Lucas Camilo

Lucas had a great week last week, relishing the fun and power of his increasing vocabulary. His favorite sign has become the one for “all done” which he uses all the time, often times when he’s upset about something or sick of a game.  In effect, the sign is Lucas’s way of saying “no” and he’s perfected it just as he’s become more opinionated about things (or maybe he’s been opinionated for a while and just hasn’t had the tools to express himself).  The “all done” sign involves holding his hand up with fingers spread and moving it from side to side.  But Lucas doesn’t just use “all done” when he’s pissed – he also employs it when he’s in a good mood, at which times it’s followed immediately by the sign for “more.”  Anytime Lucas likes something – swinging, blowing kisses, singing, looking at himself in the mirror – he gives an “all done” at the peak of enjoyment, meaning someone needs to stop the swing, or the kisses, or the song, or pull the mirror away.  And then, as soon as we’ve stopped whatever it was that we were doing, he brings his mini-fist up and shakes it emphatically to make the “more” sign at which point the action resumes. When he’s really motivated he’ll even heave up the second hand and bring his hands together to make the full, official two-handed “more” sign as he beams with pride.

Our friends Daniella, Gabe and Rafi visited from New York last Monday.  It was a summer-like afternoon, so we sat out on the lawn for hours and grilled up gardenburgers (and shared our second batch of delicious sauerkraut.)  Rafi is about to turn one and like most kids his age he’s full of exuberant energy almost all the time. Unfortunately, Lucas does not identify with a small kid who is constantly in motion, so he gave Rafi the not-so-happy “all done”sign almost immediately when he came in the door. Fortunately Gabe indulged Lucas in an epic game of “all-done/more” while swinging in his chair, and after that Lucas seemed to lighten up and act at least a little more open to Rafi.

Daniella mentioned that kids at this age are learning an average of one new word every two hours, and Lucas seems right on track. Just in the last week he’s learned signs or hand motions for nearly a dozen new things, and he constantly surprises us with words he understands. Along with “all done” his favorite gestures right now are the two-handed sign for “more”, his modified sign for “dance” (the index finger bobbing up and down) and “two fingers” – touching his index fingers together with pride, something that, as far as we know, has no meaning other than “aren’t my fingers cool?”

"I guess Rafi isn't such a bad guy after all"