My Big Boy

Dear Luke,

I have noticed so much growth in you these last several weeks and I have the sense that I've got to write some of this down before I forget and we are on to the next stage. It's futile to think that blogging now will somehow slow down the clock, but it may leave me with a snapshot of this time in your life to remember how sweet it is.

You wake up with such energy and excitement for each day, happily guessing as to whether we are going to Real Hope, ibloom, preschool, Chick-fil-A, staying home... You can take your pj's off and put your clothes on all by yourself. Then you come downstairs and brightly narrate what you'll be having for breakfast: a "told edd" (cold hard-boiled egg), a "bay-del", cheese, banana... "I'll have the blue plate." "Oh, I fordot to det my tuntry" (we have been praying for a country each morning with the highest number of unreached people groups.) You entertain Nora while we eat and make her giggle to no end. After breakfast you love to go wake up Daddy and navigate him through his rituals of putting on his glasses, his slippers, making some espresso, etc. You very much want to watch him go when it's time to leave for work. In fact, you love to watch anyone come or go, from the upstairs window or the front porch and also to watch the garage door go up and down, etc.

You do so well when I drop you off at church, ibloom, or preschool, and just walk right in without hardly even saying goodbye. Then when I pick you up you are so happy to see me it just melts my heart. When I ask you what you did, you almost always first tell me about the snacks you ate, but you will also mention friends' names and I will continue to hear bits and pieces of other information throughout the day. You will narrate how we are going to spend the rest of the day with lunch, nap, snack, etc. and then say "does that sound dood?" repeating yourself until I respond. :) You love to watch for Daddy to come home and welcome him with a great big hug. You will sometimes point out that this is our family and it's clear you love it when we are all together.

You have become more confident in interacting with other people and often tell others, "I doh to prestool." I love to hear you talk with other kids and adults. Your preschool teacher, Ms. Leigh, has told me how you are so smart, that you read the words "are" and "you" to her in a recent activity, and that you are so well-behaved. Of course that makes me very proud. Honey visited last week and also commented on how you are more confident in the way you play and that you aren't so jumpy about being surprised or hearing loud noises. You are also more affectionate and give lots of hugs, following it up with "that's a sweet hud" since you know that's what I'm going to say. :) You love to read my Bible, and especially to look at the page that says "Luke" in big letters. You also point out where it says "Lord", "and", "the." You are really retaining what you learn at church and will recount the lessons to me afterward. A couple weeks ago we walked outside after church and you proclaimed, "God's way is perfect." What a great reminder!

Last week you got 5 candy pumpkins at preschool and I asked you if I could have one. At first you said no, but then I told you that I often share my food with you and it would be nice if you would share with me. So, you changed your mind and gave me a pumpkin. Then you gave one to Honey. The next day you grabbed your last two pumpkins and as I started to tell you that you could only have one, you told me the other one was for Honey. And this morning at our preschool field trip you gave a pumpkin sticker to your friend Connor. It makes me happy to see you learning to share.

You are such a sweet little boy, Luke, and as you know, I love you so much!

Love,
Mommy

Prayer

Dear Luke,

Tonight you offered to pray for our dinner. You said:

Dear God,
Thank you for me.
In Jesus' name, Amen.

Then you said, "God listens when we pray." You nailed it!

Love,
Mommy

Preschool

Dear Luke,

Today you started preschool! We've been talking about it all summer and I had prepared you that you'd be eating lunch, using the potty, taking a nap, etc. at preschool, in addition to playing. We had Meet the Teachers on Tuesday and I was relieved that it went well. You loved playing with the toys in the classroom and the teachers seemed really engaged. When we got there this morning you walked confidently right into your class and we quickly said goodbye as Mrs. Jenn told you where to hang your backpack. Throughout the day I would check the calendar on the fridge to see what you were up to: music, Bible study, recess, etc. When I picked you up at 2:15 you were playing with the trains on the floor and didn't even seem excited to see me. It's like it was just no big deal. You didn't really want to leave either, so I had to prompt you several times. All I got from you was that you had fun and you had gummi bears. Then later you told Daddy you had animal crackers. So, I think it was a good day. :) I'm so proud of you!

Love,
Mommy

These were taken on Tuesday at Meet the Teachers...

I took you out for pizza afterwards for a special Mommy & Lute date. :)

These were from this morning...

Summer Fun

Dear Luke,

The days just keep passing, regardless of my wish to slow them down sometimes! Well, the length of each individual day feels plenty long, but the days on the calendar seem to move quickly. There is so much truth in the statement, "The days are long, but the years are short." As I've made more fall commitments and anticipate you starting preschool in under 2 months, I have tried to savor the days we have together this summer. I remember walking by the pool and splash pad during your first summer and looking forward to when you would be old enough for us to go enjoy those outdoor activities. We didn't really get to last summer when Nora was such a little baby, and while you liked splash pads the previous summer, you didn't want to be held or wear a puddle jumper in the pool, so that didn't go too well. But we have had a lot of fun with both this summer!

