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.