Sweet Success!

I wish you all could have been there to witness this moment. It wasn't particularly amazing or earth shattering. It was just so precious and wonderful to see the joy of a real "light bulb moment" first hand.

As I mentioned earlier (see Signs of Despiration) we have been working to teach Luke the sign for "more". Tonight, I was sitting in the living room, and Luke was crawling around on the floor playing. Then, as clear as could be, he made the "more" sign to me. Not like a clap. Fingers together, tapping. I said "more" to him, to confirm what he was doing. Then, I took him and put him in his high chair so that he could have some tangible confirmation of what he was doing.

I got out a really yummy butter croissant that I had just bought today. I gave him a little piece to eat and then I asked him if he wanted "more." First, he just clapped. As he was clapping, I said "clap, clap, clap." Then, he switched to the "more" sign. I said "More! Good boy!" and gave him some more of the croissant. He seemed really pleased with himself. But it got even better. You could just see the excitement in his face as he gradually realized that he was actually communicating with me.

He began a game. When he was finished with his little bite, he would begin clapping. I would say "clap, clap, clap" and then he would switch to the "more" sign, and I would say "more" (and give him so more to eat). When this happened, right on his cue, he began laughing hysterically. I have never seen him laugh so hard at anything - especially if it doesn't involve being tickled or tossed up in the air. This game continued for a full 10 or 15 minutes following the same pattern - clap, more, laugh! Matt came in to observe the fun.

Of course, it was wonderful to see that he had made the connection about the meaning of the sign, but it was far more fun to see how excited he was that he could "make" Mommy say different things based on what he was doing! What a joy to watch a little boy develop his God-given skills of interpersonal communication! The only question now is what sign to teach him next!

Signs of Desperation

Matt and I decided that it might be a good idea to try and teach Luke some sign language. The theory - which we have heard from other families whose parenting we highly respect - is that a few simple signs will give a child who is old enough to communicate, but not old enough to speak, the means by which to make his/her needs known. In other words, we could teach Luke to let us know that he needs more Veggie Puffs by using a sign, rather than by hollering "ma ma ma ma" in a tone that sounds more like a flock of Canadian geese flying overhead.

We decided to begin with the sign for "more" (as this would address the Canadian geese issue mentioned above). This sign is made by tapping the tips of your fingers of one hand to the tips of your fingers of the other hand. (The fingers of each hand come together as if you were holding a piece of paper between your thumb and finger tips in each hand. You then tap the finger tips of each hand together.) When he wants more food, I make the sign while saying the word "more", then help him to make it before giving him more.

Anyway, we had had little success with this sign, but we weren't discouraged as Luke is still young to be picking up on this. In fact, the only thing he was doing that approached the sign was to clap. But, as Matt put it, clapping was his way of saying "Do whatever it is I'm thinking." (i.e. more food, get me down, etc.) Still, it was encouraging that he seemed to have the idea that he could communicate by doing something with his hands.

The moment of truth, however, came this morning at the Women's Fellowship meeting. Several ladies of the church and their children meet every other Tuesday morning at the Ludovico's house. Luke had finished his bottle and was sitting on my lap while a church member spoke to the group. Then, across the room, another mother took out a bottle for her little girl. Suddenly, Luke began frantically making the "more" sign! He was so accurate that - without me even saying anything - both my mom and one of the other ladies looked over and recognized that he was making the "more" sign! So apparently, in times of desperate need, he is able to make his wishes known. (On a side note, I did not have any more formula, so instead, Luke downed most of a muffin and a half. He can be quite the eater when he sets his mind to it.)

Has he done the "more" sign since? Nope! But from what I have heard, there is often a lag between when a baby makes a sign for the first time and when he can use it consistently. We have started to notice other things that he is able to imitate as well, though. For example, when we sing "Clap Your Hands, All Ye People" he will clap and (though not a the right moment) put his hands up in the air! It sure is fun to watch this little guy being able to do more and more every day!

It's a Girl!

We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday and found out that the baby we are expecting in August is a little girl! Yea! We will have a "matched set" as my dad says. When we met with the midwife after the ultrasound, she remembered that we already had a little boy and asked us if he was hoping for a brother or a sister. As it turned out, she didn't remember that he was only 9 months old. ;-) From the measurements on the ultrasound, it looks like little Emma Caroline is growing right on schedule and the due date remains August 9. Please pray for her continued growth and development and for a safe and healthy delivery.

