Axel and Luka Updates

Axel is pulling himself up a bit more to stand. He is not trying to walk yet on his own, but we are trying to encourage him. Last night, he had a blast with Papa and Luka when he kept trying to pull down the curtains in the living room and Papa would playfully grab his foot to keep him from causing disaster. He has a fun time at music classes with Mommy on Wednesdays and likes all the songs and especially loves playing with all the instruments (sticks, shaker, drum, scarf). He is going through a "low growth" stage maybe, in any case, he often rejects even his most favorite foods. What is up with that?!

He went with Mommy, Sanya and Kylie to the Gymboree Play Gym last Friday and had a blast crawling around on all their fun stuff. He also likes going to our neighborhood park with Mommy when Luka is at school and playing in the tunnel, the little steps and the slide (Mommy still helps him go down).

Luka is doing well in PreK. His teachers are really nice. He loves singing English and French songs still and adores riding his bike (trike) to and from school. We read the knock-knock joke book for the first time in a long time and he loved it. He was laughing his head off. It is fun to see how his humor has changed and how he gets more and more of the jokes as he gets older. even if he doesn't totally get them all, they sound funny to him and we have a lot of fun with it.

He has a fun time playing with his neighbor friend, Grant who will be three next week. They often ride trikes together or play outside or at one of their houses (mostly at Grant's, I must admit, but sometimes here).

He is excited about his birthday party (one month away-see Luka birthday count down link to the left!) and Mommy is getting ready for the monkey-themed blow out at Gymboree Play Gym. We like that place!

A Turtle Sighting in Westminster

I saw a fairly big turtle on the Big Dry Creek trail (mile 2)! It had about a foot-long shell and it was jumping into the creek at mile 2 where the water is pretty churny. Obviously, someone had it as a pet and let it loose (bad, bad you people who think you want exotic pets). Poor thing. Well, it is warm out for now, so he will survive for now, I guess. I called the city just to let them know they had an out of place visitor. I suppose that happens more than the rest of think!

Luka - champion rock climber!

Luka (aged 3 years, 10 months, 4 weeks and 1 day old!) had his first experience rock climbing today. And, it was OUTSIDE, not in a climbing gym! He was so awesome! World Championship, here he comes! Corinne and Dan were taking Ada climbing (she has been climbing since last year and is now almost 4) and invited us to come. They had all the gear set up.

When we got there (Gregory Canyon Ampitheater) Ada was starting her second climb. The climb was rated a 5.4. She looked so great! Also, it was neat to see Luka encouraging her instead of being jealous. He was saying he wanted to do it too, but he was very excited for her success and sincerely cheering her on. They really are good little buddies and a good match in the world of pre-kindgergarten dare devil sports. :)

After Ada was done, Corinne took Luka up. She was already familiar with the climb and we thought it might be better for him to have a "teacher" rather than go with one of us (less likely for him to say, "No, I don't want to, etc." to one of his parents). No danger of that as he was really into it and did an awesome job! Corinne raved about how he was a natural. :) He has been wanting to do it for a while, so I guess he knew what he wanted! She said about half way up, he turned to her, at first serious, and then broke out in a big smile and said, "I'm climbing!"

He wore Ada's climbing helmet, special kid harness and cool flame climbing shoes!

Axel and Mommy had a fun time hanging out and watching everyone (and a pretty hike to get there) and Reynald did a climb too. Dan was a trooper in belaying everyone. A nice fall day and sunny, but a bit chilly for Dan and when we were out of the sun. Axel was a sport and fell asleep on Mommy at the end. Corinne and Dan were awesome to share all their knowledge and gear with us. Thanks, you guys!



Afterward, in the car, I asked Luka who the champ climber was and he said himself (since that is what I was obviously hinting at) and was excited to add on his own "And Ada too!"












MORE PHOTOS HERE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bodeux/sets/ Then, click on the Rock Climbing set to the right to see a slide show!

What a great day!

Eve's article on the web

An article Eve wrote on the web in a translation journal:
http://accurapid.com/journal/38review.htm

Don't Eat Pete!

