Homemade Wrapping Paper

Earlier this month, I posted about how Luis really enjoys finger painting, and about how many pieces he's made. My sis-in-law had a great idea of using it as wrapping paper. So we did. And it was great!

Family Reunion - Atlanta

Last week, Luis and I flew to Atlanta to join my Whitfield/Schweickart/McDow family for some time at Lake Allatoona (though not all of these people made it this time). My grandfather joined the yacht club there in either '48 or '49 (when I asked him about it this past week, at the age of 100, he was a little fuzzy on the dates) and hosted family there until he passed on his membership to my Aunt Clare. I have lots of great memories of visiting the lake. Now, I am working on Luis's memories of visiting the lake.

While the point of the trip was family, the theme was more like No Sleep for Luis. In five days, he missed three naps and every night he was up at least an hour past bedtime. Unfortunately, because Luis is such a great sleeper, neither of us have any coping skills for when Luis is so tired. There was a moment Tuesday evening when I almost asked Mom to take us back to the airport, thinking we'd cut our trip 3 days short and catch a standby flight back to Dallas. Wednesday, our good friends Cara, Evan (3 yrs) and Grant (1 yr) Terreri came up to the lake. Luis did much better with peers to play with (and a nap). We got home Friday afternoon. Both Saturday and Sunday, Luis took a 4 hour nap.

We enjoyed swimming in the lake (which had higher water than I remember in more than a decade), playing on the playground, eating foods with zero nutritional value and reading stories. Additionally, I really enjoyed the chance to visit with my cousins, several days staying with Randolph, Lauren & Eston, and some great time with my mom.

I took my camera with me (as I always do), but managed to take just one picture the entire trip, and it was on the airplane on our way home. How ironic...

My Little Smuggler

Yesterday, Luis wanted to bring two of his trucks downstairs to play with. He asked me to carry the crane truck, and he was going to bring the school bus. Just before I pick up the crane truck, I realize that he has his baca (pacifier) on the crane hook. Luis is perfectly aware that house rules dictate that the baca stays in the bed. So I told him that I was happy to carry the crane truck down - after her put the Baca back on the bed.

Luis: What baca?

Me: The baca on the crane.

Luis: Where? (looking around innocently)

Me: On the hook on the crane.

Luis: I don't see baca...

I picked it up, showed it to him and put it back on his bed. Luis didn't miss a beat. "No, no, no, no, no. Baca neeeeeeeeeds to go downstairs."

Back to the Blog

It's been a while since I posted. I had a glitch with my camera - not realizing that "reformat" means "erase" and I lost about 4 days worth of pictures (including a super cute picture of Luis with finger paint on his nose). Then, I had new pictures, but couldn't get them to download. Lucky for me we have a great IT guy - Diego. Last night he got everything sorted out.

I'm hoping to post some new pics and stories later today, but for now, here's a picture of Luis (looking a little bit dazed) in his sandbox.

It's been a funny morning

Me: Luis, Can I have a kiss?

Luis: No.

Me: Please?

Luis: No, they are all gone!

Me: You ran out of kisses?

Luis: Yes, the kisses are all gone.

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Luis: Mommy, can I please have some chocolate milk?
Me: After you eat your breakfast. Right now, you can have some water.

Luis: Can I have some chocolate water?

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Me: What are you doing?

Luis: Playing in my room with my trains and my baca (pacifier) and my blanket. I'm playing by myself; it's a special treat.

Under the Sheeps

Luis is very verbal and has great enunciation (for his age). He puts effort into getting words right. And when he doesn't, I say the word aloud properly. It doesn't take long for him to catch on and make the correction.

Occasionally, I don't correct him though, because I like the mistake. My current favorite example is sheeps for sheets. Each night, when we say goodnight, he asks to be put under the sheeps. And Luis is often saying, "Mommy, I hide under the sheeps. Can you find me?" I know that soon enough he will say sheets properly. In fact, it won't be long after that before he won't want to hide under them, calling out, "Where is me, Mommy? Where IS me?" I already know that I'll miss these days.

Picture Day

Some days, for no particular reason, I take a lot of pictures. Like today - I took 64 in a 5 hour period. Here is a sampling of the ones I liked best.

Bikes!

This afternoon, Luis and Diego went out to a big tent sale at a local bike shop. Despite the ~100-degree weather and what feels like 100% humidity, they managed to shop around, do some test rides and purchase a big and a ride-behind carrier for Luis (and the friend of his choice - it seats two). Diego and Luis are out at this very moment giving it a test run to the park and back.

I'm A HELICOPTER

I'm not sure what it was about this combination of eye wear, but Luis kept shouting, "I'm a HELICOPTER." "I'm a HELICOPTER."

Just About Ready for the Pro Tour

A Shave and a Hair Cut

Before we went to Bombay, I had never had Ashley clipped. In fact, I didn't really think of her as being a long haired dog. But in anticipation of the heat and humidity, it seemed like a good idea. And it was a good idea. She looked great - and it turns out that she really did have a lot of hair.

