Lucas Got a New Bed!

And this is how he sleeps in it:

Here's a close-up:

He's been sleeping this way since he was a newborn and could wriggle himself out of a swaddle. I've long since gotten over that he seems to be creating a breathing emergency for himself each time he falls asleep.

Father's Day

This was Daniel's first Father's Day. I hope he enjoyed it - despite my making the WORST MEAL I'VE EVER MADE. (I read online about 'massively salting' - their words, not mine! - your steak to make it tender, then rinsing the salt off and grilling it. We ended up with massively salty, yet tender, steak. Gross!) If anything, it was memorable.

At least breakfast was good. Daniel got German oven pancake with fresh peaches and Greek yogurt, and a berry smoothie.

And then he got to open his presents: a few ties and a frame with these photos:

Here are the outtakes:

Daniel is a great dad. And you can tell he just loves being one. He gets Lucas to giggle way more than I can. And Lucas LOVES his dad. Almost every night, Lucas wakes up on his own a few minutes before Daniel gets home. It's as though he has a sixth sense about it. When Dad arrives Lucas smiles and kicks his legs so excitedly that he practically jumps out of my arms into Daniel's. Last night, Lucas woke up after Daniel had already gone to bed. He noticed his dad was asleep and lunged for Daniel grinning with a cheesy smile, trying to get his dad's attention.

Messy Marvin

As a very little kid, that's the name I made up for people I deemed to be messy eaters. And Lucas is one seriously Messy Marvin.

Lucas is gaining quite the appetite these days. Sweet potatoes is a favorite (besides whatever Mom or Dad happen to be eating, of course). He also loves carrots and squash - basically, anything that's orange. Maybe he knows the color looks good on him.

Notice how the food extends from eyebrow to diaper line.

If a bit of food happens to fall on the tray of his high chair, he immediately rubs his hands in it... and then rubs his hands all over his face... and his belly... and his chest.

He always gets distracted by the spoon. He wants to hold it himself.

"I want the spoon! Give it to me! And let me hold that camera while you're at it!"

At this point in the meal, I remove Lucas from the high chair, arms extended, and place him into the bathtub where he proceeds to kick and splash water wall to wall. If anything, this kid is thorough.

Baby Magician

Check out the toy in the first couple seconds of this video. Kid's got raw talent. And maybe a future in the black arts.

And then, he tried to make a phone call.

Snapshot of Lucas at 7 Months

Since a few days after he was born and we realized he would seem to grow from one night to the next morning, I've been asking Lucas to please stop getting so big so fast. His mama needs him to just stay right where he is so I can enjoy every moment. I plead and beg, but he continues to ignore my request.

This kid is looking way too much like a toddler these days. It breaks my heart.

The only consolation is that he keeps getting more and more fun. So here's what Lucas is like at 7 months:

• He's happy. This kid is generally smiling.
• He loves to talk. He's always saying "da da da da" in a squeaky, high-pitched voice. He's proficient at b sounds, l sounds and m sounds (mostly reserved for when he's unhappy). He also discovered he can yell, and he loves to do it in places that echo (like the hallway or elevator). 
• He is eating solid foods. He loves squash, sweet potatoes, carrots and fruits. He wants to eat whatever we're eating and will smile and coo to try to convince us to give him some.
• He's rolling back to front, front to back. He can sit without support, is getting close to sitting up on his own and loves to rock. He's ready to be on the move and has started wriggling/rolling all over the living room. He pushes up on his hands and is looking like he's going to crawl soon.
• He LOVES his dad, and tries to wait up at night for Daniel to get home from work or class. He beams when Dad walks through the door.
• He thinks is fun to mouth Mom and Dad's faces. Maybe he's trying to kiss us? Or maybe he's just trying to give us a taste of what he goes through all day long with us mushing him. He'll also grab our faces with his hands and push his face up against ours to give us Eskimo kisses.
• He loves to snuggle and giggle with Mom before nap time. 
• He recently discovered technology. He always wants to push the keys on the laptop, the buttons on the remote and touch the iPad. 
• His dream is that we would just let him play with those power cords (to the laptop, lamps, phone chargers) that he loves so much. (Remember what happened to the Griswold's cat in the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? These are the kinds of things that go through your head as a mother!)
• He weighs 20 lbs and has two teeth.
• His favorite things (sure to bring a smile at any time): singing "Wheels on the Bus," the sound a duck makes, and doing "Pat-a-Cake."

Here are some recent photos at the park:

 And a couple videos (promise to ignore the horrendous rendition of "Wheels on the Bus"):