Two and a Quarter (Newsletter)

Dear Banner,

Three months have passed since your last "monthly update," and I think writing to you about your development and growth every three months now will give me so much more to tell you at once. You continue to grow and mature at a rapid rate these days, and every day you impress me, make me proud, and keep me on my toes! Daddy and I are always amazed by you; we are constantly floored by your wit, intelligence, creativity, affection, and activity!

The biggest changes these past three months:

-You got your bottom two-year-old molars at 25 months-old. I had no idea until you were laughing one night while I brushed your teeth and there they were!

-Speaking of teeth, you went to the dentist for the first time at 26-months. We LOVE Dr. Rubin, his staff, and his office. And, you handled yourself very well. You started crying a little about half-way into the cleaning (mostly once the hygienist started using the little mirror), but you were so brave, and I was super-impressed with you! Your teeth look great, but we need to be brushing at the gum line better, and we need to start flossing since your teeth are very close together in the front. I was not surprised by this - and Daddy was not surprised that I was right! :) But, all-in-all you are doing a great job at letting us brush your teeth these days, and I am looking forward to watching you take more pride in and care of your sweet smile!

-You now go pee-pee on the potty before every bath (started at 25-months), and throughout the day, if I ask you if you want to try to go on the potty, you usually want to and will. I'm not ready to potty train you at all - especially with the arrival of Baby Brother (I expect you will regress a bit), but I love that you are willing to try it out and seem to get the idea.

-You sing a lot more these days. You always seem to have a little ditty stuck in your head. It used to be "Twinkle, Twinkle," all day long - but now you've added lots of other tunes: "Wheels on the Bus," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Muffin Man," "Where is Thumbkin?," "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "If You're Happy and You Know It," "Old McDonald," the list goes on. You like when we sing songs together and can either "fill in the blank" when I let you sing a word or phrase on your own, or you sing right along with me.

-You enjoy music and dancing very much.

-Some of my favorite expressions: "Hey, Mommy..." "Look at that! So cool!" "I did it!" "I wake up!" "Mommy, what IS that?" or "What's that called?" or even "What IS that man?" "Scuzi" or "Scuze Us" for "Excuse me/us," "No, thank you," or "Thank you, Daddy/Mommy!" and "My's" for "Mine." I love hearing your manners take shape and knowing you are picking up on so many polite expressions!

-Your favorite TV shows are: Yo Gabba Gabba, Team Umizoomi, and Bubble Guppies (all on Nick Jr.). You've started responding to their open-ended questions when prompted, which is really fun for Daddy and me. Some episodes you like so much and watch over and over again - you can even say some dialogue along with the characters.

-When we read books to you at night, you are a little sponge! You love to help read by telling us the next word when Daddy and I stop reading in the middle of a sentence. You can help retell a story at the end of a book. You seem to understand and hear rhyming. You retain information from one night to the next or even to the next week or month. You ask for more books every night - and when Daddy and I refuse because it's getting late, you are usually appeased by us saying we will tell you a story as we rocked you for a bit before getting in your crib or tuck you into your new big boy bed (another recent change... see below).

-You are counting better.... still skipping 3  at times ("1, 2, 4, 5, 6...") but that's your only error at this point. The only time you consistently say "3" is when you shout "3, 2, 1, Blast Off!" ;)

-You love to fake cry, and you like us to do the same.

-Random Stats: You're still in size 5 diapers; you wear some 18M clothes, some 18-24, and some 2T. Most of your 2T clothes are a tad too big on you still, but you do wear 3T pajamas, mostly because I think you like the bigger fit for nighttime. You love your 2% milk and ice water but like juice (apple, orange, V8, and lemonade) on occasion. You have three pacis at night - but your most favorite one is the football one you call "brown paci."

-Your schedule looks a little like this: Wake up between 6:30-7:30am, barely eat breakfast, snack around 9:45-10:00, lunch around 12, nap around 1:30 and wake up anytime between 2:45-4:00, snack soon after waking up, dinner at 6ish, start bath around 7:20, bed by 8:00 and you usually fall asleep by 8:30-8:45.

-You are still totally addicted to the iPhone/iPad to watch YouTube videos and/or play with the apps we have.