Turns out Dallas summers are a bit like Mumbai springs: very hot and very humid. So this week, it was back to the groomers for Ashley. This time, there were no cute bows involved.

Well, for Ashley, it was more like a hair cut and a shave... There was some confusion when I dropped her at the groomers on Wednesday as to what I was looking for. When I picked her up in the afternoon, she'd had a nice trim. I was looking for more like a summer shave. So Friday, Luis and I took her back to the groomers and they finished the job. See the picture below for how she looked before.

Another Trip to the Zoo - With NEW Friends

This week, Luis's "school" was closed between spring and summer sessions. So we had a few extra days to get out and about. Wednesday, we went back to the zoo with Elijah (from Luis's class), his 5 year old sister Alexandra and their mom Trenda.

We saw the usual sights - the carousel, the flamingos and the kids zoo. The wandering stream in the kids zoo was by far the biggest hit. This time I was prepared with swim gear for Luis.

The kids did really well together - no bickering or squabbles, and did really well with the adults - lots of listening and paying attention.

The last thing we saw on the way out was this photo booth. All three kids had A LOT of fun playing in there and pretending... well I don't know what they were pretending. Alexandra asked for some money to take their picture. I reminded her that I had a camera and was happy to take her picture for free. She was unimpressed by my offer.

We ended up staying longer than I had intended, we were having too much fun to leave. Trenda is a member of the Fort Worth zoo, and we are talking about taking a trip there in a couple of weeks.

Slip-N-Slide

It's been almost exactly two years since Luis and I last had a slip-n-slide in our yard. But back then, it was our yard in VA and it was Maggie, Franklin, and Solomon who were enjoying it - as Luis was but 6 months old. This time around, it was all Luis. Well, all Luis sliding, but lots of coaching and encouraging by Diego. I was technically "on the clock" for Thomas, so I could only sneak out to take a few pictures. This series is from Luis's first run.

Catching (Sort Of)

During one of our (numerous) trips to the "fort", Lauren gave Luis a tutorial on catching. His first, I might add. His success rate was low, but his fun rate was VERY HIGH.

Baby Eston!

On Tuesday night, Randolph, Lauren and Eston arrived from Atlanta for a 3-day visit. Randolph had a work conference in town and Lauren & Eston decided to tag along.

Eston is just over 6 months old now, and is one of the cutest babies I know. He is happy and easy going, almost always smiling at those around him. I only heard him cry once the whole time. It was more of a "Hey there- excuse me. Please pay attention to me" kind of cry as opposed to an "I'm REALLY not happy" kind of cry. He was very interested in Ashley, tracking her the whole time. While in Dallas, he had his first taste of banana, his first bath in a big tub (i.e. not the kitchen sink) and his first swim in a pool. The first two were big hits, but Eston was non-plussed by the pool.

Wednesday, while Luis was in school, Randolph, Lauren, Eston and I went downtown to have a look around Dealy plaza, the Book Depository and the JFK memorial. Randolph had to work Wednesday night, so the rest of relaxed at home.

Thursday, while Randolph was at work, Lauren, Luis, Eston and I had fun at home. Luis showed off his zip line skills, as well as his love of the sandbox, the fort, the slide, the soccer ball and finger paint. Eston showed off his carrot eating skills, his FANTASTIC disposition and about 100 beautiful smiles. I had not really put together the divergent sleep schedules that a 7 month old and a 2 year old have. Eston slept from 9a - 12p. Luis would have liked to sleep from 12p - 2.30p except we left on foot (with strollers at 12:15 to go to Glorias for lunch. Luis fell asleep just before we arrived and slept on my lap through the whole meal. Oops.

Late afternoon Thursday after Randolph got home, we all went next door for a swim. We had family dinner then got all the kids in bed. Finally we had a little margarita party for the adults - a well deserved, fun treat.

Friday morning, while Randolph worked, Lauren picked up the rental car and got them all packed up. A feat that was made much easier by Eston taking a two hour morning nap. Oh how I miss those days!! Before the left town for Austin (to see more friends and attend a wedding), we went to Hunky's for lunch.

While Eston was in the exersaucer, Luis would spin him around and sing "Ring around the Roses". It's hard to tell who liked it more - Eston or Luis.

Finger Paint

I bought some finger paints to share with our cousins in Florida over Christmas, but we never got around to using them. Soooooo, 5 1/2 months later, I finally break them out for Luis. Not surprisingly, it's a very popular activity these days. This was the first day. I'll try to get up some photos of subsequent days.

Luis takes approximately 4.5 minutes to "complete" a work - a bit longer if I indulge him by giving him several refills on paint. He likes to finger paint for about 30 minutes at a time. You don't have to actually do the math to realize that we are producing A LOT of finger paint projects. If anyone would like an original, I'd be happy to put one in the mail.