9 months

It is officially spring!

Officially - although it doesn't feel like it quite yet.  In Portland we'd be walking around in 60 degrees looking at the blossoms on the green, green trees.  Here, it snowed and hailed yesterday.  Woe is me.

On the bright side, Lucas is such a great little boy.  I think he's found his groove now at 9 months old.  He has figured out how to get around without crawling by doing a creative bend forward/sideways leg move.  And he can go from laying on his belly to sitting up.  I'm hoping that by 10 months I can report he is crawling for real.

So close to crawling...but best to avoid if possible

For fun we've been visiting the Frederik Meijer Gardens' butterfly exhibit, reading lots of books, watching the birds, bundling up to take walks in the snow, playing with other little ones at the library, and eating gourmet meals like Banana Souffle (mashed banana & egg yolk), Salmon Hash (roasted salmon, avocado & sweet potato), & Root Vegetable Medley (rutabaga, parsnip, celeriac, turnip & carrots), to name a few.

To top it all off, he is taking very predictable and long naps and sleeping well at night.  This is good timing, because our family life is shaking up a bit because I start working nights TONIGHT.  Plus, Grandma & Grandpa Darby & Uncle Michael are coming to visit TOMORROW!

Enjoying the butterflies

He likes to read books...and eat them

This little guy loves to eat

8 months

Lucas turned 8 months old this week.  He is sitting up like a champ and wants to crawl, but hasn't figured it out yet.  He loves trying new foods, especially the new additions of spices and herbs.  Some recent favorites include carrot with dill, sweet potato with cinnamon, and egg yolk with anything.

The Gardens

Yesterday we celebrated the beginning of Sam's spring break with a trip to the Frederik Meijer Gardens.  Friday was the first official day of the Butterflies are Blooming exhibit, where more than 6,000 different butterflies will be in the tropical conservatory.  I've always wanted to see the exhibit!  There are a lot still in the chrysalis stage; I imagine we'll get to see even more next time.  I'm excited to go back many times before it ends April 30.