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Obamonos!

Even if are not planning to vote for Obama on election day, if you are Latin you have to watch this video. The song is really catchy and pretty honest. As most of you know I am 200% behind Obama and I am trying to rally as many absentee votes as I can for him here...all the way in Maputo! Luka has even helped his mommy spread the Obama fever. He has learned how to chant: "OBAMA, OBAMA!" and he proudly wears his Obama shirt.

PS My Republican mama is also voting for Obama...you will only get it if you watch the video.

Click on my Wordle...

I just "wordled" my blog and this is what I got. So basically it captures the words on my blog and creates this image. Funny how Luka, photos and musical pop out! You should try to wordle your blog or any group of words. Try it at http://www.wordle.net/.

Luka @ 18 Months

And the grammy goes to....LUKA

I think Luka might win a Grammy or a Tony award some day. Our son is very musical. JJ and I have never played any musical instruments or actually have any musical talent, but JJ does love music. His one trillion songs on his iTunes is proof of that. And although I am not blessed with any real musical abilities, I have been singing to Luka since the first day he was home. My repertoire consists of church songs (in Spanish), some country songs, the complete soundtrack from RENT and The Little Mermaid and when I am absolutely in need of it....Barney. I never said I was cool, but I can belt out a mean lullaby.

Over the last couple of months Luka's love of music has manifested itself many ways...first there was the humming along to all his favorite songs...now he mimics every song we sing to him. He also loves to play his piano, xylophone and tambourine. He knows all the instruments by name and loves to put on concerts. But by far the most entertaining showcase of his musical abilities is his singing and dancing...as you can see from the photos above.

I think he actually knows he is performing. There is one song in particular...it is in Spanish about a little boat that gets lost at sea for seven weeks...quite silly, but Luka LOVES it. He cracks up and starts singing and dancing every time he hears it...every SINGLE time! Gracias Mami y Papi por enseñarle esta canción. Es la mejor manera de ver la sonrisa de Luka!

Our Not-so-New Home

Mom, this one is for you. For months (since August when we moved in) my mom has been asking me to post photos of our new home. I kept waiting for the house to be all picked-up, pictures hung, boxes put away...but the more I waited, the more I realized that this would never happen. So here it is...our house on a Sunday...with mess and all. To take the complete photo tour and get a sneak peek into our crazy life click here.

Luka Says Bye Bye

The actual date of this video is September 9, 2008. Since the video was taken Luka has added some new words to his vocabulary: ball, car, Max, Benthe, Barney, Ninjte and some others that I am still trying to figure out. But this video was taken when he started to say his favorite phrase: BYE BYE. He says it all the time. When JJ and I get home and grab him to give him a kiss...he looks over to the nanny and says Bye Bye...it is just priceless. He does the same thing when he is with one of us and wants us to leave the room. He is getting quite independent these days...much more so than what I want him to be...why do they have to grow up so fast.

I am trying to catch on all my photos and blog entries, but as you can see I am a little behind. Click here to see recent photos of Luka.

PS For some reason the video is NOT working. I will get back to you on that.

Better late than never...

If you have visited this blog before you know that Luka sometimes receives letters from his cousin - Maxwell. The letter below actually arrived before we left on holiday a couple of weeks ago, but between getting ready for the trip, finishing projects at work and running around after Luka I never got around to posting the letter. Now that things are back to "normal" and I found a few minutes to dedicate to the blog I thought I would add this letter. Max's letters are ALWAYS very entertaining and Luka really likes them. Here it goes:

Dear Luka:

I'm really happy you are coming to stay with us for 3 weeks. I understand , being older and wiser, you will be the flavor of the week for 3 weeks. I don't mind, you are a great kid and all that, but there are subjects I want to avoid during your visit.
 
First, do not talk about your teeth. You are almost a year younger than I am and you have more than double the number of teeth that I have. Everybody in Miami is always my mommy that maybe I have a problem. I don't chew hard stuff, or anything in chunks, but I still have more real teeth than Grandpa...I have four.

 
Also, don't mention your family portraits. I live in the country with the most photo studios in the world and you live in freaking Maputo and already have great professional family pictures. I think Mom and Daddy are waiting for me to get more teeth...just in case I smile at the freaking photographer.
 
I also know you are an international traveler like myself, but your Mom is telling people that you will speak five languages: English, Dutch,Spanish, Portugese and the native language of the people in Mozambique. Give me a freaking break!!!  Maybe you will speak those languages in the FUTURE...because you have so many teeth.

But let me tell you I have a problem with the Spanish, Yoruba and the freaking English with cuban accent everyone speaks here. After Grandpa's stroke I started going to a Day Care at an English speaking Baptist church to learn proper english. But I was surprised to see  all the freaking kids and all the freaking teachers are either cuban, nicaraguan or colombian. The only english word I have heard is "Pamper" and with a colombian accent. So I warn you, I think we will get along better if we use baby talk to communicate.  My baby gibberish doesn't have a cuban accent...I think.

I love you and hope to see you soon!

Your cousin,
 
Maxwell 

Luka Takes Off

Luka's First Steps

After 6 flights and 5 planes Luka didn't seem to be too jetlagged to take his first steps today. They were taken at about 6:30 pm today - Sunday, August 3rd. I think he was just waiting to get home and see daddy to show off his new skills. We are so proud of him!

Happy Birthday Mami

Happy 55th Birthday. Luka and I were very happy to spend this special day with you. We love you!!

Finally...Luka Says Mama

Finallly, yesterday Luka started saying Mama. He loves to repeat it over and over again. He will now switch from papa to mama...but he says it when he looks at me. I am so happy and proud of my little man. I will post a video soon.

