Luke the Painter, Yogurt Conoisseur, and Photographer

June 1, 2012

Yep, this boy is multi-talented.

A few weeks before Father's Day, I got an email from Color Me Mine with a 15% off coupon for Father's Day and I decided that was a perfect idea for Jeff's gift from Luke. First chance we got, Luke and I swung by Color Me Mine early one morning so Luke could "paint for Daddy!" He was excited.

 

He did a great job! Although I decided that if we did it again anytime soon, I would put the paints out of his reach and have him ask me for different colors so he wouldn't combine them quite so much. Despite that, the finished product was really cute. I was happy with it and so was Luke, but as we were paying for it, one of the store owners asked if we had put Luke's hand print on the mug. I said no, but that was a great idea! One of the girls working at the store offered to help us do it before we left. Unfortunately, the girl put a little too much paint on Luke's hand and the first attempt was unsuccessful. The girl was confident she could wipe it off to try again without ruining the rest of the mug, but it left some light streaks and the next attempt wasn't much better. I knew she was using too much paint, but it was too late to fix it. I almost didn't say anything (I even walked out of the store) because I didn't want to cause a scene or be obnoxious, but I decided I would really regret it if I didn't say something. The owner was very understanding and told us we could come back and paint a new one anytime - no extra charge. Awesome! Satisfied, Luke and I headed across the street for frozen yogurt with plans to return in a few days.

It's always a good day for Luke when he gets his very own yogurt and gets to pick all of the toppings! Plus, the employees are always so sweet to him, giving him stickers and toys.

Coloring on the chalk boards - another fav.

Luke thought it was so funny that I managed to jump in front of him so fast no matter which side of this Little Caeser's sign he tried to come out of.

He insisted on going in and out and least ten times before we got back in the car.

Back at home, Luke wanted to swing for a few minutes before we went inside for lunch and nap time (obviously, I was a little camera-happy, even for me, on this day) ...

This swing is so high up off the ground! Jeff put it up in the tree temporarily to entertain Luke and we just haven't gotten around to adding more rope or chains to make it longer. Luke doesn't seem to mind though!

In fact, he quite enjoys being able to grab a leaf or two on every upswing if he wants to!

Luke got sick of me taking pictures of him and asked for a turn with the camera. I was little reluctant since he was about 4 1/2 feet of the ground in a swing, but I gave in. And somehow, even while swinging, this boy managed to take pictures of me and his surroundings that were pretty impressive! ...

I love this one he took of himself! Such a sweet, happy boy!

All of these pictures were very deliberate. Luke made a point of telling me what he was taking a picture of each time he chose a new subject. He clearly thought he was doing very important work documenting all of these things. So cute.

Luke turned to the tree trunk next to him and focused so hard on getting a good, clear picture of it.

Our garage

About every other picture Luke took was of me. I wasn't always ready for them!

Kicking Mom? Nope just Luke's token foot picture.

Poor Jeff may have two picture obsessed family members on his hands! He'd better keep practicing his fake smile!