Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Happy 2nd Birthday Week: Buddies

Another big part of our 2nd year was play dates and making buddies.

In the last year, John has gone from not even knowing other children are in the room - to standing back and watching them intently - to trying to play with them and make friends. Overall he is pretty passive when it comes to play dates, although if they are at our house he is more comfortable. He shares really well. He loves going to the park with his friends the best. I think it is because he is on neutral ground and he does not feel smothered.

There is one particular little girl that he is most comfortable around, Amelia. He hearts Amelia. :) It must be her gentle personality that he likes so much; he is super relaxed with her. They will play and laugh and run and share, all with no warm up time required.

He also loves all of his neighborhood friends and asks about them a lot. Again, there is one older little girl (4), Elyse, that John is fascinated with. He will follow her around, is always looking for her to "show" her things. She is so sweet to him and shares and plays with him so well. When it comes to his little boy buddies, he likes to run and swing and play with them too, but John is a few months younger than all of them. The age difference is pretty noticeable right now, but I think as he grows up a bit more and that age difference isn't prevalent, he will be asking for them all the time. Then I will have to adopt the "boys will be boys" theory.

When we see his cousins or friends we have not seen in awhile, he remembers them because we always go through pictures and talk about who people are and what we did with them the last time we saw them. He is enamored with his cousin Maggie, absolutely adores her! He talks about Brendan when we talk about swords or birthday parties. John and Brendan are going to be pretty fun as they get older!

He does not talk much to the other kids, but each time we see them he gets more comfortable and steps a little farther outside his comfort zone.

We are so blessed to have so many wonderful families in our lives and buddies for John to grow up with!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Happy 2nd Birthday Week: Language

In my mind the first year of life was all about survival and physical development. Obviously there is overlap, but the 2nd year has been more about language and personality development. Language development is such a big part of our lives right now. There for a while I was worried that John was not talking as much as he should be (silly Mama!), but then....he turned it on full force.

Just the other day he counted to twelve (replacing 11 with 7) which blew me away! I knew he could say the numbers and sometimes could put a few in a row, but had no idea he could go all the way to twelve. He starts the alphabet, but stops with D, unless you pause while singing it, he will fill in the blank wherever you are.

One of my favorite parts of the day is when I go get him from nap or night time because he is so talkative and says the most random things. I just sit and listen to him tell me a 5 minute story. I love it.

He can communicate pretty much anything he needs to tell us and it makes life so much less frustrating for us all.

His most common quotes:

"I did it"
"Mama do it"
"Daddy fix it"
"Get Kallie/Bailee tail"
"Mines"
"Chocolate milk"
"Play Diego"
"Watch Dido train"
"tickle, tickle, tickle"
"wipe my boogers"
"Daddy go work"
"I wanna draw"
"Play monkeys"
"Nana and Da coming?"
"Hawaiian Rainbow"
"ABC"
"get me, hold me"
"Mama/Daddy sit down"
"pease" (please)
"Thank you"
"feed dogs"
"stinky poopy"
"change my dap dap"

There are countless phrases, but these are the ones that I hear at least once a day.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Happy 2nd Birthday Week: My favorite Things

To take a snapshot of John's life as he turns two, here are a few of things that light up his life:

Books: This was his first word and they continue to be one of his favorite activities. He will let you sit and read to him for an hour sometimes. He is not particularly stuck on one type of book, he still loves his Sandra Boynton books and can recite all of them to you by memory. He also loves books that have activities (pull tabs, touch and feel, sound buttons, etc.). Even if you have not read that particular book in months, he still remembers the words. Just recently he sat through a longer book "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" by Dr. Seuss. He really learns a lot from books, he understands and can apply it. I am hoping that this is beneficial when it comes time to potty train, and go to school, and any other issues that we might need a creative way to get something across to him.

Dinosaurs: I think this must have started one day when Granddaddy was watching a dinosaur movie with Brendan and John, because before then the obsession had not started. Since then, my house is full of roaring (loudly) and stomping dinosaurs. He calls them "didos", although he can identify and say "t-rex" and "triceratops".

Park: Going to the park is a favorite of mine and his. I love to get him outside. He likes to take his "bikacycle" that Nana and Da got him for Christmas. He plays on the big toys, and swings, but a lot of his time is spent people watching. The other kids at the park are fascinating to him. I have to remind him to go play. He also likes to walk across the big field and play down on the trails.

Bath: This took some time, but ever since he could sit up on his own, he has loved the bath. There is NEVER a fuss to go take a bath with bubbles. He does not like to rinse his hair, but other than that, he would stay in there for hours if you let him. In fact, that is the only frustrating part - getting him out. He lays down and pretends to swim, he plays with his fish and talking frog and his little tug boat. Although is favorite thing is the plastic cup and bowl that he can fill and empty 1000 times.

Playing chase: This it the cutest thing. He and Daddy will run around the house chasing each other. If Daddy is chasing him he says "hide, hide" to himself; or he will scream "Daddy get me, Daddy get me". If he is chasing Daddy he screams "I get Daddy, I get Daddy". With a HUGE smile on his face. And as Daddy gets close to him or touches him he go limp and lets out a belly laugh. It is so funny.

