Flipper & Pops and the Fourth!

We had the best time with Flipper and Pops over the Fourth of July holiday! In typical Luke fashion, he had been talking about their visit for weeks but then seemed to be just as thrilled about getting to go to the airport as he was about Flipper and Pops coming to visit him.

As usual Mommy was running late, so we didn't get to actually go into the airport. Tears ensued, but once he realized that Flipper and Pops were going with us in Luke's car to Luke's house, he was much happier.

Flipper came bearing gifts, of course, and this silly kazoo from the Dali Museum was a favorite...despite the unconvincing look on his face.

We always go to Trader Joe's when Flipper and Pops are in town (get a clue, Mr. Joe...you need to open up shop in TAMPA!!), and this time Luke was so proud to be able to push his own cart. We were proud that he only ran into things and not too many people.

Pops decided he wanted to take Luke to a toy store, so we went to a retro-inspired one in the historic district of downtown. Luke and Pops picked out a set of really cool race cars that are super fast and can be taken apart and put back together. For the Stinker, though, their best feature was their box, as it made for a perfect car wash (his newest obsession).

While waiting for Mommy and Flipper to finish shopping, Luke and Pops played in a nearby park and made a big-headed new friend.

I am not even going to tell you how many times we went to Handel's for the best ice cream in town, so don't bother asking me.

Four out of five of us were thrilled to go to Three Sisters' for lunch, after having seen it featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. The fifth person was all about it once the food came, but acted like a 2 year old when I forced him to take a picture.

One of the highlights of the trip was Flipper's handiwork-- an eight foot tee pee! Chief Stinkerpants was elated to have a tee pee of his own and required that all matters henceforth take place inside it.
  (Sorry for the blurry camera photo!)

On the Fourth of July, we opted for taking Luke to a parade in the morning rather than keeping him up super late for "yowd" fireworks. He was somewhat interested when we told him that we were going to a parade, but when we told him there were going to be firetrucks and candy, he couldn't get to the "wade"  fast enough.

When the first thing that was given to him at the parade was a flag rather than candy, he began to feel a little misguided though.

Fortunately Daddy was there to show him how to smile and wave to the passersby.

And soon he had collected a fashionable yellow necklace, found a sweet baby girl for Flipper to hold, and gotten Daddy and Pops working his corner.

Our buddies, Kiley, Dakota, and silly Cooper (Luke calls him 'Coopie') were helpful and generous, showing Luke how to run and scoop up the scattered candy and sharing their spoils with him when he was the last one to arrive to the loot.

In no time he had acquired quite a stash and spent the rest of the parade stuffing candy into his mouth like this.

During which time I took a minute to photograph my favorite site at the parade.

Yum.

Anywhooooooo....I digress.

After the parade, it was time for lunch and some shoulder exercises for Pops. Luke didn't want Pops to overdo it, so he gladly stepped in to help bear some of the burden.

He even subbed in and did a few reps on Pops' behalf.

(Shhh...don't tell Pops' doctor!!)

Meanwhile, Mr. Potty kept Luke entertained with his witty banter.

When all was said and done, it was a fabulous Fourth and we were so glad Flipper and Pops were here to share it with us!

Fun with Grammy and PopPop!

We had so much fun with Grammy and PopPop when they came to visit a few weeks ago. Even though the tractor didn't work out, there was still plenty of fun to be had.

Luke thought it was so funny to open PopPop's gas tank and pretend to take the cap off. PopPop would obligingly pretend to be bothered every single time and Luke would just laugh and laugh.

Our climber was not the least bit intimidated by the hugeness of PopPop's truck. He was happy and proud to be able to get in all by himself, even if it took 5 minutes to do so.

He was in heaven getting to drive PopPop's big truck and proclaimed himself a very good driver.
(Cue Phil's Rainman impression now...)

Then he got to ride in PopPop's truck for the first time ever. All 5 of us piled in and drove to get chocolate ice cream. Here he is happily yelling "I love chocolate ice cream!!" en route.

Even better than going with everyone to get ice cream was going all by himself with Grammy and PopPop to Chick-Fil-A. This time he is excitedly yelling "Chick-Fil-A!!!"

We had such a good time doing all sorts of fun things with G & P, and we can't wait see them again soon!

Tractor Trouble.

For months now Luke has been talking about PopPop coming and bringing him a tractor. He went back and forth about whether he wanted a red one or a green one, but he never stopped talking about it. Well, last weekend was THE weekend. PopPop and Grammy drove up from Atlanta and brought with them a green tractor (riding mower) for Luke and Daddy.

He was so excited. He couldn't wait for them to get it down.

He watched and watched, making sure PopPop didn't change his mind.

It took quite a while, so Luke entertained himself with PopPop's toolbox. He loved it, but proclaimed it "very dirty."

At last PopPop fired it up and got it down off the truck...

It was at this point that Luke realized...

IT WAS WAY TOO YOWD!!

He bawled and bawled and clung to Phil until the tractor was turned off.

Please no one tell him how YOWD that tractor on his shirt is.

