Twenty-Three months

My biggie boy is 'going to be two next month', you guys. That is how I answer the question, 'How old is he?' now. It doesn't make my heart ache quite as much to think about my child being two years old, because (wait for it.....) this is just such a FUN age! Should I rename my blog 'My Life in SUCH A FUN AGE!' ??

(this is how he poses for most pictures now---not a true smile in many photos anymore, but more like an intense gaze for the camera. And then he demands to see the shot with his own eyes, to see if he approves.)





Okay, tons of firsts in January for our big guy.

1. Switched from rear-facing to forward-facing at 22.5 months. I really wanted to make it to two years but darn it, I just could not handle my child being in the pike position with his long legs halfway up the back seat. He's never really minded it, and usually he just crosses his legs or let them dangle off the sides of the seat, but with his warm weather gear he just couldn't reposition his little legs well enough. I'm not sure how tall he is, but I guess him to be around 35 inches and he's in all 3T clothes now so yes--he is a taller than average 23 month old. Plus, my back is killing me from lifting him up and into the seat, then trying to get his giant body situated with a teeny amount of available space. Exhibit A:



And after the big switch! Ahhh, legs aren't numb anymore!



Don't worry, I was still incredibly freaked out about this much-needed change because I know how much safer rear-facing is. It's one of those things that would have been hard if we did make it to two, or even beyond, so I'm just pretending to be really cool about it.

(speaking of being really cool...poser)


2. Switched to a big boy bed on 1.22.12!! This was a HUGE mental battle for me (again! I'm a headcase!) but it turns out that it was really not a big deal at all. I decided it was time because T was seriously banging his head into every single part of the tiny crib at night and it was giving me a headache to hear that. Plus he's so heavy the crib was squeaking as he moved and I just couldn't imagine that those two things weren't affecting his sleep at least a little bit. It will be nice not to buy another crib for baby girl, and now Truman will have some time to adjust to this big change before our move and before baby comes.

We brought down Nate's old twin bunk bed from the attic, and used the side rail that went along the top bunk to make this 'safer' and less scary (for me). And I got really into buying Truman new truck sheets from Olive Kids, along with the amazing excavator pillow, and I found a regular old 'quilt' comforter at Target to complete the bedding. Oh, and a set of 'back up' sheets that are dinosaurs---and *almost* as cute as the pricey trucks. I'm mostly excited that we can re-use his striped nursery rug in his new big boy room and keep the same color scheme while changing it up slightly with the trucks.











As for how the transition went....overall it was pretty painless! The first night Truman didn't fall asleep for 2 hours and I was totally second-guessing our decision. But he lasted all night without waking after he did finally fall asleep and bedtime was totally normal again by about the third night. He loves his big boy bed and will to show it off to anyone who will oblige him. Plus, there is nothing better than laying in bed next to my boy, reading him books and singing to him before he falls asleep. He has yet to crawl out on his own because we were really firm with him about mommy and daddy being the only ones who could get him out of the bed. So far he's listening to that statement (knock on wood!) and hasn't gotten out of bed without us!

3. First haircut on 1.21.12. Separate post for details. But one more picture for good measure:)



Other happenings for our 'almost two year old':

-Right in the beginning of the month, I was looking this picture I had taken of T in the bathtub and noticed something rather shocking:

Um, he has his two bottom molars all of a sudden! I'd say they are about halfway through his gums now and must have been part of the reason he liked to wake at 4 am for a few weeks! Hallelujah for being nearly done with all teething. Now if only the top 'two year molars' would start their way down...no sign in sight, not even through my view finder on the camera:)

-No more blankets/lovies at daycare! This was another big step because for a few weeks, the child would not let 'Douglas the lamb', 'Monkey' and 'Green blankie' out of his sight. All of a sudden he just didn't need them anymore and he's doing great at daycare again. Whew.

-Truman is completely obsessed with colors. He can seriously correctly identify the following: orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, black and brown. Not so into 'red' or 'gray' or 'white' but everything else is spot-on. The other day I was opening up our peanut butter jar and he said, 'ooooh, brown!'. Say, what? And we talk about the colored stoplights in the car, the colors of his Tot Clock, and the colors we are wearing to the point that it's almost ridiculous. I personally think it's pretty insane that he can name colors before the age of two, but maybe that is actually normal? It just seems advanced to me:)

-And then there is the counting. He is getting to know his numbers and I believe his favorite one must be the number 'two'. Because there are about four number 'twos' when counting to ten, didn't you know? Observe the cuteness.

