Christmas Part I: At Home

Zooming down the hall Christmas morning.

Luke had a wonderful second Christmas. He had a lot of fun at his first Christmas, as he was almost a year old, but nothing like this year. He had an idea about Santa, mostly that he brought presents, so that when we told him Santa came to visit he was out to the family room like a streak of lightning. He knew how to unwrap, though once he had a few cars to play with, the interest level waned quickly. And clothes? Forget about it.

And boy, does Luke love those drums!

Every time he is done playing the drums (which he does with both enthusiasm and vigor) he tosses the drum sticks up in the air and walks away. A rockstar already.

Santa is coming!

So Santa enlisted Todd's help this year in assembling Luke's drum set for Christmas morning. And when we say drum set, we mean honest-to-goodness-cymbal-bass-snare-etc-and-all kind of drum set. We are crazy. Or we have been naughty this year and Santa has decided that a drum set for a 2 year old is way more entertaining than coal.

Though Todd enjoys the drum set with or without Luke.

Best Christmas Present EVER.

We had been pretty quiet during the home purchasing process, but since we received the keys today and officially closed, we can now announce that we are homeowners. :) We found the house a month ago (the second house we looked at) and are amazed at how quickly the process was. The homeowners loved their home and were the original owners. They were pleased to be able to pass on their home to a young family who planned on staying there for a good long time and appreciated all the work they put into the home. They left a lot of wonderful things for us (patio furniture, gardening equipment, Christmas lights - for next year- etc.) and were lovely to work with. Thank you Benford Team for all your hard work getting this through so quickly!

Peeking through our kitchen opening

Our front step - I love that the house is blue with a red door - my dream home!

Mmmmm . . .

We decided to hit up Red Robin for an early dinner, where everyone can eat happily and without a great deal of mealtime frustration. Of course, Luke loves it because he gets a milkshake at the end if he eats his dinner. And boy, does he eat his dinner! Chocolate milkshake with whipped cream and sprinkles? Check.

Cookie time!

Does a Christmas cookie by any other name taste as sweet?

Nope. Christmas cookies are the special time of year for cookies. The sweet deal with Mommy and Daddy as teachers is that the sweets roll in like a tidal wave. Mommy treated the last day of school before the break with a Christmas cookie. And I got a green tongue. Yummy!


Now I'm waiting patiently for Great-Grandma's Christmas cookies. And that's better than any other cookie.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree. . .

During the chaos of December (more on that later) we had decided not to get a tree, much to my disappointment. Thanks to Brent and Sam, when they went for a tree, they brought us our little "Charlie Brown" tree. It is about the size of Luke and he is completely disinterested in it. And of course, to a toddler (specifically my toddler) it doesn't move, it doesn't have wheels or bounce. Not interesting at all.

But, we're going to cave. We're getting the tree. Christmas is at our place this year and we'd really like to decorate it. Just a little last minute :)

Talking with Luke

Luke is a very conversational kid - he always has something to say and babble on about, whether understood or not.



But today, very clearly, he said his first official complete sentence.
And those who know Luke, will not be surprised:

"Where is Sally?"

Book Exchange

Luke went to his Mom's group Holiday Party this last weekend and had a ball playing with all the kids he doesn't get a chance to see. We didn't get to stay too long, so we had to take our book exchange book with us.

It was a great opportunity to have Luke practice his "gift-opening" skills in time for Christmas.

Soccer! Kick!

A few months ago, I found a local indoor soccer field that offered soccer to kids 18 months and up. Knowing that Luke must (non-negotiable) run everywhere and at all times, soccer seemed like a natural choice.

Luke's soccer coach has now told us on more than one occasion that he is a "natural" and "passionate." I know, I know, he says that to all the soccer moms. But Luke is a natural - he spends the majority of his time running from one end of the field to the other end, kicking the ball at full speed. (not that there is another speed . . .) He runs, shouting "soccer! kick!" over and over, till he kicks the ball in the goal and in true soccer fan fashion, screams "GOOOOOOAAAALLLLLL!" with his fists in the air. The other kids? They stand around their parents. Mine? Won't stop running. Ever.

Which often results in a meltdown or two. Or eight. (He's just "passionate.") Due to both of us having a "1-on-1" soccer experience with Luke, we've discovered that Todd and I have to go together.

The last Saturday soccer was much more successful than all previous experiences - for a number of reasons. Luke has become a little more mature, as he's reaching two and Todd and I are getting better at parenting our child. We're figuring out what works best for him and because he is such an independent kid, he just has to make choices. And we have found that with directed, limited choices, he is much more willing to following directions and not throw a fit in the process. It has made transitioning between exercises much easier.

