November 2013

Lukas turns TWO
The marquee event of a very busy month was, of course, Lukas’s 2nd birthday. He doesn’t really get birthdays yet, of course, but he quickly picked up the idea of opening presents (“Oopoin pesents!”) — most of them at this stage were cars, trains or balls, and/or Spider-Man related (“Pi-maaaan!”). I made a chocolate cake (which rose via the miracle of chemistry, instead of with eggs and milk) and topped it with marshmallows and powdered sugar. He loved it and loved the candles so much he wanted us to re-light them. He is hilarious these days, such a merry fellow, very sweet with the kisses and hugs and “Yob-oo!” (I love you) — although we could do without his pitch-perfect, snarling “Fine!” and “You’re mean!” and “Awww, come ON!” when things don’t go his way, oi! Little mynah bird we’ve got here … anyway, he’s a two-year-old handful, but he really is a jolly and precious little guy — happy second birthday, tinyman! 

Speaking of a very busy month: 

—The joint birthday party: On November 9, we had a get-together for old and new friends as a sort of midway-between birthday bash for both kids. We had lovely weather, so we all stayed mostly outside; kids on the play structure, grown-ups drinking wine on the deck, mixing it up with everyone from Grace’s family to the cousins to friends we haven’t seen in years. And there was a piñata! Good times.
—Lukas’s 2-year checkup: The kid is, in his pediatrician’s word, “thriving” — even though his diet is mostly soy milk and graham crackers. We finally asked about the ever-present tearing in his left eye, so she made us a pediatric ophthalmologist appointment, at which we learned his eyes are “about as close to perfect as you can get” and that the tears are likely from a narrow, though not blocked, tear duct that will probably widen as his face grows along with the rest of him. So that’s all good!
—First whole-family movie night: We finally got going early enough in the evening to include Lukas in a family movie night. He really enjoyed it (especially eating popcorn, made by R. without butter for him) and laughed a lot and now wants to have “moo-fee night” every night.
—Thanksgiving at our house: We weren’t traveling at Thanksgiving, and we ended up not having any guests, so we did the whole thing just for ourselves: The bird, all the sides, the Macy Day Parade, etc. It was actually really nice; Lukas napped through the most hands-on part of the prep, Annika helped, and we all got to sit down to the table together. My attempt at vegan mashed potatoes for the little guy didn’t go so well, but everything else was great — and we got the kids down for bed by about 6:00. Awesome!
—Coppelia: Annika’s dance school put on a production of Coppelia, so we got tickets to go see it. We went with her friend Grace (and mom Anne); the girls enjoyed the show, and kept spotting kids they knew. We all went out afterward to the “tea party restaurant” at the Pruneyard, a very girly thing indeed (and one we were all sure the little brothers would not have handled well, ha!). 

School Days with Annika
—Our first parent/teacher conference: … was very short! Seriously, I think we were in there all of ten minutes. Mr. Ford showed us the charts of where she is academically (thumbnail version: way ahead), said she’s a great kid, and that he wishes he had 29 more like her. Well, OK then!
—Volunteering at school: Finding himself temporarily short-handed, volunteer-wise, Mr. Ford put out the call for more help through the holidays. R. was able to cover for me at home, so I signed up for Wednesday mornings, which was typically seat work and then computer lab for her class. And boy, was Mr. Ford not kidding about needing help! That many kids in one room, it was a real challenge making sure everyone was understanding the work, and getting along, and making progress, and not crawling under their desks and such; at the computer lab, it quickly became apparent that I was the techiest person in the room (yikes!). It was pretty great, actually; I felt needed and useful (as opposed to the way I feel doing Cornerstone … oi), and Annika LOVED having me there. Loved it a little too much, actually; when I had to leave, she cried and screamed and threw a gigantic fit every single time. Poor kid! Transitions always have been a little rough for her. Anyway, when Lukas is in preschool, I’ll definitely be signing up again, and hopefully she’ll have matured enough that my leaving will be easier on her.
—The Thanksgiving program: The Kindergarten had prepared a musical program, with each class wearing a different Thanksgiving-related theme costume; ours were Native Americans, which meant oversize T-shirts with the kids’ chosen five Native American symbols painted on them (plus headbands that they made themselves). It was a really cute, 15-minute program; unfortunately most of our pictures show Annika with a woebegone, tearful face, since (as we learned later) some kid was standing in the wrong place and taking up some of her space. Mkay. 

Accomplishments & Milestones
—Annika learns to whistle
—Lukas graduates to an articulate "thank you” (instead of “dek doo!”)
—Lukas knows his shapes

The Quotable Lukas

—“I hiding!” (Sung out happily whenever he would disappear, in answer to our calling for him; usually we’d open doors till we found him via call-and-response.)

—“Chockit treat!” (With near-manic enthusiasm, since this is the month we started to let him have after-dinner treats, and to withhold same for bad behavior or not eating real dinner.) 

—A-kyu-ah, Aqua, Ankina (Variations as he works on pronouncing his sister’s name; mostly he stuck with “Ah-ka.”)