You and your friend, Mason, have been taking swimming lessons with one of your ibloom teachers, Ms. Liz. It's just about 30 minutes 2 days a week and it's been fun to watch you become more comfortable in the water and talk about blowing bubbles, being a fish, and jumping in the pool. You were pretty uncertain at first, and still have a healthy fear of water, but I'm glad you are becoming more comfortable and having fun.

We also went to the beach earlier this summer, before it was too hot, and you had an absolute ball. You went pretty deep in the water and jumped over the waves with Daddy for awhile, then got really interested in collecting sea shells. You asked several times in the following days "to doh at the beach." I hope we can go again before it gets too cold.

We go to story time at the library most weeks, which you really enjoy. Honey tells me a story about how when I was little I would ride this little pony with a completely stoic look on my face, and the only reason she knew I liked it was that I would ask to do it again after it ended. Sometimes this is how I feel about you at the library. :)

You get to watch one show a day (maybe 2) and now that Wesley has introduced you to Super Why, it's your favorite.

We've also listened to lots of music this summer ("rabbit music" is your favorite, followed by "train song" and "children song.") We've gone to Chick-fil-a for a mid-morning snack and playtime several times, most often with your little buddy Michael and his sister Anna. You love going to church, and don't mind when it's a "new church." You've been really into doing math on your cash register and ask to "pway wif you?"

You have had lots more practice sharing toys with Nora and are often very sweet to her. When you are not in the mood to be sweet, you will openly confess "I pushed Nora" and scream your way to timeout in your room, until you are "ready to try adain?" You two often have so much fun "talking" to each other through the bedroom door, from your high chairs during lunch or in your car seats.

And every night you excitedly come find me in your pj's to say goodnight and are just full of uncontrollable giggles and hugs. It's a great way to end the day!

I sure love you, little man.

Love,
Mommy

Letters from Daddy

AGE ONE:

Dear Luke,

One year ago, Mommy and I were in the hospital. I remember seeing you for the very first time. You weren't crying yet, and your feet were all purple. Soon you took your first breath, and you didn't take long to start crying after that! I watched as the nurses weighed you, got you cleaned up, and took your footprint. You calmed down when I started talking to you, probably because you recognized my voice. Mommy held you, and sang to you. It was a beautiful moment that I'll never forget.

Over the next couple of days, we had so many visitors at the hospital who wanted to meet you. You were a popular little guy! Friends from church, and family members flooded into the room to get a glimpse of the tiny little guy with bright blonde hair. The nurses kept commenting on how cute you were, and how unusual your blonde hair was. 

Being your Dad over the last year has been one of the most meaningful and joyful experiences of my life. I show my co-workers your pictures and videos all the time, and I constantly brag about you. I love to play with you, feed you, talk to you, read you stories, give you a bath every night - it's all such a joy. I can't wait for you to wake up from your naps and in the morning so I can see your cute little face.  I am just so proud of you, Luke. I know that God has great plans for you, and I'm so excited that Mommy and I get to be a part of that.

We will have your one-year birthday party this weekend, and there are over 80 people coming! I'm so thankful that God chose for us to be your parents, and for you to grow up in such a loving environment. I've been feeling a little sad that you're not technically a baby anymore, but I'm really excited to hang out with Luke the toddler! He's going to be a lot of fun.  Mommy and I will continue to pray that we can be good parents to you. I'm sure we will learn a lot from you as well. 

I'm so glad you're in our family, little man. I can't imagine our life without you and the joy that you bring each day. 

Love,

Daddy

AGE TWO:

Dear Luke,

Hard to believe, but you are already two years old! It's amazing to think about all of the ways that you have grown and changed over these last couple of years. 

On a typical day, I'll come down from stairs on my way to work and you'll be sitting in your high chair eating breakfast with Mommy. You'll often smile and say "Dada!" I'll give you a kiss and say good morning, and when I head out the door to the office you sometimes say "Bye Bye." It's incredible how many words and phrases you know. Lots of days I also get to see you at lunchtime since I work so close to the house. You'll be pushing your little toy grocery cart around, or playing with some other toy on the floor. You're always excited to see me, and it really does warm my heart. I'm so thankful that Mommy is able to stay home with you and take such good care of you. I find myself feeling a little envious sometimes that she gets so much time with you!

