Third Person: Luke is THREE

Oh our sweet little Lukas. Three years old. Lord help us. When this picture was snapped I could not have begun to imagine the little boy that Boo Boo would be three short years later.

This lad embodies the definition of being a character. He is funny as hell, smart as a whip, and energetic beyond comprehension. He also doesn't listen, is ear piercingly loud and couldn't sit for an entire meal if you paid him. We wouldn't have him any other way.

Parenting Luke this last year has been quite an adventure. When we found out we were pregs with Kiera I just prayed that she was a boy, because Lukas had been so incredibly easy to that point. FAMOUS LAST WORDS, LADY. Luke is a very active little dude. If I don't keep him engaged with a specific game, toy, or activity, he will make me pay for it. There's no 'why don't you sit down and color' for this one. Well I guess there is if I don't mind having the walls, tables, floors, and any inanimate object in between scribbled on. There is an actual twinkle in his eye that lets you know he is going to do what he wants and take years off your life in the process. There is no doubt in his mind that he can do everything that Genevieve can do. So while I'm encouraging her to gain confidence by jumping off a swing, riding a 2-wheeler, or climbing a tree, I'm also convincing him to DON'T FALL BACKWARD OFF THE SWING, DON'T CLIMB THAT TREE AND FOR GOD'S SAKE WEAR YOUR HELMET!!!

Example: Matt played on a local softball team this summer. The games were once a week at EG Park. The kids would all go run around this short series of mature pine trees just down a hill from the ball parks. During one game I got that mom-feeling when you know something's not right so I bribed someone to watch the baby while I hunted for the bigs. I could hear them but I couldn't see them. But that's because I was looking forward, not up. Lo and behold these two were at least 15, possibly 20 feet up a pine tree and they were, of course, stuck. WHAT? The 'what if's' alone raised my blood pressure 20 points, to say nothing of guiding them out of the tree. Or during trips to the playground when it's time to go...I make the six year old watch the baby so I can take off across the soccer fields for my wild child who's high tailing it toward the pond. He laughs at the threat of "Ok, see you later." and takes it as his cue to start sprinting. Or at Sendik's when I try to keep him engaged by pulling a basket and assigning him items to add. I squat down to his level and say, "now Lukie, when there are other people we use our manners and say 'excuse me please'," And his response is this:

yelling "LOOK OUT PEOPLE!!" as he high tails it across the store. i leave the baby in the cart to chase after him. AGAIN. parenting fail.

i guarantee he'll be on two wheels next summer. hopefully the wild grasses slow him down on his attempt to bike into the pond

when it's good it's SO good

sure, just jump off that huge rock. you've got your helmet on

matt: "luke, what are we?" luke: "men." matt: "what do men do?" luke: "go to ACE!"

this about sums it up

Through all this wildness Luke is a very happy little dude. He and Genevieve play together really well most of the time (see above where he thinks he's 6) and there are glimmers of empathetic, caring behavior that I hang on to for dear life. The other day Genevieve fell off her bike. It was a total self fulfilling prophecy...she turned harder than she thought, assumed she would fall, therefore she did. Which led to gallons of tears. But then Luke hopped off his bike and went over to hug her and tell her it was ok. I try to remember this when he's pretending to pee on Kiera.

Luke is also hilarious. He's got the most perfect preschooler voice and says the funniest stuff. He's got no fear with strangers. We went to dinner the other night at our favorite burger place. We walked in and he yelled at the hostess, "Girl! I want chicken!" Me: "Luke, that is very rude. This lady isn't taking our orders, she's going to show us to our seats." Luke "Girl! I want chicken PLEASE!" During that same meal he turned to the table next to us and struck up a convo with a woman who had to be in her 80's. When he decided they were done talking he pointed at her plate and demanded, "Now you eat!". It's hard to discipline him when he makes faces back at you and sighs, "oh, aww wight mom."

the scrawniest future MLB-er ever came in at 31lbs and 37.5", about the 50th percentile for each

daddy-ups

Three year old Lukie faves:
Food: me: "Luke, what's your favorite food?" him: "Mommy, do fishes like to eat crabs?". me: "um, I don't know. But what's your favorite food?" him: "Dinner. I like dinner. I like chicken patties and hot dogs. And I like jelly sandwiches. For lunch."
Treat: N-uh-M's and vanilla ice cream (not much of a chocolate fan, this one)
Thing to do outside: play with my skateboard and my motorcycle
Book to read: Go Away Mr. Wolf
Daddy game: Hiding Tickle Monster
Color: Blue
Animal: "uh, I like a cat. I like cats better than elephants"
Item of clothing: soft pants (aka fleece)
Sport: baseball (the boy can line drive a whiffle ball pitch like no other)

We had a little party for our man where he was quite insistent that everyone keep their party hat on all night long. It was going to be a Superman party until I found only Spiderman decor at the party store. A quick stop on Pinterest helped me change the cake from one to the other and off we went. Who won the prize for worst gift for a three year old ever? Mom and Dad with...wait for it...a skateboard.