Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Another Luke list

I’ve been cherishing his still-a-little-boy self, knowing that it won’t be so long until peers become more important and his ardent preference for Mommy recedes. So here are some things I love about Luke right now.

1. The way he tilts his head to the side and says ‘hmm?’ to express that he doesn’t quite understand something. You can see it at 0:44 in this video. I could watch those two seconds on repeat for a long time!

2. The awestruck way he says ‘waw-ooow’ [wow] when he finds something particularly impressive. In a single word, it’s a powerful pep talk for planning special activities and new experiences for our days.

3. Last week I asked him who his friends are, thinking he’d say one of the kids we’d just seen at a playground or had over to our house. Instead, he said ‘Jack and Sam’! Mommy liked hearing that the other babies she helped raise a tiny bit (my younger brothers) were so esteemed. I even caught the question on video and will post it soon.

4. I’m sure this Luke-ism will get cuter in hindsight, but right now it drives me crazy! Whenever Luke is in our garage or a parking lot, he makes a beeline for car wheels, sticking his hand into them and then smearing the brake dust on his clothes, face, and of course it ends up on Mommy too. I hate to think of all the toxic chemicals that brake dust holds, and also all the times that big black smudges have been our most prominent fashion accessory!

5. He can reliably count up to six items, so we count all sorts of things throughout the day. When counting to two, he pushes one hand up into the air and then pulls it down as he pushes up the other. I find it so difficult to resist giving him a second treat when he uses his adorable hand motions and says, “one, two please!”

6. His favorite videos feature ‘ook’ [Luke]. He comes up to me urgently saying ‘watch ook pease’ when I use the computer. Movies that feature Eleanor are not so well appreciated. But as long as he’s the star, he watches raptly and answers any questions asked in the video, such as: ‘Is that cake yummy?’ or ‘Would you like to go to the playground?’ The frustrating part is when he dissolves into hysterics after the movie because I tell him we’re not really going to eat cake or go to the playground right now…

7. When he hurts himself, he first wants me to pick him up and then he says ‘boo bake-it’ [blue blanket]. Most of the time it’s forgotten on his bed, but his blanket has become an important security object for tough situations like a skinned knee or a traumatic hair wash in the bath tub (still a contested activity).

8. Sometimes he tells me ‘ommy rock’. This game hails from my older sister era, and is a particular favorite early in the morning. One person lies under a blanket on the ground and the other comes and lays his/her head on the rock, marveling at what a nice soft rock it is to sleep on. Then the ‘rock’ starts to squirm and talk and the sleeper becomes more and more agitated about this strange rock until the rock person pops out, revealing the source of the problem. But it didn’t take too long for Luke to add his own twist to the game – he hisses like a snake and I run in fear from him, hiding under blankets/rocks. The part that makes it really ridiculous is that my fear of snakes is so great that even hearing a two-year-old’s funny ‘sssss’ strikes a twinge of genuine anxiety in my heart!

9. We’ve also been having lots of fun painting lately. I made a little display area for my budding artiste in our hallway with these cool clips that my sister gave me a while back.

Hanging the clips afforded an opportunity for Luke to hone his home repair skills. He took a water toy and used it to help Daddy hammer on the wall.

10. I think he does a great job sharing his toys when we have friends over, and I love how he seems to truly enjoy the excitement of playing with others. He especially loves a friendly game of chase. We think these two introverted parents might be raising an extrovert!

Alongside the joys, there are of course times when our boy’s boundary-testing leaves me frazzled. In fact I just ordered Setting Limits with your Strong-Willed Child and can’t wait for it to arrive. Right now he’s using the timer to give Snuffles and Doggie time-outs. Does that mean my methods are making an impression or that they’re just another game? Hmmm….

Mostly though I find our little boy to be sweet company and love that I get to play with and talk to him throughout the day. You are becoming a good friend, Mr. Luke!

No comments :

Post a Comment