So this is 2? We finally got here and I can't seem to comprehend that reality. It's true what they say about never thinking it's possible to love your kid more. But the 'theys' got it right. You hold your baby for the very first time and you can't imagine a greater love or feeling but every day it grows. And then you get to 2. I wonder if my heart will explode before he gets to 10.
2 fills my day with many ups and downs. First, there is a lovely moment where Mr. 2 grabs my cheeks, pulls my face into his and gives me kisses all over which is followed by a sweet sugar filled giggle. Then there is an oh so lovely moment where his dinner doesn't cook fast enough so everyone take cover because here comes the ear bleeding screams of frustration and entitlement. 2 is fun. 2 is scary. 2 is that moment your heart sinks to the floor because you realize 5 minutes have gone by in complete silence and you think maybe (just maybe) for that first 4 minutes he was possibly being really good and angelic. Then that 5th minute ticks by and you KNOW there is either toy cars in the toilet or grandma's kitty litter scattered all over the floor.
As scary/frustrating/pullmyhairout 2 can be, I absolutely love and adore this crazy phase of life. I would never trade the days of toys scattered every place imaginable, tantrums, biting, kisses, little arms wrapped around my neck, "I love you mommy", cute teeth filled smiles welcoming me home, happy dances, and all the moments I realize I have the cutest little pal who never fails to kiss my boo boos and copy every little thing I do and say. I love 2. I love my little Mr. 2. And I'm certain I'll love Mr. 3 even more.
Below is an update on what my smarty pants is up to these days. (From about 18 months to now.)
He has learned to talk more and more every day. It started around 18 months with a few words and now he won't stop blabbering! He is in the phase of life as a copy cat. He literally repeats EVERYTHING; so that one time dad said booty...yup.
-Words/phrases he says a lot:
*Uncle taught* "Brotha!" and "Oh Yeeeess."
If we put a piece of clothing on him that he knows mom obsesses over he says "I'm handsome"
"Bob, get down!" or "Beat it Bob!"
"Mom, I play with you?" (When he wants us to come play with him)
"I'm adorable." and "I'm cute!"
"Oh my." (Usually after he is done laughing and it is done while covering his mouth)
"Shake your booty." (As he shakes his booty)
"What's up Homie?"
"I hold you" (When he wants me to pick him up)
-Soooo Close to the Word/Name:
Juice was "Jew" for a while but now it's "duce"
Chicken is "ticken"
R's are british sounding
Grandma is "dand-ma" Grandpa is "dand-pa"
Mac and Cheese is "And Cheese"
Anything round is an apple
Oatmeal is "Emo"
Heater is "Veter"
No is "noed"
YouTube is "Tube"
Outside is "Owside?"
Names he has for mom: "Istina" (Calls me by name whenever he's feeling mischievous)
Names he has for dad: "Babe" (If mom calls him babe, why can't he?)
Words he flat out can't say come out in gibberish or "dinuh."
-Obsessions:
Fans (It's lasted quite a while)
Throwing things away (Mom likes this one)
Covering himself in blankets and walking around with no vision perception whatsoever
All of Grandma Bird's animals. He loves giving Sugar (the dog) treats and pulling Bob's (the cat) tail. Yeah...he gets bitten.
-Funny Behaviors:
Really protective of mom. If anyone is tickling me and I shout no, Blake screams and runs up to my attacker and nails em! He legitimately get's really upset.
He has a super evil laugh.
Loves to climb/stand on everything and then purposefully fall off...on his head. Hopefully he doesn't stop learning all the sudden...
Whenever we have to leave and he doesn't want to go, he collapses to the floor, face down.
His claustrophobia has gotten a bit worse. If we are taking his shirt off and it gets stuck on his head for even a second he instantly panics. So we have to strip him super fast! He still won't let us put any hats/hoods on his head and if he ever gets stuck somewhere for a half a second you would think by his reaction that he was probably dying.
If his little ears hear the sound of a baby crying, his response is ALWAYS the same, "Baby crying? Oh need need nap."
-Firsts:
First Kiss- at around 18 months! He had just met her too...dude moves fast! (On that note, he apparently has a thing for the older ladies because his SECOND kiss -that's right, second- she was almost 2 years older!)
First Hair Cut: July 14, 2016 (Kept a lock of it in a bag)
Climbed out his crib for the first time just before he turned 2. We turned the crib to the face the wall and told him if he crawled out again he would get boo boo's so he decided against the band aids for now.
-Doctors Check Ups (18month-2 Year):
18 Month Doc Check Up: Growing in about 35th percentile- 23 pounds and 31.5 inches in height. Doctor says he is healthy and smart!
2 Year Doc Check Up: Doc said at his growth rate, it's projected that he won't be much taller than 5'6. 27 pounds & only grew an inch or two from his 18 month check up.
-Favorite Foods:
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Anything fruit really but he specifically loves bananas and mandarin oranges.
Dinner: Chicken Lasagna or Beans and Rice.