Both Luka and I say hello from Miami. We will be heading back to Maputo next week. We both miss Daddy very much.

Papa & No Mama

At 10 months Luka started saying pa and the occasional ma...but never twice in a row and never in the context of calling either JJ or myself. But recently during our holidays in Holland Luka started saying Papa loud and clear and there I was left broken hearted as the syllable "ma" has seemed to disappear from his vocabulary. People tell me that the "m" sound is much harder for a baby to pronounce than the "p" sound...but so what...you still want to hear them say "mama." For now JJ will be the PROUD Papa and I will be the very proud (but a little jealous) ba, which is what Luka likes to call me.

Here is the video of the moment Luka first entertained us with his "papa" speaking ability...you can also hear him meow like a cat and throw some delicious kisses. Enjoy.

Luka's Blessing

Luka was baptized in Miami on February 24th (oops still haven't uploaded those photos), but none of his Dutch relatives were able to attend the ceremony. In celebration of his baptism and to welcome him into the family he was honored with a "blessing." His Uncle Henk, who is a member of the local Catholic Church arranged the entire thing. It was perfect! The family gathered at the church in the village (yes, it was really a village) and we sang, prayed and celebrated Luka! Most of the ceremony was in Dutch, but it didn't matter...you could really feel how special it was. Marielle, his other godmother, said a few words and both sets of Dutch grandparents read out their wish for Luka. JJ and I were also asked to say something....we prayed the Our Father in English and then the family sang a beautiful canon. Did I mention that JJ's family sing like the Von Trapp Family...except they are the van Herksens! The theme for the day was the start of his new life with us and as a Christian. The funny coincidence for the day was that final song...if you translate it...it roughly translates to the same song I sing to Luka every night before he goes to sleep. Above you can see some of the moments from the day, but for the rest of the photos visit our photo album.

Photo Moments from Our Trip

Van Herksen Family European Vacation

I apologize for the lack of communication and postings on the blog, but we have been on the road in Europe. We started off in Holland then went to the south of France, made a quick stop in Luxembourg, then it was back to Holland. Now we are still visiting other parts of Holland. I promise to post some photos and videos soon! We haven't had continuous access to email, but I will try and get everyone up to date in the next couple of days. JJ will be heading back to Maputo next week and Luka and I are headed to MIAMI!

Our Family Portraits

Okay, so when I think family portraits I think sitting in Sears or Zayres (do you remember that store!!!!) infront of some funny backdrop. At least those are the portraits I remember taking growing up and I wasn't really fond of them. Now that I have my own family I was in search of the perfect photographer to take modern family portraits. Sounds easy, right....yes, if we were back in Miami or Holland. But in Maputo it was a bit challenging and then I met Solange - a mom at the school I work at....I got really lucky. She just opened a photo studio in Maputo. She is great and really captured what JJ and I were looking for. So here they are....our first family portraits. I hope Luka likes them when he is older. But who knows...by then the wacky background and posed shots might be back in style. Click here to see all the photos from our "shoot." Enjoy!

Happy "Kissing" Anniversary Mom & Dad

So our family is kind of quirky and we celebrate things like the anniversary of my parent's first kiss. Yesterday my parents celebrated the 36th Anniversary of their first kiss and if you average it out...that means that my parents have kissed close to 26,280 times. Probably TMI (too much information) for most people, but I am in the mood to share today.

Felicidades Mami y Papi...although it is not the same type of kiss I am sending you a big fat besito from Maputo. CONGRATULATIONS and I hope you have many more kisses to come.

Guess Who?

Can you guess who's mouth that is? If you guessed Luka then you are right. His teeth just appeared out of nowhere. Now let's see if he will actually start chewing. He hates to put anything solid in his mouth. I have tried everything. I think we just have to go at his pace. But aren't those the cutest crooked teeth you have ever seen. I know he is adopted, but I think he might have inherited mommy's gap! Enjoy.

Luka Gets Advice from His Cousin

Dear Cousin:

I heard from grandpa that you are starting to stand up on your own and also crawling forward. I'm not jealous, but he told everybody in Miami. I know it's important, but he made a very big deal of it and was very emotional about it. I can tell you that he didn't get like that when I started standing up on my own and crawling forward….I never crawled backwards like they do in Mozambique. As your older cousin, I have been walking on my own for a while so I have decided to give you a few tips regarding this new important "step" in your life (did you get the joke.)

Learning to walk is a very important part of your life. Walking you will be able to go places and reach things you can't do now at floor level. You will, like I did after I started walking, drive your mom, dad and grandparents crazy…going to places you are not suppose to go and reaching things you are not suppose to touch.

Here are my tips:

1.DO NOT TOUCH ELECTRIC OUTLETS. My mom covered all the outlets in the house with plastic covers and made grandpa do the same thing at their house. Every time I get close to one and grandpa yells NNNNOOOOO!!! At me I start crying. For some reason electric outlets are not good for babies, so stay the hell away from them.

2. LOOK UP WHEN YOU STAND. Many times I have tried to stand up under a table or a chair and hit my head badly. I know you have a bigger head than mine, but be careful just in case. LOOK UP and try to measure if there is enough space for you and your big head standing up. And remember to do it slowly.

3. LOOSE SOME WEIGHT. I know everybody is saying you are strong and beautiful, but cousin you are fat. Try to loose some weight. Fat people have more difficulty walking. I see this everyday with grandpa and grandma, they are nice and all, but I run faster than them any day! Try to enroll at the local Mozambican Baby Weight Watchers or any other group like that.

I hope you learn from my experiences and my mistakes. See you soon…hopefully in July and then we will see who can run faster at that point.

Love,

Maxwell