christmas list

Thanksgiving has quickly given way to Christmas over here. Our Christmas tree is set up, and Luke and I are talking about Pere Noel (Father Christmas) all the time. He has asked for just one thing: a "marvel" tower, which is a marble tower. Unbeknowst to Luke, Nana has purchased this very wonderful wooden "marvel" tower for him and it's sitting in our garage!

I am knitting a few items for Luke and have ordered some accompanying books. I don't want to give him too many things, but also *adore* how delighted and thrilled he is with surprises. I think that my "big" gift might be a scooter. But, the ideas also change daily. Last week, I was all set to get him a fire station.

For those of you who might be thinking about sending something Luke's way, I have been keeping a list of toys that I'm either looking at, considering, or think that Luke would be interested in. It's at: http://amzn.com/w/3KIUNCQ0PS03A.

Right now, he loves:
- Books of all kinds, and especially about trains
- His train set (although it would be hard to buy trains for him, because he is *very* well outfitted)
- Scooting, either on a scooter tricycle at school or pretending to "skateboard." He has a wonderful tricycle but isn't yet captivated by pedaling. I'm thinking of getting him a Razor-type scooter.
- Things with wheels: trucks, fire engines, cars, etc. He is big time into things with wheels lately.
- Craft projects/supplies. After a long lull in art projects, we've started doing lots of "experiments" like coloring pasta and making crayon shavings. We're well outfitted with craft supplies, but anything new and art-related always delights him. His favorite color is (still) black.
- Things with Thomas on it. Sesa has done a tremendous job of delighting Luke with Thomas stickers, sports bottles, and colorforms, and boy, does Luke LOVE his Thomas regalia!
- Games. Lately, he's interested in games that you can play with other people. He plays hide and seek at school and red light/green light. I think he might be ready for Candyland or another type of 3-year old (no reading required) game.

And, to my delight, I think he will soon be ready for a "boy dollhouse," e.g., a tree house or fire station play set. He is on the cusp of more complex pretend play and is super-creative, so I think that with a few new playthings, he might have fun acting out little scenarios! Of course, Mama always dreamed of having her own dollhouse, so perhaps this one is a bit of projection.

The role reversal, where I get to play Santa, is so much fun, and I am thoroughly enjoying being preoccupied with toys and what might delight Luke. It's a nice counterbalance to the other, heavier, things going on in life, lately.

fee-fie-n-g-o

We are thoroughly enjoying Pop-Pop and Nana's visit, and I'm excited that we still have a full week to go! Here's a little snippet from last night. Luke treated us to a serenade of a new song he learned at school:

There was a farmer had a dog
And Bingo was his name-o
Fee-Fie-N-G-O
Fee-Fie-N-G-O
Fee-Fie-N-G-O
And Bingo was his name-o!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

favorite part of yesterday

Pop-Pop and Nana arrived yesterday for their annual Thanksgiving trip.
As I'm happily remembering yesterday, I was thinking about a little
ritual Luke and I have started. At the end of the day, I ask Luke what
his favorite part of the day was.

My favorite part of yesterday was watching Luke and Pop-Pop imitate
one another by raising their eyebrows -- up and down, up and down.
There's something so heart-expanding about seeing my little guy and my
dad connect and enjoy one another. I love how Luke loves his
grandparents.

a quick halloween pic

All dressed up and enjoying the day at the Golden Gate Mother's Group Halloween party! I joined this super-cool mommy group when Luke was an infant, and the Halloween party is a signature event: 3 bouncy houses, face painting, craft projects, continuous trick-or-treating, "spooky" music (like Monster Mash), and balloon twisting. They also had a professional photographer to take photos. Luke was a super cutie, and I also dressed up (relatively speaking) as a kitty cat.

guest post from dada

I got this "Luke says" report from Dada while I was (and still am) away:

Luke says:

• "I am sorry, but I can't have a snack with you because I need to exercise more", running back to the living room, and dancing/jumping in rhythm with the music.
• "I am not done with exercising yet, but I will continue tomorrow morning".
• "Wow, this is hard work", in between runs in the living room.

back east

I'm visiting my friend Karen for the next four days. While I'm gone, Luke will have tiny teddy to keep him company (and Dada, school and Jackie, of course!).

backseat conversation

Luke is in school with his best friend, Sophia, and because we live very close to Sophia's family, I drive both kids to school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We've developed a nice morning routine: Sophia usually arrives at our house while Luke is having breakfast, her usual 3-year old antics distract Luke from any last-minute anxiety about going to school, and before walking out the door we go through our checklist to make sure we're prepared. (Mama: "Lunches?" Luke and Sophia: "Check!" Mama: Jackets?" Luke and Sophia: "Check!") Lately, the conversation from the backseat, during our drive to school, has been particularly entertaining:

Sophia: I wanna sit in Luke's seat!
Luke: I wanna sit in Sophia's seat!
Mama: [Removes the hanging monkey above Luke's car seat, because Sophia likes to grab it 1000x in a row, with requisite monkey squeaking and jingling, and this drives Mama coco loco--Spanish for crazy head]
Kids are now all strapped in, and we're driving to school ...
Sophia: What happened to the monkey? Where's the monkey?
Luke: Mama took it down. There it is! See, Sophia!
Sophia: What happened to the monkey?
Luke: Mama took it down. It was making Mama coco loco.
Sophia: Whhhhhhyyyyyy?
Luke: Because you were playing with it!

