With Tio A.

Lately...

Some of you have been asking what new things Lucas has been up to lately, and not just the little moments we capture on camera for you to see. ["Isn't that enough?!" asks the tired blogger.] I can now appreciate the question during these days that Lucas is revealing so much to us that I sometimes can't keep up with all the story recounting that I have for Papi at the end of the day. So here's a list of little things that come to mind from over the last few days from my perspective in Lucas Land:

-He says "peas" (please) and "mah-coo" (thank you) -- and in context! He knows that "please" will get him what he wants and that "thank you" is a feeling of gratitude. I just think this is amazing! The other night I was massaging his legs with oil while he and Papi were reading books on the bed as we usually do before bedtime, and he stopped and looked at me with ga-ga eyes and said oh-so sweetly, "Mah-coo, Mama." You're so welcome, Lukie! Sometimes he'll beat us to the punch and say thank you on our behalf when he's the one who has been helpful or has shared something.

-He asks to ride on the bus or subway almost daily.

-The boy gives a running commentary in Spanglish all day long. He especially does this the very moment he wakes up from a nap, as if he's been away on an adventure and has so much to catch us up on: "Mama! El bus va [goes] fast! He loves to recount the day and describe what's going on in the books we read (especially books about the subway).

-He's picked up "okay" in place of "heh" (previous indicator of the affirmative). He'll even ask us for something and answer the question himself before we can reply: "Papi, mas leche? Okay." Or, "No mas banana, please. Okay." [A little manipulative, huh?] Sometimes he'll give you a "si," which somehow makes him sound so adult-like to us.

-The kid can count in both English and Spanish. When he gets to "10," he says "e-ya-ya" (11), two-why (12), then follows with "thirteen, thirteen, thirteen, nineteen, nineteen, nineteen!"

-He's beginning to exhibit toddler pickiness and desire for control. Wants his spinach next to his couscous but not mixed together, thank you very much. Wants his carrot sticks on a separate plate from his almonds, or I'll have a meltdown right this moment and will refuse to eat anything more! He'll say "hi" to a passing stranger, but if they say hi back, he closes his eyes and yells "No!" Sometimes if I stop to talk to a friend on the street, Lucas will say "Mama, No Hi!" if he doesn't want me to stop and chat. Geez Louise.

-Bubbles and crayons and chalk and legos and lollipops are in. Getting dressed, brushing his teeth, and putting things back where they belong used to be in but are now out.

-After breakfast and a few hours of play, he used to wake me up whenever Papi gave the signal with lots of hugs and cuddling and laughing, handing me my glasses and slippers, then eventually pulling on the lamp cord to turn on the light. Lately all that's devolved to a more rude awakening with Lucas turning on the lamp, grabbing my glasses from the nightstand and shoving them in my face, then pleas for "up! up!" Needless to say, Mama doesn't like this.

-He pauses to say hi to us throughout the day. Lately the usual "Hi, Mama!" has turned into: "Hi, mi [my] mama," probably because I call him "mi nino" or "mi Lukie.

-Lucas will still go for the last syllable of a word if he can't say the entire thing: computadora is "ra," lollipop is "pop," sofa is "fa," jugo is "go," blankie is "key," and so on. Sometimes if he does include all syllables, the word tends to start with an "m" sound: "Muh-cus" (Lucas), "Mah-coo" (thank you), etc.

-He knows most colors by now, but many are still associated with a character: black is "black," purple is "purple..." but blue is now "Thomas-blue," green is "Dipsey-green" and so on.

-He loves to run his fingers through hair, especially mine (and sometimes Papi's beard). He'll be in the middle of playing with his buses and then he'll stop cold and decide to run his fingers through my hair, followed by hugs and "cuckles" (cuddles). The other night he was touching my hair and I asked him what color it was. He exclaimed, "Black!" And what color is Papi's hair? After a short pause he said, "Yellow." And what color is Lucas's hair? Long pause... then he changed the subject. We haven't talked about the color brown much, and certainly not "mousy brown with golden blonde flecks," so it all seemed very fair. :)

Seems like Lucas has been completely decoded for y'all here. Who's ready to come over and babysit?

