Here is one of La Luz in her cover-up, thinking long and hard about something (perhaps the 12 inch lizard that was hanging out in the pool house - that thing was a moster) :
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The Way Things Have Been
La Luz's Aunt Molly has been in town since last week. Unfortunately, she heads back to NYC tomorrow to start working on a new show. La Luz was not pleased when she had to tell her goodbye earlier tonight. They have spent most of the week together and it is clear that La Luz has gotten used to it. I have spent most of my evenings and nights hanging out with Molls and, although things have been a bit hectic as a result (and my bedtime has been pushed back a bit) I have enjoyed every minute of it. We had dinner together at mom-mom and pop's tonight and one of Molly's oldest friends, Stacey, joined us. Molly and Stacey invited me to go out for drinks with them, but by 9:00 I knew I wouldn't be able to hang. So, I made it home in time for a very quick post. I will catch up on all of the other excitement - the first week of La Luz's summer vacation and the chaos that will ensue with regard to the schedule for the next 12 weeks, recent Netflix movies that should be reviewed, my multiple trips to La Thai, and a new mix cd courtesy of Christian. It will all have to wait, however, as I can barely keep my eyes open.
Here is one of La Luz in her cover-up, thinking long and hard about something (perhaps the 12 inch lizard that was hanging out in the pool house - that thing was a moster) :
Here is one of La Luz in her cover-up, thinking long and hard about something (perhaps the 12 inch lizard that was hanging out in the pool house - that thing was a moster) :
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Memorial Day Weekend 2008
We spent Memorial Day weekend in Thibodaux and enjoyed catching up with the family. La Luz loved spending time with her cousin, Edward, and the two of them probably spent the majority of their waking hours this past weekend in the pool.
Here's La Luz showing off her new swimming suit at the pool:
And riding around in the golf cart with Edward, their second favorite activity:
Sunset, with daddy:
All in all it was a perfect weekend, which made it much tougher to go back to work today. To make matters worse, La Luz and Christian are both (for the most part) on summer vacation and were both sleeping when I left this morning.
Here's La Luz showing off her new swimming suit at the pool:
And riding around in the golf cart with Edward, their second favorite activity:
Sunset, with daddy:
All in all it was a perfect weekend, which made it much tougher to go back to work today. To make matters worse, La Luz and Christian are both (for the most part) on summer vacation and were both sleeping when I left this morning.
Monday, May 26, 2008
A Little Carousel Riding
La Luz celebrated her 3rd birthday a little early with a celebration at the carousel at City Park with some of her classmates with summer birthdays. Very predictably, getting La Luz on the horse was quite a task as you can see here:
Ultimately, she was in heaven:
We had an incredible weekend at Thibodaux with the family. I will post some pictures later this week.
Ultimately, she was in heaven:
We had an incredible weekend at Thibodaux with the family. I will post some pictures later this week.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Happy Birthday Molly
La Luz has been particularly excited about her Aunt Molly's birthday all day today. I think it has something to do with the fact that Molly will be in NOLA tomorrow and the next birthday celebration after Molly's is La Luz's.
I filmed a quick and very sweet Flip video of La Luz wishing Molly a Happy Birthday but, only because I am feeling particularly impatient tonight, the video won't upload onto Blogger. So, instead, I give you La Luz and her French braids:
This is probably the first and the last time you will see such fancy hair for a while because tomorrow is her last day of school and her teacher is the only one who has the ability to get her to sit still long enough for French braids.
I filmed a quick and very sweet Flip video of La Luz wishing Molly a Happy Birthday but, only because I am feeling particularly impatient tonight, the video won't upload onto Blogger. So, instead, I give you La Luz and her French braids:
This is probably the first and the last time you will see such fancy hair for a while because tomorrow is her last day of school and her teacher is the only one who has the ability to get her to sit still long enough for French braids.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Splash Day
Today was La Luz's end of the year party. To celebrate the girls spent the morning in wading pools, running through sprinklers, sliding through slip and slides, and eating Plum Street snowballs. It was the perfect way to end the school year.
