Luke the bedtime singer

Luke’s bedtime can bring trying power struggles, outlandish childhood fears, and priceless memories. Luke asks a string of questions each night as Erik sings him a few hymns before bed, such as “what inheritance mean?”, “why Jesus fight?”, and “where Jesus?” It’s a precious time to talk to Luke about these things and let him think them through for himself. Luke’s longstanding favorite song is Be Thou My Vision, and he sings it so adorably. A more recent popular request is the old hymn What Wondrous Love in its restful minor key. Tonight a new favorite arose, for Luke and his parents.

Luke: “My song about sinking down, Jesus save us – but different from song you sing Daddy.”

Luke sings: “Jesus died on cross for our sins and I was sinking down and Jesus save us… [pause]… from bumblebees… with big stingers… so we no need to be afraid.”

Luke: “Daddy you know that song?”

Erik: “No, Luke, I don’t know that one. But it’s a very nice song.”

Luke: “Yeah. That my favorite song.”

We love your songs too, Luke!

Snow bunnies

Winter-long snow a half-hour’s drive away tops the list of Albuquerque’s unexpected amenities. I love being able to access deep drifts and dreamily dusted forests without the everyday hassle of shoveling and slush. So this weekend we bundled up our snow bunnies and drove them up the mountain for some winter adventure.

Luke took to sledding immediately.

Erik didn’t mind it either.

Eleanor seemed entertained for her first few runs.

But then Bumble invaded her sledding space.

And on her next run, Daddy may have been less than respectful when the princess took a spill.

Thankfully, she pardoned Bumble for his misdemeanor and Erik’s mockery was nothing that stroller time with a bottle couldn’t fix. We just might have a little sledding team in the making!

{More pics here.}

Bear attack, by Eleanor

Hello fan club, Eleanor here! I’d like you to meet my Snuffles bear. He came a little bigger than expected, but this gives me the perfect opportunity to teach some of you other babies out there how to survive a bear attack, stuffed or otherwise.

So let’s get right to it. Keep in mind that bears can smell fear… and many other things, like dirty diapers. So it’s very important to keep calm and sweet-smelling. And if that’s not possible I recommend Pampers Pepper-boom^TM diapers for newborns.* While not a favorite among parents, the powerful spray of eye-burning pepper released when these diapers are bitten has saved lives.

When attacked by a bear, the first thing to do is protect your precious baby eyes, particularly in the event of a butt-bite.

At this point, the bear may close in on your head, so I recommend periodically jabbing his nose with your fist to hold him at bay. Another good strategy would be to roll over and protect your soft underbelly. But since we’re such little babies we can’t do that yet.

If he fails to relent after several rounds of nose pounding, this would be a good time to throw up your hands and scream like a girl (don’t worry boys, I won’t tell anyone).

Please keep in mind these are only demonstrations – Snuffles and I are really good friends. And if he does act up, I can always pull out a little baby jujitsu on him – so long as I’m propped up like this.

Well that’s all for now!  Stay tuned for more practical defense techniques; I’m thinking we’ll cover rabid raccoons and chipmunks next, or perhaps the fiercest predator of all – the toddler sibling.

* If these diapers are unavailable near you, I’m told that eating lots of peppery foods has similar results.

Luke’s partners in crime

Recently we busted a crime ring. Their hideout was Luke’s bedroom and their illicit activities took place at approximately 8:30 pm each night. Take note of the ringleader:

For the past few weeks, Luke’s ability to sleep through the night had deteriorated drastically. While a full night of zzz’s had previously been the norm, he had begun waking up once an hour or more in an inconsolable state, beginning around 1 am. We tried all sorts of measures and finally targeted his bedtime. The little boy would seem fairly peaceful when we put him in his crib around 8 pm. But then we would hear his happy talking noises until 10 pm or later! Since he was fairly quiet and happy, we didn’t see it as a problem until he started crying around 10, and then he would need a little reassurance before he would finally fall asleep.

Well, eventually it dawned on us that staying up too late in his crib must be making him so overtired that he wasn’t able to settle back to sleep during the night. But we weren’t sure how to encourage him to fall asleep sooner. After all, when we left him we made sure he had his night light on, his shushing machine playing softly, and his favorite blankets and stuffed animals at his side. Wait! The stuffed animals! They must be the main participants in all the animated talking and moving around that we heard from the living room. So Erik decided to try removing them from Luke’s crib.

When he walked in to do so, he found Luke jumping Mr. Chipmunk from wall to wall – a red-handed arrest. Once the animals were removed, Luke has settled down to sleep in just 10 minutes or so and is back to sleeping through the night! Who would have known that such sweet looking toys would be criminal influences on our child? Perhaps that chipmunk does have a suspicious look to him now that we think about it. Daytime activities only from now on for him!

