Feeling like you are missing Lucy?

Today, we had a very exciting day... breakfast at Hell's Kitchen and then a visit to Minneapolis Macy's 8th floor for a decorated adventure called a Day in the Life of an Elf. We also met Santa Claus.

I'm attaching some pictures of Lucy (who coincidentally has found her smile) and a quick video.

More soon...

Halloween and the return to work

Well, my aunt Nancy arrived to help take care of Lucy Mae... she is an absolute dream to have in our home and we are having a good time together going shopping and to restaurants.

I started back at work on Thursday and everyone seems thrilled to have me back. Of course, the onslaught is just beginning as we head into proxy season.

For Halloween, we had Luke be Batman... the naughty Batman. Dad was Darth Vader. Lucy was a banana... it was a complete blast. I'm attaching the latest pictures.

Luke also changed into his Thomas the Train wear for later in the evening when he was handing out candy to the trick or treaters....

As you might be able to see, Lucy has continued to grow... rapidly. She is almost out of her size 1 diapers now and her 0-3 month clothes are getting too tight. She is getting to be such a big girl now. She has a special smile just for mommy that she shares with me in the mornings. What a delight.

Sending our 'spooky' regards out to everyone!!!!

New pictures of Lucy

WEll, Lucy is definitely filling out. She is a good sleeper so far and seems to want to be by her mother ALL the time. I guess that between my devoted son and my darling daughter, I am probably the luckiest mom ever. If only such devotion and adoration would last through puberty.... (ah well...)

Lucy is getting to be quite a little lady. Although she does sleep quite a bit, her waking hours are getting more interesting. She has been lifting her head up from the first day she was born, but now she seems to do so with more purpose. She loves examining new things and faces. She will follow objects that are in her line of sight if she is interested. Also, she gave me a couple of smiles today... probably gas, but I'll take them.

You can tell the difference in her pictures from earlier last week to the pictures I took today in the blue swing... she definitely looks like she is growing fast.

Luke is doing great as well. He managed to go poop on the potty, which is a major accomplishment in Luke's world. We are getting him ready for Madagascar 2 by watching the trailers online and playing the games. We got invited to a private screening the day after it opens in theaters and Luke is going to be in heaven. If you get a chance go to the Madagascar website and click on the character MOTO MOTO... the male hippo. His website has this catchy tune that I simply can't get out of my head. "I like 'em big, I like 'em chunky, I like 'em big, I like 'em lumpy, I like 'em round, with something something, they like my sound, they think I'm funky.... my name is Moto Moto, yeah you say it double..." Anyway, Luke LOVES this song and character and I'm sure that the private screening is going to be a super big hit.

In other news, I'm going to be getting Lucy a photo shoot on Thursday at the Eden Prairie Mall... it is Flash Digital Photography, so the pictures should be ready really quickly. I'll let you know how it goes.

Also, Lucy is getting ready for her first airplane ride out to Seattle for the conference I am speaking at. We are only there for two days and my aunt is coming with us to watch Lucy while I speak. Nate said that he is making the trek out to Seattle to get a look at Lucy live and in person. We will also be going out to two nice dinners, so I'll have plenty to report.

Hope that all is well!!!

New pictures of Luke and Lucy

Here are some of the latest pictures of Luke and Lucy. We are doing well so far and Lucy has her well check next Monday. She still is our 'golden child' as the jaundice has not completely resolved... you can really see the jaundice in the yellow of her eyes in the last picture.

Enjoy!

More pictures

Please visit the shutterfly site with more pictures of Lucy's first days:

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AZtXDJo4bNGgd

BABY LUCY ARRIVES!!!!

HOORAY!





Baby Lucinda Mae arrived on September 18, 2008. She was 3 days overdue, but when it was time to arrive, she made a speedy entrance. I left work around noon after feeling like I might be getting some strong and uncomfortable Braxton Hicks. When I called my mom at 11:30 am, I thought that I should head home to Chanhassen and out my feet up. By the time that she arrived at noon, I thought that we should check with the doctor. I arrived at the hospital at 12:15 and was admitted. Al arrived shortly thereafter and we were sent to labor and delivery a little before 1 pm.





At 1 pm, I registered at about a 3. Then, in the next half hour, I went from a 3 to fully dilated. At 1:30 pm, I began to push and little Lucy was born at 1:39. Yes, that was 9 minutes. I believe that folks at work are calling me very 'efficient' for working up to about an hour and a half before giving birth. Call me the ferrari of birthing for going from "o-60 in 3.5" (or zero to baby in 2.5)





I'm attaching pictures here so that we can get these beautiful pictures of the newest addition out quickly.




Since arriving, Lucy has been a dream. She has a full set of dark wavy hair and curly eyelashes to boot.

Lucy's vital stats:

8 lbs. 10 oz.