****
PS: Thanks to Grammy, Sesa and Megan for the emails to Luke! So far, we read them, but I can't interest him in responding. He seems to think email is a one-way communication. He loves the e-cards and asks to see the Halloween Snoopy card that Sesa sent nearly every day.

overheard

Luke's language, understanding and memory is so advanced these days. He keeps us laughing so much and so often! I've decided to start a new category of "overheard" to try and capture some of these little pearls. From Saturday morning:

"I don't like cereal. But when I'm a big man, I will definitely like cereal and will eat it every morning."

pumpkin patch

Luke and I visited the pumpkin patch yesterday to pick out a pumpkin for Halloween. We had so much fun that we actually came home with 8 pumpkins! Fortunately for the wallet, most of them were of the very small $1 variety.

the world according to luke

Luke has been learning how to use my [old-ish] digital camera. On Friday night, he didn't understand the concept that what he saw on the screen was what was being viewed through the lens. He simply thought it was a picture being displayed. On Saturday, after working with the camera for a while, he understood this pretty sophisticated concept! Thereafter, he's been snapping pictures of everything and everyone! Here are a few of pics of Luke's world, according to Luke:

overheard

[Setting: post snack-time, pre-dinnertime lull in activity]

Luke: Hey, Mama! It's the end of the day. It's time to watch videos!

Mama: Luke, were you a good boy today and did you clear your place? [e.g., clearing his plate from the table after a meal, our current measure of "goodness"]

Luke: Yes.

Mama: What about at breakfast? I think you said you were too busy.

Luke: [thinking]

Luke: Yes. BUT, I cleared my place at lunchtime and snacktime. That's TWO times that I cleared my place.

That's my boy! Solid logic and a passionate and persuasive way of making his case. Soon thereafter, Luke noted that I had changed the sheets on the big bed, and that it must be Dada's favorite sheet because it was blue and Dada's favorite color is blue. I am seriously astounded by this early math-like logic.

3 years old

We had Luke's 3-year old check up yesterday, and the relevant stats are:
29 pounds (20th percentile for weight)
3'2" tall (62nd percentile for height)

Luke spent a good portion of the visit explaining to Dr. Marta that the light switches in her office are just like the light switches at home, and he further explained how they worked ("if you push them up, the light goes on, and if you pull them down, the light goes off!" replete with hand and facial gestures to match). Her reply to me was, "Well, that tells me everything I need to know about his development! Now, Luke, can you show me how you jump?" Which he did, with a chorus of "Blast off!!!"

After three lovely years together, I can confirm what we knew on Luke's birth day: he's an utterly adorable and adored tall-ish skinny guy.

overheard

Luke: Hey, Mama! I have an idea!

Mama: What's that?

Luke: Can you read me this book?

I strike a deal with Luke: if he lets Dada change the poopy diaper, Mama will read him a book, snuggling up in the big bed.

Luke: [puts book on Mama's nightstand] Hey Dada, don't take it! It's on Mama's side, not on your side.

Luke: [calling from the other room, in the midst of the diaper change] Wait, Mama, wait! Don't go to sleep! Wait for me!

shenanigans

This is the kind of nonstop nonsense Luke and his buddy Sophia get into during their time together. The voice you can hear in the background is Jackie, Luke's nanny, whom he shares with Sophia on Tuesdays. Believe it or not, Dada taped over 8 minutes of these two running around--and they kept it up for even longer! Those two are like exuberant puppies!

luke's email

Luke now has an email address: luke [dot] vally [at] gmail.com.* Please feel free to send him an email! We plan to check it every few days, and to serve as transcribers for Luke's replies. (Why an email? We had to create an email for him in order to set up his own YouTube account and figured, "why not?!")

*Sorry for the funky writing, but I don't want our 3-year old getting spam!

sick boo-boo

Luke has been sick this week with a fever, sore throat, aches, and general malaise. After a couple of days of Dada's careful attention and then a couple of days of Mama's attention, he's on the mend. Jean-Max took him to the doctor earlier this week, where the doctor pronounced Luke [yes] sick, but generally healthy and successfully fighting the virus. They also gave Luke this really cool mask.

no clean teeth

Mama: Open up, it's time to brush your teeth. And, remember, if
there's no foolishness, you get a bonus book.
Luke: What happens if there's foolishness?
Mama: Straight in the crib, no snuggles, no bonus book. Just night-
night.
Luke: [mouth closed tight]
Mama: Open up.
Luke: [mouth closed tight]
Mama: I'm going to count to 3, and if you don't open up, then straight
to the crib, no second chances.
Luke: [mouth closed tight, but clearly a twinkle in his eye]
Mama: One, two, three.
Luke: [mouth closed tight]
Mama: Night-night [puts Luke in the crib, expecting -- but not getting
-- a protest] Sweet dreams, sleep tight, see you in the morning.
[closes bedroom door]
Luke: [falls asleep]

But where are MY night-night snuggles?? Rascal.

birthday celebration: my boy was bustin' a move!

