Rockabye

I just love pictures of Luke with my dad. For some reason are so sweet to me, and I really like to see the two of them together. Dad went to a soccer game with Steve and Luke recently and before they left, Dad was rocking Luke and singing to him. If I tried to rock him like this he would be out of my arms in a flash, but when it is Gpa Nick he not only tolerated it, when my dad put him down he tried to climb up for more. That is love.

Sunshine

So, now that it is getting dark at noon, I thought this would keep a little sunshine in the room. Have I mentioned how much I love this little boy (and his monkey costume)?

Shine on, Luke, shine on...

Our little monkey

Wow, is he cute! I would like him to wear this costume until he graduates from high school, but Steve says Halloween is enough. Okay, okay.

These were taken at a trick or treat even at the university arena. Lots of the athletes were there playing games with kids and handing out candy. Luke got his picture taken by a lot of people, he saw several buddies from story time and music class, and he even got to play a little basketball.

When we got there he immediately zoned in on the decorations and BALLOONS. He tore one off of the bleachers and the players nearby thought it was cute (!) so they told him he could have it...what a charmer. I love the one of him at half court. He looks so big sometimes and then still so little in photos like that one.

Nothing was as cool as the big orange cone or the Brown Dog mascot, though. And by the end, our little monkey just wanted a breather and a couple of cheerios! It was an amazing amount of fun!

Happy Halloween!

Diving in

We have to be careful now when Luke sees a pillow b/c he likes to put it on the floor and dive into it head first! Yikes. It isn't really a practice I want to encourage so we have nixed it but on Monday, I took some couch cushions off and played with him while he practiced his head dives. At one point he got hold of the camera while he was laying down, got it on and took this flattering shot of mama. yikes, again!




Luke and I were very lucky to visit one of the bravest and toughest people I know today! Molly is a fifth grader that had back surgery to correct a curve in her spine two weeks ago. Her entire story can be read here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mollymorgan She is just an amazing young lady (so is her little sister!) and I am sure that she gets all of her wonderful qualities from her mom and dad. They are a great family that just add positivity and joy wherever they are.

Luke was really great during the visit. He loved petting their dogs (using his 'nice touch' thankfully. Keep healing, Molly! We are all cheering for you :)

After our visit we made our now regular run for chicken and dumplings in Herrin. We thought we might see the newly arrived Gma Susan and Gpa Paul, but hadn't heard from them and didn't want to disturb them if they were sleeping off jetlag. Luke will be really happy to see them after a two week absence, and we will look forward to hearing about their adventure to Sicily!

We took lunch to Daddy which was fun and passed out Halloween cookies from a great new bakery in our neighborhood and by the time we got home, I took Luke's shoes off, took him in his room to rock him and he just lunged towards his crib. I laid him down and he closed his eyes immediately. What a sweetpea. Happy Friday!

Question

Who has a tail and carries a banana around?

Mail

Another dreary day, but no rain, so after storytime today we hooked up the dogs and took a really long walk. We couldn't get out at all yesterday b/c it rained and rained so the fresh air was good for all of us.

As we were leaving, we saw mailman Steve coming up the street. That is always an exciting sighting for Luke, and it is always fun to come home and see what the mailman left for us.

Today was a very exciting day b/c Luke received his first package in the mail! Aunt Rebekah and Uncle Greg sent him nice notes and a squeak ball like the one their adorable pup, Puccini, has.



Luke really enjoyed playing catch with Gma Susan and making the ball squeak last time we saw Puccini so Uncle Greg went out and got Luke his very own. How sweet of them :) Needless to say the package was a big hit, and Steve and I are very thankful that Luke has such a wide circle of love around him. Thanks so much for the thoughtful gesture, Greg and Rebekah!

P.S. Luke and Luna played with this ball for at least 15 minutes after its arrival. Big hit around here!

Pudding + Color = Artsy Dessert

This is just one of the fun things Luke did today, but I am tired so the others will go up later this week. I have a Toddler Activity Book that has some easy and fun ideas in it. Tonight after dinner I used one, and we had a fun time watching Luke experiment with 'finger paints'.

I actually made vanilla pudding, colored it with four different food colors, put some wax paper down in front of Luke, gave him a dollop of each color and let him go to town. He is a really precise kid. I was interested in how he went about experimenting and eating the paints. He doesn't gobble, he doesn't rush and he seems to just enjoy the process (of doing whatever he is doing at the moment).

Here is the progression of this first experience with pudding finger paints. Enjoy!










This picture doesn't look funny, but it is. He was really mad b/c Steve was putting pudding on his finger and letting Luke lick it off. The problem is that our son is eager to get the pudding off of one's finger by biting said finger off of one's hand. Really. When Steve's reaction time was quicker than Luke wanted it to be, he got really upset, really fast. That frown lasted about 12 seconds before he was focused on something else and back to our happy little man.


I am so thankful that I have this blog. Luke is seriously developing, changing, growing at such a rapid pace these days. It is impossible to get everything captured in a picture, but it is sure nice to try! He is a JOY!