They tell me I'll forget the details

I've heard so many times to record every little funny thing about my kids growing up.  Here's one I want to remember...

When it comes to first sentences, E was super sweet.  His first sentence was, "Thank you, Mommy."  Or maybe it was "I love you, Mommy."  Oh crud, I've forgotten the detail already...  at any rate, it was super sweet!

Yikes

A month since I've posted here.  Yikes indeed.

Anyway...

As E is about to turn an unbelievable TWO YEARS OLD, he's:

• Unbelievably stubborn.  Like, "maybe we need to have his hearing checked" stubborn.
• Unbelievably sweet.  This kid loves to cuddle and snuggle and hug and kiss.  He loves to say "I love you too," even if you haven't said I love you first.
• Polite.  He says thank you without prompting (usually)
• A biter.  He is highly likely to bite his brother when A has something E perceives to be his.  
• A screamer.  He has finally gotten beyond screaming when he wakes up (never having cooed or babbled; he now yells for Daddy.)  If he's not getting his way, he screams.  
• infatuated with Daddy.  Daddy is most assuredly his hero.  (He does love Mommy; I'm just not the first person he seeks)
• A big fan of trucks.  
• got a lot of words, though it's more repetition of the sound than speaking the word...  he definitely has some words going on too!

This week, M and I have been off for spring break.  This has resulted in some of us sleeping a little bit later and the boys' morning routine being off a little bit.  Because they've been eating breakfast at home (which they do not do when I'm heading to work), they've been getting to school about 40 minutes later than when I'm working.  This hasn't been a problem for A, but E has had some troubles because by that point, his class has moved to a different room.  He has shown me that he absolutely wants to play in the drop off room for a while!  This might have been the first time he's cried for me at drop off, and he even wants me to pick him up and hold him.

E has taken a liking to saying "wheeeeee" when we go around turns in the car.

Our bedtime routine has changed a bit, now that E wants to go into A's room for story.  The problem is, though, finding a story that will appeal to both boys.  Since most nights we read one of A's books, E gets bored and starts jumping on the bed.  The other night, I took him into his room to read a story and let him choose the book.  He happily picked a book that let him touch as well as listen to the story.  He loves those darn books!

I am afraid of the level of E's tantrums.  Not that they're scary or anything, but rather that his temper flares have started much earlier are much more frequent and last much longer than I recall having happened with A at 2.  I also worry that he'll get away with much more than his brother did now that Mom and Dad are much more busy than they were then!

This kid amazes me every day.  The amount of love he wants from us, the snuggles and cuddles and hugs and kisses have rightly earned him the nickname of "Sweetie." 

Tall

A keeps getting bigger.  Of course, you say, that's what they do.  But you know what it's like when you haven't seen a kid in a long time and it seems that they've grown inches?  What happens when it's your own kid and it seems that he's grown inches and you just saw him yesterday?

I noticed the other day that A's whole head is above the kitchen counter.  He no longer fits into 4T shirts simply because they aren't long enough to cover his belly.

Look, E's shirt is too short too!

Pants don't seem to be a problem, however, but the shirts are quickly being retired.

Mickey

March 13, 2012

Today was another gorgeous day, so I decided to put E in a sweatshirt instead of his coat.  I showed him his Mickey and his froggy shirts and asked him to pick.  He didn't, so I put on the froggy, thinking front zip means easier on/off.  Easier on/off indeed; he took the froggy sweatshirt off and brought the Mickey one to me and he told me to put it on him.

He then went back to the froggy sweatshirt, handed it to me, and as far as I could tell, wanted me to put it on myself.

This weekend, I pulled out a LOT of bins of clothes in 24 months and 2T.  Alas, we need ALL these clothes since the weather will probably get cold again and I don't really know how long we'll get out of the 24 month stuff.  It's so sweet to see so many things again, though it feels like I just put this 2T stuff away!!

This one was undated, but I'd guess A was 2 here.

