Today

Practicing his name...

Windy day...

Fun at the Splash Park...

Hola, Mr. Cranky Pants / Time for a nap...

Lunchtime with Phoebe

We had a lunch-time playdate with Phoebe - also known as Xiao Yue. You can read about her amazing journey here.
 

Phoebe is scrumptious and edible and Luca - despite the fact that he kept taking his car people from her today - loves her and talks about her all the time. She also happens to be the younger sister of his favorite "big-boy" pal - Isaac.

Phoebe has just started to master "the crawl" and she's already saying a few words. We are looking forward to spending lots of time with her and to continuing to watch her grow.

Fighting the Cavity Creeps

Luca had a dentist appointment today. Just a check-up and a cleaning. He loves going to Dr. Myers' office. He gets to wear sunglasses in the chair and hold "Mr. Thirsty" - that saliva-sucking tube thing. He remembered his good experience from last time and was looking forward to it all morning. He left the office with no cavities, a new toothbrush, a prize from the machine and a willingness to floss. 

Happy Adoption Day!

Today is the second anniversary of Debbie's legal adoption of Luca. We were living in New York at the time - a state that allows same-sex adoptions. Debbie procured a Second-Parent Adoption:


Definition: Second parent adoption is a legal procedure that allows same-sex couples (gay and lesbian parents) to adopt their partner's biological or adopted children without terminating the first parent's right as a parent. Second parent adoptions give the child two legal guardians. It protects both parents by giving both of them legally recognized parental status.

Not all states allow second-parent adoptions. Some states don't allow gays and lesbians to adopt at all. Both Ohio (where Luca was born) and Florida (where we lived before having children and where we live now) expressly prohibit all Gays and Lesbians from adopting under any and all circumstances. 

Besides the obvious, there are a number of things about laws such as these which are unfair, unconstitutional and just plain scary. During the time that we lived in Ohio after Luca's birth, I always thought about the risk of what would happen to him and what would happen to Debbie's relationship to him if anything happened to me. Here are a just few examples of what would have happened if I had croaked while living in Cincinnati:

- Luca would have had NO legal status 

- Debbie would have had NO legal right to take custody or care for Luca

-Debbie would not have been able to make any medical decisions for Luca

- Debbie would not have been able to register Luca for school

Not to mention taxes, social security benefits, health insurance, etc. The list goes on. 

So - here we are, pregnant again. And, guess what? - We are back to where we were pre-adoption. This baby will be even more unprotected in Florida than he would have been in Ohio - which at least offers some sort of weakened version of  co-parenting status to couples like us. 

There was, though, a recent case in Florida that makes us somewhat hopeful. In Miami, a circuit court judge ruled in favor of a gay man who filed to adopt a boy he had been fostering. The judge ruled that Florida's ban on gay adoption was unconstitutional and allowed the adoption to go through. This is big. As far as I know, no one has appealed the ruling yet. The fact that there is now a case on record claiming the state ban unconstitutional is a huge victory for Gay Family Rights in the state of Florida. You can read a bit about the case here. 

We've made a decision to have Debbie file for adoption soon after this baby is born. Right here in the sunny state of Florida. We'll keep you posted. 

Better Than A Morning Cup of Coffee to Get You Going

Pulling out of the drive this morning, I discovered that SOMEONE STOLE OUR OBAMA SIGN. And two of our neighbor's signs, too.

The Democrat Headquarters doesn't open until noon. As soon as they do, I am going over there and buying a ton of signage - to give away AND to use as back-ups for us.

If it happens again, I am putting the baby video monitor that my dad just bought us to use. I'll hook that thing up on my front porch and keep watch all night if I have to.

I'm seriously ticked off. Of course, it's not surprising. We do, after all, live in a very conservative and very religious small (minded) city.

I am hoping that this is an isolated incident. The work of annoying pranksters. But, if it continues, at least I'll be prepared.

24 weeks, 5 days

Went for an ultrasound this morning. Everything looks good with the baby. I am 24 weeks and 5 days - and he is measuring right on target.

