When it comes to Lukas, every day we move further away from babyhood is a good day in my book. After all, I think everyone who keeps track of me and knew me when Lukas was a baby knows how difficult that first year was.
Now that we've reached 2 years old, I can safely say that my little guy is my everything. I never knew how much I could love having a little boy. It's tough for me to put my finger on why this is the case but it is. Maybe it's his excitement for life. His adventurous spirit. The way that he both loves and angers fiercely. He's got this tough guy exterior with this gentle interior. He's amazing and I can't get enough of him.
At two years old here's where Lukas Ryan is, what he's capable of, and where he's going:
Lukas is wearing size 2T clothes, top and bottom. We had his two year checkup this morning and he's 75th percentile for height (35.5 in) and 25th for weight (27 lbs). Following in his sister's footsteps, he's tall and lean. People say he looks more like he's three but I don't see it.... I suppose I'm just used to having tall kiddos. While his communication skills have always been a bit slower than I expected, he's starting to speak in small sentences and we can understand almost everything he wants/needs at this point. Last week he started saying some colors (yellow, blue, red) and out of the blue he said "Star!" when looking at a book. He can also count to ten because he's just a smarty pants like that. :)
He loves trucks. Big trucks. We're learning what types of trucks there are in this world and doing so quickly. He gets so excited when we're in the car and he sees a "big truck" somewhere around us. He also can identify trains and boats. Apparently he loves all things big and noisy... go figure. :)
Currently, Lukas is obsessed with Barney and Elmo much to his mothers dismay. I remember watching Barney with my baby cousins about 20 years ago and thinking to myself then how much I looked forward to the day I'd never have to watch a big purple dinosaur again. Well I had a nice reprieve but now Barney is back and bigger than ever. At least I can say that my kids learn some valuable lessons from Barney and that counts for something, right?! Lukas is going to be Elmo for Halloween this year and while he had the choice between having an Elmo birthday party and a Mickey birthday party, he opted for the Mickey party. He also loves Thomas the Train and loves "Boby" the best (aka Toby the caboose train).
He remains in his crib and I'm hoping that he'll be in it for another year or so. However, I do know that once we start potty training (maybe in about six months or so? I'm definitely not rushing this even though I think he'll be my easier child to train...) we'll have to take one of the sides off and use it as a daybed.
Our little boy is a growing boy, easily evidenced by his food intake. I'm trying desperately to teach my children better eating habits than I've always had and trying to keep them from snacking all day long. But with two growing kids, this proves difficult at times! Lukas would eat all day, every day if I let him. He loves cereal, bananas, mac and cheese, yogurt, cheese sticks, and cookies best. He usually eats pretty well for dinner and never puts up a fuss about what we make (unlike his picky-pants sister!). He loves milk and water but isn't a big fan of juice. I made him hot chocolate last week for the first time this year and he LOVED it.
Lukas has some pretty sweet athletic abilities and while I may be biased in saying that, I've been told this by some of his teachers as well. He's great at tumbling as Liana comes home from gymnastics to teach him her new moves. Summersaults are nothing for this kid! He jumps off of everything and I've pretty much stopped trying to control it. He jumps from the 3rd stair down to the floor, off the couches and end tables, and out of the car (once it's parked, of course!) everywhere we go. He's pretty fearless but he's learning the meaning of "Be careful." Lukas loves to throw his football and kick his soccer ball. We took him bowling for the first time last weekend and he tried to kick the bowling ball down the alley! He's also picking up on the fact that his daddy LOVES hockey and so now, Lukas seems to LOVE hockey too. He has two hockey shirts that I bought him this year and he gets so excited to wear them when I pull them out of the closet. Mike bought a pair of adjustable ice skates that both he and Liana can wear this winter out on the lake (I'm not too fond of that idea but I know it'll be a losing battle if I pursue it.). Finally, Lukas also loves baseball and will sit next to Mike on the couch and watch a baseball game with his daddy. It's pretty adorable.
