15 months

Berkeley is 15 months and finally started walking; he just needed to get out of the house and it all came together for him. He took his first steps at a local bike shop when I was purchasing my bike and now he's a pro. That is, when he chooses to walk. This kid has a mind of his own and most of the time enjoys doing his "knee walk" where he literally walks around the entire house on his knees. It is pretty cute! Everyday his walking gets a little better.

We have almost weaned this little guy off of baby food, but it has not been easy. This guy is a picky eater!!! It has been quite a task to find solid food that he will actually consume on his own. So far he likes, faux dogs (veggie hot dogs), yogurt, applesauce, bananas (LOVES these), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, any type of cracker, caramel flavored rice cakes, risotto with asparagus, gnocchi, and smoothies. He refuses to eat any vegetables in solid form, so we have resorted to making green smoothies which has worked like a charm.

Berke still has a small vocabulary in the English language saying mainly Dadda, doggie, duck (see a theme), and hi. He is very proficient in jibberish however and talks nonstop to us all.

This month he has become much more obsessed with McDuff and likes to jump on him when he is laying down; I imagine he thinks the dog will react the same way his teddy bear will, but this is NEVER the case. McDuff has gone on extra high security when it comes to this kid as he is not fond of this new behavior. We have been working on soft touch a lot when petting the dog, but it only takes seconds for Berke to have a handful of hair and be pulling it. McDuff has been very patient with Berke during this time of learning.

This month, Berke is all about climbing. He learned to climb onto the couch, which has been quite dangerous as he likes to fall backwards on the couch once he is up and laugh. This is all fun and games except this behavior has caused a few falls off the couch onto the hardwood floor. Not so fun. I call Berke my "little monkey" lately as he loves to climb in and out of things, over things, under things, through things. We got a box the other day and he climbed in and out of 30 times in a 15 minute period. He has found new joy in the kitchen chairs and climbs in and over them and onto the next like it is some sort of playground. He also tried to climb from the couch to the bookshelves this week. I am learning my house needs a serious round of baby proofing, but I have no idea how to make it safe for him.

At Berkeley's 15 month appointment we found that he was 21.9 lbs (15%) and in the 7% for height; looks like he got his mommies genes, sorry dude. Perhaps he will have a growth spurt one of these days, you never know. He may be wearing his 12 months pants for a year as most of them are still way to long for him.

That is about it for this little monkey. He is so much fun and keeps us on our toes constantly. Wherever we go, everyone loves to say hi to Berke and he always greets them with a big smile which melts there hearts. He is so social and loves to be around people. We decided we are keeping him around for sure.

Easter

Happy Easter!! We hope you all enjoyed your Easter holiday. We had a wonderful weekend; listening to conference and remembering our sweet Savior on this beautiful holiday. We are so grateful for Christ and his eternal sacrifice for us; we hope we can continue to try to be more like him and teach Berke about his love for him and those around him.

Berkeley was excited to see a basket full of fun left by the Easter Bunny this morning. He was mainly excited to get a new basket (forget the goodies inside). McDuff decided he needed the chocolate bunny much more than his brother, and thus, he helped himself. The Easter Bunny has grate taste and brought Berkeley this adorable Easter outfit; thanks EB!

We sure do love our little guy. Happy Easter!

Family Bike Ride

(Just when you think this kid can't get any cuter, you stick a bike helmet on
him and he just looks even more adorable.)

Last week I bought a bike to begin my triathlon training; I wasn't able to ride it due to the crazy amount of rain we have had. This week we bought a bike seat for Berkeley. This morning we left our house at 8 a.m. & went on our very first family bike ride for 2 hours with Liser and Danly. They showed us how to get to the Minute Man Bike Trail.
I am pretty sure I haven't been on a bike (outside of the gym) since I was about 12 years old. I have to say, it was really fun. Berkeley loved the ride; we all did. We are excited to have a new way to explore the city and a fun activity to do as a family this summer. I am still a bit nervous riding in the city, but I absolutely love being on the trails.

Eggs and Cookies

Gotta love traditions. The Hadley's joined us for the 3rd year in a row to color Easter Eggs & decorate and consume sugar cookies. Berkeley joined us for the egg dying; he mainly enjoyed banging the egg on his high chair and breaking the shell. He also had fun eating the sugar cookies (sans the frosting).

Gotta love my hot hubby who baked all the delicious sugar cookies!

Story of the Day

Today as I was visiting an elderly gentleman our conversation went something like this:

Laci: So, do you still drive?

Man: OH No! You know those things called Stop signs, or slow down signs?

Laci: yes

Man: Well, sometimes they are on the right and sometimes they are on the left. One day, I was driving my daughter somewhere and there was one of them "Stop" signs right in the middle of the road. Well, I just went straight over it. It didn't hurt, it just felt kinda like road kill. A police officer pulled me over; he knew me and told me I wasn't supposed to be driving. Ever since that day, I drove home and haven't driven since. You know, my eyes aren't too good.

Laci: That is probably a good thing.

Man: (Laughs hysterically)

St. Patty's

Today was one of those PERFECT days. After a REALLY long winter, today finally felt like spring; it was an amazingly sunny and 62 degree kinda day. What made this day the best was that I had the day off in these perfect conditions. That's right, March 17th is not only St. Patrick's Day, but it is also Evacuation Day in Suffolk County (where I work). The holiday commemorates the evacuation of British forces from the city of Boston following the Siege of Boston, early in the American Revolutionary War.

Berkeley and I slept in until 8:00 a.m., and had a fun morning together before getting ready to head to Brandeis University to have lunch with C. Then we went to show Berkeley off to his freshman writing class; as we left I heard one of the girls say, "OMG, you seriously have the cutest kid ever." I have to agree with her. We had some R and R when we got home and then headed to a play group with some friends from church. Berke loved playing with his BFF Lily on the grass and swinging in the swing. We also chatted with our neighbors Charlotte and Agnus who just cant get enough of our little guy and his adorable smile.

It was really great to spend the day with my little one. He is such a joy and I love being his mom. I hope everyone else had sunshine in their days and were able to celebrate the luck of the Irish.

Bob

We have been very blessed to live in a neighborhood with such amazing people. There are a few elderly neighbors that we have grown quite fond of, as they have become like our family. Bob is a HUGE Red Sox fan, and lives two houses up the hill from us. He has lived on our street his entire life in a few different houses. Bob took a liking to McDuff the day we moved in; he stopped to pet and talk with him as we carried our boxes in the house. Since that time (almost 3 years ago), McDuff has become Bob's Goddog. Bob picks McDuff up twice a week, the days I work and C has school. They hang out the whole day and Bob brings him back around 5:00p.m. Bob loves this dog. He has also been amazing to take McDuff when we go out of town or when I was in the hospital delivering Berkeley. Sometimes he just comes and gets him to take him on a walk; he is the best dog sitter around. We feel so lucky to have someone who will help us care for our dog on a weekly basis. McDuff loves Bob as well and if he sees Bob walking down the street he starts barking because he is upset he doesn't get to go. What a pair!