Alright, gang....first of all, I am so sorry for the delay in my Luke update posts. Luke and I have continued to have a blast this summer - because I have been required to work less (due to my new position), this has been the longest summer we have had together and it has been awesome. I have no regrets and find myself a little excited about getting back in the school groove next week.
I have really been spending triple the time that I used to on studying the Bible and talking to God, so, believe it or not, I have made less notes about what happens each day with me and Luke. Matter of fact, I am going to post this blog in my notes style so that it doesn't take me forever to edit them. These are the notes that I took each night on our adventures each day.
Monday, July 30th:
-read some stories from Luke’s new magazine – in one of
the stories, a boy builds a tent and has a “sleepover” so Luke and I built a
tent that we called a "fort"
-a few comments that were cute today...
As Luke was eating his oatmeal -
Mommy: Eat one more
bite.
Luke: I can’t. My
story says – Luke cannot eat another bite.
(That’s from Super Why!)
-As Luke was playing in his tent with Daisy, he told
Daisy, “Quit whining. You need to get
over it or go to time out.” Later, Daisy ended up in time out. I guess she
didn’t “get over it.” (I wonder who has
experienced that situation before.) J
After Nap:
-pool with Heather and Silas – had a great time! The boys
played together in the big pool and the little pool. We had a few toddler battles – Luke took the
Mater truck that Silas was playing with and I had to make him return it and
apologize. Then, Silas threw the Mater
down so he had to have a chat with his parents.
Silas told Luke that he loved him but Luke was cranky and ignored him
and kept saying, “No, no, no” over and over again. I took Luke away from everyone for a little
while and talked to him. Then, before we left, Luke was in his float and Silas
wanted to use it. I asked Luke if Silas
could swim in it for a little while and at first, Luke said, “I’m going to stay
in this float all day.” Then,
unprompted, about 5 minutes later, all of a sudden, Luke said Silas could use
the float. We helped Luke out and Silas
in. Luke said, “I will sit here in the
water and watch him.” And, that’s what
he did. He sat down in the edge of the
water and encouraged Silas to turn the wheel. Then, after Silas would turn the
wheel, Luke said, “Good job, Silas, and clapped for him.” I thought it was
really sweet.
Luke also will now put his face in the water up to his
eyes while in the baby pool. And, I
threw him a few times fairly hard in the big pool, enough for his face to go
partially under water, and he didn’t panic.
He has definitely gotten a lot better in the water this summer. I hope
he’s swimming by next summer.
After the pool, we came home – took a bath – ate dinner with papaw. He was really good during dinner. It was a nice night!
Here are some pictures of our fort:
Luke is very particular when parking his toys - he wants everything in a line and straight. :)
I had to include this picture....look at how old Madi looks! She looks pitiful but I promise she's not...later, I will include some notes about how active she is lately. I can't believe her face is that gray and she looks so skinny in this picture - the dog eats all the time - she eats better than us - mac n cheese, hamburgers, spaghetti, bologna...she's not feeble like this picture makes her out to be.
Tuesday, July 31st:
Morning: played at home – built another fort – read a lot – I am
really working with Luke on identifying words in a book. I am using highlighter tape with him to find a
word that repeats throughout the book (example – he can find the word "car" in the book My Car on each page and moon in the book Goodnight Moon.) We built some steps using his blocks for his bouncy ball to
roll down. We played “copy me” with his blocks – I would build a tower and
encourage him to build a tower that looked like mine.
We have a new celebration move – the fist bump – Luke will
bump fists with us and then do sparkle fingers. It’s adorable – it's included on video below. He got this from Uncle Mark and Daddy. It’s the same "fist bump" they do to celebrate when
they beat me and Melissa in cards.
We played on the big bed for a long time. We went outside and trimmed our flowers and
played in the sandbox. Luke parked all
of his vehicles. We played with his
train and did some puzzles.
After nap: watched water polo – he said he wishes he could
swim like that and he showed me how they throw the ball.
