The one with Lucas skills.

Luca loves to carry things around like phones, and say "hewwo" over and over again.

I brought Grandma Mary's coffee table inside to see if I liked it enough somewhere to keep it, and it has become Lucas favorite toy ever.  He hides things in it, and climbs in it, through it, on it and anything else he can do.  He has been most recently using it as a stool to climb over the back of the couch.

On pioneer day people were doing fireworks when Luca went to bed, and really needed to see them--he stood there watching forever, and then would lay down, and more would go off so he would peek again.  Luckily he still falls asleep with them going off every few seconds.

Whenever I can't find something I look in the table first now, usually its a winner.

Luca has also been dragging the yellow dishes out of the cupboard all over the house.  But he has progressed to the entire stack of bowls.  He also likes to line them up all nice and neat around the house, I haven't remembered to take a picture of that yet.  He may be crazy, or just like mommy.  Who knows.

We are working on colors, he basically uses "wellow" as his word for color, if he is the one describing it.  If I ask him to find colors he can usually find real yellow, blue and red.  

We went on a visit with the sisters to my friends house the other day, and she was making cupcakes while we were there, and gave luca the spatula to lick, and then her husband gave him a whole bowl full.  He was crazy wild after a while.

This was actually our 3rd trip to Lagoon--I think I was wrong on the other post.  We finally got Kate to ride Cannibal, and she LOVED it, of course.

Always the swings.  I would be happy only riding those the entire time.

And all our picture fails.  Whatever.  Its hard when you're moving constantly!

^^I spy Kate the creeper.

Luca has been taking selfies lately, thats all he wants my phone for now a days.

We facetimed kenz, tony and baby Lyla yesterday, Luca wasn't super impressed, but he remembered mackenzie name, and Tony's after we reminded him.

We roasted marshmallows with the girls after Luca went to bed, man oh man was that eventful.  Luckily we didn't catch anything on fire except our sad marshmallows.  That was a lot of fun, a lot of laughter and a whole lot of smoke.

Today was so dang nice outside, overcast and like 70 degrees and it made me so happy and feel fallish, so instead of getting all the fall/halloween decorations out already, Luca and I compromised by watching Frosty.  It works in my mind, don't worry about it.

This is what happened after he said no when I asked him if he was ready for a nap.  Pretending to sleep counts right?

Luca is in the hardest stage of toddler-hood so far--I'm sure it will get harder--but he is also at the prime of wanting to learn!! I love when something new clicks and he catches on.  He is like a sponge.

He still loves letters like crazy, and knows about half of them by sight, and will repeat the whole alphabet when he feels like it.  He knows A, C, E, D, H, I, L, M, N, O, Q, R, S, T, U, W,  and X.
Currently M and O are his favorites.

He knows lots of words, and says more every day, he is getting giant.
These are the ones I can remember at the moment.

Please--peas
Ball--Baw
Mine--MINE (always yelled) Yellow--Wewo (which is his word for any color) Blues clues--Bues cues Car--tar Juice--jish (with the sign for Juice) Shoe--Shh Fish--ish Jesus--es-us It's hot--ISH HAW (also yelled) Who--ooo Oww
Cheese--chez Pool--poo Pizza--iza Ana--Nana Nicole--Icole Sara--ara Grandpa--gapa Grandma--gama Dada Mom Shhhh Elmo--Memo Balloon--baoon Tie Hurts

choochoo

The one with a BIG BOY BED!!

The other morning I was getting ready and Luca was impatient and headed downstairs on his own.  Jose and I got a pizza the night before, that ended up being so gross we only had two pieces that were gone. I fell asleep on the couch, and forgot to toss it.  Luca beat me to it.  I called down to him to see what he was doing, and he came over to proudly show me the two pieces of pizza he discovered on the table.  He was devouring them.  

Whatever works when you're basically starved as a child because your mom doesn't feed you within two seconds of being awake.  At least he is resourceful!

^^This is his newest game.

We went to target to get some sheets and bedding for Lucas new BIG BOY BED people.  We did it.  We jumped.  He begged to see the pony, and hugged it and talked and laughed with it until we were done.

We met Sara and Grant at Thanksgiving point to see the first 7 wonders of the world balloon exhibit.

It was amazing--I can't believe someone can do that with balloons! The smell was headache inducing, but almost worth it.   If Luca hadn't been a complete crazy person I could have enjoyed it much more.  Hopefully he will be sane for the next one!!

