2 and a half!

Yep, we have a 2 and a half year old here. So far, this has been the most fun age ev-ah. Every day is a blast with him. He's learning new stuff every day, he wakes up every morning happy and ready for whatever the day has in store. Here's some of his ways:

He's always learning...
*As you know he can count to 10. He loves to point to things and count how many.
*He definitely knows all his letters, and can almost sing the alphabet song.
*When we're out and about he points to the people around and identifies them, correctly, as either 'guy,' 'lady,' or recently he's added 'kid.'
*He's very tuned in to noises. Any noise you hear he'll stop, cup his ear and say 'noy?'
*It's amazing to hear what he picks up from the day. If you ask if he was at the zoo, he could tell you about a certain animal he saw or how the bears were biting each other.


He's a softie...
*He likes to reiterate that we're all happy. He'll point to everyone, including himself, and say "mommy happy, daddy happy, Gaber happy." If I express my displeasure with something he does (like growl at Posie) he says "mommy happy." Just makin' sure that this one incident doesn't deter me from my happiness. Or if I say I'm proud of him he says affirmatively 'mommy happy.'
*During his bedtime routine, once he's in the crib and the the adult, usually Dave, is on the chair singing to him, he throws out his stuffed penguin, so that Dave has something soft to cuddle with too.
*We play a fun game when we put his shoes on. One shoe goes on easily, but then just before the other shoe and sock are about to go on he hides the sock. Then that shoe gets very sad and cries since he can't go on Gabe's foot. He then offers the 'sad shoe' his boo-ba, aka his blue blanket, as comfort to the sad shoe.
*If I get hurt in any way or seem upset, he'll walk up to me and softly stroke me.
*When he sees a picture of me and him or daddy and him he says "awwww."


He's chatty...
*If something is not available, it's considered "closed." Mom says you can't play baseball outside at 7am? "Baseball closed."
*Similarly, if something is new the old one "broke." Cohen moved to a new house? That could only mean that the old "house broke."
*He's Mr. Right Now. Gabe do you want a baby brother? "Yes, right now!"



He likes rules and order...
*The timer is our friend around here. I've used it for time outs for a long time and when it's almost time to go, I set the timer and when it goes off, we have to leave. When I say 'five more minutes' Gabe says 'timer' so that we're all on the same page.
*If anything is out of the way he expects it (ie, spilled food, Grammie moved a vase, little dirt on his hand) it must be fixed 'right now.'



He's having fun...
*The world of pretend is getting stronger around here. In the car, he'll be chatting away to himself, sometimes I'll hear a chuckle and sometimes I get a pretend piece of cake. He also likes to act out his favorite Diego episodes.
*He loves his Gym class. He follows the rules and loves all the fun stuff we do. He really loves his teachers, but one in particular. She loves him too, and recently rearranged her work schedule to be sure he was still in her class. Proud mama moment, for me.
*His latest jam is 'The Cave' by Mumford and Sons. He sings along *loudly*, shakes his tambourine, and likes to say 'banjo' when it comes in.

He's healthy...
*After being sick *literally* from January to mid-March we discovered that he has significant dust allergies. We've taken the necessary steps in his room, added some kiddie clari*tin and he is seriously a new kid. I can't explain the difference in his personality now that he's healthy again. We were getting used to his constant crabby state (which really isn't even that bad), but once his cough went away the most fun, happy, toddler was revealed. I'm so thankful it was nothing serious and that G can now get back to the business of having fun!


He's a joy...
*He really is such a good kid, we count our blessings every day. We're so proud to be able to call him our son and are so thrilled that we get to spend the rest of our lives with such a special boy!