Went for a walk in the stroller – he was so sweet – he
just talked to me the whole time.
Went to a Kelly’s Kids clothes party at Andrew and Liz
Butcher’s. Luke had a blast! He loved playing with the other kids. He met this little 5 year old girl named
Morgan that he was totally in love with. He would climb the stairs to the play
set and then slide down and let her catch him.
He let her put him in the swing and swing him. The slide was so fast that Luke kept calling
it a “rocket ship.” All the kids would run up and down the hill in the
backyard. Morgan and Luke would spin around in the grass. Luke also rode the play horse upstairs and
played in the playroom. The party started at 6:00 and Luke played for almost 3
hours – it was almost 9:00 before we left.
He had an absolute awesome time. I had a great time watching him
play. When he’s happy, I’m happy and
boy, we were both happy!
When we left he was starving because he wouldn’t slow down
long enough to eat so we stopped by Wendy’s.
He ate 3 chicken nuggets, several apples, and some fries – he was
definitely hungry. Even though he was obviously getting tired, he was still
talkative and we enjoyed the quiet time in the restaurant together. As you can imagine, he fell asleep quickly in
the car on the way home.
Pictures from Tuesday:
Ella and Silas....Heather and I were so proud that our boys didn't try to chase the same woman - at least they chose different girls to hang out with. :)
Wednesday, August 1st:
-doctor’s appointment with the allergist – not fun, but Luke was still a light
in everyone’s eyes. The doctor and her
staff thought he was the smartest and sweetest thing. One of the nurses said
that he needed to be in commercials! J He showed them several letters that he knew
and told them all the letters in his name and then, of course, he told them all
about his big lawn mower at home and his papaw’s big red lawn mower at
home. He is a joy no matter where he is!
Luke fell asleep on the way home from the doctor and slept
almost 3 hours. I ended up lying down
with him for about an hour and a half because I was exhausted mentally from the
appointment. When he woke up, he mowed
outside for a little while and then we visited my Mammaw and Grandaddy. Luke drove Grandaddy’s tractor and then let
Grandaddy drive us going really fast on the tractor. Luke played with Grandaddy’s trains inside,
ate him a snack, climbed on the couch like a “bridge,” played with Kiki and
chatted with us all. My grandparents
love seeing him and it makes me feel good to make them smile.
We came back home. I cooked spaghetti for dinner while
Daddy and Luke played. Dinner was
relaxing -Luke was great! He ate a ton and talked to us the whole time. I let him have brownie bites for dessert and
he lined them up like a snake. He told
me and Landis, “This end is his tail and this is his head (as he pointed) and
he’s going to creep over there and snap you up.” That was funny!! He also told us all about the wolf
“destroying” something. That’s his new
favorite word – “destroy.” J I think it’s because I tell him that he
destroys my sand castles and destroys rooms with toys everywhere. We ended our
night with some tag and a bath and headed off to bed.
Thursday, August 2nd :
We spent some time at home playing with Luke’s cars,
playing with the bouncy ball, and hitting Luke’s baseballs with the paper towel
tubes. We also had a parade with several instruments, chased each other in a
game of tag, and went for a ride in his red car. Luke also rode his tricycle quite a bit. He
is getting so good at riding his tricycle.
When it cools off, I need to take him somewhere and let him ride on a
trail.
We also practiced reading his book, My Car. This
book has about 5 words per page and the words are large. Luke can read the whole book by himself – by
memory not by sight; however, I used his great memory to teach him a few
words. Using highlighter tape, I showed
Luke how to go through the book and highlight the word “car” on each page. Luke can now do this through the whole book
all by himself. He can spell the word car and find it on each page all by
himself. He can also find the word bus
and the word “no.” I am very proud of
these pre reading skills that he is picking up so quickly.
I took Luke to Mammaw’s house so I could work out and then
Luke laid down for his nap.