After work, I come home and take over for a while so that Mommy can make dinner or take care of other things. You and I will often go upstairs and play together. We'll work on a puzzle, or play with a ball. Sometimes I give you a ride on my back, or I chase you around. I spend a lot of that time on the floor. It's so much fun! You're also quite the scholar when it comes to your letters and numbers. You know ALL the letters of the alphabet, and the numbers up to 10. Very impressive. You can pick them out, and say most of them. 

Eventually Mommy will say that dinner's ready and we go downstairs. Speaking of which, you're going up and down the stairs on your own now - though we make sure you're always holding our hand. It's incredible how you used to not be able to walk at all, and now you're going up and down the stairs so confidently. Then, the three of us sit down together. We pray before the meal, and you're starting to learn that it's part of our routine. Sometimes you'll even say "Amen" when it's over.

After dinner, we go back upstairs and I give you a bath. Recently you've really been enjoying bath time because you have so many toys. You really like to fill the cups up with water and dump them out. You like it a lot when I stand up and pour water from one cup above my head all the way down to another cup in the tub. It makes a big splash and you like to watch the water fall all that way. 

When your bath is done, we play for a while again upstairs. Sometimes I'll call Nana and Papa or Honey and Grandpa and let them see you on the phone. You like to play jokes on them and say "Nana!" if it's Honey, and "Honey!" if it's Nana. You definitely know their names, so we know you're being funny when you do it. After 15-20 minutes or so, I'll put you in your PJ's, and Mommy and I start your bedtime routine. I've been singing this song lately called "Skinnamarinky Dinky Dink" and you LOVE it. I often sing it when I'm putting you in your PJ's or changing your diaper. Lately you've started singing little parts of it with me, which is really cute.

After your PJ's are on, Mommy helps you pick out a book, and I brush your teeth (which you hate sometimes). Then we sing "Jesus Loves Me" and pray together. After that we lay you down in bed with your bear or another lovey, and you generally fall asleep pretty quickly. Then for the rest of the evening I have the monitor near me, which means I can hear the white noise machine that's playing in your room. It's become a very familiar sound in my life. 

Sometimes you'll have nightmares, and I have to go in there to comfort you. I hate that you have the nightmares, but I love the sweet moments that come out of it. I'll come in your room, and you reach for me. I give you a drink of water and sing to you. Then, you'll lay your head down on my shoulder and bury your face in my neck. It's the only time you do it, and it's very special to me. I love being able to comfort you when you're scared. Most of the time I sing a couple of songs, lay you down, and you go right back to sleep. Sometimes, however, you're too scared and I lay down on the floor next to your crib until you fall back asleep - and then I sneak out. On a few occasions I've slept the whole night on the floor because you were having regular night terrors. 

Luke, you are such a sweet, funny, intelligent little boy. Your Mommy and I are so thankful for you, and you bring immeasurable joy to our lives. Sometimes I wonder about how much of this time in your life you will remember, and I feel a little sad knowing that you won't remember most of it. Because these are incredibly meaningful times for our family, and there's so much love in our home. But, rest assured that I will never forget these days and the sweet little two year old that you are. I'm so thankful for you, my precious son.

Love, 

Daddy

Mommy Come, Too

Dear Luke,

This morning we were sitting at the kitchen island having smoothies for a snack and I decided to tell you that in 4 months you will be going to preschool. I have been looking forward to this (probably a little too much) for awhile now. You excitedly said you would get to play and I said you would get to play, make friends, and learn new things. You thought about it, then said in a hopeful voice, "Mommy tum, too." And you caught me off guard. I thought about it for a minute, then tears filled my eyes. I know you are so very ready for preschool and that you are going to love it. I haven't really felt sad about it, just excited. Until you asked me if I would come, too. I love that you want me to come, too. And I pretty much always have. You are used to staying with baby-sitters when Daddy and I go out to dinner, and you love church and ibloom. But this is different. Thanks for reminding me that there is nothing I would have rather been doing with these last 3 years then being with you.

Love,
Mommy

Pretending

Dear Luke,

I have noticed lately that you are starting to play pretend. I remember reading at one point about how that starts around preschool age, and here we are. You have recently taken a real interest in the baby doll Bama gave me for you when I was pregnant with you. You carry the baby around, say you want to snuggle with me and the baby, and have even started sleeping with it at night, along with your other loveys. It's so cute to hear you talking to the baby, who you have named "Nora". You will offer milk, a pacifier, or say "no no, don't get in the sand," like I tell you at the park. Today we were in the car going to get Little Caesars pizza for lunch and you were in the backseat looking at your lovey, asking, "do you want pizza for lunch, lovey? otay." You wanted to pretend cook in the kitchen today with a large spatula and I told you the island could be your pretend oven. You are talking up a storm and I love hearing you interact and pretend when you don't even realize I'm listening. I love you so much!