20 1/2 inches

Apgars- 9/9

Luke is a very proud big brother. He loves "my baby" as he likes to call Lucy and he says that she is a princess. He worries that someone might take Lucy away from him or make her go back to the hospital. Although he loves Lucy, there is definitely a sibling rivalry in the works. Whenever Lucy hiccups, Luke shows that he can hiccup louder. When Lucy yawns, Luke shows us how much bigger his mouth is and that he has teeth- whereas Lucy doesn't even have teeth yet. And so it begins. :)

The only setback that Lucy had was a high bilirubin level- meaning that she is slightly jaundiced. We were sent home with phototherapy lights and she looks like she is getting her first tanning bed sessions. Lucy hates the pep bed because she would much rather be snuggling with mom, dad and Luke... but this is just a minor, short-term issue which will hopefully resolve over the next few days. (Note, the pictures of Lucy looking like a hostage are from the phototherapy bed...)



Enjoy!

New pictures with details to follow

Life has been busy at the Lentini house... I'm going to add pictures and then explain later since we have lots to update on including our visit from Emma, Day out with Thomas the Train, the trip to Duluth, the visit from the Lentini grandparents, the Renaissance Festival, the visit to Homemade Pizza Company and the remote control cars... we have been one busy family, but here are some pictures first.... updates to follow

Taking it easy this weekend

Well, life has been slowing down a bit by necessity. I'm just getting too darn tired to do much other than work, be a mom and sleep. (It's going to be a LONG August and September.)

This weekend, we went out to a BBQ at my co-workers house. Luke was simply thrilled to be playing with Riley (the 4 year old)... He copied everything and they had a blast together.

In other news, I prepared the baby's room for our upcoming arrival... getting baby diapers, new crib sheets, receiving blankets, etc. I'm going to rummage through Luke's old 0-3 month old stuff to see if we can re-use anything with the new child.

I also managed to do some decorating in Luke's room. I got him this cool canoe oar with engravings of Lake Minnetonka to go over his bed. Then, I got this painting on wood of some ducks in flight. It has a very rustic feel to it and goes with the Big Bear Campground theme. The coolest thing so far though is that I got Luke a personalized wood sign to go in his room from Cabelas. It is a bear theme and will say "Luke's Room Chanhassen, Minnesota" on it instead of the Lake Tahoe thing. See it here:

Anyway... there are still a few more things that I need to do to continue decorating the room, but it is starting to look like a nice North Woods themed place. :)

Next step, work on the little girl's room. I am thinking that we are going to get some butterfly and dragonfly wings and such for the room. I'll work on it though...

This weekend, Al went out golfing and managed to get below 100 on his score... so, he is thrilled- congratulate him the next time you chat with him.

Other than that, Luke is officially a big boy and now fits into the Lederhosen that we sent over by our long-time family friends, the Kopeckys (and Ohandjanians). The pictures were just too cute to pass up. I'm sure that Luke will look great in his Christmas pictures with these Lederhosen on, but here is a pre-view:

I'm planning on getting Luke's "big brother present" this weekend if I have the energy so that everything will be ready for the little girl's arrival. I'm planning on packing my hospital bag this weekend too because things are going to be crazy over the next few weeks until the end of August!

Hope everyone is well!

Well, there is never a dull moment with the Minnesota Lentinis. I got back from DC and into the flurry of our shareholders meeting. Then, Al and I headed out to Boca Raton for the National Convention of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals. Nana came out to take care of Luke and they had a grand old time.

While at the convention, I experienced what I can only describe as a career highlight. The Director of Corporation Finance announced in his speech at the convention that the SEC had reconsidered their position and were changing their interpretation to be almost verbatim what I had advocated for 2 weeks earlier in Washington DC. Let's just say that there were lots of high fives and pats on the back for me at the conference. I'm guessing this is something that will not necessarily be replicated during my career. Anyway, Al and I came back with a little more tan and a lot more rested.

When we got back, we had a few days of work and then the July 4th weekend was upon on. Micholle, Jeb and Gigi came to visit, stay with us and help me celebrate a baby shower for our upcoming arrival. Cassandra was able to make it all the way from LA to spend time with us as well. It was a great weekend... gorgeous weather, time to have campfires with my "Smores-travaganza" gourmet S'mores festival, visits to the lake, shopping, etc. We packed in a lot of fun to a relatively short time. Luke and Jeb formed the "Cowabunga Boys" band. It's easier to show pictures than to explain all of the fun... so see the attached link.

http://picasaweb.google.com/bettychessin/MinneapolisTripJuly2008?authkey=X2-le-PQdwE

I really think it was one of the best weekends ever. Then again, how can you go wrong with a S'morestravaganza and a special delivery of charcuterie from Zingerman's?

I'm now try to convince Micholle and crew to move to Minnesota... I think Jeb already has his bags packed.

Life should slow down a bit now. We are going to be taking it easy this weekend. Going to a BBQ at the LaBahns next weekend and then maybe heading to the farm in Wisconsin for the last weekend in July.

