Eh...What's Up, Doc?

Today we got to feed Luca his first vegetable...carrots! I was totally prepared to have him cringe at the foreign new taste, but he actually loved it! He smiled through the whole feeding while I alternated cereal and carrots...hope this un-picky-eater-ness continues!

First Family Photo Shoot

Well, it was no easy task trying to coordinate a baby, a dog, and a husband for this photo shoot, but I think Sarah did a GREAT job! It's too hard to narrow it down to just a few to post here, so I'm posting ALL of 'em!

*note: these are Luca's 3 Month pictures...I'm just REALLY late on posting them...!

Our Little Monkey at 6 Months

I love this month's monkey pic because it kinda looks like the monkey just told Luca a joke! He is seriously the happiest baby all of the time. It doesn't take much to get him to smile and it is absolutely heart-warming every time. He has become quite a little wiggleworm, scooting around on a blanket, all over the crib throughout the night, and making it harder to change his diaper. Nonna says that Tony was a little devil at this age, she could hardly catch him! I know my days are numbered where I can just put him in one place and know he'll stay there. So far, he has liked every food I've tried with him, including carrots, squash, and peas and he is really starting to reach for things more - I can't wait until he is able to reach for me with his arms stretched out! He is making all kinds of sounds now, which we have all tried to interpret as Mama, Dada, and Nonna - while he is undeniably making the sounds of these words, we must admit he still doesn't know what they are (but we can still pretend he does)! He also really pays attention to every sound he hears - every voice, the TV, a helicopter outside, etc. He seems fascinated by every new sound, looking at me so as to ask, "What was that sound, Mommy?!" I think he will be a very curious kid. I think my favorite thing that he has started to do this month is to give "kisses" - it's actually just him opening his mouth really big and putting it on my cheek, but I'm assuming he's trying to kiss me : ) Posted here are some of my favorite snapshots from the past month, hanging out in his bouncer while I'm getting ready in the morning, cuddling his monkey after waking up from a nap, practicing sitting up on his own (we have a little ways to go on this trick!), modeling his new monkey pirate hat from Auntie Monika, finally getting the hang of his pacimal (a combination pacifier and stuffed animal)...and finishing up a nap after getting home from runnng errands with Mommy. I just love this little guy!!!

Playing With His Food

Here's another early attempt at eating with Luca, this time with a thicker consistency...still not a whole lot getting in his mouth, but he sure has fun with it!

Luca's First Easter

A full day of festivities, beginning with Church with Aunt Cat, then Brunch at Keith in Diana's house, followed by lunch/dinner at Tony's parents.

Luca's "My First Easter" Sleeper...

Inspecting the eggs before coloring them...

Monkey Easter basket from Mimi and Grandpa...

His new singing bunny...

...and a visit with the Easter Bunny at St. Louise...

First Feeding

Luca is just about at the 6-month mark, so we decided to start feeding him cereal this week. Most of it landed on his bib and clothes, but he at least seemed receptive to it...of course, it is quite heavily diluted with breastmilk at this point, so it's hardly a foreign taste. I think he is a little confused, though, at how he is tasting this without having to suck, which I suppose is why he immediately chases each slurp of the spoon with a suck of his thumb : )

Second Annual Scholarship Benefit Dinner

Mom, Dad, and I went to Amat's 2nd Annual Scholarship Benefit Dinner, where Gregory and the Chamber Singers entertained. Here is a beautiful rendition of Ave Maria and also a solo by Gregory.

Silly Snapshots

It's hysterical to listen to Luca talk/sing to himself these days...here he is practicing his opera voice to sing along side his Zio Greg someday...

...and here is an amusing onesie that answers the question, what if babies had Facebook...

Tummy Time With Daisy

Daisy and Luca are just starting to figure each other out. Here is a little video of them doing tummy time together...


And this picture was taken just moments before Daisy learned how strong of a pincher Luca is right now! Usually, right after I pick Luca up, Daisy proceeds to curl up on his blanket, as though he was just warming it up for her : )

Ease On Down The Road...

Gregory gave a stellar performance as the Scarecrow in Amat's Spring Musical production of The Wiz...tons of family and friends came out to support him and the show did not disappoint! I wished I could have brought Luca, but it was past his bedtime : )

Click on the picture for a short snippet of him singing!

Luca Goes To College

Well, kinda... last week I got a call from a graduate student in the linguistics department at UCLA, wanting to know if I would be willing to have Luca participate in an infant language comprehension study and, since I love any excuse that gets me a visit to Bruinland, we decided to check it out.

They played voice recordings in all different languages and watched how his reactions differed when he heard English vs. foreign languages. Not sure if he "passed or failed" their experiment, but he sure was a cute subject to watch...they even gave him a little t-shirt and diploma!