Chicago

I got to spend a few days with Nana and Papa while mommy and daddy went to Chicago. Mommy shopped and Daddy waited for mommy to be done shopping and then they went to the football game. It was too cold for me to go but they bundled up so they were warm! The Bears played an awesome game and won in overtime against the Vikings and old man Favre.


The walk home from the game. There were literally thousands of Bears fans walking through Grant Park back to their hotels.


Mommy and Daddy on an early run. (Daddy is taking the picture.)


A panorama of Soldier Field. Home of Da Bears!


Mommy and Daddy all bundled up in several layers for Monday Night Football. The temps were in the single digits. So the answer to, "Are you ready for some football?" was "yes!"

Christmas 2009

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...



Luca got a train...



He really likes it...



He likes it so much we had a hard time getting him to open other presents...



After we laid Luca down to bed, we could kick back and watch basketball...


but...

Caught on the phone

I have caught some good stuff on my phone. Here are my two favorites!


Luca tells who his favorite football team is... Da Bears!




Luca shows off his hurdling skills.

Oh, Christmas tree...

Luca has fun decorating the Christmas tree.



Most of the candy canes were near the bottom...


Tah-dah!


Then Luca practiced the potty.

Monkey Boy

Luca doesn't like for anyone to help him get in his high chair. He prefers to climb like a monkey. He is getting pretty good at it!



And he likes bananas...

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Luca turned two yesterday! He had a great party and got to see a lot of his cousins and friends. I can't quite explain the expression on his face when everyone sang Happy Birthday. It was very funny though!

The OBX Marathon

We spent a long weekend in Nags Head, North Carolina with Great Grandma and Grandpa so Mommy could run the OBX marathon. Nana (Grandma Pam) and Great Aunt Becky did the half marathon as well. Way to go Mommy, Nana and Becky! This is a video of mommy's race:

Smarty Pants

Luca's alphabet skills.

Sleepover

Luca had his first sleepover with his friends Ellie and Nora. They watched movies, ate popcorn and just had a grand old time!

Master Yoda

Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.


Our family at the "Zoo Boo" with our German guests Katrin and Vera.

The blanket

As it gets cold, Luca relies more and more on his favorite blanket. Some things never change!

December, 2007



October, 2009

The force is strong with this one...

Cross Country Season

I realize that most of the blog entries I submit are pictures which is not what a blog is intended to be. It's just hard to resist when you have so many opportunities to take good pictures in the summer. Now that school is back in session there hasn't been a whole lot of picture taking opportunities so I guess i'll have to start writing more!

Cross Country is in full swing and Alli and Luca make it to most of the meets. Luca really likes it because he gets to run around and scream for the runners. He actually screams, "GO!" His favorite part of the meet is when the starter shoots his pistol. He stares at him and when the gun goes off he always jumps and then looks at us and smiles. The other day Alli said she was going to get some meat out of the freezer and he heard the word "meat" and thought "meet" like cross country "meet." So he put his hand up in the air like the starter with his pistol. Pretty funny!

Other than that we are just busy with school. Even though we are very busy during the school year it is quite a bit different than the craziness of summer because we have a routine. Thankfully, it has been a smooth transition. We will be doing some summer-like traveling in November when we head to North Carolina so Alli can run the OBX marathon. She has been training hard and this morning she ran 19 miles!

Alli and Luca hanging out at a Cross Country meet.

GO, FIRE UP CHIPS!!!!

CMU 29, MSU 27

The plane, the plane!

The father of one of my runners took me up in his paraglider. What an awesome experience! Now every time Luca hears the word plane he points to the sky and says, "Da-Da!"

Just before take-off.




Ithaca High School


All of Ithaca

Family Week

Luca got to see a lot of family this week! It started by visiting his cousins in Kentucky again. This time his other cousins from Michigan went, too. That meant that Grandma Katie had all of her grandchildren together in one place! We went to the Cincinnati Zoo and the kids had a great time!

Grandma and all her grandkids
(Left to right: Grandma, Ashlyn, Alyssa, Max, Alexis holding Allison, Luca, Mark and Jenna)


Luca does his Rhino impersonation


Then we had a small family get together in Albion. It was nice to have everyone together for a cookout at Victory Park. Luca had a blast playing football and sliding with his cousins.

Luca and Andrea. The will make great Chippewas!


Izzabelle and Alyssa


The whole gang


We ended Family Week with Family Day at Soldier Field in Chicago. Go Bears!

Daydreaming

He loves the sprinkler!

Last Day on the Outer Banks

We have had a great time at the beach but it is time to go home. We spent our last day in North Carolina visiting the Wright Brothers Monument which has become a tradition.



Luca favors Wilbur. Sorry Orville.




First in Flight- December 17, 1903


The gang


No title. I just thought it looked cool?

Luca's "Cheese"

So now Luca is trained to "cheese" when he takes a picture. It's pretty funny even though it is such a fake smile! Here are some examples of when he uses it:

On the turtle outside the North Carolina Aquarium.


The "big chair" in Manteo, NC.


Having Lunch.


Luca loves watching daddy mow the lawn. So Daddy let him come along.


Lounging in the surf.


In the beach tent.


We have spent some time this summer at the beach club where we had the reception for our wedding. We can't believe it has already been 5 years. This dance has an extra participant.