Hope Still Flies

Blindsided me this morning that I already need to update again.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaack.
I thought about masking this as just a usual 2.5 year update for Thad, but that seems cruel. Because, it's true! He turns 2.5 today. But also I'll be making regular updates here again because I'm pregnant with T2! 


Labor Signs: Hopefully none for a very long time.

• His doctor appointment isn't until tomorrow, and I'll come back and add in height and weight. Pretty sure he's about 29 pounds and 35 inches. 
• Long torso... Mostly 3T shirts, 2T pants.
• Still eats way better at daycare than he does at home. Home is for sugar. Though I try not to give in to that.
• Sleep is much better. He sleeps through the night most nights, and is waking up after 6 most days now. Some nights he still wakes up at 2 or 3 and just wants to be awake, but it's rarer now.
• Just waiting on 2-year-old molars to come in. I'm not sure I'll know when they come in - he likes to chew on his jackets and his hands.
• I've seen every episode from the first 3 seasons of Paw Patrol several times.
• Great at taking lids off of things. 
• Will stop anything he's doing to point out a ball. Or baby. Or doggy.
• Any time he sees a soccer or basketball jersey he says "Ball!"
• Loves looking at family pictures. Thankfully I have no shortage of those.
• Kinda potty training. They let him try every time they change diapers at daycare. He's peed on the potty at home a handful of times. And next to it a handful more.
• His smile and laugh are infectious. 
• Took him to the barber for the first time. He cried the whole time she was cutting his hair.
• He still loves dancing.
• Has a "Happy Face", and a "Mad Face". You ask him to close his eyes and he just squints. It's hilarious.
• Can shoot a basket in his little hoop from 5 or 6 feet away. #baller
• Loves building with blocks
• New found love for choo choos.
• Is finally putting some phrases together. Love you is my favorite.
• Insists on saying by to his 1's room teachers before we leave each day. 
• Cute. Smart. Ornery. All the things a 2-year-old should be.

Last year I wrote a super sappy post.

This year. My heart has hardened and that's not happening.

Okay. That's not true. My heart is still a gushy, gooey mess when it comes to Thad. But I'm instead doing a list of things I've learned over the past two years as a parent.

Ready?

* I've learned what things sound like enough that I can decipher what my toddler is doing from the other room
* Mumbling means your kid will also mumble
* It's completely possible to run on little sleep and no caffeine
* Your kid getting genuinely scared is one of the hardest things to see
* Adults don't know everything
* It's sometimes really hard not to laugh when your kid does something wrong and you need to discipline but it's adorable
* Kids don't mind watching the same 20-minute show. Over and over. And over.
* Pee, poop, puke ain't no thang.
* You can say you won't be "that parent" all you want. But you will be in one aspect or another.
* I'm a super pushover. Doughnuts? Go for it. Bread at 3 am? Why not.
* At the same time, I'm learning I can set boundaries. And say no to the cutest person on the planet.
* Kids are way smarter than you give them credit for
* I laugh way more than I thought possible on a daily basis
* You can always find the answer you want if you look long enough on Google. (Toddler bed at 18 months? Sure! 3 years? Why not! Cough? They're fine. Or maybe they have pneumonia.)
* On that note, if anyone ever checked my Google search history, they'd probably take Thad away. ("she gives him BENADRYL!?")
* You'll catch all kinds of sicknesses you have never had
* The sound of your kid's cry will do things to your head. And heart. It wakes me from sleep before I even realize what's going on.
* Small people make very large messes very quickly. Usually right after you clean.
* Not every parent's experience will mirror yours.
* Having friends that are parents is super important. They understand why your house is a disaster. They are understanding when you need to vent about your kid not sleeping. They won't look down on you when 95% of your facebook posts are about your kids. They might have tips or tricks you don't think of when your kid won't eat vegetables (thanks, Chelsea!). They also understand when you have to cancel a playdate because you just can't take anymore today.
* Even though I am a smart and well-educated woman, and I know better, I compare my kid to other kids. I can't help it. But I also try not to stress about it.
* Car seats are way more confusing than you think. And now I'm too educated, and am going to feel bad when I turn my kid to forward facing in the next year. (But seriously, keep your kids rear-facing until 2 years old!!)
* The best way to get your independent toddler to do something they don't want to do (suctioning nose, take medicine, drink milk) is to let them help with the process.
* Mom (or even just parent) guilt is a super real thing. Even trying not to let it get to me. I get paranoid when I'm out in public about people judging me. On pretty much every decision. Formula feeding (check), being a working mom (check), paci use (check), my kid eats sugar (check check check). Even reminding myself that I'm doing what I feel is best for my family, it's still tough.
* Having kids is easily one of the best joint decisions Michael and I have made. Right behind choosing to eat at the Waffle Iron the day after Valentine's Day.

A small selection of things, of course. And I did go back and read my post from last year and it gave me feelings, like it should. Things that I picked up on last year, still apply. He still intertwines his hands, either in front or behind his back, especially when he's nervous.

