Christian's First Week at "School"

Christian started a new "school" this week: The Goddard School. After over a year of being in Melissa's care, we moved Christian to this new school in our community, as making two long round-trip drives each day had become too difficult. We will be forever grateful to Melissa for the love and care she gave our little boy!

Jonathan and I were a bit nervous: how would he do in a brand new environment? How would he do with a lot of other kids in the room? How would he adjust to a new routine and a new adult in charge?

I am happy to report that Christian had a wonderful first week! YAY!

He did some things that he doesn't do (or won't do) at home:

1. Drank out of a "big boy cup"
2. Washed his hands with soap and water at the sink
3. Sat on the potty (more than once)!
4. Allowed sunscreen to be applied without having a meltdown

Each day, we get a report from his teacher on what he and his class did ... and a special note about something specific that Christian did. The first comment of the week on his sheet was that he sat very quietly for the library visitor and can speak very clearly.

This week at school was all about France (there is a different country each week throughout the summer. Next week is Ireland). The kiddos learned some key French words such as "Merci" and "Au Revoir." They read books on France, built an Eiffel Tower, ate French food, etc.

Both his teacher and the school's assistant director commented on his manners. We have spent a long time (since he could utter his first words) working on "please" and "thank you." And so it warmed my heart to know that he's using these words outside the home without Mommy or Daddy reminding him.

At the entrance of the school is a large monitor that shows various pics of the kiddos from that week. Christian was in a few and looks happy ... and that makes ME happy! What was interesting is that rather than being amused by his own photo on the monitor, he was excited to see his friend from class, Charlie. "Charlie ... Charlie!" he yelled out. Awww ... he has a friend!

I drop Christian off at 7:45am and pick him up at noon, just as he's finishing up his lunch. It's a different routine to get accustomed to: I used to take him to Melissa's and she's feed him breakfast and lunch. But now, I feed him breakfast before we leave for school, and I also pack him a lunch ... and hope that he'll be in the mood to eat what I've given him. So far, so good.

Next week ... Ireland! :)

Chistian with his Elmo "pack-ack" and his Cars lunch bag.

Wordless Wednesday - May 26, 2010

A Day in the Life of Jennifer - Straight from the Comics

Five Years and Counting

Today we celebrated our five year wedding anniverary!

Jonathan's amazing gift to me was my choice of vacations from "Christian's 5-Star American Travel Tours" (a spin-off from Christian's 5-Star Restaurant on Valentine's Day."

(Click on each of the two pages to view an enlarged size)

HOW CUTE!

So which did I choose? San Diego! I've never been to San Diego, and know Christian would just love endless sand on the beach. I'm not sure which weekend we'll go, but I'm really excited!

And a huge thanks to Jonathan for putting together such a nice travel brochure and for being my beloved husband for five years! :)

We Love Verrado!

New residents in our community get a "Welcome to the Neighborhood Apple Pie." How cute is that!

Ours arrived a few months late becuase our neighborhood within Verrado is new and we just got a "Block Captain" (and no, that Block Captain isn't me). Out of the blue, our new block captain showed up with a tasty pie ... how wonderful!


We absolutely love living here in Verrado. Here's some of the reasons why:

• PIE! :)
• "Meet and Greet" night for new residents
• Annual "Neighborhood Block Party" at the park across the street (talk about CONVENIENT!)
• Beautiful landscaping throught the community (and since we live across from one of the community's main parks, our park was green and beautifully maintained throughout the winter).
• A park and playground right outside our door.
• Lots of places to walk. We can take a walk in any direction and never get bored. We can walk up into the mountains that are just up the street, or through blocks of homes ... and some REALLY nice, expensive custom homes. We can walk to the grocery store, coffee shop, dentist (which I have already done), gym, pool, etc.
• Super friendly people
• Lots of kiddos
• Awesome views!

I could go on and on. I really could. No ... really ... I COULD!

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Happy Birthday! We love you!

Happy Easter!

This Easter marks Christian's first time to color Easter eggs and he had a great time!

