Happy 2nd Birthday Brandon!
I am 2 yrs old today. I weigh 32.10 lbs and I am 35.45 inches tall. I have almost all my baby teeth, I am waiting on my 2 yr molars and there are two eye teeth that are through but only a little and are still slowly pushing out. My teeth have been quite a pain for me, unlike my brother where his teeth shot through no problem, mine seem to move a lot and take their time coming out. Mom and Dad both agree that my second year has seen a lot of growth in different ways then with my first year. I am wearing 3T tops and I am slowly moving from 24 months to 3T pants as well. I wear a size 9 shoe, at least this week.
My eating habits have remained about the same, I am not as big of an eater as Owen but I eat my share and there are very few things I don’t like to eat….watermelon and blueberries to name just a couple. Most of my days consist of me telling everyone, “No I do it myself!”. I want to do everything and do it on my own, I want to figure it all out by myself. I want to dress myself, take my shoes off and even make my own toast. This is all very frustrating for me and I am having a hard time showing my frustrations. I usually scream and hit or kick whatever is closest to me and then I cry; I usually am so frustrated I don’t even want a hug from Mom or Dad to help calm me down. Mom and Dad are trying everything they can think of, read up about and get advice from others on how best to help me with my frustrations. Sometimes just having my big brother Owen asking if he can help me, is all that I need to hear to get me to re-focus and try again.
I am talking quite a bit these days and most often if I repeat myself a couple times Mom, Dad and Owen can figure out what I am saying. I point out everything I see “Grandpa drives the bus, Read with me, Watch this, Look a dump truck, fire truck, motor bike, Owen is my brother” Owen and I have conversations back and forth most days (Mom and Dad love to watch and listen to us chat together). I have a funny litle grin and get a twinkle in my eye when I am about to do something that I know is not quite right, but am curious what the outcome will be….this time. Mom and Dad spend a lot of time with me in “time-outs” talking through each situation, explaining why we don’t hit, throw, scream, grab…how it hurts other’s feelings and makes other’s sad. They keep telling me I need to say sorry when I do these things…saying sorry is something that takes me a little longer to choose to do. Yes, choose, I have a bit of a stubborn side to me. At mealtimes I love to eat on my own, but it’s always faster and more fun when Mom or Dad help me. At least I always make sure Mom or Dad pull up a chair to sit on while they help me with my meals.
I love bath time and recently decided that I should wash my own hair. Mom or Dad or whomever is helping at bath time will put a little bit of shampoo in my hands and then I rub it into my hair to make bubbles. Bed time has been steadily evolving and now our routine is potty time first, then into Mom and Dad’s bed with our blankets and milk cups for one story each, another potty time if needed, run into Owen’s room for hugs with Owen, then run into my room for more hugs with Owen and then hugs from Mom and Dad and if I am convincing enough I can get another one or two stories out of them! By the time I am in bed, it is usually between 7:30 – 8:00 pm. I sleep through the night and usually wake around 6:00 am. One afternoon nap for me, and it’s usually a nice long one…from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm.
I walk and run everywhere, I am grown up enough that I don’t think I need to hold hands anywhere, even in the parking lots and I am walking up and down the stairs like a pro! In July Owen and I moved from our day home to a day care, while it was sad to leave the day home, the new environment was really great. It took some getting use to, new people, new friends, new toys and routines but now in mid-September I walk right in with Owen and sit down and play without a backwards glance at Mom and Dad. I know they are just going to work and will pick us up after work is done for the day.
I started gymnastics in the spring and really really enjoy it, Owen and I are doing gymnastics again this fall. As well I am in swimming lessons and love the water; at day care I get to go swimming once a week and Mom and Dad think this has really helped to improve my love of the water. Starting next week, Owen and I will be taking music classes through the day care as well; I love to dance and sing, so I am very sure I will really enjoy this class. I love to sing songs….my ABC’s and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star are a couple of my favorites.
My birthday party will be Thomas the Train this year.