After Nap: pool, we
had the whole baby pool and the shallow end of the pool to ourselves. Luke drove in his boat to pick up the
dolphins around the pool. He swam like a crocodile in the baby pool and swam on
my back. His favorite toys this time were two small rubber ducks. They swam with us in the big pool and we
raced to get them in the little pool. They “surfed” on the Frisbee around the
pool. Because it was so quiet, the
lifeguard, Joy, talked to us several times. Luke told her the letters in his
name and walked around her chair smiling a cheesy smile.
I threw Luke in the air a few times, flew him like an
airplane, and spun him around. He ate one popsicle and made me a few cups of
tea. It was a nice afternoon spending time together.
Thursday pics...
Luke playing with his trains...he is parking all the trains in the roundhouse...
Pictures of Luke at the pool...these are great!
Friday, August 3rd:
Luke told me the following while mowing early in the morning -
Luke: I saw a monster at his house and he was sleeping. I went
inside and yelled, “Monster!”
Mommy: What did the monster say when he woke up, “He said to stop
yelling!”
(That’s funny – that sounds
like the monster thinks like me.)
-matched letters, made watermelon plates, played with
bouncy balls, tag, went to the dumpster (that is the big bed), read some books – tried a new book
with highlighter tape, played with cars, rode his tonka truck with wagon
attached.
-grocery shopped at Wal-mart – Luke was so well behaved
-went to memaw’s house and swam and rode the 4-wheeler –
watched the girls (Lexi and Lauren) do flips and so he would run and do flips on the mats too.
Friday pictures...
Our watermelon plates...
Tonka pulling the wagon...
Saturday, August 4th:
-played on the big bed – I made Luke a “nest” out of
pillows and then put walls around it – he read a book inside his nest. J
-Luke and Daddy went to see Granny at the nursing home
while I went to work out.
-we played some more here at home – don’t remember what we
did but I’m sure it was fun
-Luke took a LONG nap
-We went to Tanner’s 3rd birthday party. We had
a great time! Luke loved playing with
Tanner’s train set. He also attempted to play in the playhouse outside but he
got really upset because the bigger boys were playing rough. At one point, an older boy knocked Luke down
(by accident) while trying to get the door of the house opened. Luke wasn’t hurt so I just watched his
reaction – he hopped up quickly, yelled “Stop it” at the boy several times and
then picked up dirt and threw it – then realized this anger by crying. Luke has quite the temper – when he gets hurt
or gets frustrated, he expresses it clearly!
I think he gets that from his daddy. J
-at one point during the party, it was so wild with all
the kids running around that Luke grabbed a Clifford book and sat in my lap and
asked me to read it. I thought that was sweet that he knew his escape from
craziness could be a book.
-I enjoyed watching Luke play around other kids. When we have play dates here at home, Luke
can be a little bratty sometimes – I guess it’s because he feels territorial
with his things. However, when Luke goes
to other people’s houses, Luke is very respectful – he takes care of their
things, he listens to me and his daddy, and he is nice to other children. I am appreciative of these good natured
traits.
-right before we left, Luke rode on Tanner’s red scooter –
it is just like the one Luke has at our house.
Well, for some reason, he got wild on this thing at Tanner’s – he
started going as fast as he could while turning 360 circles and giggling. We all laughed at him as we watched!
-Luke also enjoyed playing with a remote control car that
Tanner has – he really liked it, this might be an idea for me and Daddy to
check into for a Christmas or birthday present.
Enjoyed the rest of our evening at home.
Surprisingly, I took no pictures at Tanner's party - can you believe that?
Sunday, August 5th:
-Daddy’s singing debut at church – he did awesome – we
were so proud! Mark and Melissa joined
us for church and we really enjoyed having them there. They went and ate lunch with us after church
and that was fun too. Luke was excellent
during church and at lunch! We were very proud of his behavior.
