Boy & Globe

For the past week or so James has been having some sleeping issues. He is starting to be scared of "monsters" (I blame that on too much Scooby Doo watching in the afternoons with Luz) and is generally incredibly clingy at night. He is not thrilled about getting into the crib, once in the crib he likes to climb out, and he always prefers to have one of us in the room with him. Christian and I both cave too often. We are tired and he is our baby and it is easier to fall asleep by his side than it is to listen to crying and wince at the thought of him climbing out of the crib.

So on Saturday afternoon, when we were all very tired after a morning of parading, and the band playing around the block kept me from actually falling asleep, I rested and James snoozed and the afternoon sunlight was just perfect and I saw this:


and had to share it.

Luz, Fashion Show

Luz is turning into this really entertaining kid that is nothing like the type of kid I was and I am sort of just watching...wondering where it comes from. She has always been very shy so I am sort of surprised to see some of the things she is doing - packing books that she wants to read to her class, practicing which sorts of questions to ask them about the story and how to best angle the pages so everyone can see; asking to call her friends on the phone; and putting on these crazy plays and concerts and fashion shows when people come over, among other things. Sure, 33.3% of the time the attempts fizzle out and she remembers that people are actually looking at her and, god forbid, engaged...but every now and then it comes together and a quiet morning with a babysitter turns into a very elaborate display:

Channeling her inner Aunt Susan, hairstylist Luz:


An old standby, Dorthy Luz:


A nod to her ancestor, Pocahantas Luz:



My personal fav, pirate Luz, Ahoy:


and, the piece de la resistance, Mater Luz:


Note the incredible attention to detail. She just told me that she wants to dress up as a rockstar for Mardi Gras. Hm, think I need to get the stylist back over here to put that 'look' together.

So...Wow

I am still sort of scratching my head in amazement, wondering just how it happened that everything, well, most everything, worked out this week. I knew it would be an incredibly busy week for me with a client in town, multiple mediations, and a couple of huge deadlines to meet, but I had no idea Luz would get sick and then so would Christian and that he would be non-functioning for 4 days until, finally, a Z-pack kicked in....Needless to say, things were crazier than usual, but I made it through the week healthy and we lucked out with a gorgeous weekend and no commitments (other than a small family reunion of sorts - I will fill you in on that soon). We spent most of it outside when it was daylight and took advantage of the incredibly warm temps to open every window and do some serious Spring cleaning. It feels much nicer and a ton cleaner around here.

Luz and James loved being outside. We hung out with neighbors, walked to the park about 10 times and checked out the new Italian ice store that opened around the block (it is excellent, incidentally, and they sell these delicious, cinnamony donuts which smell incredible and are tough to resist).

We busted out flip flops, played hopscotch and corn-hole, and enjoyed the fresh air. It was perfect.

Jamesy, first flip-flop feet:


Congratulatory hugs:


Hopscotch - yet another one of those really interesting things - James has been able to jump for about a year now - it took Luz until she was 3 to be able to do it - at least I think she can do it - better check:

Parenting Firsts

This guy thinks being chased is the best sport around. He frequently enjoys teetering on top steps and landings. He is fond of jumping on and off furniture without anyone nearby to spot him. It is all in the name of fun. The most recent stunt, however, was born out of total anger, absolute disgust at the fact that he was sent to bed before he was ready. His response was to climb out of the crib, open his bedroom door and descend the stairs where he appeared, red-faced, tear streaked, quivering with ire, repeating "no want to go to sleep".

This guy...really:

We're Still Having Fun

At some point on Saturday night/evening Christian and I can celebrate 16 years of life...together. It was on February 12th, 16 years ago, that we had our first date and I had my first sneaking suspicion that I should probably get used to the person I was watching a movie with because it was going to be something we would do hundreds of times together. My intuition was right.

I am not good with numbers and dates and days and months and years, I only know this because it is scribbled away in the corner of Saturday's block on the motherboard, the calendar that keeps track of our lives, tucked underneath soccer practice and quiz bowl finals, a little reminder about the butterflies in my stomach and the wonder of what lies ahead.

