jetlag

Day 10 of the Pere Noel world tour: we are all pretty jetlagged and with only 4 days left, unlikely to shift over. Our idea to spend 3 days in DC to break up the trip and make a gradual time shift was well-meaning but useless. Luke went to bed each night at midnight and slept till 11. Once in France it's been pretty wonky. Most nights, he's been awake from 2 to 5 am, and will then sleep in till 1:30 pm if we let him. He's not very hungry during the day (his body clock's nighttime), so when he wakes up at 2 am, he's ravenous and asking to eat. Dada never handles the time change very well, and this trip is no exception. So, he's usually awake at 2 when Luke wakes up and has been doing night duty. I'm the only one getting decent sleep.

The jetlag did kind of help us out for the French Christmas Eve festivities. The tradition here is to have a huge, long feast on Christmas Eve, interrupted in the middle by a visit from Pere Noel. We began eating at 9:00 pm and finished dessert at 3:00 am! (Pere Noel, of course, arrived at his customary hour of midnight.) We ate: petit bouchons and samosas, smoked salmon, foie gras, chapon, cabris, salad, cheese, and buche de Noel and ice cream. That's 8 courses, plus lots of wine and champagne!

Luke was both enthralled and overwhelmed with his first French Christmas. Pics and stories to come when we're back home. In the meantime, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

tea party

Mama has so many stories to share from Thanksgiving (and lots of pics, too), but not so much time to pull it all together. And, we're leaving next week for Luke's Père Noël world tour. So, until I can get myself organized, I'll share this slice of life:

Luke: Wanna have tea party (teeeeeee pahrrrr-teee).

Mama: A tea party?

Luke: Yeah. With cookies.

Mama: Cookies are a good idea at a tea party. What else are you going to do?

Luke: Drink tea. Green tea.

Mama: Who will you invite?

Luke: Momo! Momo wanna drink tea. And eat cookies. Luke too. Luke eat cookies!

I love this boy! Tea parties?! Woo-hoo. I have my eye on this lovely tea set, which Père Noël might have to leave under the Christmas tree.

our weekend

thankful

What I imagine Luke is thankful for this year: his entourage (Mama, Dada, Pop-Pop and Nana), vacation food rules (i.e., anything goes: cookies, chocolate milkshake, pumpkin bread, donuts), vacation bedtime, middle of the night transfers to the big bed and plentiful surprises (new books, Cranky, and Stanley). Mama is thankful for this wonderful little man and for the big man who answers to Dada.

top 10 things about pop-pop & nana's visit

Pop-Pop and Nana will be arriving on Friday for a 10-day visit, and it got me thinking about all the things I will enjoy. My top 10:

10. No need to tidy the house, because it's just going to get messy again.
9. Suggestions to walk (rather than drive) to the coffee shop each morning.
8. The book Pop-Pop always finishes while at our house and leaves for Mama to read.
7. Nana's desire to plant flower bulbs in our garden, which we get to enjoy and admire each spring.
6. The Project (two years ago, it was organizing Grammy's china; last year, it was mulching our garden; who knows what excitement this year will bring?!)
5. Pop-Pop and Nana's willingness to do anything and accompany Mama on just about any errand.
4. Outings.
3. Luke's delight at having a houseful of family.
2. Pop-Pop's cooking.
1. Free babysitting!

shout-out to sesa

We finally made a trip to Barnes & Noble to redeem the lovely gift card Sesa, Megan, Kevin & Pete sent Luke for his birthday. We had a blast picking out new books. Luke was very discerning. At first, he would carefully select a book on display, especially if it had a favorite topic (moo-moo cow, dinosaur, etc.), and he would then read it, and decide "yes" or "no" about taking it home. In the end, he selected 4 new books, all about (what else?) trains!

musical beds

Last night felt like a game of musical chairs, er, beds. Luke went to sleep in his crib. In the middle of the night (~2:30 a.m.), he woke up, then woke me up, and asked to come to the big bed. Since Dada is traveling and Mama likes to sleep, rather than enforce "sleep in your own bed" rules, Luke came into the big bed. Several more hours of snuggle-time ensued. Then, at o'dark thirty, Mama had to get up and do a little early morning work before Luke officially woke up. So, the sleeping child went back to his own crib. Musical beds. We made up for it at naptime, which was a lovely 2.5 hours together in the big bed. No moving, no talking, just lovely sleep.

(middle of the night) slice of life

2:45 a.m., sounds coming from Luke's room:
Fussing, snuffly-crying, and then, softly, "Luke find Momo. Luke find Momo."

Mama gets out of bed, stumbles into Luke's room to find Luke sitting up in his crib.

"Sweetie, did you find Momo?"

Luke says sadly, "Nooooo," and he stands up.

Mama finds Momo in the corner of the crib, huddled under the duvet, and hands him to Luke.

Luke grabs Momo, declares, "Luke find Momo," stuffs a corner into his mouth, and dives into the mattress. Fast asleep in about 20 seconds.

Mama stumbles back to bed.

preschool update

My good intentions to write up notes from our preschool visits have fallen by the wayside, as we've been navigating busy or disrupted schedules and colds. Note to self: try really really hard to keep Luke healthy before daylight savings time changes.

