Well there you have it. We have a 2 year old. He sure is smiley. This kid talks up a storm. At his 2 year doctor’s appointment the questionnaire asked if he was stringing two or three words together into phrases. I went home and started to take notice and most of his sentences are 6-8 words long these days. He also has a firm grip on colors, knows quite a few letters, can count until at least 15, and sings the alphabet. He knows parts of “Itsy bitsy spider”, “London Bridge”, “Ring around the Roses”, “If you’re happy and you know it”, “Where is Thumbkin”, “Twinkle Twinkle” and “the Hokey Pokey”. He is getting more independent by the day and takes great pride in climbing up into the car and into his car seat by himself. He would prefer if you never changed his diaper, but is not yet thinking potty training is a great idea. He’s a runner, and a jumper, and an excellent ball-thrower/kicker (as long as you shield yourself). He can jump and get both feet off the ground really well and has a pretty mean overhand throw. He likes to boss around the cat, but is usually pretty nice to her. He loves when you bring him coins for his piggy bank. Puzzles, stickers, matchbox cars, and painting are some of his current favorite indoor activities. He really enjoys being outside and will draw with sidewalk chalk, help in the garden, go for a stroller ride, or take one of his outside toys for a spin around the block. He would like if he got at least 3 servings of fruit snacks per day with Oreo cookies in between. He enjoys talking to his Midwestern relatives on Skype as long as the camera operator can move the phone or computer fast enough to keep up with him. His favorite cartoons are Caillou, Cat in the Hat, and Curious George. He cannot yet open the doors throughout the house but he’s working on it. He has 18 out of 20 of his baby teeth (come on top molars!). He still sucks his thumb when he’s sleepy or insecure. He’s been sleeping in a big-boy bed without any fights at all for about a month. He still takes a 30 minute power nap most days at daycare—if not, watch out! On the days he is home with us he will re-charge by taking a 2 or 3 hour nap. I doubt he would do this if he weren’t so tired out from daycare days. He sleeps for 11 hours per night. He is sweet and polite most of the time and opinionated always.
My William is a wonderful 2 year old. I like this age better than I’ve liked anything to come before it. I know it is a mother’s duty to gush about how much they love their children the minute they were born, but William and I were different. Quite frankly I didn’t know what to expect from a squishy newborn. I think I had been led to expect my heart to open up and angels would sing and I would wonder how I’d ever lived without him, but quite frankly that didn’t happen—at least not at first. At first there were a lot of dirty diapers, crying, sleep deprivation, and feeling quite inadequate as a mom. So you may be wondering “Why in the heck are you having another one?”. The simple answer is that my heart did open up. Now I cannot imagine not having a William and I want so much for him to have a sibling and friend. I like this stage but I’m excited for the next one. Happy 2nd Birthday William!