2.5 years - BLM

Our not so middle child turned 2 and a half this past month. I say that because he is the antithesis to the middle child cliche. He thinks he is the only one around at times and all eyes should be on him!! Over the past few months, B has really changed {and pretty much all for the better}. He went from being a very tough to handle toddler to a full of life little boy.

The main thing that has changed over the past probably 2-3 months would be his communication skills. I remember at his 2 year check-up we were worried about his lack of speech. Our doctor said to give it a few months because sometimes a light bulb turns on and then all of a sudden they are a chatterbox. Boy was she right, the kid can't turn it off now. I think he went from maybe 20-30 intelligible words back in March to maybe 400 now. Not all of it is decipherable, but Ryan and I have a pretty good understanding of just about anything he says! Some of his favorite or cute things he says these days are:

*Me do dat (in reference to just about anything in life; from putting on clothes, unwrapping food, buckling his seatbelt, etc. He thinks he is 18 now)

*Good job (he loves to give praise when he thinks someone does a good job, it's super cute)

*K pop (or something to that effect. Basically he is trying to say thank you and that is how it comes out)

*OK! (he says OK to just about everything right now and in such a manner that seems so genuine, like he really just wants to be obedient - which I know is not the case!!)

*Me hungy, hungy, hungy! (When he is hungry and it usually comes in sets of three)

*Tummy hurt bad (Uses that fort an excuse for just about anything he doesn't want to do and now "bad" gets added on quite a few things now, just in case we needed the extra emphasis to know how he truly feels)

*Me drive? this has become an almost daily question from him and he is dead serious. Wes has occasionally let him sit in his lap and drive to the neighborhood pool. He really turns the wheel and thinks he is doing something. So now, whenever we go places, he wants to drive.

We have also made a few changes in just the past few weeks. One day last month, I asked him if he wanted to go tinkle on the potty and if he did I would give him an M&M. Well, that afternoon, after a lot of sitting and waiting, it finally happened. He doesn't always go on the potty now, but most times, he willingly just goes and does it without being prompted. He has done way better with it than I thought. Now as far as using the restroom for number 2, he says he won't do that because "it's gross." Clearly, we will have a while until that happens. He does however, cover his eyes and says "me no see" when I put him up on the changer to change his dirty diapers. He is pretty much disgusted at himself at the mere thought of having a dirty diaper, so maybe that will help motivate him to learn to use the potty!

His first day on the potty!

Also, just in the past two weeks, B has slept on a blowup mattress for two different trips. It was a pretty big deal considering he has never slept anywhere other than a crib. He actually did really well after the first night or two. He never would get up or when he woke up, he would sit there until someone came and got him. He did however, not stop talking to Ryan when it was bedtime; to the point we could hear Ryan begging him to stop talking and just go to bed!! We also finally stopped giving him warm milk in his crib. I know, we totally babied this child, but typically when you start breaking habits between 18 months and 2 years, we had Charlie, so those things seemed to fall to the wayside at the time. He treated his milk cup as a second lovey, so the first day or two was pretty rough for him, but now he seems fine. Another habit that has just been broken as of this week is the "pi" or pacifier. We told him after the Gulf Shores trip, that he was a big boy and didn't need it anymore (not to mention he is two and a half and it's kind of ridiculous he still sleeps with it!) So, two nights ago, we took them from his crib and put them away. He has not asked for them since, but he has found other things to be upset about while going to sleep. The first night, it was that his hands were sticky (from putting them in his mouth over and over, probably due to the lack of pacifier). So, Wes went up there and wiped them off and he went straight to bed. Last night, he wanted his new blanket we gave him, draped over him and wouldn't stop screaming about it for almost an hour. He also woke up a bit earlier this morning and not in a very good mood, either. I remember going through these same things with Ryan, so hopefully in a few weeks, he will be back on track. I'm so thankful we won't have to go through this with Charlie, since he doesn't take one.

This kid is such a ham. He makes me laugh all day long and you just never know what he is going to say or do next. It definitely keeps us on our toes!

channeling his inner James Dean

he loves to wash the windows in our shower

He loves, loves, loves to wear CoCo's glasses. Anytime he can find them, they immediately go on his head! They are actually pretty cute on him. And speaking of glasses and such, his eye has not seemed to improve too much over the past few months. Part of it, I am sure, is that we have not been to diligent about him wearing the patch. I need to take him in and get him checked up again to see where he is at.

The bedtime routine is always an exciting one for the boys at our house. They get to wrestle with dad on he bed and get lots of "teekles" as B calls it. They go crazy in the bathtub and then are even more wild running around the bedroom.

I am not sure why, but one night, I pulled up Youtube on my phone and let them watch some nursery rhymes and songs from their preschool - well, if you do anything 1-2 times with B, it becomes a habit. So, now, whenever I put them to bed after baths, he must watch Jesus Loves Me, Wheels on the Bus and usually a few others to round out the bedtime songs. He will get so anxious if he thinks it for some reason may not happen.

B completed his first year at Little Gym earlier this month and was pretty cute. He came a long way over the past 8 months and by the end would actually participate in most activities. He still would sit in my lap the first 10 minutes, but when it came time to introduce himself, the very last day he stood up and said Bradley!

His favorite activity toward the end of semester was probably hanging on the bars. Some classes, he would spend a solid 20 minutes doing just that.

 So proud of him! He actually went and stood on the "podium" by himself to get his award!

 He loved Ms. O!

Part of their cute class - this was probably only about half of the kids. The rest of them were either too busy or nervous to go up there for the class photo. We'll miss these friends, but this summer he is doing the Sporty Beast class, so I am sure he'll make lots of new friends there!

As far as just routine goes, he is still a great sleeper and is taking a 2-2.5 hour nap each afternoon. He has definitely improved on the eating front and will try most things now. When I say most, I am of course excluding vegetables, haha! I think the only veggie he really eats is Spaghetti Squash and that is probably because he has no idea it is  a veggie! He wears 2T-3T clothes and is about 31 lbs. He loves the number 2 and the color orange (not sure what it is about my kids and orange!). He can basically count to ten (one, two, hee, four, five, eight, nine ten - so we have a little work to do). He can pretty much recite the ABC's thanks to Elmo and LeapFrog. He loves to wash his hands.

Not wanting to hear Charlie cry in the car - can't blame him!

We love this little boy to pieces! He has such a good heart and is always concerned about his brothers. He is rough and tumble, but also very cautious. He is very excitable and really does just love life and I love watching him experience it all!