Défilé du St Nicolas in Reynald's Hometown (or village, as it were)

Luka had a great time tonight seeing the Saint Nicolas parade here in Reynald's hometown, the village where Reynald's parents live. It was just one float in addition to the St. Nicolas float, and he was there with Père Fouatard, who is the one who punishes kids if they are bad. Though, on the float he was pretty nice - throwing candy along with St. Nicolas and giving people switches/sticks if they asked. :) The other float was from a local group equal to the Moose or Elks. Funny. Luka liked the candy part a lot and was trying his best to compete with the others to get some in his little pocket (he succeeded a few times and Mommy helped).

It was a cold (rainy) night but Luka and I had fun following the floats as they played Christmas music along with lots of other people in town. The songs were French ones he knows due to our "studies" together in French music. They included the song about St. Nicolas (kind of creepy if you listen to the words - he reconstitutes little kids that were chopped up and eaten by an evil butcher - Medieval times are obvious as the origins for that scary story) and the Sabot de Lorraine. We walked past a church and in various neighborhoods and people's houses lit with holiday lights. We walked over the bridge after going in a circle around the Hôtel de Ville and then past Reynald's parents house. We stopped there as the others went on. Right before their house, there was a neighbor with quite a display of lights and a nativity scene (but no baby Jesus - had someone taken him away?) and a little house with a Christmas tree and animals.

Reynald's cousin who is currently working at a hotel in Paris pointed out that St. Nicolas celebrations are specific to Northeastern France and the Eastern parts of Europe - Germany, Poland, etc. It is not celebrated in other parts of France. Lucky us! I did not recall that, but do not remember that now from my year in Southern France. In any case, it is a great holiday and glad it is part of our family's traditions. Reynald's dad said that when he was little, St. Nicolas day was when the kids got gifts and Christmas was solely a religious holiday.

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

Paul W’s Blueberry Pudding Recipe

(from Eve Lindemuth Bodeux)

½ cup sugar
2 TBS butter, softened
2 eggs
½ cup molasses
½ cup milk plus 2 TBS (See note 1)
3 cup flour (See note 2)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp nutmeg
2 – 3 cups wild blueberries (See mpte 3)

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs. Beat. Add molasses. Beat. Add milk. Beat. In separate bowl, mix together flour, soda and spices. Add flour mixture to molasses mixture. Mix well. Add blueberries. Mix well – some berries will break and the batter will have a nice purple hue in parts. Turn into greased 8 x 11.5 or 9 x 13-inch. Bake 20 – 45 minutes till done, depending on pan. Serve as a cake or in a bowl with milk and sugar sprinkled on top.

Notes:
1 Original recipe calls for ½ cup milk only, but the batter is much too thick. Add additional milk carefully – it should still be fairly thick and a bit difficult to spread in the pan.

2 I use whole wheat pastry flour – it goes well with the rustic style. However, white flour is fine.
3 The original recipe calls for 1 quart berries and that the berries be rolled/coated in flour before adding to batter. (To prevent from sinking to the bottom of the pudding). However, I have never found this to be necessary. Berries should be wild – fresh picked or frozen (such as Cascadian Farm brand). I have also made the pudding with raspberries before as a variation and it is good too.

Axel Update

We can't believe that Axel is now over 2 weeks old! Before we know it, he will be three like Luka! No ... it goes too fast! Axel is eating (nursing) very well and gaining weight like a little champ. He had gained his birth weight back anda bit more by August 11 when he weighed 7 lbs and 14.5 oz. Then, on August 19, he weighed 8 lbs 4 oz!

Grandma is here to help us with our two little guys and Axel likes having her hold him and Luka likes his playmate. He will be sad when she goes!

Axel is an easy baby so far. In the evenings, he usually goes down to sleep from about 10 p.m. to about 2 a.m. or so. So, a good long stretch before he wants to be fed. Then, he eats or wakes (for diaper change or whatever) every hour or so after that. But, he usually snoozes pretty quickly after getting a middle-of-the-night snack and then wakes up again periodically.

During the day, he still sleeps a lot - especially when we go in the car to do errands - but he is getting more and more alert. He looks so cute with his little eyes open and looking around. I am thinking soon he will be able to go in the little bouncy seat I bought him at the mother-of-twins sale.

With Luka we used a cloth diaper service till he was about 7 months old (when we went to AK to visit), but Axel is using disposable diapers. They are much less bulky, though they leak too unless you fan out the leg part inside. When we first started using them, they leaked every time!

Axel is also good about the Baby Bjorn front carrier. He likes it more than Luka ever did. Axel did it for the first time when he was maybe 10 days old and now has done it 3 or 4 times.

