House

Toy Store

There's a newish small toy store in our neighborhood that offers a (free!) playroom in the back for the kiddies while the parents shop or hang out. Lucas and I sometimes visit when we want to get out of the house and the weather is frigid or rainy. The highlight for Lucas: a big table covered in train tracks and bridges and tunnels, and also a miniature piano and standing chalkboard easel.

Only problem is that it's located right smack next to our little grocery store, which when you can only carry a few bags at a time with a kid in a stroller usually means that we shop for food every 2-3 days.

Which means Lucas thinks he should be allowed to visit the playroom every time we pass by to purchase food. Which means no potty anywhere nearby for Mami's pregnancy bladder. Which means lots of sad excuses for why we can't go on this day instead of why we can. Which means a frustrating exchange, both for the Mama and a two-year old who just can't understand.

Which means, more often than not, an empty fridge and pantry...

Baby Talk

As we round the corner towards our last few weeks before baby brother arrives, we're trying to enjoy these final days of being a family of three while it lasts. We talk often with Lucas about the baby and how things will change when he's here. Lucas knows that babies get held a lot (because they can't walk), that they cry sometimes (because they can't talk), that they drink momma-milk, and that they are very small. He loves, loves his newborn cousin Liam and asks to see him most everyday. When he does see him, he showers him with kisses and touches him in a surprisingly gentle manner. For the last couple of months he's liked to pretend that he's a baby who needs soothing. I hold him in my lap (whatever's left of it) and call him my "baby bird" and he calls me "Mami Bird." He pretends to cry, and I tell him, "Don't worry, Mami's here." Afterwards, he says that he's happy again. We usually end up wrestling afterwards, during which Lucas sometimes pauses and looks at my abdomen and says "Mama is big!"

A while back ago, we were at a department store, when Lucas pointed out to me that he could hear a baby crying in a stroller closeby. I asked him what we should tell the baby to help her, and the translation to Lucas's answer was basically: "Don't cry, baby - Mami's here." I added to that, "And Papi's here. And Lucas is here." Ever since then, when he hears a baby cry, either on the street or in a playgroup or on t.v., he says, "Lucas is here, Papi is here, Mami is here - don't cry."

Having a baby in the house is going to turn his world upside down for a while, but we're getting some good glimpses that he'll make a great big brother. Agreed?

Owl's Head Park

Abuelo and Abuela (whom Lucas calls "'Lo y 'La", respectively) have been in town all week to help baby Liam's parents get through their second week. It's been a bit of a tease for Lucas to only get to see them here and there, mostly whenever we decide to stop by his aunt and uncle's apartment for a visit. He's been asking almost every day if we can take the "'Way Train" (subway) to visit "Tata" (Tia), "Maquin" (Tio) and "Baby Lee-ee"(Liam), and 'Lo and 'La's blue car. One such day Abuelo and Papi took Lucas to a lovely park closeby while everyone else slept/rested before dinner. Some pictures that Papi took while they all played with the soccer ball:

More Rainy Days

Actually, it was an icy, snowy day. But Lucas had gotten used to me bringing along an umbrella that this day he requested to hold his own "baby umbrella" to take along while running the usual errands.

Oh, No He Di'nt...

Oh, yes he did. This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago when the weather became strangely warm for a couple of days. I turned my back for two seconds to grab the soccer ball while apparently Lucas was making a b-line for this puddle. I took the photo after he had emerged from the calf-deep pool.

He was wet all the way up to his crotch and happy as can be (that is, until about half an hour later when he started to feel cold and "sticky" then refused to sit in the stroller and preferred to slosh his way home on foot).

Pretending To Eat Like A Bunny

By the way, pictures of cousin Liam are being continually updated. Check out our previous post and click on the link to view his web album!

A Taste Of Heaven

Meet Lucas's first cousin, Liam Elian Antonio (three names for the total number of days Tia was in labor)! Born on 2/22 at 2:22 p.m. (!), weighing 6 lbs. 2 oz. and measuring 18 in. long.

