Leavin' on a Jet Plane...to France

Luka was very excited to take the trip to France to see his grandparents and the rest of his French family. We had been preparing him for it for several months - talking about the trip and what we'd do when we arrived in France. The trip went okay, but Luka only slept 2 hours on the way there. Axel slept a few more in the baby bassinet they install on the bulk head wall for parents who request it. Our kids were the only ones in that row not screaming their heads off. Lufthansa staff is kind of strict though - I had Axel on my lap and they would not let our row mate put up my food tray for me because there was "no room." Well, okay, but I didn't have much either and it was about to fall on the floor!

Luka was excited about the plane, but apprehensive too, it seems. After we were sitting on the plane waiting to take off, strapped in and all, he said, "Maman, j'ai fini" (I am done). I said, Avec quoi?" (With what) And he said, "Avec l'avion" (With the plane). Oops! We explained that we still had to take off and that it would be a while yet. He did okay in the end and we were glad to fly directly into Frankfurt with no stops.

Dieter and Ruth, friends of the Reynald's parents were there when we exited the "passengers only" section after customs. We were the only ones exiting at that point and I thought, "Who are these people taking pictures of?" because I had never seen them before (though I had heard about them). When Reynald greeted them, I realized who they were.

They were very sweet and brought gifts for Axel (rattle) and Luka (little wooden toy). They also gave us gifts for Annick and JC to take to France with us. They walked us to the car rental and then to the car itself, which was very helpful because it was far and we were kind of tired.

The rental car had a GPS that helped us throughout our trip (free in Europe, I guess) and sometimes got us lots or did weird things, but overall, was helpful. We drove the autobahn through to France, stopping at a clean, German-style road side cafe/bathroom stop. Axel did well on the trip, hardly crying. We were worried about that part as he normally does not like the car too much yet. However, we did have to keep moving....his one requirement!

This was now Friday and we were on our way to a small village outside Troyes to spend the weekend with 6 other families - our friends who drove from their various cities to spend the weekend with us. Nice!

Chicken Little

On November, 15, 2005, Luka saw the second movie (at the theater) in his life. The first one was in AK with his cousins (Shrek 2) when he was 1-1/2 - the whole gang went. So, he did not remember that one at this point. He seemed to like the Chicken Little ads on TV, so I took him to see it on a Tuesday when he was with me. There were only a few other people in the theater with him, me and Axel.

He was very impressed by the big screen. It is impressive if you are not used to it - and if you are little! He concentrated very hard and was very interested. Though, as a parent, the movie seemed a little stressful to me for a little kid - always something happening and waiting for resolution (Chicken Little rguing with his dad, the aliens arriving to blow up earth, etc.). Overall, I think he had a good time. He did tell me several times afterward that Chicken Little said, "The sky is falling!" and people told him, "You're crazy!"

I love you...giggle, giggle

Last night, Luka told Reynald (in English), "Daddy, I love Axel," with no prompting from us. Awwwwwww!

Also, in the past 10 days or so, Axel has started to audibly giggle/laugh sometimes when he is smiling. It is the sweetest thing. So far, he has mostly done it for me (his constant companion), but he is a really smiley little guy, so am sure that will be a common part of his repertoire soon.

Axel has a new "pilot" hat I got from the Hannah Andersen store at Flatirons. He is (of course) the most handsome baby ever.

Halloween Fun

This was Axel's first Halloween and Luka's first Halloween trick-or-treating. We had lots of Halloween activities for several days.

On the Thursday before, we went to a pumpkin patch with Karen and her kids: Joel, Liam and Tristan. There was pretty much no one else there but us so the kids got to run around like mad and do whatever they wanted. We took a picnic lunch and ate at their tables. There was a bouncy castle and a trampoline, with a "petting zoo" which was some pigs, ducks, rabbits, lamas, cows and goats in stalls, and a hay bale maze. The kids had fun running from each activity back again. At one point after the bouncy castle, Luka told me, Maman, je veux voir les animaux!" He and Liam amused themselves greatly feeding one of the goats a bunch of hay. Stupid thing ate it since they gave the hay to it (even though it had hay all around it normally??). Luka was all excited when the pigs woke up. And, the lamas pooing and peeing was quite the event.

