The life of Christian as a 2 1/2 year old....
7:45-9:00: Somewhere in this time frame is generally when you wake up...
now that you sleep in your open bed, you can help yourself out of bed as you please. So usually I'm greeted by you right by the head of our bed and you telling me, "I waked up. I waked up. You wake up mama. You get up. I need a vitamin. I want to watch Wonder-fets." This also includes you petting at my hand. Depending on if it is closer to the 7:45 time frame and I worked the night before until 4 am..you just might get to watch Wonderpets on the couch, all snuggled in a blanket for a little bit. You are so funny when you watch a show, you sit with your hands folded together so nicely.
~ 9:30: I can almost always count on you eating cereal. That is the one meal, I will give you credit on being good at eating. Now as far as quality of cereal..maybe not so much..but you eat it. You like AppleJacks, Crispix, HoneyCombs, and if its a really special day you get to have the "tiger cereal"...Frosted Flakes. All of these cereals are usually known by what character happens to be on the back of the box not their actual name...."I want to eat Mr. Apple....I want Lighting McQueen cereal."
9:30 until who knows when: There is a variety of things that fill this time. The only days we have a planned event is Tuesdays and Sundays. Tuesday mornings we go to Mom 2 Mom at a church in town. You aren't exactly the biggest fan of going. This last Tuesday I said we were going and you immediately started crying saying, "I don't want to go to the brown church. I just go to the sunday school church." If I knew there was something that actually was scary or bad there I would be concerned...but there are wonderful ladies that volunteer to watch several different age groups, and almost each time when I come to pick you up, you are just fine. You just don't really like any church nursery..I don't get it. Sunday school though...you make me so proud. You just march right in there, and you sit in your little chair just ready to go. Such a big boy! You like sunday school :)
You really like to paint and color. We've recently tried out watercolors and those are really fun..I think I like them almost more than you!
You're getting better at puzzles. You especially like this animal alphabet train puzzle we gave you for Christmas. You do a good job of picking out when animal I say goes next and then usually hook it together on your own. And thanks to this lovely puzzle we all know what a narwhal is. You of course are silly and think you need to climb into the box!
This is a huge favorite for you right now. It doesn't look like anything but you hook things together with string. Often you use the string from your "tool apron" from Kropf that you've gotten a couple of when you go the lumber store on Saturdays with Daddy. It really occupies you quite awhile and you get very focused. You will hook connect any number of things and then drag it around. You have always loved to "hook" things...and your little toy "Mater the tow truck" does a lot of hooking to things for you. You get pretty frustrated when he comes unhooked, and mama does ALOT of rehooking!
Lunchtime..generally starts somewhere between 12-12:30. This is a very hit or miss activity for you. I don't understand how you aren't super hungry..I'm sure those days are coming where I will wonder the exact opposite. Your 'typical' meals consist of one of these: quesadilla, mac & cheese, whatever left over I'm eating, or a sandwich which you call a "hamwich"...even though its never made out of ham. On special days I will let you eat in the living room and put on a show in hopes that it will distract you enough that you will just eat your food and not think about the fact that you said you didn't want to. However, we've been talking about manners lately and it is pretty cute how you just ever-so-politely will say "no thank you" to every single thing I offer to feed you.
The other day this is how lunch went. I made you 1/2 of a PB&J and you ate a couple bites and a bite of cottage cheese.
Then you said, "I'm all done. I just need a cookie."
me: "You need to eat this much more of your sandwich".
you: "No thank you. I just need a cookie."
me: "How about some more cottage cheese first."
you: "No thank you. I will eat some ice cream."
me: "Would you like me to make you a quesadilla?"
you: "No thank you. I'm all done with food. I just need a cookie."
me: "Well, we can't have dessert until we each some lunch."
you: "I just need a cookie."
hmm...well, you stayed polite the whole time, but you didn't get your cookie...sorry buddy :(
Naptime: You usually go down around 1:30-2:30 and then sleep for an hour and a half. Going to sleep isn't your favorite thing...of course you always say, "I'm not tired. I can't sleep." And you know that once I start saying okay, lets go potty or let's read a book that it must be about that time..because instead of agreeing to do those things you just start saying, "but I'm not tired..but I can't sleep." So I lay you down, and then I sit next to your bed and lay on my "corner" of your bed. It generally takes about 5 minutes and your out :)
Speaking of potty...you do really well. You don't say when you need to go necessarily, but during the day you stay dry for the most part and I just take you every so often. You get a sticker to put on the back of the door when you go..which you think is just great. And if you happen to go #2...oh, I do an all out party dance and celebration for you!! You're getting there..I sure it will happen one of these days :) WE read lots of books and sing lots of songs on the potty. I should get a cushion to put on the tub for me to sit on..some days I feel like alot of my time is spent on that fella. Your vocabulary when it comes to bathroom is getting quite extended...."di-gusting. ri-dic-oo-lus. gross." All the more reason, I feel as though you should be going in the toilet my dear.
