Big Update on Luis

It's a big day for us today. Last night, Luis slept in the "big bed" and today he is off at school!

When we settled in here after Christmas, Diego and I decided not to set the crib up. Luis has been sleeping in a pack-n-play at the foot of the big built in bed in his room. We snuggle in the big bed, read books in the big bed, play in the big bed, but until a week ago, there was no sleeping in the big bed. Over the weekend, Luis started napping in the bed, but opted for the p-n-p for night time. Until last night. He slept in the bed all night and even managed to get down from the big bed (using not one, but two stools) by himself this morning. I realize that this is not necessarily the end of the p-n-p, but at least it's the beginning of the bed.

Also today, Luis went to a local Parents Day Out program run by the church about a 1/2 a block away. It came highly recommended by lots of moms in our neighborhood, so I was thrilled that they had a space available on Wednesdays. The program goes from 9-3 and has four class rooms with no more than 7 kids each. The classes are sorted by age and Luis's class is 5 boys and 1 girl all born between June and Dec 2006. Each class has a teacher and there are two "floater" teachers that go where needed. When we went last week to check it out, Luis seemed to really like it (or at least the fact that they had LOTS of cars & trucks to play with). Luis did great this morning when I dropped him off - gave me a hug and a kiss and said "bye bye Mommy". I hope that he makes it the entire day, even though I realize that means that he probably won't nap. Oh well. All things in good time.

In other news, Luis is doing great! He is really talking up a storm, and often talking in sentences. "Mommy come play playdoh too!" is said at least once a day. But he can also say things like "Mommy use big rake, Luis use little rake, sweep leaves." On our walk yesterday, he said, "Luis cold. Go back Luis's house. Cold. Go home." Diego continues to work with him in Spanish. Consistently, Luis can answer "Cuanto anos tienes?" (dos) And, "Come te llamas?" (Luis)

Luis is learning his colors. In the last couple of days he can (usually) properly identify Red, Blue, Green, Pink and Brown. I'm sure it helps that these are the playdoh colors we have. When reading his Richard Scary book about Things that Go, he'll point out the yellow bobcat or the green dump truck. He likes to find Goldbug hiding in the pages (a little like Where's Wald0) - sometimes calling out "Goldbuggggggg Where are you??" (And when he sees the green bugs in the book, he calls them Green Goldbug.)

Luis is very agile - climbing in and out of the pack-n-play, using a combination of stools to get up in the bed, climbing in and out of his booster chair and car seat "by self". At the playground, he likes to climb up the ladders, the slide, the rock walls, whatever.

Settling in to Dallas has gone very well. I realized last week that since we got here, Luis has not been carrying around his blanket or baca (pacifier) while in the house; it's only used for sleeping. He is also eating a better balance of food and is willing to try more things. One thing that's been hard for me is trying to explain to Luis why we can't see all of our VA/MD/DC friends. He asks about people every day. "Luis go Uncle Dodie's house?" "Go Other Park; see Sarah, William, Manya (Matthew)?" "Play playdoh Manya & Prima?" "See Lopa, see Jack?" Sometimes, it's just an inquiry about what people are doing now. So we talk about Grandaddy being at work or Maggie Lou at school or Sarah making dinner or William taking a bath or Bibi doing her exercises. These conversations always end with, "Yes Luis, I miss them too - and I hope they'll come visit us soon!"

Luis loves to play in the dirt (with his shovel), play playdoh, play trucks, play trains, read books, play water games and play outside (all his terms). He's also very helpful - raking leaves, sweeping the floor, picking up toys. This morning, he helped me make smoothies for breakfast. (I'm hoping to find the patience to invite Luis into the kitchen on a regular basis.)

Luis is a happy kid who is generally very easy going. Despite being 2, I haven't seen much of the tell-tale Terrible Two's (though maybe he's just a late bloomer?). He is very observant with and interested in other people. In the last week, he's learned a new word: Friends. We met some new friends when we visited the school last week. And we met new friends who live across the street (the neighbors have a 5 year, 3 year, and 17 month old with one more on the way). We met new friends at the park. I have a big emotional reaction when Luis asks me "Go outside? See friends?" It makes me incredibly happy.

Mostly, he's still a good sleeper. At night, he sleeps 7p until about 5.45a. Most morning, he climbs up into our bed (using yet another stool) and snuggles with me for about 15 minutes before we go downstairs. Some morning when Luis is more restless or more noisy, we go snuggle in his bed. In general, the rule is "lights off, sleepy time" until 6a. And he generally takes a 2-hour nap in the middle of the day (thank goodness!).

Oh, and the numbers - at his 2 year check up, he was 28lbs, and 34". After being 75% height, 40% weight and 25% head circumference for his whole life, he is now 50%, 50%, 50%.