Coat

I bought a coat for E to wear in a few years in a size 3-4 from consignment. I gave it to A to try on as an almost 5 year old to see how long we could expect E to wear it. A liked it, but doesn't want to wear it to school tomorrow, "Only on a home day.". He said he wants to wear it when he goes out. "Where do we go out ever," I asked? "Out to dinner, or to Devils games, or to Disney World," he replied. "Disney World?" "Yeah! I'll wear it all over Disney World!"

He took it off and of course, E wanted to put it on and also show Daddy.  Check out that grin!

Stocked Pantry

Leap!

The boys, demonstrating how they abuse our furniture, are daredevils, and how they have no fear.  This was the first time we'd seen E do a real jump rather than just fall off the arm of the sofa.  I love the "yay!"

Busy

Aye yai yai.  Hello, poor, neglected record of what's going on in my kids' lives.  Here, have a video:

In review

We had a roller coaster of a year in 2011.  The highs included time off with Mr. E, E's first birthday, A's fourth birthday, and our trip to Disney, and the most notable low was losing Mom Mom.

Amazingly, when 2011 began, our E looked like this:
 

and at its close,


As for Mr. A, January 2011:


and December 2011:

So, my year in review via favorite pictures would include:

January, 9 month chair picture

February-E's Valentine Picture

 

March--Boys having fun results in great pictures!

April

April

April

May

May

June

June

July

July

August

August--boys' first day of school

September

October

November

December

I resolve to post on this thing more this year!  I resolve to prioritize preserving our memories, even if it's not in some baby book.  I resolve to take more pictures!

Merry Christmas!

December 23, 2011

Words

Hello, poor neglected record of my kids' life.

E is becoming a word powerhouse.  At bedtime, we go over the words he can/will say and he points to his body parts too.

He can point to his and/or my:

• nose
• head
• ear
• eye
• foot
• hand
• belly

He can say:

• hi
• bye bye
• bottle
• Mama, sometimes Mommy
• Dada
• Daddy
• Kitty
• Eye
• Cheese
• Uhoh
• Grammi
• Grampy
• A
• Brother
• Ball
• Bell
• Doggie
• Shoe
• Sock
• Hat
• Whoa
• Big Bird
• Baby
• Me! Me! Me!
• Mine
• Foot
• Hand
• Nose
• Mouth
• Milk
• Nana (Banana)
• Boo!

For awhile last week, M wasn't home for bedtime.  A would help me put E to bed, and listen to story.  One night, I asked him to help me read the story, and so chose Go Dog, Go.  He was able to read almost all of it, whether from memory or not, I don't know, but he impressed me nevertheless.

At school this month, they have been doing "The Season of Kindness."  The kids get a chain on a paper chain for each act seen at home or at school, so A has been especially kind and also has been pointing out his own kind acts as well as those of his brother.  It's so sweet.

Last night, E and I were alone for the night.  He's in a big Daddy stage, so it was rough at first.  We went for a drive, and something made this kid CRACK UP.  After that, we had a great night--we actually laughed and laughed pretty much until he went to bed.  We played a game in the kitchen where I'd get down to his level, say "Boo!" and run away in an exaggerated way.  Kiddo laughed his butt off.  He's also going through a fall down stage; I've been calling him Chevy Chase.  As far as I can tell, it's completely intentional.

A is really excited for Santa and keeps asking us if it's Christmas.  They had a Polar Express Day at school, and got to see Santa, so he came home telling us it was Christmas.  

Before Thanksgiving, we were at the mall and Santa was there with no line.  A wouldn't leave the stroller, but E went right up to him.  We haven't yet gone for our "official" Santa pictures, so hopefully the school experience will help them both have a successful Santa picture this year.

Ironically, A hasn't asked about multiple Santas in multiple places, but it came up when he asked why Mickey wouldn't talk to him way back on our Disney trip at the beginning of August.

This year is flying!

