Lucas James Stisher: Back From Vacation

We’ve had another busy couple of weeks, but not quite the last of our summer travel. Although we’ve had a fun summer, I’m actually looking forward to returning to a routine and some normalcy! I know Lucas is too... although he travels well, he doesn't sleep or eat well when we are gone. My brother even commented while visiting a couple weeks ago, that he's a different kid when he's in his own environment... much more talkative and energetic.

We returned last night from a nice week in Alabama with the kids to visit Bran’s family. This time we got to spend a lot more time out on the water than in past visits, which was great! Lucas loves getting in the water. In addition to seeing family, long weeks like this are nice for the kids to get to spend together, the weekends go by so quickly and there never seems to be enough time. They always race into the house to see him, and are still constantly fighting over him. I can't tell you how many fights we break up over "but I asked to hold him first", or "stop it (insert name)... I was playing with him", or "Daaaad... (insert name) keeps blocking me out and won't let me play with him!" They’re not in the house one minute before one (or all three) are asking to hold him. The same thing happens first thing in the morning…its like a competition of who can get to him first. Aside from the fighting, its all very sweet that they want to be near him so much. I've said it before, but it becomes more apparent after a trip like this, they all have their unique sweet way with him… Abby is like a little mommy and now loves to put him to sleep (she told me this week if I ever have trouble again, just give her a call). Nick is awesome at playing with him and teaching him how to do things, giving him lots of kudos when he does something on his own. Anna loves to get him talking and encouraging his social side...go figure :-)… She is the first to tell people all the words he cans say. And she still loves to pick out his outfits or comment on anything that he's wearing, of course)!

The week before our Alabama trip, our nanny took her vacation, so my sister-in-law graciously agreed to fly up to DC to help watch Lucas during the work week. It was so helpful, especially since Bran was out of town the entire week for business. And we got double the value from having Aunt Lori watch him because she gave him a lot of work outs, and really pushed him to use his body to reach for things. Last week he started using his legs while on his back to scoot his body in order to get a toy (a very specific move the therapists have been working on in ABM since December...he's finally doing it!) Unfortunately he doesn’t get as much exercise as he should when we travel because he’s usually passed from lap to lap, so I’m glad he had a busy week that he really needed!

At the end of that week, my brother and nephew drove up to spend the weekend with us, so we enjoyed having all of them here and showing a little of DC. Plus its always better to get to spend one-on-one time.

His newest words… “Bye-bye” and “G’bye!” Sometimes “goodbye” has four syllables, with his voice going up and down. Sooooo cute in his little micro-voice. He’s also starting to say “mommy” (not mama, but mommy). Is that just the best for all moms when their babies get to this stage??

I was able to get a sound bite of him yesterday... not the long four-syllable version, but his basic "G'bye".

Also, here's a second one that makes us laugh. He was frustrated with me and Nicholas because I took his paci from him while we kept asking him to say goodbye to get it recorded. He'd comply, but he wanted his paci back! Frustrated "G'bye"

We’re progressing in the area of fine motor skills to manipulate small things (we’ve been working on this in OT, and another area we are very behind in). He’s finally figured out how to continue holding food and take small bites (he used to throw it down one second after biting it). He is learning to manipulate things with his fingers and starting to use the pincer grasp (on the right hand only). His Aunt Joanne gave him a big carrot yesterday and he held onto it for a long time… not for teething like before, but for 10 minutes, took tiny little bites from it… all by himself! He’d bite it and smile at you, so proud of himself! Sometimes he gets obsessed with taking bites though, today he tried to divide up a little Cheerio into three bites. Ha! It was very cute watching him try to eat it. May not seem like a big deal, but fine motor skills are going to be just as much of a challenge for Lucas as the gross motor skills. Seeing progress in his little fingers = Good!

So no health issues or doctor’s visits to report on… a nice feeling. There probably won’t be anything newsworthy until we see the new ophthalmologist next week.

Here's some pictures from two weeks ago at my Mom's in Ohio. Both sets of vacation pics are coming.

Sitting with Grandma at her pond