We continue to have a blast around here. Here's what the last few days have been like in the Bumgarner home....
Thursday, June 21st:
First of all, this day was super special because Luke was officially 2 1/2 years old. Looking back, I wish I would have done something small to celebrate - just me, Luke, and Daddy, but I didn't - matter of fact, this day was the most uneventful of the week.
Our day started with a battle. Luke has developed a terrible habit the last month or so - he, all of a sudden didn't want to feed himself. He would feed himself with his fingers, sometimes use a fork, but never wanted to use a spoon by himself. He would always beg for me to feed him. And, to be honest, many times, I did. But, with the new milestone of reaching 2 1/2 and the simple fact that he can now use the potty by himself, it was time to get him back to eating completely independently. I told Luke on Wednesday night that I would not be feeding him anymore starting the very next day. Well, I guess he didn't remember on Thursday morning, but, I sure did.
On Thursday morning, he
wanted some macaroni. Yes, he wanted macaroni for breakfast. I didn't argue with him about it. I just went ahead and fixed it for him
and then handed him the spoon. He pitched a fit and refused to feed
himself. He asked me over and over to feed him but I stuck to the plan and did not feed him. I just let the mac and cheese
sit there. I offered him some puffs and a few crackers and he ended up eating those instead. Then, around 12:00, he asked for some mac and cheese again and I said, “Are
you going to feed yourself?” He said,
“yes.” And, to my surprise, he did. I never lifted the spoon and I haven't lifted a spoon or fork since then. Winning that battle ended up being the highlight
of the day. I knew Luke was capable - he's just super stubborn.
The rest of the morning we didn't do much except play around the house. We played a game using the letter
A where we crawled like ants and then raced around the living room. I pushed Luke in his red car while we sang
songs. We sang the song, “He’s still working on me” over and over trying to help Luke remember the words. I
painted with Luke on the back porch for as long as I could stand the heat. We visited with baby Haley (now, that was
fun!). We swept the front porch, watered our flowers, tickled on the big bed,
did the bunny hop, and read some books on the front porch. We ended up having a great time but I could feel myself getting stir crazy so I knew that we needed to get away from
the house a little bit that afternoon.
I have a confession to make before I go any further....most of the time, I have an absolute BLAST playing with Luke but sometimes, I get tired - does anyone else feel like that? Sometimes when I’m here at home, I feel like
I need to sweep or do laundry, so maybe that is why I don’t have as much fun playing. Or, maybe, it’s because Luke wakes up between 5:45 and 6:00am (before I am even able to drink a cup of
coffee). Or...maybe, I'm just human and I just get tired! :) As you know, I put too much pressure on myself to make everyday a mountain top
experience and in the process, I have to be careful not to miss the small things – I will work on
that. J
Here are some pictures and video from Thursday:
Our visit with Baby Haley....
Our visit with Grandaddy and Mammaw...
Video of Luke riding the tractor with Grandaddy -
Friday, June 22nd:
Sometimes Luke wants to snuggle in the mornings and
sometimes he wants to get right out of his bed and eat breakfast, watch Mickey
Mouse, or start playing. The highlight of my day on this Friday came first thing in
the morning when I realized that Luke wanted to snuggle. He snuggled with Daisy and said, “Mommy, you
snuggle with me.” No arguments
here! We snuggled for almost 30
minutes. During this 30 minutes, Luke
asked me to read Snuggle Puppy to him so I did, which meant I got to snuggle
even more. Luke and I always talk while we snuggle and one thing that I asked
him was, “Why do you like all the girls from Mickey Mouse and not the boys.” His response, “That Pete – he is
stubborn.” LOL! That’s funny – Luke has
no idea that he is twice as stubborn as Pete!
Luke and I had an awesome morning. We played with his new letter stamps and animal stamps, rode in the
red car inside, we played play-doh at my dad’s house while we let his dog, Clover, out to play for a little while, we took Clover outside and let him walk on his leash while Luke rode
his green lawn mower, we threw golf balls back and forth on the porch, we cleaned out
one of his many containers of random toys and threw out enough to clear out a
basket.
One reason that we stayed at home and played was so that we could be here when the cable man came to upgrade our cable. One of the day's highlights came when he was here. While I
was getting instructions from the cable man about the new TV setup, we could
hear Luke in his room talking up a storm. The cable man said, “Who is he
talking to?” I said, “Well, he could be talking to Daisy, Minnie, Clarabelle
Cow, or he might be reading. Sometimes he grabs books and reads them.” When I
walked back there, I was right – he had grabbed 3 books from his book basket
and was sitting on the floor “reading” them.
