We're Grillin'!

I think we were the last family in America to get an outdoor grill... Now we have joined the ranks! Since we had our new patio installed at the end of last summer, we added patio furniture and then, this Father's Day, went to Lowe's and bought a grill. We have been using it a lot since then and having nice family lunches (on weekends) and dinners (any day of the week) outdoors. When it is sunny, we add our new parasol/umbrella and are having a blast. Also, today, I bought unbreakable plates and tumblers at Target for our outdoor eating adventures.

I also feel somewhat reinvigorated to find new recipes (for the grill). Was kind of in a cooking rut. (Wonder how long this will last when baby #2 arrives in approximately 5.5 weeks, but for now am having fun with it). Tonight, I prepared grilled shrimp and prosciutto kabobs along with a side dish (cooked on the grill in non-stick tin foil) that I had invented of polenta slices topped with basil, fresh tomato slices, spinach leaves and mozzarella cheese. Yum. Too bad Luka has been very finicky lately - not a trait until now - and would only eat some of the shrimp with the mustard garlic sauce. :(

Also, recently have tried organic (hormone free, etc.) beef kabobs with garlic pepper and veggies, and pork loin grilled with molasses sauce (that was so-so - may try it again and re-invent the sauce to be more exciting).

Mommy's Papa & Baby Shower for #2

This afternoon, my friends had a lovely baby shower for me for baby #2 at the Boulder Tea House for Afternoon Tea. (Thanks Karen, Joyce, Lynn, Ann, Sanya, Corinne and Jenni!) There were wonderful sweet and savory pastries and, of course, we had tea too. We sat outside in a covered, tented area next to the creek.

The girls all gave me thoughtful mommy-oriented presents which included an in-home post-partum massage, deluxe pedicure and many yummy lotions and potions. Yipee! Also, Luka got a gift too - a French book we read as soon as we got home and little man #2 also received very sweet (and needed) new-born sized onsies.

At the party, I told a story about Luka that I realized I had not put here yet and realized must be preserved! I actually can't believe I had not written it up yet...

A month or so ago, Luka asked me (seemingly out of the blue), "Maman, où est ton papa (Mommy, where is your daddy) ? (My father passed away in the early 1990's.) He had realized that he sometimes talked to Papa's own papa, and even though we talked about and saw pictures of Mommy's papa sometimes, he was not as "present" as Reynald's dad. My sweet little man. I actually see much of my dad in Luka. He has his long and luxurious eye lashes and his easy-going manner.

Some time before this incident, Luka had asked me where baby Jesus was. He was looking for him on the neighbor's lawn where, at Christmas, there is a lit up manger with baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. At that time, I told him that Jesus was always with us looking down at us from the sky, but that we would only see him on the neighbor's lawn around Christmas.

When he asked about my dad, I told him Mommy misses her daddy very much and that, now, he lives in the sky with baby Jesus and watches over Luka and takes care of him too. He seemed happy with that answer, and I was too.

Knock Knock Jokes

When I was pregnant with Luka and went home to Anchorage to visit in early September 2002, my family had a birthday party for me. My brother Charles gave me a book called The Little Book of Knock Knock Jokes. A the time, I read it with my niece and nephew. Their favorite one was:

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Dwayne.
Dwayne who?
Dwayne the bathtub, I dwowning!

Once I got home to Colorado, I set the book aside and kept it until "the baby" (who turned out to be Luka) was ready to read it with me. We came across it a few months ago in his closet and, though I thought he might be a bit young still, we started reading it. It has become one of his favorite books to read and we often tell knock knock jokes at parties (hee hee) or to each other during the day.

He thinks they are hilarious. At the beginning the book's pictures helped a lot, and he still likes them, but he can do them without pictures now too. It has been fun to see how, even over 2 or 3 months, how he has become more sophisticated in understanding knock knock humor. Now, he he gets it a bit more that one person says "knock knock" and the other says "who's there?" but, even if we say all the lines together, the punch line at the end is always very much appreciated by his two-year old little mind.

His #1 favorite:

Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Shelby.
Shelby who?
(Sing) Shelby comin' round the mountain when she comes...toot toot! (and keep singing if you like).

We heard "She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain" the other day on one of our CD's and he got all excited: "Shelby, Mommy, Shelby!" We had to use the REPEAT ON button the stereo to play it over and over.

