3.5

On Friday, June 1st, Luke turned three and a half.  I'm going to be honest here, the past six months have been some of the most challenging in our parenting adventures with Luke so far.  Three year old Luke has strong opinions and epic temper tantrums when he does not get his way.  It has taken some trial and error and extreme patience but I feel like we have found the methods that work best for us to deal with his meltdowns.  While there have been some really hard moments, the opposite is also true and three year old Luke is one of the sweetest, most affectionate kids around.  He will often declare out of nowhere, "Mommy, you're the best!" and fling his arms tightly around my neck and plant sloppy kisses all over my face.  It's a great reminder in the crazy moments to think of those kisses and realize that Luke feels all his emotions big- the good and the bad.  He's three, and he's trying to make sense of the world and I can relate to being frustrated over the things I'm not in control of, I just know not to throw my shoe at someone when I'm upset and he is slowly learning that too.

Luke is fearless.  He is full of energy and loves to make up jokes that make no sense but cause fits of giggles between him and his best friend in the whole world, his big sister.  He loves breakfast foods and wearing pajamas.  He usually has some kind of a rash somewhere on his sensitive skin and probably needs a tissue too.  He's a wonderful, sticky, mess of a boy and I adore him.

The trick to get Luke to cooperate often lies in asking Kate to do it too, or asking her to help Luke do it.  He wants to do whatever she does and hangs on her every word.  I have outsourced mom tasks like shampooing Luke's hair, brushing his teeth, even dropping him off in his classrooms in the morning... it all goes much smoother if Kate is doing it instead of me.  I love their relationship, they are such pals and he lights up when he sees her.

Luke is smart.  He can recall events from months ago (although his perception of time is still off and he calls anything in the past "yesterday"), he recognizes all of his letters, and loves to ask questions in his constant quest for knowledge.

His sleep patterns are a mystery.  We stick to consistent routines and bedtimes and yet... we never quite know what the night will bring.  Unfortunately it is not unusual for him to wake up 4 times a night screaming.  It is also not unusual for him to sleep a perfect, solid 11 hours at a time without even rolling over.  The only thing that is consistent is that he will be awake and crawling into bed next to me by 6:00 a.m. each morning to start the day with some cuddles.

I can't believe we are closer to FOUR than three now.  He still has snuggly, baby moments sometimes when he asks me or Matt to rock him at bedtime or when he gets his words mixed up and adorably calls goggles "gobbles" and I don't even correct him because I know all too soon he'll get it right and not be a little guy anymore.  Mostly though, I see big kid moments of fierce independence and determination to master a task on his own.

Luke, I love the way you bring life and laughter into our home.  I am thankful for the ways you inspire me to pray more for our family as I humbly realize I can't do this without help from above.  I am proud of your stubbornness because it reminds me of my own and I know it will serve you well in life to stick to the things you believe in.  I love the way you enthusiastically show those you love how much you love them.  You are so much fun and I love you more than I could ever write on a blog.