Luka's Activities Memorial Day Weekend-ish

Memorial Day Weekend
We had a busy Memorial Day weekend hanging out with the Lindemuth clan in Aurora. Uncle Jack's family came to spend time with him and visit their mother at the hospital over the long weekend. Luka and I had a lot of fun visiting them on Saturday and Sunday (Reynald was climbing Blanca Peak and 2 other 14'ers those days in Southern Colorado) for playing and dinner. Luka had a fantastic time playing with his cousins (2nd cousins once removed for those who are interested in that sort of thing): Emma, Julia, Anna, Claire, Erik, Alyssa, Arianna, Leila and Kyle. They had a great time with frisbees, playing hide and seek and playing "get the monster (Jim)" - though Luka was a bit shy for that one and stood to the side and watched with a worried look on his face (Mommy told him to jump on the monster with the other guys, but I guess I was not that convincing). The first night, we played Skunk and Luka helped me out by throwing the dice - almost literally (throwing them), but we got him to lob them across the table. During the day on Saturday, we went with Julia and Emma to the Children's Museum and had an awesome time (see pictures on our web site). Luka had a great time fishing, playing in the garden, "working" at the computer, filling up his basket with all the available fruit and veggies in the "store" and playing hide and seek with Julia and Emma in the big tunnel - Luka dressed as a mouse and Julia dressed as an eagle. Before the museum, we took a historic trolley ride that follows the bike bath south and then back to REI and back to the museum. After the museum, they kiddies had fun playing in the outdoor park just next door (and Luka decided to go pee pee outside while climbing up the equipment - oops - I just taught him to go pee pee outside, but we will have to work on when that is appropriate - Uncle Jack's yard is definitely not either!).


Mommy/Kid Hike in Boulder
Tuesday, we went hiking with Ada and her mommy Corinne to the Anne U. White Trail in north Boulder. Ada and Luka had a blast at all the stream crossings "fishing" and fighting over the "snake stick" - until Luka got an elephant stick which was also an object of desire. Eventually, both sticks got left in the woods. Throwing rocks in the stream and "fishing" were never so much fun. This trail was great for the kids (and not bad for me big pregnant lady) with only a few hills to climb and lots of flowers, butterflies, "fishing poles," etc. Also, I was lucky that Corinne was there to help with getting Luka across the stream crossings. They were not bad, but my balance is not dependable these days (she carried Luka, not me!)

Eve's Trip to AZ - celebrate 40!

For 5 days near the end of May, I (Eve) took a trip with 3 of my best college friends to celebrate the year we all turn 40: Karen M, Karen P & Laurie A. Keri A was not able to be with us - and her birthday was during the trip dates! - but we thought about her a lot and even were able to catch her on the phone and sing (I must say, a lovely version of) Happy Birthday!'

.We chose Sedona, AZ and stayed in the Hilton Resort there. It was a very nice studio. The weather is normally in the mid-80's at this time of year (or so we read), but it was record-breaking and I think the high was 109° with it reaching 105 several days. When we left, it was in the high 90's - almost "cool." We had a good time together though - hiking in the early morning (getting up between 5 and 6 to beat the heat), relaxing, checking out the local stores and eating at interesting restaurants. I even got a massage - so did Laurie - and also had a pedicure. Luka liked my big toes with rhinestone flowers on them when I returned home.

Luka and Papa held up the home front. They had a great time - going to SesameStreetLive and seeing Elmo and all his buds in real life - along with a Elmo balloon that is still floating around the house. They also went on a major hike on Sunday where Luka went about 1.5 miles on his own power up hill (or so I heard). We may just have to buy him some expensive REI hiking boots yet!

This was the first time I had been away from Luka overnight and it turned out great in the end. He talked to me one or two times a day on the phone - and hearing him from the other end was an eye-opener as to what a good talker he is now. He told me a lot about his days at school, with Papa and what he was having for dinner. :) I thought it would be more traumatic for both of us than it was - but I'd say that we were also both glad when I came home.

