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.