-You are also still very knowledgeable about all vehicles - mostly construction trucks (cranes, back hoes, front end loaders, excavators, cement trucks, bulldozers, graders, dump trucks - you can tell the difference long before I can!), and you know the parts of the trucks (bucket, levers, pistons... it's quite amazing to me). You like to specify the difference between mail trucks, garbage trucks, delivery trucks, fire engines, ambulance, etc., and you will notice these vehicles from a far distance long before I do. In fact, sometimes I have to ask, "Where?" as you point them out to me with that radar of yours.

-You still love barley, donuts, kugel, chicken fries, ketchup, M&Ms ("Ms"), rice cakes with cream cheese, hamburgers, and a variety of sugar cereals you should have never tried except that a pregnant Mommy has been treating herself to them so... you now like "Loops," and "Flakes," and when we go down the cereal aisle at the grocery store, you beg for them!

-You are a master-manipulator when it comes to going to sleep! You want one more book; you want water; you want Mommy - no, you want Daddy; your foot hurts, you need medicine; you have an itch, you need medicine; "one more time, back" so we'll rub your back again; "blanket on," "no, blanket off;" "door open," "door closed...." The demands go on and on! We try hard not to get sucked in or to to fall for your shenanigans, but you are one crafty little man! 

-You seem to really enjoy your friends - having them over, going to visit them, meeting them at a gym or park. Camp Mommy was a blast for you - always seeing a familiar face at an indoor playground or park, and you would get excited to know a friend was meeting us. You love Brayden, Marin, Landry, Ella, Emma, Caden K., Everett, Myka, Shayna, and Ryan (and you continue to idolize all your cousins). You know them and their mommies, and you enjoy sharing (most of the time) and playing with them. I can't wait to see which friends you make at school.

-Speaking of school, you started preschool just a couple weeks ago. So far, so good, although you've only been about 4 times now. You like your teacher, you've gotten better at letting her change your diaper, and from what I've heard, you participate well. You're not the best eater there, but hopefully that will come with time.

-Perhaps one of the most exciting developments has been your exceptional verbal skills. You are quite the communicator. You love to ask questions (I hear, "What's that?" several times every hour) and you are curious about your world. You speak in full sentences. Some examples throughout the past three months, in order from earlier to later, (yes, I've kept notes):
"I getting a car," as you walk to get a Hot Wheels from the toy bin.
"Daddy, close Banner's door."
"I making fire truck Daddy."
"iPad? Daddy take it work?"
"Look at that! That's so cool!"
"What's that down there?"
"I drinking Theo's water!" (This particular time, I caught you before you actually did it - unlike a few times before!)
"Mommy, what is that? That yucky!"
"We go store for barley?"
"Mommy, Daddy, Banner go to gym together."
"Bicycle outside - and ice cream truck - and strawberries bring home." (This is a typical sentence when you want to tell us an elaborate idea and we have to figure out what you want.)
"Papa at Grandma's house working and ... eating food." (Loved that!)
"Mommy happy? Mommy proud Banner!" (melted my heart!)
"Riley, Asher, Robyn, Adam, and Baby Corey come over Banner's house? Riley come play, no fall Banner's toys?"
(Yes, you're speaking a lot in the third person, but that's totally fine with me at this age!)

-The other very big news is that you climbed out of your crib for the first time at 26-months. You did it twice, and then the next morning, you wanted to do it again - refusing to let Daddy or me pick you up. That was the last time you crawled out. You are now officially in a big boy bed!

-And, you have been anticipating the arrival of your "Baby Brover" who is scheduled to arrive TODAY! You know where he will sit in our car, you see his tiny clothes being washed and sorted, you see his bottles and toys coming in to our home and are willing to share your old things with him.

Banner, I'm so very proud of all your accomplishments these past few months. I know the coming weeks and months are going to be difficult for you. This new phase of having a baby at home is going to be a big change for all of us, and I can only hope you will handle the transition to becoming a big brother with all the grace you've always shown in other transitions. I hope Daddy and I can make the right choices for you so that you continue to feel loved and special - because you SO ARE! We hope whatever regression we see in you is minimal and short-lived so you can continue to make great gains in your cognitive, physical, and emotional growth - not just for OUR sakes but for your own, because you seem to truly take pride in your learning and accomplishments. But no matter what happens, just know how much we love you - always!

The next three months will bring us to another half-birthday for you. I can't wait to see what amazing things you are up to at two and a half! I fall in love with you all over again each day - and deeper and deeper, too! I couldn't be more proud of you than I am right now - except tomorrow I will be, and the day after that even more. Thank you for being my amazing son and for letting me be your mommy.

I love you, Angel Baby.
Love,
Mommy