Mr. Luke, High School Teacher

So today was a funny day. I had no plans and wasn't totally sure what the day would hold but never quite expected the day to turn out as it did. I got a call at around 11am from the school I used to work at, TCI, asking if I could sub in the afternoon. I said no, I didn't have childcare so it wouldn't work out. They called me back a few minutes later saying they were desperate and that I could bring Luke, and besides, it was a couple of family studies classes so he would fit right in. So, slightly unbelieving what I was really doing, I packed Luke up and we headed out for an afternoon of subbing.
I walked into the staff room with Luke and I think everyone in there just thought I was visiting, but there were a few interested expressions when I told them that we were there to sub! We headed off to get room keys, I saw a couple of former students who they were excited to see Luke, and then as we walked down the hall we got a bunch of comments about "oh, look at the baby!" (I still find that odd...he walks and talks...yet is he still considered a baby?!?!) and "what's his name?!?" etc etc. I wish the actual class time was chocked full of interesting tidbits but it all was amazingly normal and not too weird in the end. Some of the kids played catch with Luke, but both classes were in the computer lab working on a project so they mostly just worked away and Luke and I wandered around. I suppose the one weird moment was sneaking away to change his diaper on the teacher's desk (sorry Gina, if you read this!!). At the end of the day, all the kids had left and I was leaving a few comments for the teacher and Luke was just wandering around the room. He went right to the middle of the room, climbed up onto a chair and put his elbows on the desk, just waiting there for the longest time. It's funny, every time I substitute teach I look at these high school boys and wonder just what my little Luke will be like all grown up, which one of these boys will he ressemble. Maybe today was my sneak peak.


I'm going to also include a few pictures as I've been meaning to do so for a while.

Luke with his friend, Belen.

We like to call this picture "Friends in Boxes".

My pregnant belly at 18 weeks...the first picture of me yet in this pregnancy...we're not as keen as we were round 1...

Luke eating tomato soup. And I thought I was being smart by taking off his shirt. His pants, the buckle, even his diaper were soaked in lovely red soup afterwards. Why did I think this was a good lunch choice?!?

Our little Mr. Fix-It. Julio comes home from work and before he even gets a hug, Luke is usually digging into his toolbag to find some treasure. This picture comes complete with audio of Luke pretending the screwdriver is a drill. Very convincing don't you think?!? What? You can't hear it?!? Turn up your speakers...that's right...louder, louder...why don't you just test your system by playing a song...just kidding, there's no audio.

Vocabulary

In the last few weeks Luke has really taken off with his words, so I'm going to try to compile a bit of a list so I don't forget. This may be more for my benefit than yours, but at least it's a peek into Luke's current stage.
Words that have been around a while:
dad
hi
hi dad
bye
uh-oh
upela...how do I spell this?!? It's a French word meaning "whoopsy daisy", he pronounces it "up-it-a"
ow, owie
papa (what he calls his grampa)

stuck

Newer words (in the last few weeks):
mom, mommy
hallelujah (more like ah-yay-yu-yah)
cock-a-doodle-do(de-do-de-do!)
chat (cat in French)
baa baa
book (clear as a bell!)
sure (so cute...I love how he says this!)
attempts at "Nannie" and "gramma"...not too clear, gramma has come out "baba" quite frequently
milk
encore...more like "co...co" when he wants me to do more of something, like read a story, feed him grapefruit, etc.
duck
amen
thank you...not much of a th sound there, but somewhat recognizable!
Luke...more like "uke" or sometimes "guck"
up
off

Liam (sounded kind of like "lemon" one time!)

Tricia (quite clear actually!)

fish (I didn't even know he knew this word! The other day I joined my mom and aunt and uncle for breakfast at Aalto's and there's a little fountain with fish in it a little ways away, in the hotel part. My dad usually takes him for a walk there if we join them for breakfast but he was away, so I went with him. The whole way to the fountain he kept saying "fish fish" clear as a bell!)

push

brush (no real "r" sound)

yes

hat

hug

cheerio

more

uh huh, along with good inflection and head nodding...so funny! Last night my mother-in-law was over and we were talking over supper, and then one or the other would say "uh huh uh huh" while we were talking, and Luke would completely copy us, nodding and saying "uh huh uh huh"...we could hardly talk at times we were laughing so much! And then of course he knew he was funny so he kept doing it. I loved it.

I may add more as I think of them! I have to say, this journey into language is amazing, I'm loving it. He's so delighted when he repeats something and we're smiling away. His receptive language is quite good too, he's good at throwing things in the garbage for us, or giving things to people when we say "donne a Dad/Mom" (give to Dad/Mom). This morning he surprised us, as Julio was looking for his cell phone, he was asking me if I knew where it was, and then Luke walked into the office and came out with it just as Julio was calling himself to find it! Of course I think he's practically a genius. Yesterday he surprised me too, I was trying to get him to lie down and take a nap, so I sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to him, thinking it would calm him down. I've only sung it to him once before that I can remember, and didn't remember any actions so I would just flutter my fingers in the air, and he immediately sat up and started doing that once I started singing! I couldn't believe he remembered that! And then the "up above the world so high" part became a favorite, mostly I think because he knows the word "up", so he started singing "up up up..." and I just loved it. The top of my list for sure is "hallelujah" and "cock-a-doodle-do" though...usually accompanied by the world's cutest smile.
So, that's Luke at 18 months!