Luka surely does not consciously remember it, but I sang this song to him - with many verses - a lot when he was a little guy (up to a year old or so). So, maybe it takes him back to his "childhood" - ha ha.

The close runner up:

Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Thad.
Thad who?
(Sing) Thad's the way , un huh, uh huh, I like it. Uh-huh, uh-huh.

Other ones he knows and has fun with:

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Little Old Lady. Little Old Lady who? I didn't know you could yodel!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Alaska. Alaska who? Alaska a teacher, she'll know the answer!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Tuba. Tuba who? Tuba toothpaste!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Pencil. Pencil who? Pencil fall down if you don't wear a belt!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? House. House who? House about a kiss? Mmmmmm-smack!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Luke. Luke who? Luke through the key hole and find out!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Yvonna. Yvonna who? Yvonna buy a duck?

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Amos. Amos who? Amos -quito bit me.

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Andy. Andy who? Andy bit me again!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Mary Lee. Mary Lee who? Mary Lee, Mary Lee, Mary Lee, Mary Lee, life is but a dream.

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Ivan. Ivan who? Ivan awful headache.

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Wayne. Wayne who? Wayne, Wayne, go away, come again another day.

Knock, Knock. Who's there? William Tell. William Tell who? William, tell everyone to be quiet!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Gorilla. Gorilla who? Gorilla me a cheese sandwhich, please.

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Lion. Lion who? Lion your bed and go to sleep.

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Dogs. Dogs who? Dogs don't hoot, but owls do.

Knock, Knock. Who's there? A Caddillac. A Caddillac who? A Caddillac mad if you step on his tail - rarng!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Beast. Beast who? Beast still, I'm trying to think.

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Rhino. Rhino who? Rhino something you don't know!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Lettuce. Lettuce who? Lettuce in, it's cold out here!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Ketchup. Ketchup who? Ketchup, or you'll be left behind. (Breathing hard) Wait for me!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Olive. Olive who? Olive you, a bushel and a peck.

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Dishes. Dishes who? Dishes da police - open up!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Boo. Boo who? What's wrong? I didn't know you were crying!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Thistle. Thistle who? Thistle be the last knock knock joke!

A Day in the Life of Luka & Mommy

Tuesday and Thursdays, Luka does not go to day care and is home with me. This Tuesday (yesterday) we had a fun filled day at home. We went out in the garden by 9 a.m. because I needed to do a bit of maintenance on some plants (Reynald does it mostly, but there was a bit I could do without too much strain on my pregnant body) before it got too hot.

Luka loves to play in his yard and often asks to go out there. We had a fun time with him helping me with his little rake to "clean up" leaves that had fallen. He also was happy to help water various plants with the hose. He also ended up happily spraying himself and getting drenched with the hose when it was laid on our new back yard tree to make sure it got enough water. It was hot out, so he did not mind the cold water on his bottom and front, I guess!

Then, we had a big time with two super soaker squirt guns (that I had purchased before he was born for when Keri and I went on a canoe trip on the Dolores River in Colorado). He thought it was hilarious to squeeze the guns and watch me jump around in this water stream, or just shoot the stream off and watch it fall back to earth in a shower. We filled up both water guns several times. He didn't mind being squirted either, but preferred being the one doing the squirting! :)

We also played with bubbles. He is a good bubble blower and likes to take a turn at doing that. However, he did end up dumping two bottles worth of bubbles in the grass (oops), so hope it isn't strong enough to kill it...! He also is an expert at running around popping the bubbles that Mommy blows.

Of course, we also had snacks (Scooby Doo cookies - in the shape of dog bones - it makes me feel like I am eating dog food, but they don't taste bad, so am sure they are for human consumption).

Another fun day at home....

French, English or Luka-speak?

Now, Luka talks pretty clearly but back in the Fall (2004), he had some very endearing Luka-speak. And, even now, of course, sometimes he pronounces things a little off.

Some recent funny ones

“Mommy, I want to do it in Spenlish” (= English)!

“Petit Papa Noël, quand tu descends pas du ciel" (should be "quand tu descendra du ciel" – or else, how would you get any presents ?!)

When he was asked what his little brother's name was going to be by his teachers at school, they asked me later how to say brother in French, because he was telling him that #2's name is "petit frère" ("little brother"). This is true - this is what we call him at our house. :)

"There was a farmer had a dog and mingo was his Nemo… b-i-n-g-o…” (He loves flamingos and used to call them “mingos”…and we all know Nemo.)

Sometimes mixes up "facile" and "difficile" or "pas facile" and "pas difficile" actually, that is understandable. I am sure a lot of adults learning French do too. :)

Some of Luka’s pronunciation from Sept and Oct 20004
(some of them were right on even then)

FOR	LUKA SAID
Yaourt	Yato
Gâteau	Gâteau
Montagne	Mont-ta-ta
Avion	was “abu” then “a-ion”
Pantalon	Patata
Bisou	Bisou
Bonjour	Beau-jour
People	People
Au revoir	au voir
Flamingo	mingo
Calin	ca….ca

First and Favorite French Words from Fall 2004

Drapeau (flag) – one of his first words, and probably the first unprompted one – a big surprise (he still loves to pick out flags) was perfectly pronounced as “drapeau,”then mutated to “drapeau – rrrrrr” (can blame that on Mommy’s pronunciation, I am sure), now it is “drapeau” again (usually, that is).

Chapeau (hat)

Bye bye

Baby / Bébé

Maman

Papa (was “maman" for a long time too – both parents were “maman”. Then, nothing for a while as he sorted it out, then “baba” and then, finally, Papa!)

First Animal sounds (Fall 2004 and before)

Cochon (pig) – Luka would snort instead of saying oink oink (English) or groink groink (French). Got that from me too, I think…

Gorille (gorilla) – unhhh unhhh! Ohhh ohhh!

Cheval (horse) – (neigh in either language)

Chat (kitty cat) – meow / miaou

Chien (dog, or as we call it, “woofie” – as in Papa Woofie, Mama Woofie or Baby Woofie) – originally, Luka made the dog sound as “vvvvvv” then it because “woof woof.”

In October of 2004, he also said "All done" (learned at day care) and "fini".

Some Favorite Phrases around February 2005

These phrases were particulary popular in the Spring of 2005.

"Ce n'est pas de tout marrant"
"Ce n'est pas de tout rigolo"
"Ce n'est pas drôle"
(all these often said in succession at the same time)
"That is not funny"

Additions

06/28/05 - lately Luka has been confusing "faster" with "louder". Sort of the same idea, if you think about it. When he wants to hear his favorite songs on the car CD player louder, he will say, "Faster, Mommy, faster!"

07/06/05 - My friend Corinne just reminded me about Luka saying, "Maman, goblet n'a pas de visage" when referring to his Sponge Bob sippy cup(s). (He has a set of 4 that we rotate.) "Goblet" is almost like a stuffed animal or other "friend" in that "he" has taken on special importance. Often, when Luka mentions members of his family, he will include Goblet along with Mommy, Papa, Gorille, Baby, etc. One day he told me that Goblet did not have a face. Well, he has some pictures of Sponge Bog and friends faces on him, but Goblet himself, it is true, does not have a face. But, he is still our good buddy. :)

08/10/05 - Luka likes to say, "Hang loose, baby" and make the Hawaiin sign with a modified fist, with the pinky and thumb sticking out. Mommy taught him this one day when he was in the car with us because it looked like that is what he was doing with his hands.

08/23/05 - When Luka was around one year old, that Christmas, we read him a book about Santa (French Santa) looking for his reindeer that Jean-Claude and Annick had sent. In it, there was a candle and from the very beginning, he loved the word "bougie" (candle in French). He would laugh his head off every time we said it. He was also fascinated by real candles. That has somewhat subsided now, but he still likes candles if we light them and, at the time, he was really tickled by them and loved that word.

Favorite Songs

Luka loves to sing and he knows lots of songs in French and in English. He learns lots of songs in English at school (day care) that we also sing with him if he asks us to. And, we have taught him a lot of songs in French. My own family knows a lot of (Anglophone) folk songs, and I like those type of traditional songs. I have worked to learn the same type of songs in French and teach them to Luka. Also, since he was born, we have received and/or bought a lot of CD's with songs in French. Some are traditional and others are newer, but still lively and fun.

When I was pregnant with Luka and Mom and I were in Aix-en-Provence together on our trip to France, I purchased three books called Chansons françaises - volumes 1, 2, and 3. There was a volume 4 published at one time, but I have not been able to find it. Those inexpensive books turned out to be a great investment as Luka adores singing from them and the very colorful pictures that accompany each song. He loves to find the corresponding picture/music when he hears a particular song on one of CD's. We also can sing most of them on our own and often have a sing-a-long before he goes to bed (with Reynald and/or myself). For the few we don't know in those books, Luka has learned the phrase "Celle-là , on ne la connais pas." Often, during the day, Luka will ask for a song or "break into song" on his own.

