Lucas is 16 Months

Since I missed last month's update due to the holidays, this is really a rundown of Lucas' developments from the last two months.  Its been quite the time celebrating his second Christmas, and although he was still not that into opening gifts he really enjoyed his new toys and books.  Its always still a wonder for me to experience life and moments through his eyes, and I marvel at the little things that he learns daily, and the things that he teaches me in my journey through motherhood.  Here's a small glimpse into the world of Lucas lately.

Sleep: I don't think we have ever really had a problem in this area since we slept trained Lucas at five months.  Lately the early riser in him though has been killing this mama.  Lucas unfortunately takes after his father who is notoriously an early riser because he gets a few hours of sleep and he's as well rested as I am when I get eight hours of sleep, I secretly hate my husband for this.  So Lucas likes to rise usually around 6-6:30 but the past month or so its been more like 5-5:30 and Lord knows where I get the energy to keep up with him, because when he wakes up its like the energizer bunny around here.  He naps once a day usually from 1-3, but there have been days that he rests an extra hour, and I am eternally grateful on those days.  Lucas has never been one for having a lovey or stuffed animal that he has to have with him in bed, but he is very partial to his blankets, and lately he likes to snuggle up in them to fall asleep, its pretty adorable.

Eating: We just had his 15 month shots and well check up a few weeks ago, and little dude is 29 pounds, so its safe to say that he has a healthy appetite.  He is also towering at 89 centimeters, so he looks like a quarterback in training which has his father looking forward to a future in football, which I marvel at how I'm going to feed my monster child.  We have hit a few snags in the veggie department lately, and he seems to enjoy them more in soups or mixed in rice or pasta so I've been sneaking them in where I can.  He adores fruit though which is great, apples and bananas being a fave, but he likes more exotics things too like kiwi.  He has made huge strides lately self feeding himself using utensils.  He has pretty much mastered the fork, and sometimes I catch him smiling at himself when he get the food on the fork and then in his mouth.  Using a spoon is a whole other ball game, but I still let him practice even though we often get as much yogurt or soup on him as we do in him.

Motor Skills: Little man is clearly a boys boy.  He loves anything to do with trucks and balls, and he has gotten so good at "driving" his trucks around the house, as well as throwing balls with purpose now.  We have been playing with stickers lately to help with fine motor skills, and not only does he enjoy the activity he has gotten really good at adjusting the stickers to help him actually stick them on the paper.  Since Lucas learned to run, that's his fave mode of transportation which really justifies my need to pass out along with him at 8pm sometimes.  He has learned to walk down the stair holding my hand and the banister, and he loves getting to the bottom that he often does a little dance.  He learned to climb the ottoman in our living room last week, and now climbing everything has become his fave pastime.  I'm doomed.

Language Skills: This is something I stress about on a daily basis.  I feel like Lucas should be saying more words, than we go to our playgroup and not only does he communicate more than some of the other children but his understanding of the world around him amazes me.  I feel like we as parents put so much stock in what our kids "should" be accomplishing instead of just guiding them and letting them find their own pace.  Lucas "talks" a great deal often with expressions and tones that are relevant to any given situations, and he understands several commands very well, such as picking up toys, asking for something, and doing simple tasks.  He added duck, cat, and dog to his vocabulary, he understands who his vavos (grandparents in Portuguese) and his titi (aunts in Portuguese) are.  He loves books, and will recognize titles when I ask him for a particular book as well.

Personality: I don't even know where to begin with this one.  Lucas is generally a social and happy kid but he's joined the world of tantrums and crocodile tears lately, and its exhausting.  He is a very strong willed child, and very independent and enjoys learning and figuring things out for himself, so he get very frustrated when he can't or when I try to help him.  He has gotten so much more cuddly as of late, he snuggles against me in bed in the morning, or watching tv, and I can't even tell you how my heart bursts when he kisses me unsolicited.  He is a bit of a mama's boy and I love every minute of it.  He can go all day without seeing his father, and the moment I slip away to take a shower he wants to follow me to the bathroom.  Don't get me wrong he loves on his dad a lot, but he has a special love for his mommy.

I have more updates, and things on my mind coming to the blog soon.  Hope everyone else in keeping warm in these cold temps.