In the past two months, we have attended 8 tours and/or parent nights. Luke has now played at four different schools, and he'll visit another one on Friday. And it still feels like we are pretty far off from finding a preschool spot for him next year. Our "sure thing" was a neighborhood school which, while not the kind of school we'd fall in love with, was a nice, convenient, fun school about 3 blocks from our house. It has spacious classrooms, outdoor play space, all the "right" stuff like different play centers (books, puzzles, treehouse for climbing, art, etc.). Totally fine, if a little larger and more chaotic than we would prefer. We brought Luke in for his visit yesterday, and were surprised (shocked really) to see peanuts being served at snacktime. Because of my allergy, we are very cautious about Luke, and would prefer a preschool that bans peanuts. Even if Luke isn't allergic, my allergy is severe enough that it's a risk for Luke to eat peanut butter and then come home and kiss me. Since I don't want to curtail toddler kisses, we have decided that we need a preschool that offers a full ban on peanuts. It's funny that this school doesn't offer that, because nowadays with so many kids being allergic, and this being liberal San Francisco and all, the peanut ban seems pretty standard. Except, of course, at the one preschool where we were pretty much guaranteed of getting in. Sigh.

Of 14 schools on our "hit list," it looks like we'll apply to six or seven, most of which will have up to 100 applications for just a few open spots. Here's the latest rundown:

Apply
Glenridge Cooperative Nursery School
Room to Grow Preschool

Upcoming visits
Miraloma Cooperative Nursery School
Maria Montessori
Centro Las Olas (spanish-immersion)

Trying to schedule a visit
Sweet Peas
Crayon Box

Decided not to apply
Glen Park Montessori (program too rigid)
Little Bear School (peanuts--ack!!)
Noe Valley Cooperative Nursery School (word on the street is that it's really disorganized)
Wind in the Willows (1/2 day program; we decided to consider 1/2 days only if it was at a co-op)
The Preschool (ditto on the 1/2 day program)

Struck out
Trevor Martin Montessori ("don't call us, we'll call you")
Buen Dia Family School (tours already full for the year)

more potty tales

Just before Luke's birthday, I posted an update on potty training (or lack thereof). A few days after that post and just before Luke's 2nd birthday, he went pee-pee in his potty!

Here's the tale: Luke wanted to practice, so he sat down (naked of course) on his potty. I've learned that all good potty practice happens in the buff. He was squirming, squirming, squirming, but he didn't want to give up. We read a lot of books, we put his trains in a circle around the potty for moral support, and low and behold, after about 10 minutes on the potty, with Mama's arm around him, Luke declared "zi-zi!," which is French slang for penis. We looked in the potty and there it was: the pee-pee!! Mama, Dada, and Luke all did the potty dance, which is a sort of celebration parade, and we proudly announced to anyone who would listen that Luke had used the potty.

We saw no action for the next month, but, about a week ago, Luke's interest in his favorite potty books (the classics: Uh-Oh Gotta Go, A Potty for Me, and Once Upon a Potty) started to increase. This week, Luke told his nanny that he wanted to try the potty. He stripped down, and after about 8 minutes, he went pee-pee. There was another potty dance, and lots more pride.

Pop-Pop and Nana, put on your dancing shoes, because there might be some potty dancing going on when you visit over Thanksgiving!

puzzle time

Luke has always loved puzzles, but lately, his interest and abilities have taken on a whole new dimension. Luke simple adores his puzzles, and he's mastered several 12 piece jigsaw puzzles and one 24 piece jigsaw puzzle. He does them over and over, and he repeats to himself little "clues" about how to do them. "Dinosaur back. Dinosaur teeth. Purple volcano." He also likes to have puzzle races. "Luke do it fast!"

There's something adorably quirky about Luke's interactions with his toys. He loves his favorite toys, but it takes him a while to warm up to a new one. He worked and worked and worked on his moo-moo cow puzzle, with hardly any attention given to the dinosaur puzzle. Then, once he started making headway on being able to put the dinosaur puzzle together, he only wanted to do that one all the time.

I brought Luke two new puzzles from my recent trip to New York (and oh what a delight I had at FAO Schwartz), but the new puzzles haven't made it into the ranks of favorites yet.

luke's babyhood

This lovely post has stayed with me since I first read it, and it's made me reflect and reminisce on Luke's baby days.

The first three months were really hard for me. I was bone tired and, like Luke, I didn't really know up from down or day from night. What I really needed was sleep and confidence, and I had precious little of either. But then, slowly and gradually, it started to click. Luke started sleeping. I started sleeping. There were laughs, wonderful fabulous baby belly laughs. And, there was sleepy snuggly early morning nursing. Luke let me play dress up with him, with a baby pirate hat or something else equally adorable. He loved being cheered on for milestone after milestone: rolling back to front, then front to back, finding his hands, eating his toes.

There were so many firsts in that first year. First smile, first laugh, first food, first crawl, first time pulling up, first steps, first words. I loved all of it. I loved being in his babyhood bubble. I loved his determination when he just wouldn't quit until he mastered something. I loved how hard he could concentrate. I loved how he quickly he identified his favorites -- favorite animal in his mobile (the sheep), favorite song (baby don't you cry), favorite color (red), favorite food (sweet potatoes). I loved his sweet, soft, baby smell.

It's been hard to say goodbye to Luke's babyhood. I can still get misty-eyed when I think about how physically close we were, and how proud I was to nurse him for so long. I miss how, after Luke weaned, bedtime still involved a bottle of milk, with Luke snuggled up in my arms, not so far away from his truly baby days.