A few pics from Sunday's birthday party. The singer is the fabulous Charity of Charity and the Jam Band! More photos are on our Flicker site.

a visit I hoped would never happen

We spent last night in the emergency room with Luke because he was having an allergic reaction. He's OK, and as far as allergic reactions go, this was not severe. But, it feels like the world has gone topsy turvy, because I know very well what a severe reaction feels like, and I was fervently hoping that Luke was not allergic to anything and that we would never, ever, have to see him having an allergic reaction. The offending substance? Pineapple.

luke's preschool class

Bottom left for our little man, on his "school" tricycle!

belated snapshot of easter

Luke with the other two musketeers: River and Yuba. We hosted an Easter egg hunt in our backyard this past Easter, and here they are, lining up to go egg hunting!

separations and reunions

The major reason I’ve been so slow in posting updates in the last few months is that my best friend, who has had metastatic breast cancer for the past five years, has been facing some serious challenges this year. The news, most of which has been bad, has been coming fast and furious, and I’m trying to balance, nurture and support the most important relationships in my life. It sometimes feels as if one suffers at the expense of another.

Karen and I have been best friends for more than 16 years, as close as two girlfriends can be, and with each other through all the thick and thin of our lives – and there have been plenty of both. Right now, she’s got a lot of thin going on, and I am so inspired and uplifted to see how she doesn’t see it as thin at all – she focuses on the thick, and truly lives each day with joy and pleasure.

Since Luke was born, I’ve seen her 2-3 times a year, for a long weekend at a time, not wanting to be away from Luke too much. Back in May, when everything started unraveling, I decided that I really need to be with her more often. It’s good for her, but, to be completely honest, it was a selfish decision. It’s good for me, and I want to soak her up and do all the things we love to do together, as much as I can, regardless of how much or little time together we have.

I went East to see her in May, June and now August. In July, Karen came to spend 5 days with me, and she’ll hopefully do the same again in September. I have trips planned and tickets bought to go East in October, November, and December. That’s a once a month visit, 4 days at a time.

This makes life, right now and for the foreseeable future, this strange combination of constant separations and reunions. It’s emotional and intense on all fronts, and that’s not even talking about all that Jean-Max has to worry about and do with me being gone so much.

I worry about how Luke will do, at such a young age, with so many separations from me. He seems OK – and he loves his Dada time – but Luke really misses me when I’m gone, and there are a lot more separations to come. For me, being away from Luke feels like a part of my heart is beating outside of my body.

Prayers, well wishes, or advice would be welcomed, as I bumble my way through this.

welcome ellie!

A big hello and welcome to the world to Cousin Ellie! She's beautiful, we can't wait to meet her, and I'm more than a little jealous that it took only 3 pushes. You go, Kit!

the three musketeers

Last weekend, Luke and I enjoyed a wonderful day in the Oakland sunshine with our friend, Sandrine, and her two children, River and Yuba. Yuba (girl) is 4 years old, and River (boy) is the same age as Luke, born just 3 weeks before Luke was. Luke and River are very good buddies, with a mutual love of trains, Thomas, and all things train-related. We played together at Fairyland, which is a somewhat odd spot with 1960s era children's rides and displays. The kids adored it -- from the "alphabet" train [so named by Luke], the children's sized carousel, and running in the grass. Here are some pics of our three musketeers -- Luke, River, and Yuba! Please note the big fat "mmmwwwwahhhhh" kiss from Luke!

dreams

I think Luke has started to remember his dreams. A few days ago, when he woke up in the morning, he told me that, "Luke was a baby, and Luke was in his house, but not our house, another house, without Mama and Dada. Then Luke was a big boy and he was in his house." And, a few days before that, he had woken up in the middle of the night, very distressed, saying "Where's Ziggy?" (his Schleich puppy figure). When I told him that Ziggy was just fine, and, see, there he is, Luke was OK and went back to sleep. I now realize that these are Luke's dreams! Pretty neat, huh?

favorites

I "interviewed" Luke last night and asked him to contribute a list of favorites to the blog. My boy is consistent, but there are also some surprises in the Luke report:

favorite color: black
favorite toy: trains
favorite t-shirt: Thomas t-shirt
favorite game to play at school: trains
favorite drink: water
favorite animal: sheep
favorite song: Treehouse (by Charity Kahn)
favorite friend: Dada
favorite room in the house: Luke's room
favorite fruit: blueberries

my favorite singer

riding the tricycle by the bay

lucky no. 7

Ever since I reduced my work hours to a 4-day a week schedule when Luke was 6 months old, Mondays have been Mama and Luke days. Yesterday, the little man and I went to Berkeley's Tilden Park to ride the Lucky Number 7 steam train. It was a gorgeous day: warm and sunny. The train ride was a beautiful 10-minute ride through the redwood trees and around the hills, with views over the Bay. We rode Lucky Number 7 three times, and Luke pronounced that Lucky Number 7 may be his [new] favorite train. Here's one of Luke's favorite You Tube videos about the making of Lucky Number 7, who was built by Engineer Ray: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I_TAdvFMG4.

the may report

May was a month of preschool angst. The catalyst for our angst was that we had a "year-end" parent/teacher conference at Luke's school, Crayon Box. Some of the things that astounded, confounded, and made me sad:

• As developmental guidance, Luke's teacher advised us that we could help Luke develop his vocabulary by reading more to him at home.
• She told us that Luke's favorite thing to say in class was, "My Dada's coming to pick me up at 3:30."
• She asked us to tell Luke not to lay on the floor, because he sometimes laid on the floor during the day and stared at the clock, and the other kids made a game of jumping over him. To be fair, other kids then laid on the floor and became the object to jump over, so they weren't picking on Luke.
• She wanted Luke to make more friends in school, and not just play with Sophia.

