- He has developed some fears. Heath's touch on his nursery was the stuffed animal heads, and he got so scared of them, we had to take them down! There was a moose and a deer. He'd come running out of his room and say, "Cows, Mama." - Heath was disappointed to take them down, but it's only temporary, I'm sure! If Luke hears the freezer dropping ice or a loud car driving by, he comes running to us in a panic. I get sad for him though.. I see a part of his innocence going away with these fears.
- I don't think I can put enough O's in looooooves to explain how much he likes tractors. From day one, I never wanted to label him as a future farmer. I want him to choose his own path. If he wants to farm, great! If he doesn't, that's great too. I want him to do what he is good at and loves. Being married to Heath is made easier by him loving what he does. With that being said, Luke has developed an infatuation with farming and tractors. Before we take Heath lunch, Luke's job is to turn off the TV and get his backpack. He tries turning the TV off at about 10:30 every day because he's ready to go. He'll say, "Bye-bye Dadda tractor." One thing that can always occupy him is for us to show him the google images when we search for "John Deere".
- He is a really good eater. He's not very picky at all. His favorite breakfast food is oatmeal. He'd take it over pancakes. He likes to help me make peanut butter and jelly.... He eats it much better when he helps make it, too. He'll eat any kind of meat and likes it with salad and bread. He's not big on potatoes unless it's fries. He'll eat green beans and strawberries until you think he's gonna pop. He likes chips and hot sauce. He loves his chocolate milk.. he calls it "cha-o-moke".
- He still likes Toy Story, but he also likes Cars, Thomas, and Nemo. Toy Story used to be "Buzz and Buzz", now it's "Toy Tory". His favorite cartoon is probably Blue's Clues ("Coo-Coos"). When the Farmer's Insurance commercial comes on (Ya know, "We are Farmers. Bum Bum Dum Bum Bum Bum Bum."), he stops a cuts a quick jig and says "Bum Bum Bum". He sings the "I'm a big kid now" part on the Huggies commercials, too. He'll sing, "I now now!"
So, he's in a pretty cute stage, as you can probably tell... But he's also turning 2 in about a week, and I now know why they're called the "terrible 2's." I thought the 2's would be easier because they have more defined boundaries that they understand. They're exploring still, but they know they're limits. WELL. This is why they are so terrible! They know their limits, but they still choose to test them. He wasn't ready to come inside when we got out of the car the other day, so he took off running down the street from me. When I caught him and spanked him, he kicked and screamed the whole way back to the house! We've used his time-out chair more in the last 2 weeks than we ever have. He tests my patience... I have to make a conscious effort to show him that I'm disciplining out of love because, sometimes, it's easy to let my frustration take over!
When I look back on the last 2 years of our lives, I'm amazed at how fast it's changed. Sometimes, motherhood makes for the longest days. The big picture is extremely fulfilling though. I've learned that kids are like mirrors.... they look like us, they talk like us, they act like us, they value things we value. He keeps us on top of our games, for sure, and I'm thankful for it! Here's a quick look back..
Fresh from the womb... :)
STILL belly crawling on his first birthday..
Driving Daddy's spray rig... (He just saw this, btw.. He says, "Tractor!? Cooool!")
When we ask him how old he is, he says, "Two!!" and holds up 5 fingers. We have some work to do on that before next weekend. :)
