yoga poses don't count as a live window vignette

we spent this evening in downtown bloomington for the annual christmas walk. many of the the stores stay open late, providing hot drinks and yummy treats for the customers. we were also supposed to enjoy "amazing live window vignettes." well, the windows of marshall fields (which i guess are now macy's - weird) don't have any competition. i will give props to the elves making jewelry in the bead parlor window, the women making candies in the gallery window, the bagpiper at winnie's, the woman working on needlepoint in the consignment shop, and the fairy at a. renee. but, as jesse put it, "yoga poses don't count as a live window vignette." (sorry yoga studio)

luca loved the generous offering of sweets at every store. by the end of the night, we had enough sugar in our system to stay awake for a week. from vegan chocolate chip cookies and peppermint hot chocolate at common ground to candy canes and more hot chocolate at the coffee hound, we had a great time. seeing as it was 29 degrees when we started, we made sure to bundle up and keep moving. gia had the warmest spot in the house in her blanket cocoon. a must stop spot was a visit to the chocolatier.

she's almost there!

although she sits down the moment we let go of her hands, the girl can walk! gia has been practicing her skills with a walker all over the house. since these videos were taken this morning, she has become even more skilled. the frustration she shows (born of her intense desire to keep movin') has been mostly replaced with a show of strength and sometimes results in her falling forward over the walker and flailing like a beached whale.

so i don't forget

i have been wanting to update luca speak for awhile and until i do, let me record one of the more memorable and cute things that have come out of the boy's mouth.

"papi, my want to rock out!"
(in regards to playing guitar hero)

driving a truck

the sound effects are now going full force in gia world. she makes a "ra ra" noise while driving the dumptruck around the house. the girl loves her wheels.

luca's new fears

over the last week, luca has developed new fears. he has always shown a healthy sense of caution - not really a daredevil, but not overly cautious. but last night and this morning he wouldn't walk down stairs. he told me, "too dangerous." and even more extreme is his newfound fear of the "animals" and the "dark" in his room. on sunday night, he told jesse, "too scary. animals in my room. alligators, tigers, giraffes. . ." (okay i don't know why giraffes made the list but luca was very serious.) we experimented with leaving a light on his room and tried to explain to him that only pictures and toys were in his room. he kept pointing to his rocking horse and animal poster and telling us they were scary. i hesitated from taking them out, because although i want to be sensitive to his fears i don't want to play into them either. we ended up convincing him that the toy and picture animals are his friends and he slept without a night light like usual after a couple hours. this is also the boy who has begun to jump off the couch and belly flop onto the cushions. so these seem to be isolated concerns: falling down stairs, animals turning mean, the dark. in other circumstances, he is a typical growing rambunctious boy. definitely a new season of parenthood. we are learning more and more just how much more there is to this job. once the diapers, baby food, potty training, etc are over, a whole new world awaits.

dance party dedication

so i wanted to make a little video to wish aunt michelle a belated birthday. when asked about singing happy birthday, luca informed me, "my no like that song, mama." so instead we had a dance party in honor of her. so here you go michelle! hope you had a great birthday!
(notice that luca could not handle being out of the spotlight at the beginning. he forced his way into the shot. what a ham! i also love gia's hand in the air at the end - she is really breakin' it down.)

a night in the city

saturday night, jesse and i left the kiddos with my parents and spent a night in the city. we drove to chicago, enjoying the lights of the skyscrapers and the moon shining on the fairly still water while cruising down lake shore drive. not having children in the backseat makes everything more chill. we kept commenting, "no parking on this street, oh well, let's go to the next one." or "that is one impatient driver behind us, i guess he'll have to deal." it was like nothing could damper our mood.

we began the night with dinner at mystic celt, a fave spot of our good friends mike and grant clifford. it has been ages since the four of us hung out. although mike, grant and i went to high school together, we grew close in champaign while attending u of i. jesse and the cliffords were in the worship band together and as newlyweds, the four of us lived in the same townhouse complex. to this day, they are some of our most kindred spirits. they moved to the city several years back to attend design school and they will be finished in just three weeks! we had fun catching up, eating good food, and laughing a ton. i am so excited for their future, but will miss them when they leave for london.

afterwards, jesse, grant, and i (mike went home to work on his thesis project) picked up roxi (hs friend and college roomie) and went to the elbo room. yet another high school bud, kathy invited us to see her hubbie jim's band, last, perform (and, yes, jim too went to our high school). josh brown, one of my best friends from high school, was also able to meet up with us. (when you count the three other we-go alum present it was like a second reunion in three months). although i enjoyed the music (last is a heavy rock band), i did feel "old." basically, the music was too loud, the smoke made me cough, my feet hurt from standing, and we left before 11. (actually, i caught several of us yawning and we ended up going upstairs to avoid yelling in each others ears to talk.)