My two year old is still obsessed with his cubby bear and paci. In fact, he carries around two security blankets with him - cubby bear and monkey. He won't go anywhere without these three security items and we've learned a tough lesson each time we've accidently left them at home. The minute he gets in the car he's got to have all three within his possession. When he's losing his patience somewhere, these are the only three things that may be able to buy us some time. He carries them around pretty much all day, every day. I'm quite eager to get rid of the pacifier as I know his attachment to it is going to continue to deepen as he gets older. I'm hoping that happens sometime very soon as i just found out he's not allowed to have it in the two's room at daycare.... which he moves into next week. Yikes.
Lukas's personality is the epitome of sweet and sour. While we used to call Liana a "sour patch kid", there is no one that is better suited for this nickname than Lukas Ryan! Lukas is the sweetest child I know in so many respects. He loves to snuggle when he's not too busy playing. When he gets hurt, he takes so much solace in my arms and lays his head right down on my shoulder as I'm holding him for comfort. He's gentle with his friends and while he's been the victim of biting and hitting at school, he hasn't been found at the giving end of those behaviors all too often. I am smitten by the way he apologizes... when he's done something naughty and we tell him to apologize, he walks up to the person he hurt and rubs his fisted hand over their chest (which is sign language for "I'm sorry") and then so sweetly says, "I sowwwy." He can be so easy going when he wants to be, often allowing Liana to have her way with things while playing together. He absolutely adores his big sister and she is definitely the peanut butter to his jelly right now. While they do fight sometimes, this is usually short lived and I'd say that 75% of the time they are the best of friends. His feelings do get hurt easily though and while I hate when he's sad, I never mind being the one to make it all better.
On the flip side, Lukas remains a fireball. He is sassy! And loud! And disagreeable! (How can one be disagreeable and yet easygoing? I'm still trying to figure that one out myself....) He's learned the word "NO!" and uses it often. He throws the biggest temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way, complete with throwing himself down on the floor and all. He screams bloody murder when he's upset. Liana always says, "LUKAS! YOU'RE HURTING MY EARS!" and I have to say, I agree with her. His screams are high pitched and they make me want to run for the hills most times. This kid knows what he wants and when he wants it. Sometimes, distraction still works but he's become too smart for his own good these past few months and even if we can distract him for a moment, he usually remembers what he wanted and continues to push for it. He doesn't listen well, at all, and challenges us time after time. I've never loved a person so incredibly much yet been so incredibly annoyed by them as well, often within the same five minute span of time. Only Lukas could do that for me. He is my firecracker and while it wears on us from time to time, I ultimately do love that part of his personality. :)
Back to the daycare issue... Lukas continues to go to daycare two days a week. While he's been in the toddler room for the past 10 months, he's moving up to the Two's Room on November 4th. I'm already dreading this change because I love the women that care for him now. They are so good and so patient and I just can't stand the thought of him leaving them. Plus, he'll be leaving his friends behind for a little while until they move up to the Two's Room with him (thankfully, he does have at least one other friend in the Two's Room that moved up a few months ago). I do know though that the Two's teachers will likely be equally wonderful as Ms. Becky and Ms. Barb have been. Forest Grove CLC has been such a godsend to Mike and I as there's never been a single day in which I've found something to worry about when it comes to the care my children receive while I'm at work.
While Lukas loves babies, it doesn't seem like he'll be a big brother any time soon. Mike and I are very happy with our family of four and we're still pretty confidant that it'll stay this way. Plus, Liana says "No more babies!" whenever we ask her whether she wants another little brother/sister.
Watching Lukas grow into a two year old both feels like it took forever and it happened in the blink of an eye. I think about how hard those first months were and I can't fathom going through it again. There were so many days that I felt like this was never going to get better. But then magically, one day, it did. And while my baby boy may be fierce at times, he is equally as sweet.
And, I adore him.
Mama loves you, Lukas Ryan. I can't wait to see where the next year takes us!
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