August is already starting to fill up actually as we have a Thomas the Train trip, a Minnesota vacation to the Duluth area and a visit from Al's parents. We are also going to have a tour of The Birthplace where Luke's baby sister should be born in September.

All in all, we should stay somewhat busy for the rest of the summer, but not nearly as crazy as we were before.

Hope that everyone is doing well!

More pictures and updates

Wow! Well, it has been a week to remember... I spent time in Washington DC with the SEC presenting for the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals... managed to get a whole heck of a lot of work done and also had a birthday and Father's Day. Yikes! Talk about packing it all in.

Here are more pictures from our trips to Nevada... you can see the #8 train:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bettychessin/LukeSVisitToNANA?authkey=KX-N3p4p82c

The trip to DC went very well and I managed to accomplish quite a bit on the networking/work front. I think that my presentation may also have had an impact on the SEC as they indicated that they would be reconsidering a prior position and making a determination shortly. So, let's hope that they side with what I was advocating.

I got back on Friday to a flurry of work. It has been just crazy at work and I'm hoping that things calm down once the Board and shareholders meetings are done.

Friday night, Al and I got to go out for a nice dinner and one of my co-workers babysat for Luke. We went to Restaurant Alma www.restaurantalma.com which is currently a nominee for a regional James Beard award. Exciting stuff. The dinner was absolutely phenomenal. We had the tasting meal and it was simply divine. I had the nettle souffle, masa corn crepes and the halibut. Al had the coppacciola ham, orechette and pork tenderloin. For dessert, Al got the coconut macadamia ice cream sandwich and I had the Greek yogurt panna cotta. Amazing meal!

Today is Father's Day, so happy father's day to all dads out there. Al is out golfing right now with Eric and then will be joining us and the rest of the Lamberts for lunch at Fuddruckers.Just right for a Father's Day.

Take care all!

Airplanes, luggage and a serial killer in our midst

Life has been exceedingly busy for the Lentinis of Chanhassen....

Luke and Al went out to New Jersey in early May to visit Dumont and see the Lentini/Lamatina side of the family. He got to attend a nice party and have fun getting to meet and know that side.

Luke travelled again over Memorial Day weekend to Genoa, Nevada for a visit with Nana and Pop-pop. He got to ride on a real steam engine #8 (the Cooke 1886 engine in the Nevada state railroad museum) and was sitting right up front with the engineer. Pictures to come! He also received his prized possession of a Go Diego! backpack/rolling luggage. He proudly walks through the airports now with his luggage- the perfect place for his new DVD player from Best Buy.

We barely had time to unpack when the whole crew headed out last weekend to Las Vegas, Nevada, for mom to speak at a conference and Luke and Al to hang out with Nana, Pop-Pop and Uncle Nate. We had an amazing time together and I did get to spend a little bit of time at the pool between conference sessions. You can see some of the pictures that Nate took at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/chessin/ChessinsLentinisInVegas?authkey=MKwh6u08VWw
Luke fell in love with the pool area and was a regular little fishy- swimming at least 3 hours each day in the pool. He also fell in love with slot machines and would announce to anyone who would listen that he is now 21. Ah.... corrupted in Las Vegas.

When we returned, we had an unhapppy surprise. We have discovered a killer in our midst. She's about 2 feet tall and has a greying muzzle. Her alias is- BK- also known as the Bird Killer. So far, we have 3 confirmed kills this summer with 1 suspected kill. She is now suspected in one kill from last summer as well. Gordita is a homocidal machine. Despite dive-bombing by friends of the victim and her advanced age of almost 10 years old, Gordy managed to kill a bluejay this morning. We are monitoring her behavior, but she seems to be on a roll now... So much for Al's bird-watching... we now use the Audubon Guide as a post-mortem tool to identify the species of victims.

I head out for a presentation in DC this week and then the weekend should bring birthday fun and father's day celebrations.

Cheers!

NEWS!!!!!

It's a GIRL!!!! We are just over the moon with excitement!

the great unknown

Well, we went in for the big ultrasound of the new baby. Everything looks very healthy and happy... but we still don't know whether this is a boy or a girl because the baby wouldn't cooperate. I'm terribly disappointed after spending an hour getting the ultrasound to have baby which refused to give us a peek... the little one's legs were shut like Fort Knox. Seriously.

Of course, now people are trying to make me feel better by saying asinine things like "oh, there are so few surprises in life" or "maybe it just was supposed to be a surprise"... I have all the respect in the world for people who don't want to find out the sex of their babies... but I wanted to find out the sex of my baby and frankly, if I wasn't supposed to know, ultrasounds wouldn't exist... and to those who think that there are so few surprises in life... I get surprises- both good and bad- all of the time... that's life with a 2 1/2 year old... the sex of my baby doesn't have to be a surprise for me.

We are probably going to get a vanity ultrasound to see if we can find out the sex of this child... if it doesn't happen then... well, then I guess we just have a genderless child for a while.