It makes me both angry and sad even now to write about this. First, anyone who has spent any time with Luke knows that his vocabulary is amazing for his age. This is a child who uses three-syllable words in everyday conversation. On the day that Luke's teacher advised us to help him build his vocabulary, Luke had said to me (while baking): "These are the wet ingredients and these are the dry ingredients. Now we'll mix them together!" I worry about many, many things as a mother (too many, but that's another story). Luke's language development isn't one of them. I worry that he might be going to college in diapers, but not that he'll be stammering out one-syllable words. The boy loves talking, he loves reading, and he already knows all his letters and can spell his name (and several other names, to boot). At age 2 years, 7 months!

Also, my view is that it's a positive that Luke has a really good buddy -- Sophia -- not a negative. He's still young for interactive play, and he is developing a lovely friendship with Sophia. He doesn't have to play with everyone. His ability to make a friend is something to be celebrated, not seen as a deficiency.

What this exchange with Luke's teacher told me is that Luke isn't happy there. He isn't talking, and he isn't his usual exuberant self. The thought of my poor little guy laying on the floor, bored, and staring at the clock just broke my heart.

So, during the month of May and after receiving the skinny letter from Glenridge, Mama kicked into high gear on the preschool search. I toured three or four new schools, with no luck. The school I liked had a mile-long waiting list, and the others just weren't a good fit. Then, in a wonderful stroke of luck, Sophia's mama found a wonderful school that had room for both Luke and Sophia! We toured, signed them both up, and they started together the first week of June.

Luke's new school is a lab school at San Francisco State University: Children's Campus. It's a brand new facility and program, and fully affiliated with and supported by the University. The head teacher has a masters in child development, and the teachers have bachelors degrees. The purpose of a lab school is to provide college students majoring in child development with an opportunity to gain practical experience and observe children. For parents, it means that the program is designed by top-notch teachers and researchers, with the latest views on how to optimally support child development. There is so much wonderful research on child development, and amazing consensus about what young children need. It's not a highly structured, teacher-led program, but rather play-based with a gentle rhythm to the day, regular routines, and highly responsive teachers that get to know each child as an individual. That's exactly what I've seen at Children's Campus.

There's also this super-cool observation room, where you can watch the kids and see what's happening in the classroom without them seeing you! It's my favorite spot, because after I say goodbye to Luke in the morning, I rush into the observation room and see how his transition is going. His teacher, Teacher Antoinette, is very responsive to Luke and also encourages and supports his independence. She'll hold his hand, read to him, and stay with him as long as he needs her, and then she'll get his agreement that he's ready to play and she'll interest him in an activity.

And the room! Oh my! It's a gorgeous, brand new space with so many activities and fun things to do. I would love to spend the day there, and I'm only a 3-year old at heart. The outside space is also beautiful, with plenty of toys, tricycles and a tricycle path, giant sand area with construction toys and a water spigot for making wet sand, chalk, bubbles .... and on sunny days, Teacher Antoinette will bring the easels outside for painting "plein air." It really is a spectactular program, and feels like a great fit for Luke -- and our family. We'll be there for 2, possibly 3, years until Luke goes to kindergarten.

Luke's transition has been pretty easy. He cried on the first day, but (thanks to the observation room) I know that he adjusted within 5 minutes and started playing. Now, after a month, he still gets anxious on school days, but he holds it together well and seems to have a good time at school. I've spied on him at school during the day (did I tell you how much I love the observation room?) and he's engaged and interested. He's not as exuberant at school as he is at home, but he is still young for preschool in general (he's the youngest in the class). I'm confident that this is just where he needs to be, and that this is the right place to both challenge and support him.

guest post from dada: a little window into chateau vally

1:00 p.m. at our house. Dada is working downstairs, and Nounou (Luke's nanny), Luke and his buddy Sophia are upstairs.

Nounou: Luke, it’s time to have your nap

Luke: I don’t want to take a nap

Nounou: But you have to take a nap

Luke: I don’t want to

Nounou: Do you want me to get Dada?

Luke: Yes

Nounou comes downstairs to talk to Dad, and let him know that his presence is needed upstairs

Dada: Luke, what is going on?

Luke: I don’t want to take a nap

Dada: Really? Tell me more

Dada and Luke walk to the living room, Dada sits on the chair, Luke joins him

Luke: I don’t want to nap

Dada: How come? Aren’t you tired?

Luke: No, I am not tired, and I don’t need a nap

Dada: I understand. You know, if you don’t take a nap, you will be very very tired in the afternoon. In fact, you’ll be so tired that you won’t be able to play at all. So it’s better to have a nap.

Luke: hum…

Dada: Do you feel like you want to play some more, and you are not ready for a nap?

Luke: YEAH!!!!!!

Dada: Okay, I’ll tell you what. How about you play for a little longer, and then you can go for a nap. If you don’t want to sleep, that’s all right, but you have to stay in your room, in the dark, and be quiet. You can do anything you want, like talk to Momo, or Etoile, or tell a story, or sing a song…

Luke: But quiet!!!!

Dada: Yes, of course, very quiet.

Luke: Okay.

Dada: How much time do you think you need before you are ready for the nap?

Luke: 15 minutes

Dada: Let me set the timer…

the april report

The past few months have been a blur of travel, illness, and (as always) lots of joy and napping. Some of the highlights from April, which now seems so long ago:

Two work trips for Mama -- San Luis Obispo and Imperial Valley/San Diego. This second trip shows how my work takes me to *all* the hot spots in California. Er, not so much.

