Tribute February 19, 2011

So, this may seem a little weird, but I thought it’d be
fitting for this weekend. Yesterday was the 10-year anniversary of
Dale Earnhardt’s death and we spent all last night watching races
and tribute shows (which caused me to bawl my eyes out all
evening). This is our family tribute to the Number 3.

Grandpa got this pedal car years ago, and we went up to
Portland and got it autographed by Michael Waltrip when he was in
Oregon at GI Joes. He’s been saving it for a grandbaby – and I sure
made him wait a long time! Well Luke went to visit Grandpa at his
shop, and Luke had so much fun driving the racecar! Grandpa pushed
him and Luke could even steer! He can’t reach the pedals yet,
though. When he can, there will be no catching him!

Mohawk boy! February 16, 2011

I just had to post this because I LOVE Luke’s sweet Mohawk hat! He looks so cool in it!

The best part about Christmas decor… January 3, 2011

Luke loved out Christmas decor this year – especially the Snoopy playing piano and Grinch that sings the
Grinch theme song. He constantly runs back and forth pushing the
buttons to get them to play. His favorite is when he can get them
to both play at the same time. At one point he even started carrying the Snoopy around the house so he could play in other rooms and still have it with him.

We used his love of his musical Christmas toys to teach him some more sign language. He knew “more,” “eat,” “sleep,” and “book” already.Every time he asked, we
told him to ask nicely (say please) and we wouldn’t turn on a toy
until he said “please” in sign language. It only took him a couple
of days and he had it! After a few days of knowing please, he also
started to put signs together all on his own, like “please more”
and “please eat,” as well as using please and pointing to whatever
it was he wanted. He is so smart! In late November, we started to
light my favorite Christmas tree candle to make the house smell
more festive. Luke always found it mesmerizing, so we really worked
on teaching him “hot” by telling him no and repeating “hot” 3 or 4
times in a row. Man, did he catch on fast. In early December,
anything that lit up (or came out of the kitchen) was
“haa-haa-haa-haa” and he would stop in his tracks to point at the
“hot” item. It was so adorable! Plus, it worked out really well
(and was utterly exploited by Sam and I) when he thought that the
lights on the Christmas tree were “haa-haa-haa-haa” and wouldn’t go
near the tree. Of course, we didn’t dissuade him at all! I had been
so afraid that he would make off with all the ornaments, but it was
the exact opposite! He really didn’t touch the tree until after
Christmas when we stopped turning on the Christmas lights. It’s
amazing to me to see his little mind working so hard, and to be
there when he masters something new. Makes me such a proud
Mommy!

My boys. January 3, 2011

Luke is such a little Daddy’s boy! Sam had vacation after Christmas, and my boys spent all week together! Luke was in little boy heaven. Whenever I would get home from work, if Sam was in another room, Luke would run around looking for him. He’d peek in each room and say “Da?” “Da?” It was the cutest thing. I love to see my boys having so much fun together.

Like Father, Like Son! January 3, 2011

Luke loves to
copy daddy, and I think it’s the Cutest thing in the entire world.
(It’s not like I’m biased or anything, right?). One day, Sam was
talking on the phone, and Luke just started copying him, by putting
his toy phone up to his ear and saying “Da?” “Da?” How adorable.

So, later that same day, we were all lounging around watching TV. Sam
was laying on the floor, and Luke quits playing and stops dead in
his tracks. He looks at Sam for a minute then drops to the floor to
lay on the ground like daddy. They’re two peas in a pod!

Little Rocker January 3, 2011

I think it may be because Luke had
so much Rock Band time in the womb, but he is totally crazy for
Rock Band. We went over to our friend’s house one night for “band
practice,” and were prepared for the worst. Often, when we try to
do something with a group of people, we just resign ourselves to
taking turns participating, so the other one can follow “Hurricane
Luke” around while he toddles, exploring and playing. But this
night was totally different. I don’t know if it was our friends
(who Luke just adores), because we were in a new place, or due to
the music, but he was so amazingly well behaved. It was a dream
come true! We both got to play and have a great time. He even
stayed up 2.5 hours past his regular bedtime and didn’t get cranky
at all! Luke liked it most when we would sing. He would do this
awesome little dance in the middle of the room (the bend your knees
and bob up and down baby dance) and then come over and sing
Doo-doot-Doo in the microphone. Cutest little rocker ever!

Spoiled, but Not Yet Rotten! December 30, 2010

We call Grammy and Grandpa Soto’s house the land of never ending love and attention. And Luke’s in luck: lately it has also become the land of the constant cookie supply! Grammy is perfecting her “healthy” cookie recipes by lowering the sugar content, including real fruit in the recipe and using whole wheat flour. Luke absolutely loves Grammy’s cookies (and loves having a Grammy that will bake for him, too! I’m pretty jealous of that, myself…). Sometimes when he goes to stay with Grammy and Grandpa, he doesn’t eat very well for them. He acts like the pickiest little eater in the world – except he always has room for cookies! And when he gets home, he eats like a champ.

I think he may have us all outsmarted… If he doesn’t eat well at Grammy and Grandpa’s, he gets cookies. And he knows that there is no steady stream of cookies at home so he just gives up and eats what mom makes him!

My son must be some sort of mischievous little genius!

Dinner: the action shots November 4, 2010

Grammy and Grandpa had Luke over on the weekend in September, 2010, and Luke got his first taste of a local favorite: Izzy’s is pizza plus a whoooooole lot more!  They are so technologically advanced (go grandparents) and they know how much we miss Luke, so they sent us some shots of Luke doing what he loves best: having dinner!  We absolutely loved getting the pictures and looked at them all night, while we were supposed to be out having fun and being footloose and fancy free.

Loves his new wheels! October 30, 2010

When I go to the store to look for toys for Luke, I am always terrified that he will like the box more than the toy I got for him.  We had major success in early September, 2010, when I bought him his first dump truck!  He actually threw the box aside (along with all his other toys, as you can see from the gnarly state of my floor) to play with it!  He LOVES his dump truck, especially being able to push it around and put stuff in the bed.  Plus, it makes an excellent crashing sound when he drops it off the stair in our living room.  That’s one point for Mommy!

Happy Birthday, Grammy! October 25, 2010

This post is only a month and a half overdue! Not bad!  For Grammy’s birthday, Luke’s big birthday present was a trip to visit Grammy in the morning.  It was the only present he could make himself that didn’t need to immediately be thrown away.    He and Grammy both had a great little birthday visit.  Happy birthday, Grammy!