-After church and lunch, he took a nap. Then, Luke and I played play-doh with his new
colors and letters and numbers – we also made a road with a hill and tunnel for
his cars and we made a birds nest and mini-slide. It was fun! We built towers with his soft blocks. We rode the scooter and the Tonka truck –
yes, I ride the scooter sometimes and the Tonka truck occasionally. We played
on the big bed, as usual – watched some beach volleyball on the Olympics.
We were sitting at the table reading one time and Luke
said, “Mommy, you are a superhero.” My response - "Yes,
son, I will be always be your superhero." J
And, then, we got out his lawn mower and he chased me
around the building as I hid. We started noticing a noise inside his lawn mower. Papa just happened to be home and he heard it to so he started trying to fix it. To make a long story short - papa fixed the noise in the lawn mower but only after taking the whole back end apart and taking it to his shop for a day to work on it. It now works better than before - thanks papa for doctoring up the big green lawn mower BECAUSE if something happens to the big green lawn mower, it will be a very sad day! :)
Some pictures from Sunday...
playing with the new play-doh...
Monday, August 6th:
-Grimes park for a run – Luke was excellent! He rode his tricyle on the dirt path – it was
kind of difficult for him so I pushed him up the hills and then he pedaled down
the hills. He swung for a long time – he
loves to swing lately. He played on the balance beam and bars. We came back home and raked outside and he
jumped off his slide into my arms and “knocked” me down on the ground – he
thought that was hilarious and we did it over and over. We built a log cabin, put together his
stacking blocks, and listened to some songs on his mini-CD player.
After his nap: we headed to Safari Nation – there were
only about 5 people in the whole place. We had an awesome time! I find myself acting like a kid in places
like this. I was crawling in the climber, shooting the balls, stuffing the
balls in the vacuum, jumping, sliding, shooting basketball, kicking the balls –
just like Luke. It was awesome! Some of
our favorite parts: sliding side by side
on the double white slides (Luke would slide so fast that he would land on his
bottom), going through the maze tunnel together, climbing in the tall ball
shooting playground – We climbed up the triangle holes together and then shot
the balls from way up high – I helped Luke have the confidence to walk across
the high bridge (by the time we left, Luke would walk across it by himself),
riding in the safari car in the toddler playground (we bounced together to make
it “go – after Luke cranked it, of course), filling our bags full of balls and
then carrying them to the ball shooting guns or the ball vacuum (Luke also
liked mashing the button that turned over the ball basket from the very top).
At one point, Luke got a ball from the basketball bouncer and ran around and
kicked it and chased it. He also carried
around two small green balls from the ball climber for a long time. He would
take the balls into each bouncer. We
stopped for about 5 minutes to share a huge pretzel and a water and then we
played some more. After about an hour
and 45 minutes, Luke was ready to go home for some dinner. On the way out the door, he said, “Mommy,
that was fun!” I have to say – that was
fun! It might be a place that I will
consider for Luke’s 3rd birthday party! We love Bumper Jumpers but this place is
cleaner, brighter, and has the ball climber, which is one of Luke’s favorite
parts. J We will definitely be
visiting again.
Tuesday, August 7th:
Dentist appt - Luke was awesome! Even with about 4 other kids screaming, he stayed calm. He picked out a pooh sticker and told the doctor and assistant the names of the characters. He looked so cute in the sunglasses they let him wear. His 2 year molars are in on top and bottom and his teeth are getting close together so we now have to start flossing, which he will not like. The dentist said that the brushing we are doing at home is looking good! Thank goodness! Luke chose a tiny elephant as his treasure and off we went.
Visit to Fair Grove: ran up and down the hills with Betty while I showed Audrey where I put some information. He petted the tiger and rolled the dolly around. He was very sweet. He put everything back when I asked him and gave everyone hugs before we left.
Library:
He helped me pick out books. He picked out a B. bears, Clifford, Arthur, and nursery rhymes book. He actually brought the books that he wanted to read and sat in my lap to read them and then would tell me he wanted to take that book home.