To a Mommy who values education and the love of reading so much, this is
a delight to see your child take the initiative to read a book on his own – not
to mention, he holds it correctly, turns one page at a time, knows the front
and the back and can show you words – I hope he always loves to read. J So…cable man – thank you for upgrading our TV
but that is mostly for Daddy – Luke and I would prefer to keep the TV off and
sit down with a good book. J
On Friday, I had planned on running some errands and possibly heading
to the park after Luke’s nap but that didn’t happen – my car never moved on Friday – we were having so much fun at home that we didn’t go anywhere. After Luke's nap, we made a butterfly craft out of coffee filters, a
clothespin, and some craft pom poms – we pretended to be in a boat using the
laundry basket – we had several hide and seek chase sessions around the house –
we had many, many tickle sessions – I tossed Luke for several flips – we built
towers with the blocks – Luke matched his numbers on his tow truck puzzle – we
let Clover run around and chase blocks while I cooked dinner – Luke rode
his lawn mower a little bit outside before the storm – we made a letter B using Teddy
Grahams – we read Brown Bear, Brown Bear several times while Luke ate the Teddy
Grahams that we didn’t use – we made an “ant hill” out of mashed graham
crackers and chocolate sprinkles – it was one of those days where Luke and I
were both in the mood to play, play, and play – and that’s what we did. Luke
was in the silliest, sweetest mood. J
Another highlight came while we were reading on Friday night. The highlight is Luke's dramatic faces. I wish I could get Luke’s face on camera when I’m reading him the book,
“A Fish Out of Water.” He loves that
book – it is one that we picked out at the library. During certain parts of the book where the
little boy has a big problem with his fish growing too big – Luke will make
this serious looking face – it is probably the face that I am making as I read
the words (I think this because often times he will watch my face as I read and
not just the pictures in the book.) Again, watching him interact with literature is beyond words AWESOME!
Here are some pictures from Friday:
We looked up what an ant farm looks like on the internet and I showed Luke. Then, we mashed up our graham crackers, sprinkled chocolate sprinkles on top and had our snack. Luke ended up dumping a few on the floor - as you will see. :)
We started the letter B - here's our first craft - the letter B out of Teddy Grahams.
I love this smile!
Luke being silly as he shows me the butterfly that we made using a clothespin, coffee filter and some hot glue.
Here's a video of Luke talking about the ant farm...as you can see, he is being super silly...
Saturday was a very busy day so I didn't have time to make as many notes. Basically, Luke and I ran some errands on Saturday morning and then played at the park for just a little bit - it was SO HOT! The highlight of the day came at the park, when Luke wanted to go across the big fish and said, “How in the Sam Hill do you get across this fish?” (Landis says that sometimes and, all of sudden, Luke said it one day. It's hilarious!)
Saturday afternoon, Landis and I headed to Raleigh for a Mommy and Daddy get away. It was a short one but it was nice to have some time alone. Luke stayed here with Mammaw Carolyn and I don't think he missed us a bit. :) We missed him though! Landis and I enjoyed a nice, slow, conversation filled dinner and then we went to watch the Miss North Carolina pageant. I go every year, but usually with Melissa. Melissa was out of town so Landis agreed to go with me. The pageant was nice and then Landis and I hung out outside at a local pub, just watching people and enjoying each other's company. It is so nice to be married to your best friend - Landis and I could talk for hours and never run out of things to say. Thank you, Landis, for a fun night! And, thank you, Mammaw Carolyn for taking good care of our most prized possession - the Lukester! :)
#1 - Luke is laying down rocks on the ledge of the playground and notice that as he lays down one, he will say the number, he is demonstrating one to one counting, which is awesome! Luke is already catching on to the purpose of counting and that you only say one number each time you pick up one object.
#2 - Luke and I having a picnic and he's talking, talking, talking...
Sunday, June 24th:
I don't have a lot of details about Sunday because Landis and I were so tired from staying up late on Saturday night that basically, our day was filled quickly with - returning from Raleigh around 11:00, eating lunch with Luke, and then we both laid down when he did and slept the entire time he was napping. Then, that evening, we went to the pool, came home and ate dinner, and watched some TV. We were all just flat worn out.
The highlight of the day came when we were watching TV. We had the TV turned to Animal Planet and Luke loved it! Luke's face while watching was priceless! He was so IN TO IT! He
was so worried about the baby elephant that was dying because he didn’t have
enough to eat that Luke's lip curled up like he was going to cry and then on another show, when the
polar bear was trying to get the seal that was hiding under the snow, Luke's eyes got really wide! He was fascinated.
Another highlight came when Luke and I were playing with play-doh. Luke had a big long piece of play-doh that
looked like a snake and he said, “Mommy, watch, I can make this a U.” (and he
did!) I was so proud! That's one letter that he knows. Here are some pictures of Luke at the pool on Sunday.
