Luke's Words

Luke has been quite the talker his entire life. He's loved making noises! But it wasn't until recently that we started actually understanding a little bit of Luke's babbling. Here is a small list of words we've heard out of him (as of 8/24/13):

Hi
Thank you
Here you go
Iggs (translation = Briggs, our dog. This was certainly his first word.)
Hello
Go
Mom
Dada
Yellow
Cow
Woof, woof (barking like a dog)
Yum
Whoa
Yeah
More
Mon (translation = c'mon)
Hi guys
Elmo

Luke 18 Months

Luke is one week shy of hitting 18 months! I cannot believe how much he's grown since his birthday in February (or March... depending on if you round up or down). Here's what he's been up to lately: 

• Luke took his first steps on June 29. I should highlight the word steps because he went straight to walking 3-6 steps in a row. None of that single-step business for our little guy! I was beginning to worry about Luke, so much so that I had him evaluated by our Birth-Age 3 program. Luke was officially 16 months before he took his first steps, and I haven't been able to hold him back ever since! He's running, bending, standing from a sitting position, and all in all, catching up so fast to his peers. I guess he's just one of those kids who observes and then takes off running (ahem... literally!) when he decides to get involved. We're so proud of him. 
• In the evaluation with our Birth-Age 3 program, it was determined that Luke was 25% behind his peers in both gross-motor skills (because he wasn't walking at the time) and also speech skills. Because of this, Luke is currently enrolled in speech therapy. He's starting to say so many words, though I'm not totally convinced it's because of speech. I'm more of the opinion that he was concentrating so long on crawling and walking, that he's just recently started to get more interested in communicating verbally. Yesterday he started barking like a dog, which is as cute as can be! 
• Luke loves "walking" Briggs. He brings me the leash and I clip it to Briggs so he can drag him around the house. Poor dog. 
• Our little man is a water bug! He loves splashing in the pool and bathtub. I wouldn't be surprised if he's starting to swim next summer. 
• Luke's favorite song is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and his favorite book is "Goodnight, Gorilla" and "Five Little Monkeys". Luke lets me know he wants to sing "Itsy Bitsy" by doing the spider walk with his hands. He's started to sing along with me, with Sesame Street or with the radio in the car. I love to hear him sing! It's hilarious. 
• Our newest "hobby" is watching Sesame Street. He loves Elmo with a passion. While I'm not crazy about kids watching TV, at least it's educational and it gives me a chance to cook dinner while Luke remains safe. His other new hobby is opening the oven, the drawer under the oven and any other unlocked drawer and cabinet in the kitchen. 
• Daily you can find us at home from 11:30 until 3 or so. Most days Luke takes a 3-hour nap. Today he napped for 4.5 hours (which is not usual... we were at the pool this morning and I think he was so worn out from all that activity). Most mornings we're out and about with friends and activities. Luke and I both like to remain social. When we're cooped up too long, we start snapping at each other. 
• I'm so proud of my little risk-taker. As a first born, I've always been a little shy and hesitant to take risks. I wanted Luke to be confident and social, yet still have the responsibility and empathy that first borns are known for. I'm proud to say that so far my little boy is so sweet-natured, but isn't afraid to try new things and take risks. 
• Luke is definitely attached to Mommy. He's always afraid that when we're going bye-bye, I'm leaving him. (We're usually a packaged deal, so rarely do I leave without him.) But, he's also super attached to Daddy and hates to see him leave for work. 
• Luke's special blanket (his "Lovey") is never too far away. We take that blanket with us everywhere we go. He won't go to sleep without it at night. It's so sweet, but naturally I'm concerned that it will always be with him. I dread the day that we have to take that icky white and blue blanket from his clenched hands. But, I'll save that for another time. For now, I'm glad he's able to take comfort in it. 

Luke, 18 months. Photo credit to Raspberry Lane Photography.