the great scissors incident of 2008

i will always look back at my eight year anniversary and remember a weekend away with my man, buying our porch swing for the new house, and luca finding a pair of scissors during his naptime and going to town. here are the photos to further memorialize the event.


i saw this and stopped in shock at the threshhold. what in the world happened? oh, i guess the scissors on the floor answer that question.


at first i thought this was all the hair that had been cut. turned out to be only a quarter of it.


the next day luca unearthed the remainder of the hair (his own and the poor horse) from a hidden cache. don't ask me where. this is how he displayed it after tuesday's naptime.

three haircuts in one week

hello! we are still here. just continuing to chip away at the house and unpacking, plus we had an awesome 10 day visit from jesse's mom. plus i have been dealing with the majoy fibro flare-up that has been plaguing me all summer. i am actually a bit too tired to be writing anything much coherently and i should go let luca out from his nap/quiet time. but i am putting up a poll this afternoon and will run it until tomorrow for anyone who may read this. to preface it, i need to explain a few things. first off, up until last week luca's hair was reaching past his shoulders. so i cut a good three inches off a week ago today and it looked super cute. still really long and shaggy, but not out of control. well, luca decided to experiment with some hair cutting of his own on monday afternoon (bound to happen at some point i guess) and he cut off an additional three or so inches in several place around his head. all in all, i think it is very funny. but the problem is i am not sure if i can or want to salvage this myself at home. i am taking him in tomorrow morning for a haircut and wanted some of your thoughts, faithful blog reader (or faithful blog checker since not much reading has been going on here lately). so read the poll and cast your vote. who knows what will happen! (pics to come)

mirror image

about two weeks ago i took this neat photo of gia with one of her little friends. they had identical swimsuits (including the 3T size for 18 & 19 month olds) and the screen gives the photo a kind of mirror glass effect. i love the way it turned out.

tired

it has been one of those weeks where i am tired and ready for bedtime before 9am. we haven't been out to the library or the gym or for any playdates. the weather, although nice for my potted plants - maybe not so great for my veggies - has not helped my blah feeling. luca and i are playing tug of war all day long and gia and i are pretty much the same. they both seem to have hit a phase of extreme independence and willfulness. i am also assuming they are playing off one another - super fun. it is exhausting and humbling when two young children can bring out ugliness in me. i feel like i am yelling too much and i just keep coming back to God thankful of his amazing and unending grace.

when i get a chance i am trying to unpack and set up house. i have no grand plans of this being completed before the start of the school year, but i can only plug away. we are about 95% done with the floors though, so yeah!

happy 4th

the BIG news

i can't BELIEVE i have NOT blogged about this yet. a MILESTONE in luca's life - in OUR lives as parents. READY for it? luca NO LONGER uses a PACIFIER!!!!

YEP. the PACI has been retired to the paci BOX. as of SUNDAY JUNE 22ND.

here is how we CELEBRATED:



i apologize for the obnoxious yelling in the background. and i will quit with the caps lock.

so the timeline went:
-luca willingly putting the paci in the box sunday afternoon
-luca choosing a prize out of the "i'm-a-big-boy-now-treasure-box"
-luca screaming and crying for just under two hours sunday night wanting the paci back
-luca waking up monday and receiving a second prize out of the treasure box
-luca crying and upset during his nap/quiet time due to no paci
-luca crying for a half hour monday night
-luca waking up tuesday morning and receiving a third prize out of the box
-luca crying for 20 minutes at naptime and then actually sleeping for an hour and a half
-luca going right to sleep tuesday and wednesday night
-luca receiving prizes both mornings
-all of us celebrating with a special dinner thursday night

anyway, we went to jupiters - a yummy pizza and billiards place in town that has opened a second more family friendly location complete with a dave and busters meets chuck e. cheese atmosphere . . . of sorts.

yes, he actually could reach - barely.

luca's games lasted about 45 seconds as he like to make the car hit stuff and make his papi want to take over the steering wheel. i know gia just wanted to show him up with her mad skills (and yes all true race car drivers wear tu-tus)

thirsty work



his "snakey-head" sharing the lemonade. this was the toy he bought with his tickets.


i know it seems like a lot of hassle but i was extremely nervous about this process. i need my rest and sleep in the afternoon and evenings or i spiral down quickly healthwise and emotionally. maybe more than luca, i was using the paci as a crutch to calm and peaceful times. i have been gearing up for this for several months, but it never felt like the right time with all of the moving. thank God it is now done.

stormy bubbles

in my quest to "catch-up" the blog, there will be many postings in the coming week(s) that give you all an idea of what our first month in the new house have been like. yes, today marks one month - already! kinda blows my mind.

our first week here was a rainy and stormy one. kept from much of the yard, we were forced to find alternate locations for outdoor play, which thankfully are aplenty at this house. luca found that the landing next to the side/back door makes an excellent spot to blow some bubbles.

the first fort

the first of many forts was constructed by luca just one day after the move. he decided his closet would be a great place to pile pillows and blankets to take a little "nap." funny thing is most of his forts are built with the idea of laying down and taking a break. must be tired after all that hard work.

other fort locations since this: the linen closet, second shelf from the bottom; behind the chair in the living room; the "mouse-hole" in the buffet; and under our bed upstairs. pics to come hopefully.

i love this little boy.

laundry at midnight

(jesse has been working late this week and that means i stay up later then i should about half the nights as well. silly me. don't i know i have two energetic kids to take care of and a lot more unpacking to do tomorrow?)

so what did i find in a pocket of a very cute and very soiled girly girl dress while sorting laundry tonight? why a handful of rocks and a barrette of course. oh that gia.

the g-stone

so jesse started calling gia this a few months back and it has not only stuck around but perhaps may be her most common nickname at the moment. regardless, our little girl has some sass and much cuteness - for those of you craving some of both here you go.

"story" by luca hart

(in the car this morning, luca exclaimed, "mama, my need to tell you a story." he became very focused and quiet while speaking.)

dere was a mama nut, a guca nut, a papa nut, and a gia nut. dere was a squirrel. it wanted to eat dem. so dey ran away. the end.

(he then shouted, "my need to tell papa dat story and he will love it." is he not the most adorable three year old ever? i also am impressed with his creativity and understanding of story telling.)

(oh and btw, i think i might actually start posting again :) )