Things Luke Likes - June (2 1/4 years)

1) Daniel Tiger

We managed to keep Luke ignorant of the tv for most of his first two years.  When we turned on the tv last fall to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade he was scared of it; I don't think he realized the big black thing had a purpose.  Then he got a stomach bug around his 2nd birthday and we needed a way to keep him still and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood it was.  He is now fully hooked.  He still doesn't get much tv time (a handful of episodes a week) but he is completely enthralled whenever Daniel Tiger is on.  We've gotten books from the library which I have read more times than I care to count.  Luke can name all of Daniel's friends and talks about who all wants to take a trolley ride (Luke, Mommy, Daddy, Grandmas, Grandpas, cousins, etc.) with him.  It's nice having something to turn on at the lake when we'd like a little more sleep ourselves (we have the DVR set to record all episodes and take the files up on a flash drive, no wifi up there makes Netflix difficult).  I don't know much about current children's tv shows but this one is not too annoying (although all the songs...they must have special parent classes because all the adults know the same little songs they sing to the kids...). 

This is his "I'm watching Daniel Tiger, please don't disturb me Mom" face.

2) Sunglasses

Luke loves his sunglasses.  LOVES them.  We are on his third pair after he outgrew his first and the second (cheap) pair broke from constant wear and tear.  He has them pretty much every time he steps foot outside the house and rarely takes them off in stores.  We've had one fit because we wouldn't let him wear them at Mass.  He gets a lot of compliments on them and how good he is about wearing them (I have no idea why he likes them so much).  It's adorable. 

3) "Helping" wash dishes

Besides sleep, this is probably the single activity Luke spends the most time on during the day.  He LOVES "helping" me wash dishes.  If you have kids, you probably understand how this is not actually helpful in any way but he is so determined to help that it's hard to stop him.  If dirty dishes are sitting in the sink he'll run them under (cold) water, declare them "clean!" and put them in the drainer.  If dishes are drying in the drainer he'll "wash" them and put them back.  We've had the same 2 Gatorade bottles in the drainer for almost three weeks, trying to dry them out from Luke's daily washings.  He usually makes a mess and ends up wet but it's just water and it keeps him busy while I shower and really, he could be doing much worse.  And I reallllly don't want to discourage him from helping!  All too soon he won't find dishes so fun!  (This isn't something we ever suggested he do, he carries a kitchen chair over, can turn on the water, and gets to work.)

4) The jet ski

We're wearing swimsuits on the jet ski.  This shouldn't be shocking but yet it is.  Please ignore the beginnings of my farmers' tan line.

I may have mentioned it once, twice, often, but Luke is pretty obsessed with our jet ski, for the second summer in a row.  He talked about it pretty much every day from September - May (between our last ride of last summer to our first ride this summer), talks about it multiple times a day now that we are in lake season, and tells just about anyone how the jet ski is "zoom zoom fast", that you need "key open jet ski" and that we "buckle up! safe!" on the jet ski.  The other day I asked him if he wanted to run in the sprinkler after nap and he replied that he wanted a jet ski ride.  Basically, if given the choice between anything in this world and the jet ski, he'd take the jet ski. 

5) Tractors

There are only a few types of vehicles Luke has deemed "cool, awesome".  One is the jet ski.  The second is Grandpa's tractor.  The third is my sister's minivan.

My Dad has a riding John Deere lawn tractor and, according to Luke, it's one of the coolest things you can put your bottom on.  He's only gotten a few rides but he talks about how it goes "zoom zoom fast" (uhhh...he might be the only person to think that) and how awesome it is.  He calls Lowes the "tractor store" (as opposed to the "ball store" which is Target and the "doggie store" which is Old Navy) because they have a whole line of tractors.  On our last shopping trip Luke and I spent 15 minutes "driving" them before Luke informed me he was going to buy one with the monies in his pocket.  I'm sure he has $2,000 just hanging out in his pocket for a lawn tractor we might not be able to turn around in our backyard.  Someday, kid.  For now he has to settle for the ones we don't drive at Lowes and Grandpa's.