Where does the time go?! Nothing reminds you more of how quickly time flies than watching an infant develop. Within the past few months, Luke has gone from being pretty immobile to an extremely adventurous and a bit of a troublemaker.
Physical Development
About a month ago (8/13) we noticed his first 2 teeth had cut through his gums-- one on the top and one on the bottom. Now he has 5. Thankfully we haven't lost much sleep over it.
During Luke's 9 month well-check Luke weighed in at almost 25 pounds. Much to my surprise, his height and weight are now just about proportional; the pediatrician says he is quite tall.
Gross Motor Development
Early July, Luke started crawling and sitting up (8 months old). About a month later, he was consistently pulling himself up (7/28). Whenever he gets the chance, he'll grab onto a coffee table, chair, gate, anything he can get his hands on, to pull himself up to a standing position. He must be pretty strong to be able to support so much weight haha. He's even grabbed onto the oven door and his weight allows him to pull the door open. So dangerous!
He also started cruising a few weeks ago (8/27). So exciting!
Fine Motor Development
A few months ago, Luke transitioned from raking grasp to pincer grasp (around 8 months). We noticed that he was using pincer grasp when he used thumb and index finger to pick up his puff cereal. He's also using his pincer grasp to pick up link and other small particles from the ground. So dangerous!
Around his 8th month he also started being able to hold his own bottle. Though he is good at self feeding when propped on a boppy, he has trouble feeding himself sitting upright. Nevertheless, so cool!
Recently, he's been changing objects from one hand to the other when he knows we need to buckle himself into the carseat. He also pulls his arms through armholes when we put on his clothes.
Cognitive Development
Luke started exhibiting clear signs of understanding object permanence during his 8th month. When objects disappeared, he would continue looking for them. When I left the room, he would whine. His need for mommy has gotten progressively worse over the last 2 months. He will crawl after me quickly and cry if I leave his sight. He has changed from an easy happy-go-lucky baby into a pretty high maintenance baby. So sad!
Socio-Emotional Development
I think we are seeing the beginning signs of verbal communication. Sometimes he sees someone and raises his arm up and down, resembling a wave (he started doing this before 9 months). He also occasionally says something that sounds a bit like "hi". I remember Makayla doing this as well. He also started babbling a few months ago (7/23) saying "LALA", "BABA", "DADA", "MAMA". He used to babble quite a bit but now I only hear it occasionally, which is totally normal. I know when he begins to babble again, he'll be closer to saying real words that are meaningful to him.
I think he is also beginning to understand words. When you tell Luke "uhuh" or "no no" he'll smile and shake his head.
One moment that is really special to mothers is the moment you know for sure that your child knows who you are. I know that babies are familiar with their mother's voice even in the womb, but it is reassuring when they can show that they know who you are. With Makayla, I remember a specific instance when she was surrounded by four Asian women around the same age, scanned the faces, and focused specifically on mine. Luke has recently shown his recognition and preference for me by crawling to me (7/26) or leaning over because he wants to be carried.
Other fun facts
- Luke puts EVERYTHING in his mouth.
- Luke likes to crawl under chairs, tables, etc. We often find him stuck under furniture.
- Luke is attracted to everything dirty or dangerous-- shoes, wires, trashcans.
- Luke bites people! This is a new bad habit he's developed. Usually I'll say "Oww! No biting!" and of course he'll respond to me with his sweet smile.
- Luke refused to eat solids during his 6th and 7th months. Good thing he's such a chubby baby, we weren't too worried about it.
- To express his displeasure (with eating, diaper change, getting put into carseat) he blows raspberries. This started around month 7.
- Hallelujah! Luke began consistently sleeping through the night (6/11). One day he slept through the night had started doing it almost every day since then. Interestingly, Luke started sleeping through the night when he was almost 8 months old but Makayla had slept through the night much earlier (3 months) and then went through a huge sleep regression during her 8th month.
- Luke soothes himself to sleep by banging his head into his mattress. This is very common in boys. I used to do it too when I was little.
- At 9 months old, Luke started to move his head to music. He moves his head side to side. Interesting, M used to move her head up and down.
- It is very difficult to redirect Luke. If he is holding something and you want to take it away by distracting him with another object, he will not take the object, but will get upset.
- Luke screams a lot-- especially when he's super happy.
Luke obsessions
- maracas
- mallets
- pulling hair
- lint
MAKAYLA UPDATE (32-35 months)
My little girl is all grown up! We sent her off to preschool last week, and she did SO GREAT! No tears! It was a bit anticlimactic, actually. She is so fun to be with. The conversations we have are so fun and reveal so much about how she thinks and views the world. And I love her innocence and fun loving self. I just want to bottle it all up and keep these memories forever.
M continues to role play a lot. Whatever shirt she's wearing is the character she becomes. All the people around her also become characters. So if she's Minnie Mouse, I am Daisy, Eric is Mickey, and Luke is Figaro. Five minutes later she decides she wants to be Rapunzel, and I become Mother Gothel, Eric is Flynn, and Luke is Pascal. She's actually super good at staying in character as well. If we slip and accidentally call her "Makayla", she'll immediately correct us "No, not Makayla, Minnie!"
M is better at sharing. She is getting used to the idea that she has to share her toys with Luke. We tell her that if she wants to play with something he has in his hands, she needs to find something to offer him as a trade. Also, she used to get a little possessive with her belongings-- if Luke grabbed one of her toys, she would immediately want to play with it. Not so much anymore.
Earlier this summer, Raissa went on vacation for a week. I decided to take advantage of the week and had my mother in law and mom come over to help while I attempted to potty train Makayla. For the most part she was pretty ready. She was mostly cooperative but has had trouble self-initiating. However, just yesterday, she self initiated TWICE. I was soooo proud of her!
