Letters to Luc: Giggles and Rolls (Month 3)

Dear Luc,

Your third month has been a delight as you transition out of your newborn haze and into a baby more aware of day and night, more awake than asleep, and as you show off to us your vibrant, developing personality. You smile more when prompted from us and have started to burst into the sweetest, laugh-eliciting giggles when we play with you. Your limbs are getting longer, and you hold your head up longer during tummy time. You're still my little guy, though, measuring at the 7th percentile for weight, and probably slipping down from there as you're a better sleeper than eater, sometimes refusing your bottles altogether.

Mommy takes you further now on walks, and we have several times visited the elementary school that you'll be attending when you're older. At first you didn't notice all the little toddlers playing on the playground, but as more things are coming into your vision and awareness, you like to people-watch all the action and take in their shrill child-play sounds.

You still scream on car rides, especially on the way back home from having gone somewhere as you can sense that all the excitement of "getting there" is over and all that's left is just "going home" and you're ready-but-not-ready to go down for a nap. Around now, I started to take you to Daddy's workplace. You met his coworkers, and Daddy would come out to take us to yummy places for lunch.

You are getting good at holding things that I place into your hands. You can now bring the objects to your face and into your mouth to explore colors and textures.

You can be a real ham in front of the camera, even though I'd have to catch you in an especially good mood or else you'd clam up and stare at Mommy's iPhone. Mommy teaches you the names of trees and flowers along our walks together now that spring has blossomed around us.

Daddy jokes that you look like Omi from Shaolin Showdown with your thinning hair and big, bald head. I say you're a bit too young for horse stance, but Daddy says why not start them young?

You've always been aware of Big Brother Odin's presence, sometimes even irritatingly pushing him away as he gets all up in your face to give you a good sniff, but now you actively look at him walk past you, and you can give him a belly rub with your feet. You seem to like the texture of his fur.

 And I am so proud of you for rolling over from tummy to back!

Letters to Luc: What's in a Name II

Dear Luc,

Once upon a time, we didn't yet know what we'd call you. You were a concept, a tiny cluster of cells working hard to grow bigger and stronger by the day. Your father and I gave you nicknames and bounced potential names back and forth after learning that we were expecting a boy. He wanted to give you a Vietnamese name so that you will always retain your roots. After having my Vietnamese name butchered through school before adopting an American one, I wanted your name to at least be pronounceable in English.

You were born in the year of the Sheep, a zodiac sign shy, mellow, and docile by nature. I wanted a name for you that would encourage you out of your shell. We settled on "Luc," which means "Strength," or "Power" and can easily be pronounced like "Luke" in English. I gave you the middle name "Aiden," from the Irish meaning "Little Fire," a spark of hope and warmth to light up the dreary winter in which you were born.

A lot of people think you were named after Luke Skywalker as Star Wars Episode 7 aired close to the time you were born. Others think of yet another Star reference, Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Or that perhaps you were named after teen heart-throb Luke Perry from the 90's popular drama, Beverly Hills 90210. Or that maybe your father chose the name based on his preference for modern country music and the iconic singer Luke Bryan.

Well, maybe your name does have a little bit of fame persuasion. On December 12, 2015, about a month before you came into the world, your father and I were watching UFC 194, Aldo vs. McGregor. The Fight of the Night was between middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who happened to be fighting underdog Luke Rockhold. Your father was still tossing up names in the air for consideration as the fight entered the fourth round and Luke was declared winner by TKO. "See?" I said to him then, "Luc is a strong name." That's when we were settled.

In the end, maybe your name is not just from one thing, but a culmination of many things, complex as a human personality despite its simple three letters. Once, there was a time when I was afraid to voice your name, wondering with a new mother's anxiety whether you will arrive safe and join us soundly. Once, I only referred to you by nicknames and only in the secret chambers of my mind did I test out the sound of your real one, hoping it will infuse you with the strength of its meaning. And now we can finally call you by name, my little Luc.