On Saturday, we went to Boo at the (Denver) Zoo and Luka was very cute in his coliforme / mountain monster costume. He was original, that is for sure, and had fun making scary faces while wearing it. We went there with the Sabot/Stansifer family as well. We got some candy and also had a good time looking at all the animals. Luka saw zebras, camels, elephants, cheetahs, sea otter, polar bears and I am sure some other things I am forgetting. Axel slept the entire time in his car seat attached to the double stroller so that worked great. This was the first time we test-drove the double stroller that Amandine had given us and it worked great: Luka could run around or walk when he wanted and when he told me "Maman, je suis fatigué (I am tired)," he was able to hitch a ride.

On Sunday, we met Corinne and Ada at the Boulder Library for Franken Fun, their Halloween activity. They had crafts and he did some of that, but was really into the Halloween concert put on by Mary Sue and Cari, two women who do a lot of kids concerts up and down the Front Range. He looooooooooved it - I have to take him to more kid concerts. He sang right along with them and did all the motions and he cried when it was over, saying, "Maman - je veux encore chanter! Maman - je veux encore chanter!"

Then, on Monday, I went to his school with him in the a.m. to volunteer at the Halloween party. The kids had a special morning snack (I took a fruit plate and they had special star cheese, etc.) and then they had various activities. Most of them were wearing costumes, but not all. There was Buzz Light Year, Simba, Snow White, Luka as Mountain Monster, Blues Clues, etc. The activities included decorating cupcakes (which they ate for their p.m. snack), coloring a scarecrow or decorating one big pumpkin. Luka (and some other kids) wanted to decorate more than one cup cake... ha ha. He was not that interested in the other activities and wanted to play with a bunch of Mr.Potatoe Heads and magnetic letters. At 10:30, they took off their costumes and went outside to play. There were 19 kids!

Luka's costume turned out great. It was lime green and curly/furry (though it shed something awful and was annoying to our eyes and getting everywhere on the floor, etc.). He had blue ears and a blue tail, made from navy fleece. He loved it and we got good use out of it.

Then, that evening, we went trick-or-treating. First we did our cul-de-sac and he was very cute. We have "played" trick-or-treat throughout the year, so he knew what to do. He would ring the door bell or "toc toc" (knock) on the door and then say, "Trick-or-treat!" very clearly (and usually loudly) when people answered. I sometimes had to lift him up to ring thedoor bellss. :) He was very cute and people seemed to think so too - the little kids are always the most fun when you are the one giving out candy. We did two other houses in our neighborhood driving the car (Axel slept through these) and then went to Jenni's, down Sheridan. Stuart and Jenni were home - Molly was working so missed us. They had fun with the kids and were glad to see both Luka and Axel. Axel is growing fast and changing a lot. And Luka is just a lot of fun. They watched Axel for a few minutes while he slept and Luka and I did a few more houses in their neighborhood. One that he picked out, "Mommy, I want to go there!" and some others with cool decorations. All in all, a very fun Halloween. He is very possessive about his candy stash and wants to know where it is. When I moved the candy from his candy bag (so he could keep carrying his copains around in it like he was before Halloween), he was very upset that his candy was missing. I had to explain I had put it in the cupboard for safe keeping. He does not mind sharing it, by possessive, I just mean he wants to know where it is. :)

Axel wore his little long-sleeved orange ghostie t-shirt that Angela and Steven had bought for Luka when was born (he was only about 11 days old his first Halloween - I recall that was a very,veryy cold night - answering the door for trick-or-treaters and trying to shield him from the cold draft). That was costume enough for my little Axel this year. He will have lots of time to wear cute costumes later.

Happy Halloween

More to come here after the Halloween weekend is done. Lots of activities going on and Luka is very excited about wearing his costume: la coliforme des montagnes or the Monster Rock!

For now, Luka and Axel wish you a very happy Halloween!

Luka Three Year Check-Up

Here are the stats from Luka's three-year check up, the day after his birthday:

Weight: 30-1/4 pounds
Height: 36 inches (3 feet)

3 feet high means he can go on the "big" kid rides at Elitch's (if he even wants to, that is)! 3 years old and 30 pounds means he can do the climbing wall at REI!