When he was very little - 2 months - I started him in a baby music class (Musikgarten method at our church) and French class for babies (which is basically singing and Frencnurseryey rhymes). I think that earlier exposurencourageded his genetic propensity for being musical -- on both sides of the family: grandma and great grandma music teachers; mom who sang and played some instruments here and there; papa who played classical guitar; auntie and uncle who are accomplished musicians, etc. I will have great memories of snowshoeing with Luka in the winter and singing lots of songs.

Some of his French favorites are:

- La chanson papa or Papa ne me regarde pas comme ça - or (real title) C'est pas moi from a French CD called Les Questions that is written/sung by a friend of Reynald's cousin in France (they are both educators). Reynald's mom gave us this as a gift and we love it. I have tried to find it online to buy it for others, but I think it was a small production with a regional release. This one we just have on CD and Luka loves to hear it over and over in the car.
- La chanson maman - or (real title) J'appelle Maman - see notes above on La chanson papa.
- Au claire de la lune - with many of these traditional songs he knows several verses because of the books we have that list multiple verses. He particulary likes to sing the part in the second verse in this one where the neighbor bat le briquet.
- Nous n'irons plus au bois - or as it is known at our house Sautez, dansez...! - this one is a favorite when it is heard on CD and I often put it on auto repeat as Luka wants to hear it (and dance to it) again and again.
- Gentil coquelicot - the refrain is particularly fun (Gentil conqu'licot Monsieur....ooops! Ce n'est pas ça Maman - qu'est-ce qu'on dit? ... Monsieur? Oiseaux? ... Gentil conqu'licot Mesdames!)
- Il est né le divin enfant - one of the all time favorites (whether it is Christmas or not) and oft-requested as the "Bébé Jésus" song (which also can apply to "Jesus Loves Me" which is an English favorite, with those great arm motions as well as "Jesus Loves the Little Children"). He loves to review the picture for this song and has learned a lot from it: Jesus was born in a manger, there were kings, shepherds, animals and the baby's mother was Marie (Mary) and his father was Joseph.
- Il était un petit navire - or as we call it, the Matelot song. He like it when the little sailor almost gets eaten....! ;)
- Jeanneton prend sa faucille - this one Luka likes well enough, but if you know what it meant, you'd wonder that it was a kids song!!!!!
- Maman, let p'tits bateaux - those boats don't really have legs, do they?
- Sur le pont d'Avignon, that old favorite (along with a similar one in English, Ring Around the Rosies - always a fun till you grow and find out what it really means!).
- Prom'nons nous dans les bois - a real favorite and kind of (fun) scary too. Lately, we have been replacing the loup (wolf) with a zèbre (zebra) and that always gets a laugh.
- ABC's in French - he's known this since he was 14 months or so - we also sing it when we are putting on a new (kid) tattoo while it transfers.
- Petit Papa Noël - a Christmas song, but we are listening to it a lot lately on the car CD player. He likes to sing the words and when the song ends, to open his arms wide in dramatic style: "Petit Papaaaaaaa Noooooooooooooooël!" He is just tickled when this song comes on the CD.

Others we like include:
Trois jeunes tambours; Il était une bergère; Frère Jacques; Auprès de ma blonde; Compère Guilleri; Colchiques; Le bon roi Dagobert; Il pleut, il pleut bergère; Savez-vous planter les choux?; Ainsi font, font, font; Bon voyage, Monsieur Dumollet; Dans la forêt lointaine; Meunier, tu dors; Malbrough s'en va-t-en geurre.

Some of his English favorites are:

- Wheels on the Bus - we like adding our own verses too: T'Choupi on the bus, Gorille on the bus, Doudou on the bus, Goblet (his Sponge Bob sippy cup) on the bus (Maman, goblet n'a pas de visage), Luka on the Bus, (his) Daddy on the bus, (his) Mommy on the bus, etc. I used to have sing all the (real) verses and all our own verses before he would go to sleep...!
- The Bumblee Bee Song (I learned this one so I could sing it with him - he'd learned it at school): I got a little baby bumblebee, won't my mommy be so proud of me....
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (with motions - one of his first songs he could sing all on his own).
- ABC's in English
- A new one lately is the Dinosaur Song (I looked that one up on the Internet too so I could sing it with him): One little dinosaur went out to play, on a spider web one day, he had such enormous fun, he called another dinosaur to come ... HEY DINOSAUR!!!!
- Jingle Bells - I was singing this with him at Christmas and realized he already knew it from school. He still sings it around the house from time to time - I am sure when he hears it everywhere at the holiday season, he will be thrilled.

