charlotte, again.

after flying back from connecticut, i stayed in charlotte for a little longer before going home, wanting to make up for lost time and all that. since i came back on sunday night, that mostly looked like me tagging along and hanging out during a regular work week. it wasn't ideal that we couldn't all just stay home and hang out with each other, but it was also nice to spend time together in an everyday kind of way.

on monday, i hung out at my parents' house with my dad and bailey.

before i moved, bailey and i hung out a lot. he would give me dirty looks and lots of sass, but i think he liked me a little. or, at the very least, appreciated that i let him sleep in my bed. (which is significant, because i only had a twin bed then.) he was what took up most of my camera roll.

since i moved, i only see him occasionally and never in a way where i am just sitting around with nothing to do. it turns out, he was in the mood to cuddle on a day when i had time to sit on the floor and let him lay on me. so that's what we did.

um, on to the person who now takes up most of my camera roll.

luca is at an interesting stage these days, where he's very into what he wants and very not into what he doesn't want. i believe most people just refer to this as being two. but he's the first little person i've watched grow up, so it's all new and exciting for me.

there was one day in particular where he woke up cranky. like the crankiest i've ever seen him, or any small child for that matter. he didn't want me to look at him, much less go near him or, heaven forbid, try to feed him or interact with him in any way.

he woke up the next day wanting to wake me up and play with me and he even thought i was funny a few times.

i don't even know how this happened, to be honest, but i have like 47 photos to prove that it did.

i just thought he looked cute in that car, and this was about as close as i could get to him without him complaining about it, but it sort of looks like he drove into a wall.

i'm obsessed with his face. he's obsessed with eating bunnies.

(he liked me in this minute, but he gave me a dirty look when i asked if i could have a bunny. too much, too soon, i guess.)

he watches the ipad on his lap in the car and holds his container of bunnies up in the air so it doesn't block his view. i was only trying to take a car selfie while we waited for the bus, but i'm glad i have that documented.

my nephew is the coolest person i know.

i wrapped his little blanket around my neck and pretended it was a cape and then chased him around. chasing him and saying "i'm gonna get you!" is probably his favorite. when he's playing with his cars and driving them around on the floor, he'll say "i'm gonna catch you!"

squad. mommy + daddy + luca + auntie + blades.

there's something about the way he sits in his car seat these days, his legs hanging over and his toes pointing toward, a toy gripped in each hand, that just gets me.

(we can go ahead and file this right under: being an aunt.)

back seat bffs.

hiding on mommy in the teepee.

as i'm going through and writing this, it looks like as the week went on, we slowly became friends again, but that's just because i didn't feel the need to document the moments where T or lee walked out of the room, leaving him with only me, and the amount of whining and pouting that followed, like i am the actual worst and no fun at all.

i don't take it personally. i find it kind of hilarious, actually. i will never not be fascinated, and totally in love with, watching him grow up.

other things worth documenting:

+ he says "auntie" like it actually sounds.

+ my name sounds like say-ah, but he only said it a few times. he mostly calls me auntie, if he calls me anything at all. (he often just points.) i did notice a few times when he said my name, he just said "say." like, we're best friends and he shortens my name the way T does.

+ he no longer says "mo" for motorcycle. he now says mo-cycle (with two hard c's).

+ he says "chocolate treat." which, my favorite part is "chocolate."

+ he's still into moving the lawn (while you leaf blow or weed wack), having dance parties, and monster trucks.

+ he got the minions movie for christmas and he asks to watch it every day, multiple times. he calls it "mins."

+ he prays every night before bed and asks jesus to bless all the robots and monster trucks from the shows he watches. he lists them by name.

+ he speaks in full sentences, but it's a toss up as to whether or not you'll understand what he's saying. your chances increase if you know how he mispronounces words. even more so if you know what he's into. he also does that thing where he'll up to you and tell you a thing and then laughs at himself but you have no idea what he said.

we are experts at taking photos.