Xavier - (almost) Two and a Half

He won't be officially 2 1/2 until June 17th,  but so much is going on with X lately, that I want to post it before I forget! Our first born continues to be lots of fun. This is not to say that there aren't some "terrible two's" moments (um...pretty much daily!) So, what is he up to??

X is a good sized  2 year old. He weighs about 32lbs and is 3 feet tall. He's often mistaken for being older than he is because of his size (which makes us wonder if sometimes people think we have a very immature 3 year old - ha!). X wears 3T and 4T clothes and a size 8 shoe. 

X has been sleeping in a twin bed (on the floor) for several months now and likes it. Sleep has been a sore subject around here lately though. Left alone X will nap for 3 hours in the afternoon. Unfortunately that makes for a disastrous bedtime (aka - taking 3 hours to fall asleep) so we've had to cut his naps back to no more than about 1 1/2 hrs. It's painful to wake him up from a nap (for me) but an 11pm bedtime for a 2 year old is not an option in this house!

Favorite toys right now are cars. X has 2 little matchbox cars that he likes to take with us places. He's all about doing "vroom vroom" with his cars on just about any surface he can. X also likes to play kitchen. I frequently get the request "Mommy come sit - play kitchen" which means I sit on the floor by the little kitchen and ask for him to "cook" me different foods. Sometimes playing kitchen means he ignores you completely as you sit on the floor while he moves food in and out of the oven, microwave, and refrigerator. But so help you if you try and get up and leave the room.

X is really into Mickey Mouse (and friends) lately. He loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so we DVR that. He knows how to sing several of the main songs from the show. He has a Mickey storybook that's a favorite. He has 3 plastic Disney puzzles - Mickey Mouse, Minnie, and Donald Duck. He's taken an odd liking to carrying around the face piece of Donald. We often have to give bites of food to Donald's face at meal times too.

Since many of the "baby" toys have reemerged for Wes, X has taken a liking to those as well. I caught him trying to get in the exersaucer and the bouncy seat (both unsuccessfully) the other day. And of course "Green Bottle Grey Bottle" are STILL played with daily.

Probably the oddest comfort item is X's "green bowl". It's nothing more than a tiny plastic bowl, but it's become his must have for bedtime. It's the first thing he grabs when he gets in bed and I'm pretty sure he'd like to carry it around all day (we try to keep it in the bed so we don't have to go on a massive hunt when it's bedtime). The odd part is that he does what Walter calls "the mind meld" where he puts green bowl up to his forehead and holds it there for a few seconds. It's like he does it instinctual to calm and center himself every once in awhile. Strange!  He will also wake from a dead sleep and the first words out of his mouth are "where is green bowl?". Case in point, he fell asleep in the car today and I carried him into his room and laid him in his bed. He momentarily stirred and was half awake, asked for green bowl, and went back to sleep instantly once it was in his hand.

X's language and communication skills have really picked up. He speaks full sentences most of the time (not grammatically correct, he gets the point across) and knows what he wants. Unfortunately despite his ability to say what he wants he will still use a grunt or whine to get your attention. I can't tell you how many times a day I say "If there is something you need please use your words to tell mommy." I've started putting him in time out when he whines because I'm trying to break him of the habit of using that to get my attention. (because it's really annoying!!!) X also loves to sing songs and is really into singing Happy Birthday, Ring Around the Rosy, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Hot Dog from Mickey.

(no, he is not potty trained. he just sits there and does nothing!)

Xavier LOVES Wesley. He always needs to know where Wes is and gets upset when Wes is sleeping and not out to play. X hugs on Wes, rubs on his head, and wants to hold him all the time.  When we go somewhere he tells me "Bring Wes" (because you know, I would have just left a 4 month old alone at home!) It's adorable and I love it that he is so good to Wes. One of my biggest fears was that X would be jealous of Wes, but I haven't seen that at all so far.

i could go on, but once again, my update has become so long that I'll cut it there. I've got a few singing videos to post soon though!