A few days ago...
Daddy: Lucas, do you want to sleep next to Daddy?
Lucas: Not really, no.
Charles and I, confused yet amazed, just stared at each other as I signaled, "how on earth did he learn how to say that???"
A day after...
Daddy: Lucas, your toenails are getting long. Let's putol your toenails nah!
Lucas: No, Papa. Later!
I was watching The Kennedys on TV while Lucas was squatting on the floor playing. He glanced at the TV while it was showing Greg Kinnear, who plays JFK making a speech.
Lucas: Who is that tawo talking?
Me: That's John F Kennedy
Lucas: John F Kennedy? Who's that?
Me: I don't know, Long!
After saying that to him, I thought, I should have told him who he is rather than just saying "I don't know". I think I did that to stop him from asking further. But he should be asking. It is his job to ask and my job to answer and teach. He may not understand what I tell him now, but I owe it to him to speak truthfully when he asks me something.
Lucas turned 28 months old today and he is at that very curious stage. Everything I watch, he wants to watch too. Everything I touch, he wants to put his hands on them too. He doesn't like sleeping anymore because he does not want to miss anything. We used to keep him out of the kitchen at all times but now he insists on watching me cook and prepare his food. When I have a call, he wants to grab the phone so he can listen in and also talk to the person on the other line. When he sees me pulling out the camera to take his picture, he would try and grab the camera and insist that he takes my picture instead. Grandma Nena used to read him a book before his afternoon naps, but now he takes the book and says, "
Grandma Nena sleep, Lucas read the book!"
He can talk so well now, better than other kids his age. I know that because his pedia says so, and because I know kids from church and kids of my co-workers who are older than him but can't speak as well. They can say words, but my Lucas can say sentences.
He even starts to reason with us now. One time we had our friend Jim for dinner. We were on the dinner table for hours, catching up and having a lovely chat with our friend. Lucas was just playing the whole time after he finished his meal, but later he started getting annoyed for the lack of attention.
Lucas: Lucas go to Mama Papa bed! (he wants to go to our bedroom)
Me: No, wa tawo didto. We're all here so just stay here.
Lucas: Naaahh! Lucas go to Mama Papa bed. Dala Mama! (He started grabbing my hand and pulling me. I resisted)
Me: No, diri lang ta kay ngit-ngit didto. See, it's so dark!
Lucas: Lucas siga suga! (He said he'll turn on the lights)
He immediately grabbed a step stool and made his way to the bedroom. At that point, we just all cracked up, especially our friend Jim after we translated what Lucas had said.
He knows very well how to navigate the iPad, the iPod and the iPhone. One time he listened to music on my iPhone and I wondered how he was able to. My iPhone is always locked and he doesn't know the passcode. When I took it back from him, the music was playing but I saw that the phone was still locked. I spent days trying to figure out how he did it. I was so close to looking up the manual and thought it might be quicker if I just give up and ask him. My 2-year old showed me how to do it. It was so simple but I never would have figured it out. I couldn't help but think--oh, my boy is a genius!
We often take for granted the fact that we need to continue teaching him. Because he speaks well and knows quite a bit now, we have stopped actively teaching him things. Whatever he's learned this past several weeks, he learned them on his own--from watching his kid shows on TV, from his iPad apps, and just from observing us and listening to us talk. It's amazing how much his little brain has absorbed, and I hope this continues.
As for me, I am beginning to think about how best to maximize his potentials at the same time allowing him to enjoy being a toddler. We have just started potty-training him. We decided to wait until next year before taking him to preschool. I think he's ready for it, but I'm the one who's not. I have yet to come to terms with the fact that he has grown up and no longer a baby. I have yet to settle into the routine of dropping him off and picking him up. Even the thought of it doesn't make me comfortable--not just yet.
But I'll get to it in time. After all, what's best for him is what matters. For now, I will continue to enjoy my little boy Lucas, teach him and feed his curiosity, and marvel at his new abilities.
