On being perfect

A conversation between Lucas and my mom...

Lucas: Mama, I am not perfect. Sometimes I do things wrong.
My mom: Well, I think you are pretty perfect.
Lucas: Well, I'm not and neither are you.

Summer is here...

The kids and I are off to California to see my sister. Yesterday, we decided to have a family outing and I asked Lucas what he wanted to do. He said, "I know! We can go for a family scooter ride." So, we did.





I love these next two pictures. Look at Sam's face in the first one - hilarious!


Luc's best friend Gavin turned 4 this week. We went to his "Cars" party. Gavin's dad made these darling cars for the kids to race in - it was SO much fun.


We also had a play date with Becca and Henry at the Playgarden in Tribeca. What a fun place!



And even though summer is here and the water is supposed to be on at the parks, it wasn't this day. We were disappointed - it's a great park, but we had fun anyway.



And on our way home, we ran into some friends:


And this is a picture of one of Sam's favorite things. I know...it's funny. But this is in our hallway and every time we wait for the elevator, Sam screams at it and wants me to walk over to it. For some reason, he likes it.

More crawling...

Sam is really getting quite fast. He has a unique crawling style and I love it. Sam crawls from room to room.If he hears Lucas in the tub, he crawls in there and tries to pull himself up on the side of the tub (he always wants to get in). He is such a smiley little boy and always looking around for his big brother.

What's new?

Lucas and Sam really play together, which warms my heart:

Sam can sit up without falling over now:

While Sam naps, Lucas and I try to do something new. Yesterday it was making paper lanterns:

And on Sunday, Scott and Sarah came by for a visit. We all enjoyed some of Doug's lemon cake:

Better Late Than Never - Memorial Day

Lucas looks so grown up in this photo:

This is a marshmallow launcher that belongs to a friend. Check out Luc's cheeks - full of marshmallows (one of his favorite things):

We also played with some silly string:

And Julianne was with us - this picture is darling:

Lucas sings in Spanish

I am not surprised that Lucas knows some words in Spanish. After all, I speak some. Also the doormen in our building speak Spanish so I usually use some Spanish with them. And two of the three teachers from Luc's preschool class also speak Spanish. I occasionally hear an "Hola" from Lucas. But imagine my surprise when I heard Lucas singing a song in Spanish today. I just had to post this for you all to enjoy.



Here are the words to the song:
La arana pequeñita
Subió, subió, subió.
Vino la lluvia
Y se la llevo.
Salio el sol
Y todo lo seco,
Y la arana pequeñita
Subió, subió, subió.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Doug! You are a wonderful father to our two darling little boys. They are lucky to have you as their Dad.


Did you notice those matching ties? With a lot of help from my mom, I made them for Doug and the boys to wear to church today:


I got up early with the kids and we made breakfast for Doug. Lucas was anxious for Doug to wake up and open his presents:




And even though it's Father's Day, Doug took a picture of me with Lucas and Sam too:


And last, but not least, Doug baked this lemon cake from scratch yesterday afternoon. It is delicious...and almost gone!

My Boys

I had a fun day with the kids today. We went to a baby shower this morning and then to the park for a BBQ with some new friends. Everyone should sleep well tonight.


Sam was so happy to see Doug tonight (Lucas was already in bed asleep).

The Last Day of School

Today was officially Luc's last day of school. When he started school last fall he was so little, it's hard to believe how much he has changed in just one school year. (This isn't the best picture because it was pouring rain all day.)


There was a class party today and we all went.


We loved Luc's teacher, Mariana:

Sam crawling

All in a day's work...I mean play!

First of all, Sam is crawling. It's pretty cute and Lucas loves it, except when Sam gets into his toys which has already begun. But the cutest thing is that they actually started playing together and that is so fun.





Lucas is a great big brother too. He helped me grind up some strawberries to feed to Sam. Sam loved them, which was fun to watch, since he has yet to like any baby food.


My mom was in town for two days. One day we spent at the park, and the next day we cleaned my apartment top to bottom (while Lucas was at his last day of school). It was great.

Check out that jump:


This is how Sam gives "love" - he pushes his little face against yours. It is so sweet. Here, he was doing it to my mom and people on the sidewalk were stopping to watch and comment on how sweet it was:



I love Sam's chubby cheeks in this picture. He was so tired and almost fell asleep in the swing:




Lucas is so sweet with Sam, always so gentle and always giving him lots of kisses:



I honestly don't know when Lucas became such a big boy. But he did. He is precious.


And one funny story. I was reading a magazine and Lucas said, "Can I see that for a minute?" I gave it to him and he thumbed through it. It was hilarious! Of course, if you look closely you will see that he can barely concentrate on it because he is really watching TV.

Brooklyn

We spent the afternoon in Brooklyn (Williamsburg) today with Scott and Sarah. Their new place is darling and so close to a great park by the water. We had a great time. Thanks guys! (Lucas calls it "Brook-a-lyn.")











And one picture from the morning. That's right, a good old game of Chutes and Ladders:

Poor Sam (and poor me!)

(And sorry in advance to Heather, who loaned us the exersaucer - which has been thoroughly cleaned...again!)

So, about once a week I take Sam out of the exersaucer and plop him on my hip only to discover that he has pooped in the exersaucer and it's EVERYWHERE. And this week was no different, except that my mom was here and cleaned it all up for me. Thanks, Mom.



