Christmas Prep

Once again, Luc loves decorating for Christmas. He helped Frederic and I put up the lights outside the house. He was really excited to decorate the Christmas tree and insisted on putting ornaments on himself- they all ended up on the same 2 branches. When we were finished, he sat on the couch and pouted. When we asked what was wrong, he said he didn't want the tree to be finished decorated. We told him he can help decorate Grandma and Papa's tree in 2 weeks. That seemed to appease him.

 It is officially Luc's "job" to turn the Christmas tree on every night. And keeping with tradition this year, Luc got to put the star on top of the tree.

Grandma has taken out little things for decorating around the house, and these have occupied much of Luc's time- creating games, playing music, etc. Grandma even taught Luc Jingle Bells.

Luc's Christmas list this year: a Scooter.

I finally got Aria's Christmas Stocking completed the other night. Just took me about 3 months, but it was a lot of beading and stitching. Now mine looks old and out of place with everyone else's socks done in the last few years. Ah well. Mine's "vintage". 

Can you Believe? - Luc is Three!

My lil Monkey is 3 years old!

Weight: 26 lbs

Height: 35 inches

 -Sings the whole alphabet
-Loves to sing Old McDonald, Bingo
-Counts to 15+ in English
-Counts to 10 in French
-Loves to play with trucks, cars, and trains, Mommy's kitchen gadgets
-Speaks in full sentences and can carry on little conversations
-Has a very good memory

-Favorite shows: Daniel the Tiger, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sheriff Cali's Wild West, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Princess Sophia
-Favorite Movies: Curious George, Curious George's Christmas, Planes, Toy Story
-Enjoys being outside, going for walks, riding his trike bike, going to the playground, playing with water
-Favorite games: Tag/Chase Me, roar like a monster, spin in circles to get dizzy and fall down

New Things

Because Luc's birthday is so late in the year, he will have to be one of the oldest kids in his class when he starts school. We didn't want to put him in with 2 year olds when he's turning 3 this year, so he has one more year of 'freedom.' However, we wanted to get him assimilated to a classroom-like environment. We looked through Columbia's Parks and Recs catalog and found some options. This past Spring Luc went to swimming lessons with Mommy in April for a few weeks. The instructor wasn't all that good, but at least it got him more comfortable being in the water though he didn't really learn much about "swimming". We also signed Luc up for a French class on Saturday mornings for 6 weeks. He got to learn words, songs, games, and other activities in French. He seemed to really enjoy the class.
Luc also started going to Storytime with Grandma every week at the local library. They get to sing songs, listen to books being read by Ms. Molly, and color. Then Mama gets a few books to bring home for the week. Luc has even learned the storytime song: "Hello. I'm glad you came. It's storytime." Sometimes the song gets stuck in his head and he'll change the word from storytime to where ever he currently is: home, bath, store, etc.

 Family

Luc gets so excited and loves spending time with all his family. They always get a big greeting when he sees them and talks about them for days after he sees them. When we tell him he'll see them in a few days, he keeps bringing them up in conversation and asking when he'll see them. He thinks every day in the future is a Sunday. "Me see Bonne Maman and Bon Papa on Sunday." He loves to see Papa on Fridays when he works from home and sits in the study with him while he works. He loves to play with Bonne Maman when we visit on the weekends. When Uncle Dave walks in the door, Luc shouts "UNCLE DAVE!" He talks about his cousins by name, but always mentions Kendall is his favorite.

Sleep

 Luc is very good about going to bed at night when it's bedtime. He may still try to play games as we're trying to get him into his pj's, but he settles down and puts himself to sleep. He's a little cranky in the morning though if he goes to bed even 10 minutes later. Since he can sleep longer on the weekends, naps have been fading out of the picture. The crankiness is still present though.

Eating

Luc is more of breakfast/morning eater. By dinnertime, he doesn't have much of an appetite.

-Favorite foods: crackers, fruit, yogurt tubes, cheese sticks, Mac n Cheese, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, English muffins, smoothies, ice cream, chocolate
-Won't Eat: vegetables, steak, mashed potatoes, strong cheeses like Swiss, pizza

Diaper vs. Potty

During the summer, we thought Luc was getting interested in potty training. He tried to sit on the potty a few times and even tried out wearing big boy underwear (which he would have pee accidents). He soon lost interest. However, with the arrival of his baby sister soon, he concluded and told us that she'll need his diapers and when she's born he will wear underwear and start using the potty. Fingers crossed....though caring for a newborn and potty training at the same time might test my human limits.

Not so Pleasant

 It's getting harder to trick Luc out of things without him realizing what's really going on and then having a tantrum. While he's usually pretty obedient and is good, when he doesn't want to do something, he becomes very stubborn to do it his way. He also has little patience (and mimics his Daddy in his reaction to things when they don't work right away. "Come Ooonn!!" followed by "Ugh!" ...sigh).

Progress

 Though we finally got Luc to give up his blankie (or lovey, as some people call them) while on vacation at the beach this year, he has replaced it with a monkey. However, with the monkey, he doesn't have to have him all the time, every where he goes. He has to sleep with Monkey and at least one other stuffed animal, although those rotate around and he's not as attached to them.
And his name: Monkey Hairson. Keepin it simple.

Luc & Monkey Hairson at Sea World

Silly Things

Things Luc has said recently:

"Jeez, boy!" when he drops something.

Me: "Luc, be careful."
Luc: "I know. Big boys always be careful, right?"

"The sun is up! Yay! Time to wake up."