Luka has been talking about Don't Eat Pete for a while. With his explanation, searching on the web and some ingenuity by Mommy, we figured out how to play. Here is how to play this exciting game:

- Download and print the Don't Eat Pete grid that Mommy made for Luka.
- Get Cheerios or other small edible items.
- Place the items on some or all of the numbers on the grid.
- Have one person leave the room so the others can choose which Cheerio on which number represents "Pete."
- Let the person come back and eat Cheerios one by one.
- When the person picks the Cheerio designated as "Pete" everyone say, "Don't eat Pete! Don't eat Pete! Don't eat Pete!" and then see the kids convulse in giggles and laughter.

We are going to try it with Axel next. We think he too can play Don't Eat Pete!

Luka's Birthday Countdown

Luka's birthday is coming soon. The milestones of fall/winter, as explained to Luka today: First, comes his birthday. Then, Halloween. That is followed by Thanksgiving, then Christmas and then New Year's (fireworks!). Very exciting all that!

Keeping Track of Axel

Axel had his year check up at the doctor today. (Okay, he is 13-1/2 months; it just took a while to get in there).

His stats are:

Weight: 19 lbs 12 ounces - 10th percentile
Height: 31-1/4 inchces - 80th percentile
Head: 18-1/4 inches - 50th percentile

Here is his ticker, updating his age:

Try-Athlon

Our First Ever Try-Athlon (organized by Cameron and Eve) was a great success! It took place on Sept 9, Saturday. A day that started out a little rainy, but turned out perfectly--even for the outside pool!

The kids had a blast swimming, then biking and then running. They loved the bibs, and loved finishing the biking and running stages through the balloon arch. About 15 kids and their families were there. We had magnets too that matched the bib design and the kids received those at the end; everyone had their name called. They also received a participation ribbon. And, of course, snacks at the end: Teddy Grahams and ice cream!

Kids ranged in age from 2 (almost 3) (Melanie) to 6 or 7, I'd say. Luka was right in the middle of the pack. He was very excited and pumped his fists when he'd finish an event. There were no "winners" per se and everyone cheered everyone else on. The event starts were staggered to get the correct ages together. It really did encourage "love of sports" without any negativity about "losing" (that can come from elsewhere in life!). It was truly a great success and we are all looking forward to doing it next year!

Updated photos from Eve of the event on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bodeux/tags/tryathlon/

And, these that one of the dads posted on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bells/tags/tryathlon/

Luka is in two of these dad's photos: one is of him running, in motion, with his gray t-shirt flying out behind him, and his orange athletic shorts, along with (of course) his cool Spiderman sunglasses. He is also in the group photo with all the kids listening to instructions.

I will still try post some more photos and the event logo too. I still need to reinstall Photoshop after my computer upgrade; I am only re-installing things as I really need them (too time consuming).

Luka Update

Luka moved to PreK today at school. Yay! I think he will like it a lot and he did well. They said he only wanted to go back to his Preschool class when they had nap (thinking he could more easily avoid it, I am sure!). He is going to go full time now (Mon - Fri). I think it will help him with the consistency, and right now, I just have too much work for him to go part-time. I think it will be easier on all of us. I am planning to get him earlier, around 3:30 every day. I usually am done working by then anyway, for the most part anyway (could always find something to do, I am sure, but have to call it a day and move on!).

He also did his presentation for show and tell, finally! Miss Desiree moved him up to PreK after he did, but wanted him to get the chance to do it before he moved up. She said that she was excited to have him do it because every other kid so far had just brought a toy. His was different, so she was happy to have him do it too. She was gone when I got to school to get him (will have to ask her later how it went) but I asked him. He said, "Mommy, the kids didn't even laugh (at what he thinks is the funny part of the ABC song)." I thought they might not (might not be funny to everyone else...;) But, it sounds like he did a good job and at least it was a good excercise for him to practice and see it through.