More words

Grammi (Mami)
Wawa (water)
Shoe

He also has a distinct noise for when he's playing with cars/trucks and a different noise when he's playing with trains (his newly discovered favorite toy in the house).

On Friday, E was sick and had to stay home.  Because neither M nor I could miss a day, we asked Grammi to come to our rescue.  After spending the whole day with him, she reported that E is the only kid she's ever met who waits for permission to play with his toys.  She also seemed amazed that he cleans up so well when you ask him to. 

I have to say, he's such a good direction follower--I sure hope THAT sticks.  He's a super helper, too.  If he thinks he's going out, he'll get his coat and his shoes... or maybe he'll bring me my shoes.

Additionally, they spent some time looking at the family pictures hanging in our family room.  He'll point to the picture and identify Mama and Dada by name, and points to A, Grammi, and Grampy when you ask him where they are.

Thank you muchly to Grammi for the sick day rescue!!

Words

Argh, I've fallen so far behind.  Sorry, posterity.
Anyway, E is starting to have a language explosion.  In many cases, his words are understandable only to M, A, and me, but he can now tell us what he wants/needs.  These include:

• BeeBee (can mean his new Big Bird or his G.G.)
• Ball
• Mama
• Dada
• Ditty
• Uh oh
• Baba (bottle)
• Nana (banana)

I love that when we guess what he's trying to tell us, he gets so happy--his "yes, that's right!" is a big smile and a little giggle.

Vintage Monday

November 3, 2010

Vintage Monday

Happy Halloween!

Vintage Monday

It's good to see that we went pumpkin picking very late the first time, since we still haven't made it and Halloween is but a week away.  What a cutie.

Sesame Place

Today, we went to Sesame Place.  I really love going in the late fall, because the weather is still gorgeous to be outside (it was about 70 when we left this afternoon), the place is all decked out for Halloween, there are new shows, the kids (and some adults) walk around in their costumes and can trick or treat too.  It's not nearly as crowded either, though it can seem like it is because there are less places for people to be.

Alex is a pirate this year, and had a great time walking around the park in his costume. 

I think we did the headband more "Karate Kid" than "pirate," but the kid was happy.

He was excited to go on "Ernie's Big Bed," and was asking about it on the ride there--would he be able to go in the big kid's line this time?  Alas, the lines are 4 and under and 5 and up, but there were so few people today, it was a great free for all.

Trick or Treating:

The Peek a Bug ride:

We got to see a show with lots of the characters; A sat on my lap the whole time:

I also want to mention that today, A put E's shoes on for him.  My little helper!

My cutie booty is getting so big!!

18 months

E turned 18 months three days ago.  And I just got around to taking a picture in the chair.  At least it didn't get totally skipped like last month.

Today, we made the trip to Sesame Place.  M learned that E can say "Nana," (banana) or at least he heard it for the first time.  I learned he can say "Elmo," or something that means "Elmo," and at home, he can say "Ball." 

I wanted to get him his own stuffed thing from there, since A has an Elmo from SP as well as a Cookie Monster that's similar.  He chose Big Bird... random, but it's what he wanted.  He's currently sleeping with BB in his arms.

I saw a new tooth today--upper left canine.

He loved wearing his costume around the park... we even got a picture of him in the headpiece, though it lasted less than 2 minutes, and the gloves, which he loved to wear, also didn't last very long.

He was so cute with his tail dragging behind:

And today, he went on almost all the same rides A did, for the very first time.  Both went on "Ernie's Big Bed," seen here (he kept saying "Whoa"), the teacups, the bug ride, climbed on some stuff.  He didn't go on "Elmo's Flying Fish," but only because M went to do something and I wasn't able to accompany both boys.

He's also starting to run.  He looked so darn cute, running in his toddler way, in that costume.  Worth every penny of $4.

Reader in Training

When he wakes up in the morning, E has taken a liking to reading his book.  It has to be one of the touch and feel series books he has, and he calls for it with a point.  No other book will do, of course!