2028 Olympian

Luke has been doing gymnastics for about six months now, but in a parent-tot class where we helped him do everything.  Tonight was his first night in the solo class, and it was memorable.  He had a blast, but I probably had more fun watching him.  You can tell by the way my friend Jen and I are trying to hold in hysterical laughter in a couple of these videos.

I don't know which is my favorite, the somersault or the cartwheel. Very tough call.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Luke!

Today was Luke's 3rd birthday.  It's been a big week, sending Myla to kindergarten yesterday and this today, especially because I feel like 3 is the official end of the baby years.  And Luke has been such an adorable two-year old!  He's at a great spot right now, talkative and capable but still little enough to say and do the funniest things.  I want to keep him at exactly this age, even though I know this year ahead will be great, too.

At age 3 Luke is a really caring kid, as I described in a recent blog post.  He says the sweetest things and seems to know when you need to hear them.  "Mommy, I love you sooooo much," "Best-ever daddy," or "thank you for taking care of me!"  He's also super snuggly and gives excellent hugs.  He's gone through several spells this year where he gets up really early, and Matthew and I have survived it by letting him watch a little TV while we get another 15 minutes of sleep (don't judge).  When I'm doing this, he lays on top of me and is so affectionate that I can actually forget that it's 5:45.  When he does that, or sits in your lap, or when you carry him (which happens more than it probably should, but hey, he's my baby), he puts 100% of his weight on you and doesn't help at all.  It can be exhausting, but it's also kind of sweet the way he just relies on you completely.

We've also noticed his special talents more this year.  It's been the year of the puzzle for Luke, and he's pretty amazing at them.  He's really imaginative--one of his favorite toys right now is his "snappy snappies," which can be used to build things.  The other day he built "Baw Baw holding a frisbee."  He also likes to wear any kind of crazy outfit for pretending.  He has had some really athletic moments, and can throw and hit a baseball pretty well.  But he also runs with this chicken-wing action that really cracks us up.

Physically, he's now nearly 40 inches, tall--about Myla's height at age four!  He's 37 pounds, which is what Myla weighs right now.  He falls down a lot, though it's better than it was at the beginning of the summer!  He still has his crazy blonde hair.  Right now it's as straw-blonde as it's ever been.

As we have said multiple times on this blog, Luke's best friend is Myla.  His friends at school are Tanner, Hayden, and Addisyn.  His favorites things are Cars and Jake, any sweet baked good, Mumford and Sons, his new light-up shoes, his two bedtime blankets, sunglasses, and hats. And anything Myla is doing, or Matthew, or me.  The kid really loves all of us right now, and the feeling is mutual.

Tonight we read Sandra Boynton's "Happy Birthday Little Pookie" at bedtime, and it ended with a very appropriate line--"Here's to a child who is joyful and clever.  Happy day, happy year, happy always and ever!"  We love you Luke, Lukey, Lukester, Lukester the Dukester, Duke, Luke-a-Duke, Luka-Luka, and Chumba-wumba!

First Day of Kindergarten

Today was the long-awaited first day of kindergarten for Myla.  Everything went very well.  It was a beautiful day and Myla was so excited.  She looked adorable in her jumper and Mary Janes.  And during breakfast, Matthew and I gave her a little locket with a picture of our family in it.  She really seemed to get that it was an extra-special gift and was really grateful and sweet about it.  And then Mrs. Bassett asked her about it in front of the whole class!

I didn't get misty-eyed until we were taking Luke to preschool afterward.  There's a big picture of Myla on the wall, and as we passed it he said "There's my Myla!"  I think this is going to be harder on him than any of us, as he has been her shadow at school for the last couple of years.

I'll post the pictures from our good camera soon, but I was able to post these quickly from my phone.  I'll also have an update once I get the report from her this afternoon.

Myla with R2.

Myla with her friend Alex.

Raising her hand already.

Ready to go!

So Proud

Luke has had a really great teacher in his two-year old classroom.  Her name is Miss Crystal, and it's her first year.  She seems to have really taken to Luke (though she might make all the parents feel that way, which is a real skill).  Next week is his last week in her class, and in honor of his "graduation" she gave us a binder with pictures of him from this year and a letter about him.

I have to share some highlights from her letter because she really captured some of the things we love most about our little Lukester.

