2.5

Today, our littlest one is 2 1/2.  I hadn't been keeping track, but just yesterday Dave and I were thinking about it and we realized today was his half birthday.  5.28.14.

I've been a little quiet on the blog lately.  Not intentionally.  But I ALWAYS have things to say about this guy.  He's something else I tell ya.

When Dave and I left at the end of March for our cruise, he was saying minimal words, and hardly putting two words together.  When we came back 8 days later, he was a total different child. And he's been talking like crazy ever since.

I'll let you find what's wrong with this next picture.

Geesh, I can't turn my back.

 

 This past school year, it was just me and him 3 days a week.  Starting in August, it will be just us two, every morning.  sigh. (that's a good sigh and a bad sigh)

Poor last child, doesn't know how to play alone.

And doesn't want to be with mommy most days.  I'm kind of kidding, but not. 

He's the biggest daddy's boy ever.  As in...

I wake up every morning to him crying for Daddy at the door of his room.  I never know what kind of emotional condition he's going to be in once I open the door.  There have been some mornings he has shoved the door back closed on me because it wasn't Daddy coming to get him.  If he does let me in, the first words out of his mouth every.single.morning. are "daddy home?"  And 5 out of the 7 days a week the answer is no.  This is when it can go 1 of 2 ways.  He will decide to be okay with me.  Or he'll decide to spend the morning screaming and crying because he just wants Daddy.  Poor Daddy gets many calls on his phone, because it's the only way I can get him to calm down many times.

He wants Daddy to get him out of his car seat.  He wants Daddy to carry him.  He wants Daddy to play with him, rock him and put him to bed. And he so badly wants to be able to go to work with Daddy just like Mason.

Now, I'm not complaining.  I love their connection.  And it's a nice break for a mama most of the time.  BUT, when the person he wants is gone 80% of the day, it's a little bit of a challenge.

Hopefully it's a phase, and we'll have lots of fun just the two of us this next year.

 Oh, what a little helper he is.  He liked to try to pick the flowers I was about to buy, he loves to smash the bread in the grocery cart, and he loves loves loves to empty all of my expensive bottles of real maple syrup into his bowls of oatmeal. Therefore ruining the oatmeal. The bottle I have now, was bought by a sweet friend that came with a note that said "NOT FOR GAVIN".  We'll see if it stays that way.

 But he also loves to cuddle on the couch with his mama.  And watch Barney.  And he loves to be rocked and read to before bed.  He loves to dance.  And he sings the "Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog" song and "Lord, I Need You".  He takes off into his Sunday School class better than either of the other two kiddos did, and he loves to wave and say hi and bye to strangers.  I've never had a child who will interact with strangers at all, so I think it may be safe to say this one may be our extrovert.

 His facial expressions are quite hilarious.  There is a lot of personality in that little body. 

Everything is categorized into Mama, Dada, and baby.  Size of fruit, size of trucks, size of bites, size of everything.  And daily when I ask if he's my baby, he says "no, I da mommy, you da baby" or sometimes "daddy baby, I da mama".

And he gives the best hugs and kisses.

He's a pure joy.  I can't count the number of times I've caught one of the other two kids or Dave watching him or listening to him and then turning to me with such a content smile as if to say "he's so cute, I can't believe he's ours".   Of course Dave and I think so.  But to see our big kids get stopped in their tracks, and look at him with eyes of endearment and just take him in...it's just a precious thing to see.

 And then there's this...a 2 year old riding a bike.  I don't know what ages most kids start to ride bikes.  But I know my other 2 did NOT ride this early.  They rode trikes and push toys.  Not bikes.  Bikes are for big kids.  But this baby of ours has decided to skip the trike and go straight to the big stuff.  It baffles me every time I see his little body pedaling all over the driveway.

2.5 is just plain too little to be doing this.

But I can't stop him.