The wee man is three

I can't believe it's been three whole years. But the candles on the cake don't lie.

As I sit here on the eve of my baby boy's birthday and look at the photo above of him at the tender age of 1 month-old, my mind drifts to five years ago when I thought I could never love another child with the same intensity and immediacy that I felt for Cristian.

I use to look at parents with more than one child and wonder how they succeeded to love more than one child as much as I loved my one and only. In my mind, it seemed impossible to have so much emotion to share with multiple children. Surely, I thought, parents weren't honest when they said they loved their children equally.

But on September 26, 2007 I learned what so many parents knew before me: the love of a mother is limitless and it grows beyond imagination. As was the case when I first heard Cristian's cry so many years before, I instantly fell in love with Lukas when my eyes first fell upon him -- bloody, messy, wrinkly and all.

It's amazing to have this little person's laughter fill the house with so much happiness; or that his explorations can quickly replace a tired frown into a genuine smile of gratitude (a smile that thanks God and the Universe for allowing us such a miracle).

Unlike his brother, this wee one is feisty. He is the living definition of a "terrible two", and maybe even a "terrible three" (keep your fingers crossed for us that he isn't). And yet, he is at the same time sweet and adorable with his convictions. I know that he will be a great kid, a neat pre-teen, an awesome teen and an incredible man, just like his big brother.

I know that those stages will quickly come and go. For now, I hold tight to his toddler years as though they are the last drink of water on a lifeboat surrounded by only ocean. I know that I will someday be thirsty for these days again, and unless I take them in slowly, I'll miss them all.

Instead of missing them, I embrace each passing moment. I cherish the fact that even though he'll be three, my little tyke still refuses to use the potty. Yep. That's right. Mr. Lukas is still not potty trained (anyone with suggestions/advice are welcomed to share such precious knowledge below).

What makes up for little frustrations like the potty-less wonder and the still occasional tantrums? His smile; his laughter; the way he says,"Mommy, look at me!" with such pride; the way he likes to wear his daddy's shoes around the house, even though they're more likely to trip him than help him; the way he adores his big brother; the way he searches to touch my face before falling asleep; the way he says, "I love you mommy".

I wouldn't change a thing about my little Lukas, even when he's been a terrible two.

So, while I will most definitely wish the wee man a happy birthday on his special day, I will also take a moment to thank God for granting me the honor to raise two beautiful boys, including this gorgeous hippie-hair child of mine!


Here's the little guy being a little trouble maker, making daddy chase him after "stealing" daddy's cap! (He kept running so fast, I can't believe I even got this picture... but it's one of my faves)



Lukas loves being tossed up in the air:



Below are two pictures of Lukas taken in June during a visit to his favorite place: Zilker Park.

Peace...

Peace: it’s a loaded word; a loaded concept; and from the looks of this world, an unattainable philosophy.

What brings me to even talk about such a word? Well, the other day, I received a tweet that said something to the effect of, “let peace fill your thoughts today”…. or something along those lines.

Being a perpetual student of life, I chose to immediately put those wise words into practice. I began thinking of peaceful places; peaceful images; peaceful people… and as often occurs when I start to think, my thoughts took on a life of their own, and suddenly they stopped dead in their tracks when they came across the phrase: “All is fair in love and war”.

I stopped; let the words really take form and I then began to feel sick.

All I could do was ask: “Really? Who was the idiot who coined this idiom?”

No wonder our world is in such turmoil.

To suggest that it is “honorable” or “in your right” to be manipulative, deceitful, and just plain rotten in the name of love, country or faith is counter to the ideas of humanity, patriotism and religion, in my opinion.

Why would anyone believe in a God who asked people to treat their neighbor unfairly?

Why would anyone trust in a land led by men who can’t see the right for all men to live life with dignity?

Why would anyone accept in their lives someone who gave them a foundation of lies?

For me, stumbling across this phrase made me realize that this is exactly what I don’t want to teach my children.

Instead, I want them to have the tools to be a part of a group that sees pride in country as taking care of its countrymen; to a accept that our God is a God who loves unconditionally; and I want to make sure that when they choose their life mate, it is because that person will honor and love them in return.

The sick get weary

This week has been pretty tiring. I was out most of the week taking care of the little one. Lukas had pneumonia along with two ear infections. Needless to say, he wasn't a happy camper.

