Twenty Three Months

New and Fun Stuff You've Been Up To:
*Singing a line from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star: "Up above the world"
*Counting "one, two, three!" and shouting "ready, set, go!" before running and jumping.
*Clapping while you dance and feel the music.
*Giving awesome CLOSED-mouth kisses!
*Saying "hi" on the real telephone.
*Eating like a champion.
*Sleeping like a champion.
*Talking more and more, repeating what we say when it suits you.
*Saying, "NO!"
*Drinking from regular cups and feeding yourself quite skillfully.
*Exercising your independence as much as possible.
*Identifying family members, even yourself :)
*Hitting me and Daddy when we hug :(


January 2, 2014
The holidays were intense. I got sick soon after we landed in Michigan, and being pregnant, the flu rocked me. I gave it to most of the family, including you, and we were sick for a couple weeks. Traveling from Michigan to NY by long car ride, to home via plane and roundtrip to Mammoth was really tough on you (and me). In fact you had your most wild tantrums to date in  Mammoth! You did enjoy watching your Dad, Uncle Aaron and Uncle Phil sled; you threw snowballs into the river and you loved hanging with baby Juliana. You played quite nicely with her, we were proud of you. It's been hard to predict how you will do with babies lately, as you have been hitting US a lot when you don't get your way.

December 24, 2014
Time with the Harris/Faustin clan was great! You had sooo much fun chasing, copying and playing with cousin Cal. You guys are too cute! You two raced from one end of the cabin to the other; you did indoor AND outdoor sledding; you "cooked", did puzzles, raced cars, watched Dora, the list goes on. You enjoyed spending time with Mimi and Gaga, and you were interested in baby Blake. You had nice cuddles with Papa, Gaga Ann and Titi Kendra. You spent an entire day mostly in my arms when you were fevery and weak. So sad, but also so rare and lovely to be able to hold my big boy in a day-long cuddle.

December 10, 2014
You had your photo with Santa today. The line was semi-bananas, and just before we were about to duck out of said line, The Brothertons walked by and saved us! You played with Shia and Saylor, and by the time they said good bye it was almost time for you to see Santa. You did your typical blank face until one of the elves got a smirk out of you. When I picked you up off of Santa's lap I felt a huge wet spot, and yes, you had peed through your diaper and pants. Hopefully Santa didn't get too wet :/

December 5, 2014
Fairy godmother Evelyn came to visit today. She brought a fabulous lunch, ramen and sushi! You got to have a nice visit with her after nap.

Twenty Two Months

You continue to steal our hearts and blow our minds. You show us a love so deep there is no end. Thank you sweet boy, for the gift of you!

We've had a great and busy month! Lots of visits with people we love. We got to hang with Gigi Abuela Grandma, Grand Dan, Titi Rix, Auntie Gayle and Kyle. You cuddled with Titi Rix, and they watched you dance. You ate some really spicy Thai food, too! Auntie M and Uncle P came into town from Germany, so we had a nice holiday party with the Manhattan Twenty Two. You kept sneaking cookies off the food table, and you enjoyed racing with Bandit outside on Titi Kim's patio. We got to say goodbye to Titi Lauren as she moves to Asheville. You had a good time at her coffee date Bon Voyage, we will  miss her.

Daddy's been at work a lot this month, which is hard because we miss him so much, but manageable because you're getting easier! You're my little buddy, and you love to have fun and just be with me. We dance and sing and play. I don't know how you're not exhausted because I'm beat at the end of our full days. But I guess you do sleep almost 15 hours a day, so... You had a little cold at the beginning of this month, and it's always heart-breaking when you don't feel well.

We went to a Spanish music yoga class, and you seemed to be in shock the entire time, wide-eyed and non-responsive, haha. But the next day you knew where your cabeza, ojos, nariz and boca were. It's fun to practice speaking Spanish with you, because you are really trying to say everything now.

Thanksgiving was lovely, and you helped a lot with cooking. You were interested in baby Mana, but not too much. You were patient while I held him, and you had a blast playing with Nathalie and Kyle. We were surprised that you were so into the cheese plate, but not once we realized that the crackers were your main goal. Speaking of food, you've become a pretty good eater. You are eating a lot more, and interested in trying much more. Sometimes we have two or three breakfasts, you and me. I've got to make enough oatmeal for two people, because you will eat that much!

Your fave things to do are (still) playing with blocks, reading books, hanging outside playing basketball and birdwatching.

We think you are an empath. When your friends get hurt, when babies cry, when you throw a punch or hit and see someone hurting you hurt, too. It must be confusing for you to lash out in frustration or impulse, hit me and then feel heart-hurt when you see my reaction. "Mama, mama!" you squeal, and place both hands on my face, looking into my eyes. I assure you I'm okay, or that your friend didn't mean to hurt you, or that the baby who's crying only has crying as a means of expression. You tend to calm, but I can see in your eyes, and hear in your voice, that it strikes a chord when others suffer. Your Dad is wondering how you will respond to me laboring. I'm curious about that, too. We are going to read some books about laboring when we get closer to that time. In the meantime, I'm trying to explain why people hurt when it happens, as it is inevitable part of life.