His friends at school:
Kristin (and her older sister Megan)
Josh
Faith
Mackenzie
Zane ... and others

A funny story from swim class:
Luka takes swim class on Tues and Thurs, with usually one other little boy. Last time, we mentioned that Luka's birthday had been the day before. It turned out Connor's was the same date and year! He was also three. Then, his mom and I talked and it turned out that Luka and Connor are in the same class at their school. The moms hadn't even known they knew each other - ha ha. The kids confirmed they were in class together. Funny. No wonder they got along so well!

Axel Update

Axel is still showing signs of reflux, but it is getting better. He has some days where he hardly spits up at all. Then, others he seems very uncomfortable and barfs a lot. :( But, I think it is getting better. Hope so - poor little man!

He is getting more alert and smiley. Earlier today at music class, he was very alert - the teacher commented on it - and also very smiley. He had a good time, I guess! He stays awake now for longer stretches at a time, but is still a good day time sleeper. And, he still seems to get tired in early/mid evening and recognize that night time is sleep time, so that is very positive.

He is not sleeping through the night, but does a good 4 - 5 hours at the first stretch and then 1 - 2 hour stretches after that. We just moved the rocking chair from Luka's room to our room so I can sit up and rock him at night and then put him back in his bed. That worked pretty well. That way, I can sleep better because not curled up around him/trying to protect him, etc. It worked pretty well the first night. A littl harder on me, because I can't go back to sleep sitting up, obviously, but that is the point: he goes back to bed sooner!

He does not like the car lately. For no (apparent) reason, he wkill often scream when he gets put into his car seat. Sometimes, taking off right away will solve this, but not always, and we often have to stop and console/feed him and take him out for a few minutes. Sometimes just cuddling does the trick and he goes back. Other times, he wants to eat or whatever.

Today, at music class, two of the moms said to me (unprompted)that he looks exactly like me. Ha ha! If people know Reynald, they say they are "twins" (like Luka and Reynald too), but he must look like a Lindemuth too. I see the Lindemuth boys in him (my brothers). So, all the past generations get represented one way or another. :)

Luka Update & Pumpkin Muffins

Luka's birthday is really today. Wow! Three years old. I made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for him to take to his school today to celebrate. (Recipe from Auntie Mona - see below). And, made sure to give him a big hug and kiss before he left for school. Sometimes we are so hectic, maybe I forget to do that enough. He was all happy. My man! Will be interested in hear how the day went. I am sure they sang happy birthday to him! He seems to really like his school and learns neat stuff there - developmentally and socially.

He is talking really well in French and well in English too. He knows when to speak French and when to speak English - according to whom he is talking. He will even translate for you if you need it. He is amazing that way - has a clear idea of "French" and "English" and has never mixed the languages up.

He is headstrong sometimes, but is sweet still. Stubborness has always been a trait he has shown, since he was little, and I consider it something positive that will make him self-assured and confident in life. Also, being particularly stubborn must be a sign of his age and developmental level. Also, while he loves Axel and is very proud of him, he is a bit jealous and that comes through in acting up a bit sometimes.

Axel wears a little fleece prince hat, shaped like a crown, (from Auntie Laura when Luka was a baby). Luka says, "Maman, Axel est comme un champginon !" when he wears it. (Mommy, Axel is [looks] like a mushroom.) Pretty perceptive - ha ha. He kind of does, but of course, he is much cuter than a mushroom!

Luka is taking swimming lessons twice a week this month at our local rec center. We have gone to three of them so far. He seems to enjoy it and will actually get his head wet for the teacher, as opposed to us at home in the shower: "Pas la tête, pas les cheveux !" ("Not my head, not my hair!") THe teacher is a young guy (early 20's or younger?) who seems really into the little kids and has good ideas for getting them all excited.

