Luis is 16 Months!

I really feel like I was just writing the "Luis is 15 months post"; where is the time going?? His measurements are (approximately) 33" (90%) and 26lbs (65%). I admit that compared with last months stats, this means he is 2" taller and lost 1/2 lb. But I think it paints a general picture: he's a tall, lean kid. He's had very little teeth development in several months (he stopped at four up top and four on the bottom). Today, I could feel very clearly that on the top he's got two incisors and one molar totally poked through (though it's only small pieces that have cleared the gums). And on the bottom it looks like the two incisors are close to breaking, but haven't yet. Between his mouth and the heat, we do a lot of frozen smoothies and Popsicles these days.

I find it more and more difficult to talk about Luis in summary kind of terms, especially in this kind of "milestone" post. It used to be "he's sitting up" or "he's eating bananas". But as he becomes more complex and gets more personality, it's much harder to sum him up. He likes to climb up onto things. He's tried to climb onto Ashley's kennel, tried to scale the wall (to reach the window sill) and tries to climb into the bathtub. And he likes to look in thing - inside a draw, in an envelope, in the closet. He is not yet eye level with the kitchen counter (they are much lower her than in the US), but he can get a pretty good view of what is on the first 12" of counter top. And he can get his little hands on about the first 6" of counter top. He LOVES to pull stuff down, so we all must be more vigilant about what we leave on the counter and how close it is to the edge.

Luis likes to look at books on his own for a bit - but then will usually bring it to me to read it to him. He especially likes books with peek-a-boo flaps or touch-and-feel books. It's funny to watch him trying to look for the "lift flap" on a non peek-a-boo book. He is just learning how to throw things - which is fun when its a plush ball or toy, but not so fun when it's a bath toy. Once he masters throwing, Ashley will definitely be his new best friend. In the tub, he most likes to pour water from one container to another, or over his head.

Luis is (finally!!!) taking to doing sign language. And while his signs aren't exactly right, he can articulate that he wants MORE and that he needs HELP. He can also say PLEASE. I am working on MILK and WATER (the two beverages he enjoys). After that, I need to study up myself on some new words. As for actual words, he has expanded his "what does the animal say?" vocabulary to include the cat and Ashley. Note dogs (in general) say WOOF WOOF or BOW WOW or even ARF. But Ashley says [pant pant pant pant pant]. As for actual words, I think the only one he has mastered is BOOM and he uses it very appropriately (like when he pulls a bit stack of books off of the shelf).

Luis still loves to work with the people who work here. He brings the broom to Parvati, brings the water pitcher to Vikram, brings Ashley's leash to Babu. When Shabina is here cooking, he almost always hangs out in or near the kitchen. The other day, Pauline, Parvati, and Shabina were all here at the same time (typically, Shabina comes later in the day, after Pauline & Parvati have left). Luis was visibly confused about having his three favorite ladies all there at the same time: he wasn't quite sure where to go or what to do. The broom is still a beloved toy, but he's added the "arm" piece of the vacuum cleaner into his highly-prized toy list.

Last week, Diego was packing for his trip to Amsterdam (business conference) and Lima (high school reunion). The suitcases were out for a couple of days - and that became the new favorite toy. He pushed the smaller bag (which Diego did not take) around the apartment for days. I felt a little bad when I finally got around to putting it away.

Luis loves to give Ashley dog biscuits. Luckily, he has not yet figured out how to open the Ziploc back that holds them. When that happens, both Luis & Ashley will be very happy. Unfortunately, Luis also seems to enjoy the biscuits and he sometimes gives chase across the apartment preferring to chew on the cookie himself rather than give it to Ashley.

A typical day for Luis is as follows: 6:45 gets up, plays and enjoys a pre-breakfast glass of milk. Breakfast consists of applesauce and bread w/ jam. We used to go for a walk in the morning, but with the heat, we haven't done that this week. So now, we play in the apartment, dance, read stories, etc. until nap time at 9. Luis sleeps until about 11. After a small snack, he goes down to the garden for a play and then comes up to the balcony for a "swim". Lunch follows shortly, a bit more playing and back to sleep for a 1-3 nap. The late afternoon is much like the midday and often includes another swim and another play in the garden. Dinner comes about 5:30, then bath, a little more play and off to bed at 7p (though often he asks to go down earlier)