Again, Luke would be perfectly content running up and down the soccer field kicking a ball for an hour at a time, but the coach does provide some great focus exercises at their level to improve their skills. We call this one "Three Frog Monty."

You know the game - let the kids see the stuffed frog, stick it under a cone and move the cones around. The kids pick the cone with the frog. And I am never taking Luke to the streets of NYC. He is terrible at this game. By process of elimination, he eventually (eventually) gets it correct, when there are no other cones left. While Luke is great with his numbers and letters, colors are coming along more slowly.

Then, when 10:30 rolls around and the meltdown is on its final countdown, you pull out the big guns - the water bottle and the pretzels. My piece of advice to all the parents out there: invest in tubs of pretzels. It is the ultimate "off switch" for the meltdown.

Luke adores soccer and will kick his own soccer ball at home for hours. As long as he can run, he is a happy camper.

Accomplishments

Luke loves his puzzle pieces - they're simple, two piece puzzles matching a color or texture with an object (animal, fruit, etc) and we've been using them to practice colors with him. We decided to put away the textures, focusing on the colors, but he wouldn't have it. On Sunday he put all the pieces together, all by himself. We simply watched him - we were incredibly impressed. He knew many of the names, which surprised us and he never became frustrated, even when two pieces didn't match. Luke calmly looked for the correct piece.

And when he was finished, he proudly admired his work, organized neatly (thanks, in part, to Daddy) and triumphantly yelled "puzzles!" and "perfect!"

Happy Turkey Day!

Yup, I got to make a turkey centerpiece at school, too!

The Bickel clan is very thankful for all of our family and friends - we are so blessed to have you all. Have a safe and relaxing Turkey Day!

Clean Up!

We're certainly not complaining that Luke likes to clean up - he often stops to straighten or fix something as he's walking along. Every night before bed he cleans up his cars and puts them in their bin to go "night night."

Every time he notices the camera, he shouts "cheese!" Think I shove a camera in his face enough?

Right Hand Wrench

Growing up, I always enjoyed helping my dad work on the car and he always called me his little "right hand wrench." (You should see me change a sparkplug!) Okay, so mostly I just watched while he worked.

And so the tradition continues. Luke had the opportunity to peer inside our neighbor's engine and loved it! He eagerly parroted back every engine part's name.

And then, he stuck his fingers in the anti-freeze.

How Luke.

Tenacious L.

Dear Child-Proofing Product Manufacturers:

Clearly I need to use duct tape to properly secure outlet covers. I suggest including said duct tape with package of outlet covers.

Sincerely,
Parent of Clever and Determined Child

Road Rash.

Note: The ground won.

Allignment.

Luke is all about lining things up - it doesn't matter what it is or where we are. I was clearly not paying attention and he found a newly opened box of soda. He entertained himself for a good long time by lining up and arranging the cans of soda. He was extremely particular about where the went and how they were facing. I was fine with it (he was quiet and contained) until he found out how much fun they were to roll and throw. Then it had to stop. And there were tears and tantrums. Not surprising. But he was so proud of himself - I was impressed with his focus.

Wild Rumpus-ing

Last October, I found a plush version of Max's scepter ("Where the Wild Things Are") at a kids used gear/clothing/toys sale. I promptly bought it, thinking that Max would be such a fun costume for a little boy.

Little did I know that I had a boy who enjoyed a good "wild rumpus." While I don't think Luke is anything like Max, he does enjoy being loud and acting like a monster. (stay out the look-out for a video showcasing Luke's "monster steps") I am not a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination, but I am a wonderful costume "assembler." I found a fantastic lemur costume online and figured I could "assemble" it into a Max costume somehow.

I recently bought a sewing machine (like I need another hobby . . .) and was able to rig a set of ears, tail and crown like Max. I sewed on some big cartoon-y buttons, added the scepter and was all set.

Luke did not enjoy the costume. Did. Not.


So we bribed him with chips. We're okay with that.


After the bribery, he got over the inhumanity of a full suit furry costume and dragging a tail around. This was his first real experience trick-or-treating and I was so proud that he went for the biggest candy option in the bucket: a full size bag of Skittles. Well played, Luke, well played.


Afterwards, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house where he is into knocking now. He was such a cutie and played along. He had been working on saying "Happy Halloween!" but it only comes out "Happy WEEN!"

This is certainly my favorite Halloween picture this year.

After Grandma and Grandpa's house, we headed over to visit the cousins. It is incredibly difficult to get attention focused on the camera with a 5 year old, 4 year old and almost 2 year old. Hence the picture. And that is Spider-Man dressed as a pumpkin.

Happy Ween, everyone!