One-of-a-Kind

For those who spend any time with our family, you know that our sweet little Luke can sometimes be quite a challenge.  Along with his fun, sports-loving, happy side, there is a shy, scared, won't-let-go-of-my-leg side that can try our patience.  To be perfectly fair about this particular character trait, he comes by it honestly, as Clayton and I are both of the rather shy sort ourselves.  Luke is full if silly little quirks, like biting his nails until they bleed, putting on five pairs of socks at the same time, talking in his own language, and hoarding his belongings under the blankets in his bed (although I've explained to him many times that they are his toys and books to begin with, and they will still be his on the bookshelves and in the toy bins).  We have only met one other two-year-old with the passion for tennis that Luke has, and the two of them were quite a sight:  hitting balls back and forth to each other at the tennis courts with the seriousness of a championship match in a Grand Slam.    On the lighter side of things, this age of toddler-turn-preschooler has got to be the best for hilarious sayings and mispronunciations.  Luke's latest funnies include:  (1) hand sanitizer = "hand appetizer"  (2) spaghetti = "super-ghetti"  (3) "I don't think I can go in the potty until my peanut grows bigger like Dad's"  (4) ice cream = "scream"  (5) "We can't leave the pool yet; I'm smokin' hot still!"  Sometimes I think his way of saying something is so cute, I don't have the heart to correct him, and other times he says something incorrectly just because he knows I'll laugh.  I love how he calls Audrey "honey" just like I do, how he sings to himself when he's supposed to be sleeping in bed, and how he yells at me to "run faster!" when I'm dragging my heels while pushing the kids in the jogging stroller.  His oddities remind me that we all have our own, and he definitely helps me appreciate the little things in life.  Of course, we wouldn't want to leave Audrey out of all of this individuality appreciation business.  If any one-year-old I know has personality, she does.  She automatically dances whenever she hears music, even hymns at church.  She loves trying to do whatever Luke is doing, and she can definitely hold her own during a sibling spat.  Her few words (like "Dad", "Yes", and "Uh-oh") are said with such inflection, it just makes me want to burst out laughing.  If things aren't going her way, she throws her head back with her hand on her forehead, oozing all the drama she can muster.  Although her new-found walking skills are cute in and of themselves, I will miss her bum-in-the-air "crawl," where she only touches the ground with her hands and feet.  I'm sure all kids have their own uniqueness, but each one of ours is definitely one-of-a-kind.