So, what was the upside to this week, at least for me? I'm finally "mommy". Though Lukas on occasion still calls me "G" (a name he apparently thought was appropriate for ALL moms), he mostly calls me mommy now. YAY.

Along with mommy, Lukas has developed an extensive vocabulary, and bilingual at that. It's really cute to hear him repeat something in Spanish if he feels you didn't understand him in English the first few times he wants something, like a bath at 3 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon.

As for Cristian: he had a very bumpy start of the school year - and while it's not as pretty as I'd like it to be for him, this semester he seems to be doing better. Let's just hope he finds that rhythm to get back where we all know he needs to be.

Proudest moment so far: his choosing to drop football for a journalism class -- one in which, I may add, that he is exceeding.

For the moment, here's a snapshot of Lukas taken by his teacher at school last month:

Rebels DC Game

Last week, Cristian had his last game of the season which ended with a victory and a District Champ title. The Rebels beat the MacCullum Knights 21-2. Go Rebs!!!
Cristian is #61, while one of his best buddies, Jared is #2.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Little Drummer Boy

OK -- So, the quality of these two videos is probably the worst possible, but all I had to capture the moment and all I had was my phone on me. Needless to say, the lighting is horrible and the sound is just as bad.

Every time I grab the camera to capture this sort of thing, Lukas always stops what he's doing and becomes much more interested in the camera.

The point is: Lukas loves playing the drums. I can't say where he picked it up from because no one in the house EVER does what he does (for him to copy). As I recorded this, I thought above all, Jude (and maybe Nelson) would be the one the get the biggest kick seeing their nephew show the tendencies of a young rock star.

Biggest thing to note here is his form :-) (as if I knew anything about drumming).

Time is short

This past week I had another one of those moments where I came face-to-face with the fact that time goes by a lot quicker than I'd like.

On Wednesday, Juan and I went to Cristian's back-to-school night. It's not something new to me. I did it last year and every single year that Cris has been in Austin. But this year, it hit me that I have two more of these left with him. After that, there will be no more back-to-school nights. I won't get to meet his teachers. I won't get to visit any tables to see how I can get involved at Cris' school. Or visit with organizations that might be a good fit for Cris. I won't get to hear from his teachers that he's a joy to have and look forward to a year with him. Or will I get to meet some of the friends that don't get to spend the night at our home or get to invite to dinners.

Two more of these evenings left for me. And that's it.

After that, I won't get much info from anyone if it's not directly from Cris. I won't get the chance to keep up with his grades or will I get a night to meet all his teachers at once, or perhaps at all.

And then, before I could get too teary-eyed, I had Lukas' back-to-school evening the following day. An event that let me know that I have a full, entire academic career to look forward to with Lukas.

On this night, I got to hear about what Lukas and his "class-mates" are doing: playing with sand; working in the school garden, moving from the small playground to the big playground, walking around the school barefoot, learning not to use sippy cups, dancing to music during movement & music class, playing with shaving cream, getting ready for potty-training and learning to sit at the table to eat.

It's incredible to think that even with so much to look forward to with Lukas, already I can't believe how fast he's growing. He's gone from the Bumblebee infant room to the 2-year-old Dragonflies room at Open Door in a blink of an eye.

Here's just a few pics of Lukas working hard at "school":

Yes. I'm still alive.

Wow. I’m officially the world’s worst blogger.

Looking back at the one and only blog I’ve ever posted, in my defense, I know that my original intent to keep this site updated with the most current news, was indeed sincere.

Little did I know that for an entire year, I would feel beyond overwhelmed with work and the ongoing (yet, hopefully finally almost-over) family court issue aforementioned in my earlier blog.

That said, it’s a year later and my boys are a year older.

Cristian is turning out to be a wonderful young man who is full of angst thanks to all the court issues and the burdens that have come with them. He’ll be 16 in November. He’s huge; my big teddy bear.

Lukas is settling into his terrible-twos stage. He’s very strong willed, curious and is a great deal of fun. He loves his daddy. Is a music maniac. In true boy fashion, he can’t get enough of cars and planes. He loves our dog, Jackson and absolutely adores his big brother.

I hope that next week, we’ll finally be done with family court and I’ll feel less stress. (Which would follow suit to last week’s announcement that the Statesman was taken off the market – which also had me totally stressed out).

Wish our family luck. And I promise to be more conscious about not neglecting my blog.