Travel plans and more FERBER!@!#

Hello all-

Well, the interesting news is that after a year and a half, we finally gave in and changed our cell phone numbers. No one can say that we move too quickly in making these monumental changes. In case I forgot to send an e-mail, you can just leave me a message here and I will get in touch with you.

Also, in news, I have lots of work-related travel coming up in the next few months. I'll be headed to Las Vegas for a conference, headed to DC for a committee meeting and then the piece de resistance is the trip to Boca Raton with Al for the National Convention of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals. Yay! Should be a complete blast! Lots of work ahead, but lots to look forward to.

Other than that, the Ferber method is still providing challenges.. Luke has gotten a lot better about going to bed, but he still wakes up about 3 times per night. Uggg... at least it isn't an hour long routine now, but having to get up and tell Luke to go back to bed mutiple times a night isn't fun.

So, onward....

In other interesting news, we had snow sticking on the grass and falling all morning here. I'm getting really ticked off the global warming seems to have zero warming benefits in Minnesota... I kind of figured that if global warming was really happening, Minnesota would be more temperate. Not the case thus far...

Hell is ferberizing

Well, we have finally hit the limit with Luke's night escapades. The whole family is exhausted and we can't handle this as we gear up for a new baby. So, we are using the Ferber method to get Luke to sleep in his own bed. The first night (Friday) consisted of two full hours of screaming/shrieking. It was phenomenal. Then, he managed to get about 7 1/2 hours of sleep and he screamed from 5:30-6:30 am. We are currently into the first half hour of naptime screaming. Luke is clearly so tired that he is a walking zombie, but he still refuses to sleep. The running commentary to explain Luke's anguish usually consists of "mommy, hold Luke." "Mommy where are you NOW?!?" "mommy, let me out." and then a series of mommy... It is so horrific to hear your child in such frustration and not do a thing. Of course, the alternative is to have to deal with this when he hits college.

IN other fun news... Al lost one of his front teeth at breakfast this morning.

Seriously, it has been one for the record books.

On the plus side, we went to a great breakfast at a place in downtown Minneapolis called Hell's Kitchen.

More details to follow....

I'm dreaming of a WHITE mid-April

I know, I know... I haven't been blogging much lately. Between being completely exhausted from the pregnancy, having a toddler who refuses to sleep through the night on his own, and my busiest time of year gearing up for the proxy and 10-K... I just haven't had the time or energy to be posting on the blog. Sorry.

Things here are super duper busy... which is helping out quite a bit... otherwise I might get more upset about the SNOW! Yes, snow. Whoever came up with global warming is a complete moron and obviously is not spending any time in mid-April in Minnesota when we are expecting up to 10 inches of the white stuff. Seriously... we have now had over 6 months of snowy weather. When we moved to Minnesota, I was fairly sold on the idea that with global warming, we would be living the high life as the Minnesota weather would be much more moderate. For a planet that is warming, this is pretty freakin' cold! Al has refused to start up the snowblower and figures that if he doesn't plow it, it isn't there. As a side note, I am betting that he will be plowing it tomorrow to let me get to work.

Luke is doing well. He continues with his Kindergym and Music lessons. He is just a happy go lucky little chap. I think that we will be enrolling him in soccer this fall and having him take swimming lessons again over the summer. We need to find a way to tap that energy.. Frankly, if I could harness toddler energy and convert it into a commercial enterprise, I would probably be a millionaire.

On the horizon, is the chance that Al and I may have a double date on Sunday with the Lamberts. We may hit the Melting Pot for a last lunch/early dinner. YUM!

Well, I will update more once the snow melts and spring arrives... or maybe in May- whichever comes first.

It's official!

Here comes baby #2 everyone! The Lentinis will be adding to our family in the fall of 2008. We (mom and dad) are excited about the arrival. Luke is less than enthused ("Mommy NO HAVE BABY!" is what you can expect hear around our house these days... usually screamed at the top of his little lungs.) While Luke is excited about the prospect of getting a big brother present, he would rather not have the baby who will be giving him the present.

Needless to say, we still have time before the big ultrasound... and yes, we plan to find out this time around. If it is a boy, we already have all of the goods. If it is a girl, then we have some quick studying to do to figure out girl-dom these days.

The doctor visit today gave confirmation that the heartbeat is just fine and all of our tests for the various birth defects and anomalies came back normal. So, now we just sit back and let this little one percolate for a bit until the fall comes.

More details later... and pictures from the big ultrasound when we have it.

back from St. Louis into the den of preschool germs

Well, I made it back from St. Louis. I had a wonderful girls weekend with Emily B., Micholle M. and Cassandra C. You can see by the picture above that we all looked absolutely fabulous and relaxed from the trip.

While in St. Louis, we indulged on cupcakes from the Cupcakery (http://www.thecupcakery.net/) which were absolutely divine. I wish that they had one of those near me!

We also went to get pedicures at Go Spa (http://www.gospagirl.com/). Thank you Derek B. for indulging all of the girls. :) We had a wonderful time and my toes still look smashing!