Back to the trip with the girls - we had such a good time we are talking about doing it again next year (somewhere new) rather than waiting for the big 45 or the big (gulp) 5-oh.

Poo Poo and in Search of Toddler Sheets

Luka had some antics recently that will be remembered as the famous poo-poo bed incident... but, we won't go into the gory details here - it is just too much about poop. The upshot is that we realized he needed to get out of his crib. I always thought he liked it, and I think he did, but it obviously was a bit confining. We had dropped the drop side, but it was still something he had to climb over. In any case, last night, he spent the first night in his "big boy bed" - the crib converted to toddler bed - three sides with slats still and one side free for him to climb out of.

He was very excited and, as Reynald converted the bed, ran around his room saying, "Je suis content ! Je suis content !" Or, in other words, "I'm so happy!" Gee, I guess we should have done that a while ago!

I wanted to buy him some new sheets to make the transition as momentous as possible. He and I went to Target in seearch of some toddler-sized prize with Sponge Bob, Spiderman or other commercial on it. But, it was not to be. Target carries no toddler sized flat sheets! That is the key, you see, because a "toddler" fitted sheet is just a crib sheet. To make it a "real" big boy experience, he needs a flat sheet like the rest of us big people.

He survived his first night in the big boy bed with a double sheet made to fit his bed. But, we need something more exciting than Reynald's old sheet from his bachelor pad days! (By the way, he did end up on the floor and told me so the next morning, "Mommy, j'étais sur le sol - Mommy, I was on the floor!" He had the imprint of the rug on one side of his body to prove it :( but didn't really seem to mind....)

So, I went online thinking it would be easy to find him a bed-time prize. But, alas, this was not the case. I did find "toddler bedding sets" at places like Wal-mart (where I usually am able to avoid spending my money...ick). However desperate I was, I was not going to buy him cheap-o poly/cotton blends - which, even on other sites, seem to be the norm. Also, it seems most stores include a comforter in their "toddler set". There are a couple of problems with that. First, it is over 90 degrees today, so paying for and/or using a quilt is just silly at this time. Also, he may go up to a twin bed in the fall, so we don't need that extra piece.

I called Pottery Barn Kids. They said that a lot of people ask for toddler flat sheets but the only place they have heard of that sells them is JCPenney catalog. (This is very odd, I'd say, because Pottery Barn and several other stores sell high-end TODDLER BEDS. What do they expect us to use on them?! Hello, Pottery Barn marketing department - new product idea!)

I called Penney's, but the lady could not find them. She sent me the kids bedding catalog and maybe I will have some luck there. In the end, I did find some 100% cotton sheets at the BabyCenter Store - good old Baby Center who sends me weekly updates on my pregancy progress and monthly updates on Luka's toddlerhoom. I have never spent money on their "things to purchase" site, so I guess it is about time.

There - more than you ever wanted to know about finding toddler sheets (and not more than you ever wanted to know about poop disasters - consider yourself lucky on that account).

update at 8:41 p.m.

Luka was going to sleep on the floor again, so we moved his actual mattress on the floor. He seems more comfortable with that and is now on his way to dream land.

Nicknames, Easter Eggs & Santa Pajamas

Nicknames
Luka has had lots of nicknames since he was born. Actually, more from me than from Reynald. Luka did not have a formal name until he was 4 days old. But, that didn't bother us any -- we called him Little Man, Mister and I am sure some other things. So, the nickname thing started early (actually, pre-birth and/or conception as I have that proclivity that runs in my family to give funny names to people, it seems). Since then, he has had lots of nicknames. Some that come to mind:

Little Man	Mister
Mister Moo	Mister Mooglie
Pampoum	Poomster
Lovey	LoveMonster
Coquin	Stinker
Stinko	Little Sweetie
Mon Luka	My Luka
Mon amour

Sometimes he likes being called nicknames and sometimes he gets mad: "Mommy, je ne suis pas un poomster, je suis Luka !

