Drknb

That says "doorknob," by the way, without the letter O.

You will learn in a moment, from the mouth of a toddler, that we should be very thankful for the letter O.

So back to drknbs. Luke has learned to open doors. The Art of the Doorknob has revolutionized his life. He can come in the house all by himself. He can go into his bedroom to hide while he goes poo-poo all by himself. He can walk into the bathroom while one of us is showering all by himself. (Maybe it's "revolutionized" our life even more.)

And we all know how all by yourself is very, very important when you're getting ready to turn Two.

Saturday evening Luke went with Daddy to shoot hoops with Lilo and a few buddies; and after an hour or two, Mommy heard a squealing toddler thundering up the stairs. Into the house Luke burst, opening that door all by himself, and he shouted with absolute glee and utter excitement as he literally zoomed around the living room, bouncing off the couch: "MEN! MEN!"

He proceeded to "tell" Mommy that he got to go play basketball with the Men.

(Natural stage of identification with males, and it is so cute. We have recently realized how many wonderful men are in Luke's life to look up to. How rare is that?!)

Then at night as Daddy put Luke to bed, Daddy prayed with Lukey, and helped prompt Luke to tell God all the things he is thankful for. Mommy overheard.

Richie: "What do you want to thank God for?"
Luke: "Men!"
Richie: "Thank you, God, for men."
Luke: "What else?"
Luke: "Ba-ba-ball!"
Richie: "Thank you, Lord, for basketball. What else?"
Luke: "Ta ta ta."
Richie: "Thank you, God, for Siena."
Luke: "Num nums!"
Richie: "Thank you for num nums."
Luke: "Dump dump!"
Richie: "Thank you for Luke's new dump truck."
Luke: "Hoo! Hoo!"
Richie: "Thank you for owls."
Luke: "E I E I O!"
Richie: "Thank you, God, for Old McDonald."
Luke: "O!"
Richie: "And thank you, Lord, for the letter O. AMEN!"
Luke: "MA-MAN!"

Amen. Thank you, Gd, fr the letter O. And for so many other things that only toddlers would ever think of being thankful for.


Like a pathetic birthday cake with an old train on top, sinking on one side from the weight.

We decided to celebrate Luke's second birthday early, seeing as the 10th (the "real" day) will be spent by the Armstrong family of FOUR (!!!) in the hospital. And we wanted a party while his Ya-Ya and Toopie (Richie's mom and her husband, Tony) and Dut-Dut (Gracie) were still in town. So we whipped together a small little family "Vroom Vroom Choo Choo Zoom Zoom" party full of trains and cars and other such 2-year-old-boy fascinations.


Bethany organizes games mostly so she can feel like a teacher again.


First game: Bethany's idea. Match the picture of Luke with the clue and his age. After reading all those Nancy Drews, Sarah's all about detective work.


Second game: Richie's idea, involving mathematics, geography, three long road trips, and good guessing. Winner: Sam! So she got an advantage in the...


Third game: The Great Car Race! Richie's brilliant creation, this game brought great adrenaline rushes to the family members at the party. (Or not. :) What's a get-together with Sorbellos that does not involve some stiff competition? Everyone chose one of Luke's toy cars to race down the slide, and we held a wild tournament. Even the boys (Luke and Alexander) were seeded in the tournament. Winner: Sam. Again. Her Curious George car raced like an Indy 500 competitor.


Working out some logistics.


Lilo vs. Kristen, with a nosy toddler right in the middle...


Duck (or Loop, depending on his mood) vs. Baba!


Sam took this picture to prove to the world that she really did win.


The Winner takes a break to cuddle with her sweetums.


Time to eat that fancy cake! Luke blew out his candles without too much spitspray.


Way to go, little guy!


Meanwhile, Alexander caught sight of that train...


...and we'll tell you later why he was so excited about it.


Meanwhile, Luke was not too excited about his party hat. (Even though it did go so well with his Cars t-shirt and dump-truck longjohns...)


Forced back on for a shot with Poppy.


At least Dut-Dut liked her hat.


This is why he liked the trains. Lick, lick! That's some gooooood buttercream frosting...


The Mama and The Uncle with The Birthday Boy.


"All for me?!"


"Wait, are those really what I think they are? BLUEBERRIES???"


The Attack.


The Taste-Testing.


Approved.


Approved!


Ra-Ra bought Lukey a wonderful easel. He loves to paint and draw; and now he can indulge in artwork on surfaces more appropriate than the desk, walls, doors, and floor. It even has a white board, and Sarah got him a packet of dry-erase pens. They came with a spray, which he, clearly, is fascinated by. (Should we spray it on his fingers to stop him from his new habit of constantly--constantly--shoving his hands in his mouth?)


Toopie and Ya-Ya got Luke a Stanford hat just like Daddy's, and boy does it look cute!


Looking back: a photo of Mr. Luke at his one-year birthday.


And a similar shot from his two-year birthday.


Last, perhaps our favorite photo from the night: Luke with all four grandparents. Lovingly named Toopie, Ya-Ya, Baba, and Poppy.


After the organized party activities, Lukey begged to go play toys. Who can resist? Here he tells us what he is playing with: "BARN!"


Sooo happy playing with Baba and the toys...


So that was New Year's Day. Kicking off the month of celebration! Then on Friday, we went with Patti and Tony to a little spot on campus by Putah Creek. Richie was curious how cold the water was. He reported it was colder than the ocean in San Francisco--i.e., COLD.


Toopie and Ya-Ya.


Mama and Dada. (And Melon.)


The Armstrong four.


During Ya-Ya and Toopie's visit, Luke was enamored with them. He still slips and calls us their names when he wants attention for showing off some crazy skill. Of course when we suggested he take a hand when trekking through the mud, it was the hand of Toopie that he wanted...


"Feeding time" has been greatly enhanced by Auntie Robin's birthday Cars bowls! Luke ate right down to the bottom: great incentive to eat, because you get to see a race car if you finish your food. If that ain't a good reason to eat up...


Luke's wasn't the only early birthday; before Ya-Ya and Toopie left for Canada they spoiled Richie with some great gifts. Of course now that Luke knows all about birthdays and parties and "pezents!", he thought it was all about him.


And another celebration of sorts: Last date before Baby! Bethany's parents gave us a gift certificate for Il Fornaio, our favorite restaurant, along with free babysitting. So we took off for six hours, ditched Luke, dated, and dined.


One last picture, a glimpse of the future: The next blog post will be the happy announcement of a new little Armstrong!

Please do pray for us as we head into another c-section on Thursday, for Luke's world transforming as he enters Big Brotherhood, for our transition into Family of Fourhood, for Bethany's recovery, for the health of the baby (especially for the little one's kidney--that it would miraculously be "all better").

(And while you're talking to God on our behalf, you can thank Him for the letter O.)