One work trip for Dada -- four days in Cary, which makes it official that Jean-Max sees my Dad more than I do.

One major illness for Luke -- five days (count 'em FIVE) of a 104 degree fever. Some other numbers that might interest you.

• 1: number of consecutive hours that Luke slept at night (i.e., he woke up every hour all night long for nearly five days).
• 1: number of parents in the house when Luke was sick (of course, this all happened when Jean-Max was traveling!).
• 2: number of doctor visits in a four day period.
• 2: number of hours it would take for the Children's Motrin to start working (i.e., I would give my cranky feverish boy a dose of medicine, and it would take two bleeping hours for it to help him feel better).
• 2: number of pounds Luke lost that week, while he was so sick and not eating.
• 3: number of times each day that I called Dada to report on how Luke and I were doing.
• 102: the lowest that Luke's fever was during this five day stretch.

The doc never got a great look at Luke's throat, but we're pretty sure he had Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Sounds horrible, and it was. Poor Luke was sooo sick. But then, on Day 6, he woke up like nothing had ever happened, and was back to his normal, happy, active self. It was cah-razy.

Pretend play -- One morning in April, Luke woke up and all of a sudden, he started telling stories. Long, elaborate, complex stories. And, he started "pretending." Like, let's pretend this is an apple and eat it. Let's pretend this is a cookie and have a tea party. Let's pretend this train is Little Puffer! With a sudden leap in cognitive ability, Luke jumped feet first into being a preschooler.

guitar hero

Luke's rendition of "No Woman No Cry." Impossibly adorable.

the time when mama almost burned down the house

Last night was quite the adventure at Chateau Vally. Jean-Max and Luke were settling into the night-night routine, and I was putting some lamb chops on the grill for an adults-only dinner. After 5 minutes, I went back outside to turn the chops over, and the grill was on fire! Not just a few flames gently licking at the chops, but fierce fire, entire tray underneath with roaring flames and huge plumes of white smoke. I turned the burners off, and then went upstairs, trying not to panic, and said, "Hey baby, the grill's on fire. I think you should come see." Jean-Max was completely faked out by the fake calm in my voice, and said, "Oh, just turn the burners off. It'll stop by itself."

I went back to check, and by now, the grill was pouring black smoke! Mama completely freaked out. Black smoke! Near my baby! Near the house! Near a tank of propane gas! I ran back up stairs and said (in my best fake-not-panicking voice, but trying to impart a sense of urgency), "I really think you ought to look at this!"

While Jean-Max tended to the now roaring fire, I answered the usual questions from Luke (who was safely stuck in his crib, aka jail), "What happened?" "Wanna check!" I also called 911.

In the end, Jean-Max put the fire out, the firemen arrived, checked things out and pronounced the fire, indeed, out. All in all, Luke was very interested in the whole thing -- firetrucks arriving at the house, sirens blaring, firefighters coming into and through the house to the backyard. Luke even shook one of the fireman's hands as a thank you.

So, no lamb chops, just a pizza delivery. And I'm still trying to recover from the adrenaline overload.

PS - I am seriously behind on sharing our news. There's lots of it -- really neat developments from Luke with more complex play, telling stories, singing songs, and transitioning to a new (!) preschool. And, some illness in there (his, mine, others), and new craft projects (knitted fruit!). I pledge to get caught up this week.

grocery shopping

My favorite helper.

skinny letter

Do you remember the college application days of "fat letter," "skinny letter"? I do, and the skinny letter means "no." We got a skinny letter from Glenridge yesterday. Sniff sniff.

imitation of mama or dada?

I overheard this hilarious exchange between Luke and Sophia this morning:

Sophia: (getting out the ladybug mat that we use for playdoh)

Luke: Sophia! It's not time to do playdoh! It's time to go to the orange playground! (complete with hand gestures signaling the urgency here)

Sophia: (continuing to get out the mat and studiously ignoring Luke)

Luke: Sophia! I'm serious!

the easter report

It feels like I start nearly every post gushing about how amazing, wonderful, funny and fun Luke is, and how whatever adventure we've embarked upon has been a great delight. I used to think adoring parents were so boring, blah-blahing about how it only gets better and kids only get more wonderful. Now, here I am, charter member of that blah-blah club. Luke was wonderful at 6 months old, for his first Easter, which we only remotely celebrated with a Bunny sweater. He was glorious at 18 months old, for his first Easter egg hunt which involved empty plastic eggs, since the whole delight was the peekaboo nature of finding eggs. This year was the best, with our glorious 2 1/2 year old. I very much enjoyed my new role of filling the Easter basket and organizing the treats, as opposed to (many) years past, when I received the Easter basket. The roles in life all switch around eventually, and it's a different and just as delightful way to celebrate.

Since we're essentially starting our Easter traditions from scratch, JM and I decided that the Easter Bunny would ring the doorbell, scamper away, and leave Luke's Easter basket on the front doorstep. That would give JM time to position the camera and catch some great shots of Luke's excited face discovering the basket. Only, we didn't quite count on the anticipation Luke would have at the sound of the doorbell and the prospect of MEETING the Easter Bunny. The doorbell rang when Luke was downstairs with Dada, they both rushed upstairs (thus allowing a quick getaway for the Easter Bunny) and Luke was utterly crestfallen to have missed the Bunny. He almost couldn't focus on the Easter basket because he was so disappointed about missing the Bunny. Chocolate eggs quickly soothed the disappointment, but I think we may need to change our game plan for next year.

