3 1/2

My first baby is officially 3 1/2 today. As I've said so many times, where does the time go? Having spent the last two and a half weeks with a newborn has reminded me of so many of those first moments with Luke. They are such wonderful memories and it has been awesome to relive them.

Here is a list of Luke's life right now:

*Luke loves to go to MDO two days a week. He is a major chatter box when I pick him up and I love that he tells me about his friends and what they did throughout the day.

*Luke is starting to recognize numerous letters and loves for us to spell things out for him. He can count to 30 (he only skips 13). He is also starting to look at clocks and tell us the numbers (digital clock) and what numbers the "hands" are on for a regular clock.

*Games have become big around here too. He loves to play Hungry, Hungry Hippos; Hi Ho Cherry-O; Let's go Fishing; Chutes and Ladders and Candy Land. We don't quite have all the rules down for all of these but it's so fun to play with him.

*Luke is still into cars and his trains. Santa brought an air craft carrier for Christmas so airplanes and helicopters are big now too. He also got a bunch of John Deere farm equipment for Christmas that he is loving. Dinosaurs seem to have taken a back seat for the time being but I have no doubt they will cycle back in.

*Other top activities: playing on his Leap Frog computer; puzzles; play-doh; painting; reading stories and of course being outside if it's nice enough. I can't forget to add "bonking" with Dad after dinner is probably one of his highlights of every day. Luke also loves to "read" stories on Dad's iPad.

*I am happy to report that potty training is officially over although Luke still wears a diaper during nap time and at night. We still have the occassional issue going #2 but it's getting much better. I credit MDO for really giving Luke the big push he needed on this.

*Luke is a terrific big brother. He loves Hannah so much and shows concern for her constantly. He loves to tell us what she needs when she's crying or if she waking up or still asleep. One of my favorites things is that he always has to give her a good morning hug and kiss--such a sweet boy!

*Eating is still sometimes a challenge especially when it comes to foods that are all mixed together. Thankfully vegetables are slowly becoming less and less of an issue although I would like for him to expand his horizons a bit more. I would say his favorite foods are fruit snacks (if that's a food), apples and noodles with cheese (parmesan cheese). He also really likes spicy pizza (pepperoni) and having "picnics" on the family room floor.

*Pretend play and Luke's imagination are off the charts these days. He is constantly talking to his toys and telling them what to do or how to act. Luke is also coming up with different stories to share with us. They seem to typically revolve around monsters, dinosaurs and trains.

*A few challenges Luke is currently facing include listening and following directions and whining. We work on them every day and some days are much better than others but I'm pretty sure that's just the life of a 3 1/2 year old.

*Luke's favorite TV shows still include Dinosaur Train and Thomas. He also really likes to watch "animal" shows on the Discovery Channel or National Geographic and we have also started watching other shows on PBS especially since Hannah has made her appearance. We are probably watching too much TV right now but that's just how life is right now.

I wish you could each experience daily the joy that Luke brings to our family. What a truly amazing blessing he is for us!!!