Love,
Mommy

First Pony Ride

Dear Luke,

Yesterday we went to Michael's 3rd birthday party. It was a gorgeous day and they had a petting zoo, pony rides, and a jump house. Throughout the party, you said multiple times, "wanna ride a pony," then when you'd get closer, you'd say "all done!" and run away. Daddy and I didn't pressure you and I figured you wouldn't ride the pony, which was fine. Close to the end of the party I heard Daddy call out my name. To my shock, I looked over to see you sitting tall on a pony! I was so proud of you for deciding to do it. You got to ride it for quite awhile and every time he would stop, would say, "do adain." You got to see the pony sneeze, which you thought was so funny. I have a feeling we will continue hearing about the pony for quite awhile. :)

Love,
Mommy

Three Years Old

Dear Luke,

You are 3 and you know it! A couple of weeks before your birthday, I started talking to you about how you were going to have a birthday and that you would be 3. You caught on pretty quickly and started showing me 3 fingers when we would have the conversation. Then on your birthday, I taught you to transition from answering "How old are you going to be?" with "I'm going to be 3" to answering "How old are you?" with just "3". When it was time to blow out your candles at your party, you got the cutest, sheepish smile on your face when you realized everyone was singing happy birthday for you and that those were your little candles.

So, how would I describe my 3 year old Luke? You are active and affectionate. You love music and have incredible rhythm. You can pick out the instruments you hear when we listen to music and love to dance. You love to be with friends and get excited when I tell you we have plans to "see friends"; you will guess who it might be... Peyton, Mason, Wesley/Caroline, "Miss Roof" (babysitter)." You love going to church, "small droop," ibloom, "libary," the "part." You still love to watch your Baby Einstein videos and beg me every morning after breakfast to put Nora down for her nap so you can get your daily fill while I get ready or clean up the kitchen. You like to do everything yourself and get frustrated when you can't. Actually, it's probably more accurate to say you like to do it yourself if I want to do it, and if I want you to do it, you suddenly need my help. ;) You are a bit of a contrarian and I have you figured out! You love letters, especially when they spell "Lute." You notice numbers and shapes as well. Out of nowhere, you'll say "oval" and I will realize, "that's true, the egg on your plate is an oval." You really like to play "wif mommy" or "wif daddy" right now. I frequently hear, "pway wif mommy" or "mommy sit" while you are watching a video. You love to pray before meals, especially "pray for picture" when we pray for family on the picture cards I had laminated. You are timid about trying new things; you thrive on routine and knowing what to expect. You are often afraid of unfamiliar things up close (firetrucks at the fire station, a horse at a birthday party) and still have nightmares. You also know how to throw down when you don't get what you want!

Needless to say, I love you so much, little Lute. I do feel that the days are especially long right now, with you exercising increasing independence and not yet having learned how to demonstrate self-control of your strong will. Add a baby sister into the mix who wakes up early and takes short naps and I am often pretty spent by the end of the day. But I know the days are passing quickly and I will miss you coming downstairs in footy pajamas to "say g'night to mommy" with the biggest smile you can manage, all the day's tears, tantrums, and timeouts forgotten. You give me a "bid hud" and say "I love you, mommy." Then I come in the next morning to you brightly saying "it's mommy" and "open the blanket" and we start all over again. What a special 3 years these have been.

Love,
Mommy

Big Brother

Dear Luke,

It has been so fun to watch your relationship with Nora develop as you two have been getting older. You have become more verbally expressive the past couple months and she is interacting more as well. You often say to her, "hi sweet durl." When she's crying you say, "she's otay," and when she's laughing, "she's funny." You really care about her having a toy when we are at the kitchen table and she is in her bumbo. If you aren't in your high chair and she drops a toy, you love to be the one to pick it up and give it back to her. When we are on the floor playing and I ask you to give Nora a toy, you will happily pick one out for her. You know which ones are hers and which ones are yours. You're not always happy when I give her one of "your" toys, but usually end up being ok with sharing. We were at a playdate with a baby Nora's age for Valentines Day and you walked up and gave the baby an age-appropriate toy without saying anything. Very sweet. Sometimes you will read books to her and even share your favorite "caterpillar toy." When we were with her in Florida last week and you were at Honey and Grandpa's house, you asked to see Nora more than you asked about Daddy and me. You two took your first bath together at Honey and Grandpa's house and you were both delighted to play together in the tub. I tried so hard to get a good picture of the two of you for Valentines Day, and while I didn't get quite the picture I was looking for, I still am happy with some of what I was able to capture.

I pray you will always be close!

Love,
Mommy