As M is finishing her 2's and moving toward her 3s, we are getting a bit of a preview of what the "treacherous 3s" are going to be like. Most days M is a very sweet funny girl. But occasionally, we will see this super stubborn, independent, grumpy side of her. Although I'm excited to see her growth this next year, I'm little nervous about dealing with the less appealing side of the 3s.
A lot of change happens at 3 years of age and it is usually when kids are allowed to participate in sports, music, etc. because they are physically and mentally capable of meeting the demands required. I had M sit in a couple of piano lessons as a starting point. She seemed somewhat interested.. I think music lessons are a great way to learn discipline and effort, and music is good for relaxation, memory, and other known benefits.
Also noteworthy development at age 3 is the beginning of autobiographical memory. Typically before the age of 3, children have "infantile amnesia" which inhibits them from remembering events that occur in early childhood. Some link the end of infantile amnesia to the emerging of language. Since M has been talking for awhile and continues to improve in speech, I have seen her talk about events from weeks or even sometimes months ago. How exciting!!!
You remember how Makayla super early learned to identify her letters (20 month)?! Well I think she got tired of performing that she eventually forgot a lot of letters. A few months ago, she remembered less than half the alphabet. Then, my friend Olga recommended the Leapfrog DVD "Letter Factory". M was so excited to watch it, but 1 minute into the DVD she realized it would be about letters and she immediately asked to watch something else! Fortunately, she asked for the DVD the next day and absolutely LOVED it! She asked to watch it over and over again.. A few weeks later, she knew all of her letters and all of their sounds. Best DVD ever!
I believe M is pretty much ready to read as she has been showing signs of reading readiness though I am not going to push it. She has an amazing memory for the books we read with her. Sometimes she'll pick up a book and start reading it as though she could really read. In actuality, she's reciting the book verbatim from memory. Oftentimes, she'll also pick up a book and start telling the story based on the pictures. And of course, now that she knows the sounds of letters, it's just a matter of time before she starts to put them together. She already says "C-A-T cat!" though I'm sure she has no idea she is spelling a word.
M is thinking very critically these days. Just the other day, M was playing with Auntie Laurice. They were playing soccer with her stuffed animals and a mini soccer ball. Then Auntie Laurice asked if her Ariel wanted to play soccer. M proceeded to say "No, Ariel can't play soccer because she doesn't have legs!" M was able to process that 1) Soccer requires the use of legs, 2) Ariel is a mermaid and thus doesn't have legs, so therefore 3) Ariel cannot play soccer.
Of course we have been looking forward to putting M into school for awhile now. We are eager to see how well she thrives in this unique social setting and know that the school has a lot to offer her. I had gone with her on a few visits a month prior to her begin date in order to familiarize her with the environment. I was pleased to see her enjoying herself. We had tried talking to her about moving on from Aiyi's house and that she was going to go to "big girl school" soon. She preferred to call it "Montessori" instead of "school". On the first day of school, Eric and I took her together and were a bit nervous that she would cry and not want us to leave. The school even gave us a few pointers to prepare us: don't make a big deal, don't linger, remind them you will come back to pick them up, act like you are comfortable with leaving them there.. Well we gave her quick hug and reassured her I would come back to pick her up at the end of the day and walked away. She just looked back at us, sort of sad, but seemed to understand. No tears at all.. I was so proud!!
M does somersaults!
Fun things Makayla says:
"It wasn't me, it was Jeremiah!"
"Awesome!"
"Adorable!"
"Ohhh look at that!"
"Try again!"
"Don't talk about me!"
"It's ok it was my fault!"
"responsibility"
Conversation about Auntie Laurice:
Me: You know Auntie Laurice is a doctor.
M: No she's not. She's nice!
Conversation about feelings with Makayla at 32 months:
M: I'm sad
Me: Why are you sad?
M: Because I got in trouble
M: Because I got in trouble
Me: Why did you get in trouble?
M: Because I was playing with my cup
Me: Why is it not a good idea to play with your cup?
M: Because the water will spill
M: Because the water will spill
Me: That's right!
Conversation with Makayla at 32 months:
One night we read "Princess Potty" and told M that if she goes potty she gets a sticker jewel on her paper crown.
In the morning M woke me up in the morning saying "Mommy, I have to go potty! I'll go to the potty, you get the crown!"
Conversation with Makayla at 34 months:
M during drop off: "Daddy you have to go to work? Can I go with you?"
M during pick up:
Mom: "Did you say bye byes to daddy this morning?"
M: "yes"
Mom: "How did that make you feel?"
M: "sad"
Mom: "why did it make you sad?"
M: "Because I missed daddy." "I missed Daddy and Mommy when you went to work"
Makayla's Prayer last night:
"Dear Jesus, <Undecipherable babble> Protect my friends and live happily ever after above the sea! Amen." (looks down at her shirt) "My Little Pony"
She always ends with her character as if she's signing a letter.
- My Little Pony
- Palace Pets
- Chinese Sesame Street
Makayla & Luke's Fun Adventures
Memorial Day weekend with Ark families (5/23-5/24)
Pretend City (5/28, 6/3, 6/5)
M's trip to Disneyland with Uncle Jeff & Auntie Laurice (6/7)
Luke's first swim (5/30)
First piano "lesson" (7/11)
Aquarium of the Pacific (7/18)
Big Air Trampoline (8/28)
Arboretum with Grandma Angela (8/31)
Garrish Swim Club with the Sakonju's (8/30)
First day of Montessori (9/2)
Garfield Park with Auntie Emmy and Grandma Ann (9/6)
Jen and Stephen's wedding (M only) (8/31)
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