Last weekend, we went hiking in Rocky Mt. National Park around Bear Lake - Grandma, me and Axel in carrier and Luka walking, and then started up the trail to Nymph Lake, but Luka then said, "Maman, je veux dormir dans le sac à dos," so we had to turn around. We didn't have the kid-carrying back pack with us! I was impressed he remembered that since we have not done it in several months (but he did use it a lot in the winter with us).

Then, Sunday, we hiked one of the trails in Boulder at Chataqua and Luka did awesome - we hiked about 2.5 hours over big rocks. Luka was a real champ and so was Axel, doing the whole trail in the Baby Bjorn on Papa's tummy. My little mountain climbers!

Luka Gets Promoted to Preschool

On Monday, August 22, Luka started in a new class at his school. They mark August 22 as the beginning of the new school year and Luka moved to a new class with some of his other buddies. His friend Kristin was already in the same preschool class so that is good that they are in the same one. There are several preschool classes because that is a popular program. This was an easier transition than when he moved from the little kids class (1 - 2 year olds, called Toddler 1) to the Toddler 3 class (2 - 3 year olds) last year. The first day after preschool, Luka said, "Mommy, I had a good day!"

He has also, on the suggestion of Grandma, been riding his bike (trike) to school every morning. Go, Luka!

His new teachers are Debbie, Jamie and Cory (who was also a Toddler 1 teacher). In a few weeks, Rachel will replace Cory in the later afternoon. His teachers in Toddler 3 were Majel and Rhandine for a long time. He really liked Rhandine and she was wonderful. She was due with her first child a few weeks before I was due with Axel, so in July, she was replaced with Sophie. Sophie was awesome too and seemed to really like Luka. He liked her a lot. Then, Majel was replaced with Danielle. Luka just had her for a few weeks before moving to preschool, but she seemed really good and interested in the kids and organized too. She was the new head teacher.

Luka loves school and it was time to move up to preschool where they are a little more independent. He is now going in the big kids potty in the main hallway too (as opposed to having a potty just for his room).

Luka's class makes us a congratulations card

When I went to drop off Luka this a.m. at school, his teacher Sophie told me to wait a second and she went to get something for us (we were in the creative movement room). Then, all the kids, including Luka, helped her hand it to me. It was a big red card that said "Congratulations" on it in glitter and inside, each kid's name was there with a glitter signature, and the teachers had signed too (Miss Danielle, Miss Sophie and Miss Mandi). Sophie said that Luka (and all the kids) was very excited when they were making the card on Wednesday. :)

Luka can ride his bike!

Luka has loved to "ride" his tricycle since he got it for his birthday (I think it was his first birthday...?) - "Je veux faire du vélo !" but he didn't get the idea of pedaling...until tonight! Reynald and he just back from a quick evening ride with Luka in the trailer and Reynald called me outside to see Luka pedaling for the first time! He wanted to ride his own bike after getting back from the ride with Papa. He is doing awesome! He is very proud and wants no pushing now from us - he wants to do it all himself. We will have to get this on video. Go, Luka!

WELCOME AXEL WILLIAM BODDEUX!

Baby Bodeux #2 made his big appearance on his due date! More info to come. For now, here are the important details:

Axel William Bodeux
Born August 6 at 9:56 p.m.
7 lbs 13 oz.
20.5 inches long

See http://co54.home.comcast.net/ for photos!

Update 08/10/5 - Axel's umbilical cord fell off this a.m. Mommy's milk came in at noon yesterday.

Luka took this photo-montage to school today to show his teachers and friends how proud he is to be the big brother.

Reynald and baby:

Eve and baby:

Baby #2 Update - Due Date -1

Today is the day before the baby's "official" due date - Saturday, Aug 6th. At my now weekly appointment, the doctor said I am 3 cm dilated, 50% effaced and that he is at station -2. So, he could come anytime... The weekend would be perfect, so maybe tonight? Luka obliged us by arriving on a Saturday morning, so perhaps his brother will just as accommodating! I love being pregnant and am somewhat sad it will be over soon as this will likely be my last time, but it is time for him to come now.

Luka is doing well, but must sense something - he is particularly attached to both Reynald and me lately. "I want you, Mama!" "Papa - je veux aller au travail avec toi !" I feel bad that he will be without us for a few days while we are at the hospital, but he is resilient and I am sure he will do fine.

Little man #2 could come any time, so watch this space!

