Ethan's 2 1/2 Years Old!

My sweet baby boy is 2 1/2 years old! He is changing literally right before our eyes and I had to make sure I was writing down everything he's doing because I want to savor this stage. He is a total sponge, an observer, and learns by those around him. Here are some fun things about Ethan at this age:

•  Your vocabulary has increased ten-fold. Most people would consider you a late talker, but your progression has been amazing to watch. You went from saying a handful of words, to finally starting to put two words together, and now can talk in three or four word sentences. It's so much fun to hear you say a new word and I know your mind is just working in double time! The best part about you talking is trying to figure out what exactly you're saying. Here are some of our favorites:
• "Ba-ball" - basketball
• "Sea-o" - cereal
• "Chock-it" - chocolate
• "Bozer" - bulldozer
• "Pire-truck" - firetruck
• "Ank-u" - thank you
• "Peas" - please
• "Moon dars" - moon and stars
• "Pick-tur" - picture
• "Blue-boys" - blueberries
• "Staw-bees" - strawberries
• "What that is?" - what is that
  
• You've also started to learn the meaning behind words. For example, you will pick up a thick book and say "that's heavy"; when you feel something fluffy you say "that's soft," and when someone is doing something funny you say "that's silly." You've also picked up on possession of things..."mommy's water," "daddy's phone," "Ethan's blanket," etc.
  
• You're definitely working on your manners and can use please/thank you correctly and also cover your mouth when you cough. You've started to say "bless you" after someone sneezes and I even heard you say "excuse me" one time after you burped =)
• You love anything to do with construction vehicles, fire trucks, police cars, trains, and airplanes.
  
• You can (somewhat) drink water from a cup with no lid. We tried it out the other week and you loved it. We're no where close to letting you have a cup by yourself because you either dumped it on the table or on your clothes...but, it was a good first step!
• When you see basketball on TV, you get really excited and say "Hi Joe!!" for Grandpa Joe and you always think the Hoosiers are playing. You love to say "Go IU" and "Hoosiers"!
  
• Right now your main diet consists of pancakes, cereal, milk, repeat. It's not even that you're a picky eater, but you just don't like eating. There are days where you just eat a couple bites at each meal and you're fine. People laugh when I tell them it's a success if we can get you to eat five bites of cereal, half a banana, three strawberries, etc.
  
  
  
  
• I'm pretty sure you would dip anything in syrup, chocolate, or ketchup.
• You melt our hearts when out of no where you'll come give us a big, tight hug or a kiss on the mouth.
   
• As sweet as you are the majority of the time, you're also two. There are weeks where you really test your boundaries to see what you can get away with. You absolutely know right from wrong, but sometimes want to see how sly you can be. We've started to implement time out and you cooperate, but we will see how long that remains effective. We try and just ask you to make a better choice and if you don't then there is a consequence. When you get mad and frustrated you usually do one of four things: (1) scream as loud as you can, (2) get on the floor and bang your head, (3) hit, or (4) put something in your mouth (like a toy) and grit your teeth.
  
• Let's talk about boo-boo's. You got your blood drawn back in December and had to have a bandaid on your arm - three months later, you still talk about your boo-boo and tell anyone and everyone who will listen. You raise your sleeve up, point to your arm, and say "boo-boo."
• Papaw hit his head on the clock and had to get stiches. You talked about this for months too! You would tell the story, "Papaw. Head. Clock. Boo-Boo. Ouch." Even when his stiches were gone, you would talk about his boo-boo every single time you saw him ("boo-boo all gone" "bandaid all gone"!) Oddly enough, all your stuffed animals started having boo-boo's on their head and when I asked you what happened you would tell me they hit their head on the clock =)
  
• You like having your back rubbed. Almost every morning, I will get you out of the crib and change your pajamas (potty update later!) and you'll lay across my lap and say in the most pitiful voice "baaack." You won't let me put new clothes on you until I've rubbed your back.
  
• Your imagination is unfolding every day and it's so cool to watch. You've started to play pretend by telling me you're making pancakes with a bowl and spoon (chocolate chip pancakes at that!), you will have a conversation with someone on your pretend phone, you grab a suitcase out of the closet and say you're going on a trip, etc.
  
