MANAMANA!

You remember it. The crazy muppet yelling the word manamana while these back up singer-like creatures calmly try to sing "doo doo doo doo doot." It's classic and wonderful although I didn't realize its true beauty until tonight. I know why the creators of the muppet show created the word manamana. Toddlers are able to learn it rapidly AND they instinctively yell it at the top of their lungs. This might seem like it would annoy, but tonight shortly before dinner Luke played the role of crazy muppet while Erik and I sang back up. Being a child of the 80's I have never been so happy in all my life. I have my own muppet. What more could I ask for?

In other news...I'm officially 39 weeks pregnant now. That's huge in case you were wondering. It is exciting to be getting closer to meeting Sprout. Another muppet to observe and enjoy. I'm definitely aware that I'm not the one pulling the strings on these creatures. See previous entry.

In addition to reenacting my childhood with my son, I'm also nesting like crazy. I've purchased eight sponges over the past two days. Why? Because I might need them! :-) Oh, I need to go into labor soon or my closets are going to be filled with cleaning supplies that I may or may not ever use. If you are dropping by for a visit, I really like the Magic Eraser sponges.

Toddler Goo

Have you ever been in a restaurant and watched your child melt into a screaming puddle of toddler goo? Friday night we experienced this for the first time and were a little taken aback. Daddy handled it with grace and dignity, removing said pile of goo from the highchair and taking him outside to "walk it off." While this helped immensely, Toddler Luke was unable to return to the table to enjoy his chicken strips and french fries. We got the food to go.

Saturday we treated Toddler Luke to a morning at the Children's Museum, one of his favorite destinations. He played in the dig pit with Daddy, fixed food in the kitchen, enjoyed the water room and was in awe of the green screen technology which allowed him to watch himself on TV. A kind volunteer let us know that story time was beginning on the lawn outside, so we got our hands stamped and headed for the carpet squares. Luke stole the show by sitting next to the story reader and occasionally making comments about the characters involved. This seemed acceptable to his parental units. It was when he started roaming the crowd, demanding a little more attention that we realized Toddler Goo was about to make its appearance right here, right now. It did. We extracted him quickly and not at all quietly.

So what did Sunday bring? A touch of apprehension on our part to go out in public perhaps? Never! A quick trip to Fred Meyer this morning was followed by church. No goo. The last event of the day was a 2-year-old's birthday party complete with presents that weren't Luke's and balloons he couldn't have. Amazingly, despite only having had an hour-long nap, Luke did not succumb to goo. We enjoyed the party for about an hour and a half and departed with smiles and waves to the birthday boy. I will confess, this was before presents were opened. Why press your luck?

Lessons learned: Toddler Goo will happen and you cannot predict where or when. Quick extraction is a must, so don't get too attached to the groceries in your cart.

Jammies with Extra "Jam" Provided

Oma brought Luke a new pair of pajamas, which inspired him to do some jamming of his own in the kitchen this evening. The level of cute was almost unbearable. The camera was just barely fast enough to catch some of it. He obviously has the moves. I actually think I caught him in the middle of jumping up and down, but the result is undeniably adorable.

Father's Day Fun

We had a fabulous Father's Day celebrated in a variety of ways. We began with the early morning, but much anticipated, arrival of Oma. She's not a dad, but Luke didn't seem to care. He whole-heartedly wished her a Happy Father's Day anyway.

Daddy was awakened with the same heart-felt wish from happy toddler Luke. When I asked Daddy if he would like pancakes for breakfast, Luke answered with a cheery, "Yep." Obviously Luke had the inside track.

We worshiped at a new service for us, beginning at 10:30 am. Luke did well in Kidzone despite a new location and a new time. We were thrilled. We made our change in service in anticipation of our return to music ministry sometime after Sprout's birth. More to come on that front later.

Upon spending five minutes in the car, Luke entered a coma that saw him safely to his crib. Grandma arrived via car to prepare spinach souffle, and Grandpa arrived via bike being a complete stud. We enjoyed a mellow afternoon together filled with insanely good food. Grandpa and Daddy put the finishing touch on the paint job in Sprout's room by installing new, pristine white electric outlets and light switch. It's such a pretty room now. It only needs the right furniture and a baby!In case you can't tell, the walls are a very pale green now.



The afternoon brought a short nap followed by "dress up" time. Luke decided it was about time he wore both his bear hat and his duck slippers at the same time. I naturally decided that a picture needed to be taken. Unfortunately when we ask Luke to smile, he makes this face instead. I was laughing so hard, I'm surprised the camera wasn't shaking. That's pretty much all I have to say about that.



As we returned home from a short evening walk, Luke saw Oma kindly sweeping our front sidewalk. His comment was, "Oma brooming." It didn't matter how many times we said, "Oma is sweeping." Luke knows it's a broom and therefore must be used for brooming. Who can argue with his logic?