Sam is completely unphased by it all. This is him moments after being cleaned up:

School is almost out

When Lucas leaves for school, he always kisses Sam goodbye. Sam is sad on the days that Lucas is at school and he literally spends the whole time looking around for Lucas. Even Sam knows that Lucas is entertaining:


And when Lucas gets home, Sam watches him...no matter what he is up to:


Sam is really starting to get around. Of course, I pulled out the camera to take a video clip of him scooting around and he promptly rolled onto his back and started fussing. So, all you get is a still shot:

The Park & The Ice Cream Truck

...both an essential part of our week.

Update on the twins

My sister, Kelsey, sent a sling for Lucas to carry the twins around in. He was thrilled.


The twins have been well cared for since I last posted about them:



And even Tasha (the favored Backyardigan) got to ride in the sling when we went for a scooter ride this week. Does it get any cuter than this?

Roly Poly Sam

One of Doug and Luc's favorite games...Sam seems to love it too:

FAMILY NIGHT

Camping Trip

Doug here. I took Lucas to the annual Fathers and Sons campout - our third time together. (Pics from last year here and here. Pics from the year before here and here). As you can see, the weather this year was a little wetter. We were pretty much soaked the whole time except for when we got in our sleeping bags. But that didn't stop us from having fun sitting around the campfire, roasting hotdogs and eating marshmallows.


After we got to the campground, we thought we would wait for a few minutes to see if the rain would stop. Lucas and Gavin watched an episode of the Backyardigans on an iPod nano because we couldn't figure out how to get the video to go to the overhead TV in the minivan (we did get the sound through the car stereo, though).


Once we got the fire going, things were much better.






As always, Lucas was worn out by the time we got home:

Sam's reflection

I cannot believe Sam is 7 months old (and look, he is getting some hair). Here he is in his Astros shirt. Thank you, Grandad & Nai Nai.

Sam has also discovered his reflection in the mirror, though he thinks it's another baby. He spends a lot of time kissing the other baby and rolling around. It's pretty hilarious.

Cute boys

Sam is quite the big boy these days. Though he is not officially crawling, he gets around. Now he can get Luc's toys, which causes some minor scuffles. These are Luc's Backyardigans dolls - and he doesn't even like for me to touch them. Sam loves them and is always trying to snatch one. I am teaching Lucas the bait and switch - he is getting pretty good at it. He finds a toy that belongs to Sam, gives it to him, and snatches his own toy back. The result - no crying, which is great.


This toy was given to Sam by someone who Doug works with. Of course, Lucas thinks it's his, but it's actually Sam's. And now Sam is old enough to really enjoy it.


Lucas still asks regularly to hold his "baby":


Lucas had a playdate this week with a classmate, Jack. I cannot believe school is almost over this year. It's bittersweet. Lucas has learned so much and grown up so much this past year. He will miss his friends, especially since he is changing schools next year. I am glad to have him back to myself for the summer!

Have you seen this face?

If not, chances are that you will. Lucas makes this face anywhere from 1 to 20 times a day. It is usually accompanied by an audible "hmmmmf!" It always makes me laugh, which does not make him very happy. But seriously, where did he learn to pout like this?

Grandmas galore...

After a 5 month leave, my mom is back to work. So, she came in to town last week for a trip. Lucas and I met her at Penn Station. (But Lucas couldn't stay awake and fell asleep before we arrived and woke up just as we got home.)

Lucas has been pretty emotional lately about how much he has missed his "mama" (my mom). In fact, we have had a few conversations that went like this:
Lucas: I am sad.
Me: Why.
Lucas: (crying) I just miss my mama.

So we are happy that she is back.



Plus, she lets Lucas do things like this:


We spent an afternoon at the "underground train station," as Lucas calls it.
Here is Lucas waiting for a train to come by:


And this is the underground train station that does, in fact, lie beneath the grate:


While we were waiting for trains to come by, we played in the grass:


And Lucas found some "twirly whirlies." I don't know why he calls them that.



We also had time for a visit to the park:






Then we ran into some friends at the park:


Then we came home and had a visit from Grandma Susan and Julianne. Grandma Susan was here helping Julianne get moved for the summer.



And Grandma brought Lucas some games that she made for him, which he loves. She obviously spent hours on the games and they are darling. They will be perfect for church too. Thank you, Grandma! (And also, thank you for coming over to help me take care of Lucas the next day while he was throwing up. Ugh! And thanks Julianne, for letting her come - I know she was really in town to help you, so thank you!)


And a few other pictures of things we have been up to lately:



This is called "candy checkers." If you look closely, you can see that some of the helmets have candy under them. Lucas somehow always wins all of the candy.


And last but certainly not least...Sam may hate baby food. But he loves red vines. Thanks, Doug, for figuring that out. Now Sam won't go hungry.

TWINS!

Lucas has some twin babies, a boy and a girl. He has been really adorable with them - very attentive to their every need. Even though Lucas has been sick with a terrible tummy bug (again!), he has not forgotten about his babies, who remain nameless and can only be referred to as "the twins." The twins even had a bath tonight. Forgive me for not catching that on film, but my hands were pretty busy with the two other babies in the tub. (Be sure and check out the video clips at the end of the post.)

These were taken while Lucas was sick:


Then I walked in the room today while he was feeding one of the twins and Lucas said, "Don't talk mom, it's distracting her."


The twins even got to play on the computer with Lucas today:


And some video clips of Lucas taking great care of the twins: