Lukie Walter,

You are such a cool little boy, Daddy and I talk all the time about how we can’t believe you are ours.  We love getting to do fun stuff with you, and to see the enjoyment you get out of it.   You really love any new activities, you love to experience things, and watch things.  It’s awesome to watch you grow.   For the first half of this month, you got to spend a lot of time with your Grammy and PopPop who were still in town from Australia.  One weekend we went to the Zoo, and had a wonderful time.  Another weekend we all went to the pumpkin patch and apple orchard.   Anywhere we went, you would make sure they were close to you, if they wandered too far ahead or behind you would yell- “Grammy! PopPop!  Where arrrrrre you!”    At the Zoo Grammy and Poppy bought you a big stuffed owl.  You have been obsessed with that owl ever since that day, you want to snuggle the owl, watch tv with the owl, sit next to the owl.  It’s hilarious.

You also love to eat food, so long as we name it someone else’s  “PopPop trees”  (broccoli), Muncle Mike Carrots, etc.  You’re so funny!

You still mostly call me Mama, but just this month have said Mommy a couple of times.  Daddy is Dada or Daddy (you have dropped the british Dadday this month).    You like to emphasize “my” ….. MY mama, MY daddy, MY owl.   You have a huge vocabulary, and although I can understand most all of what you say, not everyone can.   You are very sweet, and still like to cuddle.  At night time we watch some cartoons (Curious George is your absolute favorite), and then you brush your teeth and we go to your big red chair for story time.  We read about 3 books, and then flip the light off, you ask for your crib and will snuggle under your blanket.  Almost always you end up uncovering your feet, so you say “my feet! my feet!” until I stand up to cover them back up for you.  You like the door to be shut, and the room to be dark, but you want Daddy or me to sit next to you in your chair while you fall asleep.  Oh yes, and you have another demand too- you want us to have our phone, so that as we play on it from the chair next to you, you can see it light up our faces.   Once you fall asleep, we get up and leave the room.  You’ve been sleeping until about 5:30 or 6 (maybe, sometimes it’s way before that) before you wake up and cry for Dada to come get you.  Then you and Daddy get on the couch and fall back asleep for the next while.  This routine is about to change with the addition of your big boy bed.  More to come on that in later paragraphs…

You’re really into saying “What’s that?!?  What’s this?!?” and you’re curious about everything and then like to repeat it back.  You are getting much more aware of everything in your surroundings.  For instance, the other day you were looking at a picture of me and Daddy all dressed up for a wedding before you were born.  You said MY Mama, MY Daddy.  HEY! Where’s me?  WHERE’S ME MAMA?!?”  When I didn’t answer you fast enough, you took my face into your hands so you could see my eyes, and repeated “Where’s me?!?”  You couldn’t believe there was a photo of me and Daddy without you in it!  Hahaha!  Your speech is exploding this month, and you love to talk to us.  It’s so fun to hear what you have to say.  We also found out this month that Muncle Mike is having a BOY.  That means you’ll have a little boy cousin to play with.   Yay!  We all guessed what we thought the baby was, you guessed boy, but wanted his name to be Elyse. Ha.  Don’t know what Muncle Mike and Deanna(you call her Nana) will think about that!   Oh, and on the subject of babies, another friend was born this month, Eli Higgins (Auntie Julie and Uncle Eric’s son), I’m sure you guys will be good friends when he gets bigger.

As we finish out this month, I am proud to report that you have officially moved into your full sized big boy bed!  You LOVE it! You love to show it off to people and sit on it and climb on it, and snuggle yourself up in the pillows.  You like to pet it, and say “My big bed.”  You stand next to it and say Mana! (Tada!)  It’s so cute!!  You have slept really well in it too!  We climb up in your bed together and read books, and then we lay next to you while you fall asleep.  You are now sleeping all night long!! All the way until 6:30am, when you start fussing and want one of us to go in and lay next to you.   Yay!  It is taking you longer to go to sleep because you’re so excited about the new bed, but so far, so good!  We have been reading the new baby sister book to you, and it stars you and baby sister Emelyn.  When we finish the book you will say “again! again!”  (although most of the time you leave off the -a in the beginning of again).  You call your little sister Emme.  Sometimes you will see a shoe or a stuffed animal and you will say “Emme’s shoe, Emme’s doll.”   It’s so cute you love your baby sister already.

To wrap up the month, we celebrated your 3rd Halloween.  You were Curious George (your absolute favorite cartoon.  Every morning and night you beg to watch George! George! George!)  Daddy dressed up as The Man in the Yellow Hat and looked awesome!  I bought him a bright pink ladies gardening hat, but hot glued yellow felt fabric all over it and a black ribbon.  It wasn’t pretty, but it did the job!  I also hot glued black felt polka dots on a yellow tie, and completed Daddy’s outfit with a yellow shirt and yellow pants.  You and Daddy were the hit of the party!   All the little kids thought you and Daddy were the real deal.  At least 40 people must have commented on your outfits, with 3 families even requesting to take a picture of us!  I was Professor Wiseman from the Curious George cartoons.  Only die-hard fans know who she was.  Needless to say, we had a lot of fun at the indoor church halloween party, trick or treating, playing games, and bouncing in bouncy castles.  It was the perfect way to spend a cold and rainy Halloween.

As we end this month, and start into November, we are working hard on getting the house ready for baby sister.  And it’s a disaster!  Hopefully it will all come together soon.  We continue to enjoy life with you, and are so glad that you ours, and we get to see you every day, never grow up, okay?      We love you Lucas Walter!