The One Where the Grandparents Visit, Mommy Turns 29 (again), and Luc Learns Table Manners

Avi and Mica Come to Town
Shawn’s parents (that’s Avi and Mica to you) came to visit their favorite grandson for two weeks. Fun, hilarity and just about anything Luc wanted ensued. Luc wowed them with his finely honed walking and pointing skills; they were helpless against his charm. He would merely point at the door to the back yard and say “Cah!” (How he says “car.” He sounds like he’s been spending time in Bahston… he wants to pahk the cah in Havahd yahd.) and his Avi or Mica would put on their shoes and take him outside to play. Luc had a complete entertainment ensemble every time we got in the car. Mica would provide a musical revue while Avi specialized in slapstick humor. Luc was thoroughly delighted with his new entourage.

We kept everyone pretty busy during the visit, in spite of very un-San Diego like weather. We went to the zoo where we saw hippos tip toeing through their pond and polar bears gamboling about and splashing in their pool. We went to the beach at Wind ‘N Sea where Luc smashed all of Avi’s sand castles, eyeballed the pretty girls, and ate sand (of course). We went to the aquarium to see the “shishs” (fishes to those of us with a good grasp of English) and of course spent lots of time playing at home with all the toys.



Mommy Turns 29 (again)
What is a birthday but another excuse to have a party? We decked out the back yard in Island Fiesta, cranked up the Jimmy Buffet tunes and had ourselves a luau. There were babies in grass skirts, (almost) flaming bocce balls, and the now-infamous fish boobs incident. We partied long in to the night (or at least as late as people with small children do) and had a great time. All in all, starting my third decade of life was pretty painless (and that wasn’t the watermelon mojitos talking!).


Chewing With Your Mouth Open
As Luc reminds me every day, he is a big boy now. That means he can walk by himself (he doesn’t need no stinkin stroller… but he’s happy to push it for me) and lately, feed himself. This works OK if we are eating something that will stick to a spoon and hang on through many attempts to fling said sustenance on to the floor (guacamole and oatmeal are so far the best) as he likes to turn the spoon upside down before putting it in his mouth. This is funny to watch if we are eating something decidedly not sticky, like chicken. He grasps the spoon in one hand, using the other hand to carefully load a piece of chicken on to the spoon. Half way to his mouth, he turns the spoon over and down falls the chicken. The whole routine starts over again until he gets tired of it. If no one is looking, he picks up the chicken with his fingers and pops it in his mouth. He then begins with another piece. We have become rather heavy tippers in restaurants due to the amount of food on the floor around the high chair. But Luc is so happy when he gets the food in to his mouth on his own, what’s a few extra dollars in tips? And his concentration on his tasks during dinner all but guarantees us a few minutes of quiet.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye
Mica and Avi left to visit Uncle Deric in northern California and we are getting settled back in to our daily routine. Luc still looks around for his playmates, especially in the car when he has to sit by himself, but he is slowing getting used to playing with boring old Mommy and Daddy again.

**The editor regrets the late posting of this blog. She was trying to add more pictures, but the photo tool was being persnickety. Alas, you will miss the photo exhibition of Luc trying to feed himself.