The most impressive event of the weekend was definitely the trip to the Ritz Carlton for tea. The tea was absolutely amazing as you can see by the picture of the tea sandwiches. We had a fantastic Earl Grey tea, tea sandwiches, a scone with Devonshire cream and strawberry preserves, a couple of other pastries, more sweets and chocolates... it was simply divine.

Then, we jetted off to this fantastic store called Soft Surroundings (http://www.softsurroundings.com/) where I managed to get a new shirt and a new outfit. Fantastic stuff there.

The last evening out, we all met up with St. Louis friends at a Wine and Tapas place called Robust. Fun was had by all.

After St. Louis, it was back to the grind here. Work was never far behind and they had been missing me. ;) So, I had lots of catch up to do. I also had a little boy waiting for some serious mommy time. Al had done a great job with Luke while I was gone- visiting the Lamberts, seeing the Easter Bunny at Kowalski's.... but let's face it... there is nothing quite like mommy hugs and Luke felt like he was missing out in my absence. So, after the weekend, I had to kick my job and being a mom back into high gear to meet the demands.

Of course, a week later, we all seem to have a bit of a cold going. Gotta love daycare, right?

It has now been snowing every day for the last four days and we had a very WHITE Easter! We did manage to take Luke to the Chanhassen Rec Center for the Easter Egg Event. It was a blast. They had singing, dancing, coloring and lots of candy for little kids. Luke even won a prize from Byerly's supermarkets! A free killer brownie which I am sure the entire family will enjoy.

This morning, we have church, a basement Easter egg hunt and Sunday Easter brunch at Campiello in Eden Prairie.

HAPPY EASTER!

this is how we roll it....

So, after intense media interest... I have attached a picture of me in the Chrysler Town and Country. This is how we roll it into work now. The minivan is chock full of family fun during the morning and evening commutes. ;) We actually have decided to limit Luke's viewing of The Incredibles to longer trips... otherwise we end up with a little vegetable boy in the back seat who won't talk or interact with us.

Today started out as a daylight savings Monday should... with a clogged toilet. Not just any clogged toilet, but a master bathroom super clogged toilet. Of course, I had Al run to get the toilet plunger... nothing was going down this damn toilet. So, in his infinite wisdom, Al decided that it was probably best to flush the toilet again to "get things moving" (*now, as a side bar, I have no flipping clue why anyone in their right mind would see a toilet about to overflow and then decide to flush again as if the extra water will help the situation... but I love my husband and am not really questioning the rationale in this situation*) Needless to say, I started screaming that the toilet was going to overflow and I started picking up bath rugs amid a few other choice statements. At one point I think that I yelled something along the lines of "turn off the water at the base or the whole bathroom will be flooded." The toilet began to rapidly spill its contents ALL OVER the bathroom floor... at which Al said "I guess that the toilet is going to overflow." Thank goodness Luke was in the middle of Mickey Mouse Fun House on the Disney channel or I am sure that he would have loved to be playing in the 'puddles.' It only took a few minutes and about 6 full-sized towels to get things under control. Ah.... nothing like starting the week out right!

In other news, Luke continues to ask about NaNa and PopPop. So, I think that we may need to consider a visit to Nevada for him to actually see NaNa and PopPop's house. It would be a long trip and involve at least one plane change (which I am really not looking forward to), but for the good of all, I think that Luke needs to actually see where NaNa and PopPop live most of the time when they aren't visiting Minnesota.

ENJOY THE PICTURES!

the new family truckster...

Well, yesterday was momentus for many reasons, but most importantly, it was our first expedition down to visit our friends in Lakeville with the new minivan. Luke loved it and every time we had the doors open and shut automatically, he screamed "MAGIC" and clapped his hands. He watched The Incredibles on the way down and scarcely made a peep.

Interestingly enough... Luke has now been asking to go to mommy's magic car to watch the Incredibles. :)

Also, we had a fabulous time with Ms. Janet and Mr. Eric down in Lakeville. Luke, Josh and Ryan enjoyed playing with each other and generally engaging in mayhem. We all had Thai food and there were plenty of leftovers which the Lentinis have been enjoying today.

You bought a WHAT?!?!?!

Yes.... the Lentinis finally bought a new vehicle.... and it isn't an SUV, it's a minivan! We ended up going with the Chrysler Town and Country from Walser in Hopkins. It's a 2008 in midnight blue with gray leather interior. It has two DVD players and the second and third row can be watching different movies. There are wireless headphones to boot. Sirius satellite radio is included for the first year. The doors on the sides are power and so is the lift gate in the back. The two back rows are stow n go seating so we could fit large pieces of furniture if necessary. It has a backup camera, it plays MP3s.. it has bluetooth available for the cell... it has a gazillion bells and whistles... and the price couldn't be beat! We got a huge discount to start with, then we got employee pricing, money because it was Auto Show, and $1,000 trade-in on Al's 1997 Chevy Lumina. To top it off... we got 84 month financing with no pre-payment penalty so our current payments are under $400 and we can pay it off once bonuses come in. :)

Of course, the biggest impediment was whether Al could handle the shame of owning a mini-van... after driving it and seeing the difference from the SUVs, he couldn't argue any more. I will be the primary driver, but I think that Al just might survive having to drive it from time to time.