Clap Clap!

So the other night, we were having family worship. We have been working with Luke to help him sit still and quiet during this time and also during church on Sundays. All of a sudden, he started clapping. We hadn't practiced this. We hadn't modeled or coached. He just started doing it! Of course, what I was supposed to do was to encourage him to keep quiet, but I couldn't help watching with delight. I was kind of thinking maybe Matt wouldn't notice. But shortly, Matt stopped his reading and said, "Is he clapping?!?" We ended up taking a break from our reading to watch Luke clapping! The only problem now is that he wants to clap in church. I had to explain to him that Presbyterians don't do that. ;-)

Standing ... Sort Of

The weather this week and weekend has been absolutely gorgeous. It's the middle of March, and the temperatures have been in the mid 70's. Also, Joshua (my 10 year old brother) has been staying with us since Wednesday while Mom and Dad are away celebrating their 30th anniversary (Yea, Mom and Dad!!). Last Thursday, we picked up Joshua at school and went to the park. It was so lovely and we had such a grand time that we decided to go again on Saturday. Josh wanted to invite Ryan and Ben (who would be home from VCU on Spring Break).

Ryan and Ben met us at the park with kites, and we brought one of Matt's old kites. The kite flying didn't amount to much (mostly because Ryan had purchased $1 kites that were only 23" long and Matt's kite fell apart shortly after it was launched). But Josh found a family who was playing Frisbee and softball and joined them for some sports action. Ben had to head off to another engagement. So, Ryan and I sat on a blanket playing with Luke.

Donna (Ryan's sweetie) called him on his cell phone. While he was talking to her, Luke was standing beside me holding onto my shoulder and playing with my sunglasses. Apparently, he decided that he needed two hands to properly explore the sunglasses, because he let go of my shoulder. For about 5 seconds, Ryan and I (and Donna, sort of by way of phone) witnesses Luke standing all by himself! He was a little wobbly, but you could see his toes working to keep him balanced. In just a short while, he seemed to realize that he was no longer holding on and regained his grip on my shirt. It was fun while it lasted!

Matt claims he won't believe it until he sees it with his own eyes. Luke has yet to repeat the task and I expect he won't unless he has some good reason to stand and use both hands to do something!

I Get A Kick Outta' This

During my pregnancy with Luke, I was so excited about the idea of having a baby that I though about my pregnancy and my unborn child about 23/7. Because this pregnancy was a little bit of a surprise, and because I already have such a wonderful little guy to keep me occupied, this time I have to keep reminding myself that I really am pregnant and that we really do have another wonderful little package on the way.

This has all become much easier to visualize as just this weekend, I began to feel the baby kick ... for sure. If you've ever been pregnant, you know that when you are finally sure you are feeling the baby kick, you know (or realize) that you have actually been feeling it for a while, but that you couldn't be sure (or didn't know) that was what you were feeling. When the baby is first big enough to make its presence known, the little flutters feel about like bubbles of gas, or a faint pulse of your heartbeat just below your belly button.

Anyway, I loved this time with Luke and I am loving it again with baby #2. It's kind of special because at this point, while the little movements are strong enough for me to feel, they are not yet strong enough to be felt on the outside (i.e. by Matt or others). It's kind of like our little secret - just me and the baby!

Speaking of secrets, we still do not know the sex of the baby. We do, however, have an ultrasound schedule for the afternoon of March 22. Hopefully (Lord willing and baby cooperating) we will be able to tell the gender at that appointment. Check back for a posting some time that week.

Breaking News!

Well, this post isn't technically about Luke, although the information contained herein will certainly affect him. The big news is that we are expecting another baby in August! We (the baby and I) just had our 12 week check-up last week and everything looks great, so we have been spreading the news. Please pray for us (for me especially) as I have been super low on energy, though this has been gradually improving over the last week or so. Also, it means that next fall, we will have an infant and a one year old - an exciting, but somewhat intimidating prospect!

