From Loot to Luke.

We've been working with Luke to help him say his name. For a while now, he would call himself "Loot." There was just something about that ending sound that he couldn't get. He knew it was a crisp sound, so "t" sufficed. Well, today he finally figured it out and out came "Lukkkkkkkkkkke," almost like he was clearing his throat! Can't wait for him to put together the big intro phrase, "Hi, I'm Luke!" Soon enough...

Vroom, choo-choo, zoom to 2.

Today we celebrated Luke's 2nd birthday with a party complete with cars, trains, and planes. Luke hosted 9 lil' friends for the birthday bash. Here are some highlights. The kids enjoyed watching the Lionel electric model train (operated by Grandpa Jim the Engineer). My dad received this train as a gift when he was a kid, and now many moons later, it's still chugging along. Each child had their own personalized boxed lunch (with fun names like "Chauffeur Luke" and "Engineer Alec") with some special goodies like stickers and a matchbox car inside. Rather than cake, we made car/train/plane sugar cookies with homemade cookies-and-creme ice cream. We had all the "go-mobiles" out in the garage for kids to pedal and ride: scooter, bike, trike, wagon, etc. Luke really got into the action of blowing out the candles ... three times actually ... twice before we sang "Happy Birthday" even! We waited until after we were done with singing before lighting it again since "Windy Leahy" was ready to go!

1, 2, 3 January birthdays!

January is a special month because several family birthdays are right in a row!

Grandpa Jim: Jan. 14
Jami: Jan. 20
Luke: Jan. 24

So what better way to celebrate than all together! My parents returned to the warm AZ sun this week to celebrate this trio of birthdays. Here's a pic of the birthday bunch.

A picture-perfect moment.

I have been updating the photo albums, and Luke has been my chief assistant by identifying the people and objects in the pictures. We came across a very old photograph in a box from when I was a kid. It was a family picture with my parents and sister. Luke correctly identified everyone in the picture, except for the youngest member of the family. Luke studied the picture and then pointed to the picture of me and said with confidence, "Luke!" (Now some of you may remember as a child I had very short hair and was sort of a tomboy ... so it's easy to understand why he thought this.) We got a good chuckle out of it, and then explained it was Mama with short hair. I'm still not sure Luke was convinced! Too funny! Guess Luke thinks he looks like Mom ... even though most people these days say he's looking more like Dad!

England & the Engineer

Scott just returned from a 10-day trip to England for work. This was his 2nd trip in 6 months to the Motorola plant in Swindon, which is about 1 hour outside of London. Swindon is about 7 hours ahead of AZ time, so we enjoyed our daily morning chat with Scott when it was the afternoon there -- probably when Scott was enjoying tea time! Ha! A highlight of his trip was going to Bath, England, on the weekend to take in the sights and tour around a bit.

Luke was so glad to see Dad that he made him a sign for when we met Scott at the airport. (While we were waiting, Luke had to have a little snack, too!)

Boo!

Luke has a funny new habit when he wakes up ... whether it's in the morning or from a nap. When you open the door to go get him up, he shouts out, "Boo!" as if to scare us! Usually, he laughs afterward so he thinks it's a pretty funny joke. Spooky Lukie will be well prepared for Halloween next year.

I'm turning 2 ... choo-choo!

Luke is quite excited to turn 2 in a few weeks. Here's a pic from his recent 2-year photo shoot!

Just say no.

Like all children approaching the age of 2, Luke enjoys exercising his right to say "no" when asked a question. It's that whole "expressing independence" phase. He doesn't really get too sassy when he replies "no" but it is very matter-of-fact. He has developed two funny habits though related to this...

1. The Denial "No" - This is usually used when the answer is obviously yes, but he's in denial about it. The most common example is related to diaper changes. He thinks he can keep on playing and avoid the diaper change all together if he just looks and acts really busy and ignores the obvious. Usually, this "no" is accompanied by the action of running away as fast as possible.

2. The Fake-Out "No" - This version involves the standard "no" soon followed by a mischievous grin and "yes" as if to say "Ha - I tricked you with my first answer!" This one is utilized when asked if he's tired or sleepy (and then he really is and answers "yes").

All aboard the Little Steamers!

One tiny train ... one big afternoon of fun! This afternoon we headed up to the train park in Scottsdale to check out these tiny trains called Little Steamers. You can hitch a ride on them, but extra leg room is not a luxury on this train! Luke loved every minute of this railway adventure, and he served as the tour guide pointing out things along the way to Eric and Charity.

Crocs Club

Now both Jami and Luke are proud to own a pair of Crocs. While these shoes may not score high among fashion critics, they do get bonus points for comfort! Jami got her Crocs last year for her birthday, and Luke received a pair for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa Nelson. (Grandma Dixie is also in the Crocs Club with a bright red pair!) Luke is still getting used to walking in his Crocs since they fit a little differently than tennis shoes. He calls them his "blue shoes."