No More Baby Gates

Last week took down our last baby gate. We haven't needed it for a long time. Luke has been traversing the stairs for months without incident. We kept it up as a means of keeping Luke upstairs when we needed him there. Also we used it to keep the dog from going upstairs while we are out of the house.

Anyway we took down the baby gate. It had outlived its usefulness. We ended up selling it to some neighbors who have a baby that is starting to roll around. This isn't really something that even needs to be written about.  I guess I am just lamenting the fact that we don't need a baby gate anymore. Ever. We aren't going to have any more kids (knock on wood) and it's sad to see the door closing on that part of our life.

Left Handed or Right

Luke is taking his time figuring out which hand is going to be his dominant. Just today our Parents as Teachers lady asked Mom which hand Luke favored and we thought it was his left. He eats with his left and throws a ball with his left, and yet he can still use his right hand pretty good too. Tonight he was eating applesauce with his right hand with great precision.

I guess when he hits preschool and starts writing his letters we will figure out which one he'll gravitate towards. I kind of hope that he's going to be a lefty. He would have a rough time living in a right handed world but maybe just maybe he could have a future has a Major League pitcher.

You never know.

Birthday Bowling

For my birthday, way back in December, we went bowling. I thought it would be a fun way to spend the day before New Year's. We picked up a good deal at the local Brunswick where for $60 6 people got two hours of bowling, shoe rental, a pizza, and unlimited soda. We thought we'd invite Gideon and his dad to join us to make 6. We also invited them so Gideon's Mom would have the house to herself and Sylvie so she could clean for the New Year's Eve party they were hosting later that night.

To make the bowling experience as fun as we could we had bumpers setup in the lane. The bumpers keep all of the balls in the lane and out of the gutter where balls usually go when kids are bowling. Josh being an old pro at this also brought over a bowling ball ramp. This ramp will allow the kids to put the balls up high enough that the ball has some decent speed when it hits the pins. The increased speed keeps the action up and the kids interested.

Even with all of that Luke's interest waned about 3/4s the way through the first game. Both he and Gideon thought the circular ball racks would be more fun than bowling. We made Luke finish his game and after that one of us bowled in his place. He didn't seem to mind. Luke was also a big fan of the ball return. So much so that he wanted to stick his hands down the hole. We had to explain to him a few times that it would be really bad if he left his hand where it was. Luckily he did figure it out without having any pain inflicted. Normally he has to learn the hard way.

Alyce did well. We thought it was going to be just normal bowling but instead it was Cosmic Bowling. Cosmic Bowling is when they turn off all the lights except for black lights and other special effects. Add in some music and you have a party; if you're a teenager. We thought Alyce with her delicate sensibilities would freak out with the instant darkness and noise but she handled it like a champ. Even last year while on vacation she was very fragile when her environment changed. Since then she has been able to handle that stuff a lot better. It's amazing how things change and so quickly.

I Love You Too

Today Mom was hanging out with Luke while Alyce was at school. While watching a show, Luke went over to Mom, and gave her a few kisses. Mom said to Luke "I love you". Luke replied "I love you too Mommy".

Heart melted.

Not Ready For The Movies

Tonight Luke made it obvious he isn't ready to go to the movies with us. After dinner we put on Alyce's favorite Cars. It has Luke's favorite character too, Lightning McQueen. We thought Luke was old enough to sit through the whole movie. We thought wrong. About 15 minutes in Luke got up, went into the dining room, and started playing with his trains.

At least he didn't need us to play with him. I will say this. Luke is much more independent than Alyce. He is content to play all by himself without a lot of parental involvement. The only time he really needs us is when he's disconnected a section of track.