Lucas at 34 Months

Lucas is now repeating so many words that I can't keep track! It's very exciting. What's most interesting is now that he's talking up a storm, he's barely signing anymore. He still enjoys watching "Signing Time" but now he's saying many of the words, instead of signing them. He now asks for "Tatel" (otherwise known as "Rachel" the talent in the "Signing Time" series) and "sings" through about half of the theme song. His articulation is improving, but blended sounds such as "bread" still sound like "bed" and letters which are made in the front of the mouth such as "n" and "l" are difficult -- when you ask him his name now, he usually says "cas" -- again the "l" is a difficult sound for him to produce. At school, he knows most of his friends' names and can identify them.

Lucas is using the 3-word phrase "I want [eat or outside or TV, etc.]" throughout the day; often in a demanding tone. He's taken a real liking to the "Brown Bear" book series and says "I see [horse or cat, etc.]" as we read the story which is just starting to translate to the real world. He is learning his colors -- his favorites are blue, red, and purple and he can identify those correctly in about 75% of cases. We use colored bean bags with the name of the color on it to reinforce this skill. He's got numbers one to five down, and is learning to count to 10, although he tends to skip either seven and/or eight. We use a great online tool called "Starfall" where Lucas is learning his letters too -- he knows about 10 letters he can identify and say, such as d, b, z, v, w, m. His favorite words include "mom" "wow" "ouch" "yeah" and "no" -- not to mention "let's go". He is getting more and more independent by the day -- he knows what he wants all the time and is quick to tell you "no" if you're not doing as he says/wants. Lucas is starting to take off his shirt and pants, and gets aggravated when we try to help. He also likes to tell you "bye" if you're crowding him -- his little way of saying "piss off".

Lucas has been getting so much better at following commands. He now can often follow a two-step command -- without my asking him more than three times! He's liking playing with his friends more too and is initiating play.

Lucas is starting to "run" more and walk at a faster pace so he can keep up with us. He's also getting more proficient at catching a ball...he can usually catch a big ball and in about 1 out of 4 throws, he can catch a smaller (about 6/8" diameter) ball. We're going to pick up a whiffle bat to start getting him accustom to swinging and improve his hand-eye coordination.

His favorite play things (in addition to balls) are his safari animals, sea animals (in the tub), putting together 3-piece magnetic animal puzzles, doing matching games, and he now loves his Magna Doodle. He's starting to scribble using his thumb up and holding his colors more steadily (I didn't know this was a big deal, but it's a milestone -- no longer using the thumb down when writing). A source of continued frustration for us is blowing...he loves bubbles, but is often more interested in dipping the wand and pulling it out of the bottle than in actually blowing bubbles.

The potty training is still a struggle, but that's mostly my fault. We haven't had the time or energy lately to put in the effort (I'm feeling all kinds of guilt about it too). Lucas has asked to use the potty successfully a handful of times in the past few weeks, but we don't push it. I'm going to do a boot-camp of sorts (using the "Three Day Potty Training" method) before he turns three --I mostly want to experiment to see how he (and I) do (I will most likely need some Xanax before I attempt it since it calls for taking the child to the potty each time he starts to have an accident -- luckily, we have wood floors throughout).

I know I keep saying this, but it's amazing how much and how quickly they grow, change, and develop...so much learning taking place. There are days when I want to fast forward everything (like getting him out of Pull-Ups!), but then I realize, the time is going by way too quickly as it is. I think it's probably one of the reasons some people have other kids...to be able to experience all these amazing moments over and over again. I'm already missing the little bean he use to be, but loving the little boy he's becoming.