two

Two is here. And mostly it's not terrible at all. It is, in fact, so much fun.

Carter talks. And talks. And talks. In full sentences, regularly. He doesn't talk very much in front of people who aren't family, usually, even in places he knows well, like his friend's apartment upstairs or nursery. He can be quite shy. But at home! Whew! He saves it just for us which makes me feel quite special really. He keeps a running commentary on what he's doing at any given time. For example, building a castle with blocks: "This one goes here. Perfect! Let's open this one. Where should this one go?" etc. etc. etc. He struggles a little with pronouns still; he uses "you" referring to himself instead of "I" most of the time, although occasionally he gets it right. He says "you" instead of "your" and I die of delight every time. "You do it you self?" is heard hourly around here. Independence is here and it is not without cries of frustration and the occasional tantrum. He just wants to be able to do everything himself, whenever he wants to do it. We've been working on saying, "I need help, please" instead of screaming in frustration when he can't quite do something but lately he doesn't want help either, he just wants to be able to do it himself! Poor guy. Don't we all.

His eating habits are not as good as they once were, but for a two-year-old, he really does great. He's not very adventurous when it comes to trying new things, though, so dinnertime can be hard since that's when he normally encounters new foods. Unless it's a treat, then bring it on! Somehow he always knows what is a treat. We still have chocolates leftover from Christmas and the poor guy asks for one constantly. Welcome to life, kid.

Carter loves trucks still. He got a "big truck!" for Christmas and adores it. He got a tricycle for his birthday and adores that also. He can't pedal yet, but he doesn't care, he just likes to "drive." We gave him a small set of Duplo Legos also and surprisingly, he loves them! He's had a set of mega-bloks for a year and hasn't cared too much but now he plays with both things constantly. We are always building castles. Every day. 

He climbed out of his crib finally (I've been waiting for this for months, really, he's such a mischievous climber) two days before his birthday. It was in the middle of the night at my parents' house, actually, and Sam and I were sleeping in the same room. That was a nightmare. However, once he was home sleeping in his own crib, training him not to climb out was relatively easy. He did climb out at home too, but I explained he needed to stay in his bed until morning, and then after that employed the "silent return to bed" where I picked him up and without saying anything, put him back in his crib every time he got out. It only took 11 times over the course of 20 minutes and he got the picture and has stayed in since. In the mornings he is so pleased with himself that he stayed in. It's the cutest. We'll probably make the move to a real bed sometime in the next year but for now, I think he sleeps better in a crib.

Carter is the sweetest, smartest, most well-behaved two year old I've ever met. He loves to make us happy. He and Sam brought me some flowers on our anniversary and Carter just lit up to give them to me. I hope he knows that he makes me happier just by being himself than I ever knew I could be.