29 Months

You were helping me make some banana bread and we were cracking the eggs. You got some raw egg on your fingers and licked them before I could stop you and pronounced, "Mmmmm, yummy eggs!" Gross.

We were staying at Mimi's house before we left on our "big moving trip" and you ran into the room where Dad, Owen and I were staying and asked "Mama! Did you dad and Owie have a good sleep?" Sweet boy!

You have this new questioning voice, I guess it makes sense since you are becoming so inquisitive lately.

We have the John Denver Trains CD and you love it. We've been getting down in the car lately to the song "Freight Train Boogie" I love to look in my rearview mirror and see you boogieing ala John Travolta with one hand, finger pointed, in the air.

You love to sing and are always singing these days - your favorite by far is Old Macdonald. You love to belt out "EIEIO!"

A friend told me about these Leap Frog DVDs about phonics and word forming so I bought them for you and they rock. You love them and you are learning from them! Your recognition of letters is 100% better and you even know what sounds the letters make. If we see an "F" somewhere (for example" you'll yell out "F - fff, ffff" I love it. No more TV watching guilt for me!

Your worker truck obsession continues, getting stronger by the day even. When we are on the highway you are obsessed with finding worker trucks, and when they aren't working you will explain it to me by saying "oh, they must be on a break or workermen don't work on Sundays."

You love to hear stories, every night your dad and I are besieged by "Tell me a story, tell me a story! Please!"

You are such a ham now. When we got your and Owen's picture done at the Picture People you were so excited! You couldn't wait to get it done and did such a good job standing still and smiling for the camera.

You did pretty well during our move, especially considering all the upheaval. You did have a minor meltdown on 495 outside DC in bumper to bumper traffic while Owen was melting as well. I thought I would scream! But you were so sad I felt bad for you, you were crying saying "I don't want to go on my special moving trip, I want to go back to my Ithaca town, I want to go back to Mimi's. I don't want this trip!" Sigh. But you did recover.

At our layover in VA before we got on the auto train we went to IKEA at Potomac Mills where I discovered you inherited my IKEA-love gene. You had the best time in the kids department playing with all the cool furniture and just all the stuff. You especially liked this weird pod chair that you could pull down over yourself and hide in.

You did pretty well on the auto train, not as good as I thought though. I guess I didn't realize that riding on a train is just not as exciting as playing with toy ones. You were enthralled for awhile, but soon the novelty wore off. I should have packed more new toys. Oh well. But overall you had a great time, looking out the window, exploring, eating in the dining car. The big meltdown came when it was time for bed and our couches in our compartment were transformed into beds. You didn't want your special kid sized bottom bunk. You wanted to sleep up on the cool top bunk with ladder like Dad. And of course you couldn't b/c we were afraid you'd fall out. Major, major meltdown. But we all survived.

You were missing your Mimi and Grandad Jack and told me a story about how they would come on the big airplane to Florida and come visit you and how you would go to the airport and pick them up.

Instead of saying "kitties" (for kittens) you call them "catties" - cracks me up.

You over pronounce some words. Instead of hotel you say ho-tow-el and instead of wobbly (wobb-lee) you say wobblelee (wobb-el-lee-ee).

I am shocked but you seem to be starting to use the potty. At first I was super excited by this, but it seems to be a phase. You go when asked, but never ask to use it yourself. You still could care less if you are wet with a huge diaper. Though you don't like to be in a poopy diaper anymore so I guess that is a promising sign. You like getting stickers and a piece of licorice after you go potty so hopefully it will be a slow but sure thing. I hope so! You are wearing only pull-ups now, more because you are just so big the largest diapers don't really fit anymore. Must go rent Toy Story because you have absolutely no idea who Buzz Lightyear is on your pull ups!

We went to the zoo for a big Cornell club event and you were totally obsessed with finding the Komodo Dragon. You were running around asking everyone if they knew where the Komodo Dragon was. According to you, dragons go "brahhhh!"

You love us to tell the story of how the workermen are building our new house. We've gone up a couple times now to visit the house site and you love to see all the big worker trucks and see the "girdersandbeams" inside the house.

I went to put you on the potty and you told me "I'm going to make pee, poopies and boofers [gas], that is all I can make."

You were trying to console Owen and you told him "It's OK Owen, just suck on my thumb."

As I was telling you to do something, you turned to me and said "Don't boss me mama, use your manners." Sigh.

The exterminator came to Grammy's house to spray and you told him "You a good bug man."

When asked who your grandparents are you respond, "Grammy, Pa, Mimi, Grandad Jack, Uncle Brian and Sabine [the cat]" Cracks me up.

We were having a bad day with lots of tantrums from you and lots of yelling from me. You were refusing to nap which is always a battle these days. You ended up yelling "You a bad mama!" at me. It made me feel just awful :( Thankfully we did make up and I got lots of hugs and you then told me I was a good mama. I hate when we have days like that.

We were going to Target the other day and as we were getting out of the car you told me, "I be a good boy." And you were, and that made me so happy so I was bad and indulged you and got your a treat - a cool Tonka workerman truck set with a construction yard playmat. I am glad I did because this thing has kept you so occupied! You especially love the excavator truck that came with it and we had a hairy day when we thought we lost it! Thankfully it was found and you love to play your workerman game as you call it.

You are taking some private swim lessons down here in FL and loving it. I am so amazed at how much you can do already. You wall-walk and put your face in the water, dive for toys, do your kickers, and can "swim" if we hold your belly. I think swimming on your own isn't too far away. Oh and you can go under water and know to turn to the wall.

You have this new super excited voice usually used when you are exclaiming something like "Oh Yes, that will be fantastic!" or "That super duper cool!"

You call my computer "Pecuter"

You've started talking in this strange made up language. The words sort of sound like the right word, but you alter them a bit. I find it rather frustrating, but I guess it's all part of your language development.

You love to go gecko hunting in the mornings and it's become part of our routine. You call them "the big freaky one" and "my pet gecko" amongst others.

You would eat pickles for breakfast lunch and dinner as well as snacks in between if I let you. Even better if dipped in ketchupandmustard - which you think is all one condiment word anyway.

We went to the pediatrician here (which by the way was a scary airbrushed experience and we'll never return) and got new stats for you - you are 42 lbs and 39 inches. Holy big 2 year old batman!

You made up a song to sing me the other night as I was lying down with you before bed:

Go to sleep my little mama
Go to sleep my little mama
Go to sleep my little mama
When you wake up
I be here
Go to sleep my little mama

Your first composition and all for me. I cried. So sweet. Thank you for making me feel so loved, like the most loved and special person in the world. Thanks for being my sweet sweet boy, thank you for moments like these that make up for all those terrible-twos tantrums.