Meadowlark Botanical Garden

Today, Luis and I met up with Sarah, Will and Matthew Rimicci and walked around Meadowlark (the place where Diego and I got married). It was a gray, overcast day with some spitting rain during our walk. But everyone was in need of some fresh air and leg-stretching, so we walked and ran for the afternoon. Despite some crabby kids and a few debates over which two people could ride in the two strollers at any given time, it was a successful outing.

"Ducks! Quack Quack!"

Luis & Momma

Matthew & William

Matthew & Luis

Meadowlark - The Non-People Picks

Baby Reindeer

Seven years ago (in December), I bought my niece Maggie a rain coat for Christmas, in anticipation of her trip to Tanzania just a few months later. At the time, she was 4 months old. I bought a 18-mo jacket so that it would still be plenty big when the monsoon season came around. Not only did Maggie wear the jacket that year (2001) and probably the next, her brother Franklin wore it in 2004/2005 and Solomon wore it in 2006. Now, it is Luis's turn to wear it.
We had a rainy day yesterday. Luis asked ALL DAY to go outside to play. Just before dinner, we went out to splash in the puddles. Luis had a fantastic time.

Luis was so excited to be outside, he took off at a run in search of puddles.
I don't understand why, but Luis always stops to stand in the neighbors flower garden. Even when it's raining.
Luis, mid-stomp.

(When I was shopping for the rain slicker, I was with my friend Sarah, she had misunderstood what I was looking for and thought I wanted to buy Maggie Lou a Baby Reindeer instead of Baby Rain Gear. The name has stuck.)

Home Improvement Fun

One of Diego's many projects is re-staining the deck. He's spent the last several days stripping off multiple layers of "semi-transparent" stain. Then, there was a day or two of re-setting the nails and sanding down rough spots.

Today, it was finally time to put the new stain on. Luis was eager to help out.

When Diego switched out the sand paper on the belt sander, Luis co-opted the old sand paper and used it as a sand paper crown.

Water Games

I got this idea from Cara, who got it from our friend Emily. After his first stint at the sink, Luis now asks for Water Games from the moment he wakes up. I shouldn't really be surprised - as Luis has always enjoyed all things water. And now that outdoor pool days are waning, it's nice to be able to replace it with an indoor water game. Thus far, there isn't too much water on the floor after - though I always put a towel down just in case.

Somersaults

Luis LOVES doing somersaults - but doesn't love for me to take his picture while he does it. This was a rare (and not so good) snapshot.

Sooner or Later, It Was Bound to Happen

In early August, Luis figured out how to take his shorts and diaper off. At the end of August, Luis figured out how to crawl out of his crib. So I shouldn't be too surprised that yesterday, when I went into Luis's room after his nap, he was out of his crib, naked from the waste down, with four little Luis-sized poops on the floor in his room.
(No pictures on purpose!)

Fall Fashion

We have some gloriously cool days and nights. In the mornings, we are all a bit chilly. The other day I put these socks & hodded sweatshirt. It's weird to see him in "cool weather" clothes - it's been shorts, t-shirts and onsies for over a year.

Other House Projects

Diego has been very busy doing work around the house. He replaced the crown molding in the kitchen (the old crown molding was not installed well and was painted a dark burgendy).

He also put up crown molding in the living room.

This week, he painted the trim in the kitchen (which took 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint to cover the dark burgendy).

He's working on stripping the deck and restaining it. Next, we'll remove the wallpaper from the powder room and paint the walls.

Plum Tuckered Out

This was a couple of days ago. Luis was helping Diego with some chores around the house and eventually collapesed on the kitchen floor.

Bar Update

The bar is coming along nicely. The only thing left (I think) is a glass top across the middle section. Diego has done a wonderful job - it looks AWESOME!

A Test of Wills - The score is tied

As I've mentioned before, Luis has learned how to climb out of his crib. He doesn't do it often, and has not yet done it as a technique to avoid sleeping. Until today. Over the course of about 30 minutes, I returned Luis to his crib 12 times. Twelve. Luis did give up and stay in his crib. Score one for Mom. Luis didn't actually nap this afternoon. Score one for Luis.