Visit to Welcome: he ate some ice cream - he was kind of shy around our friends at Welcome at first - then he started playing with the ball with Donna by rolling it down the hill. At one point, he told Donna, "Don't throw the ball, roll it, do you see all that stuff? You might hit it." (I wonder where he's heard that before.)
Luke ran up and down the hall chasing another teacher's blonde headed daughter. He talked to everyone and showed his wild, but fun, personality. We went to the playground - had a blast! He slid down every slide - loved the twisty green one - he would climb up and then slide down. I carried him from one playground to another upside down. Luke worked on the bolts on the wooden playground and then crawled through the tunnels. Before leaving, we went back in to say "bye" and he told Jennifer and Donna about the slides that he liked.
Back at home: Luke ate a great dinner, rode his lawn mower, hung out with papa, played with me in his toy corner, made some nests on big bed, and chased me and daddy on his scooter.
Pictures from the playground:
Wednesday, August 8th:
-went to mammaws house for a little while, went to pool, hair cut - played with Melissa while I had my hair cut. He was great during his hair cut - Paula even used the clippers. He sits in the chair so cute. When we turned the corner to tell him that it was time to go, he was sitting in the floor with a book in his lap and told us that we couldn't leave yet because he was reading.
-visited Barnes and Noble - he enjoyed the new trains, we finally bought the "Wocket in my Pocket" book for him and a tiny stuffed cow that he wanted to add to his "family and other friends." We ate at Chick Fil A with Daddy and then he fell asleep on the way home.
It was a busy, but great day! :)
Thursday, August 9th:
Played with new Legos (little side note: if you haven't checked out the new Read and Build Duplo Lego books, they are great! I bought Luke the farm animal one and he loves it.) After legos, we ran around and he chased me with the scooter, we made Shirley a get well card, read his new animal magazine and new B. bears book, played on the big bed, and danced to Thomas music.
We visited aunt Shirley at the rehabilitation center (she fell and broke her hip and shoulder last week). At the center, Luke loved watching the fish. He made several elderly people
smile. One lady that doesn't talk to anyone, talked to him - it was so sweet! After our visit, we came home and he chased me on his lawn mower until nap time.
After nap: playdate with Silas - boys played together awesome! Talked and communicated with each other and ate dinner together. There is no way I could explain all that they did - there favorite toys seemed to be the cars and mini-trains. They also built a fort and enjoyed it for a second - then they became more interested in yanking the sheet back and forth - they had their first tug of war battle that Heather got on video! :) They played baseball outside and Silas weedeated while Luke mowed. They truly had a great time!
After Silas and Heather left, Luke and I played in the field for some picture fun...
Here are some pictures from this day...
Luke watching Super Why with Daisy and Minnie...
Playing in the field...
Friday, August 10th:
While I was chasing Luke on his lawn mower, Madi decided that she would run around the yard with us. She was running as fast as she could, when all of a sudden, Madi came around one corner of the building and Luke and his lawn mower came around the other corner. Madi couldn't stop running so she tried to jump the lawn mower instead, and, she almost cleared it but hit her back two legs on the lawn mower instead. She was quite tough - she limped for a little while and then she was fine. That 10 year old dog has a lot of spunk!
After nap: Luke mowed while my brother mowed at my Dad's and Landis mowed our yard. Luke helped me get my list ready of everything I needed to do at Papa's while he was gone to the beach. Landis and I sat down on the back deck and watched Luke ride his small tractor and played ball with him. Gave Luke a bath and then played with the Lincoln logs for just a minute.
Saturday, August 11th:
I ran some errands and worked out while Luke visited Granny with Daddy. Adalei and Layla came over for a playdate. Luke and I went to the pool. It was cloudy but Luke and I enjoyed ourselves. We pushed mater and the boats all over the water. We ate our lunch together and then I pulled Luke around the big water and did some spins. Luke ate his favorite treat, a creamsicle, and then we headed home. I enjoyed the cloudy pool time because there was no one else to play with or talk with. It was just me and Luke and lots of hugs and kisses!