i miss my friends living in the city, but know that is not the life for me. jesse and i discussed the idea of the urban lifestyle on the way home (before i fell asleep in the car - did i tell you i was old? - the drive back to the burbs is only about 45 minutes) and although we agreed it would be full of new experiences, people, and places, we prefer our semi-rural central illinois life.

thankful for family

last thursday we split our time between my grandma's place and jesse's cousin's. we ate yummy food - well, jesse, gia, and i did. luca ate two bites of a roll and half a piece of chocolate cake. this kid typically has a large appetite, but the extrovert in him was having too much fun playing. he did enjoy one of my favorite childhood holiday traditions - putting black olives on his fingers. in my youth, howevever, my sister and i ate dozens of olives before food was even served. luca's take on this was to make other people eat the olives. his comment, "no taste good, mama. no like it. you eat dem."

here is a great photo of most of the cousins on my mom's side. from left to right, back row to front row: cameron, christian, myself, bobby, justin, maura, max, britney.


my aunt monique met gia for the first time on thanksgiving.



we saved dessert for the hart family. (chocolate cake from portillos!) luca had so much fun running around and showing off his tattoos while gia continued to make beelines for the stairs when she wasn't being held.

below: luke holding gia and marissa tickling luca. (i met these two on thanksgiving 9 years ago when they were smaller than gia - time flies!)




i am so thankful that we have so much family we want to see for the holidays. it can be hard trying to split our time and see as many people as possible, but i would take that hardship over not having any family to visit. our children will grow up with so many around that love them. when i start to add our dear friends to that list, i feel overwhelmed. i could never be thankful enough for all you mean to us. we love you all!

gia's morning hair

without a bath the night before


with a bath the night before


she is so her mother's daughter.

i need reminding. . .

. . . that my son does not always have days like today. that is why i am posting this video. i took this footage last week.. luca slept in one morning and i made him a huge bowl of oatmeal for "brunch" (i know it looks like an insane amount of food for a two and a half year old but he only likes things filled completely to the top these days. i hold firm against beverages but with most foods i choose not to battle. and he also usually finishes it all!) the video i would love to share is too long to upload so enjoy this shorter snippet of a happy day.

today was. . . horrid. that is the first and only word that comes to mind. he threw things at my face. he pushed, pulled, and hit gia. he threw toys, yelled, and disobeyed almost everything that came out of my mouth (and smiled while doing it). this is a phase, i know that. my friend sonya reminded me tonight that he is not a naughty child on a regular basis. so i will hold on to this truth for dear life and pray that tomorrow is a new day for both of us.

we're having a garage sale!

so i apologize for the break in posts. hopefully some updates tonight!

the girl and the cat

bugs bunny plays russian roulette and luca does dog tricks

note: this post was edited at 10am on monday morning for major grammatical errors. it seems that my sentences got all jumbled while in edit mode. you should now be able to understand and enjoy. (i am sure there are still errors but an overall comprehension is now available.)

so we went to a free showing of cartoons at the uptown normal theater, but we did not stay very long. surprisingly it wasn't because of our children, but rather the content. i was prepared for the old warner bros. cartoons to be more extreme than we are used to - i mean i remember how often wile e. coyote blew himself up trying to catch the road runner and how yosemite sam was more than a bit trigger happy. but when a kitty cat almost got cut up with a butcher knife, bugs bunny played russian roulette and tweety bird complained of a peeping tom cat, i couldn't believe my ears and eyes and we ended up leaving early (but still got our goodie bags of coupons and biscotti). luca was wide-eyed with awe at his first movie theater experience. thankfully he did not know any better to wonder why we left so quickly. the weather was so beautifully mild, it was so nice to just walk around with our free candy canes from santa claus (weird to me to have a holiday open house before thanksgiving).

last night we visited with our beloved friend renee in from los angeles. she was part of our original church plant team in 2001, but left a few years back for the brights lights and big city. actually she is now part of kairos, a very cool church planted by gcm in los angeles. gia was mesmerized by the jazz band at the restaraunt and craig (husband of our old worship band member sara but relative stranger to us) kindly held her near the musicians at length. gia also visited with one of her future best friends, stella (who is also renee's niece). the girls are only 10 weeks apart but while stella is wearing 6-12 month shirts from old navy, gia is now in a 2T.