Other highlights from our celebration:

• A massive 100+ egg hunt for 3 kids in our backyard (Luke and our friends' children, Yuba and River, who are 4 and 2 1/2)
• Jean-Max creatively hiding those 100+ eggs in our backyard for said children (in the sandbox! hanging in the tree! in the dumptruck!)
• Three gloriously happy children, running to and fro, filling their baskets
• Luke getting distracted while he ate a chocolate egg
• River getting distracted once he saw the front loader in the sandbox
• Yuba giving a "bath" to the stretchy (non-edible) lizard toys that were in some of the eggs
• Luke declaring that his new Schleich dog (Marley) was "so sad and crying because he wants a brother"
• River, a most dedicated engineer, playing with Luke's trains for nearly 2 hours -- and Luke letting him
• Yuba making all sorts of lovely delights with Luke's new tea set (wine or tea, she offered)
• Luke carrying water from the water table to a separate tub, carrying, carrying, carrying
• The quiet that descended over the lunch table when all 7 of us sat down to eat
• Luke and me napping together, post-party, exhausted, happy and snuggly

first easter bunny hunt

We attended a local mommy group Easter Egg hunt on Saturday, which Luke affectionately called the Easter Bunny hunt. There was a sea (literally a sea) of strollers and designated stroller parking, pictures with Mr. Bunny Himself, bouncy houses, craft tables, snack tables, face painting, bunny tattoos, a puppet show, and a proper egg hunt. Also at least 200 babies, toddlers, preschoolers and their adoring parents. Luke ran, arm swinging, from location to location in search of chocolate eggs. He also "found" a few eggs in the hunt, tried out the bouncy castle, fed Mama chocolate eggs, and got his face painted. It was a beautiful day!

a song for grammy

Luke learned a new song, and he wanted to sing it for Grammy -- and his fan club, of course.
Grammy, this one's for you!

the real deal

This video sums it all up for me -- motherhood, life, what it's all about. It's the real deal.

le petit gourmet

I'm often amazed and proud of Luke's love of many adult foods. If course he adores classic kid food like cookies, cupcakes, ice cream, cheesy crackers, and lunch ham. But, just as often, he's delighted to try more complicated flavors and tastes. Some of the things he eats regularly or has recently tried and declared "yummy":

• Hummus and white bean dip
• Olives
• Escargot
• Multigrain bread
• Cauliflower
• Bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar
• Raw carrot and celery sticks
• Spice-rubbed chicken, cheese, and apple quesadilla
  

the grandparents

Pop-Pop and Nana were visiting from last Thursday through today, and we soooo enjoyed their company. Luke and I met Pop-Pop and Nana at the airport, and Luke immediately grabbed Pop-Pop's hand and asked him to go "up up up" on the escalator and then "down down down." It melts my heart to see my little guy with my Dad and Jean, and to see them relishing their new roles in life as grandparents. Thursday night, we all went out to dinner at Joe's Cable Car which has fantastic burgers. Nana and Luke split a chocolate malted milkshake, and Luke had a sugar-fueled evening and didn't go to sleep until 10:00 p.m. Oh, the good life!

The long weekend was a blur of running around the Discovery Museum, more restaurants, Sonoma Traintown, more restaurants and ice cream, sitting in the sun, playing in the backyard, afternoon naps and snuggles. It was sad to say goodbye to Pop-Pop and Nana this morning. We can't wait until our next visit!

Till then, here are some pics of our Traintown extravaganza:

sonoma traintown

Today's adventure with Pop-Pop and Nana, as filmed by Pop-Pop!

oh no!

Yesterday's preschool report was that LUKE, our gorgeous, curious, gentle boy, was the aggressor in an incident with another child. Teacher Monica didn't tell us who Luke hit, but Luke confessed later. Apparently, Hannah (a lovely, petite girl) was using a riding toy that Luke wanted, so he bonked her. The trauma is somewhat mitigated by the fact that Hannah gave Luke a big hug and kiss goodbye, so she apparently forgives him. But, hitting?? My boy?!??

preschool woes

Unfortunately, we're not in love with Luke's preschool. Mama would really like it to be more child-directed, and more in line with this child development philosophy. I'm probably a preschool teacher's nightmare: someone who knows a little bit, has definite opinions, and is a protective Mama bear, to boot. I've been struggling to figure out what is bugging me, and I think I've narrowed it down to philosophy. Here's an example: There are some aggressive kids in Luke's class, and I think the teacher-led activities mean that, at transition times when teachers are busy putting away or getting out materials, these pint-size whirlwinds have the "opportunity" for bad behavior. (Think "Lord of the Flies" after naptime.) Not that all child-directed programs are full of contented, happily engaged children, just that aggressive behavior and transition times can be better managed in a program that offers free access to play materials, and a "curriculum" that responds to and builds on childrens' interests. And, yeah, I'd really like someone to stop that one kid from spitting, because it's just not a cool habit for Luke to bring home. Anyhow ....

We're looking into other programs, which is not uncomplicated, and we are still going to apply to our no. 1 choice: Glenridge. We toured Glenridge again this past Monday, and here are pics from our horse ride "through" the Canyon. This 2nd tour confirmed our opinion: it's an unparalleled setting, with a warm and wonderfully child-centered curriculum, and Luke would thrive here.