Don’t honk at cattle

Twenty miles of washboard after a long empty paved road, we arrived. For miles the road had seemed to be slowly petering out and it completely disappeared after this house. Several cattleguards previous, any signs or road names had ceased, which explained the seller’s lack of address. We noticed several solar panels and a ring of rain barrels, and as I wondered about their purification system I made a mental note to avoid accepting a glass of water.

“You thought I grew up in the middle of nowhere, honey, what do you say now?'” Erik asked. I didn’t need to say anything to concede his point. We took Luke out of his car seat and I wondered once again what we would do if they demanded our money, our camera equipment, or worse. Would our precious boy be safer if I just stayed with him in the car, keys at the ready, or would he ensure our protection with his irresistible cuteness? I assured myself that they seemed nice on the phone, and we walked toward the house.

We were met by an older couple with friendly smiles and very tanned skin. They were very thoughtful and solicitous in asking about our drive, and their kindness put me at ease. When we entered their home, I was relieved to see the camera equipment set out for us, and typical kitchen and dining furnishings. The couple explained that they no longer used these types of lenses for their landscape artwork, which Luke and I enjoyed viewing while Erik inspected the equipment. They offered us terrific prices. It seemed their location may have somehow discouraged other Craigslist trollers from snapping up the deals.

We left with several upgraded lenses for hardly more than we would earn selling our current models on ebay. Erik was elated, and my patient and indulgent wife status was secured for many months to come. We also came away with some tips on humanure and this solemnly given advice – don’t honk your horn if a crowd of cattle collects in front of you on a dirt road. Evidently, the ranchers honk when they drive out to the cattle with truckloads of feed, so honking will cause the animals to mob your vehicle and significantly delay you. Instead, roll down your window, bang on the side of your car, and yell loudly. Getting to try out this tactic would have added to the story, but I didn’t mind that our journey back to civilization proceeded without incident.

Since this mid-October trip, it’s been fun to see the nicer pictures that our camera can produce. One of these was the winning shot for the (very small) Kiwi Industries photo competition. Wasn’t it worth the adventure to capture such cuteness!?

Peter, Peter pumpkin eater

Are you wondering if our nature-lover let a chipmunk into the house? Luke carefully selected this tiny green pumpkin, passing over all the farm’s larger, orange ones in favor of his (current) favorite color. But before it made it home I looked back to see it firmly locked in our little boy’s jaws! Of course I hastily snatched it away, and Erik almost swerved off the road as we both shook with laughter at its chewed up condition. We’d had pumpkin ice cream the night before, so maybe that gave our child the idea that pumpkins are tasty? Luke had generously applied this pumpkin principle by giving his other green one to the goats at the farm. But the goats ate much less raw pumpkin than Luke did!

While raw pumpkins may fail to intimidate us, the hayride earlier that afternoon was a more harrowing experience. We had watched as trailer loads of farm visitors enjoyed the scenic loop atop hay bales. Quaint, we thought, but perhaps a bit boring? Luke’s enthusiasm for the tractor convinced us to take a turn ourselves anyway, so we piled into the trailer’s last seats. With a lurch, the driver started down the path, and as we approached the heavily rutted lane he only sped up! Occasionally we’d come to an especially deep rut and instead of lurching over it, he would brake swiftly, causing everyone in the trailer to slam into each other. Below you see our little boy looking rather concerned, and if you could see my face it wouldn’t be looking too pleased either! As we were walking off the trailer with sighs of relief, another passenger told us that this was not the normal hayride driver who had been giving rides all day. Clearly some sort of hayride driver’s license should be offered by the DMV/MVD!

With the exception of the hayride, we enjoyed a very pleasant, relaxing autumn afternoon. Of course we took plenty of photos of our favorite pumpkin patch peruser…

 All against a gorgeous mountain backdrop!

When we weren’t picking pumpkins this weekend, we were working on a number of house projects. Maybe I’ll post a recap of those soon too. In the meantime, there are plenty more pics of our autumn outing here!

Dog versus toddler

It’s such a blessing that even though Luke runs and climbs like a wild child all day long, he is content to ride in his stroller for our after-dinner walks. Erik and I get to talk while Luke takes in the passing vehicles, points at dogs, and keeps his eyes peeled for playgrounds. We only pass those when we plan to take him out and let him play for a while!

Many times dog walkers have invited Luke to pet their pooches when he excitedly points and waves in their direction. I always feel pangs of guilt when he eagerly pats the dog and happily giggles as his face is licked. One day we’ll get you a puppy, little boy! But the other night instead of guilt I felt pride and a sense of accomplishment during Luke’s dog encounter. The dog owner said ‘sit!’ and while neither of her little dogs sat down, Luke immediately sat on the sidewalk and looked up at her expectantly. Our child training has surpassed at least some dogs’ training! That’s a victory isn’t it? Now if only I could teach him to lie still when I’m changing his diaper!