It was also his first time to hunt for eggs. I wasn't sure he'd be too into it, but he was so delighted with each egg he found! We might need to do periodic "hunts" ... maybe we could hide his multitude of Thomas trains in the front yard and have him look for them. :)

Happy Easter to you all! Remember that while the eggs, chocolate bunnies and Peeps are great fun and mighty tasty, Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He came, lived, died and rose again for you, for me ... for each one of us! His love is truly an amazing love.

More Visitors!

We just had another week of more visitors! What fun the Lucero family is having!

This time, our visitors were Jonathan's brother Eldon and our three nieces, Rebecca, Brianna and Kayla.

We loved having them here ... loved entertaining them (as best we could with both of us working) and loved feeding them! I'm not a very good cook, but it was fun and Becca was always lending me a hand.

Christian took a while to warm up to them, is now obsessed with saying, "Unco Eh-w-do, Becca, Brianna, Kay-wa!"

And I managed to get them hooked on "Twilight" and "New Moon." Becca and I can't decide if we are "Team Edward" or "Team Jacob." Maybe seeing the next movie, "Eclipse" in a couple of months will help us to decide.

Thanks for coming, everybody! We were sorry to see you go and can't wait until you visit next year! :)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

SPRING TRAINING!

Today we took Christian to his very first baseball game. It's spring training here in the Phoenix area and the Colorado Rockies and Texas Rangers were playing.

Christian is much too entergetic and active to sit down for a baseball game, so we spent quite a bit of time just trying to keep him occupied. From the looks of things, he'll glow to really enjoy watching "the boys of summer." He can already throw a ball pretty good, too! :)

A home run ball was hit out to us in centerfield and his awesome Uncle Eldon caught the ball and gave it to Christian to commemorate his first game.

Nice catch, Uncle Eldon ... thanks! :)

Granny and Grandpa Come for a Visit!

While I was in New Orleans, Christian's Granny and Grandpa came for a visit to stay with him.

It meant a lot to all of us that Christian got to spend time with them for a few days. The song selection, "Legacy" by Nichole Nordeman is perfect. Christian is his grandparents' legacy. :)

A huge thanks from all of us for their visit!

(To view the video in full screen mode, run your cursor along the bottom of the video to see the viewing options)

A Morning at the Zoo

We were supposed to go to the zoo for an event that got canceled ... so we went anyway!

I thought Christian would be excited to see all the animals up close and in person. Nope. Know what he was most interested in? Dirt!

That's my boy!

Good thing his admission was free. Or we would have paid money to see and play with dirt.

New Orleans ... or "N'awlins" (as the Locals Say)

This week my company held a conference in downtown New Orleans. I had high hopes of getting out to see this city I'd never been to ... but no such luck. The most I got to see was our glorious hotel, and Bourbon Street.

Ever been to Bourbon Street? If not, let me tell you what you're missing: not much. It's just a long street with lots of bars and lots of drunkards roaming around .... highlighted with an occasional whiff of vomit. Not my kind of adventure.

The hotel, however, was a different story. It was the historic Roosevelt Hotel, and part of the Waldorf Astoria Collection (wow!). The hotel also houses the infamous "Blue Room" which hosted performers such as Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra "back in the day."

The food was FABULOUS! I tried food I'd never eaten before and absolutely loved most of it (except for the grilled oysters, which came highly recommended ... but just wasn't appealing to me).

And talk about "Southern Hospitality"! People in New Orleans are just so nice. Okay, okay ... so those people worked at a swanky hotel and get paid to be nice to guests. But there were times when I was able to visit with the ladies who came in to turn down my bed at night (talk about an odd luxury), or the guys who set up the buffet luncheon, etc. and I enjoyed their genuine kindness , warmth and passion for their town.

So here are a few random pics from the hotel. Okay, so it's weird to take a pic of the toilet paper roll ... but, well, I didn't get out much. :)

"Jesus!"

Christian has a double-sided easel in the living room. The whiteboard side has been up against the wall since we moved into the house in December.

The chalkboard side has become dull and the chalk doesn't write on it very well these days. So I turned the easel around so he could write on the white board side.

He squealed, "Jesus!!" and I wasn't sure why. He said it again, "Jesus!"