Lights/Dark: Taking a lightsaber, ray gun, flashlight or a head lamp into a dark room might be the coolest thing ever. He loves to be in a dark room (we have emptied his closet for this very activity) with any type of light and play and run. He has discovered shadows which makes it even cooler!

Animals: Another items he has loved since day one is animals of ANY kind. Live animals, stuffed animals, plastic animals, movies and books about animals, drawing animals, you name it, he loves it. He feeds them, sleeps with them, plays with them, talks to them, reads to them, takes them with him in the car, again, you name it, he does it. I could write an entire entry on just his love for animals (in fact maybe I will later), but for this purpose, just know that he would be a-okay with getting lost in the jungle to be raised by the animals.

Foods: Well, I am going to back up 2 weeks and take a snap shot of that, as ever since he got sick, he has been PICKY. Some of his favorites: chocolate milk, applesauce, chicken and french fries, jello with whip cream, cheese, hot dogs, fruit of any kind (peaches, strawberries blueberries, bananas, oranges, etc.), fruit snacks, M & M's.

TV/Movies: Backyardigans, Go Diego Go, Zobamafoo (i.e. "animal show"), Garfield, Dinosaur Train, Jungle book.

iphones: He loves to play on our iphones. Particulary "monkey preschool lunchbox" and "peek-a-boo barn". I really think those application helped to teach him colors and shapes. He can navigate the iphone better than most new users :). He also likes to find the pictures on the phone and scroll through them and name everyone.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Happy 2nd Birthday Week: A year in pictures

Here is a month by month pictorial of John and how he has changed over the year.


March



April





May





June





July





August





September





October





November





December



January



February

Friday, February 19, 2010

Happy 2nd Birthday Week: A day in the life....

6:45 - Carl gets up

7:00 - I get up

7:30 - Carl is out the door and I head to the kitchen to make coffee, feed dog, pick up kitchen, check email, etc.

8:10 - John finally starts waking up. First words out of his mouth "I have boogers, wipe my boogers". :) We rock in the chair for about 10 minutes and talk about our day and cuddle.

8:30 - Downstairs for breakfast, toast sticks and strawberries and cream oatmeal. I pull out all the tricks, but the kid is NOT eating these days. A few bites and some chocolate milk later, we are up and rushing around to get out the door.

9:30 - Little Gym. He was SO brave and independent today. Had a great time.

10:30 - Ran by the bank and then headed home for snack. Milk and Dinosaur fruit snacks with a few goldfish thrown in there. While he snacks he typically stands at his tower and reads a book or plays with something, so it takes a good 20 minutes.

11:00 - Upstairs to play. Today this consisted of Diego train, drawing on the easel, and playing with all the stuffed animals.

12:00 - Downstairs to watch "Dinosaur Train" while I cook lunch and work.

12:20 - sit down to lunch of meatballs and perogies. 25 minutes later he has about 1.5 meatballs down him, 2 pieces of perogie and half of a cup of milk. He insists that that giraffe is finished (his animal choice of the day) eating. He is spitting out anything I put in his mouth and will not look at me. So we get down. This has been a battle for about a week... hoping it is just a phase.

12:45 - he finishes watching the Backyardigans and plays with giraffe while I work.

1:10 - lay down for nap. Falls asleep by 1:25 or so. I work the whole nap which is sort of out of the ordinary, but there is a project going on.

3:15 - I hear him waking up, so I run around and start some laundry and the dishwasher. I go up there and he plays with this dog blanket, orca whale and giraffe in his bed while I put away his clothes. Then I get him out and we lay on the rug in his room and let his animals listen the music that this little baby Einstein toy has.

4:00 - Dogs bark - AHHH - Daddy is home early!!!! Downstairs for a quick snack of graham crackers and peanut butter and cake. :)

4:15 - Daddy and John disappear into the bathroom for a little hair cut. I blog and do laundry.

4:35 - They emerge from the bathroom and John's hair looks great. I wish we could take him somewhere, but he HATES scissors and he will tell you all about it. Daddy is able to maintain his hair with that clipper thing. We may try again with the hair cut in a few more months?!?!?!

4:45 - this is sort of 'play around and do whatever he wants' time. Carl and I switch off depending on where John is and what he wants to do. This time he sat with Carl and played "monkey preschool lunchbox" on the iphone and I cooked dinner and did some more house stuff.

5:45 - sit down to dinner, John had a hot dog, broccoli and cheese, applesauce and some BBQ beans. I should clarify, this is the meal I put in front of him. Again, only a few bites in and he starts refusing. Daddy makes a deal with him if he has 3 more bites of hot dog and 1 more bite of beans that he can get down. I stayed quiet, fully anticipating that we would never leave that table. Pleasantly surprised, John did it and got down.

6:15 - run around and chase Bailee and Kallie and stop for a quick poop.