La Luz is positively the most unadventurous (almost) 3 year old I have ever met. She refused to get into the pool for the first hour because there were "a bunch of kids splashing around in there". No kidding; it's a wading pool. She ran just close enough to the sprinkler to narrowly miss actually getting wet and looked at me as if to say, "phew, that was a close one mom". She stared at her friends on the slip and slide, mesmerized. She watched them laugh and scream and wipe out and occasionally cry but she didn't get anywhere near it, at first. It was 85 degrees and sunny but as soon as a breeze kicked in she asked for her towel saying that it was a "a little chilly".
It is not that I mind how unadventurous she is, in fact, I kind of love it because it has made life easy on me as a mother. I have never had to child-proof cabinets, never fussed over breakables and pointy edges. I have never even had to use baby gates (except to keep Loki out of certain rooms). La Luz asks before doing something she thinks might be slightly daring - "can I stand up on this sofa?", "is it okay to jump off the bottom stair?", "do we put this (insert name of any random, inedible object) in our mouths?" - that's about how it goes. Occasionally, though, I want her to act without asking, jump and slide and fall down and test limits and do all of those things that being a kid is all about. I guess I have to remember, she eventually does all of those things, just in her own time.
Here she is after working up some nerve and carefully, very carefully, making her way down the 5 ft of slippery plastic. She screamed with joy the entire time. She is splayed out at the end not because she made some running jump but because (I think) she got to the end and figured it was safer to lie down and crawl out than try to walk on that thing.
She eventually got in the pool too - and loved it. I had been telling her all morning that she would think it was great. She didn't believe me and only worked up the nerve when there were 10 minutes of play time left. I guess that's how it goes....all in her own time.
La Luz is positively the most unadventurous (almost) 3 year old I have ever met. She refused to get into the pool for the first hour because there were "a bunch of kids splashing around in there". No kidding; it's a wading pool. She ran just close enough to the sprinkler to narrowly miss actually getting wet and looked at me as if to say, "phew, that was a close one mom". She stared at her friends on the slip and slide, mesmerized. She watched them laugh and scream and wipe out and occasionally cry but she didn't get anywhere near it, at first. It was 85 degrees and sunny but as soon as a breeze kicked in she asked for her towel saying that it was a "a little chilly".
It is not that I mind how unadventurous she is, in fact, I kind of love it because it has made life easy on me as a mother. I have never had to child-proof cabinets, never fussed over breakables and pointy edges. I have never even had to use baby gates (except to keep Loki out of certain rooms). La Luz asks before doing something she thinks might be slightly daring - "can I stand up on this sofa?", "is it okay to jump off the bottom stair?", "do we put this (insert name of any random, inedible object) in our mouths?" - that's about how it goes. Occasionally, though, I want her to act without asking, jump and slide and fall down and test limits and do all of those things that being a kid is all about. I guess I have to remember, she eventually does all of those things, just in her own time.
Here she is after working up some nerve and carefully, very carefully, making her way down the 5 ft of slippery plastic. She screamed with joy the entire time. She is splayed out at the end not because she made some running jump but because (I think) she got to the end and figured it was safer to lie down and crawl out than try to walk on that thing.
She eventually got in the pool too - and loved it. I had been telling her all morning that she would think it was great. She didn't believe me and only worked up the nerve when there were 10 minutes of play time left. I guess that's how it goes....all in her own time.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Check It Out
The result of all of Christian and Papa-T's very hard work over the past three days:
I barely recognized it when I walked outside to check out the finished product after work today. It looks incredible and will, according to Papa-T, last another five years or so!
La Luz has been throwing miniature tantrums all evening because she misses Nana and Papa-T. She really gets spoiled having them around, we all do.
