Two and a Half

Roman

This past month you turned 2 1/2. I feel bad that I don't write monthly updates for you anymore, but I figured every 6 months will really allow me to reflect on all that has changed. You have been such a good boy and truly melt my heart each day. You are funny, a true character, sensitive, loving, sweet, mischevious and so full of love. Your personality is one in a million. You make us so proud and each morning when I see you I just smile. You make me feel so full of love.

Luckily the temper tantrum phase of toddlerhood seemed to quickly pass and we survived. We are still working on patience and whining, but for the most part you can now communicate so much better about what you want and what you need. You are talking so much and it makes us laugh to hear what you say each day. Sometimes we still have a hard time figuring it all out, but it may be due to your slight Boston accent (it is so cute). One of our favorite times of the day is sitting in our bed with you at the end of the night. You tell us funny things and it is time to just act silly.

Here are some hightlights at 2 1/2:

-You are our little engineer. Definitely got that gene from your Grandpa's. You love to figure out how things work. You love to turn electronics on/off, follow the GPS system, push the button to have the garage door up and and down. Your favorite place to drive is through the Caldecott tunnel. When we drive through the tunnel, you talk about it for days and can't wait to go back. You also like to watch traffic lights and say, "Green Light, Red Light".

-You love the moon. Each night you go outside with your Dad to find it. You get very excited when it is visable during the day.

-Your favorite TV program is still Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You watch 1 episode before your nap and when it is over you say, "Night Night Mommy" and walk to your crib for your nap. You will watch other shows, but Mickey is still your favorite.

-You love reading books at the end of the night. Your current favorites are: My Very Own Name Book, Farm Dog Marley, and The Very Hungry Catepillar. It amazes me that you have most of them memorized.

-You are fascinated with number and letters. You know all capital letters in the alphabet and most lowercase. This is something you taught yourself and it really shocked me when you started telling me letters. Your favorite is the letter X. You like to have us draw certain letters for you on pieces of paper.

-You have a slight phobia of bugs (hmmmmm...wonder where that one came from). We are trying to work on this and even came up with a song called, "Bugs are our friends"

-You still love water and could play for hours with the water table, in your bath, spraying the hose or swimming in a pool. We are all going to miss the warm summer weather.

-You are social, but it can take a little while for you to warm up. Once you are comfortable in a situation, you make everyone laugh with your funny sense of humor and personality.

-You like talking to people out in public. The other day at Walgreens you yelled, "Watch Out" to 2 ladies in the aisle. You also like to say, "Good Morning" throughout the day to strangers.

-You love your routine. You can be very particular if anyone tries and changes it.

-Favorite foods: Donuts, cake, turkey, yogurt, fruit, fruit snacks, M&M's

-You love your teacher Miss Helen. After 5 days of preschool, you finally went to Miss Helen with no tears. She swears to me that after 1 minute of tears, you are back to your happy self. I am so glad that you are doing preschool. I know you are going to love it!

-Full of energy. It amazes me how much energy you can have. You rarely are tired and can now go without a nap (but 2 days with no nap equals absolute terror). At the end of the night you get a rush of energy and are typically running around in circles, dancing around the living room or jumping in the bed.

-You love your sister, but are starting to get a little annoyed with her when she steals your toys. We are working on this one. For the most part, you are such a love with her and are very gentle with her. I am proud of the wonderful Big Brother you are to her.

-You are silly and a total entertainer. You like to sing and dance, especially right before bedtime. Your favorite songs to sing are Twinkle Twinkle, Happy Birthday and ABC's. You always clap after the song is over and are so proud of yourself.

-Love exploring outside. Whether it is picking flowers or digging in the dirt, you love being in nature. You also love animals. Sometimes you can get annoyed with Marley, but deep down you care for her deeply. You always say Bye Bye Mar Mar when we leave the house.

-All our practice with teaching you manners is starting to pay off. You get a little confused with the difference of Please and Thank You, but are getting better and better about using them. The cutest thing is when you burp, you say "CUSE ME"! I love it! I think it is so important to instill good manners in your children and even though it sometimes makes me feel like a broken record, the repetitiveness is finally paying off. Nothing is cuter than a little boy with good manners.

-You like to look at pictures and movies of yourself on the computer.

-You love your grandparents very much. You get so excited when they come over and visit.

-You look up to your cousins, Scott and Tyler very much. Whenever I want you to do something that you don't want to, I tell you that Scott and Tyler do it and it works about 90% of the time. You are so lucky to have such cool cousins that will hopefully teach you a lot along the way.

-You love your blankies and lovies. I think you may sleep with 8. Our favorite time of the day is bedtime. You like to sit in our bed, talk to us, wrestle your Daddy and read books.

-You have become a much better listener. You are starting to understand boundaries and where you can and cannot go.

Some things that we are working on:
Teethbrushing, not screaming in public, pottytraining (little by little), sitting at the table for dinner (you currently like to get up and down 20 times) and sharing with your sister.

Roman...we love you so much and you make us so happy and proud. We couldn't have asked for a more amazing, wonderful, loving and fun little boy to make our lives so filled with joy. THANK you for bringing so much happiness to our lives and keeping us busy.