My Ever Growing Boy!

My kiddo is just over 3 months away from turning 2! This just can't be possible, right!? Wasn't he JUST this tiny?



Now he's our very active toddler. I mean, the kid doesn't stop until he falls asleep!

He's curious about anything and everything.

He's a very good helper for the most part. He helps me pick up toys and organize. He totally gets that from me.

He loves to read. His very favorites are his "Little Pookie" books. I can recite both of them. He also enjoys asking us to read the same ones over and over again. Tonight he climbed up on my lap with his "Nini" book (aka...his Illini book). He had already heard it four times today so I told him to pick another book. Instead he sat on the floor and looked through it, then climbed up into my lap, gave me a kiss and then handed me the book again. He won. I am a sucker.

The kid would live outside if we would let him. Like I've said before, Jacob and I are not outdoor people. I'm learning to be more of one just for Daniel, but only when the weather is nice. Thankfully it's been a mild summer. Plus I love taking pictures outside, so I can mess around with my hobby and it makes it more enjoyable for me too.











I get bored doing the same stuff so I try to mix it up a little. Sometimes we play at home. Sometimes we go to our favorite playground. Then we explored the lake. Yesterday I took him to the other park. He even got to feed the ducks thanks to another couple there with their grandson. I think we'll go do that again this week!

He has a new obsession with fire trucks. It's to the point that any time he hears a siren..."Fire truck?" Any time a truck, van, car or any other vehicle drives by, "Fire truck?" The fire station is just down the street from us, so I walked him down there the other night and we looked at them. He was thrilled! I'm thinking one day we'll go in and I'll ask if he can look at one up close. :)

He's also obsessed with letters and numbers. He thinks all numbers are "One!" though. He gets what letters are but doesn't correctly identify them. Actually, he does know the letter Y. (Thanks to my work shirt!) But he'll point to letters, "N. S. O. P." Haha! I love that he's trying to learn though!

He went potty twice last week! He hasn't gone since, but that's okay. We'll work on it. It was still pretty exciting and we were really proud of him!

Daniel Tiger is the just about the best thing ever in Daniel's world. We know all the songs from every episode. He knows each character. The funny thing is he calls Daniel, "Bear" At night he says goodnight to Bear and Laina (Daniel and Miss Elaina). It's so stinking cute. I'm thrilled that they're coming out with a line of toys next month. Perfect for birthday and Christmas!

Anyway...he is the cutest kiddo in the whole world! Of course, he has his naughty side too. Our biggest struggle lately is transitioning from one thing to the next. I think he had 10 meltdowns today as I tried to get him to do things. It's frustrating, but it will pass. I had a bad day on Tuesday with him. He wasn't listening to me. Then we went grocery shopping and he kept pulling things off the shelves and throwing them into the cart. Then he'd take stuff that I put in the cart and throw it out. I about blew a gasket when we got home and he started screaming because I was feeding him lunch. Heaven forbid! Thankfully Jacob pointed out what a complete spaz I was being later when I was still grumpy. It helped me out and I calmed down. Just wasn't my day! I'm working on patience! Oh, life with a toddler (I suppose that can apply to any age!)

I do love being his mommy though. I told him that tonight and said, "Do you know that?" He giggled and went, "Mmm hmm!" He's awesome.

Jacob goes back to school this week, so Daniel and I will get back into our school year routine again. Hopefully we'll get to the park a few times. Jacob and his dad are going to a Cardinals Game on Saturday, so I'm planning to go to my favorite consignment store and then maybe Daniel and I will find a new park. Excited for a fun Mommy and Bubby Day!