This, Not That

One of the toughest things about the transition from infant to toddler is the extreme difficulty with communication during this awkward phase. At this age, kids begin to realize that there are a lot of things they want and a very distinct preference about the specific item/need but they just don't yet have the ability to get those burning desires across to someone else. This is incredibly frustrating for the child. It is also incredibly frustrating for the parent, who is trying to respond to the grunts, points and screeches or trying to figure out why the child is cranky/ angry/ insane, but doesn't ever seem to be able to decipher the exact thing that all that screaming is about.

In the case of our little boy, Lucas' frustrations with communication have mostly come out in the form of hitting, which has been somewhat of an on-going disaster. So I am happy to report that things are really picking up in the communication department! On the vocabulary front, he says a handful of words on a consistent basis these days: Mama, Dada, ball, baby, hi, bye-bye, night-night, nana (banana), Elmo (he actually calls him Bobo), uh-oh and hat. He also has said many other words one time or a few times, but doesn't say them consistently enough for them to be in his full-time repertoire: Opa-pa, map, cheese, Dora, milk, bath, nose, book, up, more.

Of course none of these words really add up to stellar communication, but really the huge growth we have seen in communication in recent weeks is his ability to answer yes or no questions with a very firm and clear "yes" or "no". That may sound silly and obvious but this has seriously been life changing for us. He will tell you through these two simple words exactly what he wants - the trouble at this point of course is that you have to ask the right question because you can get 50,000 nooonooonoo's before you hit the bulls eye. However, it is so helpful to be able to actually know what your child wants. For example, if he's acting cranky and I say "Lucas are you tired? Do you need a nap?" he will actually say yes! And then nap when I put him down even if it's not even really nap time yet! Like I said, life changing.
Lucas and his cousin Eamon
He has also gotten really good with sign language. He knows and uses the signs for hungry, thirsty, more, diaper change, please, milk, and all done. These things alone have been really helpful with communication. Formerly the king of the grunt and point, he is finally able to communicate somethings without always just pointing (perhaps he's now just the Prince of point and grunt). He can also identify all of the features on a face (nose, mouth, teeth, etc) and many of his body parts too. In the last month or two he has learned quite a few animal noises.

Lucas is also doing a good job with following complex directions (i.e. go pick out a book and bring it to me and I will read it to you). I have a feeling that the words are going to start coming with a fury in the next few months. But in the meantime, we are making great progress and keeping the lines of communication open in lots of different ways. Unfortunately, he is still hitting when he gets frustrated about things, but it is not happening nearly as much as it was a few weeks ago. Steady progress!

In other news, I took Lucas in for a wellness check up a few weeks ago and he's now in the 50th percentile for height (31 inches) and 25th percentile for weight (23lbs). He is on track with everything and was given a clean bill of health. And then I think he picked up some virus at the doctor's office because he got a terrible cough/cold/fever illness about three days after his appointment.


Elise showing off her new scarf. Thanks Rachel and Nate!