4th of July

A view of the reservation across the bay. I think we'll watch from there next year. It was blowing up!

For the 4th we went to a park that looks over the bay in Everett. We thought we'd have a great view but it turns out that we were pretty far away, oh well. And it was super cold for July. Luke didn't seem to notice. He just wanted to run and meet everyone's dog that was at the park.

It was a pretty view of the sunset.

For the moment I had bribed Luke with popcorn to stay on the blanket.

That's as big as they got. To the left and the right you can see the two drunk guys that sat down in front of us (still drinking of coarse) and proceeded to loudly describe that previous nights conquests in graphic detail. Again, Luke didn't seem to notice but it was pretty irritating to us.

This is a picture of firework mortars. They are legal on the reservations and in unincorporated parts of the county. But that doesn't really stop people from letting them off in town. We bought a box. They are AWESOME! Luke loved them. He got very excited shouting "Fireworks!" and using hand gestures to help get his point across. After lighting one off that blew over the neighbors house we decided to hold off on the rest.

Luke-isms

We have an awesome park that has a free petting zoo in the summer. Luke mostly freaks out the animals by shouting and running.

• Loves to run... especially in wide open spaces. He normally shouts "RRUUNNN!!!" at the same time (in can we didn't know what he was doing).
• Is talking like crazy and using short 2-3 word sentences: What's that, mommy? Lucy sleeping. Drink juice. Buzz TV mommy? I luv you! (my fav :)
  
• Favorite game is "get me" which is what he has named it. It's basically "chase/hide n seek" but Luke is always the one hiding/running away.
• Sings. Mostly mumbles but we get a few words here and there "lalaa sun allalaa"
• Combine his love to run with the "get me" game and you start to get a picture of what it's like to try and load him into the car or go to the store with Luke. I chase him a lot.
• My least favorite: doesn't stop when I call him. I'm hoping it's just a phase.
• Picks me flowers (even the ones I've planted in the flower boxes).
• Wants his boo-boo's kissed when he falls.
• Asks "You ok mommy?" in a very concerned voice after I bang my leg. Though, he also says that after he hits me.
• Loves to cuddle. He does this thing were he pats my face or plays with my earlobe, it's very sweet. He'll always cuddle with me, right?
• Is becoming more social. He asks to go play with his friends. They give each other hugs when they see each other but they all mostly fight over toys. Luke gets most of his "sharing" and "taking turns" lessons then.
• Here's our conversation this morning: I was putting on lip gloss.

Luke:"grab it?" as he reaches for my lip gloss.
Me:"ok, but you have to stay right here".
Luke:"ok" grabs it and runs away.
Me:"Luke, please bring that back."
Luke: giggles "Hide it"
Me:"where is it?"
Luke: "hide it"

I found it under a chair in the kitchen.

Luke's 2nd Birthday!!!

Eating Dirt n' Worms cupcakes

I have been trying to upload videos but I haven't had much luck :( I'll keep trying. Luke is offically two! He's been acting 2 for a while now, Mr.Indepent/Mr.Impulsive/Mr.Uncontrollable Laughter. We had a BBQ with bubbles, balls, and balloons. We were going to pull out all the sprinklers but the weather wasn't quite cooroperating. All of Luke's toddler friends and near-by relatives came to celebrate.

Luke and Jack eating at the kiddy table

Playing with bubbles

Luke was very into his "hawk"

Tracy, Aliya, Luke and Dave

Happy boy! He put bubbles on a plate with his bubble gun and called it food.

Present time!

This is the first time Luke got the concept. Unwrap the boxes, get a gift... awesome! Christmas should be interesting. Luke got a Buzz Light Year which was a big hit (he had just seen Toy Story for the first time), a ton of clothes (yay!), water guns, stickers, wooden trains, some music toys, a tent and a rug with roads all over it. My house is currently littered with toys until I find places for everything. He has also been especially entertain for hours on end with his new toys, which has come in handy.