I barely recognized it when I walked outside to check out the finished product after work today. It looks incredible and will, according to Papa-T, last another five years or so!
La Luz has been throwing miniature tantrums all evening because she misses Nana and Papa-T. She really gets spoiled having them around, we all do.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Almost Monday Already
We have had a lovely and somewhat busy weekend. Nana and Papa-T have been in town helping restore our very much in need of repair deck. I think it is about half way complete, thanks to some the hard work of Christian and Papa-T. Apparently the work will be complete tomorrow so I will be sure to post some pictures. La Luz has enjoyed every minute of having her grandparents around and will likely be moping around the house for a day or two after they have departed for Atlanta.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Lucy, Flip Video 2
I have been in Natchitoches for work and had to drive through a deluge to get there yesterday. As a result, tonight's post is quick but (hopefully) entertaining:
How Does My Garden Grow?
Just in case you were wondering, here's an update on the garden:
As you can see, everything is growing in full force. The cucumber plant is getting so big that it looks like it might outgrow the pot it calls home. The tomato plants look great - with the exception of a few bites on the leaves here and there. A beautiful green pepper had the privilege of being the first yield of the year. We ate it almost immediately after we picked it and it was delicious. Here's a picture of La Luz with the first veggie of the season:
A very proud farmer indeed.
As you can see, everything is growing in full force. The cucumber plant is getting so big that it looks like it might outgrow the pot it calls home. The tomato plants look great - with the exception of a few bites on the leaves here and there. A beautiful green pepper had the privilege of being the first yield of the year. We ate it almost immediately after we picked it and it was delicious. Here's a picture of La Luz with the first veggie of the season:
A very proud farmer indeed.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Let The Sun Shine In
Tomorrow is Christian's 34th birthday. I am sure that to many people it doesn't seem like it was all that long ago that he looked something like this:
The picture is super-small because of technical difficulties and my extreme lack of patience with the computer tonight. It is a picture of Chris with his Nana, just a few days after he was born.
I am particularly excited about the birthday because it means we will finally be the same age (at least for a few months). I have no doubt that it was some sort of great luck for me that day back in 1974 when Christian was born. I am entirely aware there is no more perfect person in the world for me and, for that reason, May 13th is not only a celebration for Chris, but a celebration for me and now for La Luz.
Happy Happy Birthday, with all of our love...
The picture is super-small because of technical difficulties and my extreme lack of patience with the computer tonight. It is a picture of Chris with his Nana, just a few days after he was born.
I am particularly excited about the birthday because it means we will finally be the same age (at least for a few months). I have no doubt that it was some sort of great luck for me that day back in 1974 when Christian was born. I am entirely aware there is no more perfect person in the world for me and, for that reason, May 13th is not only a celebration for Chris, but a celebration for me and now for La Luz.
Happy Happy Birthday, with all of our love...
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Mother's Day
Happy Mother's Day! I am blessed by having the most wonderful mother but also by many other 'mothers' who provide me with a beautiful example every day. I do not know what I would do without all of you in my life, so thank you all and I hope you all have a wonderful day.
La Luz, Christian and I had a lovely weekend, although it went by way too fast, as usual. On Friday night we took La Luz to the Neutral Ground to hear one of our friend's bands play. She had a great time and especially enjoyed playing with Bob, the lethargic, over-sized, resident cat. On Saturday morning, while Christian and La Luz slept, Gerrish and I went for an early morning run down to the Farmer's Market. The temperature has been rising steadily and the humidity is bordering on oppressive already. I definitely felt the difference during our run. I do not enjoy running in muggy weather. I hope my body will get used to it soon. I had to leave Loki at home because he has been running out of energy around mile 3 for the past few runs. I guess he is waiting for his body to adjust to the heat too.
