2yrs and Counting

Elijah blowing bubbles with his buddy Lucas

Motivated by a friend's recent blog post, I decided to give a bit more info on "what Elijah is into these days"- a question often asked by some of our family & friends. Blogging is such a great way to post photos but I hope to use this as a great way to reflect on our memories of Elijah growing up. So, here goes some recent updates.

Elijah is really starting to develop his own little personality, showing signs of empathy, friendship and his own interests. Reading books is becoming one of his favorite things to do. He insists on holding the books himself, turning the pages and telling parts of the story. He is also starting to develop close friendships with kids from daycare. He will bring up their names at home and talk about some of the activities he has shared with them during the day- sing songs (Twinkle Twinkle, ABCs and Itsy Bitsy Spider), counting, color, and of course READ BOOKS. We have a new routine each day when he gets home from school that is all about unwinding together: snuggle very close on the couch, drink a cup of juice and watch Nick Jr. while we talk about his day. He runs right to the couch when we get home and tells me exactly where to sit before the show begins. Dora and Wonder Pets usually are the top requests which is great because one involves lots of question & answer and the other involves music and singing. All of which both Linwood and I participate fully.

Dinnertime has been more of a challenge as Elijah is very picky. We are amazed at kids who dive into intricate casseroles or a big plate of veggies. Elijah has a few food groups and he WILL NOT deviate. They include: pizza, chicken nuggets, yogurt, grapes, strawberries, bananas and quesadillas. He'll surprise us with a new interest now and then but the previous foods are the staples. We are working on a few strategies but have come to accept that he just isn't into new stuff. But, there is always milk. Just like his newborn stage, milk continues to be an absolute obsession. I think he would drink a gallon a day if we let him.

Bedtime has usually been pretty easy going for us throughout Elijah's 2 years. We converted his crib to a toddler bed around 25 months and are thankful this has continued to be the case. Elijah wakes up around 6:30-7 and will read books in his room or talk to his stuffed animals (Ruff, the dog is the fave). Thankfully there is almost never a cry or whimper about coming to get him before we are dressed for the day. Awesomeness.

He is growing so fast. Just yesterday he told me he could get out of the bath tub himself and then proceeded to do so. I almost had to wipe a tear, wondering if the days of lifting him out of the tub had officially ended. Ahhh, parenting. There is so much to look forward to.