"Ba."

Let's translate for you:

"Ba" while pointing excitedly = "ball"
"Ba" while grabbing on your legs = "up"
"Ba" while nodding entire body up and down = "please"
"Ba ba" said in a high-pitched voice and very tenderly = "baby"
"Ba ba" said while slapping on the front door = "outside"
"Ba ba" said while reaching down Mom's shirt = "nummies"

Although B is clearly Luke's favorite letter (Bethany's a big fan of B, and this does not bother her a bit), we are very happy to note the emergence of new endings to the B-words:

"Baaaaawwwwwck!" is now not just the chicken sound, but the sound any bird he happens to see. (Usually a crow.) (Good ol' Davis.)

"BCCCCKKKKK" (made with some spittle coming out, sounding totally German) is what Luke says when he sees something that has the K sound in it. "Rock," for example, is a prolonged and spit-filled "BCCCCKKKKKKK."

"Bum!" = "boom!" (said whenever something, including himself, falls) (sometimes he even predicts a fall and says "BUM!" before he hits the ground) (and other times he falls and doesn't get enough attention for the pain caused by the ground hitting his head, so he'll say "bum," in a quiet, tender, pleading voice while patting his head, as if to say, "I just hit my head! Does anyone care???")

And our little 13-months-old-tomorrow man now regularly (finally!) says "Mama" and "Dada" and "Papa" (for Poppy). What does he say when we ask him what HIS name is?

"Ba."


Downtown Davis shoe shopping--we "needed" rain boots for Luke. The saleslady in one shoe store decided to give Luke the store's big bouquet of balloons. So Gracie, always one to come up with things that make us laugh, decided to tie the balloons to Luke's leg.






Gracie took this shot right before Luke flew away.


We were graced with the presence of a family of wild turkeys here at Orchard Park. We loved their visit, but the fun ended when Luke discovered a rather large, soft stack of wild-turkey doodies. Fingerpaint. (The park bench still has his artwork on display.)


Yeah, you guessed it. "Ba."


Oh yeah, and Luke's favorite food these days is a big Bosc pear. "Ba."


Rivaling the excitement of balls in Luke's mind are tractors, rocks, and dirt. Lucky for him, he has a Daddy who takes him on Saturday mornings to the Dixon tractor store full of... yes. Tractors, rocks, and dirt. (The best part: They bring a cranberry-orange muffin from the Solano Baking Company home to Mom.)










"Now lookey here, folks, I need ta tell ya sumthin."


Oh, the excitement of finding a new kind of ball. (We love that kids don't clean up after themselves here at Orchard Park. Another boy's toy is our boy's treasure.)


Getting ready to nail a crow?


Off for a Saturday drive. Luke's first trip in the Volvo! (Which is 40 (!!!) years old this year.) Dad kindly volunteered to stay in the back with Luke. It's surprisingly roomy back there, and you can see around you so well that it feels like you're in a convertible. Too bad we can't sit in the back and reach forward from there to steer. That would be quite a marvelous ride.


The view from the back: Richie and then a tiny white head...


Really bad photography, but we thought this shot was fun anyway. It's kind of like a hologram. If you look hard enough, you can see all three of us for a really quality family portrait.


Stopped at the gas station, the Volvo got a new driver.






But then Luke had to go in the carseat again. He let us know exactly how he felt about it, too.






Distraction is the name of the game.


Soon enough, he was laughing at Mom after playing the I'll-pull-your-hair-reeeeally-softly-and-see-if-you-notice-it game.


She would bug out her eyes and whack him with her hair...


...and for some reason he thought it was funny.

(Oh the depths to which we have fallen.)