-Favorite Dessert:
Anything chocolate or cookie related.
-Favorite Place to Go:
Chick-Fil-A
The Mall to ride the train
Costco (He loves the samples and the HUGE fans. And he always gets a smiley face marked on our receipt)
"Gowf" (Mini golf)
The park of course
Any place with kids (He loves playing with other kids. Que the guilt for not giving him a sibling yet...)
-Favorite Thing to Do:
Make smoothies. And then eat them. (He has his own smoothie cup with a straw he can't take out. Muhahaha Mom win.)
Be a "helper" (His definition of a helper though)
Dance! His favorite songs to dance to are "Crazy Frog" and "I Can Make Your Hands Clap." He goes crazy!
Talk on the "phone" (Sometimes it's not technically a phone. Like his duck bath toy for instance, he talks to his peeps on that.)
Bounce. He loves to jump on the bed and bounce in his crib while he waits for us.
-Favorite Toys:
Cars are by far his most favorite toy to play with of all time. He is most content when he is holding cars every where he goes. Sometimes he tries to hold too many.
Loves his train table but more if mom plays with him.
He likes to turn his table into a fort by throwing a blanket over it and at that point it becomes his house.
-Favorite Game:
"Again! I get you!" The I get you game could literally go on all day for him. He loves to be chased.
He will grab a blanket and say "twing" which means his other favorite game where he lays in the blanket and we pick it up and swing him back and forth. He does his evil laugh he is so happy.
-Developmental Milestones:
Has learned all his colors.
He has learned to count.
He walks up and down stairs without any help. He can slither down the stairs quicker than you can blink!
He retains things very well. You only have to tell him what something is one time for it to stick.
Is manipulation a developmental milestone? Because he's great at it.
-Sleep:
He went through a phase right around 2 where he started waking up in the middle of the night because he wanted cuddles. This was new to mom and dad because we had gotten used to his amazing dead sleep he had at night. After a week of this (and having it slowly get out of hand), I bought a video monitor so we could see him and know he is okay and we went back to consistently letting him sooth himself back to sleep and now all is well again. Phew! So he continues to sleep 11-12 hours at night and take his once a day afternoon nap around 2:00 p.m.
-Regular Routine:
Wake up around 8 a.m.
Eat breakfast and spend the morning with dad while mom is at work at the law office.
Mom puts him down for a nap when she gets home around 2 and when he wakes up we do some hard core playing after a snack. Mom attempts to make dinner with many interruptions and bath time comes around 7:00-7:30 followed by family prayers where Blake gets excited, kneels by the bed and waits for the moment he can say "Amen!" We watch a few minutes of a Disney movie (mom is trying to prepare him for Disneyland) and then when he gets antsy, mom takes him into his room where we grab his pig and favorite green blanket, sing a bed time song and go night night around 8:00.
On Saturday morning Mom gets to sleep in usually but she wakes up to the cutest little alarm clock. Blake loves to wait for Dad to give the okay to go upstairs and tell Mom breakfast is ready. He comes RUNNING, jumps on my bed and says "Mom, Dad Bekfast!" It's got to be the highlight of Mom's week.
-Favorite Show:
He loves to watch the YouTube Kids App on our phone and YouTube fails. His favorite YouTube Kids shows are: Big City Heroes and any learning video. He loves watching videos that teach him how to count, see colors, etc.
His favorite TV shows are (in order of popularity from most favorite to moderate):
Thomas Train
Tayo the Friendly Bus
Daniel Tiger
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
*He will either sit at his new table he got for Christmas or his little blue lounging chair grandma got him.
-Favorite Stuffed Animal:
His pig. He NEVER sleeps without it. Whenever he cuddles soft things he goes "ahhh" or "oooh" because he has heard mom do it so many times whenever she sees him cuddling things.
-Favorite Books:
His all time favorite books are the "Peek-a-boo" books I bought him. He opens little compartments on the page to reveal things and he loves it.
*Anytime we are reading and he recognizes something he has a toy of, he has to go find it. (Bus, car, chick,etc.)
-Discovered Fears
He has recently shown signs of being scared of the dark; not so much that he won't sleep in his room with all the lights off but more of entering a dark space of unknown.
*Cute story: We have some neighbors behind us that built a skateboarding ramp. Most days their teenage boys are out there skateboarding. On a particular winter night, later than usual, Blake could hear them skateboarding outside and he furrowed a brow, looking shocked and puzzled as he asked, "Skateboard outside?" I then replied "Yes, they are skateboarding outside." And then he responded utterly baffled "It's It's- It's cold! .....It's dark!"
He has also recently revealed fears from the wind. Anytime he can hear the wind while we are sitting in the house, he does not let go of mom. While mom doesn't ever object to cuddles, she is still in the process of explaining the wind is not a monster.
For the ultimate cuteness factor, click below for audio
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s555/nl/152229808/6677b5bd-dd3a-41dc-b832-f84815486274?title=Quotes%20and%20Memories