I miss how little he was. How, even though he walked at 10 months, he was still such a little guy. I miss the shaky, bow-legged legs. (Though, I don't miss the falling--ba-da-boom!) I miss the gummy smiles, the baby belly laughs, the hands working so hard to grasp something, the delight at peekaboo, and, well, just all of it.

I know there are so many wonderful things to come, and my little man's language explosion has added a whole new lovely dimensions to being his mama. But I have truly loved his babyhood, and a part of me is wistful that it was so brief.

Our two years in four pictures (6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 2 years):

happy halloween

Luke's first Halloween, he was a mostly no sleeping infant with a really tired mama. Last year, he was sick, and we put the candy in a bowl on the front steps with a sign that read, "don't ring the bell! sick sleeping baby inside!" This year, however, we were in full Halloween mode.

We read books about Halloween so Luke would be fully studied-up on what happens. Luke picked out his own costume (a train engineer, of course), and Mama dressed up, too (a kitty cat). We carved mama and baby jack o'lanterns. And, our friends, Kina and Isaac, joined us for the evening. Luke was in heaven with four adults to lavish attention on him, and trick or treaters arriving every few minutes. Luke handed out the candy and stood on the steps and waved "bye bye" to the trick or treaters as they left. In between visits, he worked on his favorite puzzles with Kina, and remarked on how tall Isaac is.

When it was time to go to bed, Luke quietly went to his room for jammies, came out and gave everyone a hug, and went down with no fuss at all. Mama and Dada were so proud! Today, we all paid the price for our parting ways, with a low energy day and a loooong nap for everyone.

portrait of the artist as a young man

what happened?

We've been very neglectful of the blog, of late. Sorry -- Luke has mainly been sick. From a few days after his birthday until a few days ago, he had a nasty cold. Fever for a few days, one night of vomiting (sorry, too much info) and lots of boogies and snotties. We kicked the nebulizer into high gear and have been able to avoid nearly all wheezing. Luke's better now and had his 2 year check up on Friday. The stats are 36 inches and 26 pounds. He's consistently at the 75th percentile for height (which he must have inherited from Pop-Pop) and the 25th percentile for weight, taking after his parents who were both (and wish they still were) skinny-minnies as kids. I'll close with a vomiting anecdote (lovely, I know). After poor Luke threw up all over me, he looked at me plaintively and asked, "What happened?!" Poor boo-boo. So much of life is a mystery when you're 2.

the 2nd birthday report

Man, oh man, did we have a blast for Luke's birthday! He was so aware that it was a special day just for him and so excited about his "surprises." We woke up and immediately went into the living room, where we had done up a little birthday display of his presents: the tricycle from Grammy, 2 new trains, a train "washdown station" (i.e., water tower), new books, little cars, and a puzzle. Luke immediately knew what to do with the tricycle, and he hopped on it, asked for his helmet, and started ringing the bell! He put Momo in the backseat, and commanded Dada to start pushing him around.

We spent the day at a favorite spot: Tennessee Valley Beach. Luke walked a long ways (about the distance of what an adult would cover in a brisk 10-minute walk, not a trivial distance for a 3' tall little guy). [Dada disagrees with the distance, but I swear it's true!] We had a picnic on the beach, played in the waves (well, Dada and Luke played while Mama rested on the picnic blanket). Dessert was a chocolate cupcake, which Luke is still talking about! And then, Luke napped in the stroller on the hike home while Mama and Dada enjoyed a gorgeous, warm, and sunny day.

That evening, more prezzies arrived via FedEx and UPS, and Luke enjoyed the authentic tractor from Pop-Pop and lots and lots of birthday cards. Luke was treated to a song (via telephone) from Sesa and family, then another call from Grammy. When we all finally collapsed in bed (at 8 for Luke and just one short hour later for Mama), we were tired, happy, and full of love. It was a wonderful celebration of Luke's arrival. Thanks and love to everyone who helped make it so special!!

Here is 2 minutes of tricycle love (please note Momo in the backseat!):

preschool tour: glen park montessori

Impressions:

• Eh.
• The space was serene, organized and sparse, but we didn’t love it as much as we thought we would.
• The program seemed a bit focused on academics (which is really just play tarted up as academics).

The Facts
Web site: http://www.glenpark-montessori.com/
Location: In the Glen Park “village,” in a 2-story storefront space, with outdoor decks canopied by trees
Start/end times: Full day program (8:30 to 5:30 p.m.)
Class size: 20 in the younger kids classroom; 20 in the older kids classroom
Student/teacher ratio: 6:1
Parent participation: A little bit (20 hours per year)
Facilities: Well organized, with mostly wooden toys and materials; 1 of everything (as opposed to multiples), no trains (?!!), emphasis on personal independence. Lovely area for independent hand-washing and miniature toilets.
Likelihood of getting in: Pretty good. They receive about 35 applications for 10-12 open spots. If we apply early, they can pretty much guarantee us a spot.

