, we thought that Luca looked like a decently even mix between us, whereas nowadays the prevailing opinion is that he leans heavily towards T's side of the genetic formula.  As for Julian, we have yet to meet the person who thinks he looks more like T than me.  All that said, I see a lot of overlap between the boys and I must confess that I hope they bear a brotherly resemblance to each other as they grow up.

Getting a decent photo of a baby is hard.  As evidence, some of the outtakes: