Rockin' out!

I love my papa.

Having a bath outside on the hot day

She washes her tummy. It's so cute. "Rubba rubba"

See Mt. Rainier?

Tired baby... very relaxed.

The Mariani's at Emerald Downs

lovin' her "ton ton" (uncle) Pierre 

she looks so big to me here! like such a big girl.

visiting with Bella. We gotta get Lu some of those sandals. Love it.

She's doing a REALLY good job at standing, but I am helping her.

Our buddy Laura, helping Lu out of the rocking chair.

AND..... I saved the best photo for last!

Rocking in the rocking chair at C&P

(see video below!!!)

Luka was really enjoying the warm weather, although, she'd rather not have a hat on and not be in the direct sun shine. We've learned that she has extremely sensitive eyes to the sunlight. 

Here's a quick snippet of Luka enjoying the back porch at C&P coffee with Laura and I. 

Reminiscing

Lounging by the pool in Luxor

1 year ago my family and I had the extreme fortune to go to Egypt for a family vacation. We left a year ago yesterday. I was about 7 months pregnant with our little Luka. What an amazing trip... 

The view from our hotel room in Cairo.

My beautiful family.

doin what I do best, riding camels pregnant!

Me and my honeys... 

Luka goes to the beach!

Well the sun comes out and it seems that the population doubles. Traffic every where, people everywhere, it was CRAZY this weekend. We were included in the droves of people that soaked up some of that amazing warmth we had beaming down from that unknown round yellow object in the sky. We took Luka to the beach for the first time. It was a strange experience for her and for me. She was not too excited about the sand. I had visions of sand castles, and a little baby with a dirty mouth full of sand, but none of that came to fruition.  Alki has always been one of the best people watching places ever... I usually come away asking my self, "what the heck were they thinking?".... this trip -- I did not notice any one, or anything. If your name was not Luka or Dan I did not notice you.  I was so absorbed in my little sweet family. What a fun day. 

We finally did get our battery charger back and we'll be back to posting non camera-phone photos soon. Lu's doing so many things you all have to see. She's clapping, and waving, pointing, and almost blowing kisses. She's standing all the time, and tonight she let go and stood on her own for about 3 seconds. Watch out world!

Water Baby!

We knew she loved the water! We took Luka swimming for the first time last Saturday. They have an "Aqua-Tot" class taught by a hysterical old lady in a old skool swim cap, with a sing song voice. Luka could not stop laughing at he

r (or me!). We sang lots of songs like; The Wheels on the Bus, I'm a little Tea Pot and others. They all had movements to them that help get the kids used to doing things 

in the water, feeling the movement of the water on their skin, or blowing bubbles, etc. It was a blast. Luka was never nervous. She and I walked right into the water like she had done it a million times. She was VERY excited to see other children there, too. We WILL be headed back soon. 

Check out her face here! She's laughing at the teacher!

The pictures are terrible, but they were all we could manage with Dan's camera phone. We've left our battery charger somewhere. Imagine that?! A dead battery and a cute kid. It's an atrocity. 

In other news my lap top is back up and running after my hard drive CRASHED! So, hopefully it won't be so long before I post again.

We are on the mend now after having a yucky bout with the flu. Luka caught it first and was sick most of Sunday. Having a lethargic, grey skinned, barfy 8.5 month old has got to be the saddest experience we have had as new parents. I know that that experience pales in comparison to the things we have seen our friends go through, and probably will pale in comparison to something down the road, but Dan and I certainly felt so helpless. Monday afternoon I came down with it on the way to work, and then Dan played follow the leader and got sick that evening. We spent yesterday napping a lot, and hanging out, and taking it easy - there was not much food involved.