Some of Luka's favorites songs lately:

Baa Baa Black Sheep
Oh, Susanna (as in Suz-ANNA after his beloved cousin)

Luka memory: when Luka was little and nursing, I always called it the "boobie". Not very elegant, but there you have it. My sis-in-law Tammy counseled me that when he could talk, it would be embarassing when, in public, he wanted to nurse and screamed, "I want my boobie!" However, I just lucked out. When he started talking, he called it his "Baby". And, sometimes, he did scream for it, but it ended up being a code word. So, have to remember that for Axel - get him to call it his baby instead of boobie! :)

PUMPKIN MUFFINS
courtesy of Mona

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Shortening
1-2/3 cup Flour
l cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2 Eggs
1 cup Pureed, cooked pumpkin (if you triple it is one of the big
cans-29 oz)
1 Cup Cinnamon Chips (Mona advises: I use chocolate chips instead, too weird with cinnamon)
[Eve note: maybe add cinammon, nutmeg or pumpkin spice as a variation? I did it without any of these though and it was still yum.]

Preparation Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream shortening and sugar.
3. Add eggs and mix well.
4. Add dry ingredients...mix well.
5. Add pumpkin...Mix well
6. Add cinnamon chips Mix well
7. Grease muffin tins or use paper liners.
8. Bake at 350 for 20 to 23 minutes, or less for mini muffins.

Luka's Third Birthday Party

Saturday, October 15th we celebrated Luka's 3rd birthday party at the Denver Firefighters Museum (www.denverfirefightersmuseum.org) with 11 of his "closest" friends. :) 4 kids from school were able to come (Josh, Zane, Faith and Kristin) and Kristin's sister, Megan, and then our friends' kids: André, Melanie, Joel, Liam, Tristan, Ada. We had a Spiderman cake, which was VERY important as Luka had been talking about it for weeks. It had a cool toy on top too of Spiderman duking it out with Dr. Octopus that he has been playing with since too. We had vanilla ice cream and apple juice. The kids ate first and then they played on the fire truck and tried on fire gear (just their size). They also got to slide down a pole. Luka got to do it first since he was the birthday boy and he just ran over there, he was so excited. They kids also liked playing with the computers that had special fire games on them - dress the fireman or whatever. There were also some firetrucks and phone toys (call 911!). The party lasted 2 hours. I thought it would be too short, but it was just right. When the kids left, they each got fire hats. They were really nice and much heavier than the ones you normally get for kids at a fire education function. Luka also got nice presents from his friends that we opened at home the next day. He got a really neat dinosaur set, a fire truck, a big snake, a fun Snoopy Halloween coloring book and lots of other great stuff. It was funny because at first he said, "Mommy, these presents are for Axel" because Axel has been getting so many gifts (to celebrate his birth). Boy, was he thrilled when he found out they were his! :) He also got to open a gift later that arrived from Grandma. A fun little tractor he gets to build and then play with. A very fun birthday! Our little man is already three!

Ode to diapers, diapers and more diapers

There are cloth diapers and there are disposable diapers. I have used them both. Cloth diapers make kids' bottoms look huge (but they are not, of course). We used a cloth diaper service until Luka was about 8 months old. The cloth diapers leaked a lot though and sometimes, stuck to his bottom. :( And, it was a bit complicated to take all the stuff with me in the diaper bag when we went out somewhere (you can't just throw dirty ones away...) We liked the idea of cotton against his skin, but it just got too complicated to keep track of them all for the service, etc. And, they are quite bulky. I love my kids, but there was no way I am washing and cleaning cloth diapers myself!

Axel has used disposal since birth - the first ones were so tiny. They were "newborn" size. They were teeny weeny and very cute. However, they kept leaking when we first brought him home. All diapers leak sometimes, but this was ridiculous! One of the doctors said her brother had twins and he said to fan them out before putting them on. Luckily, that worked because I was thinking of going back to cloth!

He grew out of this within 3 weeks or so. You can't those at Costco and for good reason. The babies grow so fast at that stage that you may get stuck with 200 newborn diapers that are too small! Now, we are using size 1. Costco sells these and I just got a box. They will last about 3 weeks. Axel, at this age, is using approximately 70 diapers a week.