Christian spent all day out in the hot sun doing some much needed yard work while La Luz and I ran some very important errands to get ready for Christian's birthday on Tuesday. La Luz is finally old enough to understand that she has to keep a secret about where we went and what we did. I am just hoping she can manage to keep everything a secret until Tuesday. La Luz spent the night at mom-mom and pop's (where she was totally spoiled, of course) on Saturday night so that Christian and I could go out. We had a delicious dinner at Bistro Daisy followed by the last showing of Ironman and The Prytania. I am a very good sport about going with Christian to the 'comic book' movies. I even indulged him and went to see Batman Returns (at least I think that was the one) the night before La Luz was born, when I was a week overdue and feeling particularly uncomfortable. I remember reclining in the movie seat so much so that I was practically on the floor, and drinking a gigantic strawberry Icee. In fact, I pretty much blame going into labor at 8 a.m. on that gigantic, sugar-filled Icee. At any rate, Ironman was totally entertaining and I was pleasantly surprised. No doubt, I have a soft spot for Robert Downey, Jr., but I think I would have enjoyed it regardless of who played the leading role. It was also really nice to see the Prytania theater crowded. They still don't sweep between shows, which grosses me out, but there are new seats (at least since the last time I was there) and the inside is also somewhat refurbished.
We had a delicious mother's day breakfast/brunch at mom-mom and pop's this morning when we picked La Luz up. We decided to take Loki over to the dog park/levee after breakfast and La Luz had a blast watching him run around and jump in puddles. She particularly enjoyed watching him get a bath after rolling around in the mud. Since it was so nice outside, La Luz and I decided to ride the bike home. We took an extra spin around the park and checked out the people enjoying mother's day picnics and the festivities at the zoo.
The day ended perfectly - delicious dinner at Aunt Margot's. La Luz particularly enjoyed playing with all of her toys and even managed to pilfer one of Catherine's old Strawberry Shortcake figurines. All in all, it was a lovely day.
La Luz, Christian and I had a lovely weekend, although it went by way too fast, as usual. On Friday night we took La Luz to the Neutral Ground to hear one of our friend's bands play. She had a great time and especially enjoyed playing with Bob, the lethargic, over-sized, resident cat. On Saturday morning, while Christian and La Luz slept, Gerrish and I went for an early morning run down to the Farmer's Market. The temperature has been rising steadily and the humidity is bordering on oppressive already. I definitely felt the difference during our run. I do not enjoy running in muggy weather. I hope my body will get used to it soon. I had to leave Loki at home because he has been running out of energy around mile 3 for the past few runs. I guess he is waiting for his body to adjust to the heat too.
Christian spent all day out in the hot sun doing some much needed yard work while La Luz and I ran some very important errands to get ready for Christian's birthday on Tuesday. La Luz is finally old enough to understand that she has to keep a secret about where we went and what we did. I am just hoping she can manage to keep everything a secret until Tuesday. La Luz spent the night at mom-mom and pop's (where she was totally spoiled, of course) on Saturday night so that Christian and I could go out. We had a delicious dinner at Bistro Daisy followed by the last showing of Ironman and The Prytania. I am a very good sport about going with Christian to the 'comic book' movies. I even indulged him and went to see Batman Returns (at least I think that was the one) the night before La Luz was born, when I was a week overdue and feeling particularly uncomfortable. I remember reclining in the movie seat so much so that I was practically on the floor, and drinking a gigantic strawberry Icee. In fact, I pretty much blame going into labor at 8 a.m. on that gigantic, sugar-filled Icee. At any rate, Ironman was totally entertaining and I was pleasantly surprised. No doubt, I have a soft spot for Robert Downey, Jr., but I think I would have enjoyed it regardless of who played the leading role. It was also really nice to see the Prytania theater crowded. They still don't sweep between shows, which grosses me out, but there are new seats (at least since the last time I was there) and the inside is also somewhat refurbished.
