Dear Luke,In less than a week you will be 18 months old -- the months are just flying by!
This summer has been a big one for you. Somewhere around 16 months you morphed into a little boy, and are no longer my baby. You walk, run, tickle, wrestle, laugh, chitter-chat, and say lots of words and -- your favorite -- imitate all kinds of sounds. Your favorites are truck siren noises, ruff-ruff when you see a dog, and pointing out cows wherever you see them. It was particularly handy that this was one of your first and only words in June when we visited an Amish farm in Wisconsin -- you seemed like a talking-toddler star! :)
In July you turned to a nomadic lifestyle as we spent time with your Harris cousins in South Carolina and then headed to the Adirondacks to see your Johnson cousins. You found your time with these big kids truly inspiring and promptly decided to do your final weaning and dropped a nap all with two weeks! Your cousin Tyler was excited to have another fun Harris boy to hang out with and he carried you all around the beach and beach house, while you loved every minute of it. From your perspective, every adult was there for your amusement and comfort and you had all your aunts, uncles, Pops, Gogo and Gram wrapped around your finger as, one by one, you asked each of them to hold you.
S Carolina was also where you developed a passion for donuts. They were our secret weapon for helping you stay quiet as the rest of the family slept a bit later than 6... but soon they were expected and you were not a happy man when no donuts were to be found. You knew exactly where they were kept and you made sure to strongly encourage us to send them your way! :)
In the Adirondacks, you and Sophie became fast friends. She woke up in the morning and from
every nap with "Luuu-kieee?" on the tip of her tongue and by the end of our time there you had even figured out how to say "So-phieee". You held hands in your carseats and were partners-in-crime wherever you could sniff out trouble! Grandad's playset was a big hit and you LOVED to sit in his speedboat and pretend to drive. In fact, at times it proved quite difficult to take you on boat rides because you could not understand why Daddy had to drive rather than you!! :)
After NY, we were headed to staff training in Atlanta. I was worried you'd be frustrated with me for heading to training while you spent some time with babysitters but you were a champ. You entertained everyone in the hotel lobby with floor acrobatics and charmed your sitters who took you swimming and out for cheeseburgers.
Heading home without Daddy, who had to go on a work trip, we decided we weren't quite ready for our travels to be done, so we hopped in the car with Grandma and headed to Michigan! Your passion for Grandma is truly adorable and when she's around, Mommy is completely unnecessary! You are peas in a pod and it warms both of our hearts.
Since we've been home, you've explored all sorts of things with your new big-boy confidence:
water slides at the public pool, climbing up tall slides at the park, and poaching trucks and sand toys at the park. Your passion for cars and trucks and "things that go" increases daily and we spend lots of time simply watching road construction when we're out and about. You are also quite passionate about saying "Mommy" and use it at every convenience, much to my delight. You have even developed its close relative, "Ommy", which indicates any other adult nearby for whom you have an affinity and who can help you reach your milk, have a wrestling contest, or some other activity that crosses your mind.
Your Daddy and I are so proud of all the ways you are becoming "You" and are fascinated by all you do! We love you so much and are so glad you are ours :) And we LOVE those kisses and silly, "aren't I so cute" grins -- keep them coming!
love,
Mommy, a.k.a., "Ommy", Mama, Ma, etc.