Luka is still in Pull Ups at night for pee pee. He was awesome with potty training and really is out of that stage now and just goes to the bathroom like a normal person. He was pretty much trained a few months after he turned 2. He has done so well. I am so grateful not to have to change a big kids poopy diapers (ick). Axel's are like nothing since he is breastfeeding. They do not even smell (yes, I mean the poo). When he starts eathing solid food they will, but still, they won't be too gross for a while till he is bigger. Hopefully, he will follow his older brother's example and potty train fast and early. For boys in the US, that is.

I was just reading an article in the paper this evening and it said a lot of cultures around the world potty train their kids by one year old. I believe it - especially in native cultures. I have always wondered how native kids carried on the back by Indians, aborginals or Alaska natives deal with going pee pee or poo poo. It is a weird thing to wonder about, but pretty basic for survival. We have to have somewhere to eliminate... So, that was an interesting article. (It still didn't answer the question of exactly what happens to poo when a baby is in a leather pouch on his mom's back, but I am sure I could find out if I really tried. We could learn a lot from more "native" cultures and avoid using diapers at all, probably. Disposal diapers do have that fakey plastic smell :(

Sometimes, Luka asks me to put on his pull-ups at night like a diaper (you can open and reclose the sides). This is "regressing" as a game because he sees me change Axel's diaper. Thank goodness he doesn't take it farther and actually go poo poo in his own pants - some of our friends had a problem with that with their older child.

We also have doll diapers. Before I was even pregnant with Axel, Luka liked to put his own dipaers on his Baby (doll). They would never stay on because they were too big. So, I bought him some doll diapers to use. In general though, his Baby just "runs" around naked - we should put her winter clothes back on since it is going to snow any time now.

Diapers, diapers, diapers. They aren't so bad. Some day, I will be both glad and sad to never have to change one again.

Steven and Angela's Visit

Steven and Angela came to visit for the long weekend from Omaha. It was great to see them. It was a quick trip - they had to leave at 7 a.m. today - but we all had a good time. Luka was excited to see them and they were glad to see him - he is such a big boy now! I was very glad they could see Axel as a tiny man too. They even saw Reynald a bit as he dashed out the door for a biz trip.

We also had our fourth and last (whew!) free trip to Elitch's this weekend with our friends Corinne and Ada. Ada and Luka were great buds - holding hands and going on lots of rides together including the boats (Luka's favorite), the truck convoy and the train. And, of course, Luka spent a lot of time in his adored ball room. Ada was a bit overwhelmed by that one. I am Elitch'ed out for this year. Thank gosh we never have to pay! :)

Axel slept 6 hours straight last night!

Big milestone - on October 2nd, Axel slept 6 hours straight. Pretty good for a little guy who has such tummy troubles. Since then, he has slept varied amounts, but I think as soon as his tummy issuse resolve, he will be a great sleeper like Luka and his mommy and daddy (that woudl be us). Axel is oriented toward evening anyway like a "big" person and gets very tired in the evenings, so I think he will be sleeping through the night soon. Stay tuned for that developing story...will he, or won't he? More to come!

Nursing on the Run

When Luka was about six weeks old, my sister Laura came to visit in early December 2002. I took her to Whole Foods - awesome grocery store - in Boulder. We were walking around the aisles and tiny Luka began to cry. I realized he was hungry. I couldn't really sit down at the moment, so decided to feed him (nurse him) while I walked around the store. When he was little like that, it was fairly easy to do while walking. He was happy and I was because he was. I was probably pretty well covered up, but even if not, who in Boulder in a health food store would dare say anything?!! :)

Skip ahead 3 years or so, we took a walk on our neighborhood trails the other day (the trail that goes south). Luka, now almost 3 was walking and Axel, about six weeks old, was in his stroller. He was having none of that. He wailed and we carried him. But, it seems he wanted to eat. So, there was Mommy (that'd be me), nursing him walking on the local bike trails. It worked okay, but my arms fell asleep after a while!

This past Saturday, I took Luka and Axel to Costco to pick up the photo invitations I made for Luka's third birthday party at the Denver Firefighters Museum. We also took advantage of this to get a bunch of other things. (That included a Princess 1st Reader book for Luka...) Luka was in the cart and Axel was on me in the Baby Bjorn carrier (he does not like to "stroll" lately in his car seat). When we were almost done and in the frozen food aisle, Axel began to cry, meaning he was hungry. So, here is me, pulling one kid in the big, heavy cart stuffed with food and other goodies, holding Axel in one hand and nursing him at the same time - going down the big main aisle at Costco toward the cash register. [Note: Reynald was out mt. biking during this episode - what is wrong with THAT?!]

