Surprise!! In honor of a new season (well, in two days anyway)...a new post!!!
I can't believe it has been almost two months since my last blog post. After returning from our road trip, Avalon's summer break flew by in a whirlwind of birthday parties, swim lessons, gymnastics lessons, Friday Al Frescos at Bogle and various good old fashioned summer fun.
August 10th brought a return to routine with Avalon starting 1st grade, followed by a shakeup in the routine a month later with Eloise starting preschool on September 7th. I'm still working on finding my bearings amidst all the drop-off and pick-ups of their two school schedules, not to mention all the other school-related obligations. Life has definitely shifted into a new gear and it's pretty exciting!
Naturally, I have taken loads of photos over the past three months... and I DO plan on posting many of them starting.... well, tomorrow. Or maybe the next day. ;) I will be doing quite a bit of blogging over the next couple weeks to catch the blog up on our most memorable summer adventures, but today's order of business is an update on our favorite little boy!
My sweet baby boy... you have changed so much in the last two months that it is hard to guess how different you will be by the time you turn TWO in seven short weeks.
I know I sound like a broken record (I know I'll have to explain that reference to you someday), but you are growing up SO FAST. I just can't emphasize it enough. Strange how kids seem to grow up faster with every one that you have. I vividly remember the day that Daddy and I decided to try for you like it was yesterday, and poof, almost three years have passed already.
As your second birthday approaches, you finally have a bedroom to call your own... well, almost your own. You still have to share your room with the treadmill, but last week we moved Daddy's desk and computer into our room to make space for your toys and give you your own little place to play. You are loving it! When both sisters are at school you spend quite a bit of time in there digging through your toy box and playing quietly on your own. You especially love Duplos/Megablocks and work diligently on constructing precarious towers that soon fall apart and have you running to Mama in tears.
When you're not playing with toys you love putting on everyone's shoes and clomping around (particularly Avalon's purple tennies, as pictured above). You also love digging wine and beer bottles out of the recycling and lining them up and dropping things in them. In fact, I currently have a beer bottle with two dry erase markers stuck in it sitting on the kitchen counter.
You recently started scribbling with crayons, which you do almost always with your left hand. I can't believe I may end up with TWO left-handed children! I have to watch you close with the crayons because you have been known to take a bite of them here and there. Markers are completely off-limits because you love to draw all over yourself and everything else within reach. You once got a hold of one and scribbled all over a dozen different toys before I caught you (thankfully no walls or furniture!).
You have started to show an interest in TV, particularly (unfortunately) YouTube. When I give your sisters YouTube time, you will plop down beside them and zone out to those stupid videos right along side them. Often you will climb on your rocking horse and rock while you watch.
You're developing that distinct orneriness that begins to appear around this age. When you're mad you will slap or hit things, and pick things up and throw them while angrily shouting "ah-ka!" Eloise has recognized this as being similar to her own behavior and has actually accepted responsibility for "teaching" you this habit. (We think the "ah-ka!" is an imitation of Ellie's "that's it!", which she shouts as she throws things in anger.) One of your favorite new words is "Stah!" ("stop"), which you shout whenever someone is doing something you don't like, whether as legitimate as your sisters pestering you or as benign as Daddy and I singing/whistling/humming a bit too loud for your liking! Also similarly to your younger big sis, you are very skilled in the "fake fit" department and tend to be quite dramatic. Lately you have become a big whimperer, which I have to admit drives your Daddy and I crazy sometimes!
That said, people continue to remark on what an easy-going, chill little guy you are. You are very agreeable and respond "okay" to most anything we ask of you. Outside of the house particularly you just roll with whatever we're doing and are the last to fuss and complain; you never just "melt down". You are also a very sweet little guy who loves to give hugs and is very sensitive to people's emotions. When one of your sisters are crying and/or upset, you will go up and gently give them a hug or pat. You are also very gentle with pets and other little kids.
You are getting your canine teeth now and are frequently chewing on an index finger. You have handled teething extremely well. You haven't taken a pacifier in ages and I actually threw them all away a couple months ago. It has also been ages since I gave you a teething tablet.
In my last update I forgot to mention that you stopped nursing back in May... May 25th was the last day you nursed, to be exact. You take the award for my longest nursing child at over 18 months. As your sisters did, you lost interest and essentially weaned yourself. Four months later we are still giving you a bottle of warm cow's milk in the evening, but I imagine we will discontinue that sometime in the next couple of months.
You talk A LOT. Much of it is still babbling but you say a lot of actual words and phrases, too. One of the first phrases you started saying/imitating was "'Ah ih all!" ("I ate it all!"), which you say while waving around your empty bowl or plate. The first question you asked (and continue to ask!) is "Cah coo-kie?" (Can I have a cookie?"), which is usually followed up in order by "Cah ca-ca?"(cracker) and "Cah tee?"(cheese).
Some other words/phrases I have jotted down...
"Ca ca" used to mean "cracker" specifically but has come to represent all food
"Mahhhh!" (Mom!)
"Yayyyyeee!" (Yay!)
"Hee hee" (Sissy)
"Nigh Nigh" (Night night, sleep, bed, nap)
"Hey!!"
"Ah duuuuuuh!" (I'm done!)
"Cool!" and "Oh Coooool!"
You spent a couple days at your Kelish Grandparents' house while Daddy and I enjoyed a staycation, after which time they reported you frequently said, "Da da at home." "Ma ma at home."
Most recently you have become obsessed with potty talk phrases... "Poop and pee." "Poo poo and pee pee." "Poopie and pee-poo."
Your 2-year-old post will likely be a bit delayed, considering Daddy and I are jetting off on our first big solo vacation since before you came along only a couple days after your birthday. After our return we will be busy with Thanksgiving and then Eloise's birthday and then Christmas, but I hope to find time for another update somewhere between all that madness. I am excited to witness how much you grow and change over these next few months! <3