While I was unpacking the pool stuff from the car, Luke did the sweetest thing. I heard him talking in his room so I went to see what he was doing. He had all his stuffed animal friends sitting around him and he had plates with their food on it. When I asked him what they were eating, he told me what was on each plate. We took our baths and then while I was getting my clothes on, Luke went to his room again and I heard him talking. This time, he, on his own, had gotten out his Lego book and was building a tower and reading his book. Luke is getting better and better at playing on his own. He often times goes to his room and plays with his tractors while I cook or clean. He's such a sweet fellow.
A sign of God - a friend of mine that I worked with several years ago that has the kindest heart but different religious and political beliefs than me texted me. I haven't talked to her in almost 2 years and now, with an election approaching and my words from God posted so vocally on my blog, it just so happens that she wanted my blog address.That's not an accident! I have been praying for God to widen my circle of influence and to also use me well in my current circle of influence. On this day, God used me and now I pray that my friend has an open heart and grows closer to Jesus.
This is the day that I decided to lighten up on my Luke note taking time - I will still post pics and highlights (just not as detailed as the last few months). The Lord needs me to use the time and energy that I put into journaling about Luke into more eternal things - which is growing closer to Jesus and getting others saved.
Saturday pictures:
Monday, August 13th:
-played at my Mom's pool - Luke's favorite part was jumping from the steps to memaw and chasing Raegan around the pool while memaw held Raegan and I held Luke - he enjoyed me throwing him in the air - He would jump so high his pants would come down. He thought it was hilarious that he was "jumping out of his pants." He enjoyed taking the buckets in and out of the drains - he told us that he was "working"
My favorite comment of the day: "Mommy, you are a princess." I said, "Is daddy my prince?" Luke's response, "No, I am!" :)
Another great comment - at the dinner table with papaw -
My favorite comment of the day: "Mommy, you are a princess." I said, "Is daddy my prince?" Luke's response, "No, I am!" :)
Another great comment - at the dinner table with papaw -
Papaw: Do u know what boys are made of? Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails.
Luke: I don't have a tail. I have a butt. ;)
Oh my!
This first picture was taken on Saturday night - I put it in the wrong place - on Saturday night, we went to Don Juan's with Heather, Jay, and Silas and then came back to our house for a big boy and toddler play date. The big boys played guitar while the toddlers played EVERYTHING! They played so much that Heather and I actually had some time to talk and catch up! They also played so hard that they worked up an appetite. Here they are eating mac n cheese while watching Super Why.
By the way - I don't think I've posted this yet - Congratulations to Heather, who is the lead teacher at Brier Creek this year! We have both worked for the school system for almost 10 years and we have never worked in the same school - we are super excited to finally work together in the same building. I mean, we can eat lunch and talk about grown up stuff without toddlers running around - it will be great having such a close friend right down the hall - that makes going to a new school much easier. :)
Luke and I made this little people cut out and wrote a Bible verse on it, I tried to get Luke to show a picture of it, and he wouldn't...
We also built log cabins on Monday - here is one that I built. It actually stayed together long enough to take a picture.
Here is a video of Luke's new fist bump...
Luke playing on the slides at Welcome:
I didn't take one single note about today because it flew by so quickly and I was too tired. I was up late last night with a lot on my mind. The Lord chooses to bring my attention to things when the house is quiet, but that's because everyone is sleeping except for ME! :) I'm okay with that though. I had my first meeting of the school year today - it was a half day meeting and it was beneficial. I have 3 more days of summer vacation and then a lot to look forward to! Luke and I are going to end our summer with a bang - we have a trip to the Burlington rides planned and one more road trip to a museum planned. I'm excited!
For now, I'm off to bed to sleep - I hope! :)
Love you all and appreciate you reading,
Toddy
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