Often times throughout the day, I will have music on my squeezebox...my little music machine :) I have a pandora station that plays the perfect selection of kids christian music for you. It doesn't have any form of video to it...but since you hear the voices and there is one picture that shows up to show who is singing, you like to look at the box. I love it that you enjoy music so much. You will sing these songs while they sing..or just at random times. You know many gospel songs, hymns, praise songs, childrens songs...made up songs that I can't remember what I made them up about (that's always bad, because then you want me to sing "that one" and I can't remember at all how it goes!).
Some days we go over to Grandma's house. When I work at 3p..you usually go over there until Daddy gets off work. You love to go to "grandma's house". This week when we went over there it was actually "grandpa's house" too!! It was funny. I said, "We're going to Grandma's house." You said, "And Grandpa will be there too." I said, "Well, of course, it is his house too!" You have always just referred to it as her house...but I'm glad you know he lives there too :)
When we left her house the one day, I had brought a bag and needed to take it back with us...so you wanted to see if you'd fit. I carried you out in my grocery sack :)
You love to play with your cars, trucks, tractors, and trains. You also like to find crazy little spots to place them...also known as hiding them. You don't intentionally hide things, but man, you really do a good job if I'm not watching sometimes! There is a small crack in the couch, and that is the "tunnel" the cars were going into. You really like the "Cars" characters right now, and I found a book that came with small figurines, you thought that was just WONDERFUL!
4:30: This is when DADDY COMES HOME!!! You and I made a homemade version of PlayDoh, and it was just getting finished when Daddy came home so you played with it together.
We eat earlier than we ever have I think. Generally we eat by 6:00...and supper is usually better luck for you to eat something substantial because by this point you must actually be more hungry. We all play around after supper; blocks, tunnels, or read books, lots of books. We go to the library every couple weeks, and switch out the supply of fresh books. Some of your favorites right now....Bear's Loose Tooth, the nemo one that's in spanish (daddy isn't a big fan of that one..and he's the one that has to read it!), Thunder Boomer, the Baby Animal one (the really old one that my Grandma and Grandpa had at there house), the bedtime stories one....oh there are LOTS of books you like.
You shower with Daddy, and always yell for "Maaammma" to come get you dried off. You run to your bed naked and say, "I'm sleeping" after your out. We play around a little while longer, and then read a couple more books in your tent in your room.
8-9:00: Somewhere in there one of us puts you to bed. Whoever lays you down has to sing a song. This is where it gets more interesting. Daddy sings you a song in spanish..that I have no idea what it is. He also knows the complete "Thomas theme song" which I don't. So if you are getting tucked in by him..no problem. But sometimes, if you are unsatisfied with my version of either song or other songs I do know to sing to you...than you sometimes will say, "now we need to say, Daaaaddddy." Funny boy.
~You are smart, silly, and growing up all too fast.
~You say phrases like, "that's exactly right," "actually," and "I really do need ".
~You told your toys they were "going to college" the other day and that "it won't be scary, don't be scared." I have no idea where you heard this one! The only thing I can think of is that about 4 months ago when you went to the college for a friend who works there to watch you..I told you, "we are going to college. It will be fun. It won't be scary, you will have fun."
~You have a memory like NO OTHER!
~You listen even when I don't think you are. During church someone said something about being "Christians"...and you perked up for a brief moment and said, "uh-huh!"
~You comment on how you want to go to the beach or in an airplane DAILY since we've been home from Mexico. And when I say we can't..you say, "We can, we just need to go in the airplane. Then we can go to the beach."
~Anytime I open my laptop you think Carissa is in there, because we use that to skype with her. You will say, "Can we skype with Carissa? Can I see her?" I don't know if this is sad or just part of modern technology that you know what skyping is and you're not even 3.
~When someone knocks at the door you either think, "Mitchell is here!!" or "It musk (must) be Kade." Mitchell comes over from time to time...but Kade doesn't frequent our house by himself ever...you just must wish he would!
I love you little man. I love all your silly ways. I love that you still smooch me (we've gone over how kisses can be on the cheek now..but you make sure its on the lips for me still!). I love that with your hugs you make the "mmmmm" sound as if you are giving a big bear hug. I love that you are full of life as a 2 year old should be!!!