So, we are the proud owners of a minivan... and we are happy.

Nana and PopPop say farewell

Today was a tough day. NaNa and PopPop left for Appleton and the house just isn't the same any more. Luke cried quite a bit when he returned home and kept calling for his NaNa. It was really horrific.

Of course, now we have pictures and lots of leftovers from the visit. ;)

Other than that, my friend Kris had a surprise arrival this evening. Her baby boy, Daniel Robert, was born this evening around 5:30. It sounds like he is a healthy happy little guy and it sounds like she is doing MUCH better now. Congrats to the whole family!

I need to go give Luke extra hugs and kisses. He's having a rough night.

You have got to be kidding me.... one week

One week... one week was all it took for Miss Anne to fold her cards and leave as Luke's Yellow Toddler Room teacher... As you can see from my previous posts, Luke loved his former teacher, Miss Essi and I was concerned that Miss Anne didn't have enough of a backbone to deal with a crew of tenacious toddlers. Apparently, a mom's intuition is something that SHOULD be heeded.

Needless to say, this all happens at a rather unfortunate time. The main site administrator is out this entire week on vacation- perfect, right... So, as the parents begin to embark on a mini-mutiny due to the fact that our children have had 5 teachers in 7 months, we are now given a full week to seethe and coordinate. Nothing like a bunch of really pissed off parents waiting for you after a vacation.

By the way, the picture I just included is of Luke, looking mischievous as he is about to engage in a riveting rendition of "Hot Hot Hot" with his 'microphone' in hand. This preceded the fantastic dancing montage to the 1980's classic "Jump!" in the living room where all parties- including PopPop had to jump in time to the music. Hilarity ensued.

Other than that, Luke's time with NaNa and PopPop is coming to a close. They have been absolute angels this entire week--- getting up with him at 3 am pretty much every day so that Al and I can get extra sleep in. They even handled the 2 am wake up this morning when Luke announced that he was ready for waffles and Dumbo without batting an eyelash. We will miss the fantastic homemade meals, nighttime Luke care and general pampering.

OH... another first for us, my parents brought Norske Nook apple pie with them from Wisconsin. http://www.norskenook.com/ It was amazing. I think that the next time we hit the Dells, we will make a stop (Aunt Barb take note... we come bearing gifts.)

In other news, I booked my trip to St. Louis to hang with a bunch of the girls for a weekend. I'll be heading down in about a week and half to meet up with Micholle, Emily and Cassandra for four days and three nights of pampering. I believe that our plans include lunch at Emily's club, pedicures for all at a great little spa, tea at the Ritz Carlton and a Spanish tapas dinner. Sounds like fun right up my alley. I'm sure it will be super girly... and the first time I have spent more than one night away from Luke. YIKES! Well, this will definitely be an experience feeling footloose and fancy free for a weekend (and getting to sleep in with no kiddie noises for the first time really in the last two years or so.)

March arrives... in like a lion!!!

Hey all you wonderful folks!

Life here is crazy, as usual. The Chessin grandparents are in town (NaNa and PopPop). Of course, Luke is getting spoiled as can be with them in town. He wakes up every morning and runs into their room for snuggle time and spends the whole day playing with NaNa and PopPop- giggling and having fun. NaNa brought tons of coloring books and MagicWonder/washable markers. I have never seen him quite so happy. NaNa also bought Dumbo, Monsters Inc and the Elmo movie.

Today, we went to Jake O'Connors http://www.jakeoconnors.com for their Sunday brunch. It is $14.95 for adults and $6.95 for children under 12. All I can say is 'phenomenal'. The brunch was just amazing. Made to order omelettes, flank steak, salmon, corned beef (the best ever), brussel sprouts with carmelized shallots, scrambled eggs with breakfast potatoes, Guiness beef stew, lasagna, waffles, pastries of all sorts, cheeses, fruits, salads, etc. Then, there was this to die for dessert table. Needless to say, it was worth every penny. We have often gone there for dinners, but the sunday brunch was something that we will definitely repeat again some day.

Mom and I went shopping at the Galleria mall. It was tons of fun to check out the stores and such. We were looking for a childrens table and found one that looked ideal at Gabberts until we looked at the pricing.... $1000 for a table. I think we will be getting a cheaper table and actually investing the remaining money into a college fund for Luke's education... Who in their right mind needs a $1,000 table for a kid?!?!?

Sorry that I haven't been writing much lately... I came down with an awful bronchitis and pulled all of the intracostal muscles in my chest... Uggg... Seriously, if I was a farm animal, I think they would have put me out of my misery.

Today, we are having pretty miserable weather. Rainy and dreary. The perfect day for a long nap... which is exactly what we all did.

