Rain, rocks, dreams

Every day, without fail, when we're walking in the door, some version of this scene is re-enacted at our house:

Luke asks to wait outside while I go in and close the door. Then he rings the doorbell and I open the door.

"Hi. What's your name?"
"My name is Pontrow. I'm just visiting."
"Well, Pontrow, come on inside. We're just about to have some breakfast/lunch/dinner."

He then proceeds to examine the house and admire everything with great enthusiasm.
"This is a wonderful house!"
"Why, thank you!"
"These are very nice big chairs. And this is such a nice play area for your baby!" Etc.

Yesterday he moved on to our bedroom: "This is a wonderful bed. And such a nice crib." Then he tugged on the co-sleeper/basinette to see how securely it was attached to the bed. "Nice and tight. Very good."

The enthusiasm continues at mealtime. "These are wonderful crackers!" "Did you make this spaghetti? It's delicious!"

Some who know Luke probably remember that he is notoriously finicky (Example: He stopped eating syrup on his waffles and pancakes because he does not like anything to be sticky). So it's actually a nice little change of pace to have his super-gung-ho alter ego come to our house every day. But has Pontrow expanded Luke's eating habits at all? Um. No. Still, it's enormously entertaining to watch such a big imagination at work.

On Tuesday at the farmers' market, Luke befriended a charming woman named Edith, a retired food writer, with whom he chatted on and and on about crabs, oysters, halibut, clams, sculpin, and barnacles. "This is a a kid who gets a LOT of interaction with his parents," she said to us. That left me and Dave beaming for the rest of the night, for as Dave put it, this is our luxury -- to have a life made richer every day by two amazing kids.

From the random file: I asked Luke what they talked about in school that day. "Weather," he said. "Oh, what's weather?" I asked.

"Weather - you know, like rain, rocks, dreams..." came the response. I guess the weather is just dreamy today.