Papa, no travaille...

With my ever-busy work schedule, I've had to endure more and more time away from Alex and the kids.

I was on the road all last week, and was supposed to be home Thursday night, but my schedule wasn't going to allow me to get back until very late.

I emailed Alex to let her know, and she emailed me back the following story...

To: Sam

From: Alex

Date: Thursday, May 07

...

I'm glad I told Nathan that you'd be home only tomorrow morning. I didn't want him to be disappointed if he didn't see you tonight.  But it's quite amazing because on Monday I had told him that you'd be back on Thursday night or maybe Friday morning (from his perspective). I explained that "he would go to school on Tuesday, then, no school on Wed, then school again on Thursday and that after his nap or night you'd be home".

Well, when he woke up this morning, he gave me a big hug and said "Papa's coming today!"

I must admit that I was floored. I just managed his expectation saying that you'd be back tomorrow morning after his night.  Such an amazing kid! We've had a good time together.

Friday morning I was up and had to be out the door before Nathan was awake, so I was only able to spend time with Sidney and Alex.  Sidney and I played and laughed a little bit... although I'm not sure if his excitementwas because he realized I had been gone for a week, or if it was just that he's a happy, smiley kid all the time.

When I got home tonight after a week of being gone, Nathan ran to meet me at the door, shouting "Papa, Papa!  No travaille..." ("no work") I was in heaven.  Lots of hugs, lots of kisses, lots of laughs.

So nice to be home.  I wish I never had to leave...

"Two more minutes..."

I called to Nathan as he was playing in the tub.

"Two more minutes and we have to get out..."

"No!" He replied. "I don't want to get out. I want to stay in for one more minute!"

Nathan is a shrewd negotiator...

Je Veux Grue

Alex has a habit of tickling Nathan and saying, "Je veux te manger tout cru" (I'd like to eat you all up (*raw)).

Nathan misunderstood and when he wants to be tickled, states "Je veux Grue!" (Or "I want crane!")

Vacation in PVR

Nathan, Sidney, Alex and I took a week-long family vacation with my sister's family to Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Nathan and his cousin, Elena, had a fantastic time together and I think everyone enjoyed the resort and the beaches.

Thankfully, none of us got kidnapped by drug lords, and nobody ended up with swine flu. However, 4/7ths of our party ended up with "tourista," most likely caused by a little cheesecake-gone-bad.

Making friends at the airport

Nathan doesn't need much to make new friends. At the airport, he found these two boys (both a little older than Nathan) and was walking them around, showing them the airplanes.

"Do you see? Look, look! It's an airplane!"

I'm travailling

I was on a (listen only) conference call this morning and Nathan came to see me, so I offered him one of my écouteurs (hear piece) for him to listen. He took it, inserted it in his hear, and proudly said: "I'm travailling!"...

 

Happy morning faces!

Gooooood morning San Francisco! Are you ready for a wonderful day??

Life is Good

Everybody should have their own personal driver…

H'amloh

Bien coiffe

Première dent

Big day today, not only Sidney is on Day 2 of sleep training (he's actually doing much better than me), but when he welcomed me this morning with a big smile, I was able to see a little white pearl piercing through: HIS FIRST TOOTH is out! ... We are pleased to welcome the left central incisor.We could obviously noticed he was teething but he's been such a happy baby that we never saw that one coming!

A quand la deuxième?

colibrí

We have a hummingbird that regularly visits us in the backyard.

Nathan and Ana apparently see it pretty frequently, as he knows the name of the bird in Spanish, "colibrí."

Tonight Nathan and I were alone in the kitchen.  I asked him if he had seen his bird... he peered out the window, thinking I had seen something.

"What's the name of that bird?" I asked.  

He looked at me, a little confused.

I began to guess at the name, because I didn't remember the spanish word for hummingbird... "colavara? calobi?"

Nathan smiled but didn't respond.

"What kind of bird is it?" I said.

"Colibrí" he said, smiling, and took another bite of arroz.

Haircut today.

Refusal to wear apron = total body hosedown required afterwards.

Sierra's Baby Shower

Natasha organized a lovely Baby Shower for Sierra at Le Garage in Sausalito. This was Sierra's "first" shower as she had missed her first one (Jack was born 5 weeks ahead of schedule!).

Unexpectedly, I had brought Sidney with me, and needless to say that he was the hit of the party!

After the shower, he and I continued our day in Corte Madera running errands to get the remodeling of his and Nathan's room under way: door pulls, paint, closet stuff...

Fun, fun!

Dirty Marvin

In french, it's not a messy marvin... it's a "dirty marvin."

"Mean dog"

On our way to the grocery store, Nathan and I pass a house right near San Tung whose front door is very close to the sidewalk.

Every time Nathan and I pass by, the dog who lives there starts barking up a storm. It has become known as the "mean dog," and it continues to be a highlight of our walk.

When we passed by today, we saw a little sign on the door. Apparently Nathan and I aren't the only ones who think the dog is mean.

Abajo, solito!

Nathan is getting more courage for ascending and descending stairs "solito."

La Pieuvre

Sidney started solids today with Oatmeal. He liked it... we think! He was more interested in the spoon than the food but it's a start. Messy start, if I may add!

Our "little" boy

Notice how our little boy spills over this lovely little bassinet.

La petite copine

Special K...ake

While Nathan loves breakfast, his tastes go through definite phases.

First it was pano (bread.)  If you had it, he would eat it.

And then, for a brief and happy time he was in love with plain-jane cheerios.  That didn't last long because plain-jane cheerios are... well... plain.

After his birthday party, he couldnt' get enough of "garnola."  He is also rather fond of "min wheats" (aka "frosted mini wheats,") but we don't like to give them to him because its... er...  explosive effect.

Recently the breakfast of our little champion has tended towards some Kellog's Special K with Berries.  It's yummy, crunchy, and has little dried fresa's right in it.  It's delicious.

So delicious, in fact that Nathan has found a rather fitting name for his new favorite breakfast cereal....

"Special Kake."

Skiing is really exhausting...

Second times the charm?

Finally...

I got this shoes!