Wish us luck. Our application is due April 1, and we hope to hear back shortly thereafter.

In Crayon Box news (Luke's current preschool): Fortunately, our little man is slowly adjusting. Just last Friday, for the first time, he didn't cry when Dada dropped him off. He knows and likes his teachers, he has a best friend at school, and he does art projects and ballet. But, he does not not not like staying past 3:30 p.m. in the afternoon, and we've been fortunate that Dada has been able to rearrange his schedule so that he can pick up the little guy at 3:30 p.m. All in all, Luke spends 6 1/2 hours at school each day, for two days a week. Even though it's not our preferred program, it's OK.

tea party

Back around Christmastime, Luke was very interested in tea parties. I think it was because of his book "No More Bottles for Bunny" that features bunny wanting to join his friends (ducky and piggy, of course) at a tea party, but he can't join until he gives up his bottle. Luke became very interested in the tea party aspect of the story and started asking me to take him to a tea party. On New Year's Eve Day, he and I went to a local tearoom, which is a quite official setting for tea -- high tea menu, scones, china cups, and lots of over-decorated English roses and such. Luke was thrilled! His "prince tea" included a little brownie, teddy bear cookie, and cream cheese/jam sandwich (with no crusts of course). We brought Momo and Luke's new (stuffed) dog, Etoile. Everyone had a great time!


More recently, Luke continues to be interested in tea parties, and sometimes we play with his Schleich animals and the "babies" have a tea party with Play-Doh teacups and purple Play-Doh bread. I'm on the hunt for a nice little tea set for him, so that we can make our pretend tea parties even more official.

And, speaking of wishes, I really wish the weather here would improve. It's been cold, grey, and damp for way too long!

building a fort is an excellent use of a rainy saturday

February and early March was a very rainy time. We did all of the usual rainy day activities (going to the coffee shop, library, reading books, playing with trains), but we still started to get bored. Then, Mama remembered that building a fort was a time-honored, most excellent way to spend a rainy Saturday morning. Behold: our fort!

it's still pop-pop's birthday on the west coast

Happy Percy-James birthday, Pop-Pop! (65, for those who aren't fluent in Thomas language). We love you!! Here are a few overheard Luke-isms to brighten your day:
"That, my friend, is a big train."
"Thank you, Mama, for making lovely big tracks."
"I'll be back in 20 minutes. Luke go get something."
"Luke gonna do it again. Make Mama and Dada prouder."
"Hey, Le Chat, this is for you!" (while waving dinner in Le Chat's face)
"It was a medium-long nap."

potty updates

Six months ago, Luke broke in his new potty with a perfectly placed pee-pee. About a month later, another pee-pee, so I figured we were well on our way to potty training. How easy is this, I thought?! Buy him some books, read the books, put out the potty, and there you go! What do people complain about?! Flash forward six months. Luke and I have this routine, which is not quite so enjoyable for me. First, just after dinner, he likes to make a poopy. (You can't say I didn't warn you about the content of this post, given the title!) So, Luke will be sitting at the dinner table, all charming and enjoyable, and then he'll declare, "Making a poopy! Wanna go down!" He'll usually point down for emphasis. I'll say, "Would you like to try your potty?" He says, "No." Sometimes he says, "No!" and other times he says, "Nooooooooo!!!!!!!!"

For the vast majority of Luke's life, I've been really clever at avoiding the poopy diapers. But lately (and just as Luke has been super-snuggly with Mama), he also wants Mama to do everything. Especially change his poopy diaper. I try and say, "Hey Luke, go ask Dada to change your diaper!" or "Dada would really love to change your diaper!" or "Hey Luke, it's Dada's turn" but that never works. He just points to me, smiles, and says, "Mama." Now would be a great time for the potty training to kick into high gear, only Luke isn't interested. I can be all full of the big child development talk about following your baby's lead, waiting until he's interested, blah blah blah, but I'm really just thinking about how I can weasel out of the poopy diapers again.

25 things about luke

1. Luke has a buddy: Sophia. They've known each other for about a year, from the local nanny group that gets together with the youngsters at library storytime. Then, wonderfully, Luke and Sophia ended up in the same preschool class. They've had a few one-on-one playdates, and are going to start sharing Jackie, Luke's nanny, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They are serious buddies, and Luke often remarks that he wants to put his sleeping bag next to Sophia at naptime.

2. Luke's hair and mine are exactly the same color and texture. Identical.

3. Luke is in a "try it" phase with food. Last night, he declared that the cauliflower was "just perfect," and he wanted to "try it."

4. Luke has mastered the skill of putting CDs on the CD player (thanks, Nana, for teaching him that, um, helpful trick). He changes songs frequently.

5. Speaking of music, Luke enjoys Bob Marley and Eric Clapton. Seriously. The boy can sing along to "No Woman, No Cry," and often won't go to bed until he hears it. His all time, number 1 favorite musican, though, is Charity and the Jam Band.

6. Lately, Luke loves giving train tattoos (i.e., branding you with a train stamp).

7. Le Chat (our cat) running across the yard will provoke seriously-contagious belly laughs in Luke. Yesterday, he was laughing so hard, a little bit of food came back up.

8. Luke really loves doing art projects. He especially likes using glue.

9. His favorite color is black. (Urban baby? Classic San Francisco? Or, the color of steam engines?)

10. Luke is a carbo-loader. He loves bread of any type: waffles, toast, crackers, muffins. Speaking of bread, Luke gets a madeleine every Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning from our favorite coffee shop, Cafe Bello.

