Dear Luke

Who are you??? Three years ago, being pregnant with you and your siblings, you were the calm one and never kicked me or caused me grief. You were on the bottom of the bunch and probably didn't have much room! Then, when you were born, you were the most laid back little guy, aka lazy and didn't want to suck from a bottle because it was too much work. So...you stayed in the hospital for an extra week. When we got you home, you were a very content baby and loved to sit back and watch the people around you and even TV. You were the last to crawl and the last to walk, mainly because doing those things took effort and you were still our "Laid-back Luke." My Luke was content to watch the fan go around and around, look at lights, play with wheels that spun, and to even sit in the bumbo-seat and watch cars out our front door. You would beg to watch your favorite purple dinosaur, sitting on the couch with your mouth hanging open! You would give up your toys when Brooke or Zach wanted them and then toddle off to do something else. So...where has my "Laid-back Luke" gone?

Since you've turned two, you are like a "Liberated Luke" a little boy who has stood by for two years and learned how the world works and is now ready to come out of his shell. You are no longer willing to share your toys, you place claim on whatever it is that you want, and hold on for life. We have found that NO is your favorite word, you love buttons, any type of button, and can really push the right one's to get under mommy's skin. You have the sweetest laugh and love to be tickled, but have turned into a little bully! You push your brother and sister away, you've pulled Zach's hair too many times to count, and we've gotten not one, but two notes sent home from school in the past two weeks explaining that you bit another child??? Who are you???



You are our little guy with dimples that we love so much, but are going to have to have patience with because you are probably going to test us all the time. We can't wait to see who you are going to be as you growand will support you in all you do, but right now, it's a darn good thing you're cute!

Planes, Trains, Automobiles, & Buses

What a wonderful day!

We started the day off by traveling in our AUTOMOBILE to eat breakfast at a restaurant known for "pan-a-cakes"! Yum-o. Then, we parked our AUTOMOBILE, bought tickets and hopped on a TRAIN! The TRAIN was really fast. It took us to a near-by air force base where we were jumped on a BUS. The BUS took us to the main part of the base and dropped us off so we could walk the rest of the way to see the PLANES. We were thrilled to finally see the huge PLANES! We got our pictures taken with a soldier, rode up the ramp of a cargo PLANE (unbelievable big), and saw PLANES take off and perform acrobats in the sky. It was awesome! We couldn't have asked for a prettier day. While we were waiting for the day's events, the air force band was playing some tunes. Zach and Brooke enjoyed dancing while we cheered them on. When the air show started, a PLANE flying high above us, dropped a parachutist down. While he was flying down, a flag deployed and we all stood for the National Anthem. Remembering 9 years ago yesterday and being a part of this was very moving and a great way to pay tribute to those that serve our country. A parachute team was next to perform and Brooke has decided that she wants to parachute too! Next up was a professional AIRPLANE acrobat flier. He was so good, no one wanted to take their eyes off the sky.







Luke said, "I want to see more!" So...I'm sure we'll be heading back next year this time to enjoy more of our PLANES, TRAIN, AUTOMOBILES, and BUSES!

Artists in the making or just refrigerator art?

No wonder they love school...
They get to do fun things that mommy won't let them do because it's messy! Here are some works of art that the trio has brought home over the past two weeks:


This is painting with Q-tips!





This is them moving up in the world and using brushes! The patience the teachers must have is beyond my imagination!

Learning about School...

School is off and going strong and we, um...they love it. I've not fully come to that conclusion yet with some of my classes, but anyway...

They get up each morning and ask about school and their teachers, they are excited to get out of the van, run away from me, and to the classroom door, so much so that some days, I don't get kisses unless I beg at the door. I am sad to see them grow and to see their independence start to shine more and more, but at the same time, I am very happy that they are happy. I think this was the right decision for us, even though our bank account is frowning!

The first week of school was definitely a honeymoon period. The second week brought on more reality type issues:


I got a phone call at school about this one...Brooke was playing on a firetruck toy outside and slipped. She busted her lip and gum, but hardly cried at all! What a trooper!

The same day, we got this note:



Luke was bitten and he did cry, but was happy to report to us who did it, and that the child "had to sit in time out cause they was bad"!

Not to be outdone, Luke decided to retaliate and let the Biter know that he would not stand for it, so the following day, we got this:




So..the school year goes on and even though we have these notes, they don't hinder the kids' excitement about going each day! And, I'm sure there will be plenty more notes sent home over the course of their school years!