It has been a challenging parenting/working mom week for me and I say this knowing that it is all rather relative...being up at 3 am with a fevery toddler is tough, especially when you have to put in 10 hours of work the next day, but I realize I need to treasure the opportunity to rock James for hours on end when he does not protest my hugs and kisses and be thankful, incredibly thankful, that this is what is tough for me right now.

So, what do we have planned for Saturday night...something wild and romantic you say? I have my sights set on an a big bowl of pasta and whatever is waiting for us on Netflix. I am, after all, planning to run 13.1 miles the next morning. The celebration and the romance will have to be penciled in on the motherboard at a later date.

So, here we are, not quite 16 years ago, this one was taken circa '97, I think, and I know there is just so much to say about it but, c'mon, it was YEARS ago...

Sunny Saturday

After a week of gray skies and cold rain and watching the rest of the country get inundated with snow, we had the luxury of a beautiful, sunny day on Saturday. The last few hours of our day were free so we headed to the park to enjoy some time outside and soak up some much-needed sunlight.

Here is J, in a double hand-me-down sweatshirt - one of my current favorites:


And Luz, dressed for the occasion in a floral headband, because you never know who you might run into at the park:


While we were there a mobile cupcake shop stopped by - what luck! The name of the company is Cupcakes & Co. It is a new business and the girls operating it are lovely so please give them a try NOLA. You can follow their daily stops on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook (in my next period of free time I will learn how to add links for Twitter and FB, I promise). The cupcakes we tried were tasty, but the service and convenience are the biggest perk. I just need to convince them to sell coffee and hot chocolate as well. Stop by their website and see if they will be in your neighborhood soon - www.cupcakesandcompany.net

Lucy's Jams

Christian is a master mix maker and I am generally good about posting the ones that he creates for me so that you can all see what kinds of tunes we are listening to in casa Vaicius. I have not ever posted the track lists from the mixes he creates for Luz but I just could not resist this time. He captures a perfect blend of current favorites (tracks we know she loves because she sings the songs or mentions the lyrics or shrieks when she hears a few beats as I scan the radio for something I can tolerate), stuff he thinks she should love but probably won't, songs that she has been brainwashed to love, and stuff that is just amusing enough to catch her interest.

Here is the latest installment, Lucy's Winter 2011 Mix:

Journey Don't Stop Believing
What's My Name Rihanna and Drake (whoa...this was a mistake, I think)
Baby Justin Bieber and Ludacris (I know)
Empire State of Mind Jay Z and Alecia Keys (this is much better than you think)
Twist and Shout The Beatles
I Want Candy Bow Wow Wow
Halo Beyonce
Mama Mia Abba
Break Your Heart Taio Cruz and Ludacris (her favorite for the past 2 months)
Mine Taylor Swift
Mr. Sandman The Chordettes (she is most fascinated by this one)
That's The Way KC and the Sunshine Band
I Like It Enrique Iglesias
King of Anything Sarah Bareilles (I wish she loved this one)
Help The Beatles
Firework Katy Perry (ugh)
Naturally Selena Gomez and the Scene (hearts SG more than JB)
Billie Jean Michael Jackson (she likes it but is weirded out by MJ)
Love Story Taylor Swift
Rock Lobster B-52's (wow...throwback to the Athens, GA days)

Enjoy!

James, Two Years Old

Here is a little project that I finally (sort of) completed last night. It seems rather simple, but making this little video has sucked up quite a few hours over the past couple of weeks. I enjoyed almost every minute of putting it together and am eager to learn more about the process when I have more free time. There is no doubt that there are some editing issues, probably a few grammatical errors, and a host of glitches with the soundtrack fading in and out (maybe next time I can convince Josh to create a minute or two of something sweet).

I finally settled on a John Lennon classic, even though the song is about a boy named Sean, not James. The second track is by a band called, The Boy Least Likely To, and it makes me happy, just like James. I was inspired to put the video together as I sat down to write a post for James on his second birthday. I felt like I was starting to say the same old things and I just was not getting my point across. James is the baby that makes me want to have ten more babies. He is loving and hilarious and endlessly entertaining and I hope this video does a decent job of showing all of you just what I am talking about.

Enjoy!

James Is Two from Julie Vaicius on Vimeo.