"It's truly a joy to get to witness the magic that Luke makes every day.  I have never met such a caring two year old in my life . . . he brings toys over to his friends that are sad.  He tries to make other kids happy with his hugs or a pat on the arm as he says, 'It's okay . . .'  He gives up his favorite things to play with in the class room so that another friend can be happy.  He is constantly encouraging his friends in the class room when they are trying to do something--we can always hear Luke saying, 'You can do it!' or 'You did it! YAY!!'  And on more than one occasion, when a child does something to upset another child, Luke has gone up to the child and says, 'That's not okay!  She does not like that.  Be nice.'  The best word to sum up Luke is caring."

And, "Whatever you guys are doing, please never stop!  Luke is an amazing boy!"

The thing that makes me most happy is that Luke has stood up for other kids in his class.  He's an empathetic little anti-bully, and it makes me so proud!  Keep it up, Luke!

Bingo!

We've had a few long drives in recent weeks, so I tried to get some non-video related entertainment for the car.  One thing I found was those old-school travel bingo cards, where you slide the little red door over the item you find.

I thought Myla would enjoy it, which she does, but that Luke would be too young.  It turns out that Luke is the Bingo fanatic in the family.  He now wants to play it all the time, even if we're just on a trip to the grocery.  We hear his constant narration from the backseat:   "We haven't seen a tank truck in a while!" or "I need a silo, an airport, and a cola sign."  And his delight when he sees one--"Gas station!!!"  Now that he's figured out what all the pictures are, he really does seem to get the game.  But he doesn't quite get that we are unlikely to see an airport or a 70 MPH speed limit sign on our way to school.  And in some cases he cheats.  "I saw a police car yesterday . . ."  Where yesterday could mean any time in his life before today.

He's such a fun talker right now, and the Bingo has been a really cute example of that.

Excellent Question

Myla has a little worksheet she has do to for "homework" and bring to the first day of school.  It has little tasks on it, like "draw a picture of something you did this summer," or "write the names of five books you read."  But one task asked us to "Go for a walk and write down something you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste."  I read this to Myla and she looks at me with this incredulous expression and says, "Taste?!?  How am I supposed to taste something on a walk?!?"  I start laughing, so then she does this little act where she says, "Here's some poison ivy, I'm going to put it in my mouth!"

That's a really good point.  Not sure whose idea it was to send kindergartners out on walks to taste things! Fortunately we have some cherry tomatoes in our garden, so we decided to end our walk there.

UPDATE:  In the car on the way home from school, I mentioned that today was the day we were planning to do the walk.  Myla says, "Do we really have to go on the walk? Couldn't we just say we did those things?"  So she figured out how to cheat on her first-ever homework assignment.

The force is strong with this one

Tonight I took Myla to pick out her lunch box for school.  If you've been following the blog lately, it should be no surprise to see what she picked:

I also love how Luke watches her in this video.  Two cuties.

Related:  This morning, I was putting Myla's hair in braids, and I mentioned that Princess Leia sometimes wears braids (trying to relate).  The following conversation results:

Myla:  Yeah, like when she's with Jabba, and also when she's with that other guy, what's his name?
Me:  I have no idea.
Myla:  You know, the one from Cloud City?
Me:  I don't know who you're talking about.
Myla:  Lando!  Lando Calrissian!  She has braids that one time when she's with Lando Calrissian!

And also, on the way home from the store in the car:
Myla:  Mom!  Did you know that the good guys all call R2-D2 "R2"?  Like a nickname?!?

I have GOT to watch these movies again.

Another Old Slideshow

I know we tried back in the spring, so here is a continuation of some of the picture albums containing photos from my phone.  We'll do one today and several more next week.  This week we start with sports-themed photos!

Sports

What Was I Thinking

Luke has shown no interest in using the potty yet.  One morning last week, Kasey thought it would be a good idea to let Luke run around for a few minutes in his big-boy undies.  I came out of our bedroom and saw Myla and Luke playing in Luke's room.  Since Luke has had a tendency to pee in his big-boy undies the other few times we tried this, I thought it would be good to ask for Myla's help:

Me:  Myla, I have to go get dressed for work.  You are in charge of Luke so don't let him pee on the carpet again.
Myla:  You are putting your five-year-old daughter in charge?  I don't think so.

I love to tease her in many ways (and she usually likes it too, though I have definitely pushed my luck a few times).  I loved this exchange because she had a comeback for me without any hesitation.

*****
UPDATE FROM KASEY:   I had a similar exchange with Myla this week.  I was trying to get myself and the kids ready before school, and I asked Myla if she could help by putting Luke's socks on.  She says to me, "I am not able to put on another child's socks!"  It was the precise language that killed me.