i did not get very many photos of our hang-out last night, but i did catch some very funny moments of luca doing dog tricks. before you express any outrage at parading our two-year old around like an animal, please know that this was completely innocent. luca realized that if hurley got a cracker for every trick performed, maybe it would work for him too. we did play into his game by rewarding him with crackers, however, and we thoroughly enjoyed his performance. the boy was absolutely a doll last night. one of those times you want to point and say, "yes, this is my child. isn't he great?" he continues to express himself with verbal cuteness. our favorite was his response to my question, "would you like papi to bake cookies with us some sometime?" luca replied, "yes! that'd be great!"

quick update

long week. gia has been sick since the weekend and, although her symptoms have improved, she is super clingy and cranky. i am pretty exhausted of trading off toting around a 25 pound baby and having a crying baby crawl after me around the house. luca may be getting sick - he took a nap at 11:30 this morning (before lunch) !

add to the bag, packing boxes and making all the tiny (and not so tiny) fixes to the house before the "for sale" sign can be put on the lawn and we are close to the edge of a major health meltdown. this afternoon, a full body fatigue fell over me. it was difficult to stay awake and i couldn't get my body temp up without soaking in a hot bath (while luca played upstairs and gia crawled around after him whining). i took the night off from house stuff - okay so i didn't have much of a choice - but i ask for prayer tomorrow in my mama duties - not so much of a choice.

honestly, we will be pushing it to get the sign out before thanksgiving and then we will only have a few weeks before our trip to houston. still not sure what we will do in the end but we can only do what we are doing.

additions to luca speak

i have accumulated a few more things to add to my last post.

1. "yesterday" - any time in the past before luca last slept - i.e. this morning, yesterday, last week, three months ago, etc.
2. "someday/one day" - any time in the future - i.e. tomorrow, next week, next month, when he is a "man"
3. "maybe not" - luca's polite way of saying no. (in context - me: luca, can you reach that blanket?" luca: "maybe not." or me: "luca do you need a diaper change?" luca: "maybe not.")
4. "my feet are getting ruined." instead of just telling me his feet were stuck in the couch, he thought he would speak my language.

i will try to catch some luca speak on video soon.

luca (advanced) speak

luca is becoming such an eloquent toddler. both his vocabulary and understandable pronunciation are growing leaps and bounds. he is constructing (almost) grammatically correct sentences. he uses words for reasoning, description, and humor. some of our favorite phrases/sentences from the last month include:

1. after i responded to jesse, "me too," luca quipped, "me three." his first joke.
2. "my playing with my pay-do (play-dough), actually.
3. "my don't like that apple eider (either)."
4. "my need my cape. my need my fly-boat. my need to save the eagle." pretending to be a wonder pet.
5. "my a baby, my not a big boy." when trying to convince me to give him his pacifier outside of his bed (since gia, who is a baby, gets to have one).
6. when asking him to clean up his toys, "my play with my toys just a little while?"
7. "one more, last one." his response when wants my to repeat something.
8. "too hard, when my a man i say/do . . ."
9. "my lub (love) this book/car/show/etc"
10. "octagon like octopus" when labeling the shape for luca, he immediately noticed the similarity - so clever!

my personal patterns of speech and vocabulary preferences are made so evident having luca around. i have learned that i say the words actually and either a lot. luca also likes to list things in a sing-song voice like his mama. finally i also realize i have used the argument "when you are older, when you are a man like papi, you can do/say . . ." unfortunately, luca will now use this against me when he doesn't want to try something. with my past experience working with two and three year olds, i have to say this continues to be my favorite age for speech development. i laugh so much these days listening to him say new things. (which is good, since it is also so tiring with the emotional and social development changes. )

caught him in the act

last week, we caught our pumpkin eating squirrel on the front step. he kinda stared us down as if daring us to open the door and make him leave. i guess he is building up some chub for the cold winter months.

where does he come up with this stuff?

this morning luca exclaimed:

"one day my grow up and be real big mountain!"

i love his imagination.

last sunday - a pony party and a pumpkin patch

more catch-up. last sunday we partied for natalie klunke's 4th birthday and ended the day with a final trip to the pumpkin patch. new pictures on picasa. highlights of the party included: the pinata finally breaking open and soaring right towards my head (thankfully i ducked and it just skimmed my sunglasses) and eating the very cool castle cake. afterwards, a return visit to rader's pumpkin patch was a must. we picked out new pumpkins for luca and gia (after the great squirrel debacle) and were able to get some great shots of the gia-pumpkin in the pumpkins.

below: gia and luca each sporting the pumpkin costume - two years apart! i know my kids look similar, but they definitely are not identical.

gia speak for real

so this a bit belated, bit gia is talking, kind of. starting last week, she surprised us with her first non-babbling type words. so far, they are "car" and "caco" (flaco, our cat). she is a bit obsessed with anything with wheels - cars, trucks, trains, etc - and all of them qualify as "car" in her book. okay, she also calls other random toys "cars" so maybe she doesn't quite get the idea yet. hotwheels probably rate number one, though, so easy to fit in her fist. this morning, she drove luca's dump truck from the living room to the kitchen - super cute to watch. her ongoing love affair with flaco has been strengthened by her ability to call his name when chasing him.

she has also been signing more words/phrases - "all done" and "bye bye" to add to "more." she has begun pointing to her nose and mouth when asked and she loves pointing to our faces too. a new game at dinner is for luca and gia to point to each others noses and then laugh hysterically.

it has been so fun to see her begin communicating to us more concretely. even more is seeing her personality develop more fully as she chooses her words based on the things she loves best. i look forward to hearing her next words and we'll keep you posted.

a fairytale halloween

for those of you waiting for the photos, wait no longer!

lucadragon flying through the yard.

giafairy sitting pretty.

our woodland fairy only eats leaves when outside.

my knight keeps the smiling dragon boy in check.

the wings and spikes lovingly crafted by mama.

luca's checking out how much candy can still fit in his pillowcase.

the damsel in distress waits patiently with a squirmy fairy and an eager dragon before heading through the neighborhood.

we had a fabulous time on wednesday. luca, gia, and i donned our costumes at 8am before heading off to my mom's group. i was the only mom dressed up (somewhere between 150-200 moms attend mom2mom too) but luca loved my outfit so that is all that mattered. i was the damsel in distress, wearing the crinoline from my wedding dress under a beautiful flowered skirt borrowed from danielle (it was just as cumbersome to move around in as i remembered. my neighbor commented that i looked like i just walked off a movie set. luca's dragon costume turned out exactly like i wanted and he had a blast roaring and flying his way around the day. amazingly, gia's wings and tutu held up through the entire morning and for the evening festivities. i had been a little worried that mixing amateur sewing skills with a ten month old. actually, i should say the same thing about luca's costume. although the reason it may have taken me longer than expected is all the extra stitching i put in that thing to make sure it was two year old proof.

after naps, we went over to jesse's office to trick or treat at the cubicles. we had tried practicing with luca the whole saying "trick-or-treat" gig - he was not having it. he explained to me in the car ride to the office, "too hard. when my a man, i say dat." so, he quietly went up to each cube, stuck out his puppy basket (because every dragon needs a pet dog) and gave a cute, "won't you give me candy" look. it worked and, soon, his basket was overflowing. gia just rode quietly along in her stroller until we came to the guy in the grim reaper costume. she very curiously stared him down and was not sure how to respond. by the time we finished, the workday was almost over. jesse met us at home and we literally pulled his costume together right there and then. he made a very dashing knight.

we went house to house on our block and luca continued the "trick-or-treat" boycott until the very last one. he then said a quiet "trick or treat" before the door was opened and refused to repeat it. later, he told us, "my a man now, my say dat." we had to move to a pillowcase for this collection, seeing as luca's cuteness brought out people's generosity to pour candy in his hands. it was very hard for luca not to each piece right away, but he did say thank you each time (before loudly announcing, "next house papi!"). gia again rode along in her stroller, but this time with a tray full of cheerios to keep her occupied. thank goodness for the beautiful weather! no coats or mittens needed and it was even light outside thanks to daylight savings being pushed back a week.

after coming home for dinner and fielding the door for trick or treaters for awhile (which is very difficult with two children in your home needing to be cared for - i almost wanted to put the candy on the step and let the kids take their own) we headed off to a halloween party for church, meaning delayed bedtimes and tired parents. not the best idea in hindsight, but we did enjoy luca's dragon dance and watching him stare in confusion at the giant banana. he also got over his shock at josh and danielle's zombie makeup. we were sad not to visit with joel and rebecca and see baby stella in her star cape, but we did not finish dinner until after her bedtime.

i am so glad i made the costumes, even though we are so busy right now. i take a lot pleasure from working with my hands and crafting beautiful things. my initial thought was to buy something premade, but this was much more fulfilling and rewarding. God gifted me with the ability and desire to create. i am thankful that as i learn more about my limitations, i also find ways to express these gifts within my boundaries.

busy bees

hello there our faithful blog readers! i have been lax in my posting for the last few weeks. something about completely remodeling a kitchen while getting the rest of the house ready to sell* and raising two little ones. i spent most of my free time last week working on luca and gia's costumes (pictures to come), making me even less available to keep all of you up to date on the hart family news. i will try to find time over the weekend, while jesse is home, to do a month of october summary of sorts.

*i realize we have never officially posted on the blog that we are going to put our house up for sale so in case you are surprised, sorry! this will have to suffice as a formal announcement.