Luke at 17 months old

Luke weighs 27 pounds on our bathroom scale.

Luke wears 2T clothes and size 5 1/2 shoes.

Luke actually likes to hold one of his blankets after nap time. I think it's cute but don't like retrieving blankets from all over the house so usually distract him while I lay it back in his crib. He still goes to sleep with a pacifier... something I allowed because of my impatience and lack of energy this pregnancy... (my younger self would cringe knowing he's this old and still uses one for bed and Sacrament meeting). He and Ryan have been my only two who really liked their soothers. Maybe it's a Johnson boy thing.

Luke eats most things by himself these days. He loves getting the plastic bowl and little spoon on his high chair tray. Occasionally he flings mash potatoes on the wall or tries to eat chicken noodle soup with his fingers... I didn't mean he was great at it, but he's getting better.

Luke loves all kinds of drinks. Sippy cups and straight out of Mom and Dad's cup. He's a remarkably good drinker.

Luke says all kinds of things now... bubble, Mamma, Dad or Dadda, Ry-Ry, 'ssss' (which usually means horse but could also mean other things with an 's' in it), all-da (all-done), A-me (amen), bap (bath), ball, hi, nak (snack), ca-ker (cracker), NO, bee, bir (bird), Melmo (Elmo), eye, no (nose), hay (hair), side (outside -- which he says with great passion) and probably a ton more that I can't remember right now.

Luke answers NO to almost every question. When I know it's something he really does want then I'll say "say YES" to which he excitedly nods his head up and down. Now sometimes he answers with a loud NO and then proceeds to nod his head YES. He's very confused.

Luke does the funniest things at dinnertime when he has every one's attention. The funniest is when he nods his head all the way down but keeps his eyes looking up. When we all start laughing then he does too. He's so amused with himself.

Luke waves 'hi' and 'bye-bye' to everyone he sees.

Luke loves his '10 Little Ladybugs' book and his Sesame Street books.

Luke roars like a lion, makes a good elephant sound, barks like a dog, tries to neigh for a horse, does a cute quack for a duck, and makes an almost silent buzzing sound as he tries to 'get you' with his bee. He says 'BOOOO' when he holds up his cow and the kids always laugh.

Luke likes to watch only the Elmo parts of Sesame Street. He laughs and points to the screen every time Elmo comes on.

Luke loves his big brother. He is the most excited to see and run to Ryan when he gets off the bus. The girls have learned to live with it and consequently they sprint from the bus so they can get a big excited hug before he spots Ryan. Sometimes he runs right around him because he knows Ryan is coming.

Luke gives lots of hugs and kisses... on his terms only of course. He hugs and pats your back and likes to take turns kissing everyone in the family. He loves to blow kisses too.

Luke gets very excited for our family handshake after family prayer.

Luke folds his arms for the first couple seconds of every prayer and says 'a-me' happily at the end.

Luke loves a bath, loves splashing, loves getting other people wet.

Luke loves throwing balls, playing outside, swinging on the swings, jumping on the trampoline, playing with bubbles, playing with his cars...

Luke runs to a wall and dramatically puts his arms up and leans into his arms and the wall when he wants something but you can't figure it out. He acts so distressed that it makes us all laugh. Then he looks at us to see if you are still watching and does it again for effect.

Luke loves to climb to the top of Emily's bunk bed. Often when I haven't heard him for awhile I will go to the bottom of the stairs and say 'Luke' and he'll answer with his distressed yell which tells me he's stuck and can't get back down. Most times we try to remember to take the ladder down so he can't climb up.

Luke has been known to play in the toilet water. Lovely.

Luke is apparently allergic to some foods as he gets a rash around his mouth after eating some things... we are still trying to determine what these things all. Tomatoes seem to do it. So does yogurt.

Luke loves to get his shoes and socks on because he thinks he's going outside.

Luke runs for the basket of basketballs in the garage every time he gets out of the van. He likes to pick up each one and throw them into the garage. We try to pick them all up again but Chris often has to get out of his car and finish the job before he can park in the garage

Luke is generally horrible in Sacrament meeting. He likes to wiggle around, call out to Dad, yell 'brea' (bread) and army crawl under my feet to get into the isle. He is totally taking advantage of my no-lap and inability to bend over. Only 5 more Sundays till he can go to nursery. Chris had Luke with him when he went in there the other week to take care of some primary business... and Luke's eyes got wide with curiosity. He had no idea there was a room full of little kids and fun toys. Chris said he was definitely mad when they walked out.

Luke loves dirt, rocks, sticks, puddles, mud and again, dirt.

Luke loves our classic family baby songs such as, "Here's a Ball for Baby", "Horsie, Horsie", "This is the Way", and "Twinkle, Twinkle."

Luke can point to his eyes, nose, ears, hair, toes, and belly button. He's been doing these for awhile... we need to work on some more body parts!

Luke likes to tackle other kids. When his siblings are already lying on the floor he likes to come up and fall on top of them. Some of his siblings like this and some of them don't (Emily.)

Luke was driving with me the other day when I said, "Luke, can I still call you baby Lukey when your little brother is born?" to which he responded with a loud firm 'NO!' We'll see about that.

Getting ready for a kiss. Love it.