All About Luke

I have a boy. For those of you who have at least one, I probably don't need to go any further with this post (unless you want to laugh at what another mother goes through). For those of you with more than one, God has given you great blessings....and I will pray that He will match that with great patience. For those of you who don't have even one, you are missing out on a world of wonder, hilarity, frustration, and perpetual confusion as to why a boy does what a boy does (as well as a wonderful chance for God to build patience in you).

Luke is three (or, as he says, "free" -- we're working on the "th" sound...tongue between the teeth, and no, you won't bite it off.). He will show you three fingers when you ask him how old he is, but the three fingers are never the same ones. If you ask him what his name is, you may be told Luke, but more often than not, you'll be told "David," "Shepherd Boy," "Billy Blazes," or "Laura" (great fascination with Little House on the Prairie).

He amazes me and scares me, usually at the same time. Right now he is laying down on my bed, after claiming he had a good nap (which he didn't, as I heard him jabbering away the entire time....before he finally woke up his sister who fell back asleep after sobbing because she didn't WANT to wake up yet. He continues to repeat "I just can't sleep, Mama, I just can't" -- I fear regular nap time for him is near or at an end.). I love him completely and totally, even when he puts half a roll of toilet paper into the toilet. I love him completely and totally, even when he walks by his sister and smacks her as hard as he can....just because she is there. I love him completely and totally, even when he dumps everything out of every drawer he comes in contact with, just because "I wanted to." (and yes, when that happens, he also puts everything back...although sometimes he is motivated by fear of consequences...) I love him completely and totally, especially when he accomplishes a new goal he has set for himself (even if it is just jumping over a box he's placed on the floor before launching himself off the couch). I love him completely and totally, especially when he hooks a rope up between his trike and a wagon so he can give his sister a ride. I love him completely and totally, especially when he wants to be my "big helper" and sets the table, puts away the silverware, unloads the grocery cart at the checkout counter, and asks "may I be excused, please?" every time he finishes a meal (then promptly puts his tableware into the sink).

Luke has always rushed through life, doing everything earlier than usual, starting with birth. My due date was moved up two weeks toward the middle of my pregnancy with him, but that still wasn't early enough for him. Three weeks before the new due date, I called Tony to let him know my water broke. My doctor told me to get to the hospital quick, but once there, the little guy decided to take his time. About 15 hours after I was admitted, they finally induced me...and he still was having none of it. It was another nine hours and a few different drugs later before Luke finally made his entrance...although he was kind enough to put me into hard labor for only about five minutes. He was jaundiced, and even though we were able to leave the hospital a day after his birth, we had to turn around and go back the following day -- I stayed with him for four days while he was in an incubator under UV rays, clad in a diaper and eye guards while they worked on getting his billiruben down. A very scary thing for a first-time mom...although there was little to no danger at all.

Like most little boys, Luke embraces life full steam ahead. He is fascinated with most everything, although he has a very healthy sense of fear. This is the first year he finally isn't afraid of the scarecrow at our pumpkin parties, although he still isn't too fond of the gorilla. We went to see our friend, Miss Brittany, at the bank today -- the president of that bank is an avid hunter and has his trophies stuffed and mounted throughout the bank. Luke was terrified of the polar bear, the brown bear, and I'm not sure what kind the other bear was. He did, however, like the deer and moose and giraffe (okay, so we still get giraffes and zebras confused....go figure!). He also shows his tender side by always needing his "softening blanket" when he goes to bed.

He loves to talk and sing...and if he can't think of a song (or I ask him to sing something besides his two favorites...."Mary had a little lamb" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"), he'll make a song up. If he can't think of a word he wants to use, again, he'll just make one up. I've learned to ask him if something is good or bad before jumping to conclusions. I mentioned in a previous blog about being "lizardy." I think I may have even mentioned the "farkles" (freckles). He just comes up with the funniest thing.