In other news - Luca just had a small accident which I discovered with my bionic olfactory powers.

According to his teacher, Luca had a good day at school except for a short-lived tantrum involving a band aid and a phantom boo-boo.

Debbie made a great dinner tonight... stir-fried pesto shrimp, collards with onion and fake bacon and an Italian-y rice and beans. Luca will eat ANYTHING with pesto on it, so he devoured the shrimp and we even managed to convince him to eat some greens. The fake bacon did it.

It's barely 8pm and I am ready for bed.

Palin / Hillary SNL Open

Sickie

Luca came down with a high fever on Monday night - so we've spent the last two days tending to our patient. Blueberry smoothies, peppermint oil baths, cold compresses and lots of liquids did the trick during the day - but we caved at night and did the Tylenol/Motrin dance. I am all for a allowing a fever to do it's job - but I am the first to admit to being freaked out in anticipation of his fever spiking in the night. It got as high as 104 this time - and I am still traumatized by the last virus when it got above 105. I spent all of Monday night (into Tuesday morning) feeling his head and taking his temp. Consequently, I was a zombie yesterday. But - it worked out okay because this is what he did for much of the day...



Today was much better. He got up to 102, but never higher. He ate a bit, got ALL of his energy back and refused to nap. His activity level today more than made up for yesterday. He couldn't bring himself to lay quietly on the sofa, even when tempted with a video. There was just too much to do...





















We'll see how he does tonight - but I think he's on the mend.

Timeline - Sunday Afternoon

We spent the morning lazing about - grazing on breakfast, reading the paper and dust-busting dog hair. And - speaking of the dog - Debbie and Luca gave Blaise a long over-due bath.



Inside (in the air-conditioning) I tackled some laundry.



After Blaise's bath, Debbie and Luca joined me inside and the three of us made use of the ripe bananas and tried out a new recipe for banana bread.



Debbie went to get a hair cut, Luca took and a nap and I did...

 

...more laundry.

The banana bread came out of the oven. 

Luca woke up and we sampled a bit.

It got good reviews.



Now Luca is playing some made-up game where he is yelling things like "stop thief!"' and "come on, Penny!" and throwing balls all over the living room.

And, I am still doing laundry.

more beach...

Mama and Mommy
  

Luca



Lori and Ida AND Bella and Sophie


Wet dog

Evening at the Beach

A late-afternoon romp on the intercoastal...

Preschool - week two

He went again on Thursday and Friday. His second week. I was nervous all over again, but he was excited on Thursday and I was so relieved.



Friday didn't go as well. We were the first ones to arrive and he was uneasy - didn't want me to go. His teacher tried to engage him in an activity, but he sensed that meant I was leaving for sure and it escalated. She picked him up and motioned for me to exit. So, I left when he was close to tears - after a quick kiss on the head as she pulled him away. Heinous. I cried in the car on the way home - knowing that I am a rookie mom when it comes to this and knowing that he would be fine, but feeling for him anyway. Wishing I had waited and helped him to get settled. I got home and called my sister - an elementary school speech therapist whose first job out of college was in a preschool. As I sniffled into the phone, she told me that he would be okay and - no - I didn't need to call. But, I am weak - so I called anyway. He was totally fine. Stopped crying within minutes - as soon as another little boy arrived.



I am still getting used to this.

"L" is for Luca

For the past six months or so, I have been passively presenting Luca with his name in print - usually by writing it in large letters on his easel in the kitchen. He can tell you how to spell it and he can, for the most part, recognize it when it's written but - until the other day - he had shown no interest at all in learning how to write it himself.



I was doing dishes or cooking or something that afternoon, while he was at his easel. He called me over to show me this...



He had erased his name as I had written it except for the "L" and then wrote two of his own.



He was excited by my excitement and ran to get his toy camera (actually real and I should get film for it, but I am lazy) to capture the moment, too.

Love is...

After whining to your partner about how much you need a little snack because there is a baby growing inside of you , she gets up from her well-deserved rest on the sofa and brings you this...