Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Two and a Half Years Old

Yesterday was January 1, which means Nicholas is officially two and a half.  :-(  I am struggling with the fact that he has gotten so big and grown up.  I still think of him as being a baby and cannot believe he is so grown up and such a big boy at that.  I looked back at his 2 year pictures that were taken in mid-July and I still can't believe how big he was then...and that he is even bigger and more grown up now!
 
Nicholas has a HUGE personality and loves life with everything in him!  He runs everywhere, he is loud and boisterous (which I LOVE, it makes him a boy!), and he loves to play.  He is messy and I have to use an insane amount of oxy and zout on his clothes (again, that is ok, I want him to just be a kid and enjoy everything around him).  He is 100% all boy and it makes him such a fun two year old.  We've been blessed in that we haven't really had an issue with the "terrible twos".  I'm praying that because he is just so laid back and fun-loving that we will somehow miss out on it.  He just kind of goes along with the flow and just has fun.  His teachers at school and church love him and enjoy him (or so they say).  He has a lot of friends at school and at home.  I just love how much his personality shines in pictures.  He always appears to be having fun and loving life!  Such a gift!
 
 
Nicholas is a big boy. We went to the doctor a few weeks ago and he was 35 pounds. At two years he was in the 100th percentile for weight and height. He is in 2T clothes, but mostly 3T pjs.  He wears size 2-3T pullups and size 8-8.5 shoes.  Pretty sure he is preparing for his career as a linebacker! :-) He also has a very thick head of hair that has to be cut at least every 6 weeks, if not more often. He couldn't help it, everyone in both families have a head full of thick, wavy hair! However, with his size and hair people tend to think he is older than he is, which isn't always good. Sometimes I get my feelings hurt when I get looks because he has a paci, throwing a fit in public, or when he starts to talk and people don't understand him or think he should be talking more clearly for his age. This is a topic for another post, but it isn't always a good thing to be so big! :-)
 
We are working on potty training. He has pretty much mastered it at school, but isn't interested at home. We suspect it is a peer pressure issue at school and without seeing the other kids do it, he just doesn't want to at home. Well, as of this weekend, he is going to have to at least try. I'm planning to start working pretty hard at it. He loves working puzzles, climbing, and "reading". He has incredible hand/eye coordination and has been working puzzles on a 3 year old level for a while. He will sit and "read" for hours. It is funny how much he loves puzzles and books. Again, definitely a blessing and something we hope he maintains.
Nicholas plays independently and well with others.  He likes to have "quiet time" where he plays his Leap Pad, reads a book, works a puzzle, or colors.  He still likes his playroom and plays well there by himself.l
He enjoys playing with toys in his playroom, especially his Geotrax train and Cars set, any tractor/dump truck/bulldozer type toy, and cars of any kind. His very favorite thing right now is anything Pirate related, especially Jake and The Neverland Pirates.


 

He still sleeps great and sleeps about 10-11 hours a night and 2-3 hour nap during the day.  I still say going to a big boy bed was the best decision we've made for Nicholas.  He is still a big eater and loves to eat grilled cheese, mac and cheese, carrots, broccoli, lima beans, and any sweets, but not a big fan of meat. Weird, I know! He could pretty much live off of chocolate milk "chock gilk". He wants to drink it nonstop.
God definitely blessed us immensely when he gave us Nicholas.  Overall, he is a very good child and gives us very little trouble.  With that being said, yes, there are times that he doesn't mind, fights us about his paci or naptime, doesn't want to eat what was cooked, doesn't want to go to school, or pitches a fit in the middle of Target, but he is two, it's normal.  I pray that he continues to love Jesus and that he continues to love life and love to learn.  I am excited to start planning his 3rd birthday and to see how God continues to work in the life of this sweet boy!