Another thing that we did this weekend was continue our search for the next family truckster. Al and I tried out the Saturn Outlook, the Hyundai Veracruz and the Nissan Murano. I LOVED the Nissan Murano, but it seats the same number of people as my Nissan Maxima... so, I'm thinking that we may pass on it just because the extra seating will be vital as Luke gets older and develops friends who may want to come along to soccer games, etc. Plus, it is nice to be able to take one car whenever visitors come into town instead of being forced to have multiple cars to go to the same place. We'll keep you updated.

Alrighty... hope that everyone is well.

Playhouse Disney LIVE!

Yesterday was our event at the Target Center. Playhouse Disney LIVE was playing and we went with our friends the Lamberts. The show had a lot of Luke's favorite Disney tv show elements. It had lots of Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Minnie. It also had Handy Manny, the Little Einsteins and My Friends Tigger and Pooh.

Luke sat there transfixed most of the time. He clapped, he sang and he danced to the Hot Dog song.

Then, the moment came when it all went down hill for me. Halfway through the show, they stopped for an 'intermission.' I'm sure that this would probably have been played off by the Disney company as a chance for young children to make sure that they got a potty break... but let's get real here for a second. The show was about an hour long.... What this really amounted to was a 'fleecing of the parents extraordinaire'... Literally, there were these stands set up where you had to open up your wallet for obscene amounts of money on plastic items that will break within minutes. There were light orbs and whirlygigs... Bob the Builder Hats with cotton candy for $20. Handy Manny toolkits, snowcones in Little Einstein mugs, pictures with Bob the Builder for $12. They even offered coloring books at 10 times what you would find them for in the local Target. I would rather have had them simply open the 'intermission' by announcing that this was open season on all parent wallets.

As, we were about the leave at the end of the show... they announce that this is the FIRST ANNUAL Playhouse Disney Live show... We have years more of this to come. The sedatives weren't working fast enough as we departed. The final parting moment was on the way out the door, they were handing out fliers to all of the children with pictures of Nemo to advertise the next Disney show- Nemo on Ice. It was a good thing that I had already digested my $6 pretzel because I was feeling nausea coming on.

After our show, we all headed to Applebee's for lunch. The boys were getting antsy, but seemed to tolerate it well despite the event running into lunchtime.

Luke took a very long naps and we had a great rest of the day.... and an exciting evening.

Luke has been having a tough time going down for bed at night and he has been waking up at least once per evening- usually around 4:30. It has been fantastic for mom and dad who look like modern day versions of Night of the Living Dead.

Well, just to make life a little spicy.... at around 10 PM, I thought I heard Luke's baby gate open and close. I told Al who thought there was no way possible it was happening. Of course, I needed to satisfy my own curiosity. As I opened the door to the hallway... I see this naked two year old leaping across the floor like a frog and giggling hysterically. Now, I assure you that we didn't put Luke to bed naked... this is his newest accomplishment... managing to get naked in less than 30 seconds. apparently, he can also get naked in the dark. I'm sure that this skill will serve him at some point in his life (although I'm not sure what naked leap frog will do for him).

Other than that, I'm attaching a quick picture of Luke playing baseball in the basement. We still aren't sure if he is leftie or rightie when it comes to his preferences... we'll work on that.

More to come...

Meeting Miss Anne

Yesterday, we got to meet Luke's new teacher, Ms. Anne. Ms. Anne is everything that you would expect a toddler teacher to be... young, cute and very gentle. I'm hoping that underneath all of the cute cuddliness that there is a backbone of steel... if not, Luke is going to be walking all over her in nanoseconds.

As part of Ms. Anne's intro to the classroom, she wrote a letter to the parents asking us for three special things about our child. All of this got me to thinking... what should I tell her about Luke? Obviously, as a parent, I have an all-encompassing love for my son, but even I know with the grain of reality that I still have left when I comes to my baby that Luke is not an easy child. So, how do I tell her about the wonderful things that I value in Luke without scaring the daylights out of her? I'm thinking right now that my list of three goes like this:
1) Luke is artistic. He loves to sing, dance, do gymnastics, paint, color- he creates. He also has a flair for the dramatic.
2) Luke is an adventurer and discoverer. He wants to know how things work, find new places, try new things and meet new people. He also wants to communicate everything he has done or is feeling.
3) Luke is persistent. He never allows anything to get between him and his goal for too long. Even when you think he has forgotten about something, it is never far from his mind. Luke will also take a task to the finish- especially if he is being a helper.
Hopefully Ms. Anne won't be running for the hills at the sight of Luke Joseph.

Today the big adventure is to go to Disney Live. I'm sure we will have an update tonight. :)

Au revoir, mon amie...

So, Luke learned a new song in school today called "Au revoir, mon amie" (Goodbye my friend). I guess that all of the yellow toddlers with sing this song to Miss Essi tomorrow on her last day in the class.

