All Hallow's Eve

It's that time of year again, when we dress up our unsuspecting little one and parade him around in the streets. Lucas only half seemed to notice/care that he had a special vest on (luckily the gel-in-the-hair application went unnoticed, too), then it was all about his new toy motorcycle and then sometimes receiving weird little boxes from neighbors and strangers on the street. We're taking advantage of the fact that he has at least one more year without say in what he gets to dress up as and is still relatively oblivious (until tonight, that is) to the idea of candy.

You can't tell here, but the side of his sunglasses reads, "Thugs."

Lucas opens wide while Christopher picks a wedgie. Priceless!

This is the "Oh look, Mama's pulling out the camera again, so I'll just look away" trend that we've been seeing lately. Needless to say, he thinks it's a lot more charming than we do. . .

Children and parents beware: what happens at the end of the day after consuming all that sugar:

"It's Electric! (Boogie Woogie Woogie)"

Sunday Fun

It's been a busy week around here and the weekend was no different. But there's always Sunday afternoon and time with Lucas's beloved Tio and Tia to be lazy and relax. First, a visit to our neighborhood's art fair, where Lucas seemed to almost be showing off his Tio and Tia with a huge grin on his face as they walked around:

Visiting (and then -- we kid you not -- kicking) the decorated pumpkins (before we made a swift removal and moved on to make trouble elsewhere):

To Tia and Tio's house, where the silliness really began:

I turn away for two minutes (mind you, leaving Lucas with three other adults) and this is what happens:

We're gonna pay for this later when Lucas decides he wants to play this game at home:

Wanting To Be A Part Of All The Activity

More Pics from (Where Else?) The Park The Other Day

Big-Kid Swings

He's saying "up," and though he usually sits on mama's lap on the big-kid swings, this day he tried it out solo. He seemed to understand the leg-pumping thing but not so much the hang-on-tight part. He also says "higher" like a Brooklynite: "Hi-yuh!"

Another fun swing that Lucas likes -- it has the buckles he loves to snap plus it twists!

One-Track Minded

It's trains and buses all day long, we're afraid. First thing in the morning after Lucas wakes up (and after lots of snuggling with Mama and Papi), he runs to his favorite toys in the living room, moving them along the walls and along our bodies, making them crash or setting them up side by side to compare. He talks to them, sings to them, narrates their noises, bathes with them, sometimes goes to sleep with one. We don't leave the house without Bertie the Bus or James the train, and at the park he pretends to let them ride on every surface possible. Here's a glance at Lucas's handiwork before he goes to bed at night so that they'll all be together in the living room and ready for him in the morning:

And here's what he did one day when I told him to grab a train to get ready to go outside:

And here's rare proof (more for my own sake, really) that he sometimes plays (at our weekly playgroup) with other toys:

Just Hangin'

Miles For Midwives

This morning Papi and Lucas participated in the Miles for Midwives Run in Prospect Park, where over 300 people walked/ran and we enjoyed the warm weather while meeting up with old friends.

"Uhn, Tyu... Ocho..."

It tends to go something like that. We can't tell if "one" is in Spanish or English, "two" is still a two-syllable word ("t-yu"), and he throws in an "ocho" and "diez" somewhere in there, as well as several other sounds along the way. Lucas is into counting every and any object that shows repetition or simply more than one of its like, be it while reading books or even playing at the park:

Whee!

Wow, it's PINK! We're switching our template and going pink for October in support of breast cancer awareness month. So make sure to visit these links afterwards.

Check out below Lucas flying down the slide with his big friend Lexi, with whom he normally loves to hold hands before counting to three and going down the slide together. This time he decided to let go, much to Lexi's surprise:

Uh-Oh

Bus Ride

Last week we decided to take a joy ride on the public transportation system after we realized that Lucas hadn't been on a bus since the days when he was carried around practically every moment in a sling. We hopped on a bus to Coney Island, then took the subway home. Lucas was crazy with excitement and had a huge smile on his face the entire afternoon.

Centerfold

Huevos Verdes Con Jamon

One of Lucas's favorite books these days is the Spanish version of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, which we read every day when he awakes from his nap. There are cars and trains and boats and tunnels, so the book was bound to be an instant hit with Lucas; and he loves eggs, though our basically vegetarian kid certainly doesn't know from experience what ham is... But perhaps because he's a bit glass half-empty these days and "no" seems to still be a favorite word (sometimes even when he means "yes"), Lucas loves to chime in along with the grumpy character a resounding "No!" at the end of each of Juan Ramon's (otherwise known as Sam-I-Am, to rhyme with "jamon") requests to have him try a new food. So much so, in fact, that when we reach the last few pages where the grinch (why doesn't he have a name?!) finally tastes green eggs and ham and finds that Yes! he does indeed like them, Lucas gives us an even more emphatic "No!" and dramatic head shake, closes the book, and decides that we need to skip the end and start over from the beginning.

We'll get a "yes" out of you yet, little booger.