Happy 2nd Birthday, Luke!

Today Luke celebrated his second birthday!  I can't believe how fast time has gone.  Two years ago yesterday, I was crying on my way to the hospital.  We knew about his Polymicrogyria. But we had no idea what the road ahead was going to look like for our family and for our son(s).   I wasn't ever sad about him coming - I just didn't know how or if we were going to be able to protect him once he came.  But man is this child a fighter & hard worker! 

I think I've said before that this blog has become somewhat of a journal for me.  I like to go back and look at his progression - how big he's getting and how much he's learning.  So to mark this important milestone - here's what Luke is up to at two years old!!

*He is doing well with his gross motor skills.  He is learning to jump - he can jump with both feet when he's holding onto something.  Sometimes he can make a small jump by himself.  He is walking backwards and is sooo proud of himself!  We are working on running.  He is starting to walk up hills independently and is becoming more fearless as he goes down them (yikes!).  He is able to climb up into our play set and is going down the slide on his belly.  He loves it!!

*His speech is coming right along.  He seems to understand most of what we say.  He is still difficult to understand but it's becoming easier.  He has a lot of words that I understand.  He is still inconsistent with producing some of his 'known' words.  He'll have a word but then when you ask him to use it - he can't spit it out.  We are trying to get him to understand how to use two words together and to speak more clearly.  His speech therapist has worked wonders with him.  I think he is starting to show some frustration as he tries to communicate something to us but is unable to - but that's normal toddler behavior:)  Yay!

*His fine motor skills are improving.  He still has difficulty using the pincer grasp but is making progress.  We are continuing to work with him while he is eating.  Luke still tends to shove too much food in his mouth.  He understands the concept of picking up one piece of food at a time but he doesn't choose to do it most of the time.

We had a quiet birthday day for our big boy who tends to get a ton of attention.  Since we hadn't really planned anything for the big day (GASP), we forgot to get him a present!!  Yes, we are terrible parents!!  We went out for dinner tonight and then to Toys R Us.  Luke got to pick out his very own toy for the first time.  So we walked out with an Elmo doll & some Elmo books.  The kid loves Elmo (Ehhhmmmo!). 

He has a neurologist appointment coming up next week.  We are also meeting with our First Steps coordinator to determine his services for the next 6 months. 

Of course, his birthday celebration continues tomorrow.  I am a big believer in Birthday Weekends (weeks, months...milk it!).  Again nothing too exciting planned - except for time with our little family.  Wait - that's huge! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you and most importantly - Happy Luke's Day to everyone!!  Love to you all!