Easter Eggs
It is several months past Easter now, but Luka had such a great time finding hidden Easter eggs and "hiding" them for us to find, it is still a game he likes to play. Just today, he asked me to get out the (plastic) Easter eggs so he could hide them. He opened them up to hide little treasures (fish crackers) in them and shook them to make sure they were filled. Then, he hid them in the living room for me to find. "Maman, je suis prêt !"

The funny thing is, he always "hides" them on the glass table with the lamp on it -- in plain site. So, he kind of gets the idea, but not exactly. Then, together, we look under the coach, under the coffee table, under the new chair, under the bench, etc. Until, finally, we notice that they are - voilà! - on the table! Now, he is mainly the one who hides the three plastic eggs we have left, but he also likes to search for them when we hide them (and in that case, they are a little more hidden). He also still thinks about the Easter Bunny -- today he told me that his buddy Monsieur Bunny brought him the plastic eggs. He came up with that moniker on his own! (At first, he kept telling me it was Santa Clause who brought Easter baskets, but we got that straightened out pretty quickly.)

Luka & Monsieur Bunny

Santa Pajamas
Right around Christmas, he needed some new pajamas -- the kind that are like long johns, but cotton. The only ones I could find in the right size were at Old Navy and they have a snowboarding Santa on them. Luka loved them then, and since (see above) little kids aren't yet brainwashed by the rest of us to associating holiday figures with certain times of the year, he is still excited about wearing them (in mid-May). Hey, next year he will be too big for them at Christmas, so might as well get the most wear out of them that we can. He also insisted on wearing the top to school a few weeks back (under neath his "real" shirt).

That reminds me of when, a half a year or so now, he liked wearing one red sock and one blue sock. At his day care, I wonder what they thought of that :) They probably are used to (worse than) that from all the little kids they deal with and know it is not due to a remiss mommy. In any case, it was actually pretty creative on his part, so I let him do what he wanted.

Luka - what are you up to?

Thought I would start a blog of Luka's adventures -with some of our own mixed in from time to time. Have been putting down Luka's milestones and fun information on little pieces of paper and throwing them in a box, but thought this would help us remember what he does when, even if no one else reads this.

Recently, for Mother's Day, we went to lunch in downtown Denver after church and then took Luka to Cinco de Mayo at Civic Center Park. We went straight for the kiddy rides and he had a blast on the clown train, the bouncy castle and the pony rides (though that scared him a bit, he was proud to have been a "cowboy"). Also did the petting zoo which he liked till the goats started attacking us to get at the pellets of food we bought to feed them. There was a little goat that was cute and eating the carrot pieces Luka offered him, saying, "Here little goat - tu veux manger des carottes ?" But the rest of the goats were very goat-like (i.e. eating everything in sight and kind of disgusting).

Luka has a fun time at "school". He goes to day care several days a week. His best buddy is Kristin. She left for a while, which was very traumatic, but she recently started attending again - what a relief. Luka was very sad and often asked me, "Mommy, where Kristin?" and "I want Kristin!" The day care has very low (no) turn over of teachers, but it is still traumatic for a little kid when his friends no longer attend or move up to the next class. His friend Austin left several months ago and he still asks about him. (Austin was the one that bit his finger in the beginning, but they became buddies.) Josh was his friend too, but he moved up to the 3-year old class. Amy used to be his favorite, and I think they still hang out, but Kristin is the favorite now.

Luka loves puzzles and has several 24-piece puzzles that he can now do on his own. There are two Pooh ones and two Sesame Street ones. He likes Elmo a lot and likes to talk through the puzzle pictures - Cookie Monster playing the cymbals, Ernie playing the trumpet, Elmo playing the drums. Or, Elmo at the beach with his friends. Pooh has also been fertile ground - allowing us to learn some good vocabulary like "telescope" in French. If you have read our website, you know we are raising Luka bilingually. For my thoughts on that, you can check out that part of our personal site at http://www.bodeuxinternational.com/per/Eve/Eve.htm.

