Dear Luca

Dear Luca,
I can't believe you are one! Where has the time gone? It seems like overnight you transformed from a tiny little baby into this funny, active little toddler with a BIG personality. You are so busy these days. Climbing on everything, trying to put on every pair of shoes you find (yours, mine, and daddy's) in hopes that someone will take you outside (despite the fact that it's over 100 degrees outside), playing with Tevez (he sure makes you laugh), chasing balls, and examining everything. You know what you want and you are determined to get it. You are a stubborn little boy. Passionate already I know. We have had a lot of fun this summer playing at the splash pad, swimming, and visiting family in Indiana. You did a great job on your first plane ride, considering you were confined to our laps. You are not a fan of being confined. You love to explore and you are always on the move. I know soon enough you will be walking...or you might just go straight to running. You are so close, and I am just waiting to see you take those first steps and let go of our hands. I know you are ready for more independence. In just a few days you will start your new school. I know you will make a lot of new friends and enjoy all the activities. You are such a social little guy, always waving at everyone. I am going to miss spending all day with you, but I know we will have plenty of fun after school each day. We love you more than anything little man, and we are so blessed to have you in our lives!!!! You are amazing! Never forget that.

Love,
Mommy

We have a one year old?

Wait, when did that happen?! How did my tiny little baby turn into a busy one year old boy? Ahhhhhh! I just keep thinking about what we were doing this time last year. We were up all night with a newborn. No clue what we were doing. Exhausted. Trying to adjust to this tiny little thing that came in and shook up our lives. Well, a year later I think it's safe to say that we have started to settle into our new roles as mommy and daddy, but we still have a LOT to learn. Every new stage comes with new challenges, questions, and surprises. Just when it felt like we were finally mastering the baby stage, BAM! We have a toddler. An active, curious ball of energy. He is into everything. It's exhausting. He loves balls, climbing on things, tools, putting things together, tormenting Tevez, being outside, and did I mention balls? Soccer, football, baseball, basketball. It doesn't matter. He is his father's son.
We celebrated his first birthday here in Arizona with a pool party. He had plenty of friends around to help him celebrate, and he of course was happy to be in the pool. As for the cake, he wasn't too interested in eating it as I anticipated, but he did an awesome job of covering himself head to toe in blue icing. A shower was required afterwards. But you just can't celebrate enough when you are turning one, so we threw a family party in Indiana as well. It was really special for him to be able to celebrate his birthday with all of his grandparents and great grandparents as well as his cousin Ruthi. They had a blast together. It was great to be back in the midwest even if it was a whirlwind of a visit. Now we are back in Phoenix, and I have one more week of summer before I officially start my new job at my new school. It's a bit overwhelming thinking about starting over in a new district, new school, and new grade. Well, the first month of school is overwhelming regardless. On top of that, we have a LOT going on. I hope I get more time to blog in the upcoming weeks because I feel like I have been so bad at blogging. I have a million things I want to share!!!! For now, please accept my crummy short post and enjoy a couple of birthday pictures!