Monday, June 25th:
Monday was awesome! Luke and I started our day with a new game – we built block towers and then pulled back his cloth
cars and let them knock down the towers – we both loved this!
A highlight of the day came when I was listening to Luke tell me a story about a toad that he saw
at the beach (this was a totally made up story)! He told me something about a toad digging in the sand and crawling in a hole. The best part of the story was how he
would say, “next” and then “last” when telling his story. Even though it was a made up story, it had a logical sequence. :)
Another highlight - Luke loves this book he has called, “Clifford’s Fishing
Lesson” - we have read it 100
times! Luke will sit down and read a page
with 5 or 6 sentences on it perfectly.
He has no idea that he is reading the words but his memory is
unbelievable. I love watching him read!
After our fun time playing at home for a few hours, we headed to the Winston Salem Children's Museum. As soon as we turned left, heading towards 109, Luke said, "This is the path we
take to my school.” Yes, sir! He was right! My response, "You are right, buddy. You are so smart and
observant!"
As soon as we arrived at the museum and walked in, Luke said, “This is my
favorite place ever.”
We started our playing at the museum in the sandbox. Then, Luke played in the water and then built a few things with the big blue blocks.
Next, Luke played in the Three Little Bears room. In this room, he pretended to sleep in Baby Bear's bed. Luke loved playing in the kitchen. While playing in the
kitchen, he first told me, “I have to wash my hands.” He went to the refrigerator and
pretended to mash the water dispenser for soap and then came back and washed
his hands. Luke watched me flip the
“hamburgers” on the stove and then he tried it.
He put some food in a bowl and stirred and stirred. He put some food in the refrigerator and
said, “These need to get frozen.” His favorite part was opening and closing things and putting things in and out of the refrigerator, stove, and cabinets. He loves a kitchen!
After the kitchen, Luke fished in the boat for a little while. As he fished, he said
something about fish on the right and fish on the left (something he’s heard
from Mickey Mouse). One of the highlights of our trip for me came while Luke was fishing. He was getting ready to get the fishing wire tangled so I attempted to help him. He quickly informed me that he didn't want any help and then he looked at me and said, "Why do you have to make things so difficult?" (Oh my!) Me make things difficult????
Luke played the LOUD instrument on the steps and then climbed up and down the steps. At the bottom of the steps, he saw a stop
sign and I said, "What does that say?" Luke said, "S-T-O-P STOP!" He has memorized how to spell this word because I use STOP and GO signs for him when he's riding his lawn mower sometimes. On this same note - in the car on the way home, I said, "Luke, what does G-O spell?" He said, "Go!”
The best part of the day came when we went downstairs for the museum's "On the Move" read aloud time. As he listened to the story, he sat on the carpet with his legs crossed and listened intently. It was precious! Then, when the animal movement music came on, Luke watched the other kids and did exactly what they did. He would mock them and turn around and grin so big at me. He did movements like a jellyfish, a lion, a meercat, a turkey, and then a koala bear that went to sleep. I LOVED watching him dance!
After the first song, Luke wanted to sit down and read instead of dance. He went over to the bookcases and picked a book.The book that he picked was “Green Eggs and Ham.” I asked him, “What book is that?” and he said, “The ham book.” He read two or three pages almost word for word just like we do at home. He even whispered the page with the question about, “Will you eat them in the dark?” (because we whisper those pages at home.)
After dancing and reading, we sat down at a picnic table for a picnic. Luke was so excited that he repeated, "I'm having a picnic!" several times.
A hilarious moment came when, all of a sudden, Luke looked around at all the other kids eating a picnic, and he said, "I'm
in style.” I was shocked and said, "Where did you hear that?" Luke smiled and said, "From goofy." (Oh my!) :) (And, then, I remembered...yes, Goofy was very "in style" in his new purple tie that he bought to wear when he took Clarabelle Cow to the ball.) :)
After eating, we played some more. Luke went upstairs to the small reading room. In the reading room, he sat in the rocking chair and
read a book that he has never read before. I was proud to see that when he was
“pretend reading” that he at least said something about the pictures that were
really there – example: the fish.
Luke's
favorite part of the museum was the donut making machine. Luke would load the donuts in the red bucket and then put
them in the slot as I turned the wheel to make them go up. He also liked turning the wheel that made
them fall out at the very end.
Luke enjoyed shopping
at the grocery store – he kept picking up these huge pieces of bologna. As we paid for them, I said, “We must be
getting these for Willie, the giant.” He
said,” Yes, and he needs some crackers.” Later, he pushed his cart to the
cracker aisle and got a box. He went and picked up a whole pizza and told me
that he was going to eat that pizza when he got back home. He stopped by the vegetable aisle and picked
up some peas and green beans. He told me
what he was getting as he picked them up.