Downsides
It seems a little lonely. Would Luke really have fun here, make friends, be bursting to tell us about his day? We’re not so sure. Luke (and all of us) lean toward independent activities, and Montessori seems like it might emphasize what already comes naturally. The community we saw at Glenridge – and the community support – was really appealing, so that remains our #1 choice.

super-quick birthday update

We had an amazing two-day birthday celebration. Mama's day was restful and restorative, and Luke's day was a lollapalooza of tricycle, trains, beach and chocolate cupcake. Dada uploaded a bunch of photos to Flickr last night, and I'll share the written report and video this weekend. (Flickr photos are viewable only by "family and friends," so if you're a friend who's not on our Flickr friend list, send me an email and I'll add you!)

preschool tour: glenridge co-op

We have begun looking for a preschool for Luke. In San Francisco, this is not such an easy proposition, as there are more kids than preschool openings, and the market imbalance has caused a sort of frenzy and nearly all schools have waiting lists. Dada and I are determined not to stress about it, but even without the stress, finding a preschool and enrolling Luke is going to take a fairly major investment of time and energy. We have identified about 10 neighborhood preschools, and for each of them, we have to visit without Luke, with Luke, then submit an application with a nonrefundable application fee. All told, lots of $$ and lots of time. (Thank goodness preschool in the 70s didn't require such organization and advance prep, or poor Dada and Mama would still be waiting for a preschool experience!)

I'm going to try and use this space to capture some of my impressions of each school, particularly as the visits become fast and furious and the sites start to blend together. On Saturday, we visited:

Glenridge Cooperative Preschool



Impressions:

• Amazing, peaceful and unique location in Glen Canyon
• The program would support our entire family (monthly parent education events, connections between families, ability to participate in the classroom and really share Luke's preschool experience)
• Warm, sensitive and developmental approach to preparing kids for kindergarten.
• Luke would thrive here.

The Facts
Web site: www.glenridgecoop.org
Location: In a slightly dilapidated Parks and Rec building in the middle of Glen Canyon (approx. 10 minute hike into the Canyon down a fire access road)
Start/end times: 1/2 day program (9:30 to 12:30 or 12:30 to 3:30)
Class size: 25 in the morning; 19 in the afternoon
Student/teacher ratio: 6:1
Parent participation: Significant. Parents work 1 day a week alongside teachers, parents must do a school job, and attend monthly parent education/general meetings
Facilities: Beautiful indoor play-stations (art, manipulatives, dramatic play) with ample materials. The outdoor play area is the whole Canyon, with daily hikes and nature trips like picking blackberries (rain or shine).
Likelihood of getting in: Slim. We figure there will be 120-130 applications for approximately 10 open spots.

Downsides
We'd have to find a creative care arrangement for the other half of Luke's day. Spare time is hard to find now, and the requirements for parent participation (outside of classroom hours) are significant.

mamas & babies

Luke is fascinated by recreating the mama-baby relationship with his toys. Many of his Schleich animals are now mama and baby pairs. Many of his favorite books are about babies looking for and then finding their mamas. One of them, called Hug, is about a little monkey named Bobo who wants a hug from his Mama. After some searching, eventually they find each other and have a big hug. A few weeks ago, we were at the California Academy of Sciences museum store (during a member's only preview), and Luke saw a larger monkey with an uncanny resemblance to his own, small stuffed Bobo. He immediately declared "Bobo's Mama!" So Bobo's Mama is now part of our larger menagerie of mamas & babies.

Here's a quick photo of our Scheich animal pairs: panda, polar bear, giraffe, cow, tiger, and sheep (in fairness, we have called this dada & baby).

potty tales

It's probably because I have an uncanny ability to avoid poopy diapers, but, potty training just hasn't seemed all that important to me. Luke will turn 2 next week, and a number of his buddies have already done some business on the potty. But for us, eh, not so much.

Sometime mid-summer, Dada went to a presentation on potty training (from the same amazing sleep consultant whom Mama consulted way back when), and we decided to take a temperament-based approach and wait until Luke showed readiness signs. Neither of us wants to butt heads with our little guy or try and force the potty training issue, so we're being relaxed (for us) and following Luke's lead. This summer, Luke and I went to Babies R Us, and he selected a potty. We have a couple of books about the concept, which Luke is fascinated by. He occasionally puts his animals on the potty, randomly declaring either, "Good job!" or "Next time!" And, every once in a blue moon, Luke will deign to sit on the potty without his diaper. Unlike the trains, however, Luke doesn't have much patience for the potty. He sits for all of 3 seconds, and then is off to another activity.

This weekend, however, was a bit of a mental breakthrough. Luke's buddy, River, is nearly completely potty trained at the age of 2 (being the younger of two children and having the benefit of watching his 3 1/2 year old sister use the potty). River and family were visiting us, and River used the potty! Luke was amazed and fascinated, and we could just see the wheels turning. That night, he sat on the potty for about 3 seconds again, but with a renewed sense of purpose.

Dada is convinced that Luke will keep studying the books and observing his buddies for a little while longer and then, one day, he'll just start using the potty.

wordless wednesday: my little engineer

poor momo

Poor Momo, Luke's faithful and constant companion. He has to endure indignities such as the salad spinner.

playtime

language explosion

In what feels like the space of 24 hours, Luke has burst through to a whole new level of language skill. Up until Monday, he was talking – and talking a lot – about things and events, giving orders, and expressing desires. He was even putting together little 3 and 4 word sentences. But on Monday morning, he woke up with the ability to express more complex thoughts. Some samples from our day: When we called Dada (who is traveling this week), Luke offered, “Miss you!!” Later, during our morning walk, Luke said, “See puppy far far away! Puppy happy!” This morning, Luke (clearly remembering our weekend trip to the zoo, where the sheep at the petting zoo bumped – and scared – him) said, “Luke grumpy a’coz ‘a the sheep!”