Updates

06/28/05 - a new song added to Luka's most frequently requested favorites is Pirouette cacahouette and Une souris verte (the part about "un escargot tout chaud !").

Bed Time & Chocolate

Bed Time
Like I mentioned below, Luka is now in his big boy bed. I am currently in the process of making him a little summer blankie for his bed to encourage him to stay in it. Every night he says, "Mommy, laisse la porte ouverte (leave the door open)," all smiley and cute. Then, I say, "Pourquoi (why)?" and he says, "Je veux sortir (I want to leave my room)" Ha ha. He is still not able to lie yet - he will always tell the truth (such as when he gets in trouble. Me: "You can come out of your room if you promise not to scratch Mommy again. Will you scratch me again?" Luka: "YES!") In any case, then, I have to close the door or he will run around and never go to bed, and then he cries and I feel bad... oh well! Then, we open it after he has fallen asleep so that he can be free to go pee pee or whatever during the night - and get up in the a.m. (he has been coming in our bed between 6:45 and 7:15 a.m., but that is another issue...)

Chocolate
Luka never had chocolate till he was around 16 months old or something... That is good, because he has turned out to be chocolate man! When we were on our cruise in February, I asked him one evening what he wanted for dinner, and he said, "Chocolate, Mommy!" You can have whatever you want to eat on a cruise, that is, unless your mommy is there! :)

Thanks T'Choupi

I have realized that the T'Choupi DVD's are teaching Luka several French phrases in a more natural way. I am pretty sure that is where he got "oui" from in his current usage of it. It was a real favorite for a while but now is more relaxed in usage. He knew the word before and its meaning, but I think the T'Choupi flicks help him to use various phrases more naturally in his speech. Including:

"Mesdames et Messieurs !" (as in "je vous présente" okay, that is not real natural, but he has fun with it)

"Bonne nuit, Maman" (of course, that could come from us repeating it since he was born)

"J'arrive... Papa et Luka arrivent... etc."

"Je ne sais pas quoi faire."

"S'il te plaît..."

"Ma petite maman." (Not sure if this one is from T'choupi, but it sure is cute."

... I know there are some others that I am too tired to recall right now - however, I just thought it was interesting, that in this case, TV (or more correctly DVD's) are very helpful in providing a forum in which French is spoken in a true French context (product) from which he can learn to speak more natively/fluently.

For more on my musings on raising kids bilingually, see my corner at our web site:
http://www.bodeuxinternational.com/per/Eve/Eve.htm.

Luka's Shower and Monkeys

Luka's First Big Boy Shower
Luka - at 2-1/2 - took his first "big boy shower" today. By that I mean, he took a shower all by himself - using the removable shower head down at his level, soaping up, washing himself and rinsing. He told me he wanted to take a shower "tout seul" (al by himself) and I was on the outside of the shower (we have clear shower doors in our master bath) to make sure he was okay. He decided this at around 3:30 in the afternoon when we went upstairs to get something and he passed Mommy and Papa's shower.

But, he did not want me in there, "Maman, laisse-moi tranquille" ("Leave me alone" - meaning "I can do it!"). He had a blast soaping up repeatedly with his liquid kid peach soap and then rinsing. The only problem was that he put a bunch of soap in his hair, so at the end, I had to get in to help him wash and rinse his hair. He does not like that part and sometimes will put his head back to avoid getting in his eyes, but sometimes, we just have to rinse it and some water gets in his eyes (the case this time). When we get out, he wants to make sure his feet are covered by a towel also. "Mes pieds aussi!" This time, he also wanted his face covered (?): "Le visage aussi!" Despite the crisis at the end, he was very proud of taking a shower on his own.

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Luka [jumping on his bed]: Mommy, call the doctor!

Mommy [with banana to ear if available]: Hello, Doctor? This is Mommy. I have a monkey here who is jumping on the bed and he just fell off and bumped his head. What do I dooooooo?

[Luka jumping up and down and laughing]

Mommy: Uh huh, uh huh, okay - I'll tell him. Bye! Luka, the doctor said, "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"