Being 2

Liam will be turning 2 on Friday and I want to document all the things that Liam does, likes and doesn’t like. Be warned, this post may bore you.

Liam was born at 8 lbs and 4 oz-a big baby, but since than has become our little guy. At 25 pounds and 33 inches in height he is the runt compared to his daycare friends and cousins. Liam is extremely agile and quick. Always running to the next thing and goes up and down the stairs all by himself. Constantly talking about how he is going to “fall down” the stairs but never has in the past. (we’re still not counting  that time at Aunt Stephanie’s) He climbs into his highchair at mealtimes and his carseat with no assistance from Evan or I. (and we better not even try to help him or he will start screaming) Liam also has begun to show an interest in the potty and will occasionally tell us that he needs to use it. The most recent being today where he peed and pooped (same time) and also at his daycare on Monday where he pulled down his pants and told his babysitter that he wanted to “pee”.

Liam has never tried to climb out of his crib and so therefore we will not be moving him to a big boy bed until he asks for one. Here’s hoping he stays in his crib until he’s 5.

Liam loves to play and has recently been doing lots of pretend play. He wants Daddy or Mommy to sit with him and will give us one of his animals or little people to begin the dialogue. We always start with “Hi dinosaur/tiger/bus driver, how are you? and Liam will always say “good”. But we can’t do anything that is not approved by Liam first. If we want to take our polar bear and send him down the water slide or have him climb the tree we have to suggest that Liam’s animal does it first. I guess making him feel like he thought of it before we did. (This is new for me and I am much less patient than Evan when Liam doesn’t let me free play. I think Evan is more understanding because he says that that was the way that he played when he was little as well, always getting upset when Ethan killed his superheros or changing the storyline of their playtime)

Liam can count from 1-10 but most of the time will go from 3 to 8, 9, 10 skipping the numbers in the middle. I believe that he knows his colors but whenever we ask him what color something is he will always say “green” and than look at us with a sly grin like he is playing the biggest trick on us. When we tell him that he is incorrect the second answer will always be “white”. And again we will see the sly grin creep back on his face. He is a whiz at his puzzles and has begun to identify his letters and also has started singing the alphabet song.

Liam still loves to read. I don’t think that he has a favorite book at the moment but he will pick out book after book and sit on our laps and want us to read to him. It’s one of my favorite times of our day together.

Naptime is still at 1:00ish and lasts for 1 1/2 to 3 hours, depending on the day. Bedtime is still at 8 and Liam usually does not wake up until 7:30 or 8 the next morning. A great sleeper! (and one reason why we are in no hurry to switch him to that toddler bed)

Liam is also a great eater. Usually eating whatever we place in front of him. But refusing to eat tuna, vegetable soup or most recently beer cheese soup. (which I cannot blame him, I do NOT recommend that recipe to anybody) He loves bananas, peas, corn, salmon and fruit snacks.

Liam does not like when he thinks he can do something by himself and we try to assist him. He definitely has tantrums, many times we have no clue as to why he is screaming, and visits the time out chair 3-12 times a week. (depending on the day) He is at the age where he is testing everything we say and do to see what we will really do when he disobeys us. So far he is losing in this trial and error period.

Liam loves watching TV (much like his parents) but we limit his time to one show or less a day. He LOVES the Muppets, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and watching Hickory Dickory Dock on YouTube.

Most recently Liam has begun to talk quite a bit. He repeats many words that we say and most of the time we can understand him. It is amazing to me how quickly his vocabulary has tripled in the last month! It is even more entertaining for Evan and I to watch him during pretend play. He will be talking up a storm with his animals/little people and it is all jibberish to us. But looking at him, he knows exactly what is going on in his pretend scenario.

We are still enjoying every single minute with this precious little boy from playing in the snow, building a snowman with Daddy or getting his first taste of hot chocolate. He brings so much joy into our lives and neither Evan nor I can remember what our life was like before him. We love you so much Liam!