Our Aussie

I just can't believe how our new puppy has grown in the last two months. He looks like a little cotton ball in these pics! They are actually outdated, but the best I could do right now. He is now about 32 pounds and the vet says he will be nearly full grown in a month.

When he is not being a wild maniac, Kazak is patient, smart, obedient and just makes you want to smile. Lucas ADORES him and they have a blast together now that Kazak is finally learning to not bite him. He sleeps much better than Lucas (11 hours at least) and when he wakes up, he waits like a fluffy sphinx for the hustle and bustle of the day to begin.

If any of you are wondering where we have been lately, we have been very busy socializing the pup. He has made an appearance at Pike nursery numerous times, too many parks to name, the local farmer's market, children's parties & picnics, puppy playdates and cruising around the ATL in the back of my car.

But we are more low key now that I am officially exhausted (Lucas's sick schedule has been unbelievable this fall and I've finally caught something too.) Kazak is happy with a good walk or two and several wrestling sessions with the basketball in the backyard.

Chef Lucas

IKEA came out with the cutest little kitchen! As many of you know, Lucas is passionate about his food, both real and pretend. He just loves this kitchen - maybe even as much as I do. The burners light up and the pots, pans and cooking utensils are very realistic.

He makes culinary masterpieces using his Melissa and Doug food, "washes up" afterward, and then reorganizes the kitchen. His latest thing is taking orders and serving us. The other day I asked him what was on the menu for dessert and he said bread chunks. I'm having flashbacks from my childhood!

"I think I am going to like this"

Here is a picture of Lucas on his first day of school, provided by his teacher Deedee. As you can see, he is a genius. It was such a joy to receive this after spending all day prying a very small amount of information from him:

"Deedee ring bell and I STOP."

What did you have for a snack? "Cwackers and cheese." Who made it for you? "Kaffy."

He is enamored with "Kaffy" (Kathy, the teaching assistant.) He looks off into the distance, starry-eyed whenever her name comes up.

The only child he mentioned was Jody who is not listed on the roster. Although he was saying clearly and repeatedly, JODY, I thought he was confusing the name with Josie, a girl in his class, but he insists it is a boy. It's a mystery!

After dropping him off, I was not overwhelmingly sad, although I did feel a bit emotional and expect this to continue in the coming weeks (years, rest of my life...) More so, I felt my heart nearly leaping out of my throat...an overflowing feeling of love and gratitude that Lucas can blossom unencumbered in this wonderful place, Arbor Montessori.

Practicing for school

It's only 5 days away! Lucas is the youngest child in his Montessori class (we figure it's never too early to learn to share, slice fruit and mop spills.) His teacher's name is Ms. Deedee. This mysterious woman often appears in his bedtime/potty stories. Over the summer she sent him a postcard from Argentina. He found this very interesting, bordering on bizarre. We know he's going to love it.

Summer days

Sorry to have fallen off the planet after returning from Europe. We have been busy bees! But we have had time to enjoy the summer. We've been hanging out with Lucas's buds, going to the pool and playing at parks and in the yard. That about sums it up but each day is a new adventure. And guess what - Lucas now yikes ice cream!

Here are a few pics of our first trip to the neighborhood pool:

Lucas & Carter in our front yard. All of his little friends have a lawnmower exactly like this one.



Here are the three muskateers of Sunset Acres. Zoom in on Zane in the back. Priceless!



Here we are with Zane, Melissa, Carter and Anna.



First dip in the baby pool. I think it was a hit!

Hampstead

Hampstead is now one of my favorite spots in London. The best way I can think to describe it is Virginia-Highland on steroids. We wound our way up and down the hilliest neighborhood in London until we stopped at an upscale pub (Occitane soap in the bathrooms.) After sitting and playing cars a bit we continued to walk through the neighborhood. I loved walking by all of the impressive brownstones and peeking into the ones that were lit on the inside to see bright pink roses and clean, remodeled kitchens.

At one point, Chris said he was going to leap onto the post box and I didn't even think to take him seriously until he was up there! I decided to kiss his feet as a reward. Lucas just found the whole thing to be weird.

While up on the post box, Chris was spotted by a talent scout and landed a role in a mystery movie.

Meet the Ekkels, Shepperton, UK

BIBS (AKA DAD)

Bibs' claim to fame is being one of the top balalaika musicians in the world. Half Polish, half English, completely hilarious, Bibs throws out one-liners when you least expect them and when he does you will likely need to change your underpants or wipe up the Zywiec that has sprayed through your nose. He knows a little about many things and when he doesn't, he will have 8 pages of Wikipedia up at 3am to find the answers.

LORA (AKA MUM)

Lora is my cool and crazy cousin - a transplant from Canada to the burbs of London. I remember vividly her bachelorette pad in Vancouver - the lava lamp, the eclectic subjects filling her bookshelves, Lora skimpily clad in a towel, freshly washed, lighting a cigarette. Well now she lights fags, cooks magnificently and keeps an amazing garden. She is also on a serious genealogical dig, putting together the family tree.

ALYOSHA

I remember Alyosha when he was 6-months old. He was quiet, perceptive and so cuddly! Boy he fooled us. In no time he was mooning grandmothers and landing his sister in the hospital with chopsticks up her nose. But now that this is all out of his system, he is a diligent musician (bass guitarist in We Push Buttons,) party animal, and student. Here are the things I love about Alyosha: he will eat Silotka (salted herring) with me in the middle of the night, he smiles all the time and despite being a student musician (double whammy) he makes veggie stir-fries in his kitchen dorm.

MILA

Enter Mila. This sixteen year old angelic vixen can sing, sew, play piano (keep it up Mila,) and is going to school next year for Drama. She has big blue eyes and mile-long lashes that peek out from underneath a radical, nearly-platinum mullet. Watch out, these eyes can convince you of anything. She was a cat in her previous life (the eyes told me this in all seriousness,) so she can often be seen lounging on the couch purring things like "I wouldn't say no to some tea." She parrots me even more frequently than Lucas does. Apparently I sound like a valley surfer girl!

Slav and innocent by-stander girlfriend Patrycja

Slav is Mila and Alyosha's older brother and he happened to be crashing at the Ekkel house during our visit. He runs an underground train and currently starts work at around 3-4am! In Alyosha's absence, Slav taught Lucas several Arnold Schwarzeneggerisms like "Stop it!" "Who are you?!" The Ekkel boys do not go 5 minutes without an Arnold impression. I am terrible at it, but it is hilarious to listen to.

So now you know who will be starring in the next few blog entries.