Ash - 2 yrs 3 mos

Getting big! 27 months old today.

Since it's been 3 months, it's no surprise that I've grown and developed SO much since my last post.  Mommy thinks she will aim for posting every other month instead of quarterly; too much growth happens in 3 months at this age.  All I know is that I'm having a blast and getting bigger and smarter every day.

Parallel play with my buddy Nathan - or back to back play, if you will

Size:  I'm wearing all 24mo & 2T clothes now.  Mommy is gradually putting away even my 18 mo pants & pj's b/c they were all too short for me.  Thankfully she found another stack of pants in my size sitting in the closet to replace them.

 

Outdoor play in any weather - snow day fun and climbing up to do the big twisty slide

Physical development:  My new friend Jack has taught me some new tricks, the best of which is playing on the playground.  After seeing how confident he was climbing up the steps and going down the slide, I decided to try it for myself; now I LOVE the slides!  I've started toddler "running" and can go fast enough for mommy to have to speed to keep up with me.  I can also climb in & out of the van and into my carseat on my own; this makes things much easier on mommy so she doesn't have to lift me up into the seat with her growing baby belly.

See my regular big boy cup?

I've started using a regular cup instead of a sippy cup at meal times.  Mommy says I can't dip or dunk in my cup till I'm 3, so I've got lots of time to practice before then.  I love being such a big boy.  I'm also helping out with little chores around the house like setting the table at dinner time with the dishes mommy gives me and putting my dirty dishes on the counter after meals.  One of my favorites is helping to unload the dishwasher; I get to put away the silverware and the pots/pans from the bottom cabinet, and the rest I grab out of the dishwasher and hand to mommy to put away up high.

Reading in the car

Verbal development:  I'm just beginning to be able to express myself a little better with comments like "I don't want to go to the gym.  There's too many kids there," or "No, Daddy; I don't like that."  Like most toddlers, sometimes I struggle to use my words when other kids are doing something I don't like or playing with a toy I want, but with practice I'll get better at that too.  I'm also learning lots of my letters and the sounds they make.  I can't draw them yet, but I like to find the A & S & H on the fridge to make my name, and I LOVE to have mommy & daddy write names on my papers or magnadoodle.

Me & my best friend Jack

Routines: Starting in the beginning of March, mommy finally got another nanny job.  She's working for a sweet Christian couple who have a son just a month younger than me.  Jack is a VERY talkative little guy with a laid back personality; sound like anyone you know?  Yeah, we get along great and I love him already.  He's with us M-F 8-4:30, so now we do all the stuff we used to do (MOPS childcare, gym 3x's a wk, etc), just with Jack in tow.  I love having a friend to play with!

Picnic at the park with Jack

Since the weather is starting to get nicer, we try to get to the park at least once or twice a week.  We drive all over town trying out new parks when time permits, and we have a couple favorites within a few minutes of our house that we stick to when time is short.  Also, we had a fun family Saturday at the park with the dogs, and mommy & daddy are thinking we should try to keep doing that every couple of weeks b/c it was so much fun and good exercise for the lazy pups.

"Driving" at the park

Special events: Of course the most special event the past few months was getting to see the baby at mommy's doctor visit and finding out that I'm going to have a little brother.  I'm still not completely clear on what all this baby talk means, but so far it's been fun to see mommy's belly get big and I'm not opposed to having a baby brother.

That aside, my favorite event in the past 3 months was probably Touch a Truck.  I still like to talk about the trucks I encountered there; it was so much fun!  And I also had fun going to the zoo with mommy during spring break, checking out the animals (I loved the primate house), and having my first ride on the carousel. We also took Jack to the zoo, and we spent a Saturday driving up to Denver to eat lunch with Jordan & Jason & Autumn at a Japanese restaurant and playing at their house.  Really, it's been a busy and fun few months.

Climbing into the trucks was tough, but I loved it!

Driving a big truck at Touch-A-Truck

My favorites: I've been loving the biggest twisty slide at the parks.  It's high and thrilling, but the way it twists I can control my speed, and they almost always have a longer flat part at the bottom so I can control my dismount as well.  Feeling in control is important to me, though I do occasionally opt to go down sideways or head first just to be crazy.

A trip to get sushi with mommy & daddy

Daddy's favorites: Daddy still loves our bedtime routine, as it's the most consistent time we have together.  Also, mommy's been busy on Tuesday nights for a couple months, so that's our night for bath/shower and Mighty Machines and bedtime stories, which is pretty special - though we're both happy she's done with that now and will be home with us on Tuesdays again.

Exercising with daddy

Mommy's favorites: Mommy loves watching me get gradually comfortable with things as they become more regular routines in my life.  It took a long time, but now I look forward to church instead of dreading it, even when mommy's not staying in there with me.  And while I still sometimes SAY I don't like the gym and complain on the way there, I always have fun there and talk happily about the things I did afterward.  These are huge steps for an introvert like me, and as an extrovert who feels lost in helping me deal with my issues in big group situations, mommy is relieved that I'm making progress with consistency.

Looking good, even when I'm just coloring at home

Also, mommy has been reading me Bible stories at nap-time from my Jesus Storybook Bible and is really enjoying the Story within the stories.  [Mommy note : I'm personally looking forward to Easter week.  I found this outline for what to read that week leading up to Good Friday & Easter and love it!]

Playing in my sandbox out back

And I think Mommy loves the zoo even more than I do, so she's enjoyed the trips we've taken to the zoo; we're definitely getting our money's worth out of our membership! :)

My first carousel ride

Upcoming: Mommy & daddy have been talking about letting me pick out a new toddler bed and a few new things for my room to make it a "big boy" room.  [Mommy note : don't tell him we're stealing his crib for the baby; we'll do his room this weekend and put off the baby room till much later so he won't correlate the two events at all]  If you know me, you can be pretty certain I'll choose the Disney Cars bed & accessories. :)