I took Lucas crib apart, and it was a little sadder than I expected, especially because he has been loving it lately.  He would stay and play in it after I came up to get him from a nap for like a half hour.  He just didn't want out!  I was nervous about the bed a little, but that wasn't necessary.

We set the bed up, got the sheets and blankets on it, and Luca almost exploded with glee.  He has just been waiting.  We have been searching and searching for a bed for a few weeks, with no luck.  The one we ended up with was a mistake to even run into, and then it was on clearance, and then an additional 40% off!!! We couldn't pass it up, especially because the price of twin bed frames is ridiculous.  So we have had him climb up and down on probably 100 in the past few weeks.  He seems to be in love.

He did so well the first night, after I put him down he got out of bed, just to climb back up on his stool, to get back down, to climb back up.  He was out cold after just 20 minutes.

He went down for a nap today quickly and easily, and after he was out I propped his door open for him, so he could just come down when he woke up.

He went down so well tonight too, he didn't even get out of his bed.  He didn't move for like 15 minutes, and then he played with his bear and dog for a bit, and then crashed.

I pray that this is a fabulously good thing, that keeps being awesome, and doesn't end up like nursery. He loved it the first week, and now hates it.  I think it will last a while, at least until he is used to it.

Now when I ask if he is ready for bed, he says yes and nods, and runs right upstairs.  I accept that!

^^dont mind the crazy mess. We are reorganizing. 

^^this was him after his nap--clearly not all the way awake, and he was mad that I didn't go up the stairs to bring him down.  But he forgave me at the bottom.

This is his newest favorite animal to carry around.  I gave it to him at smiths to occupy him, and he chatted with it all sweet the whole time, and pretended to feed it and made "yumm" noises for him.  I couldn't resist it.  He loves the thing, he is sleeping with it at this moment.

The one where my baby is 18 Months old!

Well, my phone is broken, I have a month to catch up on, and so much has happened.  I don't know how I will finish it all, but I will!! I may just add a whole bunch of picture posts--because thankfully I got my pictures off my phone the day before it stopped working!!  Hooray for that--just pray the videos came too.

Today was a HUGE day over here.  Luca was officially 18 months old on Wednesday of this week--you know what that means!! NURSERY people.  I have a child in nursery.  What???? Where did that time go?

I had no idea if he would do well, or not.  I've been back and forth for so many reasons.

He did phenomenally.  He could have cared less that I was in the room--so I ended up slipping out after about 20 minutes.  I didn't go to class though.  I stood outside the door and watched.  I couldn't believe how big my baby was.  At one point he looked around to find me--he had been doing that earlier, noticed I wasn't there, and just went on with his life.  His teachers probably think I am crazy because I stood there for almost 40 minutes.  Whatever.








See how dark his cup is?? The kid across from him is putting his goldfish in his cup, so naturally, my child needed to do the same.

I had Jose come to see him for a minute too, then we decided we needed to go to class.  So after one last peek I headed to Relief Society.  I sat in there, watching the time pass as slow as ever.  I kept trying to get myself to enjoy the peace, and being able to listen, but I literally had to force myself to stay in there for at least half of the time, before I went to check on him again. I made myself stay until the binder came around, and then I went to peek at him again.

This time we weren't so lucky.  He hadn't noticed us up there the whole time we were watching before, but I peeked in and he just happened to be starring right at the window.  So he cried, with 20 minutes left.  I ended up going in, and stayed in there for the rest of the time with him.  If only I was strong enough to stay in my own class, he could have done the same!



Next week is Stake Conference, so I'm hoping with a week break he still does just as good when we go back!

Now here are some 18 Month favorites and skills of his!

He loves loves loves putting pom poms in a Parmesan cheese container.  He does it for so long everyday.  I have found pom poms in every corner of my house, and probably thrown away half of them, but there are still so many!

He is so good at prayer time.  He sits still, folds his arms the whole time, and is starting to bow his head and close his eyes.

He loves to take the sacrament--all by himself of course, and is very good at the water--most of the time.

He likes to crawl around the house like a dog.  He barks and everything.
He is so independent lately, I can't help feed him most of the time--and that is hard when we are having taco soup^^^when he is a dog I can feed him.  I don't complain.

His favorite place in the house is the shower.  He would stay there all day long if I let him--and I would if we weren't so scared about a drought around here.  We could single handedly use up all the water in Utah with Luca showering.  When we were at Jens last week he was in heaven in her double shower.  I cannot remember the last time he took a bath.