Little man #2 is on his way - our second son will arrive the beginning of August. This pregnancy has been somewhat more uncomfortable than the first (Luka), but in the bigger scheme of things, the inconveniences are small and we are very excited for number two. No name picked out yet -- Luka was not name till he was 4 days old. We want to have one that fits the following criteria: sounds good in French, sounds good in English, and, we like it. In any case, Luka usually accepts now that he is having a little brother (and not a little sister) and seems excited about it. He wants to look at, and pat, Mommy's tummy often and comments, "My little brother is in there."

As a last hurrah for Mommy (me) before #2 is born, and as a celebration with my college friends for the year we turn 40, I am leaving for a trip to Arizona - hiking, spa'ing, hanging out. This will be the first time I will be away from Luka overnight. I think it will be good for all of us, but am still a bit nervous about leaving my little man. But, he and his papa are planning fun things like going to see Sesame Street Live (www.sesamestreetlive.com) and I am sure they will have a blast.

Some of Luka's favorite books are T'Choupi stories, Coco the Elephant, Green Eggs and Ham (which he calls Sam I Am) and Are You My Mother (which Auntie Tammy gave him last Christmas). We just read the latter two times this morning before breakfast! He also is really into "reading" books on his own lately. He looks at each page and summarizes the story as he knows it - this is usually in French since the vast majority of the books we read are French-language. It is fun to sit back and watch him remember the details of stories and to see how he interprets them - which is usually quite accurate. I was really impressed with the level of detail he recalled and the vocabulary he used when recounting "T'Choupi fait le manège" (T'Choupi on the Carnival Rides), and others.

In the past months, he has lessened his attachment to his Baby (doll), and no longer takes her (him?) everywhere. However, Baby is still mentioned as part of the family (along with Gorille, Doudou, and sometimes, Goblet (his ever-present Sponge Bob sippy cups). He plays a lot with his Thomas the Train pieces - including Thomas, Percy and Jack along with the rail cars and the rails. He uses the magnets on them to stick them to Mommy's office chair. He also likes to take a part and reassemble the rails. He likes Baby Tad who sings in French, he likes his Shrek, Fiona, Donkey and Kitty figurines, though he has played with them less lately. He also likes his Elmo that says "Let's play!" and "Tell Elmo a secret" and "Elmo loves you!" in that funny Elmo voice (that Mommy bought a few months ago at a garage sale). He also likes to color a lot and play with play dough. "Play dough" or "pâte à modeler" is a frequent request.

Hi, Mr. Potato Heads - or as we say, Mssrs. Patates!

He doesn't watch that much TV (as far as little kids go), but in past months, he has liked the Baby Einstein videos with animals. He loves Baby MacDonald (he calls it Eee-i-e-o) and also Baby Doolittle and some of the others. Some are in VHS (English), but the ones that are on DVD we can program to play in French. He also likes Carole la Luciole (Carole the Firefly) and Petit Potam (Little Hippo). He often likes to "play" Petit Potam where Mommy is Petit Potam and he is Fleure de Miel. He also likes his T'Choupi DVD's a lot - especially the story with the T'Choupi Tcha Tcha Tcha. He learns interesting phrases from these as well ("Le papi de T'Choupi dit que T'Choupi est un farceur.... Mesdames et Messieurs, je vous présente....!")

Lately, he has learned that Mommy has a name other than Mommy (Eve) and Papa has another name too (Reynald), as well as Grandma (Joan) and that Jean-Claude is his Grandpère and Annick is his Grandmère. He likes to tell people "Grandma s'appelle Joan" - but often they don't speak French and don't understand (till we translate) that he is saying "Grandma's name is Joan!"

He also has favorite things to say. Lately, he has been really into saying, "Oui" (yes). We don't say it that often, but obviously, its meaning got through to him. Months (a year?) ago, I tried to get him to say it. He would respond to questions in French with "Yeah." I am sure he got that from me....! In any case, he finally came around to it on his own and lately, he loves to say "Oui" (when appropriate), but he uses it every chance he gets and is very formal about it: "Oui, Maman, j'ai soif" or "Oui, Papa, je veux manger du fromage." It is pretty cute to hear his sweet little voice saying "oui" so seriously.