Harper Takes Grammy's

Harper, while a very worldly girl, had yet to visit her Grammy & Grandpap Rosella's house in Pittsburgh.  Nor had she met the "Rosella Cousins."  So off we went to Pittsburgh, stomach flu that decimated the family in the days preceding our departure be damned!

Luke and Harper made themselves right at home.

Harper spent much of her time pushing this chair ALL OVER THE HOUSE










Luke loves Grandpap.
 

He especially loved flying Uncle Joe's helicopter with Grandpap (rated "best part of the trip")

Luke, Simon, and Chloe had a blast together and were generally noisy


Harper and Chloe took care of the baby


 We did our best to get a picture of "all 4 grandkids" for Grammy
It started out well enough...

Harper Casey: 24 lbs of Attitude

Devolving quickly


Harper's all "Whatever, I'm outtie. I'm going to go and touch all of their toys."

 

Grammy was surprised with a birthday cake and a serenade from the kids
...and she cried

 

 Sure am sad we left that megaphone at Grammy's...

 

LOVE.
 

Harper's "bunny face"


Harper ate A LOT

 

Which made Grandpap proud

NOM

 

Yinz Guys

We all packed up and headed to Pittsburgh last weekend. Our first stop was for breakfast with Uncle Joe at the Hot Metal Diner (where Uncle Joe is a regular) - followed immediately by a pit stop at the Harley Davidson store across the street (where he is also a regular).

Oh no, I think we're in trouble.

So then Uncle Joe had to show Luke HIS bike - and even let him sit on it!

And showed him how things work...

Luke was a quick study

Again, we're in trouble here.

But it wasn't all play, no work. Luke was supposed to be watering plants with Grandpap, but decided that the driveway was dirty

That's more like it

But it soon devolved into this display (to be fair, it was 90+ degrees)

3 generations of Play-Doh

Up bright and early to water Grammy's flowers

And pick weeds

And work the phones

His cousins, Simon & Chloe, came over and were put to work in the call center, too

Can you believe this? The driveway was dirty again! Grandpap helps Luke by pointing out the dirt (or chalk)

Finally, Grandpap gave a tutorial on tools - I guess so Luke can do some repairs on our next visit

Puss in Boots

Luke received a package from Grammy & Grandpap Rosella today. Mommy & Daddy knew it was coming, so they strongly suggested he open the package toot sweet.



In the 20 minutes between opening the package and bath time, he lobbied (unsuccessfully) to walk to the firehouse to show the firemen his boots and to see their tools, not to take a bath, and he is now, as I type this, trying to convince his father that he should wear them to bed.

I think he likes them.

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!