Hiking at Rocky Mt. National Park

Today we took our last hike as a family for a little while. Little man #2 could arrive any day, so until he can go out with us, may be a few months. But, soon, I am sure he will be a little mountain goat like his brother Luka - starting out in the back pack and soon running up the trails himself. We went to Rocky Mountain National Park and were glad to use our park pass another time.

I am two weeks away from my due date, but my gut feeling is, the baby would not come early and we were a bit stir-crazy from the very hot weather we've been having that kept us inside recently. Record breaking temps up to 105 degrees in the Denver area!

Luka had a blast and we met a nice family with six kids (4 little girls and 2 boys they were taking care of). He has so much fun hiking and playing with them that he was heart broken to leave them at the end of the day. He is very social and it is often traumatic for him to separate from friends or family.

I have a big tummy (see photo!) and some people seemed impressed such a pregant mama was on the trail, but others obviously thought I was some kind of nut. :) The family we met asked when I was due and I was (almost) embarrased to tell them (38 weeks along). But, I was right - I felt good getting the excercise and Luka and Reynald had a great time too. And, anyway, the nearest hospital was Boulder where we are going to give birth anyway. Since we are now home safe and sound, that is all a moot point.

We started at the the Bear Lake trailhead and went to Dreamland lake. Luka was very happy to put his feet in the water like some of the other kids - though they were red a bit from the coldness of the lake. He had wanted to go swimming, but we convinced him otherwise (not safe and forbidden).

We had been up here before when I was ~1 month pregnant, on snowshoes in December. Then, there were just a few other people. Luka was on his skis then, I think, for part of it. This time, he hiked the entire way. It was fun to see it in winter and in summer. Nice in summer too - but very popular with lots of people! Actually, considering the situation, this time around, that was not a bad thing.

It's Summer Time...

...and the livin' is easy. Or, so the song goes. Actually, I'd say that, this week, the livin' is hot. :) But we have been enjoying the summer lifestlye. Summer to me also means strawberry shortcake and homemade ice cream. Last night I made a strawberry shortcake - the recipe we always used in my family from Better Homes & Gardens. It is easy and yummy.

Strawberry Shortcake

1/4 c sugar, divided
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c margarine or butter
1 beaten egg
2/3 c milk

6 c strawberries
1/4 c sugar
whipped cream

Stir together berries and 1/4 c sugar; set aside in fridge; stir every 15 minutes or so. Stir together flour, baking powder, and 1/4 c sugar. Cut in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine egg and milk; add all at once to dry ingredients. Stir just to moisten (be careful, if you over-stir, the cake will be tough). Spread into a greased 8x1/2-inch round baking pan. Bake at 450 for 15 - 18 minutes till done. Let cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and split into 2 layers. Spoon berries and berry liquid and whip cream over top.

Dad's Ice Cream

This recipe is for a traditional (hand-crank) ice cream freezer. To make it in a smaller ice cream freezer (like the Cuisinart I have now), cut it down or it will never freeze. I cut it down by 1/3 or 2/3's, depending. Also, I guess this is recipe is technically ice milk, but it is what I grew up eating, so it tastes just right. Homemade ice cream that is heavy on the cream tastes too rich to me.

1-1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
3 cans evaporated milk
milk (not fat free)

Put around 3 c of the fruit of your choice aside, mashed, mixed with 1/4 c sugar. Add the eggs and sugar to the freezer, then the rest. Fill up to the "fill" line with regular milk. (If you are using a Cuisinart, don't fill too full, or it won't freeze hard enough.) Freeze until set, according to the instructions for your ice cream maker. Eat it fast - homemade ice cream is never frozen hard like the store bought kind. You can also put any leftovers in the freezer in an air tight container, but it is better when first made.

Eve Preg Pic

Eve Pregnant picture



Reynald took this picture of me to make sure we have some this late in the game: July 18, 2005. Baby's due date is August 6, 2005.

It's a new car!

Well, new to us anyway. Did I already say in here somewhere that our Ford Escort finally gave out? What a relief. 3-1/2 years ago, the mechanic said it could die any day and we put not one dime into since then - except for one oil change - and the !#$&%* thing would not die! We had sort of started looking for another car in the last few months anyway. The Ford was (poor) Reynald's commuter car to work. Luka had only been in it a very few times (on way to airport or whatever) because it could have stopped working at anytime... And I rarely drove it either. I worried that Reynald would die in it or something though, and we'd be sorry for not shelling out for a different vehicle!

It all worked out though - finally, about three weeks ago, Reynald called me and said the deed was done - yay! We were relieved, but I must say, it was nice over the years not to have to pay any car maintenance - hee hee. We just purchased a 2000 RAV 4 - a sporty, mini SUV with 4-wheel drive. Mostly, I think I will drive it. We will see how we feel when little man #2 is added to the back seat if I keep this one or go back to the CR-V.

