Dinnertime antics

I'm sure avocado is great for your face and hair so at least he has that going for him!

Chaos

Matt was snapping my picture to show off a new lilac Stitch Fix tunic I got which shouldn't be too tough...unless you have a dog that craves my attention and a baby that is fascinated by the non-baby-gated stairs and beelines that direction when given the opportunity. So here's what we got. The blurred chaos is apropos for life these days. 

Full of surprises

Before you have kids, people will tell you things like the love for a child is unlike any other, or that your children are your world. I remember thinking, "yeah, okay" but I really didn't think about how that would affect me and change who I am as a person.

So I am still surprised when I get caught up in my love for Luca. Like the fact that I have almost no desire to break Luca of his new habit of waking up at 2 am for snuggles because it gives me extra time with him. Or that I missed him so much at work the other day that I contemplated spending 30 minutes driving to/from daycare to spend 15 minutes with him for my lunch break and then cried when I ultimately decided not to.

I mean really, who have I become!?!

Luca smiling in his sleep because he love snuggling too!

Our little eater (and drinker)

For the most part Luca is a good little eater. He enjoys most things we give him but definitely favors fruits and vegetables over proteins. We mostly just let him feed himself by hand but he is learning how to use a fork. And he's got drinking through a straw and sippy cup down...still working on drinking from a (shot) glass though!

Stitch Fix - I think I have an addiction!

I have to share a quick post about a service called Stitch Fix. I randomly stumbled upon them on the web and was immediately intrigued. An online personal shopper that just mails items to my home? Sounds fun, convenient and fashion friendly! I signed up and have been really happy with the results. They send things I wouldn't necessarily pick out on my own so it's broadening my fashion and really, just so fun. You pay a $20 styling fee to have five items sent to you based on your style profile and then if you keep any of the five, the styling fee is waived. And if you keep all five, you save 25% off the whole deal.

My five Stitch Fix pieces.

Here's a peak into my latest Fix, which I kept all of for under $200. Score!

If you join, please use this referral link as I get credit towards my account for referring you to the service.

Rough and tumble

Luca got his first visible injury yesterday. He was trying to keep up with the two older kids in class and tripped. He tried to catch himself which made the fall more awkward and he landed face first on a wooden step. Learning balance is tough on a guy.

Then to top it off, today at daycare he got bit by another baby. The teachers said he was really tough and didn't cry, just had a look of shock and then enjoyed some snuggles. He's a tough one.

Luca's 11 month update

I wish I had done this all along, but what better time to start than now? Here's a rundown of who Luca is at 11 months old. 

Naps: Two naps a day. Typically one longer 2 hour nap and one shorter 1 hour long nap, but he alternates which one is in the morning and afternoon.

Feeding/Eating: On average Luca has 4 6-oz bottles of formula each day and eats solids 3-4 times a day. He seems to really enjoy eating. We give him most things we’re eating but haven’t tried peanut butter, strawberries or honey. He loves all fruit and veggies and tolerates proteins.

Clothing: 6-12 months depending on the brand. We’ve noticed that he must have a long torso because his jackets and t-shirts all ride up and show off his belly.

Bedtime: Between 7 and 8 pm

Sleeping: Most nights he sleeps 11 hours straight with a wake up time between 6 and 7 am. He strongly favors stomach sleeping. On vacation he woke up most nights and got to sleep in bed with us for the rest of the night. It was a special vacation treat for Luca and me. (As such a heavy sleeper, Matt is pretty unaware of these things.) Luca is so sweet in the middle of the night that I don’t even mind getting up with him. It just gives me extra snuggle time. And I’m shocked that I feel that way because I seriously love sleep!

He has his first top tooth coming in right now, you can see his gum bulging and the corner of white about to cut through so he’s had a few rough nights where he wakes up totally inconsolable. Teething tablets seem to help calm him down and it’s still just one awakening in the night when he does it.

Development: Luca ditched his patented army crawl and has committed to real crawling 90% of the time. He loves standing though and cruises around on furniture or against walls. His balance is improving and you can see it’s getting easier and easier for him to do things like bend down to pick something up when he drops it from a standing position.

His verbal communication still sounds like babble to us. He definitely says “dada” and “mama” but doesn’t seem to understand the meaning yet. He’s getting better at repeating words to us, specifically “go” and “uh oh.”

He claps, waves (sometimes), high fives and pats his mouth to make noise (a good distraction if needed as he loves it). And we can get fun open mouth kisses which he does with a big grin.

Just two bottom teeth are officially there but the top two are surely close to coming through.

Personality: Luca loves people. He seems to be very social and likes new people and his known friends. When we’re out to eat he will completely ignore Matt and me and stare at nearby tables hoping to get someone’s attention. If they make eye contact, he instantly gets a big grin on his face. It’s pretty cute, though I do feel like I should apologize for by staring baby.

He continues to be a pretty laid back, easy going baby. He traveled like a champ and did well with a lack of schedule/routine while we were in San Diego. I do think he appreciated getting home and back to normal though. You can see that he’s getting more stubborn about certain things that he wants or doesn’t want and we’ve had a few glimpses into tantrum behavior (uh oh!).

He is one of the three oldest babies in the infant room at Spokane Falls Montessori with Hanna and Amelia ahead of him. He spends the most time playing with Hanna who is 6 weeks his senior. He really seems to love his teachers, Erika, Chelsea, Coreanna and Emiline. As do we! His favorite activity has to be the water table that they occasionally fill with a small amount of water (or snow when we had it) and let the kids splash around. Luca will even check throughout the day to make sure he isn’t missing out on water to splash in. So it’s no surprise that Luca likes bath time and loved the swimming that we did in San Diego. The only struggle is his desire to dive face first into the water to drink it up.

Mama/Daddy update: Matt and I are still enamored with Luca. Matt does a really good job of embracing and loving each stage while I have a tougher time seeing him grow up. For example, I refuse to round up his age so even if he’s 10 months and 28 days, I still say he’s 10 months old, not 11. Our vacation time was really special to us as it’s the most concentrated family time we’ve had with Luca since maternity leave. Going back to work after vacation was tough but we both like what we’re doing so it makes up for it, but we were very eager to pick him up from daycare on Monday.

We plan to leave Luca overnight with Matt’s parents on Saturday for my birthday so that’ll be a big first for us. We’ve both been away from him overnight but only with the other parent watching Luca. I’m nervous for it but know that he’ll do just fine and is in good hands. Hopefully we can take a night away in Coeur d’Alene and just enjoy it.