He loved helping me “pay for the groceries.” He would push the buttons
on the cash register after I did.
Finally, Luke loved climbing on the beanstalk playground climber. I was a little
nervous because I couldn't climb with him but he had a blast!
On the way home in
the car – I said, “What was your favorite part of the museum?” He said, “The
sandbox.” I said, “What was Daisy’s favorite part of the museum?” He said, “The
donuts.”
And, then, another funny - as I drove, he all of sudden asked me, "Ain’t you going the right way?” (Oh, my country boy!)
Here are the pictures of him playing at the museum...
In the sandbox....
Pretending to sleep in baby bear's bed....he even snored a few times...
Our picnic....
Playing in letter land....
Here are the videos from the museum:
#1 - Luke dancing.
#2 - Luke reading in the rocking chair.
Tuesday, June 27th:
Tuesday was a gorgeous day. The morning was beautiful - not quite 70 degrees - Luke and I headed outside early. There was a gentle breeze blowing that was great! Luke had a blast picking up persimmons and throwing them on papaw’s cement – we put the persimmons in a
bucket to keep up with them and we made sure that Luke practiced his overhand throw – we tried to
see who could throw them the farthest! I
let him “win” a few times! J He rode his lawn mower
for a little while. We enjoyed our time
outside together!
Around 9:00am, we headed to High Point to run a few errands and to get Luke's hair cut. Luke did awesome at his hair cut. He is always so good for Paula! He just sits and watches and talks to Paula. He had a book and wanted me to tell him what each page said while Paula was cutting his hair. Paula even used the busser on the back of his neck and he just grinned because it tickled him. After his hair cut, we went to the Skeet Club Park and went to the baseball field. A highlight of the day was watching Luke run the bases – he would move his little arms and legs as fast as they could go – I was so busy running with him having fun that I didn’t get any video or pictures of that part. Another highlight of the day was when Landis showed up and surprised us at the ballfield. He stayed and played with Luke for about 15 minutes – Luke LOVES his Daddy! He laughed out loud as Landis chased him around the bases.
Around 9:00am, we headed to High Point to run a few errands and to get Luke's hair cut. Luke did awesome at his hair cut. He is always so good for Paula! He just sits and watches and talks to Paula. He had a book and wanted me to tell him what each page said while Paula was cutting his hair. Paula even used the busser on the back of his neck and he just grinned because it tickled him. After his hair cut, we went to the Skeet Club Park and went to the baseball field. A highlight of the day was watching Luke run the bases – he would move his little arms and legs as fast as they could go – I was so busy running with him having fun that I didn’t get any video or pictures of that part. Another highlight of the day was when Landis showed up and surprised us at the ballfield. He stayed and played with Luke for about 15 minutes – Luke LOVES his Daddy! He laughed out loud as Landis chased him around the bases.
Luke’s favorite part of playing on the field was hitting
the baseball with the bat while the ball is on the ground instead of on the tee
– he also showed Daddy his overhand throw a few times and then kicked the
baseball a few times.
After Daddy left, Luke and I played on the playground and Luke drew in the dirt. Luke showed me
the letter P that he learned on “Super Why?” that morning. Then, we ate our lunch while sitting together on the steps. After lunch, Luke hid from me in the tunnel next to the slide. I think that was his
favorite part. He would yell out the tunnel
holes “Sea Biscuit” (again, another saying from Mickey Mouse). Later, we built us a tiny pretend
campfire on top of a rock with twigs and leaves. We love using our imagination!
Speaking of imagination, Luke found a stick and weedeated with it and then we went back to the
baseball field. Luke played with rocks the rest of the time. While playing with the rocks, he told me that he
was feeding the birds the "little, tiny rocks." While he "fed the birds," we talked about all the
different kinds of birds there were.
Before long, it was almost nap time so we loaded up the car. Luke fell asleep on the way home. Then, after his nap, Luke and I colored
at the living room table while we watched the snakes on an Animal Planet show. Then,we
read a lot of books in Daddy’s chair.
We ended our night by watering our plants outside and I pushed Luke in his red car while
we played his portable CD player and sang. We also enjoyed watching the rabbit sit in the field and eat. It's amazing how quiet Luke will be while he watches animals.
In bed, Luke wanted to snuggle a lot and wanted me to tell him the
story about the three little bears before he fell asleep.
It was a great day!
Here are some pictures - I didn't take many. :)
It was a great day!
Here are some pictures - I didn't take many. :)
Thank you for hanging in there with me, gang! See you soon!
Toddy
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