On a baby-related side note, we're 30 weeks along, and the monkey's head is now down! He's been hanging out transverse all this time, which wasn't that big of a deal because there's plenty of time left. But since we're once again trying to avoid giving birth in a hospital, much less a c-section, we're willing him to stay in this position from now on! Mama has already gained more weight at this point than she did during the entire pregnancy with Lucas! (Oopsies, as Lucas likes to say.) Maybe this will help make for a bigger baby the next time. . .?

Hello Kitty

There are spas out the wazoo in our neighborhood (and 99 cent stores, and pizza and bagel joints, and banks, and salons, and fruit stands, and pubs...). But there is one in particular that Lucas asks to visit while out on walks because of the huge goldfish tank in the foyer that you can see from the street and especially this cat with a bobbing/waving arm:

Candle

Each night we light a candle on the table at dinner. This holds several symbolic significances for Mama and Papi, but at this point, to Lucas it seems to signal the start (and end) of dinner as we light it to sit and then blow it out before leaving the table:

His calls it "cake":

Tunnels

We make them all day long for his buses and trains: out of couch cushions, our bodies, legos, whatever we find in the recycling box. . .

It's about time that we give a couple more shout-outs to two new friends who were born recently and whom we can't wait to meet: Eli Brock Brimer, and Isabella (Izzy) Sinclair Parks. Welcome, sweet babes!

Papi's Shoe

Big Changes Are Happenin'

Transitioning from the crib to his own bed in his own room (sniff, sniff):

And today Mama was up before the light of dawn to get in line with all the other crazy NYC parents in order to register Lucas for half-day preschool next fall. Since this required giving about the equivalent of a down payment on a house, this one's happenin' whether he's ready or not!

On a further random note, a few hours later when I asked him what his name was, he said "Muh-cus!" Hah!

Cooking

Playing with one of his Christmas presents, a stainless steel cooking set:

Taste-testing:

Adjusting the seasonings:

Sometimes he'll do this as he sings the chorus at the end of this song.

Pomegranate

He likes to take one at a time, let it burst in his mouth, then he pauses to say "Pop!" before going for another:

Herald Square

Epiphany has come and gone, the Christmas tree is in the process of coming down, and that new year's exciting energy has leveled off a bit now that Papi has gone back to work and life has been settling down again. So, today we're reminiscing over another adventurous day that we had last month. We had decided to brave the crowds and check out the Macy's window displays during the weekend of New Year's Eve (what were they thinking?!) and had a great time.

For those of you who know Papi and his sense of humor, here he is giving that "smirk" on his face that tends to pop up as he teases Abuela about something. Lucas was just glad to be getting kisses from Tia on one side and warm pretzel bites from Abuela on the other:

Catching Tio B. and Tia's first reaction upon seeing Lucas when we arrived off the subway to meet them. One can't help but light up when seeing him! :)

At the window displays. Lucas did great, considering that he doesn't do well in crowds, and this touristy place would make any person feel claustrophobic no matter what time of year it is. He clung to his blankie for dear life and sometimes asked to hold my hand while being pushed through the dark in the stroller. Other times when the crowd became too thick, we held him in our arms and gave him a better view than just the back of other peoples' knee caps:

Afterwards we stopped through K-town for yummy Korean grub. Lucas isn't always so patient with his chopsticks but was very focused this time as he stabbed chunks of spicy tofu and in between would stuff his mouth with bean sprouts and some of Mama's bibimbap:

I guess once you're already out there in the chaos, you decide to plunge in deeper. We walked all the way to Rockefeller Center to check out the big tree:

A better view once we finally made it around the block:

Happy New Year!

May your new year be filled with tenderness and love...

raucous laughter and joy...

and... a sweet end:

Love, the A-S family