Happy 2.5 to our Little Guys!

Happy 2 ½ Birthday, Jake and Charlie! 

Jake: 

27.5 lbs 

36 in 

Jake-isms: 

“No mommy, my do it.” (Aka...I'll do it by myself.)

“Oh! Biiiiiiig tra-tor!” 

"Up Mommy.  Come dis way.  Ober dee-air."  (A typical, and valiant, effort to get mom to the snack pantry.)

“I need ‘eeilp wit wwed tra-tor, Mommy.” 

“ ‘Nack…pees?” 

Favorite songs: 

I Will Wait (Mumford and Sons) 

Oh Happy Day

Wheels on the Bus

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Alphabet Song (started singing all the way through this month). 

Jake has recently learned his colors and is starting to recognize a few letters of the alphabet. He counts to 10 and will sometimes get a few right on the way to 20. He loves his wooden farm and truck puzzles and is getting pretty good at them.  He is also a pro on the Kid Apps on Mom's Kindle.

Jake's communication has literally exploded in the last month. He speaks in sentences on a regular basis and his articulation is improving. (He still needs a bit of translation much of the time.) He will often buzz into the room, excitedly tell us a whole 2 or 3 sentences worth of super important information (from his animated delivery style), and then buzz off and on to the next thing. Often, we really only pick out a word or two…but it’s usually enough to realize he was telling us all about a really “biiiiig” tractor...again.

Finally, Jake is still head over heals for his blankie, which seems to have some magical connection to his thumb.  (As soon as he gets a hold of that blankie - it's insert thumb into mouth.)  He is also an avid snuggler and often needs to get his quota of cuddles in for the day.  

Charlie:

  

24 lbs 

36 in 

Charlie-isms: 

"No, I do it aaawwwll myself."

“Oh, thank you for lunch, Mommy.” 

“Is that a ex-ca-vator? Is that a red tractor? Is that a coooombine? Oh! That’s a fuel tanker.”

“What’s that?” 

“Okay, just a second, Mommy. I’ll be right back.”

“Where Jakey go? Oh, he disappeared.” “Oh! He reappeared!” (Vocab credit to Nana.) 

“There’s an am-bam-blance!” 

“I wanna nuggle with Mommy.” 

“Oh, it’s an oc-ta-gon, Daddy!” (Stop sign spotting.) 

Favorite Songs: 

 Isty Bitsy Spider (“Ifp-cee Fider”)

Jesus Loves Me

Wheels on the Bus

This Train is Bound for Glory

And any number of songs from his cherished “Wee Sing” videos or our Music Together classes. (Every night it’s a different song as he sings himself to sleep.) 

Charlie has his colors and shapes down. He can identify about half of the letters in the alphabet and counts to 20 (with a bit of creativity... “Ah-leven, Ah-twelve, Ah-teerteen….”). He is also able to count “How Many” items up to ten or so. He loves practicing with M&M’s as he likes the reward.  Also, Charlie continues to love puzzles, and now completes 24 and 60 piece puzzles on his own, and is working on a few 100 piece puzzles with a little help. 

Charlie’s communication is pretty good at this point, and we’re not really surprised by some of the things he comes up with anymore…though we often get a good chuckle. After he went to Sunday school at Grammie and Papaw’s church last weekend, more than one person shared with us how well he said “cu-cum-ber” during the lesson on making good and healthy choices. We still love the “toddler” versions of a few of his words, and I often have a hard time correcting them because they are so sweet to hear. 

Both Boys: 

Both boys recently learned to pedal on their three-wheelers and also on Grammie’s tricycle. They look so grown up when they ride “around and around, Mommy!” They love playing in their new sandbox and also spend a good amount of time playing with cars, trucks, legos, and bubbles. Usually at least once a day, we get serenaded with an instrument of their choice (saxophone, piano, drums, electric guitar…the kid-friendly versions) and it often involves singing and marching around the kitchen. They are getting braver on the playground (climbing, sliding, etc.) and love taking an evening “bika ride” with Daddy to find a new park. Playing ball is a big favorite as well. They love to kick, bounce, throw or toss any kind of ball to one another. We’re still working on the whole catching thing, though. 

They are napping after lunch most days (anywhere from 2-3 hours) and still sleep in their cribs since they make no effort to climb out. They are pretty good eaters most days. Charlie’s favorites are grilled cheese sandwiches, Crispix cereal, and yogurt and will typically try most things. Jake loves oatmeal, sweet peppers, baked beans and anything that can be classified as a “snack” or a “treat” (which are often then used as motivators to try a new food on his dinner plate). They seem to have outgrown some earlier food allergies/sensitivities (Charlie – dairy, Jake – Eggs, mustard, and possible nut) and we are hopeful that they are also outgrowing their dog allergy.

Last but not least, they will be starting "school" in the Fall.  Technically, it is called a PDO, or Parent's Day Out, since they just miss the age cutoff for preschool.  (Basically it is similar to preschool but just an older two-year-old class.)  They will start going a few days a week in September, and based on how much they love their Sunday school class, I think they will LOVE it!

"Mom, we're going to school now, okay?"