In other news, Luke officially gave up the bottle this weekend. We hung onto it for probably too long. Our lovely little guy, who is so easy in so many ways, just loved his night-night bottle of milk, and Mama didn’t have the heart to stop it. But, when Luke can talk about his feelings, I figured it was time to at least give our little man a chance to say goodbye to the bottle. We bought a funky book called “No More Bottles for Bunny,” read it a few times, and then stopped cold turkey. Luke studied the book very seriously, no doubt understanding the subliminal message therein. When we told him that it was time to say bye-bye to the bottle, he was totally cool with it. On Saturday afternoon, he even threw his bottle in the trash (just like bunny). And, this morning, I asked Luke, “Who’s my baby?” and he replied, “Luke no baby! Luke big boy!”*

*but he’ll always be MY baby.

the boss

I've written before about our little bossy boots and Mama's suspicion that it's equal parts genetic and "terrible twos." Luke's nanny, Jackie, is an extreme pushover and the situation has quickly evolved into Luke truly becoming her boss. She laughs about it, and indeed Luke's string of orders are pretty funny. But, it's less amusing when he refuses to come home from the playground or the zoo, and then arrives home too exhausted to eat lunch. He says to Jackie, "No vamanos casa!" (Or, in toddler speak, "Hey Jackie, I don't wanna go home right now and you can't make me!")

We're a bit perplexed about what to do, because we don't want a little dictator. Indeed, he rarely pulls this nonsense with us (thanks to a judicious use of the timer to signal an upcoming transition or the more serious use of the naughty chair). But he feels quite justified, and is indeed rewarded by, pulling these shenanigans on Jackie. We've gotta toughen up that lady.

making friends

Luke and I were at the bookstore yesterday, and while I was searching for a book for myself, Luke and a 4-year-old made friends. This young man declared that he was going to read a book to Luke and teach him about Spiderman. I heard snippets like, "This is Spiderman! He wears a red suit. See?!" Luke was very curious, not so much about Spiderman (because, after all, trains rule), but about the fellow little guy. Luke's two book picks, by the way, were Freight Train and Inside Freight Train. That's my boy!

the naughty chair

Luke is now an official although thankfully infrequent occupant of the
naughty chair. From 5:00 to 6:00 pm, it's really tough for Luke to
control his desire to push Le Chat (the cat), hit Le Chat, pull Le
Chat's tail, or otherwise scare the bejeesus out of Le Chat in order
to make the cat run away in a scurry -- and thus make Luke laugh
maniacally. This brings us to the naughty chair. Luke gets 1 minute
per year -- or 2 min. and so far he's able to sit on the chair for
that long, waiting for the timer to signal his release. He sits there
and repeats to himself, "no naughty chair, no like it." It's
impossibly cute and very hard for Mama and Dada not to laugh. And, Le
Chat has been getting extra dinner rations for all that he is enduring.

speed demon

Luke riding in his "car" with his girlfriend, Yuba. This ride is for the 3-4 foot tall set at the Oakland Zoo. It's a bunch of cars that go around in a circle. It's not super fast, but does pick up a little zip. Luke was driving English-style (on the right) while Yuba checks out the scenery. Yuba's brother, River, is in the back seat.

it's hard to say bye-bye to a wonderful long weekend

We had a marvelous holiday weekend. For the first time in I don't know how long, Dada didn't need to work. And, wow, did we three play this weekend. Saturday was full of yummy food -- a trip to the farmer's market, big family lunch, crepes in the afternoon with Luke as assistant chef and chief crepe eater. Sunday, we went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum and romped on lily pads, helped the fish "swim" upstream, and rang the bell on the shipwreck. Monday, we connected with Sandrine, Yuba (3 y.o.) and River (2 y.o.) at the Oakland Zoo to view the alligators, sheep, goats, tigers, giraffes, and ride the train and cars again! Luke wrangled his way into the big bed every morning for snuggle time, and he earned his new nickname, Snuggle Bunny.

The weekend was so marvelous that I forgot how difficult transitions are for our little guy. I was a bit sluggish getting ready for work, but I know It Must Be Done. Luke, though, had a mini-meltdown when it was time to say goodbye and start our "regular" week. No Mama go to work! No Nounou coming over! Dada no work! My poor little man.

little fireman

The Little Puffer at the San Francisco Zoo has been unexpectedly "sick" for the past 10 days, and so this week, on our Mama n' Luke day, we went to the Oakland Zoo, where they have a variety of rides for the tiny tots, in addition to animals. Here's Luke riding, all by himself like a big boy, in a firetruck ride.

my boy is so french

Friday night, we had dinner at our local French bistro, Le P'tit Laurent. Laurent is a friend of ours, and although the restaurant isn't really a kid-place, Laurent is very kid-friendly. Luke loves the pretty waitresses, the yummy French bread, and the restaurant's most excellent feature: a big picture window looking right out onto a bus stop. What could be more perfect than French bread and a constant flow of busses? Dada ordered his favorite appetizer -- escargot -- and Luke surprised us both by declaring, "Try it!" This pic is his cute little face trying a mouthful, after which he said, "more!" My boy is so French.