6:30 - diaper change with Mama; and then bath time with Daddy while I clean the kitchen and type this blog. :)

6:50 - John stands in his tower and draws and drinks orange juice out of a big boy cup. He is pretty whiny tonight. After he has had all he can handle, I sit down on the couch with him and we watch the recorded 'Survivor' together.

7:50 - Daddy scoops him up and it is off to brush teeth and read books. After hugs and kisses for Daddy, I rock with him, sing a song and say our prayers. He quietly rolls and kicks around quite a bit, but is asleep by 8:45 or so.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Happy 2nd Birthday Week: This month

Well, it is that time of year again! Today kicks off John's "birthday week". join me each day for a new blog entry.

Today will be the normal monthly entry of new milestones and memories for the 24th month of life:

- Had his first real sickness. In the past his colds have been minor and controllable with one dose of medicine. This month we had a doozy! 4 days of fever an awful cough and did not eat enough to keep an ant healthy. He is not a "vomiter", but there was one night that he repeatedly vomited until there was nothing left. This may have been the worst thing I have witnessed, broke my heart into 1000 pieces, but he was totally fine with it. As Carl would say - someone forgot to tell John he was sick! If it was not for the fever and the outward symptoms, you would have never known. He is a tough boy!

- Ordered him a bunch of 2T clothes for the Spring - still a bit too big. He is still in his 18 - 24 month size. But wears a size 6 diaper (the biggest they make). Something does not add up?!?!

- He learned my first name (thanks to Daddy) and has started to call out "Jamie" when he is in the other room and wants me to come where he is... hmmmm????

- Switched back from Johanna to Kara on Thursdays. It is going well, he has shown no signs of anxiety with it.

- Slept like a champ this month, sometimes until 9:00 in the morning and 3 hour naps every now and again. His nap has crept to 1:15 and sometimes later. He still goes down at 8:00 at night, but some nights we can still hear him rolling around until about 9:00.

- Dallas had a record setting sow storm this month with prime snowman making opportunities. Unfortunately, John was in the thick of his sickness and could not enjoy it outside. Luckily, he had not played in it before, so he did not really know what he was missing. Daddy made him a small snowman and put it on the front porch so he could look out the window at him....oooohhhh...so sad!

Okay, so this was sort of short as I am going to expand on other things in the upcoming posts.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Did I mention....

Did I mention that 23 months and 2 weeks is the absolute best age! I seriously can not get enough of John. He is so much fun. He wants to learn, he wants to play, he wants to love, he makes us laugh, I could go on and on. He totally understands what you are saying, even if he pretends otherwise. He really is a good listener and well behaved 99.99% of the time. And that very small fraction that makes up the rest of the time, I still count my blessings, as it is not that bad either. Sure there are moments of exhautsion or frustration on our part, but honestly, it passes so quickly. One sweet hug or kiss or rub on the cheek makes it all better (for me and him!)

Just wanted to remember this feeling, as even on a rainy, dreary day like today, I can not wait for nap to over so I can be with him again.

Kiss your babies!

Monday, January 25, 2010

23 months

A few things from this last month:

- My favorite age! He is so much fun and makes us laugh!
- In the last 2 weeks, I have seen a lot of change in his physical appearance. And that says a lot considering I see him every day. He looks more and more like a little boy in the face, he is taller and thinner (looks like a starved orphan when he wakes up in the morning), his hair is getting thicker, etc. (just crossed my mind that I should probably make sure his shoes still fit and that I am not cramming them in to a size too small, eek!)
- Although his language gets better and better every minute, there are a couple words he keeps in his language; "doot" = do it, "op" = open, "bay and Kayee" = Bailee and Kallie, "cap cks" = pancakes, "asslepas" = apple sauce, "bikacycle" = bicycle.
- Said his name for the first time
- Favorite things: Backyardigans, dinosaurs, animals, Diego, the park.
- Favorite word: mine
- Jumped from a standing position for the first time(both feet off the ground at the same time). This is a big physical development.
- He says 'sorry', 'thank you', 'please', and 'bless you'; although not always at the appropriate time and not without a little reminder from me sometimes. But nonetheless is super cute and melts my heart every time.
- Nothing really new with food or sleeping, he goes in phases with both.
- He is 'reading' books much more now. He has a great memory! But still loves to sit and have someone read the same book over and over and over and over....
- Two phrases we are trying to break "go away" and "get out", both of which come from Carl and I talking to the dogs... oops....

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Life is good

Today, my 23 month old angel looked at me and out of the blue said "I happy".
Seriously, what more could a mother ask for!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Grandparents Names

With "suggestions" from us, John has names for all four grandparents right now:

Grammy - This is still in the works. It started out as "Gem" (pronounced "Jim"), and is now transforming to "Gimmy". We are getting there...

Nana - This is a great name for beginner talkers. Very easy for him to say. She was named first.

Grandadddy - This has always been "Aw Daddy". I think it will eventually become Granddaddy.

Da - We started calling him Grandpa, but Da came about and is a keeper!