Dip.

Statement of the obvious (Liz, just for you): Children are very good at aping adults.

With the "Mommy, Gracie's copying me! Tell her to stop!" refrain long gone, Bethany gets copied all day now and has no one to tattle to.

Except for you. Loyal blog readers.

Luke's latest mimics have been of Bethany's dipping.

French-fry-into-ketchup dipping. Tortilla-chip-into-salsa dipping. Quesadilla-into-hot-sauce dipping. When Luke sees her dip, he refuses to eat another bite until he, too, gets to dip.

But now the dipping is getting out of control, and he dips all things into all things. A gourmet taste tester of sorts.

Last night he dipped his green beans into Bethany's milk. For lunch, he dipped his pear slice into soup.

But wait. It gets even more gourmet.

On our morning expedition today, while Bethany was feeding Luke a bagel (breakfast on the run--force feeding is the best way to get him to eat), Luke took his hunk of bagel, bent over, and dipped it into the moss on the ground. Then he took a mossy bite, and proclaimed it yummy with an emphatic "Mmmmm." So he dipped it for the next bite, too, and then Mom was too grossed out to watch the bagel-moss award-winning combination continue.

So Mommy and Luke's morning adventure touring the stickland and rockville and dirttown of Orchard Park resumed, and before Bethany could stop him, Luke took his "walking stick" (always must be walking with stick in hand) and dipped it into a wallop of mud, then brought it up to his mouth and licked the mud right off.

And yes, even then he exuded a heartfelt and self-satisfied "Mmmmm."


A photographer at Shiloh's basketball team's game took some halftime shots of Luke and Richie shooting hoops. We ordered a few and couldn't resist posting them on the blog.


Luke loooooved going to Shiloh's games, and maintained excellent concentration atop Richie's shoulders, eyes following the ball. Mostly stoic and serious, he would get excited now and then and chant in a deep, breathy voice, "BOll, BOll, BOll." Then, halftime and post-game were his heyday, when he actually got to touch the BOll, BOll, BOll.


Look at the cheeks!


Caught red-handed in the electronics drawer. (Adorable guitar shirt courtesy of Haley and Peter!)


Caught red-cheeked with a no-no in his mouth.


About to board his car for a beautiful patio drive.


Very proud of himself now that he can get on without anyone's help.




Ta-da!


Next day: explorations beyond the patio. "A whole new world..."


Doesn't he look like an old-man golfer or something? Toddlers' body proportions are so funny. (Especially when wearing too-big clothes.)


Every boy's dream: sun, grass, space, balls, stroller optional, and Mommy far far away.


Still, it was the camera case that was the most exciting.


Chuckle, chuckle.