Yesterday, we went to Walker Ranch in Jeffco open space for a 2-mile loop hike after visiting some friends who live near there. Axel was happy to be on Papa in the front carrier until about 2/3's of the way done. Then, he seemed hungry. So, Mommy hiked and fed him at the same time. I was very careful - the trail was pretty smooth at that point, but surely did not want to fall. Before that, Luka said he was tired (normally he is an awesome hiker and "wants to do it himself" - this was the first time I have carried him on a long stretch of hiking), so I carried him on my back for most of the hike. About 5 minutes after I put him down, Axel came on board.

So, rereading this, I guess a conclusion could be, I should just stay home with my kiddies? On one hand, that is just not practical (gotta go to the grocery store) and, two, I think it is good for them and us to get out - and as long as they are small enough, breastfeeding while walking is not too bad for Mommy or them. Another conclusion could be that I (like many other moms, including Dianna) am super mommy! That I will agree with.

Axel Update

Here is another Axel update. He is such a sweet little man. Yesterday, he turned 7 weeks old and Luka and I and Reynald sang Joyeux Anniversaire (Happy Birthday) to him. For Luka, we did it every week, but poor Axel, sometimes we forget. :) Soon, we will go to every month, and then, sadly, every year! What a cliché, but they do grow up too fast!

He is smiling now (real smiles), started at about 6 weeks, and I got some good pictures of him doing it today.
>>
He is really a sweet baby. He likes to be held a lot (don't they all?) but he really only cries when he is hungry. He is losing some length on his hair since he was born (he had a lot of it) but still has quite a headful. His eyes are definitely brown and I weighed him the other day and he is around 11 lbs (calculated by me weighing myself, adding him to the mix and doing the subtraction).

He likes the snuggliness of the Baby Bjorn. He slept through the fireworks mentioned in posting below (and they were loud), but sometimes wakes up easily in a quiet house. He doesn't like his bassinets unless he's totally beat (too hard) so has been sleeping in the changing table pad (on the floor) or our bed (of course, his fav spot!).

He is becoming more alert during the day (Mommy, ses yeux sont ouverts ! - his eyes are open!), but still sleeps a lot. He sleeps even more when Luka's at day care and sudden noises (screaming laughter, temper tantrums, loud toys) don't jolt him awake at inopportune times.

Luka is sweet to him and likes to show him toys and help take care of him: getting his blanket, putting a diaper in the diaper pail, playing the music button his is baby swing, etc. Luka always loved Axel since the day he came home from the hospital (or make that, since he met him at the hospital), but went through a time of tantrums with us. That has subsided and he is back to his jovial self, with a few 3-year old ("appropriate" at this age?) tantrums thrown in.

Axel is a good nurser. He does, however, spit up quite a bit as evidence of an upset tummy. Often, in the second half of the night he has a lot of tummy problems and trouble sleeping. :( Poor little guy.

At this stage, Axel looks a lot like Luka did when he was little. Glad the pictures will be dated, because it will be hard to tell 20 years from now!

We tried the bottle (pumped Mommy's milk) for Axel twice, but he won't take it yet. Hope we did not wait too long... Also, excuse any typos - Mommy typing (fairly fast) one-handed is quite the feat (with little dude in the other).

Update to the Update - September 26, 2005

Axel had his 2-month check up today. Here are his latest stats:

Height: 23 inches - 50th percentile
Weight: 11 pounds & 2.5 ounces - 50th percentile
Head circumfrence: 15-1/4 inches - 50th percentile

Go, Axel!

Fireworks & Baseball

We have a lot of fireworks in our lives lately. Luka's little "computer" that teaches him the letters and numbers (in English) from Fisher Price that he has had since he was one (using it differently as he got older, but always liking it), has some fireworks that he loves. If he gets to the end of the alphabet or counts to 10 pushing the correct buttons, it has "fireworks" on its screen that he gets all excited about. He had to figure out how to do it himself since he was always asking Mommy to make it show fireworks. That was a great incentive!

