Luca has decided to move in with Papa & Gigi

And we can't blame him. Luca spent two full days with his Minneapolis cousins over at P&G's in the last week or so, and they sent him home with these great pictures.

we like to move it move it

The last supper at 1222

We've been on blog hiatus for the last couple of months. We didn't mean to disappear, but found ourselves suddenly consumed with the business of packing and moving. Miraculously, we sold our little bungalow and, even more miraculously, found a new house that we both love.

The move was hair-raising, but we survived thanks to dear friends and hired movers, and though we will always hold the 1222 dear in our nostalgic hearts, we are embarrassingly happy with our new house and new neighborhood. We have more room for just about everything, including guests, so come on over. The new neighborhood ambassador will probably be out front to welcome you.

Luca and T showing off the "sold" sign

Luca at one and three-quarters

We've allowed a lot of time to pass without remarking on Luca's incredible evolution from baby to toddler. The change happened so much faster than we imagined it would, and every day he changes a little bit more. For the sake of posterity and since we'd both forget our names if they weren't tattooed on our ring fingers, I'd like to memorialize a few of the highlights of Luca at 21 months.


Luca Andretti

This kid loves cars and driving. We can tell because he says "cahrs" approximately 350 times per day, "drives" by putting his hands at 10 and 2 o'clock and wiggling them up and down, and puts up quite the fuss when it's time to give up a car-based activity.

Kicking the tires on his new Cozy Coupe.
P.S. That's a SOLD sign in front of our house. More on that later...

Like Father, Like Son

To put it mildly, Tom likes sports. To put it even more mildly, Luca is interested in playing sports. It's as if balls and sports come as naturally to him as walking. He pretends to be at bat, calls basketball "hoops," and has a seriously accurate and strong throw. Maybe the interest will peter out, but from here it looks like we're going to be sitting in the bleachers at some t-ball games in a few years.

Luca is also showing some similarity to his dad in another category: chattiness. Tom was a notoriously talkative child from 0 - 12, and Luca is exhibiting the same propensity for communication. For a minute a couple of months ago, we were a little worried that his verbal development wasn't quite up to speed, but since then he has quickly racked up a healthy list of recognizable words (car, of course - and ball (gawl - he says g for b), drink (dink), milk (nilk) water (wah-wah), mama (finally), and daddy, just to name a few). Deciphering his mix of Chinese and Russian can be a challenge, but thankfully he's a master at sign language, so we can often figure it out eventually.

(Since I first posted this, T pointed out that I left out a few important words and phrases. In addition to the above, these are a few that make the highlight reel: garage (gawahj - one of Luca's cutest and most frequently uttered words), clouds (kwowds), and no (pronounced with a heavy throat-clearing sound at the end, like "nohnh"). And one of my very favorites is this: to indicate that something/someone is sleeping, Luca says "shee-hah-shee-hah," his interpretation of the more conventional "unh-shuh.")

And otherwise...

Our boy has always been a good eater, and he continues to have plenty of interest in food, though he has become a bit pickier. Both Tom and I were disgracefully picky, and I hope that he can avoid decades of veggie-phobia. He's clearly unafraid of a bowlful of blueberries.



In broad strokes, Luca is an enthusiastic personality, with a touch of caution thrown in. He's not the first one to storm the playground, but he gets in there eventually. He likes to observe others, particularly other children, but he mostly does his own thing. His run is about the cutest thing you'll ever see - he balls his fists up near his chest and charges on, hips wiggling. We love his big personality and his charm. Most of the way to two years old, our only complaint is that this is all going by a little too fast.

baseball & bunnies

We had some firsts this Easter weekend:

1. Our neighbors invited us to an exhibition game at Target field, for what was our debut trip to the new Twins stadium. The ballpark is pretty amazing and reminded us quite a bit of Pacbell (AT&T) Park in San Francisco. And thanks to the jaw-droppingly good weather we've enjoyed this spring, no one had to shake their fists at the concept of open-air baseball in Minnesota. Yet.

2. Luca petted (poked) a llama and neither one of them freaked out.

Luca and the Sedated Llama

Dallas

Last weekend the little cowboy and I flew down to meet T in Dallas, where he has been working for the past several weeks. The pilgrimage to D-town was an overdue opportunity for this Mavs fan to see Dirk & Co. on their home court. American Airlines Center was everything it's cracked up to be (thanks, Mark Cuban), even while watching a 13-game winning streak get snapped by the lowly Knickerbockers.

new truck, new look

Here's Luca taking his new deluxe fire truck (complete with extending bucket ladder & realistic sound effects) for a spin, and sporting his new haircut. T and I have had a difference of opinion about the little man's hair since the get-go, with T in the "buzz it" camp and me in the "doesn't he look like a little rocker?" category. Well, it only took 19.98 months but T finally got me to concede to a real haircut. We bounded out on Saturday envisioning a sweet, side-by-side "daddy and me" haircut but found the places that do that kind of thing were closed. So we ended up at the next stop on Tabatha's Salon Takeover, pre-makeover if you know what I mean. The experience was actually fun, and certainly memorable, and we can now see our little peach's eyes.