I was stumped. Until I looked at the white board:



He hadn't seen that word in months ... but knew it when he saw it. :)

Hospital de Los Luceros

Sickies Unite!

That is what I'm calling my boys - Jonathan and Christian - this week: sickies!

It all started earlier this week with Christian seemingly having allergies. But alas, there was a cough going around Christian's daycare and you guessed it ... he got it.

Then Jonathan got it and hasn't been feeling well all week (Jonathan even came home early and has been sleeping all afternoon). Both of my boys have been coughing and feverish at times. Unfortunately, there isn't much I can give my two year old. It is so awful to watch him go into coughing fits that upset him so much he's on the verge of crying. And it's heartbreaking to see him laying down on the couch, lacking all energy.

I'm convinced Motrin is a miracle drug. We've had to give Christian Motrin a couple of times this week to bring down his fever - and it works within minutes.

So far, I've remained healthy (depsite failing at teaching Christian how to cover his mouth when he coughs, which results in me getting coughed on way too many times) by:

1. Taking Airborne
2. Using Allergen Block
3. Using the neti pot my mother-in-law gave me (I get nasty allergies and she very kindly sent me a neti pot a while back. If you haven't tried using a neti pot, you should!)
4. Lots of hand sanitizer
5. Plenty of prayer between Jonathan and me asking God to let me stay healthy (because once Mommy gets sick ... that is bad news (as you mommies out there can attest to!).

To be honest, I feel "something" starting to come on. But I'm just too busy with work and taking care of my sick boys to get sick myself.

Better do another shot of "Airborne" ASAP!

Jennifer

Wordless Wednesday - February 24, 2010

Click image to enlarge ...

Cupcakes and Smoky Pizza

I so desperately want to be Martha Stewart - minus the snooty attitude, of course. I want to be creative in crafts, decorating, cooking and baking. I want my home to look like a model home and my yard to look like it belongs on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens.

And then there is reality.

1. I have a full-time job that occupies way too much of my time.
2. I am a very busy mommy
3. I can't decide on a decorating "style" I like and want to emulate.
4. We aren't made of money (and we refuse to live on credit cards)

I recently found this recipe in Woman's Day magazine. The cover photo of these beautiful cupcakes had fondant flowers and bees made of yellow peanut M&Ms and Tootise Rolls. I was instantly smitten and inspired! We were having guests in a few days and these cupcakes were to be the dessert.

I made everything from scratch - as the recipe instructed - with the exception of the fondant itself. However, I did color and cut the fondant. I made the little bees, too.

Dessert was preceded by a couple of take-and-bake pizzas from our local grocery store. We'd never cooked two at a time before and as I visited with our guests, I started to smell something burning. I openened the oven to find the pizza tray that came with the pizza (and yes, was supposed to go into the oven) was burning to a crisp - it was on the bottom rack and closest to the heating element. How embarassing!

I simply have no talent for preparing food for a group larger than my family of three - even if it's just putting a couple of pizzas in the oven. I want to be Martha Stewart, and it just isn't going to happen ... ever.

But the cupcakes came out cute! Not quite the high, fluffy frosting as the magazine showed (I'm certain there was some tricky photography there. Maybe there was a hidden cone in there that they covered with frosting?)

And by the way, the honey lemon frosting in this recipe is delicious!

Three Years Ago Today ...

Today marks an exciting day in our family ... a very special day that happened three years ago: Christian was conceived.

"Ummm, too much information ..." you might be saying. It's really not if you realize we tried to get pregnant for nearly a year before discovering we had infertility issues.

Through the assistance of modern medicine, we were able to conceive our precious little boy three years ago today.

I think some find infertility to be a taboo subject. It is, after all, one of the most personal journeys a couple can take. Our story ended happily (and actually, our story continues on with the precious two year old we love more and more each day).

We get asked a lot if we plan on having another child ... and the answer is, "Yes we do!" Having infertility issues mean we are in control of timing the pregnancy (which can be a good thing!). So, we need to get a few "ducks in a row" before we work on our second child. So all I can commit to now is "soon." :)

I mean really ... just look at this face! Don't you think he needs a little brother or sister to play with?

We are officially home owners!

