I Heart Duke

Since Will started school last week, Duke and I have become best buddies, again, here at home. I cannot tell you how much I love being with him all day! He's soooooo easy to be around and hardly puts up a fight about anything. Each day I'm reminded how different Will and he are at this age. Will was ready to be stimulated at school 7 hours a day by the time he was two. Duke, on the other hand, just loves chilling with me at home. We fill our day with walks around the block, coloring, and playing playdoh, with a nap and lunch and an episode of Super Why somewhere along the way. literally. He's so happy to color at the table for an hour. Something Will probably won't have the patience for until he's 10.


After watching Will go to gymnastics for months, (and Duke screaming because he doesn't get to go in) Duke finally gets to go to gymnastics! We do a mommy and me class on Thursdays, and as expected, he loves it. Here he is stretching. Isn't he so cute?



Duke has become obsessed with holding screwdrivers. He carries one in each hand and it constantly looking for screws in furniture he can tighten. He tells me he is "wick it" meaning "fix it".
I haven't old him that grandpa is
coming in a few months, but maybe Duke has great intuition and has already sensed Grandpa will be coming soon, so he's just getting his tools in shape.


Artist hard at work. Markers are his favorite medium. He is constantly asking me to draw him balloons and he promptly tries to color them in.



Favorite thing about Duke: he puts himself to bed when he's tired. At the end of the day when you're busy doing the dishes/getting Will to bed, Duke might disappear. But don't worry, he's just asleep in his bed and was too tired to wait for you to put him to bed.



Batman socks and track pants, naturally.




Dad is still his favorite person and frequently tries to sneak out the door to go to work with Dad. Cortney rides his bike to the metro and wears a helmet when he leaves the house. This is Duke showing Dad he's all ready to go to work, just like him. Duke is very sad everyday when he can't go to work with Dad.


My Duke loves pizza and pasta (two things Will wont touch). He gets quite excited when I announce we're eating either option. And in this picture, he's eating pizza for breakfast. Yet another reason Duke and Grandpa are kindred spirits (my dad's favorite breakfast is cold pizza).



A few months ago, I made an impulse purchase on a new car seat for Duke. It just looked so comfy in comparison with his beat up one (and it was on clearance). We pulled it out of the box and you would have thought we gave him a million dollars. Every time we got in the car, Duke's grin was so wide when he would sit in his new special seat. Lesson learned: sometimes you just need to go to the store and buy something brand new for the 2nd child, because it means the world to them.

Duke, my love and respect for you has grown exponentially the last 12 months. I have no doubt that you are a wise, kind, sweeter than pie spirit. You were given such a big heart and you are such a source of joy to us and everyone you meet. No question, your sweetness was the glue that held our family together this last year. There were so many times when your needs were pushed aside because Will needed so much of our constant attention, and you seemed to be ok, even cordial about that, never minding taking a backseat to your brother's needs. You are so giving that way, especially towards Will. You are also the most polite two year-old I have ever met-please and thank you for everything.

Sweet Duke, I love you so much. Thank you for being in our family. You've stolen my heart, once again.