I know, I know! What can I sa
y… blogging has not been at the top of my list of “To Do’s” lately. But I am trying to get better about it. OK, quick recap of the last few months…
September – Fairly uneventful (at least from this far away). We had lots of family birthdays. Luc dutifully called everyone and asked if they were eating cake.
October – The first Halloween of Luc’s recollection. He decided to be a tiger and
spent weeks practicing growling and saying, “Trick or treat!” We went trick or treating at Sea World as a practice run, he had a party at day care, and wound up the celebration with trick or treating with friends Sadie and Ethan. He was a little shy at the first house, but after he realized there was candy to be had, he pushed his way up to the front of the group and even asked for more candy at several houses! Months later, he still talks about going to people’s houses for candy. We’ve worked hard to convince him that Halloween only comes around once per year. So far, he’s not buying it.
November – We packed up “Daddy New Car”
(a 2007 Prius) and made tracks for Arizona for Thanksgiving. Luc had a great time as the only grandchild in attendance at Gramma and Papa’s house. He had the run of the playroom, including a robotic tool bench named “Smarty Marty”. Smarty Marty scared the pants off of Luc… so much so that we had to remove Smarty from the playroom, put him in Mommy and Daddy’s room, and cover him with a blanket. Luc would check several times a day to make sure Smarty stayed put. We enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving at Aunt Anne and Uncle Mark’s house. 
Luc got lots of loving from Auntie Sarah. We got to meet Auntie Sarah’s boyfriend, Dan (Luc calls him Auntie Dan), who was adventuresome enough to go to the Wildlife Zoo with us to look at Christmas lights. Luc discovered a love for merry-go-rounds and took two rides while we were there. At dinner that evening, Luc engaged Gramma in a battle of logic. The conversation went something like this:
Gramma (sitting next to Mommy in the booth,
gives her a hug): “Luc, this is my baby.”
Luc (looking at Gramma suspiciously): “No Gramma. She not a baby, she a girl.”
Gramma (hugging Mommy tighter): “Yes, she is a girl. She is my baby girl.”
Luc (looking annoyed): “Gramma! She not a baby! She a girl. She my mommy!”
Gramma (holding back laughter): “She was my baby girl first. She’ll always be my baby girl.”
Luc (has had enough of Gramma, turns to Auntie Sarah):
“Auntie Sayuh, tell Gramma she not a baby!”
Gramma (opening laughing now): “Luc! She is my baby girl, and your mommy.”
Luc (still ignoring Gramma and addressing Auntie Sarah): “Auntie Sayuh, tell Gramma she NOT A BABY!”
The conversation dissolved in to giggles from there. Gramma can still get a rise out of Luc by resurrecting that conversation topic.
December – Luc was amped for Christmas, constantly asking when “Christmas” was bringing his presents. Every night on the way home, we were on the lookout for “Santa” lights and he had a good time decorating the Christmas tree with his ornaments. He never noticed that we came along behind and redistributed the decorations to cover more than the bottom front of the tree. If you asked him what he wanted for Christmas, you got the same answer each time: a car, toys, and candy. We had quite a crowd for the holidays this year. Gramma, Papa and Auntie Sarah drove in from Phoenix and Uncle Deric flew down from San Francisco for some family time. Luc
was thrilled with all the people to play with, once he got over his shyness. Even after all the big talk about presents, Luc was stunned Christmas morning when he saw the pile of presents that had accumulated overnight. He tore in to them, rarely flagging even when it was a present for someone else. His official Christmas motto was “No Present Left Unwrapped”. The holiday festivities didn’t leave us much time for sightseeing, but we did manage a family trip out to the USS
Midway, an aircraft carrier turned museum parked in San Diego Bay. Luc thoroughly enjoyed the tour, though he watched the majority of it through his eyelids, having fallen asleep the very moment I crossed the threshold with him in my arms. He woke up 
in time to tour the top deck where the planes were on display. He sat in the cockpit of a plane and pushed some buttons, very pleased with himself.
y… blogging has not been at the top of my list of “To Do’s” lately. But I am trying to get better about it. OK, quick recap of the last few months…September – Fairly uneventful (at least from this far away). We had lots of family birthdays. Luc dutifully called everyone and asked if they were eating cake.
October – The first Halloween of Luc’s recollection. He decided to be a tiger and
spent weeks practicing growling and saying, “Trick or treat!” We went trick or treating at Sea World as a practice run, he had a party at day care, and wound up the celebration with trick or treating with friends Sadie and Ethan. He was a little shy at the first house, but after he realized there was candy to be had, he pushed his way up to the front of the group and even asked for more candy at several houses! Months later, he still talks about going to people’s houses for candy. We’ve worked hard to convince him that Halloween only comes around once per year. So far, he’s not buying it.
