I was a giant last week, Dad.

(And other weird things Luke has said.)

Luke is a talker. Well, you knew that.

Anyway, he is in an awesomely fun stage right now because his Imagination has grown into this huge Imagination Monster Walking Around in Luke's Skin. Okay, that's weird. But it's really like that. Really.

Anyway, thanks to my careful training (i.e. ignoring him while I eat breakfast/do my make-up/check my email/pay bills....), he is excellent at independent play. And now, his independent play is super interesting because all the plastic animals and Matchbox cars and measuring cups that he plays with now have voices and personalities. (Mostly "bad" personalities. "Bad" is a really big deal with him now. Don't ask me why.) I can't always hear or understand what they're saying, but I love to hear the cadences of his pretending - there's just something so rich and satisfying about it - as if his own thrill of creativity fills the air around him with a sense of fun and adventure and innocence (even if the stories are always about Bad Guys).

He is also waaaay into "dress up" right now - only he doesn't call it that, of course, because he's not a girl. (What *do* boys call it? Probably nothing. After all, Luke doesn't seem to think he's "dressing up" so much as "becoming"... "No, Mom - it's not Luke, it's Superman!") Thanks to my own fond memories of having a box full of "dress up clothes" - including such treasures as an ancient relative's old suede heels, scraps of pretty fabrics, and leftovers from the elaborate Halloween costumes Mom made for us - I have made a point to collect items here and there for our own costume box. But you know what's funny? Luke has probably spent as much time (or more) wearing costumes that he constructed from things he found (such as his Superman cape - which is a red bandana held around his neck by a contraption that was made to clip napkins on as bibs). An important part of his pirate costume right now is the "hook" he found in my kitchen drawer. Some of you might know it as a KitchenAid mixer attachment...

For his birthday (ssshh, don't tell), we are giving Luke an assortment of costumes to add to his collection - including a better Superman cape (I'm tired of putting that Kipiis thing around his neck - so sue me!), a crown, a velvet red robe (from my own childhood dress up box! Thanks, Mom!), a doctor's smock and kit, an army helmet and canteen, and a few other things that I hope to put together over the next several naptimes. I fully expect him to explode with the possibilities for pretending when he sees it all - but I won't be too disappointed if he keeps the dough hook and the Kipiis in his repertoire.

And in case you're curious - or you're Future Luke's Wife, wanting to know exactly what this crazy kid likes to be when he dresses up, so far we have:
  • A bad pirate.
  • Superman.
  • The King.
  • A workin' man.
  • Mary (He hasn't done this in a while, but he used to drape a blanket over his head - like a mid-eastern head covering - and say, "I'm Mary.")
  • Cowboy.
  • Soldier/Knight.
  • Giant/Goliath.