Letter to Lukasz: months 8 &9

Dear Lukasz,

So much has been happening in the last 2 months that I've only had time to write down little notes... but here, finally, is a little 2-month update!

Your nickname of Woochie has pretty much stuck. Even Babcia, Dziadek and Gran call you this now. Grampa seems to be the only one to still call you Lukasz. :) And sometimes when your Tatus and I are feeling goofy, we add little Polish word endings to Woochie, and you become Woochieslaw or Woochieslawek or we call to you "Woochieslaweczku" (Woochie-swav-etch-ku). I wonder what you are going to think of this! :)

You have been showing signs of teething for the looooooongest time, drooling, chewing on anything and everything that comes near your mouth. Your feet are your favourite though. Finally, just a few days ago, your first tooth arrived! I think it's taking you some getting used to because it's pretty sharp. But I'm sure you'll be chewing on steaks in no time. You haven't seemed too interested in pureed solid foods, and Gran says if you could talk you'd be saying "I don't have time for this mush, bring on the steak!"

You've also become very grabby in the last couple of months, with October being the month where you finally mastered sitting up on your own and now you can occupy yourself for a long time if there are toys within reach that you can grab and bring to your mouth. You like it best of course when Lily and I are there playing with you. You are very very sociable, and are definitely happiest when there are lots of people around. (Just like your Ciocia Natalya, with whom you share your birthday!) Lily is the opposite, she's happiest just being somewhere quiet and playing on her own or with me or Tatus. I wonder if you will help Lily come out of her shell a bit and be more comfortable around other kids as you get older. She's already really good about playing with you, sharing most toys, and giving you toys when they are all out of your reach.

Another not so great aspect of your grabbiness is that you love to grab skin, too. I never thought of my neck as "flabby" at all, but if there is any loose skin near you, you'll find it, and you'll grab it and squeeze it. Ouch! :)

These past 2 months we've also seen you pushing yourself up onto your hands and knees and, more recently, scooting backwards the length of the living room floor. I have a feeling crawling is just around the corner! I'm really wondering what Lily is going to think once you are walking and obviously not a baby anymore.

Talking is something you've started enjoying recently as well. I remember Lily's first sounds were "mamamamamama". Yours are "tatatatata" or "dadadadada". Evening is your most talkative time. Often you'll sit with Tatus and alternate talking and going really high-pitched with your "dadadas" and then you make this raspy rawr noise where you sound like a little a little monster that cracks us up every time.

You've become so much more interactive recently, and sometimes I feel guilty because I feel like I'm not giving you or Lily the amount of one-on-one attention you both deserve. But maybe learning to share Mommy like you both share your toys is a good lesson to learn. Neither of you seem unhappy with the way things are currently going, so maybe I just need to convince myself that I'm doing the best I can, and that it is good enough. :)

Recently, Tatus has started standing you up in front of the couch and you hold on and stand independently for a few minutes at a time. You're always watching Lily as she's on the move and I know you just can't wait till the day when you can let go of that couch and run after her.

I love you, my little Woochieslawek,

Mommy

Playing together

Lukasz is getting better at sitting up on his own (and a lot less tippy) every day. It's so amazing to see them sitting on the floor together quietly playing. They don't really play together yet, they each get interested in different toys and play in different ways. Lukasz is into reaching for and grabbing toys and then putting them in his mouth. He can happily sit for 1/2 an hour or more and grab and mouth different toys. Lily is pretty good at sharing, too. If she doesn't want him to have a certain toy of hers, I get her to offer him a different one. Then when he loses interest in the first one, she can have it back. I may have to change how I deal with this once they are bigger, but for now it keeps them both happy, and THAT'S what it's all about. :)

Kelowna: another walk, and Lukasz SITS on his own!!

Today was another beautiful day. Gran and Uncle Shane went to yoga in the morning, so we went with Grampa on a walk near their house. It wasn't a very long walk, but we sure climbed up high! You can see the sunlight reflecting off Uncle Shane's trampoline way down there.
Afterwards, Grampa did some yard work and we played in the backyard, blowing the freshly cut grass and bouncing on Uncle Shane's trampoline.
In the evening I decided to give Lukasz some more practice sitting up, and he kept his balance really well!! This was the first time he'd sat up on his own for more than a few moments!

Yay Lukasz!!!

This is the first step towards you being able to really play with Lily. And you seemed pretty darn impressed with yourself. :)