Fireworks also appear in two T'Choupi DVD's. Our new one and current favorite, the full-length film (!) Le Mystère les Jouets (The Toy Mystery) has fireworks (and T'Choupi singing) at the end to celebrate T'Choupi and his friend's victory over the toy monster. And, in the episode Le premier bal (the first dance), fireworks and T'Choupi singing (yes, again) to show that he can sing if not dance. Luka likes these fireworks a lot too. Oh, and let's not forget the fireworks T'Choupi sees with his Papi (grandpa) in the book T'Choupi dans la nuit. (An aside: the author of T'Choupi seems keen on fireworks, doesn't he? He also seems to love the gouter (snack time) - or is that just a French thing in general?)

Lastly, here are some fireworks in real life! Friday, Reynald's company gave out tickets for the last fireworks game of the season at Denver's Coors Stadium. The Rockies lost but we and particularly Luka had a fabulous time. He danced a lot to the blaring music and flirted with some college girls behind us. He is already a ladies man - always seeking out the chicks (young or old).

We were in the Rock Pile (cheap seats) which is very desirable for fireworks games because if you are sitting there, for the display, you get to go down onto the ball field (with 10,000 other people) after the ball game is over. Lying flat on your back on a blanket with the fireworks bursting in air right above you is an experience to be had. Luka covered his ears the whole time, but was wide-eyed the entire time. He told me today that he wanted to go to another baseball game. I am sure we will. but we'll have to wait till next season.

Update - October 11, 2005

Today while sitting at his place at the table, Luka was playing with his "guys" or his "copains". These included Shrek, Fiona, Baby Donkey, Mama Donkey, baby gorilla, mommy gorilla, green frog, petit poussin, etc. He had all his buddies lay down on their backs on the table as if they were looking skyward. He told me they were all watching the "feu d'artifice"!! That kid has a good memory!

Letters Letters Letters

Luka starting learning his letters when he was a little bit older than one year. We took baby French class and his teacher started going over them. I thought she was nuts, he was so little. But, he was really interested in them and knew his French ones first, but thanks to day care/school now knows them well in English too. Want the alphabet song? Which language? Take your pick! He first knew the upper case letters but in the last few months, we taught him the lower case ones and he picked up on them really fast.

Now, we are starting to show him how words fit together. I bought a set of good magnetic letters for the fridge, with lots of repeats so you can actually spell words. At this point, he tells us words he wants to spell and we tell him what letters to search for. He puts them in order as we say what they are and he locates them on the fridge. Here is a picture of some of our recent masterpieces: EVE ~ CHAT ~ CHIEN ~ LUKA ~ REYNALD ~ AXEL

Marie, Josef et le Petit Bébé Jésus & Old MacDonald had a Farm

Luka has a battery-operated toy slide that three characters slide down, climb up and slide down again (with like an esacalator stair case), going on eternally in a loop. A friend of ours (Jessie) had the same toy, but with penguins and he loved it. So, I found it online and ordered it. However, I ordered him the Old MacDonald version - there are several, evidently. The litte guys that climb the stairs and climb down in this one are a farmer, a pig and a cow. It is quite amusing, but the noise it makes (the escalator) can get to you after a while (but obviously, it doesn't both the kids as Luka can leave it on for hours and not bat an eye).

When he had had the toy for a while, he started talking about "Mary, Joseph and le petit bébé Jésus." When I finally took notice, I realized he was talking about the characters for his little slide. Too hilarious. As I may have mentioned elsewhere in this blog, he is fascinated by baby Jesus. He still remembers the neighbors lit plastic lawn nativity display from last Christmas and wonders when it is coming back. Christmas will be here before we know it now, so he will be excited to greet baby Jesus there, I am sure! He also loves the songs Jesus Loves the Little Children, Jesus Loves Me, and, the all time favorite, Il est né, le divin enfant (He is born, the divine child). I am not sure where he gets this obsession from, but I guess it is a good thing to be obsessed with! :)

For whatever reason (how do little kids' minds work?), he decided that his Old MacDonald characters were Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus. He consistently calls the pig Mary, the farmer Joseph and the cow Baby Jesus. Once for several weeks, we misplaced Joseph (the farmer) and Luka was very concerned and often asked me to find him. I was on it, but couldn't figure out what there little guy was hiding. I figured he'd turn up though and sure enough, I eventually found him behind the big armoire in the living room while plugging something in. Whew - we were glad to see him! Now, I keep a closer eye on the whole group - since they are only about an inch and half high they are easy to lose underfoot. For a while, they were kept secreted away in the little Alaska sock purse that Grandma brought him from Anchorage.