I just signed him up for a gymanstics class at the Broomfield Rec Center with his friend Johnny. It is 50 minutes on Thursday evenings for 5 weeks. They really liked it! Johnny's mom, Axel and I waited outside. We could watch through a big glass window. It is a nice gymastics center with all the gymnastics stuff (beyond me for the most part, but balance beam, etc.). There were a lot of girls and several classes or teams out there at once, but for Luka's class of 4 and 5 year olds, there were 3 little boys and 2 girls! So, that was great. The other little boy is also Johnny. It seemed really fun and they had a good time. Also, it being once a week seems doable and not too much then. Swimming at twice a week got a bit much for him (and therefore, for me).

Luka is very imaginative and always has some game of pretend he wants to play ("Mommy, you be a monster, Axel is the baby monster and you guys run after me making monster noise; Mommy, I am a race car and you and Axel are race cars too, etc. etc.").

Tomorrow is the Try Athlon that Cameron and I have put together for the kids. We are expecting 20 kids like 3 - 7 or so. Two lengths in the pool in Louisville, two laps around the park on bikes or trikes and two laps running. Should be a blast. Will try to post pictures. We have a log and everything: bibs for the kids, magnets for them to take home, participation ribbons, snacks, water, etc. If it goes well, next year we may try to make it an official event, not just for our friends. We will see how it goes! Luka is ready for this too! He is excited about the competition and ready to go!

Axel update

Yesterday, Axel said, "Wow! Wow!" very clearly when Luka and he and I were eating dinner and I gave him a little purple spoon to use to learn how to eat himself. Luka got excited and said, "Mommy, he said 'wow'!" It was really cute to hear it come out of his mouth!

He also said "uh-oh" when we were in PA--copying Grandma saying it.

He has started clapping when he is happy about something.

Tonight, both Luka and Axel really liked it when we sang the ABC's in French and danced around.

He is really crawling around a lot. I had to get rid of a big plant in the living room that he kept getting into - we'd play a game where I'd say "No, no, no, no, no!" and he'd laugh his head off...but he kept getting into it when I wasn't looking, so it had to go. He is really into his toys and playing with stuff: his big plastic trucks, bowls, containers where he sticks his head in and makes an echo noise, Baby Tad, his LeapFrog caterpillar, etc.

He has not been eating a ton lately. He wants to nurse a lot, but not eating much solid food. He has taken to accepting what is offered in his mouth (chicken, etc.) and then immediately spitting it out. !!! Luka did that too when he was little for a stage, so I guess he will get over it.

Otherwise, he is still the winner of the nicest baby award. He is very easy going and a sweet little man.

Bike ride: Breckenridge to Copper and back!

32 fun miles from Breck to Cooper and back! Luka and Axel where the champs in the Chariot (bike trailer), Eve did great, and Reynald is one beast of a bike ride pulling the kids and all their gear up and down all those hills! Fun, fun!

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy birthday to me! Plans for today: get a facial and a spa pedicure with Ann (we were born the same day and the same year and often go to a restaurant together--this is a new idea for our joint birthday celebration!).

Luka asked me, "Mommy, when is your party?" I told him Mommies don't always have parties and that I was going to the "spa".

Reynald gave me a dozen lovely orange roses and a card. He always writes great cards. 14 years together, two little men, and continuing to move into the future...!

I also got a card from Laurie Ann and one from Karen. They never forget. :) Thanks, girls!

Luka's ABC Show and Tell

It was Luka's turn to do Show and Tell today (a new thing for his class). The assigned theme was "Back to School." I gave him some suggestions (teach your friends some French words about school, sing ABC song in French) that were a no go. But, he liked the idea of playing his favorite song (really) for his friends at school: an ABC song with a British guy who makes a "mistake" as he firsts starts singing ("A, B, C....Zed...no, that's not right!"). Luka finds that hilarious.

We practiced, and his presentation is supposed to go something like this:

- Hi, guys, I am going to talk about the ABC's today because ABC's are something we learn in school. (Shows his paper, protected in plastic, with the ABC's that Mommy printed from her computer in different colors)

- I am going to play my favorite ABC song for you.

- Miss Desiree, can you start the song now? (She starts the CD....)

I am wondering how it really went, and will ask the teacher later today when I pick him up. In any case, it was a good exercise for him to practice his presentation and he was excited about it.

Update: he did not get to do it at school, so the teacher said we'd try next week. I hope it works out!