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