Working Guys

Yesterday, Luis "helped" Diego clear off the front walk and the driveway (we have about 500 acorns that fall everyday ). I especially like that they are both wearing ear protection!

Daddy & Luis

(I liked all 20 pictures I took yesterday - here, I've narrowed it down to 4)

Baby's Got a New Pair of Shoes

Luis is trying out something brand new to him - shoes with SOCKS. I picked up a few pairs of non-sandal, non-croc shoes for Luis the other night. He seems to like them both. I anticipated some resistance to the idea of socks (since he's never really worn them), but he doesn't seem to mind.

A Missing Link in the Evening Routine

Last night, I went out to Target after Luis went to bed. Apparently, shortly after I left, Luis crawled out of the crib, opened the door and stood at the top of the stairs waiting for Diego's attention. After getting it, he led Diego into the bathroom, asking for "Brsss, brsss, brssss." It seems, we forgot to brush Luis's teeth before going to bed. Once that was taken care of, Luis happily was put back into the crib and fell quickly to sleep.

A Little Privacy, Please

Luis is now at the stage where he likes his space while he poops. On Thursday, we were all outside playing when I noticed Luis wandering off to the bushes along the fence line. Sure enough, he squatted down amongst the shrubbery for a few minutes, before trotting out and announcing "Stinker, stinker".

Franklin's Visit

On Thursday, Franklin came over to spend the day with Luis and I. (Maggie and Solomon had already started school.) Days like Thursday are just one of the many perks of having Dodie and his family so close by! We had a very low key, but fun day. Franklin was incredibly sweet and kind to his small cousin - and Luis adored having Franklin around to play with, chase after and imitate!
Franklin & Luis on the swing.

Franklin was also sweet to Ashley, petting her nicely and throwing the stick for her.

I'm not sure exactly what they were doing under these bushes. Luis & Franklin had big smiles on their face, so I'm guessing it was fun...

Franklin specializes in self-portraits and took this one of us both.

Everyone was tired by the end of the day!

Hair Cuts

Last Wednesday, Luis and I went to get haircuts in the late afternoon. As always, he was great, showing no fear (or even interest) in the clippers. I was thrilled because though his hair is shorter all around, he still has some of his curls on top.

I hadn't really thought about what I wanted in terms of a haircut/style, so I told Genet to just do what she wanted. I got a cute, short cut that I love!

The Bar: Progress Updates

This was the bar early last week. We have made a few changes to it (though I don't have those pics yet. Diego has finished installing the cabinets, the crown molding and the lighting. He also installed some tall, narrow shelves between the wine racks (to hold tall bottles). He just has a few edge piece details to do. We are looking in to either a piece of granite or granite tile for a bar top between the two upright cabinets.

One of Luis's new favorite toys is the tape measure...

Preview

Luis and I leave in about 30 minutes to catch a flight to NY to visit Jeanette and Eric. I don't have time to download the pictures on my camera. So next week when we are back, I'll have the pictures from our trip. I'll also have pictures of the bar renovation (just missing lighting), new hair cuts for Luis and me, Franklin's visit on Thursday, and a few other things. Check back early next week...

Verbal Update

Luis is more and more vocal everyday, using lots of new words, stringing together more words (he does a few 3-word phrases like Trash Truck All Gone), and using multi-syllabic words (like bicycle).

This morning, we were playing in the basement and I asked Luis if he wanted to go over to Aunt Midge's house. We've visited with Midge 3-4 or times in the last month, so I expected him to recognize the name. In response, he dropped the toy he had in his hand and went up to the door. A clear "Yes". After hanging out at her house for 30 minutes, Luis asked if we could go the park by her house. We've only been once before, so I was surprised that he remembered. But remember he did.

Interactive Luis

Last night Juan Fe and RC came over for dinner. They hadn't seen Luis in about 3 months. I was trying to imagine the ways that Luis had changed in that time, and was having a hard time articulating them.

Luis was saying something to me and I couldn't understand him. I said in a plain voice, "Luis, can you please take the pacifier out of your mouth and repeat what you said - I didn't understand." And he did. Just as I had asked.