Yes, yes ... I know. We closed on the house in October and moved in in December. But it seems that owning a home isn't the "real deal" until it comes time to buy a lawn mower and mow the lawn.

Pretty impressive that we didn't have to mow the lawn for four months. It was green and beautiful, just growing slowing in the cooler temps (yes, we do get "cooler temps." When the highs in the heat of the summer are 110+ and the average high temps in February are in the 60s ... that is "cooler temps.").

Congratulations to Jonathan on his fun new toy! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Lucero Family celebrated Valentine's Day at "Christian's 5-Star Restaurant."

Jonathan was the chef while Christian played (which is what he does best!).

I tell ya, you can feed me steak and lobster any time ... delicious! :)

Cheap Friday Night Thrills

ICE ICE BABY!

In today's "LobsterGram" delivery, there was a nice chunk of dry ice for us to play with. As you will see, Christian got a kick out of the vapors (so did we, for that matter!).

An Invitation to Christian's 5-Star Restaurant

Today I received an invitation Valentine's Day dinner at "Christian's 5-Star Restaurant."

How cute!

(Click to enlarge the menu)

Phoenix Winter

Phoenix kind of skips winter all together and goes from fall to spring in about a month.

Click on the pic to see a larger version.

Wordless Wednesday - February 3, 2010

Our Boucy Castle Weekend

We were invited to two little kiddo birthday parties this past weekend (which meant plenty of yummy birthday cake!). Both parties had "bouncy castles."

Christian had never been inside one before. For the first party, it took him a while to get interested. The little girl he's in daycare with, Abigail (it was her party) walked over to Christian and held out her hands so Christian would jump with her. She just turned two herself, so it was adorable to see her helping Christian have fun.

At the party the next day, Christian knew exactly what goes on in a bouncy castle, and he was having fun from the moment he went inside.

And it was rather convenient that Sunday's party took place at the park across from our house. If you look closely, you can see our house in the background in the pics where Christian is wearing his Thomas shirt.

Ahhh, to be kid again. We might need a bouncy castle for our backyard. Not necessarily for Christian, but for ME! Wow, it's great fun to jump up and down and be silly and laugh like crazy!

Shapes, Shapes Everywhere!

I am delighted to report that Christian is now saying "shape," with the emphasis on "p" at the end!

Christian's Granny and Grandpa got him this nifty clock for Christmas and he just loves taking the shapes out and putting them in again. And he's learned three new shapes: pentagon, hexagon and octagon. He loves to say them - with each syllable very specifically pronounced. He carries around the three "gons" everywhere (hmmm ... where is hex (6) and octo (8)).

Christian is figure out the prefixes, too. He tells us, "Pen-ta-gon, five sides!!"

There is an old abandoned racetrack along I-10 and along the roofline there are some decorative features that I hadn't really notice before. As we drove by the other day, Christian happily proclaimed, "Triangle!!" I looked, not to sure what he was seeing ... and then it occured to me, he was looking at the abandoned building we've seen dozens of times in passing. Sure enough, the decorative features are triangles.

Today we took a walk and he saw the back side of a stop sign and yelled out, "Oc-to-gon!" I praised him for recognizing the shape, and I looked around to see what other shapes I could point out to him.

On the sidewalk below, the lines formed part of a triangle, and I pointed the triangle out to him ... and he was excited, "Triangle!"

Then, on his own, he looked at the next section of sidewalk and said, "Square!!"

"Yes, honey, that is a square!!"

Christian kept looking as if on a treasure hunt ... and saw a section of sidewalk that was curved inward to form a 1/2 circle and he said, "Circle!!!"

Well, I've got to tell you that by this time, I was just floored! My two year old was finding shapes everywhere he looked. And how many two year olds do you know who can recognize "pentagon," "hexagon" and "octogon" ??

Then we came across another sign and I pointed out that it was a rectangle. He giggled, walked up to it, checked it out and said, "Rectangle!!!"

What a joy to watch this precious little boy discover new things ... and to see shapes everywhere and get as excited as he does when he sees them.

He's been doing that with words, letters and numbers, too. But that is another blog post ...

Soon!