PS - I'm still traumatized by the haircut.

coming to terms with the haircut

Luke seems to enjoy it (as he keeps rubbing his head saying, doux, which is "soft" in french). Jackie, Luke's nanny, declares it "guapo," which is handsome. Mama should get over it. Here's a pic from breakfast (age 23 months), plus a bonus pic of Luke at age 6 months in the same chair.

hair yesterday, gone today

I saw a super-cute toddler boy in the new LLBean catalogue who somewhat resembled Luke. I took the picture to the kids' hair salon, and Luke got his first "please make it look like this" haircut. Only, instead of a super-cute, short but still with some sassy attitude cut, Luke now looks like a Marine recruit. What was I thinking? I'm so traumatized, I won't post a photo until it grows out some.

Updated on 8.19: Dada says Luke does not look like a Marine recruit, just a regular Army recruit, since his hair is the same super-short length all over, and it does not have the Marine-style shaved sides. Nonetheless, I'm still traumatized.

back on the vicks

As things seem to go in the Vally household, I got Luke's cold. My lungs are congested, I have no energy, and I had to call Jackie for some extra help chasing the toddler, who clearly isn't as sick as I am. I am going back on the Vicks.

In other news, Le Chat, who is 70 in cat years, killed a mouse and brought it into the dining room at dinnertime last night. Ewwwww! I was secretly impressed by our old man Chat, and simultaneously grossed out that we had (and hopefully don't have anymore) a mouse in our house.

my boss

Mama, take off shoes.
Mama sit.
Mama play train.
Sit on floor.
No, Luke turn.
Mama push.
No more snuggles.
No big bed.
Yes big bed.

.... soundbites from our day.

damn storytime

I'm fed up with the Glen Park Library. Over the past two months, every single time Luke has gone to storytime, he's gotten sick. I am traveling today, sitting at the Burbank airport waiting for my (delayed) flight home, and I just got word that Luke woke up from his nap completely congested and with a runny nose. Now we need to get the nebulizer in action, per the pediatrician's orders, because Luke's had progressively worse wheezing and bronchiolitis with nearly every cold he's had.

Sitting up all night, holding an exhausted, wheezing, sad, and clingy little man is not cool. Do you hear that Glen Park Library? That is just not cool.

the fine art of dipping one's cookies in milk

Luke is sitting in his new Tripp Trapp chair, which will (supposedly) adjust from his current size until he can sit in an adult chair. Even if it doesn't last this long, it's cool, and Mama got the pleasure of buying another piece of baby gear. Luke can climb into, and down from, the chair. Also, no tray needed. He sits right at the table. Very cool indeed, although poor Dada keeps stubbing his toe on the end of the chair and cursing it.

happy 6th wedding anniversary, mama & dada

Dada and I went away for 36 consecutive hours (without Munchkin) to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. It wasn't as weird as I thought it would be to be without our pumpkin pie. I guess it's because both Dada and Mama have spent a night or two away, on work travels, so it wasn't that much of a leap to be away together. It was some much needed time together, without being parents, and made me wish that Pop-Pop and Nana or Mamie and Papie lived closer to us, so that we could do that more often. Sometimes I really miss that we don't have a big family. Or, at least cheap babysitting.

sweet dreams

I returned home last night from nearly 2 days in the San Diego area (including a whole day in the outdoor sauna that is the Imperial Valley, but that's another story). I was very happy to be home with my little monkey. When I put him in his crib last night at bedtime, and as he was rolling over into his favorite "butt in the air" sleeping position, he said, "Sweet dreams!" That little man shocks me pretty much all the time.

*I remembered a few more nicknames to add to the list:  snuggly bunny and munchkin pie.

who's to blame for the ocd?

Luke and I hosted playgroup today (shout-out to Falco, Serafina, and Margot!). The other kids had a blast, tearing through the books and toys like no tomorrow. Luke was a little shell-shocked at the sight of all the chaos. You see, Luke's a pretty organized little fellow, which really isn't surprising given who his mama is (or other relatives, for that matter). At my urging but without all that much of mama's bad face, Luke will put away his toys and books, stack up the train tracks, put the crayons in their box, etc. I thoroughly enjoy the sight of a tidy house at the end of the day. Perhaps a little too much. So, what I want to know from Pop-Pop, Grammy, and all the fam reading this: which one of you gave me the OCD gene??

I'll close with a little visual pleasure. Here is Luke's imitation of mama's bad face. Little monkey. I so do not look like this!

craigslist, you rock

For only $50 and some time spent searching craigslist, we have transformed our backyard into toddler paradise. The new additions: Kangaroo Climber (complete with slide) and horrifically ugly but incredibly fun Naturally Playful Sandbox. Old favorites: the water table and Tonka Truck from Pop-Pop. Craigslist, you rock.

remnants of a simply perfect day

Lovely farm-fresh strawberries, corn, and green beans ready for tonight's dinner and purchased this morning at the Farmer's Market, Luke's room still bursting with the fun of our afternoon train play, and Mama's big bed rumpled from afternoon nap. It was a perfect day.

nicknames

When I was pregnant, Luke's nickname was Little Boots. It's still our favorite, and most treasured, name to call him. Increasingly, though, I have a long list of nicknames for my favorite guy:
pumpkin pie
munchkin
munchkin-arino (which he loves to be called)
silly boots
sweetheart
little man
baby boots
monkey boots
funny boots
*AMENDED TO ADD:
snuggly bunny
munchkin pie
bonhomme (gentleman, in french)

