Best 25 Cents Spent All Week

Weekend Adventures

We had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend at Grandma Pam's (Tia Wendy's mom's) house, located less than a couple of hours away from home in New Jersey. It was nice to be hosted and to be spoiled with good food, shopping, leaf raking, late night games and conversation with even better company, and to have a bit of an escape from the noisy city. Here's what the ride there and back looked like (which we realize isn't novel to most of you but it's been a while since we've seen a landscape without buildings):

We were delinquent at taking pictures that weekend, but it turned out that Papi managed to catch one or two of Lucas exploring the land outside of Grandma Pam's beautiful home:

This Fall we took low-key approaches to our birthdays (Mami turned 30 in September and Papi turned 31 in October), so we decided to celebrate our 7-year wedding anniversary this past Sunday as a family and with another lovely couple, Tio A. and Tia W. (who happen to also be expecting their first child - can you see her beautiful belly? - just 6 weeks before Lucas's little brother is due!). We went to this famously kid-friendly restaurant, then enjoyed a view of the Manhattan skyline right between the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. Lucas was in cloud nine watching the subway cross back and forth on the Manhattan bridge after a yummy dinner:

Slide

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's. . . It's. . .

We wanted to post much earlier, but Mami and Lucas have both had a nasty head cold that have kept us holed up for longer than we'd both like. Thanks to all of you out there who voted; looks like the most points went under "boy." Hmm. . . And well, here's all we have to say about that:

It's. . . a penis shot! Papi and I wouldn't know exactly what we were looking at if it weren't for that handy arrow (and even then we're still not fully sure). But when the technician blurted out our baby's sex, Mami laughed, which made the picture go temporarily blurry, and then Papi responded, "A boy, huh? Wow." [Pause.] And then a moment later, "How sure are you?" Her answer: "After seeing this, I'm one hundred thousand percent sure." Then she proceeded to show us from a few different angles. So there you have it! A sweet little brother for Lucas!

The poor kid hasn't even been born and already he'll have plenty after this to be embarrassed about.

Meet "Placido/a"

Yup, that's him/her from our first (and hopefully last) ultrasound today! We've been lovingly calling the little monkey "Placido" or "Placida," as we figure that the next baby must be, has to be a bit more easygoing than his/her big brother (though we know that two high-energy parents rarely equal a chill baby, at least colic-free would be nice the next time around). It's hard to believe we're almost halfway through this pregnancy, and even harder to believe that I won't be birthing Lucas again, that this baby has its own looks, personality, ultrasound pictures, etc.!

Below you're getting a taste of the newest technology, where you get to see your babe in creepy 3D images, which essentially make her/him look like she/he has molten wax dripping off her/his very skeletal face and body (this shot is from is a 4D or "real time" movement image, which is basically the same thing, although a summary explanation of the entire concept is still beyond us):

And as opposed to the first time around, when we chose not to know Lucas's sex (thereby driving the grandparents crazy), this time we figured we'd try to find out, mostly to do whatever possible to help Lucas feel even slightly more prepared for a little sibling. We'll reveal to you what the sex is, but you've got to play our little game for a while and guess. (Those of you who already know can still vote!) Maybe it won't be as fun for some of you, as you're not here to tell how I'm carrying (same as Lucas, but with more weight than the last time at this point), whether or not the baby is "taking away my beauty" (girl) and other lovely unsolicited (and really awful, usually!) myths that people love to offer to us preggers. Vote anyway, and we'll tell ya', well, when we decide to tell ya':

Is it a Placido, or a Placida?
	Male
	Female
pollcode.com free polls

Lucas Has A Special Announcement To Make:

Learning to help -- Lucas decides that baby is hungry for canned corn and white bread:

Ask Lucas where the baby is, and he points to and kisses (er, licks) Mama's belly. (And -- whoops! -- sometimes Papi's belly, too.)

A game he loves to play with play-doh these days: "Mama Snake, Papi Snake, Baby Snakes; Baby Balls, Papi Ball, Mama Ball:"

Estimated D.O.A.: 4/6/08

Too Funny

Thanks to our friend Malissa, who put together this photo of Lucas, called "Lucas the Bad Mama Jama":

730 days

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweet Boy, Lukie-Dookie, Lucas-Mucus-Pukus (gotta get him ready for middle school), Moquito, Little Man, Big Boy, Lefty, Little Love! We can't believe that we have a two-year old on our hands - and that it's you -- and that you're ours! We love your affectionate and sensitive nature, your exuberance for life, your fabulous full-faced smile, and your sweet pot belly! It's been 730 days since you came and rocked our world, and yet we can't imagine going back to life before you! Today we celebrate you together with many of your favorite people, as well as plenty of yellow #40:

Lemme at that school bus cake!

You lucky boy: lots of love and fun gifts, too!

NYC Transit Museum

Lucas has been bouncing off the walls with joy since his grandparents arrived in town a couple of days ago to help us celebrate his 2nd birthday. It was a cold, blustery day today -- too much for outings to the park -- so where does one take their train- and bus-loving child in order to fill up the afternoon? Here, of course! Otherwise known as hog heaven!

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

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