We had a delicious mother's day breakfast/brunch at mom-mom and pop's this morning when we picked La Luz up. We decided to take Loki over to the dog park/levee after breakfast and La Luz had a blast watching him run around and jump in puddles. She particularly enjoyed watching him get a bath after rolling around in the mud. Since it was so nice outside, La Luz and I decided to ride the bike home. We took an extra spin around the park and checked out the people enjoying mother's day picnics and the festivities at the zoo.
The day ended perfectly - delicious dinner at Aunt Margot's. La Luz particularly enjoyed playing with all of her toys and even managed to pilfer one of Catherine's old Strawberry Shortcake figurines. All in all, it was a lovely day.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Introducing, Flip Video
I might have mentioned some time last week that a Flip Camcorder would make a great mother's day present. As is eerily the case with most requests made on the blog, my wish was granted. The Flip arrived just a few days shy of mother's day and I couldn't be more psyched (I also couldn't wait until Sunday to start using it). I wish everything in my life were this simple.
At any rate. Here's the first Lucy flip video, just for you:
At any rate. Here's the first Lucy flip video, just for you:
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Not At All What One Expects
For the past few nights I have come home to some bizarre scenes. The first one that sort of freaked me out was displayed Monday night. La Luz had covered the coffee table with the Mardi Gras cups that never had a chance to get thrown. When I walked into the den and stood there, slack-jawed, she clapped her hands and hugged me and said, "welcome to the wedding". It doesn't look like any wedding I have ever been to, but if you say so...
The second scene was last night, just before bath time. I could tell La Luz was busy at work while I had my back turned folding clothes. When I turned around she proudly proclaimed, "look at all of your groceries" and proceeded to identify the following grocery items - milk, water, eggs, and butter.
It is all very strange and I have no idea what any of it means other than that, perhaps, she has inherited a touch of my anal tendencies and has a penchant for lining things up. Who can blame her?
The second scene was last night, just before bath time. I could tell La Luz was busy at work while I had my back turned folding clothes. When I turned around she proudly proclaimed, "look at all of your groceries" and proceeded to identify the following grocery items - milk, water, eggs, and butter.
It is all very strange and I have no idea what any of it means other than that, perhaps, she has inherited a touch of my anal tendencies and has a penchant for lining things up. Who can blame her?
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Giddy-Up
Today was western day at La Luz's school. There were all sorts of activities planned - pony rides, concerts, hay rides, petting zoo, and a picnic lunch. La Luz was looking forward to the hoedown all week. She even acquiesced when I suggested pony tails would be proper attire. I was thrilled. I love getting her hair out of her face.
Here she is, ready to pretend she is a cow-girl:
I loved this look but, as predicted, the hat didn't last long:
Congratulations to Jen, Peter and big sis, Betsy. Baby Sadie was born a little before 4 p.m. today. Once she is home and has some time I am sure Jen will be updating her new blog, www.betsyandsadie.blogspot.com.
Here she is, ready to pretend she is a cow-girl:
I loved this look but, as predicted, the hat didn't last long:
Congratulations to Jen, Peter and big sis, Betsy. Baby Sadie was born a little before 4 p.m. today. Once she is home and has some time I am sure Jen will be updating her new blog, www.betsyandsadie.blogspot.com.
Monday, May 05, 2008
La Luz's Jazz Fest 2008, In Black & White
Here are a few more pictures from La Luz's third Jazz Fest.
Watching a little boy splash around in the mud and manure. This greatly offended her sensibilities:
Resting in between acts:
Helping daddy with his hat:
Tired feet:
I am so glad that La Luz had the opportunity for another Jazz Fest experience. Unfortunately, with ticket prices at $50 each (kids between the ages of 5 and 12 are only $5) I fear we might be priced-out next year. When I look at the pictures and listen to La Luz talk about how we spent the afternoon I feel like it is something I can't really put a price on, but I guess I will have to see what happens next year. I feel like I am saying that about a lot of things these days. Did you know milk is $5.49 a gallon right now? Granted, I buy the milk from a (more or less) local dairy that allows its cattle to feed on grass, but still. The generic, Wal-Mart brand is not THAT much cheaper. And gas...well, I am just glad Christian can walk to work and my commute is less than 5 miles. I wonder how high it will get before people will really start protesting? I sort of guessed that my limit is $5.00 a gallon, and if it gets any higher than that I won't drive. It sounds to me like the sensible thing to do, at least in theory, but I doubt my ability to stick to that plan. I always anticipate what my threshold for certain things is and then, when reached, back-pedal and make excuses. I don't think I will be able to make excuses for $5.00 per gallon gas though. I hope I won't have to put my theory to the test.
