Luke at Two

This was written on July 20, Luke's second birthday:

Dear Sweet Luke,

We love you SO much. It is hard to believe that you have only been in our lives for two years. It feels like you have always been with us.

You are such a happy little boy. When you smile your entire face beams with joy. You light up the room, and our hearts. You love to cuddle and are the first one to offer hugs and love to someone who is sad or hurt. You can be seen on many days following your big brother around and trying to do whatever he does. You often walk about ten feet behind him with a little bounce in your step. It is almost like a march. Most of the time you are carrying your "silky" and have your paci in your mouth. (You remind us of the youngest brother in Peter Pan who is always at the end of the line with his bear.) You swing your arms when you run in such an adorable exaggerated way.



You love to play. Any kind of ball will do for you. You love bubbles and balloons. You can spot a balloon from a mile away. You get very sad if you let go and it flies into the sky. You think that all cards play music and you can't understand why you can't lift a picture out of a book and play with the object. You love to play in the water. And to throw things into water. It doesn't matter what. You will throw anything in to a cup of water, a wading pool or the toilet. You like to get toilet paper and throw it into the toilet, even if someone is using it at the time.

You are scared of bees and don't like it when people that you don't know very well talk to you (unless you are in Mommy or Daddy's arms.) You are learning lots of new words and you get so excited when your "friend" comes to help you with your speech. You have called everyone "Daddy" until two weeks ago (including Jackson, his friends and Mommy). You FINALLY know that the lady who takes care of you is called Mommy. You say, "one" when you want some food that someone is eating. You can be heard throughout the day calling "Daddy" and looking all over for him. You say "see" about a million times a day and then show us a new skill or try to make us laugh by doing something silly like smacking yourself in the head. You put everything from hats to buckets to clothes on your head and walk around the house.

We are pretty sure that your development is right on target as you began throwing yourself on the ground and tantruming today. You love to torture the cat. You chase her all around the house. You throw EVERYTHING. When you are done with your food, you throw it onto the floor piece by piece. If someone offers you a snack and you have your paci in your mouth, you take it out and promptly throw it onto the ground. When you are feeling less hurried, you may hand it nicely to Mommy. You will try almost any food and usually like it even if it is something that little children do not like to eat. You like to dip your fingers in condiments and lick them off of your fingers. Your favorite meal is McDonald's chicken nuggets, apple slices and chocolate milk. You chase Daddy around the house for treats and squeal with excitement when you get one.

You are so loving and with your little brother. You always want to kiss him and hug him. You would probably drag him around the house with you if we let you get close enough. He takes up a lot of Mommy's time and that makes you a little sad. You whine a lot to be picked up and haven't been sleeping very well since baby Grant came home. You wake up very early and then sleep with Daddy on the couch or wake up early from your nap and sometimes fall asleep again while cuddling with Mommy. You don't usually take your frustration out on Grant, though. You love to listen for him in the monitor and tell Mommy when he is crying. Then you run up to his room and help. (You then run downstairs as fast as you can and try to get into Mommy's chair because you know that is where Mommy and "Baby" are headed.) You are great at throwing diapers away and often try to give "Baby" a paci. You are so proud of yourself when you help.

You are starting to really enjoy going to the nursery at church and playing with the other little children but you don't like it very much when Mommy, Daddy or Jackson leave you there. You love to go out. You carry Mommy's shoes to her often and try to put her feet in them. In a couple of weeks you will move to your third home.

You only like to watch two things on television: Baby Einstein's World Animals and Baby Galileo. You love to listen and dance to music on the television but then usually busy yourself with other activities. You love to watch home movies of yourself, Jackson or your cousin on the computer and know what button to push to watch the videos over and over. You LOVE music. You dance like crazy to almost every song that you hear. You have great rhythm and really know how to move to the music.

We could go on and on because you make us so happy. We love you SO much. Happy Birthday!

With more love than you know,

Mommy and Daddy


Here are some of our favorite pictures of you:



At your first birthday party:

Meeting your baby brother:




At your second birthday party: