NC meets SD: Garrett: Two Years!

Looking dapper on his birthday!

Height/Weight: At 24 pounds and 2 feet, 8 inches, it comes as no surprise to us that he is down in the teens (or lower!) for percentiles. He may be a peanut, but he has more than enough personality to compensate for his small size!

Helping Mommy with Christmas cookies

Wearing: Our peanut is still pretty consistently rocking 18-month clothing. Some of it is finally starting to get a little small, but he's still swimming in most of the 24-month/2T stuff. He's also wearing size four diapers, although I feel like maybe they are starting to get a little small. Which is perfect, since we just bought another box. Oh well. It's not like he's been growing quickly or anything, so I'm sure we'll manage to squeeze into them.

Marshmallows around the fire

Eating: Getting this kid to eat isn't the issue--it's getting him to stop that is the problem. He continues to gobble down pretty much everything we put in front of him, and he even gobbles down things we don't intentionally put in front of him (like the onions on the cutting board that we are prepping for dinner. Never ever did I think I would have a kid who ate raw onion--and go back for more). He'll occasionally get moody (aka act like a normal toddler) and refuse something solely for the sake of exercising his opinion, and sometimes we have a hard time keeping him at the table if William finishes before him, but for the most part we have no issues when it comes to this kid and food.

Getting salads ready for dinner

Sleep: Ugh. At some point, our goal is to have the boys sharing a room (we didn't buy bunk beds for William for nothing!), but the fact that Garrett still does not consistently sleep through the night worries me. It's one thing to deal with one kid who wakes up--I don't want to have to deal with two. I do honestly think part of the problem is teething; Garrett has always been a terrible teether and I swear his night wakings increased when he started cutting his two-year molars... But Darrell tells me that I'm just making excuses and refusing to accept that he may just be a terrible sleeper (at least overnight--he still naps like a rock star 90% of the time). I guess time will tell; two of his molars are most of the way in, and once the other two come in we'll be done with teething (at least for a good while!), so we'll see if things consistently improve after that. He also lost his pacifier last weekend, which has definitely caused his sleep to take a hit. I'm hoping that once we get through this "hump" (and likely doing some sleep training in the process) his sleeping habits will improve in the long run.

Silly boy needing a few "sucks" on his pacifier and cuddles with his taggie at the park

New Stuff: Oh boy. I don't even know what to consider "new" anymore--or how I could possibly remember everything to include. Here goes...

--He's a nurturer. In hindsight, some of this was evident when he was younger because he would cuddle and hug stuffed animals (which William never did) but especially since cousin Jonathan was born, we've been seeing a lot more of it. He loves making sure Jonathan has his blanket and at least one toy to play with, he's gotten William his stuffed puppy when William is sad, and he'll even try to give cousin Rose her pacifier when she is crying. He's also gotten very good at the soft, comforting pats on the back (or occasionally the head, because, well, he's still just a two-year old).

"Reading" to cousin Jonathan at church

--He loves animals. I know this isn't entirely new because I've expressed his obsession with dogs here before, but lately that interest has carried over to all animals. Dogs are probably still his favorite, but there are a few places we visit that have caged "pets" (mostly small reptiles and fish) and he just loves watching them all.

Collecting eggs from the hens at the Children's Museum

--"Tackle" is his favorite game ever. I bet at least once every waking hour he and William engage in a full-on wrestling match. And to his credit, Garrett has definitely been able to bring William down a time or two. This has led to many a conversation about places where it is unacceptable to play "tackle" (like church, the library, on the stairs).

Strong man moving around the ladder golf game

--He loves the sound of his voice. At least I assume he does, because he is always talking. Or singing. Or babbling. Basically anything where is mouth his open and his vocal chords are working. Don't get me wrong, for the most part we love it (especially considering how little William was talking at two), but man, sometimes a little quiet would be nice. And maybe some better pronunciation--bless his heart, sometimes Garrett tries so hard to tell us something (and he definitely knows exactly what it is he is trying to tell us) but we just can't understand him

Morning tantrums. Always fun

--In that regard, he is also starting to "read" and count. His reading is mostly just describing pictures in books or reciting the few words he's memorized from the (countless) times we've read the story, but still. It's adorable hearing his little voice talk through stories. He also knows his numbers, up to ten at least, although he doesn't always execute the whole "counting" thing very well. Sometimes he just likes to point to the same item over and over again until he gets to whatever number it is he wants. And just because this is as good a spot as any to throw it in, he also knows the majority of his colors.

Loving on some books!

--He's starting to use the potty. He never really initiates using the bathroom (and certainly doesn't keep his diaper clean/dry), but if William goes potty he usually likes to follow suit--and pretty consistently manages to get something out. Not sure when we'll tackle potty training with him though, especially with summer right around the corner.

My fearless boy. So fearless.

--I'm not especially proud of this one, but he can maneuver the Wii remote pretty well, which takes some decent fine motor skills. The boys insist on watching a show every day after naps, and I make them take turns with the remote, so not surprisingly he's gotten plenty of practice.

Twinning!

--He has a crazy strong independent streak and loves (ahem--insists on) doing things himself. Fun stuff like putting on his own clothes and shoes, which of course takes forever. He's also taught William a thing or two, more fun stuff like taking a cup and a chair over to the fridge and filling it up.

Fun at the park during family camping weekend

--Despite never really getting that into his Kindermusik classes, he seems to have quite an affinity for music. He likes to sing and play all varieties of musical instruments, and he was even able to carry a rhythm on the xylophone while Darrell sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Daddy's little buddy

--And I know this last one is super random, especially without a video, but he has the cutest little head bob that he does when he says "yeah". Just didn't want to forget that :-)

So I know I've already massively overloaded on the photos (#sorrynotsorry), but I just can't resist throwing a few more in. Especially since I've been terrible at keeping up with the blog and most of them haven't made it on here yet.