Pittsburgh: The Inaugural Visit

Luke's Grammy & Grandpap Rosella recently moved (back) to Pittsburgh. Well...to Washington, PA, but same same. Luke wanted to be sure to be the first to visit their brand spanking new house, and arrived before all of the boxes were unpacked. He made himself right at home, though, as you'll see below...

It's a long drive from Hoboken, but Luke dressed for the ride

Luke got right to work, helping Grammy to keep her new floors dust and bunny free with persistent work with his "bibi" (synonymous for broom, mop, and Swiffer

But he tried to keep a low profile...
He even got his cousins, Simon and Chloe, to help with his housekeeping
But it was not all work and no fun for the cousins; Grammy allowed them a break on the sofa

Luke also earned his keep by working Grammy & Grandpap's call center, talking on the "mos" (or "phones")With two phones going at once, even...

We were also lucky to visit with old friends, The Kurtz Family. (Paul and Becks went to college together). Emma and Henry were so nice to Luke, teaching him the shotgun formation (seriously, they were really working this play!)
...and Evan took some time to show City Baby Luke what gardens, bugs, and grass look like

As with past visits, though Luke spent lots of time charming Grammy, he and Grandpap continued to specialize in Kodak moments together. It's only fair; it WAS Grandpap's birthday, after all...

They played with Legos
And Luke was apparently ready for a snack

Grandpap supervised bath time (aka "Bubbles!") - check out the Rosella Smirk!

Luke introduced Grammy and Grandpap to Ikea, and shared some water (going "glug glug") with Grandpap

Oh, Grandpap, do go on....
He tried using Jedi mind tricks to release the liquid...
He worked the cap on his own after some coaching...
Glug glug!

Luke went for a walk with Grandpap. Oh, and with Mom, too, (whatever)

They found a caterpillar...

I am crushing your head. Crush Crush

And Luke generally followed Grandpap where ever he went.


Happy housewarming!

Luke & Mom & Team Lisa Thank YOU!

This message is a very special THANK YOU to everyone who supported Luke, his mom, and TEAM LISA for the 2009 Komen NYC Race for the Cure! Luke and Mom are thrilled that they reached their $2000.00 fund raising goal, and are keeping their fingers crossed for Team Lisa to hit $15,000 before the October 31st deadline. (If you want to give, just click here to give to support Luke & Mom, or here to support Team Lisa, and follow directions!)

We had an amazing day in Central Park with fantastic weather, Cyndi Lauper, and the handsome handsome, even more handsome in person Maurice Dubois. So even more thank yous to all who donated for helping to make it a fantastically celebratory day for our team!

How good looking is our team? Especially the beauties in pink survivor shirts! This year, Luke was thrilled to be officially dubbed the team mascot. Looks like there are lots more Races in his future!

Luke was careful to hydrate adequately before the Race began.

These pictures go out to Luke's Great Uncle Joe - the Harley lads & ladies always come to cheer us on as we start the race. Yay!

They even had a pink bike!

I guess all of that hydrating and riding is hard work....Luke didn't make it through even 1k of the 5k course!

But he was sure to wake up for a photo op with Auntie Lisa

And you KNOW he wouldn't sleep through brunch!

Look out, Aunt Sharren, Luke has a new best Auntie friend in Lisa. Here, he gets her digits so he can blow up her celly later.

And he gave her a little snuggle (because Auntie Lisa is a softie and let him out of his high chair!)

Time to go home! Another fantastic Race for the Cure in the books (but it's not too late to give)!

Overall, Luke rated this day a FIST BUMP!

Welcome to Pittsburgh, Grammy & Grandpap

Luke's Rosella Grandparents are official Pittsburgh residents as of this Friday. In celebration, Luke created some videos for them, showing off his newest words and activities.

In this first video, Luke, shirtless after a particularly messy dinner of chicken fajitas*, demonstrates his mastery of new vocabulary words, jibber jabbers, and points out the window adorably. He also uses his "WTF?" hand gesture that brings his Auntie Lisa a lot of amusement. While puppy was one his first favorite words, he has yet to master "woof," but kitties, on the other hand, say "eeeowwwws".

Every morning when Luke gets to daycare, he tucks into his oatmeal and banana with Miss Gigi. If you ask Luke about Gigi, he'll say "Gigi? Na-na." Take it from his mom, do NOT bring this up when he's hungry and/or bananas are not a snack option.



*thanks to the 30 Minute Meals book Grandma & Grandpa Casey got for Dad for his birthday. Mmmm. And NOT the Rachel Ray nonsense, the Gourmet deal

Here, Luke, this time with a shirt on (from the Jacob & Ronan Collection), executes his new favorite activity, "washing" his hands. And turning the light off & on.

Ack! A(nother) Catch Up Post!

Way back in July, we went to Nantucket on Luke's first real family vacation. We were lucky to stay with our dear friends, The Scotts, at their house - with lots of other Bowdoin visitors during the week. We had a fantastic time, the weather was great, and we ate like kings. Luke, despite an Indepdence Day Fat Lip, loved being with the Big Kids...and scoping out next year's gear from the infamous Jacob & Ronan Collection (tm).

First, Dad got things off to a proper start on Main Street

Luke found very little to be more entertaining than watching Jacob & Ronan (and Sam, too!) running around their yard being Big Guys

Except maybe playing with Cisco, their "puppy"...

...or waking nice and early to play with Cisco...

...or to snuggle with Puppy before a long day...

...or snuggling up to Cisco at the end of a long day...

Luke wasn't so fond of the sand at the beach on SurfsideHe found it boring, really

He soon came, however, to see how the beach, while sandy, is a GREAT place for a nap

And while Luke napped, Ronan and Paul studied up on the life of Harry Houdini

Luke, Jacob, and Ronan had fun running wild around the Cisco Brewery

Luke tried to use his Crazy Baby Strength to move some kegs around

And Luke & Ronan committed quite the party foul
(the pacifier was allowed outside of bed/nap time due to the aforementioned Independence Day Fat Lip)

How handsome are these boys?

Luke and Ronan consulting on just how broken they broke the kite

Luke tried to earn his keep by cleaning up around the house - and showing a little skin

Remember when I said we ate like kings?
(also: Independence Day Fat Lip)

Paul was a popular story time guy - with Jacob and Ronan...

...and at bedtime with Luke and Amber

Luke also gets special commendation for surviving the road trip and ferry boat portions of our voyage. Snacks helped.