-Also, he is really into the color pink lately which makes this pink-loving-mommy pretty happy:) He will request to watch our 'pink boon' (pink balloon) video quite often and when we heard Christina Perri's song on the radio the other day, he just smiled and said, 'Oh. Pink.'

-Which brings up the video I took of him the week before our balloon reveal. Is he the cutest soon-to-be-big-bro or what? A little confused yes, but cute.



-And one more thing about the baby: in the midst of our 'naming baby girl' dilemma, I decided to get Truman's opinion on the matter. I'll ask him if he likes this certain name and he'll always say, 'mmmm, yeah!' So then I decided to go for the open-ended question, and asked him, 'Truman, what do you want to name baby sister?' At first he took no time at all to say, 'Garbage Truck' which was not exactly on our list of options. But then the next time I asked him about it he thought long and hard and said, 'Two.....Green....Balls'. Huh. It's unique, yes?




-I also asked him who his best friend is one night at dinner, and he patted his own chest saying, 'Tru Tru'. A little self-absorbed? Then I asked who his second-best friend is, and almost cried when he said, 'Ya Ya.' Which is Lois, Nate's mom. So sweet! I don't think he has a clue what 'best friend' even means, but that is one for his baby book!

(Look out below--first time really sledding this year! Hands in the air, whoo hoo!)


-We are really into a great routine with Truman at the moment, and I know that could change in about two minutes so I don't want to jinx it. But he's going to bed fairly easily, waking at about 5:30 each day (whatever. We are used to that one by now), doing great at daycare, taking awesome 3 hour naps, is so much fun at home with us, and does a good job of entertaining himself a bit more lately, too. He'll definitely get frustrated if we don't know what he's trying to tell us and somedays are total whine-a-thons that seem to put everyone in a bad mood. But for the most part he's able to communicate exactly what he wants (and of course he wants that item RIGHT NOW or he will pitch a fit) and he has such a great sense of humor. My little guy is so loving and thoughtful and observant that a lot of people comment on how well-behaved he is in public. Of course, he saves his naughty times for Nate and I behind closed doors, but he really is a great kid. I pray that number two is not our payback for having a fairly easy number one.

Things Truman loves to do:

-imitate/make fun of me, by sighing really loudly in an exasperated fashion if I ask him to do anything. For instance, when T asks me to watch You Tube truck videos I guess I usually sigh as a response, knowing it will be difficult to find something that actually entertains him these days. So now, when he asks to watch the videos he will also sigh REALLY dramatically before I do it myself, beating me to the punch. Is that hilarious or what?

-watch Thomas the Train, Chuggington, Sesame Street (specifically Elmo), or Fireman Sam On Demand. I prefer Thomas because his episodes are only 10 minutes long, and Truman's attention span is about 5 minutes at this point:)

-slamming basketballs/soccerballs/any balls through his hoop. Kicking balls, throwing things, and a rough and tough boy is also a favorite hobby of his. Oh, and his garbage truck is still the cat's meow and we play with it for hours each day (at least it seems that long to me).

-coloring with markers, forcing me to draw garbage trucks and Elmo--both no small tasks, if you ask me. Watching for the garbage truck on trash day is probably the highlight of his week. He is seriously borderline obsessive about garbage trucks.

-imaginative play with his toys. This is sort of new for him, but he has a toy dinosaur that 'drinks' from our ottoman and Truman will feed his monkey blanket some snacks if the mood is right. He has a stuffed dog toy that looks just like Henry, and this 'ga ga' loves to give and get kisses from other toys. I love watching T's little brain work!

-helping us bake, make coffee, playing in the sink, climbing on chairs, jumping (with both feet clearing the ground now!), and running everywhere---no longer walking at all.

-not so into the potty anymore. It goes in spurts, a few weeks he is all about peeing in the potty and then he is NOT into it anymore. Whatever.


We love you so much, Truman---you muscle man, you!