Isn't he beautiful? We're smitten and can't wait for them to get home to us! It feels great to be a tio and a tia to this precious little boy!

Wanna see more? Click here.

Snow!

According to Lucas, yesterday we made a "snow house," "snow balls," and a "snow man" (who quickly turned into the likeness of a snow buddha after he hacked at it with the shovel).

Meet Our New Baby

Our sweet girl is here! We welcomed our little bundle of love via UPS on Thursday at 8:30 p.m., weighing in at around 40 lbs. and measuring 17 1/4 x 17 19/32 x 29 29/32 inches!

In the very short time that she's been with us, she's already given us so much joy. Though we'll still have to trek it to the laundromat once a week for regular loads, we've been singing Steve Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely?" all night and day because having her in the apartment will allow us to more easily and affordably enter the brave new world of cloth diapering -- 6.6 lbs. at a time of these little beauties, to be exact:

So far Lucas hasn't paid too much attention to the new addition to our family. He was just glad that she came with the lovely gift of an extra large box for hours upon hours of pretending to be a train running through a tunnel:

Oldie But Goodie

We were cleaning out old pictures from Papi's work computer when we came across this forgotten video, taken in early December. It was too cute to pass up here, as it makes all three of us crack up every single time:

Stroller Derby

That's right sports fans, it's a blog entry that you've long been waiting for: what new and exciting game will Lucas invent this time? This week he has offered for your very own viewing and playing pleasure... Stroller Derby.

First, everyone grab their favorite stroller. Here, Lucas grabs the controversial, stereotype-breaking, light, and nimble pink stroller 2007, and Papi chooses the smart-looking, racing striped, Cubs-colored Subway Stroller 2006. Then, place within the seat your favorite snuggly toy. Lucas chose Blankie, of course, and then chose the soccer ball for Papi.

Next you race around the apartment (I have been told houses will probably suffice as well). As you will notice in the pictures below, your excitement is enhanced if you run with your eyes watching the wall pass by, since hallways don't usually allow for side-by-side racing.

Then, finally, it is appropriate to rest your trusted steed next to you on the couch:

Weekend

Grandma and Grandpa just left after visiting for a week, and since then Lucas has loved to talk about how "Pa y Pa" (the best we could get out him all week) played ball with him, blew bubbles, and took a bus ride. . .

Tio and Tia hosted a little Baby Coming Celebration at our home, where Lucas couldn't decide between a purple and yellow cupcake. Knowing that the icing is usually too sweet to allow for him to finish just one, I let him have a go at both to see what he'd do:

For some reason he became tired of switching or perhaps bringing a cupcake to his mouth. All of a sudden he placed them on a plate and began going at it:

Once he realized he had an audience, he continued to perform:

Mama the Whale with Lucas's brother-to-be and Tata (Lucas's new name for his Tia) with Lucas's cousin-to-be:

Yes, Mama feels as tired as she looks. And Tata is due in just a few weeks! (What they're both really thinking: "What have we gotten ourselves into?!")

Green Eggs, No Ham

Remember this post? After he lost interest, the book was filed back onto the shelf but has recently seen a revival. On the first day we read it again, we decided to make our own green eggs for lunch. I knew he wouldn't eat them scrambled, and turning the yolks from yellow to green while intact wasn't an option, so we tried a drop of green food coloring on the whites and swirled it about. He had a great time helping me cook and following the process while looking back and forth between the book and stove:

Don't be fooled. He wanted nothing to do with the egg, even though he marched back to the kitchen to find himself a fork (preferred over the spoon these days). We fed him an egg almost every other day for over a year and we think we ruined it for him because it's one of the only foods he usually refuses to even taste now.

Poor thing, afterwards he asked for "jamon? jamon?" and we didn't have any. He settled for beige bunny crackers dipped in beige hummus instead.

These Are The Days We Wish We Had A Washer/Dryer