For now, we know where they are - safe and sound in the plastic Spiderman bag with Luka's "menagerie" of wild safari animals - hope they don't get scared.

The Best Crepe Recipe

I have looked for a good crepe recipe over the years and this one is the best yet. The crepes are yummy and pour out very well. It is from www.wildoats.com, modified to perfection by me.

Crepes
1 to 1 and 1/2 cups Milk
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp. Canola Oil
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp. honey

Beat together all crepe ingredients to a smooth batter. Eyeball milk to make batter thin, but not too thin. Let rest 1 hour or overnight. Beat briefly before using. Brush a heavy 8-inch skillet or crepe pan with a little oil or butter then heat. Pour in enough batter to lightly coat bottom of pan. Move pan around to spread batter so it is uniform and thin. Cook until golden. Flip gently and brown the other side. Remove from pan. Fill with your favorite filling then roll up.

What goes around...

What goes around comes around. When I was a kid, I shared a room with two of my brothers and my sister for a while. No sob story here - we had the biggest room in the house (what should have been the master bedroom - my poor parents) and each had lots of room. We all got along well and had fun at night with Mom reading us stories and/or talking till late at night. One thing I remember is how we would often ask my mom for a glass of water, saying (thinking?) we were thirsty. One of us would ask and then another would ask. What little devils! But, Mom never complained and she would always get us a glass of water. Even though we were right across from the bathroom and could have gotten it ourselves! However, now as a parent, I realize maybe she didn't want us up running around once she had gotten us in bed! :) In any case, I am sure it was annoying sometimes, but my mom was always nice about it.

Fast foward about 35 years...pretty much every night now Luka says he is hungry just when you get him in bed and about to leave for the evening after the whole routine (reading, brushing teeth, massaging him, etc.). I am not sure if he really is anymore, but it is a habit at this point. Argh! We feel bad if we don't feed him, but with little guy number 2 around too (Axel) it is exhausting to add that one more item when you you think it is done for the night! Oh well... we will survive, I am sure Luka won't always eat a banana before bed, and some day we will miss even the late night "feedings" when he is all grown up.

Party Down!

We had a party for Eve's 40th birthday and Axel's actual "birth" day. As Reynald says, it was the biggest party we ever had. There were about 40 adults and 13 kids under 6 or so (and a few teenagers). It was in our back yard and the weather cooperated. It was catered by Word of Mouth catering - who had awesome BBQ and salads. We had a special French cake (if you can call it a cake) like we had at the second day of our wedding: cream puffs filled with vanilla or chocolate cream, then covered in hardened sugar, decorated with candied almonds and nougatine. Yum! It was fun to show off Axel and to have lots of nice people to celebrate two big events with us. My mom was in town too, to help with Axel, so she was able to be here for the big party too. She had a good idea to rent a bouncy castle for the kids and that was a big success. Thanks, Mom! We also received thoughtful presents for Axel and/or me. What nice friends we have.

The day after the party (Sunday), Mom, Luka, Axel and I hustled off to church for the 9:30 service, so Luka did not have a chance to check out the back yard before taking off. When he got back home in the afternoon, he asked me if the "trampoline" (the bouncy dog) was still there. I said it wasn't, but he asked if he could check and see. I think it is not that he did not trust me, but that he was hopeful. He checked out the back yard and saw it really was gone - which he accepted resignedly (no tantrum). :)

Some other pics from the event:

Luka and buddies: Megan and Kristin

Eve, Axel, Elizabeth, Randy

Fauchère Family and Richardson Family

Bouncy Dog!

Reynald pouring French champagne