Luke also absorbs everything around him. We were listening to some stories on tape the other day. One of the characters gets stuck in a tree and yells, "I need assistance!" "You need a sister?" "No, I need assistance! Assistance means help!" Sure enough, the next morning before any of us were out of bed, Tony and I were half awake listening to Luke and Susanna over the monitor when we heard, "Mother! We need assistance!" Startled, Tony asked, "What did he just say?" and Luke obliged him, repeating, "Mother! We need assistance!" The "mother" was enough to make me wonder what was going on. I've always been "Mama," so I wasn't sure WHAT was happening! I went upstairs and asked him, "what do you need assistance with?" "Mother, Susanna is NOT playing fair!" Turns out, she wouldn't give him one of her toys that she was already playing with.

I've also had many moments where I really wished I had a video camera with me. One such moment happened at our county fair this summer. I had a booth there selling Watkins products, and by the last day, I'd gotten to know most everyone around me pretty well. Across the aisle from me was a plumber named Denny who sold toilets and such, and had a brand new toilet in his booth (anyone guess already where this is going?). Sunday, Tony dropped me off at the fair after our church service, then returned to go to Sunday School. After Sunday School was over, my three most favorite people in the world returned to the fair. I asked Luke, who had been completely potty trained for about two months, if he needed to use the bathroom. He assured me that he didn't, so my attention turned to Susanna and Tony (again, if you've not figured out already, do you know now where this is going?). Suddenly, Tony asked where Luke was. I quickly looked around...and went back and forth between horror and hilarity. Luke was across the aisle, pants around the ankles, filling that brand new toilet in Denny's booth. Granted, Denny wasn't there to stop him....but neither were we. Denny was, however, coming up the aisle from visiting another booth....so we couldn't even rush Luke back over and pretend nothing had happened (okay, we wouldn't have done that anyway). After apologizing between fits of laughter and with a bright red face, Denny assured me it wasn't the first time and wouldn't be the last....but he did wish he'd had a camera....as did I.

Luke loves going to church, and whenever we drive to town, he is quite excited just to see our church. He loves Jesus, he loves God, and he loves learning whatever he can about the Bible. One of the highlights of his week is Sunday School (yesterday, he informed me they learned how to play with play dough (although his paper was about Jacob's dream). Often, as he is laying in bed, he will recite Bible verses (his newest is "I am wonderfully made") or sing songs (he also loves to sing "Praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children" -- a favorite of mine, too). And when something is wrong or if he isn't feeling well, already the first thing he wants to do is pray about it.

Luke already is fascinated with the fairer sex, especially older women, like those that are age six and older. He loves playing "dollies" with Susanna, but loves even more playing with all the Rescue Heroes Papa and Precious Grandma brought him on their last visit. His favorite is Billy Blazes, although he will take Susanna's Little Mermaid doll and get a goofy grin on his face as he besottedly tells her "I love you, Ariel, haha, I really, really love you." What am I in for when he hits his teen years?????? He does make sure that everyone is nice and kind to one another, but he's the first one who wants to wrestle with others (sometimes even if they are not planning on wrestling).

Luke, like most children, is already trying to decide what he wants to be when he grows up. It goes between "Bob the Builder," a fireman, a farmer, a train driver, but on the way home from AWANA last week he informed me he finally decided what he wants to do. "I want to be a Cubbies Leader, Mama," he stated, "They're the best."

I laugh sometimes...Luke is so much a reflection of his Uncle Tim (my youngest brother) in actions and deeds -- he even likes to walk on his tippy toes

He amazes me already at what he figures out. There have been several times lately that we'll be doing different counting things, and some of the things he says makes me realize he already has a grasp on basic math. I'll have some snack items out and tell them they can take four almonds, or three crackers, etc. Last week, I told him he could have six apple slices. He took three, looked at me, and informed me he needed three more. Last night, I told Susanna she could have five M&Ms (okay, not all our snacks are healthy). She took three and he told her she still needed to pick two more so then she would have five. No, we've not started formally working on math and such, but we will start doing some in the near future. Uncle Dwight started it when he would walk with Luke, holding his hand and counting the steps they would take.

I can go on and on, telling you more about my boy, but I won't. At least, not today. I will...but you'll have to keep reading future blogs! For now I'll close with one more statement.

Thank you, God, for Luke!