And, my thought for today: I am trading my To Do list for a To Be list. To be lazy, to be spontaneous, and just plain To Be.

play amongst yourselves

Please feed our panda:

guilty secret

Luke's been a little bullheaded lately (not sure where he gets that
from -- clearly can't be my genes). Last night, he woke up around 11
and didn't want to go back to sleep. Dada had just returned from 3
days away and was also eager to snuggle. So Dada did the forbidden --
and brought Luke into the big bed. My guilty secret is that I totally
loved having our sweet smelling little man snuggled between us and
waking up to his cute rendition of Dada's travels (Dada airplane fly).

storytime

It's a video kind of week.

Please join us for storytime with Luke: a lovely story about Thomas the Tank Engine. For Luke's fans who don't speak French, "hibou" is an owl. Luke now understands three languages: English, French, and Spanish. While most of his spoken words are English, some are French and he tends to mix the French and English. He also speaks Spanish to his nanny.

more crack for dada

shout-out to dada

Dada, this one is for you. We miss you! Come home soon!

toys, milestones & interests

We are all finally on the mend. Tonight is the first night that Luke hasn't woken up every 45 minutes, which likely means a good night's sleep for me (yeah!). I was talking to Pop-Pop and Nana this evening and sharing some of Luke's new abilities and interests. This also got me thinking about the types of toys that Luke really enjoys and where he's at, in terms of toy "age levels." Some random thoughts:

• Trains rule. Luke spends about 70% of his playtime in train-related activity: playing with his train set, reading about trains, pretending his food is a train, building trains out of his blocks, asking to ride the Little Puffer at the zoo ...


• He's very good at fine motor skills, and has easily mastered the 2-year old chunky puzzles. I'm having a tough time finding puzzles that are still large and chunky, but are more challenging for him to complete. He loves his puzzles, building towers or trains, snapping train tracks together, and anything, really, about spatial relationships.


• He loves drawing, finger painting, and play-doh. He can draw a circle and a straight line, and knows all of his colors.
  


• He loves animals, and particularly his Schleich animals, which he puts on his blocks so they can "ride the train." Going to the zoo is probably his #1 favorite thing to do. He can name most any animal that you can think of, and probably some you can't think of (like iguana and armadillo).


• He continues to "read" voraciously. He has upwards of 100 books, and can pick out any book by title. His favorites rotate, and right now, he's obsessed with a set of Thomas the Train board books I bought recently (Go Train Go, Stop Train Stop, Crack in the Track, and other exciting adventures). We spend at least 1-2 hours every day reading, although in about 10-15 minute blocks of time (i.e., the toddler sized attention span).


• Making music has become less interesting for the time being, although Luke is still a snazzy little dancer. He has also mastered the two word phrase, "encore song," mixing French and English but still getting the point across. Play it again!


• When outside, Luke loves to blow bubbles. We now have an industrial size container of bubble juice. The water table continues to fascinate as well.


• Luke can identify 2-3 letters (N, K, and often X), thanks to the foam bath letters and Dada's patience.


• As when he was a baby, Luke adores being outside. Dada taught him this very funny trick where Luke will grab the bars of the decorative gate outside our front door and yell, "Lemme out!! Lemme out!!!" This past weekend, we took a gentle walk in the Canyon and Luke adored riding on Jean-Max's shoulder's and laughed at the birds perched in a bush.
  

Here, in a snazzy iPhone format, is our running wish list of toys to delight the little man:

bummer

I got the bug, too.

July 7 update: I've now had 4 long days of aches, pain, congestion, wracking cough, and gunky nose. Then, this afternoon, a confirmation of pinkeye (courtesy of Luke's share care partner). Not only am I Very Sick, but I'm also Very Grrrrrrr.

July 10 update: Still sick, and now Luke is getting sick again. How I spent my summer vacation: covered in Vicks VapoRub.

back to reality

Mama was missed. My poor boys got sick while I was away, and I returned home to two feverish sniffly congested guys. They were very glad to see me. Luke snuggled and snuggled and stuck to me like glue. Dada immediately took to our bed, and in between naps and a long, solid night of sleep, he declared that Mama is never allowed to leave again.  For my part, I thoroughly enjoyed my carefree days on the Cape with my bestest girlfriend, and I was also happy to be home and happy to be so clearly needed and wanted. My boys are the best.

a moment of quiet, please

I'm off to Cape Cod on a mama vacation with my best friend. Five days of blissful mama-less-ness, eating to my heart's content, staying up late, sleeping in, no schedule, random spontaneity, adult conversation, adult beverages, and sleep, glorious sleep. Till my return on Tuesday.

a haircut makes everyone feel better on a hot day

Pics from Friday and Saturday, with a haircut in between:

two words

Luke is now putting two words together! Some examples from the past few days:

hold it

watch it

have it

jacket off

ezra's daddy

freight train

train book

poopy all done

(gotta love that last one!)

a loverly weekend

The weather's been really odd here lately: super-hot one day and super-cold the next.

Saturday was our hot day: 85+ degrees and sunny. We spent the entire morning in the backyard, splashing in the kiddie pool, scooping and pouring with the water table, blowing bubbles, and playing with the new dump truck Pop-Pop sent us. Luke was so tired, that when I laid him down in his crib to rest while I warmed up a bottle of milk, he fell completely and utterly asleep. And didn't wake up for 3 hours!

