As he nears the one year at home mark, Robert Frank Estuardo Lord (formerly Marvin Estuardo) is happy and healthy. At his two year checkup in May 2008, he was 24.7 lbs. He's wearing sizes 18m to 2t.
He was evaluated by the county Infant and Toddler program in September 2007 and they found a 25% language delay (of course after only one month's exposure to English!) so he qualified for speech services. We've been receiving speech therapy once per month in our home. The therapist reports he's now right on target for his age though we plan to continue therapy until he ages out of the program at 3. He has about 50 words, including all family member's names, as well as words like nose, toes, shoes, sock, cup, ball, airplane, pool, banana, milk, drink and nite-nite. He is just starting to put words together. The sentence that takes my breath away is "I love you!" He runs up to me, wraps his arms around my legs and says it. The first time or two, I nearly cried.
He had a dental checkup in May 2008 and his teeth are all in and are healthy. The dentist is slightly concerned that they are so closely spaced and urged us to start flossing his teeth. That has been an adventure! We're still working on that.
He has been walking since September and now also runs, jumps, hops and climbs. He is still sleeping in a crib, but I expect that he will move to a toddler bed soon as I've caught him more than once with his foot hanging over the railing.
He loves to eat! We haven't yet found a food that he doesn't like. His favorite, without a doubt, is banana. He eats one every day. Grapes are a close second. He loves vegetables and will eat every bit of broccoli we give him. Last night at dinner he ate two ears of corn!
He's very healthy. He had one or two colds over the winter and is just getting over hand, foot and mouth disease. He sleeps well, going to bed about 8:30 and sleeping until 8:00 the next morning. Many nights, he does awake around 4:00am, but a pat on the back and a few soft words and he goes right back to sleep.
His favorite toys are cars. He likes to push them around. He also enjoys blocks, Legos and balls. He likes to color with crayons and can do four piece puzzles. He has a scooter that he likes to ride outside.
He loves people and has good social skills. He's very personable and likes to say hello to everyone he meets. When people stop to talk to him, he gets shy and hides behind me, then peeks out smiling. He goes to daycare every day and is excited to see his teacher and his friends each morning. He will be moving to a new daycare in a few weeks and we'll start going for visits soon so he can get used to it beforehand.
He adores both of his sisters and is very happy when Amanda is around to play with him. When Daddy gets home at night, Bobby gets so excited he squeals. Then he runs to the door yelling "Daddy, daddy, daddy" until Bob comes in and scoops him up for a hug. He follows Allison around and tries to get her to play with him. Most of the time, she's not really interested, but sometimes they chase each other around or play hide and seek. In the evenings before bed, he likes to sit on our laps and cuddle.
I never expected the transition to be as easy as it has. I read a lot, including some pretty scary stuff, so I was prepared for difficulties. Instead, Bobby fit right into our family from day 1. And as we near day 365, we can't imagine our lives without him.
. Marvin Estuardo is born