Miss Essi is taking the transition pretty hard, but at the end of the day, change can be good much of the time and this is a good way to Luke to learn about change and growth.

Luke's new teacher, Miss Anne, has intensive toddler and early childhood experience. So, let's hope it's a good match.

In other news, today I got to sit in on one of our execs being prepared for a media interview. It was absolutely fascinating and a really fantastic experience- even as an observer. I learned so much in the four hours of the session about how to land messaging, the techniques that reporters use to lead you and confuse you into saying things you may not intend, etc. I have a whole new respect for people who deal with the media on a regular basis. Wow!

This weekend we have plans with friends to take Luke to see Disney Live at the Target Center. It should be a blast.

More updates to come....

Missing Miss Essi...

Well, today I got what I considered to be horrible news. Luke's teacher in day care is being moved to a new classroom on Friday. (Nothing like ample warning.) Miss Essi is a wonderful woman who is originally from Togo. She adores Luke and the feeling is mutual. He often cries when she leaves the room and cries out for "My Essi." Miss Essi speaks French to Luke (it's her native language) and she has already taught him to say "Au revoir, Maman" when I say goodbye in the mornings and how to count to 15 in French.

Needless to say, given the bond my son has with Miss Essi, I am terribly upset at the abrupt way in which she is being taken from my son's daily life. She is being relocated to another toddler room, two doors down. Luke may still see her from time to time on the playground or if he goes for a visit to the Green room, but she won't be a part of his daily routine any more.

After discussing with the center director, I'm simply left with the option of having Luke stay in the current Yellow toddler room and meet the new teachers on Monday. Too many parents are asking to move their children with Miss Essi and there isn't sufficient room in Green Toddlers. This is definitely a leap of faith for a nervous mom.

My biggest worries are that Luke has such a loving advocate and teacher in Miss Essi. For all of the challenges attendant with a spirited child like Luke, Miss Essi seems to revel in his uniqueness and encourage him to channel his energy in very productive ways. With a new teacher coming in, I worry that the next person may not realize just how special Luke is and how his energetic approach to life really is a wonderful gift. I worry that he won't form the same bond with the new teacher as he had with Miss Essi- it's hard to replicate that level of closeness. I also worry that Luke will miss out on the experiences of having a person from another area of the world teach and inform him- especially with the foreign languages.

I guess that we will see what Monday brings. I have started preparing Luke that Miss Essi isn't going to be his teacher any more and that a new teacher, Miss Anne, will be his new buddy. He doesn't understand yet and I think that Monday may be a bit tough overall.

More updates as the days go on.....

Comin' back from Cali

OK... so we really didn't put up much information about the trip to California.

It was a whirlwind weekend for the entire family, but a good time was had by all. Uncle Nate was a very gracious host and Luke absolutely adored him... so much so that every morning (usually shortly after 6 am) Luke would say "where's Uncle Nate?" and run around to find him. He also would proudly pronounce that he is Uncle Nate's 'wingman'.

Luke, of course, ran immediately into his Nana and Pop-pop's arms and would immediately ask for them (very insistently) every morning at the crack of dawn.

The first night we had In-n-Out burgers... Heaven!!!!

Then, on Friday, we hit Disneyland. Luke loved the Dumbo ride, all of the character meetings and the Nemo submarine the best. He thought that Disney was his own little park and remembered all of the names of his favorite characters. It was a long, but very rewarding day for everyone.

On Sat., we had a very busy day as well. We all travelled down to San Diego and went to Seaworld. Luke fell in love with Shamu and all of Shamu's friends. He wanted to go swimming with Shamu, but I told him that the water was a bit too cold. Uncle Nate managed to arrange for a special up close breakfast with Shamu. It was amazing- definitely an experience for everyone to remember.

After Seaworld, we headed over to visit Ron and Carol Davis at their house and have a little birthday cake celebration for Luke. Carol had little surprises for Luke around every corner and he was pleased as punch to be the center of attention.

Weeks later, Luke still talks every day about his trip to California. :)

A whole new world

Well, the Lentini family is finally starting to 'get with it.' Call us late adapters, but we've been a bit resistant to starting up an actual blogspot. We did have Luke's old website, but now we are moving into a new era. ;)

Things in Minnesota continue to go well. We are now in the process of researching a car to purchase (hopefully this spring.) So far, we have tried out the Subaru Tribeca and the GMC Acadia. Good god, these cars are expensive. Nonetheless, the 1997 Chevy Lumina just isn't going to make another winter and we need a Minnesota-ready car.

Luke is currently coloring his Elmo book. He will probably resort to body art shortly since he seems to love coloring his belly with all sorts of designs.

Never mind..... he just started coloring his palms and doing palm prints in the coloring book.... never a dull moment here.

We're probably going to get some more snow tonight and then we'll be soaking up the cold for the rest of the country. I'm already looking forward to the spring.

Here's a quick picture of our trip to Turks and Caicos to start out with. You can see that Luke was having a blast at the beach...

More later-

The Lentinis