• You love anything to do with music. I truly believe you're going to be musically talented (it's in your genes)! You can play "pretend" piano, drums, guitar, and violin. When a song comes on the music station or radio, you can name the instrument you hear which I think is so cool. You like to sing and it's the cutest thing. You usually use the end of your golf club as your microphone =)
  
• You've become very particular about what you wear and have started picking out your own clothes. It's not uncommon for a mini-tantrum to arise if I don't dress you in your basketball sweatshirt, fire truck shirt, or football socks. That's okay though - I like your independence!
• You still take two naps a day and, yes, you still need both. You're a boy who loves his sleep and when you don't get enough it shows!
  
• You played in the snow for the first time this year! Last year, you weren't walking yet so we never took you out in the cold fluff. But, you've had a blast with daddy this winter throwing snow at each other and helping him shovel the driveway. You even built your first snowman!
  
  
  
  
• Your love for Mickey Mouse has really taken off. You barely knew who Mickey was before Emerson was born, but sometimes mommy just needs a distraction and Mickey is always the answer! Your favorite character is definitely Goofy. You always ask "where Goofy is?" When the episode is over, you wave bye to Mickey and tell me Mickey and Goofy are going to nap.
  
• Aunt Laura and Uncle John got you your first set of Legos for Christmas and you really enjoy building things. You get excited when you stack blocks together to build a tower or when you build a "pire truck." You've gotten really good at dumping all the Legos out of the bucket...and haven't quite mastered putting them back IN the bucket!
  
• If you could go to church every day, you would. You love our Wednesday nights at church. You play in the two-year old room and it's so fun to peek through the window to watch you playing. Ms. Holly absolutely adores you and says what an amazing boy you are each week. You always give her a big hug goodbye. You pick up on the songs she teaches you very quickly. It's adorable to hear you sing about Jesus. When we sit down for dinner, the first thing you do is clap your hands together to pray.
  
• A cute story about you: one night there was a beautiful sunset - the sky was all shades of pink and orange. I told you God made that beautiful sunset for us to enjoy and you peered out the window in awe. The next morning, we were eating breakfast at the table and you looked outside and said "Hi Jesus!!!" And then you lifted your shirt sleeve to show Jesus your "boo-boo." =)
  
• You have started to count and it's really cute - you typically will say something like "one, two, three, four, ten, four, seven, nine..."! I have heard you count (in order) up to seven. And the other day we started with "one, two, three" and you immediately followed with "four, five, six"!
  
• You surprised us the other day when you were playing with a block that had shapes on it and said triangle, heart, circle, etc.
• Over the summer, we bought you a little frog potty to sloooowly start introducing you to the concept. You thought it was fun to sit on it, but your interest faded and we took a couple months off. Then you decided you wanted to sit on the big potty - and sometimes even stand! We still don't push the topic, we just let you guide the way. There are days where you tell me you need to go so I'll follow you back to the bathroom and it's as simple as that. Other days you want nothing to do with it. No matter what though, we always make a big deal about your interest!
  
  
  
  
• You ate a crayon a couple weeks ago. A bright blue crayon. You looked like a smurf with your blue teeth and blue tongue.
  
• The best part about you being 2 1/2 is what an AMAZING big brother you are! Son, you certainly weathered the storm along with mommy and daddy while Emerson was colicky. You were (and still are!) quite the trooper. Now that she is more interactive, you absolutely love to be around her. Every morning (and when she wakes up from a nap), you race into her room and peer over the bassinet shouting "HI SIS!!" "SISTER"! You love to play with her and put lots and lots of toys in her lap. You ask to hold her, feed her, and burp her. No one makes her laugh like you do. You think it's funny when she reaches out to grab you, when y'all play "tug-o-war" with your blanket, and when you make her pull off your socks. You always give her a sweet kiss goodnight. It's going to be a lot of fun to see how you react when she starts crawling and going places!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Ethan is just a ball of joy. He really does make life better and he will always be our sweet baby who made us parents...who gave us the kind of love we never knew possible. I'll never be able to write down every memory, every funny thing he said, or highlight all the good (and bad!) times, but it'll be so fun to look back on this "snapshot" of Ethan at 2 1/2 and be thankful for what an incredible boy he is! We love you bud!