PS: This post title was inspired by a youtube video that I love. I think I appreciate it because it reminds me that things aren’t as bad as they seem when I feel outmatched by Luke’s strong will. I suppose that’s also why I was so delighted by his obedience to a dog command! Can you imagine this little face ever giving me any trouble?! He is such a wonderful boy, but he has a certain wild streak that laughs at discipline and can be a bit overwhelming at times!

Luke the movie star

Recently Erik has edited a few of our Luke videos. The most elaborate one features Luke’s newest piece of machinery. You can see Luke filling its tank to the left – we love his ‘glug, glug, glug’ sound as he performs this task. The video (below) is less than a minute long and is sure to prompt a raid on Target’s summer toy clearance aisle!

 

Spring brings projects & bunnies

Erik and I have enjoyed some mundane yet satisfying projects these past few weekends. Below you’ll see the before and after pictures of our guest room closet after last weekend’s closet campaign. I love the wire shelves and plastic bins we bought at Costco and would highly recommend them to anyone else with spring cleaning fever, but the yellow post-it notes I added as labels weren’t such a good idea. Guess what Luke’s little hands grabbed first when he saw the closet!

After a winter of mangy looking bushes in our backyard, we finally pruned our roses and other shrubs back so they’re all ready for summer blooms. With the mega-thorns that these guys boast, this was definitely an activity for Luke’s naptime! We also recently engaged in a mini round of one of my favorite past times – moving pictures and other items around our house in the continual quest for optimal placement. And we drew up plans for a terrific shoe-storing entry bench that Erik plans to build. We so enjoy little home improvement projects and love that they fit well into naptime time blocks.

In Luke news, he recently treated us to a toddler rite of passage. Erik walked into the bathroom, opened the toilet lid, and found this:

Face down in the toilet was Luke’s sweet bunny basket! Of course he called me in and I instantly realized that earlier that day when I’d followed Luke into the bathroom, the clunk I’d heard wasn’t a failed attempt to open the toilet lid, but the closing of it after a hasty bunny dunk. Would this qualify as a bunny bidet??

I wonder if the Easter bunny will pay a visit to the little guy now…

The Parent-er

This weekend Erik and I were driving back from the tile store (for surely no less than the 20th time in the past few months!) and the new Pearl Jam song The Fixer came on the radio. What would it be like if Eddie Vedder had written the lyrics from a parent's perspective, we wondered. Here is our take, with the lyrics below and our music video here! Do you think we capture a bit of Pearl Jam and parenting?

**********

Yeah, hey, hey

When something smells, I wanna put a little diaper on it

When something runs, let me put a little tissue on it

If somethings loud, I wanna put a little bottle in it

If there’s no nap, I wanna call the babysitter then

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, call the babysitter then

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

When somethings sore, let me put some neosporin on it

If somethings bored, I wanna put a little Elmo on it

When something smiles, I wanna point my Canon camera at it

If there’s a fire, I wanna call the babysitter then

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, call the babysitter then

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

When somethings sad, let me put some hugs & kisses on it

If there’s no wipes, I wanna head right to the store

I’ll say you’re cute, I’ll make you treats

I’ll find us a way to get to sleep

I’ll make up games, we’ll dance and sing

What’s made could be a great family

Hey, hey, hey
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, makes a happy family
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Makes a happy family, yeah, yeah, yeah
Makes a happy family, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Enfamil Light - because your baby is huge

We recently noticed that Enfamil is coming out with a new line of baby formula, Enfamil Premium. What other lines of formula might Enfamil offer the public?, we asked ourselves. As Luke finished his second bottle in under an hour, the idea dawned on us -- Enfamil Light. Across the top of regular Enfamil cans it says 'because it's your baby'. Enfamil Light could read 'because your baby is huge'.

Retailers could offer combination discounts on purchases of Enfamil Light with...

- the Home Depot back brace
- hydraulic lift high chairs
- strollers compatible with a 2" ball hitch
- a universal shopping cart wheel bearing replacement kit
- a super-size bumbo baby seat
- the baby bjorn equine package: baby carrier straps to hooved animals for easier transportation
- a hooved animal
- extension tabs for Pampers diapers

Now we don't seriously believe that any baby should be fed Enfamil Light. But we are pretty sure that at some point most parents feel their babies are stretching their physical limitations in terms of arm, back, and/or wrist strength and stamina. We certainly have felt that way at times! In those moments, you might find yourself contemplating the merits of Enfamil Light and whatever corresponding products you dream up.