Luckily Luke and Grammy found something quieter to do.

Just what the doctor ordered.

He then mustered up the courage to go have a chat with the green tractor. 

(This is his signature move, by the way. Left hand up as part of a questioning shrug. He does it ALL the time.)

Apparently they reached some agreement and made up, but Luke never did ride on it. He loved climbing on it while it was sitting in the garage, but had we turned it on, he would have gone berserk. Again.

It ended up being a blessing in disguise that Luke didn't like the tractor as much as we expected him to. Our yard is way too curvy and small for such a big mower, and it really tore it up when Phil mowed. He and PopPop made the executive decision that it wasn't going to work for our yard, so when PopPop left, he took the green tractor with him. Luke mentioned it a time or two afterward, but really didn't care too much that he no longer had a tractor of his own. We are totally blown away that someone who is soooooo loud himself would be so scared of loud noises. Maybe one day he'll conquer his fear, but it seems that day will not be any time soon!

Runs Like a Deere...

Twenty-four hours after receiving his awesome new bike, Luke (the luckiest 2 year old on the planet) and I heard the doorbell ring and opened the door to this:

A total surprise from Grammy and PopPop. 

His very own John Deere!!!

Our next door neighbor and best buddy Reid has one of these (which is now on its very last legs...er, wheels), so Luke knew exactly what it was and COULD NOT wait for me to get it out of the box.

Even without a seat or steering wheel and wrapped in plastic, this little Deere really made his eyes light up.

He couldn't get the plastic off fast enough.

It was really stuck on there. Look at that face. 

 He tried so hard to put the steering wheel on himself.

 He called it the "driver'.

"Put the driver on, Mommy!"

 

All the parts laid out. It has a moveable bucket that goes on the front and a trailer that attaches to the back. Grammy said she ordered the one with the highest weight allowance. Wonder why?

 He was so impatient that he got in trouble and was sent to time out. While he was there, I got the seat attached, and then decided to give up. There was NO WAY he was going to stay off the tractor to let me attach the bucket and trailer.

 

Out of time out and on top of the world!

He even insisted on eating his post-nap snack on his tractor a few hours later!

Thank you so much, Grammy and PopPop, for the most amazing present that Luke will probably ever receive. He could not be more thrilled with it!

A Sweet New Ride.

Remember how I mentioned that we purposely didn't buy Luke much for his birthday? Well this is one reason for that. Just before his big day, this arrived in the mail.

Don't you just love seeing that little smirk on your doorstep? Luke does. He now thinks every package that comes to the house is a present for him.

Luke thinks he's a pro at opening packages. In fact, before I moved the contents of the knife drawer (with a child-proof lock on it) to a high cabinet, he once took the liberty of grabbing the biggest knife in the drawer and hacking away at a brown box much like this one.

You may have noticed his stylish look....That day he had seen a pair of Elmo undies in his drawer. They were part of a big box of hand-me-downs that we got from my generous friend Kelly. He is still far from ready for potty training, but that morning he INSISTED on wearing them where he could see them. I had actually forgotten about them until I started taking pictures.

I was expecting this package. It was part of his birthday gift from Flipper and Pops. Luke, of course, knew nothing about it. He was soooo excited when he saw what was inside the box.

Since he couldn't quite get the big bike box out of the brown box, he just started taking out all the stuffing.

For some reason he decided to make the long strips of stuffing into a lovely boa for Mommy. He just walked right over and put them around my neck.

Then it was time to take out all the parts and start putting the pieces together. Luke was a bit surprised to see that the contents of the box looked nothing like the picture on the front.

We unwrapped all the pieces and laid them out on the floor. I opened the instruction manual and, reading to Luke, I said, "Ok. We are going to need a screwdriver, a wrench, and a hammer. Unfortunately Luke knows exactly what those things are, and he confidently grabbed Daddy's hammer out of his tool bucket and immediately proceeded to hammer the floor in front of him, yelling, "HAMMER!!!"

After a blood-curdling shriek from me, he looked up at me like, "What the heck? You said 'hammer'?!" The damage was already done, and I now have two big dents in the middle of the floor that taunt me every time I sweep, as I always think they are stuck-on food. It drives me nuts.

Having had the hammer snatched out of his hands, he moved on to the wrench. Here he is saying, "WENCHHHH!!!!"

Thanks to Bob the Builder, Handy Manny, and Daddy, Luke knows precisely how to work a screwdriver. He just isn't aware of the need for screws.

Can you see the effort on his face? He was SERIOUS about getting this bike up and running.

Before I could even snap a picture of the finished product, he was off and running....er, riding.

Checking out his new wheels.

He refused to take his eyes off his new ride and wouldn't look up at me to take his picture. You can see how pleased he was with his new bike, though.

Finally, he looked at me.
All business. And total Bubba.

It seemed as though Elmo was tickled with Luke's new bike too.

Ready to take a few laps around the 'hood and strut his stuff for all the ladies.

Thanks so much, Flipper and Pops. Luke loves his new bike!