July, Part I
July has been a busy month for us. Nick and Lux are both growing and changing so fast sometimes it seems hard to keep up.For the Fourth of July we played the role of super family and scheduled virtually every minute. We weren't sure we would be able to pull it off, but in the end the day went very well. We began by going to the Waynewood Fourth of July parade. Paul, Susan and Karen like to go to the parade every year - it is a real old fashioned small town parade that always tickled us. This was the first year, however, that Lux took part. Paul decorated her push trike with red, white and blue streamers and flag and pinwheel the night before and we explained to Lux about the parade. Her favorite show, Oobi, has an episode about a parade, so she was familiar with the concept.
On Fourth of July morning we dressed Lux in her red, white and blue stars dress and loaded the trike into the Jeep. We drove over to the parade staging grounds and joined all the other parents and children with their decorated bikes and wagons. Lux, who had been very excited up until that point about the parade, grew rather quiet. She wasn't upset or crying, she just seemed to be taking it all in. Nick, wearing red, white and blue plaid, took it all in stride, lying in his stroller.
Finally the parade started (it included a fire truck, several cars of neighborhood "dignataries", then about 100 kids and it ended with four policemen on horseback) and we started walking the few blocks of the route. We had fully expected to have to carry Lux at some point, but she rode her trike the whole way, looking very solemn and dignified. Karen and her friend Guy showed up and were able to snap a few pictures for us. After the parade we played some games in the park and checked out the fire engine up close. Then we headed home to get ready for Fourth of July part two. Lux took her nap and then we joined her friend Juliana and her family for a few hours at the swim club. Lux enjoyed playing in the kids pool, though she was hesitant at first, and Nick was very dubious about the whole thing, crying whenever he got his toes wet. But it just took some time for them to warm up to the concept. We took them both in the big pool and before too long they were both enjoying themselves in the water.
Our final Fourth of July event was a Bowie Baysox game. We watched and Lux enjoyed her traditional baseball meal of peanuts and chocolate ice cream. We stayed for the fireworks, but Lux was so exhausted she fell asleep in the middle of them. Nick seemed to like looking at the colors, however. The two of them slept as we crept through traffic for two hours to get home.
Lux's birthday on the seventh was a low-key affair as we had a big party planned for the following Sunday. When she woke up that morning, Paul went in to her and told her that it was her birthday. Cake? she asked. Lux got to eat chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, the closest thing we had to cake and we joined Matt for a Nat's baseball game. Lux and Nick were great. Then we went to Aunt Karen's neighborhood for First Thursday, a sort of monthly block party. It was raining a bit so we didn't stay long, but bought some cheese and sausage and bread and a chocolate chip muffin and went back to Karen's house for a sort of picnic.
Then Grandad and Janie came to town, and we started getting things ready for the big birthday bash. Grandad and Janie were unbelieveable - they helped so much in getting everything ready. We worked really hard on the back yard, which for the first time since we had owned the house really looked pretty nice, and hoped to have the party outside. Grandad and Janie spent all their time either playing with Nick and Lux so that Paul and Susan could run around organizing and planning, or they were decorating and organizing and cleaning up. With two 6 foot palm trees to inflate, as well as a dozen large tropical fishes, there was a lot of work blowing things up. On Saturday before the party, Lux went to her art class, which she loves, then she, Paul and Grandad picked up some supplies for the party and checked out some Suburus.
On Sunday all was ready for Lux's 2nd birthday luau. We served chicken satay sticks with peanut sauce, kalua pork (Hawaiian-style barbecued pork), fruit salad, juices, pina coladas and mai tais. Paul worked really hard to make homemade coconut ice cream, but for some reason it wouldn't freeze, so we gave out plain vanilla. There were also brownies and chocolate cake with white and chocolate icing. About 30 people came, including about a dozen kids, and Lux wore a Hawaiian dress and a grass skirt and had a grand old time. We handed out leis to everyone gave out Hawaiian themed goodie bags with fish stickers, fish sunglasses, fish kites, Hawaiian puppets and Hawaiian sippy cups.
Nick spent much of the party napping in the shade, and everyone enjoyed the back yard. It really was a perfect party.
Speaking of Nick, he was able to take a bottle from Grandad, because he now drinks formula as well as breast milk. One day he was just inconsolably fussy, but wouldn't eat. Desperate, Susan tried offering him a bottle, which he drank down quickly without batting an eye. He now takes about one bottle a day. Nick also tried solid food for the first time while Grandad and Janie were here. While Paul was eating a banana, Nick reached out and grabbed it and then spent the next 30 minutes having the time of his life. We aren't sure how much banana he actually swallowed, but his expression led us to believe that he was thinking "why didn't you give me this before?". Nick also took to his Grandad very well, so much so that he was able to fall asleep in Grandad's arms, something he never does with anyone else.
Upcoming in July, Part II - Stats from the 2 year and 4 month doctors visits, a visit from Grandma Paula and Grandpa John and the great Suburu trial.
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