2 Year Checkup

On August 2nd (my 30th birthday), you had an 8:45 a.m. appointment for your 2-year well-baby checkup with Dr. Wilson.  Your stats were 29 lbs., 34" tall and your head circumference were 18 3/4". For weight you were in the 50-75%, for length, you were in 50th percentile and head circumference was 25th percentile.

You are such a firecracker, to say the least. Physically, you are everywhere--crawling, running, walking, jumping, hopping; Mentally, you catch on quickly to everything--you love to sing songs, you're talking SO much and we can understand about 95% of what you say (you changed classes on August 13th and are now in the 2-year old classroom; once you changed classes we noticed that your language skills really started developing!!), you can speak in sentences and we understand very clearly what it is you want or don't want.

You have such a tender heart and love to give kisses & hugs. However, your tenderness can sometimes be traded for terrible-two behavior and you have done more than your fair share of hitting, kicking, throwing, screaming, some biting, etc whenever you get upset about not getting your way. Time out usually doesn't work for you because you get right back up so I've learned that putting your toys in time out usually does the trick, although there are some times when we just have to send you to your room to allow you time to throw your fit and calm down because when you get upset there is no calming you down unless you want to be! You do seem to calm down faster, though, anytime I sing "You are My Sunshine" and we often sing songs at bedtime when I rock you (you like to rock for a little bit, sometimes you want to read a story or two and then after that I'll lay you down in bed and you like to be patted for a few minutes).

You love to play with (and aggravate) Harlee--I can already see you two are going to be best buds growing up--you're already pretty good at tag-teaming Daddy & I! :-) For the most part, you two enjoy hanging out together and playing, singing, talking, watching movies but there are times I've noticed that Harlee wants to be alone without little brother bothering her, which is so hard for me to watch because I know this is a sign of her gaining even more independence and it's hard for you because you don't quite understand so you don't leave her alone and it usually ends up in tears and fit throwing....but we'll get there.  Right now you're TOTALLY loving tools and playing with your Handy Manny tools is probably your favorite thing to do!! You carry them around and "fix" stuff that is broken--lately you've even started sleeping with a couple of tools at night and if you want a certain tool we HAVE to find it for you!!!

Appetite-wise you've gotten pretty picky as in no fruits/veggies and textures bother you. Things I know you will always eat include chicken nuggets, fish sticks, corn dogs, hot dogs, french fries, tator tots, pudding, yogurt, yogurt drinks, cheese, applesauce, raisins, fruit snacks, chips, bananas/oranges/peaches OCCASIONALLY (will not eat other fruits for the most part), carrots & green beans OCCASIONALLY, grilled cheese, lunch meat sandwiches (you eat them better if I cook them so everything is heated/melted), cheeseburgers, sloppy jos, you love going to the mexican restaurant (our favorite is Las Palmas in NLR) and you always eat the refried beans, rice & cheese quesadilla meal there, pizza, sometimes when we go to Carino's I can get you to eat some of whatever pasta I eat (tortelloni, bowtie, etc.), spaghetti, sometimes you'll eat some casseroles I cook (like zucchini casserole), crescent rolls, muffins, cereal bars, waffles, french toast, granola bars, cereal......You still drink 1% milk and water with an occasional "treat" of a juice box.  You don't eat as much as you did but you let me know when you're hungry.  You've definitely started slimming up now that you're constantly on the move!

We've started potty-training. You've been in pull-ups for about 2-3 months and the weekend of September 11th we did potty-training bootcamp where you wore "big boy underwear" 24/7 with the exception of when you went to sleep--you've done great--you still have the occasional accident and you've only pooped in the potty a handful of times but overall, you're catching on. You're too smart for your own good and have figured out the trick to getting more treats (you get a smartee at home and a skittle at school when you use the potty) is to go more frequently so you'll pee a little bit and five seconds later you want to go again so you can get more treats!  Once you're fully potty-trained I'll take the changing table out of your room and sale it and get a big-boy style dresser....so sad that my little man is growing up so quickly!!

You're wearing size 2T clothes for the most part--some stuff can still fit at size 18-24 month and some stuff can fit at size 3T, just depending on brand/style of clothes. Shoes you can wear a size 5 or 5 1/2, depending on brand (although, like me, you prefer to go barefoot whenever you can and usually shed your shoes & socks as soon as you get in the car or whenever we walk in the door).  You usually go to bed anywhere between 7-8:30 and you sleep anywhere from 6-7 a.m.  Last weekend I put up some room-darkening drapes in your room because for a few weeks you were waking up pretty early so with your room staying darker longer, you do sleep a little longer, which really helps me on the weekends!  You hate having your teeth brushed (you've gotten almost all of your teeth in except your two-year molars--and your bottom canines are still trying to finish coming through all of the way. Right now you have 16 teeth) and I usually end up having to hold your head still and shove my finger in your mouth (we still use a fingertip brush with training toothpaste) to get them brushed--flossing is absolutely out of the question!!

Looking back, I honestly don't know where time has gone!! It doesn't seem like too terribly long ago that we were bringing you home from the hospital. Having two kids definitely makes life interesting, but having two kids so close together takes it to a whole new level!! It is getting easier the older you're getting but in some ways it's harder, too. You are definitely a combination of your daddy & I and it's so neat watching you grow & learn new things!!! You're such a handful at times and an absolute lover at other times and I can't imagine my life any differently, little man.