Sunday was our cold day: 65 degrees, foggy, cold wind. We all bundled up and went to Tennessee Valley Beach. We picnicked on the beach, bundled in a fleece blankie to watch the waves, and laughed and laughed as Dada served as Luke's horsie. It was a super-fun weekend.

wordless wednesday

7:09 and all is quiet

It's 7:09 a.m., and the house is absolutely quiet. The little monkey is sleeping in, after a very fun Father's day at the San Mateo Central Park. The hubby and the cat are both sleeping, as well. It's the quiet sound of a content household.

thinking of pop-pop

separations and reunions

We've been having a tough time these last two weeks with the regular separations of the day -- saying goodbye when Mama goes to work, or when Dada goes out to get his coffee. Luke, who has never been even mildly perplexed at our leaving, has suddenly started having major separation anxiety. As soon as he notices that one of us is about to leave, he starts to cry, protest, even stomp his (adorable little) feet. He clings to us, and protests as loudly as he can -- no! no! no! Mama! Mama! Mama! He is fine 3-4 minutes after we leave, but I've been carrying around a mental picture of that sad little face, glued to the window. I know this is normal and developmental, but it's tough for Mama.

the ebay trains have arrived!

feelings

Amazingly, our little man is starting to talk about his feelings! When Jean-Max left for the East Coast on Sunday night, he was telling Luke about it (dada, going to the airport, going in an airplane, back in 3 night-nights). Luke started crying, and then stopped, said, "Sad!" and leaned into Jean-Max for a hug. Oh, wow. On Monday, at our gym class, another little boy bumped into Luke on the trampoline runway, and knocked Luke over. Luke stood up, make a scrunchy face to me, and said, "Mean!" Oh, wow, again.

same

Luke's been working hard on the concept of "same." He takes a red crayon and puts it next to a red train car and says, "same!" This has been the word (or cognitive milestone) of the week. Here's what's the same in our house:

- Fire truck puzzle and fire truck picture

- Train puzzle piece and wooden train

- Momo (Luke's beloved monkey blanket) and a picture of a monkey on his wall

- A photograph of Luke and Momo together and the real Momo

- A picture of Dada that's hanging in our bedroom and the real live Dada!

audacious

we heart pg&e

PG&E set up shop outside our house to repair a variety of underground lines. This meant the arrival of a backhoe (oh, praise be to the construction gods!), a scraper, a digger, and a very large dump truck. This provided quite a bit of entertainment to the resident truckologist.

sneaking a taste of play-doh

Our little man knows that he's not supposed to eat play-doh. It's a sure-fire way to elicit the "bad face" from Mama. But, Luke's generally so great about following the rules, trying hard, sharing, etc., that we give him a break from time to time and "pretend" not to see a minor transgression like the play-doh. Dada caught this one -- notice the very sly look!

all about trains

Trains have now joined trucks at the center of Luke's heart. He adores his wooden train set, and I have finally been successful at finding some well-priced additions. I won a variety of items on an eBay auction and while we're waiting for those items to arrive, we'll make do with our favorite train book, Thomas the Tank Engine stickers, and the steam train at the San Francisco Zoo:

one year later

     

Last May: sitting without support, standing with help, beautiful gummy smile

This May: running, talking, 13 teeth (including 4 molars), building towers, navigating the toy train through tunnels, beautiful toothy smile

words & ideas

Luke has been talking for about six months now, and in the past month he has really had a torrent of new words. So many that I probably couldn't count them -- 100+. In the last week or so, another big cognitive shift has happened. He's started to talk about memories and thoughts. After our trip east, Luke woke up every morning with the refrain, "Gammy Gammy Gammy!" When he and I "talked" about it, he was thinking of the wonderful afternoon he spent with Grammy, Sesa, Kevin and Megan. And last weekend we rode the steam train at the SF Zoo. This week, Luke's been saying: train, tunnel, bubbles! You guessed it: the train at the zoo went thru a tunnel and let loose a shower of bubbles in the tunnel!! For abour the millionth time, I wonder where my baby has gone. He's grown up so fast.

toy addict

My name is Mama. I am a toy-aholic. Yes, it's true. Luke has many toys but nonetheless, Mama gets bored with them and wants to try something new. I am hoping to stave off an emergency run to Toys R Us by creating a wishlist here.


Trains, trucks, and things that go
Brio or Plan toys road/railway kits are a standard size, and Luke's lovely wooden train set (thanks again Pop-Pop!) fits on these rails. Luke has a starter kit, and this is one of his most favorite toys of late. I'm itching to expand his set with tracks, cars, tunnels, trees, bridges ... woo-hoo I love these things!
road and rail sets, intermediate tracks, and all the fun accessories: a tunnel, a station where the trucks can stop for gas, the Golden Gate bridge, car transporter!





To feed the truck addiction, the toughest mightiest truck ever









Another favorite activity around the house is coloring and painting. Hence the need for this beautiful art easel.






and please don't even get me started on the play kitchens. ...

good help is hard to find

four generations of kinsmans

Ruth Kinsman
Robert Kinsman
Anne Kinsman
and Luke Kinsman

mama and her boy

At Rick & Julie's wedding!