In any case, buying a car is always stressful and an annoying process. But, within that parameter, so far I feel okay about this one and Luka and I are having fun tooling around in it.

Baby #2 Update

3 weeks and a few days to go - today is Thurs and it will be 3 weeks till D-Day (due date) on Saturday. Little man #2 seems to be healthy and happy in my tummy. I am thinking he will be like Luka and come out near his due date. Though when Luka was born, he was assessed at being 41 weeks! So, hopefully, this little guy (due date for him established by ultra sound, as opposed to Luka), won't decide to stay in a week past his due date!

Luka and I went to my (now weekly) OB appointment today. Baby's heartbeat is good and I measured 37 weeks - right on. I am getting pretty tired now, but feel good otherwise. Luka cries when they use the doppler to listen to the heartbeat and in general cries when he goes to appointments with (for) mommy. Not sure why, but I try to avoid taking him when I can...

We have a short list for #2's names, so will see what we come up with. We are leaning toward one that is pronounced (basically) the same in English and French, but is not that common in either. (Though we were surprised to see it listed as the 23rd most popular name in France!). Neither of us know anyone with this name, but both have heard it before. Well, will have to wait till the little guy comes out and see what he says his name is.

Spanish Numbers

Luka learned to count to ten in Spanish at school and he loves doing it. Maybe eventually, we will have him take Spanish lessons too. :) Sometimes, he will do it in English and/or Spanish, but refuse to do French. (French counting was his first experience/language to count in - I think it is just old hat, and he wants to do the "fun" counting.) In any case, he is very into it and I had to refresh how the Spanish numbers are properly pronounced to help him out - though he does a great job (just 4 and maybe 8 were a bit off).

The Mystery of Coliforme

A word that Luka has been saying and been excited about for several weeks was coliforme, or something like that. We couldn't figure it out. Whatever the real word is, that is close to what he is saying and neither I or Reynald could figure out what the real word was. It is something in French. Sometimes, I will ask Luka if he is a coliforme and he usually laughs and says no. Sometimes, he gets mad and says, "Je ne suis pas un coliforme, Maman!"

We finally figured out this was some word he was learning from one of his T'Choupi DVD's. Then, we got that it was actually coliforme des montagnes (coliforme of the mountains) and narrowed it down to the episode where T'Choupi goes camping. We thought it was the one where T'Choupi picks mushrooms with his Papi (Grandpa), and thought it was some kind of mushroom. But, various spellings didn't pan out in the dictionary. Then, Luka said it was the episode when T'Choupi goes camping - now we are getting somewhere!

Today, when he was watching T'Choupi, he got all excited and said, "Maman, coliforme - coliforme des montagnes!" It turns out it is the episode where T'Choupi goes camping. He is in the tent and is scared when he hears an owl hoot. And, he says something like, "Doudou, c'est le coliforme des montagnes," however, Luka was so excited to show me the episode that he kept talking over T'Choupi and I couldn't hear the exact word. I will check with Reynald - as the native French speaker, I am sure he will figure it out. It seems like it means "monster" or something like that. So, we will see. For now, the coliforme mystery is not totally solved!

Update 07/16/05 - The Mystery Resolved

I went out today to get my toes done (last time before the baby is born). They look great with flowers on the big toes. (Thanks, Jenni!) While I was gone, Reynald watched the "T'Choupi goes Camping" episode with Luka, and solved the coliforme mystery!

T'Choupi hears the owl and he says, "C'est le grosnivore des montagnes." Well, the reason we didn't solve it earlier is that "grosnivore" is not a word - but something T'Choupi made up: gros as in big and -invore as in "carnivore," we are guessing. So, I guess, to T'Choupi, that means "scary thing that lives in the woods." Well, that mystery is solved, but I think around here, we will still say "coliforme." :)

Luka Leads Circle Time

Today at Luka's school, when I picked him up at the end of the day, his teacher Sophie was excited to have him tell me that he led circle time. I asked if she always had the kids do it to teach them how to be up in front of a group. She said, no, she was just starting to do that though to see if they enjoyed it more if one of their own led the group, and Luka was the first one! She is very nice and is always enthusiastic about him. She said he did an awesome job, up in the "leader's chair" and sang his ABC's (in English) and tapped out the rhythm on his knees. He then proceed to jump on the chair and show me. He did awesome! She said at circle time he then sang a song in French for them and she was really impressed. It might have been "Dansons la capucine" but I am not sure - I told her he knows so many and has lots of favorites. In any case, I was proud of my little man!

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!"