First Haircut

Today Lukas had his first haircut. We weren't sure if we were ready to cut his precious curls, but they were starting to look more like a mullet. So we trimmed the ends to make him look a bit neater. I thought that I would be sad to see my baby get his haircut, but it was actually a lot of fun. There were a bunch of toys for him to play with and he loved sitting in the big car during his cut. He was all smiles the whole time - we were very proud! Here's a picture of Mike the barber, Andrew and Lukas. It was a team effort!

So Snuggly at 18 months

For about a week, Lukas has been really sweet, snuggly and affectionate with both Andrew and me. We know it is not likely to last long, so we're enjoying it while it lasts. Here is a picture of Andrew and Lukas watching the Giants game together for a few minutes before bedtime. There is nothing sweeter than a big hug from our sweet boy.

Fall is here and so is Lukas' 1st birthday!

Fall is here and so is cute hat season! Fall is my favorite season and October my favorite month. October is both my birthday and Lukas' birthday. Right now we are finalizing plans or Lukas' first birthday party and we are so excited to celebrate with our family and a few friends. Tomorrow is Lukas' actual first birthday. We plan to go to the zoo, lunch with daddy and perhaps even have a cupcake for dessert. We'll see...

Lukas is a Walker!

Just 4 days shy of his 1st birthday, Lukas took his first steps -- 4 to be exact. It was a bit of an accident - he didn't mean to. I brought out one of his bday presents for him to play with, a standing activity center. He was standing with no hands playing with his new toy and I moved it about 2 feet away. And he just walked right over to it! I think it may be a while before he does it again. Maybe. Seeing him walking, turning 1. Such happy times!

Long Weekend in Santa Cruz

We just had a wonderful long weekend in Santa Cruz. Although the weather has started to turn to fall, we still had some sunshine on Saturday. We went to our favorite restaurant in Soquel for lunch called Main Street Garden. They have amazing outdoor seating in the back looking out at their huge garden that backs up to the creek. We enjoyed a yummy pizza from their outdoor pizza oven. Lukas did a little eating and a lot of playing (including eating tanbark). Andrew and I were able to relax and enjoy our sweet little guy. I can't remember the last time we had a 2 hour lunch! After lunch I convinced Andrew to take us for a drive up the hill to Kennolyn where we had our wedding reception 5 years ago. It was Lukas' first time there! We were excited to walk around the grounds and reminisce about our special day. Andrew took a photo of me and Lukas on the lawn. I remember taking a LOT of photos on that lawn on our wedding day too (: Then we walked over to the sales office where there was a huge framed photo of us in the window and another huge photo inside. I was hoping Andrew would take it for me but he did not. Andrew had to head home to work on Sunday but Lukas and I had a nice day Monday going for walks, watching dolphins and searching endlessly for Jordi. Jordi is Lukas' first "name" that he has learned and it is so cute. Also, Lukas just started saying "up" today. He loves to babble too although we have no idea what he is saying!

11 months old!

Holy cow! Where has time gone? Our little tiny baby boy is no longer tiny and hardly a baby anymore. Lukas brings us more joy and laughter with each day. Right now, he is a very huggy boy and starting to give us sloppy, wet kisses on the cheek. He also LOVES to share his bottle, toys & food with Mommy, Daddy & Jordi. Tonight I watched as he fed peas, one kernel at a time to Jordi. Lukas has mastered crawling on his hands and knees and is FAST! He can also cruise around on furniture, kitchen appliances, even the screen door. And he loves to practice his walking. Gone are the days when I could leave him in the living room to grab a quick shower. Lukas has also outgrown his crazy nap strikes. Now he takes a very dependable 1 hour nap in the morning and 2 hour nap in the afternoon. It has made life so much easier, mostly because he is well rested and happy! Lukas' favorite toys continue to be things that aren't toys; my makeup case and their contents, kitchen utensils, spice bottles, empty plastic containers and magazines or manuals. We are often puzzled by his choices since he has plenty of toys to play with. I guess it's a sign that he is learning about the world around him. Clapping and waving are also fairly new skills. Just this week, he began clapping in time to music -- now THAT I think is impressive! Most of all, I love seeing Lukas' growing sense of humor and the love he has not only for us, but for other members of our family. Papa Choo Choo, Opa and Grande have been so generous in helping us with Lukas this year. What they probably weren't expecting was how much of a bond would form between them. Lukas has never cried when I walked out the door, leaving him with one of his grandparents. Lukas & Jordi are also becoming fast friends, equally bothering and entertaining one another. Lukas tries to avoid Jordi's licks while Jordi tries to avoid the inevitable ear tug. I'm pretty proud of Jordi for learning to put up with this abuse and wait for me to help him. This week, I started working from home which means I get to spend a lot more time with Lukas. After a really really hard year, all is right with the world.

Swimming at McGeorge Pool!

Lukas enjoyed the Mcgeorge School of Law Pool which Andrew has access to as an alum. Glad we get something tangible and fun out of all that very expensive law school tuition! It is so nice to have a "neighborhood" pool to go to. We were able to load up the BOB and walk there as a family. This was Lukas' first time in a full size pool and he loved it! I was really proud of how well he did -- I think we will have to do some swim lessons in the fall.

On a side note, Andrew may have tucked a PBR or 2 into the stroller so we'd have drinks poolside...no big vacations for us this summer, but this was as close to Mexico as we've gotten in a while!