"I want that thing over there, the thing I can't quite see through my bangs. Yeah, that's the one."

February is brief.

February photo collection: Kid, Kids, Ball Kid, Walking Kid, et al.

So long, January. January was so long.

Well, January came and went with barely a peep out of us. Maybe we had our heads in the snow for most of the month. January is notorious around here for bringing the worst of winter in the form of post-holiday blues and frigid temps, and everyone does a little dance when February 1st rolls around.

Probably the real reason for our radio silence is that T started back to work. That's right, after two years in school and seven months as daddy supreme, Mr. R is once again picking up a paycheck. Three weeks in we're still getting used to our new lifestyle. Although it's not without some significant concessions (and daily "daddeeeee" searches conducted by Luca), so far we're all feeling better than expected about this stage, and T is certainly glad to put his business school knowledge to work. Of course, we could all revolt at any moment and beg for a return to our carefree road-trip days...

Where's Dad going?

Better try on Dad's shoes.

A Very Allen New Year

This New Year's Eve, we traveled to Portland, Oregon where we gathered with the Allen family to celebrate Auntie Kasi & Uncle Dan's wedding. Once Luca and T forgave the travel agent (me) for our terrible two-pronged flight, we happily settled into the 8th floor of the downtown Embassy Suites, with family and friends around every corner.

Come wedding day, everyone donned their finery and met to witness the lovely Celtic ceremony uniting Kasi, Dan and their children. And once the first dj-amplified note rang out at the reception, Luca hit the dance floor and didn't leave it until the place was shut down three hours later. Must have been the dancing shoes...

or all the pretty ladies...



Either way, Luca very nearly stole the show and had the time of his life dancing with his cousins and friends, giving & getting a hundred hugs and kisses along the way.

We heard a message loud and clear from many parents this weekend that we should savor this time in Luca's life, that the time passes all too quickly. Between seeing Luca's cousins whose births I remember as if they were just a year or two ago, and watching Luca who is growing and changing in fast forward, it's clear that the advice would be well taken. We're all the more thankful for having had the luxury of time together over the last six months.

Squeezes for L & T

So grown up...H & N

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.

Spaghetti Western: Epilogue

Our wheels have been at rest for about 10 days now, long enough for us to feel both like it's time to move on again and like it's great to be back at home.

After more than two months on the road, we became accustomed to the nomadic lifestyle in many ways. Thanks to generous friends and family, we enjoyed well-outfitted, comfortable, and often luxurious accommodations. In San Francisco, we had the added benefit of getting into a cohabitation routine with our good friends Matt & Sarah, and Luca had a built-in playmate (co-toy thief) in the delightful Alexandra. In Newport Beach, we got to spend time with family and really enjoyed the beach.

In many small ways, life was more manageable while we were on the move. We ate out a lot (burritos, burritos, burritos) and only bought the groceries we truly needed because we couldn't leave anything behind. Without the responsibilities of home, we found ourselves with extra time to read and exercise, and to enjoy California in the best of seasons.

At the same time, we got the itch to get back home. I started to run out of steam when it came to unpacking and repacking the suitcase, and relished the thought of selecting an outfit from my closet rather than from a pile of clothes on the floor. Luca was a champion traveler, but towards the end we grew eager to give him the stability of waking up and playing in his own house. And of course we couldn't wait to lay eyes on our Minneapolis friends and family.

Our collective wanderlust is far from finished, though. In six more weeks T will resume the traveler's lifestyle when he starts work with Deloitte, with two training trips already planned for his first two weeks. Before that, we're going to celebrate Kasi & Dan's wedding in Portland.

For now though, we're thinking less about packing/unpacking and more about Thanksgiving turkey & wishing for a white Christmas. Have a happy holiday!

Home.

After a couple days at Disneyland/California Adventure and a few really long days on the road, we arrived back in beautiful (but freezing) Minneapolis late on Friday night. More to come later, but here are a few pics/Iphone pics:

SF visit with Aunt Renee, Cousin Brett, and Aunt Marijo (pictured: Renee's glasses and right hand...oops):

Disneyland/California Adventure (who LOVES the teacups?)

Lil' Ryan Seacrest

Note the stranger sitting next to A because her husband felt that riding California Screamin' once was enough. Lily, on the other hand, would have stayed on in a continuous loop if there weren't rules preventing such things.

Rest Stops

Spaghetti Western: Part VI

Today is our final day in San Francisco. Tomorrow we return to Newport Beach where we'll meet up with Omi and the Mazzoccos for Luca's first trip to Disneyland...then we head back to Minneapolis. In honor of our sojourn in Northern California, T put together a slide show of some of the highlights. Enjoy!