While changing his diaper before bed, Luc farted. Frederic and I started laughing and Luc said, "Didn't see that coming, huh?" 

Aria in 3D

Frederic, Luc and I went to see Aria yesterday in 3D/4D. It was a totally awesome experience. I wish we had done it with Luc as well.
We had a 20 minutes session of looking at Aria and got almost 50 pictures. We got to see her yawn, drink and swallow fluid, try to open her eyes, nibble on her fingers, and smile. She was folded in half with her legs and feet in front of her face, so we also got to count her fingers and toes. We were so surprised to see how similar she looks to when Luc was a newborn. They share the same flat, wide nose (which will eventually change to long and narrow when they're older) and perfect bow lips.
Luc was half interested to see her. After a few minutes, he was having more fun on the rocking chair in the room.
It was well worth the out-of-pocket cost.

nibbling on her fingers

Smile!

Yawn. Why did you wake me up?

We can't wait to meet her!!

Big Brother, Little Sister

 Luc has said he wanted a sister when we first found out we were expecting. Luckily, he got his wish. I'm not sure what he would've done if we told him he was getting a brother.
While I'm not naive and I know the jealousy and competition will soon be coming, Luc has been really good so far about the idea of a little sister coming. Although, he doesn't really get the concept that he and his baby sister have the same Mommy. He also wants to know when she's coming over to play. I tell him after his birthday and around Christmas time.

New things out of Luc's mouth about his baby sister:

When I go into the nursery (Luc's old room) to put something in there for Aria, Luc follows me asks accusingly, "Why you in my baby sister room?" Protective already!

I've been going through some of my old toys and looking at girly toys in the store. Luc likes to help search through things and ask, "Which one baby sister like?" before choosing something.
But then when there's a new toy Luc wants to hold and play with it. I tell him he can until his sister comes and that then he has to share with her. Luc, "Me don't want to share this." I give him the look and he asks all surprised, "Me share my other toys? My cars?"  then... "Okay, me share my cars with baby sister."

I was able to pick up some baby girl socks on clearance at Target yesterday. While taking the tags off and putting them in for the laundry, Luc tells me, "Baby sister need socks, Mommy. Look Mommy, blue ones! Me like them."


We took Luc on his bike for a little walk one evening and a couple with their son and baby daughter were walking across the street. Luc pointed out the little boy and then said, "That my baby sister."

Big Boy Bed

This weekend we finished decorating what used to be the guest bedroom. It's all Micky Mouse'd-out. Friday night was the first night Luc slept in his new room in his big boy bed. And everything went great. He had no problems falling asleep or staying in bed. In the morning I think he forgot he wasn't in a crib and just sat in bed and called for us. Sunday morning he realized he could climb out and I woke up to see his little head peeping in our doorway. Now we wait a few more weeks to find out what #2 before we redecorate the nursery.

This morning, Frederic was again explaining to Luc that Mommy had a baby in her tummy (as I was in the bathroom getting sick). And he asked Luc if it's a boy or girl and whether he wanted a sister or brother. Luc still wants a sister.

Silly Things

Luc looked at himself in the mirror the other day and said, "Lookin' good!"

I kept telling Luc to be careful playing with his magnets on the fridge because if they go under the fridge there's no way we can get them out. Even after I stopped reminding him, when he picks up his magnets, he says, "I know, Mommy."

While saying goodbye to Luc in the morning, I tell him to be good at Grandma's. His response, "Yea, sure!"

Frederic needed to get the extension ladder out to clean bird poop off the shutter of the window outside. As Frederic was climbing the ladder, Luc tells him, "Be careful, Daddy!"

Though I haven't been nearly as sick with this pregnancy as I was with Luc, I'm still not feeling well most of the times. When Luc wants to do something, I tell him I'm not feeling well. Whenever Frederic arrives, he's quick to tell him, "Mommy no feel good, Daddy." So Frederic will sometimes take him outside so I can rest. As they leave Luc says, "Feel better, Mommy."

We're trying to teach Luc how to share things a little better. Frederic told him he'll have to start sharing a lot more soon because there's a baby in Mommy's tummy. Luc starts walking over to me on the couch and says, "Me get it out." Yikes! I don't think he really understands what's going on just yet.

Luc's also learned when asking for something that adding pretty pretty in front of please is a little more effective. When he says it, it sounds like: "Pitty pitty Peas."

Last weekend, Luc and I went with Grandma and Grandpa to New Jersey for my cousin Karen's daughter's baptism. Luc did an awesome job in the car ride up there and coming back (though coming back that night I was so tired I wiped out the last resort for entertainment- the ipad- and let him have some fun until it was time to go to sleep.)

At the party for the baptism there were some other kids there as well. A boy was just over a year, and the girl was 20 months. Saturday evening my Aunt Lucille allowed Luc to play on the keyboard for a little while and then showed him how to turn it off. Sunday, Luc wanted to play with it again. Since there were other kids there and already a lot of noise, we told him he couldn't play with it. Later that afternoon the kids were playing peek-a-boo with each other in that same room as the piano. While I was peeking in the doorway, the little girl started banging on the keys and wanting it to turn on. Luc stood there looking at her, then walked over to the piano and started telling the girl, "Me turned it off." The little girl kept saying something like, "On. Fun." To which Luc kept repeating to her: "No, me turned it off." Then: "No, little girl. No." I couldn't help but laugh in the doorway. This is the first time Luc has been the older kid and seeing him give instructions to another kid made him seem so much older and mature. And it also warmed my heart to know he really does listen to me and follow instructions even when he and other kids want it the other way (and when the adults aren't in the room with them).