11. Luke has an amazing ability to focus. He can (insert verb: play, learn a new puzzle, dance, read books, etc.) with total and utter concentration. Sometimes, I swear there's steam coming out of that boy's head, he's concentrating and working so hard.

12. Luke's favorite animal is a monkey, and the most favorite monkey of all is Momo.

13. Sometimes we like to count all the people that love Luke: Mama, Dada, Jackie, Pop-Pop, Nana, Auntie Karen, Auntie Kina, Mamie, Papie, Tatie Francoise, Tatie Sylvie, Ton-ton Cyril, Cousins Alex and Theo, Grammy, Sesa, Cousins Megan and Kevin.

14. About half of the time, Luke ends up in our bed in the early morning hours, despite my best intentions to be really strict about sleep habits.

15. Luke's favorite t-shirt is (surprise) a Thomas the Train t-shirt.

16. Luke only ever gets in trouble for one thing: terrorizing Le Chat (yelling, hitting, scaring, etc.). Unfortunately, this happens several times a day. It's very hard to keep a straight face when Luke is squealing, "No terrorize Le Chat!"

17. Luke has 2 speeds: high and stop. In other words, he's either running or laying on the floor.

18. When he's being too pokey, I call him "slow coach," coined from one of his Thomas books.

19. Luke has gorgeous manners. He remembers to say "thank you" and "please" with very little prompting, and he nearly always says "bless you" if someone in the house sneezes. One time, during his naptime, Jean-Max sneezed in the hallway, and out of Luke's room came, "Bless you, Dada!"

20. He doesn't jump yet (i.e., off the ground with two feet).

21. Luke will be obsessed by a particular book for a week or two, wanting to read it over and over and over and over again. Then, he'll move on to another one.

22. Luke loves chocolate.

23. Luke loves to help bake muffins. He's a great helper: he scoops, pours, mixes, and helps sweep the floor afterwards.

24. Luke is an expert at making a deal. Nearly everything involves some sort of deal-making. Mama: "We can read 4 books before bedtime." Luke: "No, 5 books." We always end our deals with the time-honored, "Deal?" "Deal" agreement.

25. Luke has always been an independent guy, but over the past few months, he's been super-snuggly, with 99% of these snuggles focused on Mama. I am kinda really loving it.

behold: the glory of Luke's trains

Dada has been hard at work on portrait sessions for all of Luke's trains. When he took the baskets of trains out of Luke's room to photograph them, Luke replied (wistfully), "I"ll miss them." You may notice the appropriate use of the word "I." Luke has been hard at work on "I," "me," and "you." It's a pretty significant language milestone, and I'm awfully impressed by our little man.

Please enjoy the trains:

first day of school photo

Luke's first day of school (before the difficult goodbye/reunion). He was excited to go to school, as you can see! What a big boy.

houston: we have a school

It's been a long season of holidays, travels, visitors and visiting, and disruptions to our routine. I have so many memories to share and will start with the story of Luke's new school. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, as we made our way through our preschool list, one of our neighborhood options -- The Crayon Box -- let us know that they had an opening in their 2-year old classroom. For those of you who have had the pleasure of spending any time with Luke recently, you'll know that he's ready for school. He's an accomplished scribbler or artist, depending on how you look at it, he loves circle time, he thrives on preschool-like routines, and he's interested in (if not quite ready to play with) other kids. He knows his colors, shapes, and most letters.

When we toured Crayon Box, Luke joined right into the activities. At my tour, he jumped into the ballet class and will gleefully pirouette to show you all that he learned. And, the toe/heel da-dum! move is equally adorable. When Jean-Max toured with Luke, our little man joined right into the outside play, going down the curvy slide and navigating the stairs with the other kids. Our boy is ready.

We signed up Luke for Wednesdays and Fridays (full days), and planned to transition gradually, starting out with Luke staying just an hour or two, then staying a bit longer, and working up to full days. Luke's very first day was two weeks ago. He was all prepped -- engineer hat, ready to find his cubby, reciting the routine ("Luke do circle time, then ballet, then outside time, then Mama come back.") When it was time to say goodbye, Luke was a bit dazed, but I took him over to circle time, kissed him on the head, and made my way home. Then, all the emotions broke loose for our sweet little man. Another boy started crying for his mama and Luke remembered that his mama was gone, too, and poor Luke cried off-and-on for the entire time I was gone. He was too sad to do ballet, and too sad to play on the slide. When I came back, Luke was in the teacher's arms, in his jacket ready to leave, and sobbing. When he saw me, he leapt into my arms like a koala bear and sobbed, "Mama walk walk walk away with the stroller! Luke alone! Luke all alone! Luke miss Mama!!!!" It was heart-wrenching to see how distraught he was. I just held him as tight as I could, let him know how proud I was that he tackled his first day at school, took him home and snuggled. He then slept for 3 1/2 hours, which may have been his longest nap ever.

Since then, he's been very slowly getting better at the whole school thing. He's still there for just 2 hours and saying goodbye is still very hard (unlike the first day, where he said goodbye pretty easily, he now knows what it means and protests loudly). But, last Friday after 4 school days spread over 2 weeks, Luke was able to actually play. He still cried at the goodbye with Dada, but he reorganized himself at circle time, enjoyed the outdoor play time, and even drew a picture to bring home to Mama.

His next school day is tomorrow. Wish us luck.