New Swing Set

Today we finished enough of the kid's swing set for them to finally get to play with it. I think they really enjoyed it. Luke upon seeing it ran straight towards he rock wall and scurried up. He needed some help the first few times but after a while he got a hang of it and got up on his own.

The rock wall still needs to be attached and until I do that we'll have to hold it for them as they climb up. Later, the swings were installed with Papa's help; after the kids immediately rode the swings. Luke had some difficulty at first getting his rear in position but eventually figured it out enough to enjoy some swinging.

Driving a Car

Last week when I came home from work I was greeted by my family outside. Upon getting my welcome home hugs and exiting the car the kids piled into the front seat. I snapped this picture of Luke behind the wheel.

Me Three

As we were driving home from Gram's and Papa's last night we had all of the windows down on the car to enjoy the momentary break in the heat. As we were leaving the neighborhood Alyce says "I hear bugs". Mom then says in reply, "me too". Luke, without missing a beat says "me three"! Mom and I exploded in laughter.

I am quite proud of my son. Not only did he remember something funny we did in the past he used it in the place and with the correct timing. I don't think I give my 2 year old enough credit. He talks well enough but I think there is more going on in his head than he is leading on.

Stacking

Tonight after dinner we caught Luke quietly playing by himself. He was sitting at the table stacking blocks. When he couldn't stack the blocks any higher while sitting he'd sneak a little stand on the chair and deposit the next piece.


Anytime Alyce would get close to his tower Luke would run over to protect it saying "mine mine".

Yeap

Luke has added a new word to his vocabulary and we couldn't be happier. He's added the word "yeap". Yeap is a combination of yeah and yep and he uses it when we ask him a question and he responds yes.

It's so nice to get an affirmative instead of a "no" or no response at all.

Father Son Time

Saturday Mom, Grandma, and Grams took Alyce to see the Little Mermaid. It was up to me to watch Luke while they were gone. It turned out to be great father son time.

Luke and I first got a bite to eat at the Bread Co. He ate a grilled cheese sandwich and yogurt while I had my own sandwich. After that we both split a chocolate chip cookie. I didn't bother with a high chair and it worked out great. He sat across from me eating his sandwich, barely getting up, and not making more than a whisper. It was a really stress free dinner.

Following dinner he and I took a trip to the park. When we got there we had the entire playground to ourselves. Luke rode every slide and I even managed to take a few trips down.

Following the park I took Luke back home and he and I played with trains for a little while. After a bit he looks at me with exhausted eyes, I asked him if he wanted to go to bed, and crawls over to me and puts his head in my lap; I guess that was a yes. I had him in bed and he was fast asleep by 7:40. I wasn't planning on putting him to bed until 8:30.

Tonight I hung out with Luke playing trains. After doing that for a while we watched a show on my phone about stream trains. We only got half way through the show before it was bed time but I enjoyed him sitting in my lap.

I'm enjoyed the time I've been spending with Luke lately. It's been some neat father son bonding time. Not that we weren't close to each other before last weekend but now that he is getting older I'm getting a lot more out of the time we spend together.

The Things Luke Says

Tonight Luke said something pretty neat that got me to write about all the other neat things he is saying recently. First off tonight after I got home from a neighborhood watch meeting I was going in through the garage while Mom and the kids were coming out the front door. Luke knew I was outside but didn't see me. Luke then said in broken english to no one in particular "where daddy go?". How neat is that!

Next whenever I ask the kids something like "who wants juice?" or "who wants a tickle?" Alyce and Luke both say "I do I do" and come running at me. It's awesome hearing Luke say what he wants rather than screaming for or against something. On that note his screaming is decreasing in its frequency, thank god.

Lastly whenever it's time to go upstairs and the kids are dragging their feet again I say "me first!" and start running towards the stairs. The kids, never ones to let a challenge go unanswered race me to and up the stairs. The whole time both of them are saying "me first, me first". It's reverse psychology for sure. I get them to do something they didn't want to just because they want to win the race. I'm guessing that won't work for much longer.

Fireworks, Not So Much

This year Luke was not a fan of fireworks. Starting at Disney World Luke was showing signs of being scared of them. Now that Independence day is here the fear is confirmed. When any loud sound occurs he starts crying and dives into Mom's or my arms. I feel sorry for the little guy because he's missing out on some really good fireworks shows. I'm guessing this is just something about his age.  Last year he was fine with them.  Plus his sister, our 4 year old scaredey cat was enjoying every minute this year.

See you next year Lukie.