The fun continues.

And still no drama to report. Think Handel's "Halleluiah Chorus" sung at top volume by hosts of angels (or by Gracie and Bethany back in the days of singing contests in the shower). That's just how grateful we are.


Does Luke appreciate life's smoothness? (Funny that when you are a kid and life is easiest, that's when you least appreciate it.)








Where's Luke?


"Silly Mom. HERE I am!"


UC Davis Picnic Day 2008! Waiting for the parade.


Scaryman! (This is what happened when we told him to smile.)


Luke got the best view. He reminded us of Zaccheus, the New Testament's wee little man who had to climb a sycamore tree to get a good view. (Gracie, just your style.)


The mom-son heads.


"Well helloooo, fathuh."


A beautiful family portrait.


Better.


Bethany's favorite part of the parade. Classic Davis.


Surprisingly, even tractors and monstrous cows didn't get a reaction out of Luke. Both he and Timothy were totally zoned out, probably completely overstimulated. The only rise we heard out of Luke was when the horses came by. Now THAT made him excited. He made his horsey sounds like the best of 'em. (Haley, you would've been so proud.)


We dedicate this picture to Gracie. (Duh.)


Spontaneous and voluntary Luke cuddles are one of the best things on earth.


"I see you Dad, but I still want to cuddle."


Sometimes during the day, Luke sleeps on his mommy and they take a sandwich nap. Richie came home and delivered a bag of onion rings to Bethany (right up there with pizza as one of her favorite foods). The top of the sandwich suddenly popped up and grabbed one!






Still shorter than a baseball bat.




And now for a set of pictures from last Tuesday, when Richie took the afternoon off work and we set off for a train ride to Old Sacramento. Waiting for the train, we had no trouble keeping ourselves occupied, because for goodness' sake, there was a CAR to drive!


Luke kept pressing the horn but never did manage to eke out a sound.


A self-portrait (oops, Luke's too short).


Where is he?


It's the Armstrong men with those palm trees again...


This is Luke's second train ride. The first was a Daddy-Son Saturday when Richie took Luke, his bike, and the bike trailer all by himself to Martinez. How did he do it???


At first Luke seemed a bit leery about the moving train.


"Daddy, I know this is babyish of me, but I'm kind of scared!"


He did not want to stray from our laps.


(Daddy didn't mind.)


(Neither did Mom.)


Look at that bendy babyfinger!


The window washers must looove having kids on the trains. He gave that glass some good, juicy kisses.


This is what we got when we told Luke to do "cute cute." He looks more like a vampire.


"Ha, ha! That was a good one, Dad!"


A couple close-ups of Luke.




The first thing Luke did when we arrived at our destination was to chase pigeons. He squawked with glee. (Jar of bubbles in hand.)


Must push, Dad. Can't look. Must push.


All aboard!


We walked around Downtown Sacramento, and found this playground in the Downtown Plaza.




Aw, shucks, we ended up at a horrible restaurant called Il Fornaio. And we just had to get a dessert. Luke was mesmerized by the waiter's presentation of the desserts. Our waiter there, normally very serious and dignified, had trouble keeping a straight face.


While we waited for dessert, Luke ate his bagel bits with a long dessert spoon.


"And my, how far it reaches, my son!" (He must feed us before he tastes anything. We are his taste-testers, like he needs to check to be sure what we are feeding him is not poisonous.)


The spoon reached much further than we ever imagined, and we looked down to see that Luke had taken a gigantic glob right out of the center of our creme brulee.


"Oooooo."


Already time to head back to the train station. We told Luke to come (a command we are working on) (it is very hard), and he stopped to tell us he would rather go a different way. We kind of figured that.


Luke collapsed a few times on the way to the train. The little workhorse could push no more. (And yet he refused to be put in the stroller.)


We called Bethany's parents from the Davis train station and asked them to fetch us (pleeeease). It is only a 30-minute walk between the station and our apartment, but it just seemed like too much after all our trekking about. Luke was happy to spend the rest of the evening at their house, performing all his tricks, the good circus monkey that he is. This is his "Do Armstrong!" trick, where he lifts something big and bulky up in the air and gets so very proud of himself.


"Armstrong!!!"


Surferboy. (Wipeouts on the floor can be more painful than wipeouts in water.)


They fed us delicious soup. Luke kept begging for more.


Luke paid them back with near-nosebleeds.


When we plop Luke into his crib at his Poppy and Grammy's house, he dives for his "GG Bear" and cuddles for a long time.


Boy does Luke love his Poppy. The two have the most precious bond.


Speaking of precious bonds...


And now back to Orchard Park happiness.




Looking for his aluminum-foil ball somewhere in that "huge" pasta box. (Size is relative.)


Helping Mommy cook.


Helping Daddy with the BBQ.


Helping Mommy with the dishes. (It's all about trying to clean more quickly than he can destroy.)


Everything's more fun with a toddler around.


(Or is it?)