In no particular order
1. He can count to twelve, but often gets caught saying "two- three-two three"
2. He spent an entire summer prefacing every noun with, "It's a big!"
3. Luke loved his meatballs
4. His favorite songs were "American Boy" by Kanye West and "Honk Rattle Crash Beep" by the Twin Sisters
5. Juice was the forbidden fruit
6. "Super Why" and "Sid the Science Kid" ruled the mornings
7. His vocabulary exploded and he could now form sentences like, "Table broke head!"
8. Playing "Garbage Truck" involved piling pillows around him on the bed
9. He spent the entire 2008 Summer Olympics with a toy "medal" around his neck. "Nastics" were his favorite!
10. Every time we would get ready to leave, Luke would obsess over what to "bring."
11. Luke learned his letters with mommy and the Magna Doodle when Mommy had morning sickness.
12. Luke's idea of fun would be spinning in circles until he got dizzy and fell down.
13. Luke loved to feed Goose his breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He would throw it on the ground, point to it, and say "Goose!"
14. We would always say "Nigh nigh" to everything before bedtime, pick one toy to bring, and I would tuck him in. Luke was really good about going to naps and bedtime.
15. Luke loved going to visit Grandma/Grandpa and Nana/Poppa.
16. Luke looked so cute in cousin Gabe's stylish hand-me-downs.
17. Luke had such wide feet that the only shoes that would fit comfortably were Crocs and Vans.
18. Luke loved the beach! He would stomp the "broke-its" (kelp) and run in the 2inch deep waves.
19. Luke was a trooper on the drive to San Diego and only cried for 10 minutes. He became obsessed with "mills" (wind turbines.)
20. Luke's friends were "Audeee" and "Izzbelll" (Audrey and Isabelle, Chrissy and Michelle's daughters.)
21. Luke loved to drink entire cups of strawberry Eegee's. He would get mad if you tried to take it away so he would eat his dinner.
22. Luke loved to wear hats like daddy.
23. "Outdise" was his favorite place, and he was sad when it went away for the summer.
24. The Little People school bus and its "People" were a favorite pasttime.
25. Luke loved to hear voices of family on the phone, but wouldn't talk back.
26. Even though he could talk just fine, he continued to make the sign for "more" whenever he said the word.
27. He would chug "8" (V8 juice) and it would leave a red ring around his mouth.
28. He could throw his own dirty diaper away in the trash.
29. When he was a little rashy, he would ask for "boot pase" (Boudreaux's Butt Paste, a diaper rash cream).
30. He used to be afraid of cousin Shelby and her screaches.
31. Stroller walks with Goose are a mighty good time.
32. His favorite books were, "Hey Diddle Diddle" and "What's up High?"
33. The first time he smiled to the camera on cue was for Poppa in Phoenix in August.
34. When I would hear the garage door open, we would sit in the hallway and clap for him, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" He thought that
brought Phil home, and if Phil was running late, would insist on clapping.
35. "Daddy home!"
36. The Dust Buster is the coolest toy ever, but the vacuum is frightening.
37. Luke loved karaoke- swaying back and forth pretending to sing into the microphone while music is playing.
38. "Big Hug!" meant that Luke wanted to be picked up and held/carried.
39. Instead of playing "horsey," Luke would ride on our backs and call it "truck."
40. Bathtime was the best time!
41. If Luke couldn't immediately see something, it was "hiding!"
42. Luke loved "dip," anything he could dip food into- ketchup, dressing, applesauce, etc. Most of the time, he would just dip his fingers into it or lick it off the food.
43. He would love to stand on my desk and play with stuff on the top of it (its a roll-top computer desk). He would then just throw the stuff off the back of it, which was really hard to get to. He thought it was so funny!
44. Luke loved to "broke" things and then "fix it!"
45. Luke and Phil would "fight," a cuddle-wrestle hybrid that also involved "punching" and the Nintendo duck hunt gun. I never understood this, but they
loved it...
46. Balls! Footballs, basketballs, baseballs. Luke loved sports balls and was getting pretty good at playing catch!
47. When reading books over and over, Luke would have a saying for each page. "Its a big truck," "walking..." "Zoey."
48. Luke loved to play with Bubbles.
49. Luke would pretend that inanimate objects would bite him. "Ouch!" goes the window. Everything bites!
50. The sound of the garbage trucks on trash day would ilicit a type of quiet reverance and awe.
51. The sound of the choo choo train (50 times a day) would cause Luke to squeal with joy!
52. Luke would climb into his Mega Blocks wagon, and promptly fall out. "Whoa! I fall down!"
53. We would have to think of creative ways to keep Luke away from the XBox 360 and PS3.
54. Luke would require many activities to begin with "Ready, Set, GO!"
55. We used to have to chase Luke around the house to brush his teeth with his musical "Thomas the Tank Engine" toothbrush. Now he likes it.
56. When Luke was proud of himself, he would say "I did it!"
57. Luke became obsessed with the refriedgerator, and would go in there and carry jars of pickles and butter into the living room.
58. He used to get the words "school bus" and "sandbox" confused.
59. When Luke wanted a piggy back ride, he would try to sing the "William Tell Overature," which is what we would sing as we ran him around the house. But it would come out like "Da Da Da." So he would ask for "Da Da Da! Please!"
60. He loved to watch Phil play the "Monkey" video game, which was really called Ratchet and Clank. He would ask for it by name.
61. Luke loved to carry his little trucks around and have them race and crash. He even put one into a little time-out once for punching another truck. So cute!
62. "Hereyougo" and "O-kay" were popular sayings.
63. When he would get onto his little bike, he would turn to us and say "Bye Bye!" before pushing himself two feet away from us.
64. He wanted us to play with him at all times. He would go to the ottoman, where he had placed his toys, and point to the ground next to it and say, "SIT!"
65. If I dared go check my email during the day, he would walk up to the computer, take my hand, and pull me back to the living room floor to play with him. Demanding little one!
66. He would try to stomp on "poo poo" in the back yard, no matter how many times we told him "gross!"
67. Luke liked to wander around the front yard and street exploring. Phil would just follow behind him and keep him out of trouble.
68. His all time favorite pair of shoes was a pair of dark blue imitation Crocs I got at a garage sale for $1.
69. Luke would try to play the guitar with Phil when he was playing Guitar Hero.
70. He would climb into the pot cupboard and hide, calling it "truck."
71. Luke would often get himself "stuck" places, and then whine, "stuuuuuuuuuck!!!!"
72. Luke would almost never eat dinner. He would be "all done!" before we had taken our second bites.
73. Luke would climb his "tower" out back and point out things! "House, tree, airplane, poo poo, rocks..."
74. After his bath, Luke would run out into the living room, squealing with joy, and wearing nothing but his bath towel hanging from his head and trailing behind him like a cape.
When we weren't playing badminton, we ate, watched football, played trucks with Grandma V, and played Uno. It was a great afternoon and so much fun to see all the Strayers.