Our 20 week appointment should be at the end of March, at which time we would like to find out the sex of the baby, if he or she will "cooperate". Speaking of "he or she", if this baby is a boy, we will name him Thomas Charles after an 18th century Welsh preacher whose writings Matt has greatly enjoyed. If we have a girl, she will be named Emma Caroline (the same name we had chosen for Luke, had he been a girl).

Sitting ... and Standing!

Last night after evening church, a bunch of the kids where helping Luke to sit up. It was precious! The were sitting in a circle around him so that they could give him a little boost if he leaned in one direction or the other! He actually did some sitting up on his own, and has done a little more today. I have noticed, however, that if he gets particularly excited about a toy and begins to shake it, he is prone to throwing himself over backwards!

The newest development occurred today at his early afternoon nap. I put him down around 12:30 and around 12:40, I heard him crying. I recognized it as the cry that says "Hey, I'm really tired and willing to go to sleep, but I have flipped myself over and now don't know what to do." I peeked in to see if that was in fact the case. It was not. Instead, Luke was standing (yes, in a sleep sack) holding on to the edge of the crib. The reason for the familiar cry was the fact that he was not sure how to get back down! Once I laid him down and tucked him back in, he fell off to sleep, and I called Matt to inform him that we would definitely need to lower the mattress tonight!

P.S. I actually got a short video of this last acrobatic feat, so if I can figure out how to post video to the blog, I will share it.

Crawling!!

Well, Luke had his six month check up this morning. As usual, he was weighed, measured and given a few shots. What was not "as usual" was that he actually started crawling right there in the doctor's office! The nurse had gotten all of his vitals and we were waiting for the doctor. Luke was up on the exam table (which is covered in that sticky-feeling vinyl/plastic type fabric). The nurse had laid out one of those blue and white paper and plastic square pads for him to lay on, but he was intent on eating it. I moved it to the other end of the exam table ... and he crawled to it! I couldn't believe what I had seen so I moved it to the other end ... and he crawled back! Eager for still more action, I put him on the floor, and he proceded to maneuver around the floor, wobbly but definitely crawling. Apparently he was intent on checking out each of the white floor tiles in a mostly blue/green tiled floor.

When we got home, he continued his little act. He crawled for his Nannie and his Uncle Joshua when they came to visit, and he crawled for his Uncles Ryan and Ben when they came bearing raisins. And most importantly, he crawled (smiling and happy) for his daddy when he got home from work. I will need to completely change my perception of his mobility for the future. I walked into the kitchen to put a tissue in the trashcan, leaving Luke playing with a toy near the rug in front of our fireplace. When I returned, he was attempting to pull the lights off of our Christmas tree! (Yes, I decided that this anecdote was too precious to omit, despite the fact that it reveals that our Christmas tree is still up as we sail merrily into mid-January!)

You may wonder what the best "carrot" is to motivate him to move. Is it the sweet voice of his loving mother calling him over? Is it the excitement of all of the new, colorful, lighted and sound-making toys? Or perhaps the cats which he so adores? None of the above. Want to see Lukey crawl? Drop a piece of paper on the floor. Yup. Paper. An empty envelope from junk mail. The instructions to one of the oodles of new Christmas toys that have been recently opened and assembled. Even the phone book. Yes, our child is a paper fanatic. A crawling paper fanatic.

Knee Scooting

Well, the latest development in the almost-but-not-yet crawling story is "knee scooting." As far as I know, this is not an official term, just one I made up for this blog. Now, instead of using his hands to pull himself along as he slides on his belly, he is using his hands to pull himself along as he slides on his knees. So at this point, he is in exactly the right position for crawling (on his hands and knees) and his arms are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing (moving one at a time, in a forward motion). And actually, I'm not sure what his motivation would be to get the knees in gear, because on our hardwood floors, knee scooting seems to be just about as effective as actual crawling!

As a side note, Luke has also started to do a lot of what his Nannie (my mother) says is trying to sit up. While in the crawling position, he gets one leg under him and winds up kind of sitting sideways on one thigh, resting his weight on one hand. He seems to prefer this position for playing with a toy, once he has reached and obtained it. Up until this point, his common MO was to drop to his belly once he got to a toy, meaning that playing with it was difficult since he needed both hands to hold him up (he usually just resorted to elbows), and the toy was only inches from his nose. Now he has one hand free to wave, bang, squeeze or poke!

More updates on these exciting developments will be posted when they become available!