Zoo Day and Other Adventures

We awoke to cloudy skies with rain in the forecast and knew it was the perfect day to visit the zoo. We were not wrong. Having arrived shortly after 9 am, there were no lines and no crowds. We dressed Luke warmly, strapped him into his stroller and headed for the sea lions.

It's hard to explain our son's fascination with the sea lion exhibit. This extremely large sea mammal swims in a semi-regular pattern around his tank, part of said pattern being squishing his blubbery mass up against the glass of the underwater viewing area. Our son LOVES it. He narrates the entire show for those in attendance. "Oh oh oh! He going up the window! Up up up! He going away now. He coming back! I see the sea lion! Oh! There's another sea lion!" All of this narration takes place at high volume and at a rapid rate of speech. It totally cracks us up. We were there for at least fifteen minutes this morning and Luke didn't stop narrating the entire time. Next time we are going to bring folding chairs.

Other animals seen and enjoyed (but not nearly as much as the sea lion) included: penguins, elephants, zebras, a giraffe, the rhinoceros, the orangutan, a variety of other primates, the birds of prey, pygmy goats (pretty stinkin' popular in Luke's world), and one sleeping tiger. We were there for about three hours and left just as the crowds were arriving. Luke was asleep in the car after less than five minutes. Excellent!

For our afternoon activity, Grandma and Grandpa arrived for a work party. The first coat of paint is up in the baby's room! A soft green called "Pooh Corner," it is soothing to me for more than just aesthetic reasons. One less thing on the list to do before labor and delivery! Wohoo! While Grandpa and Daddy painted, Grandma and Luke weeded. Our front yard has been breeding ground for numerous species of weed this spring. Grandma to the rescue! It is looking much better. And to his credit, Luke got dirty enough to create the appearance of having worked very hard. Dirt in every crevice. Good work, son!

Pregnancy update: Yesterday marked the beginning of Week 37. That's considered full-term. I wonder if Sprout knows that...

Bad Night with a Good Lesson

That isn't "bad" as in "good." It's just bad. Luke spent lots of time crying last night. It started with the fact that he didn't sweetly sing himself to sleep like normal. A portent of things to come. At 11 pm it started. The hour of discontent. At first we decided that we didn't need to go in there. He was going to be just fine. A few minutes of crying would quiet him and he would fall back to sleep. Around 11:15 this proved to be a hard course of action and Daddy went in to comfort the little man. In Cindy Lou Who fashion, he got Luke a cup of water and things were quiet...for a few minutes. The screaming began again and seemed more intense. Maybe it was just the late hour. Daddy went in again and I heard from bed rather desperate and frantic calls of, "Mommy? Mommy?" almost as if he were questioning if I still walked the earth. I jumped from bed (yeah, right, at 37 weeks pregnant) and rushed (waddled) to his side. We explained that it was sleepy time. Daddy scooped him up and cuddled with him. Luke was content to be laid in his crib with his blanket. We left thinking we were done for the night. When the crying started for the third time, it became apparent that Luke wanted either company or to just get up. Neither option worked for us. Luke needed to go to sleep and our presence wasn't going to facilitate that goal. We let him wail.
I took the opportunity to write in Luke's journal, a book I am keeping to present to him at some time during his adult life. In the entry last night I compared his wailing and our waiting to how God handles our wailing sometimes. I realized that we as humans wail and scream for that which is not in our best interest, although we cannot see that at the time. God sees it. He knows both our needs and that which will best meet them. We think we know. God is the one who has to sit through our tantrums, longing to bring us comfort. I think I sometimes fail to allow God to comfort me because I'm so stuck in my funk. So, I couldn't judge my son last night, refusing to be comforted and longing for something that wasn't good for him. And I was able to give thanks to God for lessons learned at a very late hour.
But I'm really hoping I learned all God had for me last night and we don't have to repeat the lesson tonight. :-)

"A" for Effort

My wonderful, beautiful sister, mother to a six-month old and keeper of horses AND chickens, valiantly started a blog in April. After two posts, it has been rather neglected. She emailed me today to say that she was going to attempt a new post. After checking tonight, I notice that she didn't manage. I have this to say about that:

No worries. The blog is a strange addiction that I find requires more than just a spare moment to "type something." I often sit at the New Post screen wondering if I have anything to say. What matters to me? What happened today that makes the day "Post-Worthy"? This is more thought and energy than a new mom has to give. Many days it's more than this Mom-of-Toddler cares to contribute to the Internet universe. I marvel at those who post every day. Perhaps it is my origin as an English teacher which prevents me from being able to accomplish this task. I write it, proofread it, revise it and hit that publish button, which always makes me sweat a bit.