• I have no idea about height. He weight 28 pounds the last visit to the doctor. I'm guessing 35 inches. Ish.
• Wears 2T, more and more 3T shirts. 2T pants. 
• HATES VEGETABLES. And meat, unless it's mixed in real well. Or unless he's at daycare. I don't understand that.
• I have created a sugar monster. Unfortunately. All you sugar-free, low-sugar, super healthy parents, hats off to you. I can't eat that way, I guess I can't expect Thad to either. He'll survive.
• I complained about sleep, but he is sleeping through the night more. There is always something... teething, growing, whatever. But overall it's better. Even if he wakes up at 5:45 am.
• Got a whole bunch of teeth at once. Close to 15 now? Waiting on a bottom molar to come in.
• He's also starting to use more words... I think he's over 20 now, with the newest one being "spill", if that says anything about what he likes to do. Still won't use two or more words together, but he will sign one and say one.
• He has a new obsession with Paw Patrol. Turn it off, feel his wrath.
• I've learned I'm a total pushover to his sad voice. "Paw? Paaaw? *sad lip* *signs please*" I CAN'T.
• Our new thing is his matching card game from one of my good friends. He'll match the colored monsters, and numbers. 
• Favorite word is definitely "No". He doesn't like me dancing. Is really good at telling me what he doesn't want to eat. Good thing he's cute.
• Loves taking lids off things. Unfortunately.
• Also loves dumping things from one bowl to another. Our living room is a constant mess of food because of it. He usually doesn't miss, but when he does he crunches things with his hands or feet.
• Ornery. So. Ornery.
• This morning he refused to let me feed him any of his oatmeal AND he got his pajamas almost all the way off without my help. 

Our T-man is 34.5 inches and 26.4 pounds. Both over the 90th percentile. He's a big guy.

Wearing 2T-3T shirts, and 18-2T pants/shorts. 

Got a new carseat for the Bug, the Graco Milestone, so hopefully he'll be rear facing in both cars for another year or so. Thankful for advances in carseat technology to keep our kids safe. 

Still won't eat vegetables. He'd eat yogurt for every meal if we'd let him. Obviously he's still growing fine, so I try not to worry. Still eats great at daycare. Our doctor says her son's the same way.

Sleep is still pretty cyclical. He went through the 18-month sleep regression about a month early, and for about a week or two he was up every night for 2-3 hours. Just... awake. Not wanting to sleep. Taking over an hour to wind down at night to go to sleep. It was horrible. More recently he's been doing well. Every once in awhile he just wakes up and doesn't want to sleep. But for the most part I can't complain.

Stuck at 10 teeth. I keep waiting for his bottom molars to pop through, but nothing yet.

Says between 5 and 10 words, at least kinda. He's recently added "BOO!" and "bac" (vacuum). We're working on words, and he does pretty well communicating between words, sign language and shaking his head. 

Still in love with the Wiggles. Thankfully we can switch it out with Daniel Tiger, Curious George, and Doc McStuffins occasionally. 

Doggy is his bestest pal. He takes him to daycare, and sleeps with him at night. Poor Doggy has suffered some abuse, but we bought a second just in case.

Sleeping in a toddler bed! Made the switch around the time of the sleep regression (a mistake I won't make again) and I do think he's sleeping better now. Bedtime routine has gone from about an hour down to 15-30 minutes most nights, and he's going to sleep a little earlier. I'll take it.

Especially because he still wakes up arond 6 every day.

Loves cleaning items? Vacuums, brooms, the Swiffer. 

His favorite things to do right now: puzzles (he's getting really good at the wooden ones), dumping out anything that will make noise (mostly mega blocks), playing basketball, stacking anything that will stack, playing with cars.

Still so shy. He's doing a little better, and remembering people a little more. 

Recent obsession: Cars, trucks, anything with wheels. He makes a vroom type noise when he drives them. And gets really excited when he sees the buses around the city.

Knows sheep say "baa baa" and for cows he says "mmmmm"

Dude's gotta stop with the growth spurts...

• He is now 32.5 inches long, and 24 pounds, 12 ounces. (90th and 76th percentile!)
• Clothes are just. Hard. Hard to find shirts that are long enough, so 2T for the most part... shorts seem to be 18 months to 24 months.
• His legs are long enough that he kicks the seat backs in the car, and he likes to put his legs over the side of his seat. But we'll keep him rear facing as long as possible... 2 definitely. Hopefully 3.
• Won't touch vegetables. Force him to take a bite and he spits them out. Sigh. Sneak them into pasta and smoothies. Pray that he's getting all the nutrients he needs. There are days where he really just wants fruit snacks and bread. And I just... go with it. Another great thing about daycare - he'll eat whatever they give him (minus the veggies)
• Loves strawberries. A lot. 
• Thankfully quickly fixed the bottle issue. No more bottles! Whole milk twice a day, coconut milk once a day.
• Sleep has improved... most days. Some nights he's still awake for 2 or 3 hours. It's rough. But last night he slept all the way through. We've been struggling a bit to get him to sleep this past week. I'm hoping it's because he's getting another tooth.
• 9 teeth! That means he's gotten four teeth in the past three month. Geez. Workin on those molars.
• Won't sit still for pictures anymore. Go, go, go.
• He has fallen in love with the Wiggles. And how can I say no when he says "Mo?" and signs for more. And claps when I turn it on. 
• (Sidenote: "Do the Propeller" is his favorite song. His dancing to it is hilarious.)
• Not sure what we would do without Scout for car rides.
• Considering changing him to a toddler bed in the next few months. I'm really afraid he's going to climb out of his crib one of these days...
• Because HE IS A CLIMBER. Up and down stairs. Likes to stand up at the top of his slide. Climb onto tables and bookshelves at daycare. I'm losing years off my life.
• Feeds himself all the time. Uses a fork pretty well. I still help him if I decide he's not eating enough protein.
• Loves, loves, loves being outside. And pushing things around. 
• Still not many words yet. Mama, dada, all done, more... kinda says up, doggy, papa. 
• LOVES slides. He's decided he's big enough for the big swirly ones at playgrounds. 
• He's also tall enough to reach door knobs and the counter on his tip toes. 
• I sorta gave him a haircut a couple weeks ago. Did fine with the clippers, but as soon as I got the scissors out to blend it he was DONE. So it looks funny. Oh well.
• Shy. So shy. He usually warms up to people after awhile, but he's started doing these "shy blinks", where he'll close his eyes for a few seconds and then open them slowly to look at the new person. It's adorable.