Watching a little boy splash around in the mud and manure. This greatly offended her sensibilities:
Resting in between acts:
Helping daddy with his hat:
Tired feet:
I am so glad that La Luz had the opportunity for another Jazz Fest experience. Unfortunately, with ticket prices at $50 each (kids between the ages of 5 and 12 are only $5) I fear we might be priced-out next year. When I look at the pictures and listen to La Luz talk about how we spent the afternoon I feel like it is something I can't really put a price on, but I guess I will have to see what happens next year. I feel like I am saying that about a lot of things these days. Did you know milk is $5.49 a gallon right now? Granted, I buy the milk from a (more or less) local dairy that allows its cattle to feed on grass, but still. The generic, Wal-Mart brand is not THAT much cheaper. And gas...well, I am just glad Christian can walk to work and my commute is less than 5 miles. I wonder how high it will get before people will really start protesting? I sort of guessed that my limit is $5.00 a gallon, and if it gets any higher than that I won't drive. It sounds to me like the sensible thing to do, at least in theory, but I doubt my ability to stick to that plan. I always anticipate what my threshold for certain things is and then, when reached, back-pedal and make excuses. I don't think I will be able to make excuses for $5.00 per gallon gas though. I hope I won't have to put my theory to the test.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Jazz Fest 2008, Part II
We woke up Sunday morning to the most incredible weather so Christian, La Luz and I decided to check out the last day of Jazz Fest 2008. It was incredibly expensive, crowded, muddy, and there was an overwhelming aroma of manure, but it was worth every inconvenience to watch La Luz's eyes light up when she heard the first few notes of Jockamo, this time courtesy of the Wild Magnolias. Is five minutes of pure joy worth $200 and the scent of manure? You bet.
Listening to the Wild Magnolias on daddy's shoulders:
Taking a break before the Neville Brothers shut the place down:
Sharing a snowball with mama:
Braving the manure and mud:
Yes, there was a wardrobe change in there somewhere. La Luz spilled strawberry lemonade on her shirt and, lately, has become very fastidious about her general appearance.
Listening to the Wild Magnolias on daddy's shoulders:
Taking a break before the Neville Brothers shut the place down:
Sharing a snowball with mama:
Braving the manure and mud:
Yes, there was a wardrobe change in there somewhere. La Luz spilled strawberry lemonade on her shirt and, lately, has become very fastidious about her general appearance.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Ahhhh, The Life Of A Kid
La Luz had her first Camilla Grill experience Wednesday night while I was busy trying to escape reality for a few hours at the movie theater. By all accounts she had a great time. Here she is waiting for her waffle:
Christian has been busy with volleyball tryouts this week so La Luz has spent her afternoons with Kelsea. Afternoons with Kelsea mean bubbles, chalk, candy and, the most important, orange snowballs. I would like to spend my afternoons the same way. I need to figure out how Kelsea convinced her to wear her hair in pig tails. I haven't had any luck lately.
Christian has been busy with volleyball tryouts this week so La Luz has spent her afternoons with Kelsea. Afternoons with Kelsea mean bubbles, chalk, candy and, the most important, orange snowballs. I would like to spend my afternoons the same way. I need to figure out how Kelsea convinced her to wear her hair in pig tails. I haven't had any luck lately.
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