Rockin' Out.

Last Saturday our sweet neighbor, Reid, gave Luke a hand-me-down guitar. This was such an exciting moment for Luke because he is newly fascinated by guitars, which he calls "good-tars".  This particular "good-tar" was well loved, to say the least. Its strings are all stretched out and bent, the battery cover was lost ages ago and replaced with duct tape, and the recorded music that it plays has a lovely tinny sound to it. Luke couldn't care less, though, and thinks it's super cool. He also thinks that his ill-fitting yellow hard hat (another beloved hand-me-down from Reid) finishes off his rock star ensemble perfectly.

Rockin' out and looking extra tough with his black eye (the result of a run-in with his book bucket) before church on Sunday.

Looking a little too much like a member of the Village People. 

"Muah! I love my good-tar."

 On Saturday when Reid handed over the guitar, Phil pointed out to Luke that it was just like the guitar of our friend and music minister at our church, Josh. Luke's favorite thing to do at church is to climb up on the stage and visit with all the musicians and instruments, so he was tickled when Phil pointed this out. Phil then suggested, kind of rhetorically, that Luke could take it to church to show Josh some time...

Well, the next day was Sunday, and you can bet that when I told Luke it was time to go to church, he wanted to take his guitar with him to show Josh. I told him that he could but we needed to put his shoes on first. I put his shoes on for him and then told him to go get his guitar. He immediately ran off to get it and came back with not only the guitar, but also the hard hat. It cracked me up, so of course I had to run and get the camera.

Standing at the back door, ready to go.

"Wait, Mom! Take another one of my tough guy face!"

So excited he can't contain himself.

"Umm, I think my good-tar needs a seat belt."

This is what I got when I asked him to say cheese.

Apparently rock stars don't do "cheese".

Posing with his buddy and fellow rocker, Josh.

That was fun, but what else can I do?

Another favorite instrument. This one doesn't do much for his tough guy routine, though.

This one's for you, Uncle Johnny!

(but if you ever give my son drums, you'll pay for it in more ways than one.)

All done and watching as the guitar goes nigh-night!

Daddy Creates a Monster...

Several weeks ago now, Phil let Luke sit in his lap while he pulled the car into the garage. Although the trip only lasted about .06 seconds and 10 feet, it was the ride of a lifetime for Luke. It has changed him forever and has made him madly passionate about cars, and more specifically, DRIVING. In fact, Luke's obsession was so immediately obvious that Phil actually called me on his cell phone from the car and told me to get the camera and come out to the garage. Ever since, Luke has asked to drive almost every time he has ridden in a car.

"Seriously, Mom. I'm busy here."


Checking his mirror before he kicks it in reverse and peels out of the garage.


Discovering the wonders of garage door openers.


I love this picture because I totally caught Phil's surprise after Luke figured out the horn all by himself.


...And once he found it, he couldn't stop.

He was not happy when we forced him out of the car and into the house. Lucky for him, our awesome neighbors came to the rescue once again. Being that Reid is so big these days, he's kind of over his Little Tykes cars. When Reid's mom, Regina, learned of Luke's new obsession, she gladly offered him Ree-Ree's Little Tykes police car. Luke was beyond excited about it.


Love at first drive.


He loves to turn the steering wheel side to side, like he's really driving...


...but he spends most of his time getting in and out.


Sometimes getting out isn't so easy.


And getting up is no cake walk, either.


It's really tough, though, when the car falls over...


...and you can't lift it back up on your own.


But the absolute worst is when Mommy tells you it's time to get out and go inside.

Swimming?...NO THANKS!!

Tuesday our neighbor, Reid, rang the doorbell and asked if Luke could come over and swim in his backyard. Sweet Reid has come over several times wanting Luke to swim with him, and Luke has always been otherwise engaged. This time Luke was free, so I slathered him up with sunscreen, threw on a bathing suit, and grabbed my camera since this would be Luke's FIRST ever swimming experience! Oh, I was so excited....and Luke had no idea what was coming. Reid had a nice new blow-up pool that he was so excited to share with Luke, but he and his mom, Regina, had just put water in it, and it was COLD. Knowing how cold it was, I slowly set Luke's little feet down into the water. This is what he thought of that experience...


