Tuesday, July 27, 2010

On Our Own

So yesterday was a sad day. We took Nathan to the airport first thing in the morning and off he went. Luke took it all in stride and mostly focused on how cool the planes were. Good for him. :)

We had a good first day together, read lots of books, baked, organized drawers, and generally had a good time. We got to talk with Nathan last night and it was very fun. I was putting laundry away with Luke and he kept putting articles of clothing up to the phone for Nathan to see. So cute. :)

Today, I was playing with Luke outside at a friends house. It was really hot, so the kids wanted to go in the little swimming pool. We were having a great time in the water when I stepped on a small branch and punctured my right foot. It went in almost an inch I believe and cut through muscle. So, now I am limping.

I called my mom and Nathan's mom so I now have some great advice on how to deal with it. It still hurts, but what can I expect. Luke was very helpful this evening as I redressed the wound. He brought me a box of bandages and tried to bring me a towel. He is very interested in "owies." It seems like most kids are- at least the ones I know. :)

Friday, July 23, 2010

Of How We Almost Came to CA...

... and then didn't.

Yesterday, Nathan informed me that he had to make a last minute business trip out to CA. A couple of things crossed my mind right then- 1. I will be alone with Luke all week, and 2. California? I want to go too!

I have really been missing everyone and missing the nice summer weather and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to use up a free Southwest ticket that I had. Seemed is the important word. I often think that things seem perfect and act on them before I really sit down and think it through. In this case, I even booked my ticket.

For the rest of the day, I felt like something was wrong. It might have been because I began to realize the stress of the journey alone, the costs involved, the extra pressure it put on Nathan, the possible tropical depression coming through (yikes!), the fact that I already had several obligations to fulfill here in Texas next week, and so on.....

At 11pm, Nathan I were talking and not quite ready for bed. We discussed my trip and how much fun it would be to see everyone. We also discussed logistics and some forseable problems. In the end, it seemed that it was not the right time. So, at about 11:30pm, I cancelled my flight. I felt at peace again.

Well, we still hope to come closer to the holidays. And, if the blogger website will cooperate (!!!), I will get a video up soon.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

Soon I hope to post a video of Nathan or I reading a book to Luke. Right now, Luke's favorite book is a toss up between Dr. Seuss's ABC book and Wynken, Blynken, and Nod (the classic Dutch lullaby in book form). I like W,B and N the best because the illustrations are gorgeous and because of how Luke smiles and says "binkin, nod," throughout. :)

Reading to Luke is such a joy- probably my favorite thing to do with him. He picks up new words each time and even picks out letters. These are he letters that he can recognize: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, M, O, P, U, Z. He is working on I, K, L, S, and Y. I can't believe what a little sponge he is right now!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

In the Kitchen

What Luke was doing while I made dinner tonight:


Yep, that is one whole kitchen drawer arranged on the counter top. :)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Our Loss, California's gain...

Today is a sad day. This morning we said goodbye to the Getz's (for one month), and this afternoon, we will say goodbye to Grandpa (probably for longer). For those of you in CA, you are lucky to have 5 great people coming today.

As I was driving home after taking the Getz's to the airport, I was reflecting on what it means to live somewhere. I live in Houston. I come from CA, and most of my family still lives there. Do I miss the golden state? Is it better to be in Houston? Really, it is pretty easy to answer these questions from a practical perspective. But, it is hard some days to think about being out here when so many that we love dearly are far away.... really hard...

Well, I will be grateful today for my wonderful husband and my beautiful little boy. That is an awful lot to be thankful for! And...I will begin looking at Southwest again to see how good the air fares are for my dad, and begin planning a great welcome home party for the Getz's.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Swimming with Grandpa!

Luke has never been in the water without someone holding onto him, until now...


Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Imaginative Play

Luke is beginning to use his imagination when he plays. It has been interesting to see what subject matter he uses for this play and shows me why psychologists use "play therapy" for their youngest clients. It is amazing to see how much their play is influenced by what is happening in their lives.

I wrote earlier about how he liked to say that large items were mommies and daddies, and their smaller counterparts were babies (i.e. Mommy sun (big sun) and Baby sun (small sun). Here are some other recent examples:

1. When we all spend time together in the morning in our bed, Luke makes the blankets into a tent and pretends to hand us food. He especially likes to give us beans, rice, berries, and ice cream "beans, wice, bewwies, and i scream). Then, it is our job to eat it and say "yum, yum!" Luke really likes all of these foods and he likes to eat.

2. Last night, Luke was playing with some plastic balls and began taking them to his time-out chair to give them time-outs. He would pick a ball up, look sternly at it, and take it to time-out. If the ball rolled out of position, he would yell "no, no," and take it back to the spot he put it down. The twos are hitting with a vengeance right now and Luke has had lots of time-outs as of late. Sometimes, I think half the day is spent disciplining for something or other. Time-outs are our primary method of discipline right now, so I guess he is getting the message- at least in part. Now, he knows what time-outs are, and how to give them himself.... if only he would stop the behavior that we were trying to stave off by using time-outs. Well, I guess he has plenty of time for that- he isn't even two yet. :)

Monday, July 5, 2010

Please, all right.

Luke has discovered that "please" is a magic word. He has been saying please and thank you for many months now, but lately he has begun to believe that if he says please, he will automatically get what he is asking for. His new phase is: "please...all right!" It sounds more like: "please, awl wight!" So cute.