How time flies! Lucas has turned 2 years old. It seems like yesterday I was holding him in my arms and spellbound by his little body on the day of his birth. Time waits for no one, that's for sure! We spent his birthday at Redondo Beach with Gabe's parents and ordered far too much seafood at the korean restaurant on the pier. Sashimi, steamed crabs (one for each person, what a treat!), seafood platter, Korean style clam soup...definitely would have set us back a bit, but Luki's grandma insisted on paying for lunch. Unfortunately, the total came out to be more than what she had brought-even she was surprised at how expensive everything turned out. Is it just me or is the food price going up these days? We had a nice lunch and Luki got to wade in the ocean water with his feet for the first time. He was taken aback by the coldness of the water and stood there like an ostrich with one leg up so as not to get his foot wet. Of course, we had to hold him as he is still not free standing. He also seemed to like putting his hand through the sand. We decided to come to the beach on another day in summer and have a proper picnic with a tent, canopy, chairs and home packed food and spend the day at the beach for Luki to enjoy. I am really looking forward to it although Gabe is worried it might be too much work for him to lug things around and set things up.
On his second year well baby check up, Luki's pediatrician was so surprised to see the positive transformation in him in just six months before when she last saw him. He seemed to have better control of his muscles, "verbalized" more (with ohms and awws) and seemed more aware of his surroundings. I, too, feel he has come a long way in just six months. I am not sure what exactly has made the difference; was it the supplements, physical/occupational therapy, infant stimulation, baby gyms or, all of the above. I think what is also overlooked in his improvement is the free time I give him to explore his toys and surroundings on his own term. He manages to stand and walk around the coffee table several times during the day, hold on to furniture and the sliding glass door to stand and walk sideways. Rather than me always coaching him to do things, I think this approach has been very successful. The other day, I called out his name and he stopped what he was doing and made eye contact with me as if to say, "Why did you call my name, mommy? What other adventures are we going to have today?" When I verbalized my surprise and happiness at his gesture, he smiled, looked away and continued playing. Also, when I turned on nursery songs, I noticed he started to clap with good eye contact as if to say, "Mommy, we need to clap our hands when the music comes on." I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Could I just be imagining these things? Wishful thinking on my part? Could be, since these occurances are not always consistent. Luki needs to be given way more credit for his awareness than I have been giving him although he not where I would like him to be. He IS very aware of everything around him and is very sensitive to other people (especially my) feelings. Once, when I cried in front of him, he started to cry with me. When I laugh, he laughs with me, too!
During his Well Baby checkup, he started to cry and fuss when I put him in his baby gown and laid him on the examining cot. It almost felt as if he remembered the many times he got poked for blood draws and thought he might get poked again. It's hard to tell for sure and I am only going by my intuition since Luki can't talk, His latest hobby is playing with my hair (pulling it) as well as his own.
Luki still hasn't started his ABA, yet. But, he has met an incredible physical therapist who really seem to connect with him. Unlike other times during his PT sessions when he fusses and cries after a few minutes, he has not cried once with Ms. Erica. My prayer now is that he will meet an equally connected therapist for his ABA sessions.
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