Lukas, the bilingual baby

So Lukas has started babbling what appear to be words. He says mamamamamamamamama, especially when he's annoyed or upset, but I'm sure we've gotten a 'mama' out of him once or twice. Nanny informed me today that while she was out of the room, Lukas muttered 'nana' to Grandpa.

We've also been teaching him to wave and say 'bye-bye', but for some reason it always comes out 'da-da'. Whatever works, we figure. Then last night we had an epiphany...we don't think he's saying 'da-da', but 'ata', which is 'bye' in Latvian. Makes sense, since Matiss speaks only Latvian to the little dude. Man, this bilingual thing is going to be complicated, let me tell ya. What a little smartie-pants.

Lukas takes the coast! (Summer, part two)

We had our first family vacation this year...we grabbed Lukas, packed up the car (that's an understatement!) and hit the road for the Maritimes. Four provinces, 3000 kilometres, two ferries, and one wedding later, we're back. We all had a great time, despite the copious rain. We'll put up an album with all the pictures, but here are a few highlights for your viewing pleasure!

Lūkas camping!


Hanging in the rain (a common occurrence)


Tetiņš and Lūkas in Fundy National Park (yes, I've figured out how to type with symbols! Woohoo!)


Mommy and Lukas at the wedding


Taking over the MC duties at the wedding


Little party animal!


Louisbourg (Cape Breton)


Meltdown on the ferry, heh heh


Sandlands in Charlottetown


Hanging with his buddy Spencer in Argyle Shore, PEI


Visiting family friends at the Dunes, PEI


Loving the fountain!


Visiting auntie Tashie in Montreal!


A well-deserved snooze for the road warrior...

Lukas' favourite (non) foods

As you may already know, Lukas has a healthy appetite. We are blessed that he eats pretty much anything we put in front of him, usually with enthusiasm. That said, now that he's more mobile, he's also made it a personal goal of his to eat as many things as he can - food or not. A recent list of his successful attempts follows:

- dirt and related forms of dirt (i.e. sand, mud, etc.)
- lint
- paper of all kinds
- cat food and dog food
- pebbles
- tree materials: sticks, twigs, leaves, and bark
- used rawhide bone. This one is my personal favourite.

Strangely enough, I don't think we've ever seen him make a face when he's eaten any of these things. He appears to like them. I hope this means that we won't have any battles with getting him to eat his dinner when he's older. Oh, and you don't even want to know the things we've managed to stop him from eating. Man oh man.

Nightmare on Lanark Street (Avenue)

***WARNING - GRAPHIC VIDEO. NOT GRAPHIC IN A BLOODY KIND OF WAY, BUT IF YOU'RE SQUEAMISH ABOUT POOP, THIS IS NOT THE POST FOR YOU!***

Ah, Lukas. So sweet. So innocent. Just don't make him laugh when he's naked and is battling a nasty bout of diarrhea. Trust me on this one.

Summer, Part one - the Christian Pagan.

Lukas had a blast this summer. Since he was born in the fall, and there was a construction crew working outside our house for the first two months of his life, he never really experienced all the sights and sounds of the outside world. He loves all the people and animals (mostly seagulls), and just wants to explore everything. We took him (along with some baby friends, Milo and Makenna) to the tulip festival and let him get dirty. Boy, does he like dirt. More on this later.


Lukas got baptized this summer. With the help of many, many family and friends, we organized a big party to celebrate Lukas not being a heathen anymore. In all honesty, it was a lovely day. He was christened on the Ottawa river (which we hear is becoming a new fad around our congregation!) and we were surrounded by all our loved ones. In the picture are Lukas, Macitajas Kirsons, and his three Godparents (Dave, Alison, and Malcolm). I love how in the photo, he's glancing over at his parents with his expression screaming 'are you SURE you want THESE three to be guiding me through life???'. Of course we are. Lucky boy.


Of course, we didn't want Lukas to forget his pagan roots, so after he was Christened, we celebrated his first Latvian Pagan holiday - Jani. We made him a vanags (a wreath of leaves) and brought him on the cottage tour with the crazy mob of Latvians. He didn't drink beer but he did eat some cheese, and loved every minute of it. We will admit that it was hard work, though, bringing a baby to the biggest Latvian party of the year...

And....we're back. Bigger, better, and louder than ever.

Okay...I'm sorry that I've dropped the ball on the blog. Summer finally came, in all its splendor, and it's been a flurry of school, sun (though less than I'd like) and traveling. That said, I have much to report now. It will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you nauseous, most likely. So sit back and catch up on the life and times of the family Stisso...