"GET ME OUT OF HERE, MOM!"

Luckily, Reid's older pool had been sitting out with water in it all day, so that water was warmer. Regina scooped Luke up out of the new pool when he started crying and took him over to the warmer pool. Sadly, he wasn't a fan of that one, either...


This is Luke begging Regina to take him out.

Reid ran over with some pool toys to try to remedy the situation....


For about 20 seconds Luke was content to play with the boat.

But then he lost his balance and fell down into the water...


He was NOT happy.

After taking him out of the water for a little recovery time, he would not go back in. Poor Reid kept trying to convince him that it was fun to swim, but he wasn't having it....

BUT THEN he found Reid's police car, and he was in heaven!



Reid explained to him that there were lights on the roof...


...and Luke made sure that the horn was in good order.


"Oh geez, look at that traffic up ahead..."


Poor Reid kept trying to get Luke to try swimming again.


I love this picture because you can (kind of) see that Luke is smiling at Reid. He thinks Reid is the coolest big guy.


Silly Stinker was so serious about pushing that horn.


See. He's still honking.
(Look at that deltoid. He's built like his daddy. All muscle!)

Later at dinner time, Luke was playing his new peek-a-boo game. He's played peek-a-boo with a blanket or something for a long time now, but recently he's started playing with just his hands over his face. It's hilarious.


Where's Luke? I can't see him.


Seriously. Where is he?


This one's my favorite.


"Mom, are you even paying attention to me??"
(trying to look at me behind the camera)


"By the way, here's my nose!"


Sweet, silly man.

Beware the LukeNess Monster...

Back in July, Luke and I were in Tampa, and I was talking with my mom and said something like, "Well, I guess Luke could be a LukeNess monster for Halloween...". Mom and I chuckled, and I didn't really think much more of it. A couple months later, mom called and said she had just bought a pattern to make a LukeNess monster costume! She was good to her word, and, even though Luke's ever-increasing size threw things off a bit, she was able to save the day by modifying an appropriately colored fleece onesie she found at a consignment store and making a hood and tail to go with it! My mom can do pretty much anything...She's awesome that way. Anyway, the LukeNess monster was a big hit. Since he goes to bed at 7 pm, he wasn't going to be able to make his rounds through the neighborhood, so we took him next door to our favorite neighbors, the Schrocks', house. (For those of you who keep up with the blog, it was Reid's house.) We had so much fun showing him off and letting him play. They were expecting him and knew that he wasn't quite ready for candy yet, so they made him his very own little trick-or-treat goodie bag with a little orange toy football (Reid picked it out just for Luke) and an orange sippy cup. Luke was thrilled to have new things to chew on! Here are some pictures of the LukeNess monster in all his big, bad glory and some interesting facts about him, should you not be familiar with the species.

The LukeNess monster is in the process of evolving into an independent sitter.

Do not be fooled by the LukeNess monster's head scales. They can sometimes look like a rooster's comb when they slide down onto his forehead, but they are in fact VERY sharp and dangerous and nothing like a rooster's floppy, useless comb.

The LukeNess monster, with his one razor sharp tooth, loves to chew on anything and everything.

The scales can sometimes cover the monster's eyes, but his vision remains precise and perfect for toy-hunting.

When at rest, the LukeNess monster can often be found in what is known to some as the "calendar pose".


The monster's movement resembles a crawl, but is more of a scoot and pull.


When sleepy or needing a bit of a break, the LukeNess monster loves to suck his thumb.


Interestingly enough, the LukeNess monster is often surprised to find that he has a tail.


...And lastly...
Beware the LukeNess monster...He has been known to kill with his cuteness.




We had a great time dressing up our little guy for his first Halloween. He was such a trooper and never fussed about having to wear the hood. It was a really cold day, so the fleece was snugly warm and perfect. Luke definitely had fun on his first Halloween, but maybe not as much fun as we had with him!

(P.S. Thanks, Mom!)