Milestone Minutiae

Yesterday was Luke's first trip to Disneyland. It was also David's first trip in many years, as I'd always taken Emmett with my sister or a friend. It was a big day for both kids, with lots of "firsts." The weather report was perfect - sunny with highs in the upper 60s. Unfortunately, the thunderstorms that were scheduled for the following day showed up early and we spent lots of the day getting rained on and being wet. Still, we had a good time. It was warm enough that being wet was just being wet, not getting hypothermia. Luke really enjoyed going on rides. We did Dumbo first, and when it was over, he threw a mini-fit. Just a little yelling in protest, maybe some stomping feet, but it lasted only a couple of seconds. I did my best to explain to him that we were going to ride more, but we had to go out and get in line again. This went on all day. I guess that's good, because he was having a good time on the rides. He particularly seemed to enjoy th

In the evening after getting home from Disneyland, I asked Luke to tell me something fun he'd done that day. He said, "Noise." Hmmm. I said, "You liked making noise at Disneyland?" He replied, "Dad." At this point, I remembered when he and Emmett had been making lots of noise in the car on the way home from Disneyland. David had calmly asked, "Could the back seat be a little quieter?" So I said to Luke, "You liked making noise with daddy?" Luke said, "Car." That confirmed it. The fun thing Luke was talking about was making noise in the car on the way home.

Luke said, "I see mom" while he was riding on David's shoulders. We think it might be his first full sentence.

While snuggling in bed, Luke said "Waszis mom!" Then he farted.

After music class, the kids get to take turns playing an autoharp with a pick. When he was younger, Luke would strum a few times and then easily pass the pick off to another child. Now that he's older and can speak when Tiffany (the teacher) asks him to share with a friend, he says, quite simply, "No." No muss, no fuss, no whining, just "No." The past few weeks I've had to pry the pick out of his little hands. When they're not strumming, the kids can push buttons on the autoharp (changing the chords). Luke likes to push the buttons, so after I wrestle the pick from him I usually put him near the buttons for a while. Last week there was a little girl nearby, occasionally leaning in to push buttons. She's good at sitting up, but doesn't talk at all or walk, so I'm guessing she's 10-11 months old. When she went to press buttons, Luke leaned in and shouted "Back off!" Sigh. That's what we say to the dogs when they come

Luke likes to gallop these days. I'm not sure exactly where he picked it up - probably from Emmett or one of the other kids in the neighborhood. So now he'll yell " Waszis !" and start galloping. Luke and Emmett have also started having races. They'll both go stand next to the large door of the shop, count to three, and then take off running across the driveway. Sometimes Luke has races all by himself, too.

We packed a lot into today. In the morning, we went to Boondocks, a "family fun center" with mini-golf, go-karts, an arcade, bumper boats, and more. Emmett had a great time riding along with David in the go-karts, and was thrilled to learn that he's tall enough to pilot a bumper boat alone. And skilled enough to get dad pretty wet with the water cannon on the boat, too. This afternoon, we went to a barbecue at a friend's house. Emmett spent a few hours on the trampoline, coming out now and then for Popsicles, cupcakes, and birthday cake (no, I don't think he ate much real food for dinner). David and I figured if ever there was a day that we'd tire out Emmett, it would be today. But no. This evening Emmett still didn't want to go to bed, and David and I didn't have much energy to entice him in that direction. I did finally manage it, but I have to say as far as who tired who out today, it's game-set-match to Emmett.

On Tom & Jerry, Tom was eating a turkey leg. After seeing this, Emmett said, "Next Thanksgiving, can I eat the chicken right off the chicken stick?"

Grandpa Tim introduced hide and seek to Emmett far before he could really understand the game. With an amazing amount of patience, they played over and over. Now Emmett understands the game, and Luke is learning by watching and playing in teams. They played with Grandma Gini when she was here, and now we've started playing a lot. Today we went to the aquarium and played in the children's area. Then at home we played some more. It's fun to hide in a dark bathroom and listen while Luke runs up and down the hallway yelling "Where's ... mama?"

Emmett has started playing a lot with two other boys in the neighborhood. The doorbell rings a lot, and I think the kids would be here all afternoon and into the evening if I didn't send them home! It's fun watching them learn to play together. The youngest is quite willing to go home if the other two aren't playing nicely. Emmett is still learning that getting upset and yelling more when he's on his way out won't work to keep him here. :)

Luke loves to dance. He'll dance when I turn on a CD or when he starts music playing from a toy. Sometimes he'll really get into it! At home, he sings songs with words and a decent rendition of the melody, doing hand motions too. From Emmett, he's learned what a half note is and that it gets two beats (clap and say "Half - note" in two beats). But in music class, he still just stares at the other kids. He'll play the drums and shakers, but no singing and definitely no dancing. Every time we get up to dance, he insists that I hold him. I keep trying to get him to dance with me, but he just wants to be held. Surely he'll loosen up eventually.