I know my dear sister is also a writer by passion and talent. Does she long for a moment longer than fifteen minutes to record her musings of the day? Probably. Does any mom have that luxery? Not to the best of my knowledge. Having said all this, I give my sister an "A" for effort. It makes all the difference that she is attempting to record her personal thoughts and observations. New moms need to contribute to the world around them and if an internet blog can make that happen, even if only on a quarterly basis, it is well worth it. Keep trying, Sis. You inspire me to post when I can, nap when I should, and leave the laundry for tomorrow.

Busy and Blessed Weekend

I hardly know where to begin to describe all the activities and blessings of the weekend. It started with Daddy's arrival home Friday morning after being gone all week at the National Sales Meeting. As we drove from the cell phone waiting area to the terminal to get Erik, I was excitedly telling Luke that Daddy was finally home. Probably the most telling statement from Luke's mouth about Daddy's absence was what emerged at that moment. "Another Daddy?" He had been seeing other kids' daddies all week! I told him, "No, Baby! Our Daddy! Our Daddy!" When he saw Erik through the window he began to happily chirp, "Our Daddy! Our Daddy!" We spent the rest of the day together as a family.

Friday evening Erik and I attended a former student's high school graduation. Amazingly, this is a student I had as an 8th and 9th grader before we moved. She herself relocated to the same region and we have maintained contact. This is no coincidence. This is a student that we had worked with extensively, inviting her and taking her to church, at a time in her life when she needed a few caring adults and more importantly, Christ. Her acceptance of the Savior in our car after church one night was simply one of the coolest things God has ever done through us. Watching her graduate Friday night brought tears of joy to my eyes. I am still overwhelmed at the goodness of God and His faithfulness. I am also reminded that with man there are things that seem impossible, but with God all things are possible.

Saturday brought continued blessings as the Grandmas came to work on the new nursery. Before the day was even half over, these two amazing ladies had packed, cleared, cleaned and prepared a room for our new arrival. Erik moved some furniture and Oma ran the vacuum. What a blessing to go into that room now and experience feelings of calm and peace instead of stress and anxiety. I love it when God answers prayer through those we love and can thank publicly. THE GRANDMAS ROCK! Many thanks, ladies. :-)

Sunday afternoon we attended a graduation open house for a young lady from my BSF Senior Level Class. Wow. This young lady was a blessing to have in the group this year, consistently applying the truths of God's Word to her life and providing thoughts during discussion time that challenged me to look at my own life. It was a pure delight to welcome her to "grown-up" land and invite her over for coffee sometime this week. Sisters in Christ come in all ages and stages of life. Pretty cool.

An Ode to Single Parents

How the heck do you do it? That's all I have time to write.

Saturday Fun

It was such a fun Saturday! My mom is down for the weekend and Luke enjoyed his Oma's attentions all day. We started the morning with a pancake breakfast, followed by gardening time. Luke spent more time making mud and dropping rocks in the watering can than weeding. That's okay. I spent more time sitting in a very comfy chair and laughing at my son's antics. Oma weeded.

Luke's morning nap found me sorting papers from the office floor, a task that must precede the transformation from office to nursery. Five more weeks until the baby is due. We should probably get the desks and computers and filing cabinets out of the baby's room. To our credit, we have made space in our bedroom for the bassinet.

Meanwhile, the best Daddy in the world removed all the scummy water from the pond in our backyard and filled it in nicely with dirt. I haven't enjoyed being the keeper of both a backyard pond and a very active toddler. The two simply don't coincide. Three cheers for Daddy!

Lunchtime brought a new food adventure for Luke. We dined on bratwurst...spinach and feta organic bratwurst, but bratwurst none the less. I diced Luke's up and he looked at it. Not much interest there. When he spotted the jar of pickles, however, it reminded him that green olives come in a similar container. Have we told you our son adores green olives. Oma made a deal. One bite of bratwurst = one green olive. It worked. He ate his plateful to earn each and every one of those pimento-filled treats. Is anyone else (including the pregnant Mommy!) a little repulsed?

After lunch, I took a three-hour nap. That's my favorite part of the day. Luke and Oma filled up the kiddie pool and enjoyed the sunshine. Daddy enjoyed his book. Good times.

Erik and I finished our day with a date to church for Navigate, the group for parents of young children. We heard a couple, married 27 years, parents to five kids, speak about the seasons of marriage. Good teaching that prompted great drive-home conversation. As parents of a little person who has a tendency to suck our attention, we steal the drive-home moments for ourselves. No radio. No CD. Sometimes no conversation about the kid. We came to the conclusion that God has blessed us richly with a marriage that is centered on Him. :-)

And now for something completely different: my son in pink sandals. We attended a Zoo concert Thursday with friends from down the street. Luke needed to try on her shoes. Enough said.