Showing posts with label sigh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sigh. Show all posts
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Monday, August 16, 2010
muir woods
Luke's school is closed this week, and Jean-Max is taking over to cover the gaps in childcare. Today (Monday) and Wednesday will be "Dada and Luke" days. Today, the boys are hiking at Muir Woods, and I just got this sweet little message that they're having "so much fun." Look at my boy with his impossibly long legs ...!
Monday, October 5, 2009
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.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
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):
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):
Saturday, October 4, 2008
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!):
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!):
Friday, September 26, 2008
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).
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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).
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Tuesday, September 16, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
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.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
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.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
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