November – We packed up “Daddy New Car”
(a 2007 Prius) and made tracks for Arizona for Thanksgiving. Luc had a great time as the only grandchild in attendance at Gramma and Papa’s house. He had the run of the playroom, including a robotic tool bench named “Smarty Marty”. Smarty Marty scared the pants off of Luc… so much so that we had to remove Smarty from the playroom, put him in Mommy and Daddy’s room, and cover him with a blanket. Luc would check several times a day to make sure Smarty stayed put. We enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving at Aunt Anne and Uncle Mark’s house. Luc got lots of loving from Auntie Sarah. We got to meet Auntie Sarah’s boyfriend, Dan (Luc calls him Auntie Dan), who was adventuresome enough to go to the Wildlife Zoo with us to look at Christmas lights. Luc discovered a love for merry-go-rounds and took two rides while we were there. At dinner that evening, Luc engaged Gramma in a battle of logic. The conversation went something like this:Gramma (sitting next to Mommy in the booth,
gives her a hug): “Luc, this is my baby.”Luc (looking at Gramma suspiciously): “No Gramma. She not a baby, she a girl.”
Gramma (hugging Mommy tighter): “Yes, she is a girl. She is my baby girl.”
Luc (looking annoyed): “Gramma! She not a baby! She a girl. She my mommy!”
Gramma (holding back laughter): “She was my baby girl first. She’ll always be my baby girl.”
Luc (has had enough of Gramma, turns to Auntie Sarah):
“Auntie Sayuh, tell Gramma she not a baby!”Gramma (opening laughing now): “Luc! She is my baby girl, and your mommy.”
Luc (still ignoring Gramma and addressing Auntie Sarah): “Auntie Sayuh, tell Gramma she NOT A BABY!”
The conversation dissolved in to giggles from there. Gramma can still get a rise out of Luc by resurrecting that conversation topic.
December – Luc was amped for Christmas, constantly asking when “Christmas” was bringing his presents. Every night on the way home, we were on the lookout for “Santa” lights and he had a good time decorating the Christmas tree with his ornaments. He never noticed that we came along behind and redistributed the decorations to cover more than the bottom front of the tree. If you asked him what he wanted for Christmas, you got the same answer each time: a car, toys, and candy. We had quite a crowd for the holidays this year. Gramma, Papa and Auntie Sarah drove in from Phoenix and Uncle Deric flew down from San Francisco for some family time. Luc
was thrilled with all the people to play with, once he got over his shyness. Even after all the big talk about presents, Luc was stunned Christmas morning when he saw the pile of presents that had accumulated overnight. He tore in to them, rarely flagging even when it was a present for someone else. His official Christmas motto was “No Present Left Unwrapped”. The holiday festivities didn’t leave us much time for sightseeing, but we did manage a family trip out to the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier turned museum parked in San Diego Bay. Luc thoroughly enjoyed the tour, though he watched the majority of it through his eyelids, having fallen asleep the very moment I crossed the threshold with him in my arms. He woke up in time to tour the top deck where the planes were on display. He sat in the cockpit of a plane and pushed some buttons, very pleased with himself.January – Started off with a bang as we attended the Cortopassis annual New Year’s Eve dinner.
We made it to midnight this year, but just barely! We settled back in to our normal routine and had a nice quiet month. Luc’s favorite new phrase: “I almost three!” 
February – February delivered to Luc a new favorite holiday: Valentine’s Day. He really loves any
holiday that promotes the shameless giving of candy. We also had the chance to watch a full lunar eclipse on February 20. Luc watched the moon “disappear” and asked what happened to it. When I asked him what he thought happened, he replied out of the blue, “The raccoons took it!” When he saw the moon reappear later as we were driving home, he remarked to himself, “The raccoons brought the moon back!” Don’t know exactly where he got this idea, but he seems satisfied with the answer, so we’re going with it for now.
We made it to midnight this year, but just barely! We settled back in to our normal routine and had a nice quiet month. Luc’s favorite new phrase: “I almost three!” February – February delivered to Luc a new favorite holiday: Valentine’s Day. He really loves any
holiday that promotes the shameless giving of candy. We also had the chance to watch a full lunar eclipse on February 20. Luc watched the moon “disappear” and asked what happened to it. When I asked him what he thought happened, he replied out of the blue, “The raccoons took it!” When he saw the moon reappear later as we were driving home, he remarked to himself, “The raccoons brought the moon back!” Don’t know exactly where he got this idea, but he seems satisfied with the answer, so we’re going with it for now. 