Happy Birthday to Luke

It is hard to believe it, but Luke turned one on January 31st.

He woke up that day to his brand new present from the Leary Infantines - and oh my goodness, was he excited. His head just about exploded when he saw it (he had gotten acclimated with this toy during his visit with Lucia two weeks ago) and realized that the house! Was at his house! Holy crap!

He got right to work...

Then he took a break to be goofy...and yes, that amorphous blob behind him is Mom, hoping against hope for some extra sleep...
Soon he tired of the bedroom & went out to the living room where he found Grammy & Grandpap's present. They hadn't gotten to the apartment yet, so he could only look and touch - but not open it.
After he got dressed, back to the house!
Bottle break with Grandpap!Then some snuggling with Grammy & a Tube Break (tm) with Grandpap.Finally, Aunt Sharren, Uncle Charlie, and Aunt Tanya came over - and he got so many great presents...
The wrapping paper was fun, too...
He got a big fuzzy dog from Charlie & Sharren...we have named him Walter after his dog friend down the hall.
Dad's gingerbread cake - featuring Spider-Man! (Read: Mom was left to her own devices at Party City)
Luke looks like he could get used to all of this attention, no?
Especially from Auntie Sharren.

He looooved the gingerbread cake...


...but not so much the party hat...

...but that's OK, Uncle Charlie liked it! Sooooo big!

And because it's so darn cute, here's Luke on Super Bowl Sunday, taking a break with Walter.
And last, a video of Luke being serenaded...

When Luke Met Lucia...

This past weekend, we ventured North to Boston (well, Chestnut Hill) to visit our dear friends, the Leary Infantines. You may recall that Fran, Meredith, and Lucia came to visit Luke back in May - with mixed results. Well, what a difference 7 months makes!

Lucia was a gracious and generous hostess to "Baby Luke," showing Luke the ropes on some of her "baby toys" even though she is a big girl now.



And unlike in May, when Luke did a lot of sleeping and not a lot of noticing his lovely visitor, this time he was completely smitten with Lucia, paying very close attention to everything she did.

He even followed her lead and took a bath in the big kid tub! He was a little wary at first, but he did it!




Luke also engaged in a Mexican stand-off with kitty (Lady) Sadie (Tom Brady) - and fortunately his crawling was not speedy enough to earn him an appointment with the business end of her paws.
Finally, Grammy & Grandpap came down from Eliot to visit with everyone. Grandpap had a successful piggy hunt and tickled Luce's toes...

(Also pictured here is Grammy & Grandpap's bell....that they then left at Fran & Mer's. Later that day, Luce brought it to me saying "Look at this awesome bell I found!")

Luke didn't take inventory of Grandpap's pocket this time, but he gave them some snuggles during their stay.


So much fun was had by all - these pictures don't even capture it. There were delicious pancakes (courtesy of a recipe from Veronica's daddy), blueberries, strawberries, toys, toys, naps in Luce's crib, and a very special Friday Night Pizza Party - on SATURDAY! We can't wait to visit again - this time to see FOUR Leary Infantines instead of three!