My dad came with us and Luca enjoyed showing off on the monkey bars a bit.
Pop-Pop was inspired...
...to find his inner child.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Playground Monday
It's Monday and - since this baby is still on the inside, rather than the outside - I took Luca to the park for his usual beginning of the week, mid-morning work-out.
My dad came with us and Luca enjoyed showing off on the monkey bars a bit.
Pop-Pop was inspired...
...to find his inner child.
My dad came with us and Luca enjoyed showing off on the monkey bars a bit.
Pop-Pop was inspired...
...to find his inner child.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Not Trick Photography
As you can see, I am BIG.
Big and ready.
And, I've dropped. Or - he has. So, let's get on with it already!
My acupuncturist went away for a week for the holiday. She kindly left me with one of those clickers, as well as sharpie marks on certain pressure points (little toe, inner calf and hand). I clicked the beejesus out of those points tonight. We'll see.
Baby Max
My nephew Maxwell's second Christmas...
PJs courtesy of Mom-Mom. Luca had on the same pair when he went to bed (one-thousand miles away) on Christmas Eve, but - due to Christmas excitement and too much water before bed, we had a costume change in the middle of the night. The idea was for us to have Christmas pics of the boys in the same outfit (because my sister and I are annoying like that). Also - it's much easier to identify pics as from a specific year when they're older. Oh well, we'll try again next Christmas.
I'm not sure how much longer we can call this boy "Baby" Max - as he is getting so big so fast.
We missed him like crazy this Christmas.
PJs courtesy of Mom-Mom. Luca had on the same pair when he went to bed (one-thousand miles away) on Christmas Eve, but - due to Christmas excitement and too much water before bed, we had a costume change in the middle of the night. The idea was for us to have Christmas pics of the boys in the same outfit (because my sister and I are annoying like that). Also - it's much easier to identify pics as from a specific year when they're older. Oh well, we'll try again next Christmas.
I'm not sure how much longer we can call this boy "Baby" Max - as he is getting so big so fast.
We missed him like crazy this Christmas.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Pop-Pop...
My dad arrived today. He came bearing gifts.
Luca kicked his butt in a memory game.
Then they built a small city until it was time to go to dinner.
At the end of the night - books...
All of the excitement totally wore him out.
Luca kicked his butt in a memory game.
Then they built a small city until it was time to go to dinner.
At the end of the night - books...
All of the excitement totally wore him out.
Christmas
Luca woke up somewhere between 6:30 and 7:00am - but, because Debbie and I hadn't gone to sleep until 2am, we lied and told him it was still the middle of the night. We convinced him to get into our bed and to "shhh - close your eyes, quick because Santa still has to come!". He believed us, despite the fact that the morning light was clearly visible through the windows. We managed to stay under the covers until almost 8am - but, by then, his excitement had rubbed off on us, so we all jumped out of bed.
This is what he saw when he walked into the living room...
And this is what he looked like when he discovered what Santa left under the tree...
He was also excited that the carrots and cookies that he had left for Santa and Rudolf had been eaten...
He opened each present slowly and methodically. It took for-ev-er, but we were really glad that he took the time to savor each one.
He got a few big items from my mom, dad and sister (as usual) - but we made a real effort to ask lots of people to NOT send gifts this year. Last year - between traveling during Christmas AND gifts from every single person we visited (plus the packages from family and friends far away) - there was way too much excess. Totally unnecessary. Plus, he was completely overwhelmed and the idea of giving and receiving was out the window - and all he experienced was some sort of unpleasant holiday frenzy. This year was a much more contained and - although he still made out like a bandit - the amount of gifts he received was dealable enough that he really did appreciate everything he was given. He's also (thankfully) totally down with the idea of "out with the old, in with the new" and that we will be getting rid of (giving away, donating, sending to the shore house) some of his old toys to make room for new ones. We also worked on the concept of sharing with and giving to people who don't have as much as we do. We "adopt" a big family each holiday and, this year, we tried to include him as much as we could. At three, some of it was lost on him, but we'll continue with that concept throughout the year and - next year - make him a more active participant in that whole process. For now, we are doing our best to stamp out the "gimmes" when they come up (as he is currently drawn to all gift-wrapped items) and show him that it's really fun to give, too. He's doing pretty well with all of it, but it's something we realize WE need to stay on top of - and set a good example - in order for him to really get it.
We spent the rest of the day playing with his loot, eating leftovers (from our relaxing and delicious Christmas Eve feast with friends) and lazing about. This is the first Christmas in seven years that we've been home during the holidays and Luca's first Christmas in his own house. Although I missed my family (especially my sister, BIL and nephew) in a major way, it was really nice to be able to be in our own space and allow Luca all the time he wanted and needed to enjoy the day in his own way.
This is what he saw when he walked into the living room...
And this is what he looked like when he discovered what Santa left under the tree...
He was also excited that the carrots and cookies that he had left for Santa and Rudolf had been eaten...
He opened each present slowly and methodically. It took for-ev-er, but we were really glad that he took the time to savor each one.
He got a few big items from my mom, dad and sister (as usual) - but we made a real effort to ask lots of people to NOT send gifts this year. Last year - between traveling during Christmas AND gifts from every single person we visited (plus the packages from family and friends far away) - there was way too much excess. Totally unnecessary. Plus, he was completely overwhelmed and the idea of giving and receiving was out the window - and all he experienced was some sort of unpleasant holiday frenzy. This year was a much more contained and - although he still made out like a bandit - the amount of gifts he received was dealable enough that he really did appreciate everything he was given. He's also (thankfully) totally down with the idea of "out with the old, in with the new" and that we will be getting rid of (giving away, donating, sending to the shore house) some of his old toys to make room for new ones. We also worked on the concept of sharing with and giving to people who don't have as much as we do. We "adopt" a big family each holiday and, this year, we tried to include him as much as we could. At three, some of it was lost on him, but we'll continue with that concept throughout the year and - next year - make him a more active participant in that whole process. For now, we are doing our best to stamp out the "gimmes" when they come up (as he is currently drawn to all gift-wrapped items) and show him that it's really fun to give, too. He's doing pretty well with all of it, but it's something we realize WE need to stay on top of - and set a good example - in order for him to really get it.
We spent the rest of the day playing with his loot, eating leftovers (from our relaxing and delicious Christmas Eve feast with friends) and lazing about. This is the first Christmas in seven years that we've been home during the holidays and Luca's first Christmas in his own house. Although I missed my family (especially my sister, BIL and nephew) in a major way, it was really nice to be able to be in our own space and allow Luca all the time he wanted and needed to enjoy the day in his own way.
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