He climbs on everything.  Nothing in my house is safe.  One day I put something on the piano that he wanted, and he pulled the bench out, climbed up, and I watched him thoughtfully try to decide how to go about climbing on the keys to get whatever was up there.  Luckily I was right there and could stop him.

He is going up and down the stairs without crawling, or climbing.  He holds on to the railing and just goes!  He can only do a few that way, but I love the look of accomplishment on his face when he does!

He engages with his favorite shows on Netflix.  Superwhy especially, they show the alphabet and ask where a specific letter is, and he yells "there!" to answer--although he has no idea what letter is which yet.  I probably shouldn't be proud of that, since he watches so much TV but whatever.  

I ask him questions all day long, and let him decide,  He has become incredibly opinionated lately, and will answer yes or no to so many questions.  He also won't let Grant--or anyone for that matter--just trade him toys with anything.  He has to want the one being given to him.

He loves to "count" to three, which is actually "da, da, daaaa!" whenever he is playing with daddy, about to run, or doing something worth counting for.

He signs a ton still, and is talking more and more everyday.  The latest one that shocked me was, "Pizza" and hilarious.  His newer signs are help and juice.  He asks for help all the time when he needs something, and it is probably one of my favorite things ever.  He loves to say "hi!!" to everyone.  Which is adorable.

He continues to be a shapes master.  He loves shapes,  He does shapes puzzles, and his shapes box with all the holes (what are those even called?) so fast and loves it.  That also occupies a great deal of his day.

He has just started this clean hands thing which seems to be a phase too.  He constantly needs his hands wiped and clean when he's eating or playing outside.  We are working on using our own napkins, and he loves that independence too.

He is a pro at my ipad and phone--which isn't too thrilling for me, but he navigates so well.  He can get right into netflix, and find the show he wants to watch, he even turns them on their sides so they go to full screen.

Tangled is his current favorite movie.  He's also been on another Arthur's Perfect Christmas kick too.  He loves to snuggle after naps and watch something with me.

He loves me to read Harry Potter to him.  No, this isn't a joke.  And yes, I am proud.  He begs me to read it, and I love doing it (as long as I am not sick).

He is becoming a bully and he is super possessive of his toys.  He's hitting, and yelling at me now, and occasionally rolling his eyes.  He has quite the attitude.  

He loves stickers.  Grandma Becky sent some stickers and a little notebook for valentines day, and since then he has been all about them!  His book is almost full.  He now needs the whole sheet of stickers to get them off himself.  I am not allowed to help.

He knows where most of his body parts are and will show you if he is in a good mood--he knows-- head, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, hair, arm, belly, hands, fingers, diaper, leg, feet, and toes.  We are working on elbows and knees right now.

He loves animals, and knows the sounds that lots make.  Dogs, cats, cows, snakes, tiger, monkey, elephant, bunny, bears, lions, birds, fish (he loves doing a fishey face and then making everyone else do it the way he does).

Despite what I told you, Kelly last time I was with you--he loves cars.  He loves to drive them around, and line them up all pretty.  I don't know why I said no to you then.  Hahaha.  Sorry I lied.

This is how we read scriptures most nights, because it is easier than battling him and trying to get him to stop screaming.

When he chooses his own snacks now he comes out with bags of chips.  Its hilarious.  These Doritos are basically his now, and I just leave them there for him.

He loves to be outside, and ride bikes and play at the park.  He loves dirt more than anything probably, and still collects rocks.

He loves to sing, and he leads the music every time he does.  Here he is "conducting" at a stand at the Great Salt Lake.  Anything is a conductor stand to him.  He has found them everywhere.

He has mastered a fake cry, and laugh and can pretty much do them on command.

He loves to help clean, and will "sweep" and wipe up spills on the floors.  He also loves to throw things away, and put things in the sink--although he mixes those up sometimes, so that isn't cool.

He is such a joy, and a crazy person that makes me want to rip my hair out, but I wouldn't trade him for anything.  He is a chill independent, loving babe and we love him!!

I often feel like a neglectful parent because he plays so well on his own, and will do it all day long.  He has quite the imagination and uses it well.  He talks and babbles on forever, and I wish I knew what he was saying.  

He is still sleeping until between 8-9 in the morning, and going to be between 7-8 in the evening.  I hope we can keep that going as long as possible.  His favorite foods are tomatoes, avocados and doritos apparently.  He's growing like a weed, and still tall and skinny, so he fits in no pants that I have found yet.  

We are now working on the names of shapes, colors, and drinking from a regular cup!  

He's my favorite.  Stop growing love.