26 Months!

Another crazy busy month!! We ended up having to take you to the doctor for bronchitis over the last month and you were 31 lbs and we didn't get your height. I would venture to guess you maybe grew a little, as I think you look longer! Your bottom 2 year molars have also poked through, which may explain that weird week we had with sleeping and excessive meltdowns! I have to say that this is the most challenging age, but also the most fun! I absolutely love watching you explore and use your imagination. I love that you can hold conversations with us and will come give me a hug out of the blue and tell me you love me. I love everything about it - even when you are in the midst of a fit :).


I think the other HUGE thing is you basically just potty trained yourself in about a week! I always said I wouldn't broadcast my child's potty escapades, but we are SO proud!! You have had half of the potty training down for months, but we were always wondering how we would get you trained on the other half. People would tell us that for some kids, it just "clicks" and boy did it ever click for you. One morning when you woke up, you just told Daddy you needed to go potty and he took you and you went! After that, you have woken up basically dry every morning and you go right when you wake up. You always tell me when you have to go and even on our trip to Chicago, you had zero accidents!! I can't get over how amazing it is - we are all so impressed! And, you just love wearing your big boy underwear - you had so much fun picking out all of them!! You are such a smart little boy - we should have known that it would just happen one day! Our "potty treats" are fruit snacks, but we realized that we probably shouldn't give you fruit snacks every single time, so we discovered that you absolutely love Tic Tacs. So, now you ask for "Tic Tocs" :).


Some other things to note:

• When you want to go get something or do something on your own, you will look at us and say, "be right back" while holding up your pointer finger. It's adorable!
• Gma Kim taught you all how to Conga, so you run around saying, "Conga, Conga, Conga". So cute!
• When you are mad or upset, you close your eyes really tight and put your face in your hands and pout. It is honestly quite cute and hard not to smile, which sometimes makes you even more mad!
• Whenever you fall or mildly hurt yourself, you immediately say, "I'm OK". I think it's because that has always been the first thing we ask when you fall/get hurt and you just now take it upon yourself to answer us before we even ask!
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr592C_Akrg
• You got your 4th haircut, but what I would consider your 2nd real haircut. You look like such a big boy now!!
• Daddy took you to Cub to get some groceries when I was on bed rest and they had their flower tent up. So now, you always want to go play in the tent and smell the flowers. It's so cute!
• Daddy has been impressed by this for months and I kept forgetting to put it in a post. But, when we tell you to turn something another direction, you know exactly what we mean and start turning it the other way. Such as the milk cap.
• You now love Star Wars - I think your cousin, Braden, may have something to do with that. We play Star Wars a lot...which is mostly just swinging a sword and making "whoosh" noises!
• When you play with your toy car downstairs in the basement, we have to stop and fill it up with gas. You thought of this all on your own and even fill it up. I love watching you do this! After every "ride", you always say, "need more gas" and we take you back to the "gas station".
• Daddy has started doing "this little piggy" with you in the bath tub and you think it's hilarious!
• Whenever you wrap yourself in blankets or put pillows over you, you will call yourself a hamburger! It cracks me up!
• You sometimes like to rub other people's ears when you are sleepy, along with yours. You were rubbing Daddy's ear when he took you to the potty one morning! And, you like to rub Ray's ear when he lays with you.
• Speaking of that, sometimes you are a stinker with nap time, so Gma Kim, Gma Debbie or Ray will have to lay with you on the bed until you fall asleep. When you are at Gma Debbie and Ray's house, you will lay with Ray and read the Grandma and Me book and you just love it!
• We changed up our Thursday night routine and started going to Garden of Paradise after gymnastics instead of IHOP. You were soooo excited the first time we walked in there!
• You love to pick out a cookie cutter shape to use for your grilled cheese. And, you also like to make shapes out of your food with your mouth. When you eat toast, you always make it look like a boot! The other day, you told me you made a cow!
• Whenever you eat something spicy or even something like a tic tac, you always say, "that's hot on my tongue". Very cute!
• Favorite books were Yummy Yucky again, the Potty Book, Birthday Monsters and Night Night Little Pookie. Along with your other usual faves mixed in. You also found "Where the Sidewalk Ends" again and got into that.
• One day before nap, Daddy and I were giving you a hug and a kiss and when we kissed you, it smelled like pickle, so we said, "pickle kiss!". Now, almost every time we kiss, we say pickle kiss or throw in another food that you have just eaten. It is so funny and adorable hearing you say it!
• I am so happy that it is warming up outside because you just love being able to play! You are always quite tuckered out at nap and bed time too, which is nice! You enjoy going down the street to visit Lynne! And, you like to play Tee Ball with Daddy. Taking long walks and finding Pumas and Alligators is also high on the list of fun (Aunt Penny got to go on an adventure with you!).
• http://youtu.be/CcFm_aCtpJo
• Ray came over and watched you one morning so we could go check on baby sister at the doctor. You were asleep when we left, so when you woke up, Ray went and got you. When he walked in, you just smiled and said, "whatcha doing, Ray" like it was no big deal he was there and not us. Love how friendly and open you are with everyone!
• You have all of a sudden turned into super close talker. It's so funny - it's like you get so excited to tell us a story! It's mostly if we haven't seen you all day and when we walk in the door - you are just too excited and want to tell us about your day! So funny!
• Whenever we ask you what you want to listen to in the car, you always answer with "Justin". Makes Mommy very happy! Move over Johnny Cash, JT has taken over for the time being :).

Some fun vocab updates:

• You clearly listen to me a lot about how much I miss you during the day when I am at work because the other day, you picked up your big stuffed panda and the baby panda and said, "aww, mommy missed you today". I about melted into a puddle on the floor!
• Speaking of adorable, you also looked at me on the way to gymnastics one night and said, "Mommy, your hair is looking pretty". Melts. My. Heart!
• Way, way, way up there! - when something is high up or if you see something in the sky, it's always way, way, way up there!
• Cinderelly - whenever you see Cinderella on TV or in a book, you will say/sing this!
• We joked one morning about having Hoyt get you dressed and you laughed and said, "Hoytie can't, he doesn't have hands". Touche'!
• Oh dear - you have been saying this forever, but kind of stopped. It's back in full force and when you say it, you kind of giggle - cracks me up!!!
• Be Gone Foreber = be gone forever! I said this to you once when you were trying to put something through the fence, so now you say it a lot! It is so freaking cute!
• Nuh uh - instead of just saying no, you will sometimes say this!
• What's up, Daddy" - guess you are turning into a teenager already.
• Hiiiiii and Byeeeeee - you exaggerate these two and it's really cute. You also say hi and bye to anyone and everyone you come into contact with. I love that you are so friendly!!
• What was that? - you pretty much say this with every single little noise you hear. You are so curious!
• Lub you = love you! I love that you have started saying this!
• http://youtu.be/xLDgcFC81y4 (you are such a cutie pie!)
• Yahoooo! - no clue where you heard this, but it's hilarious!
• Hm? - you answer things with a quick hm now. Or if we say something to you, you will say this.
• I dunno - this is also the top answer to most every question right now, even though you know exactly what the answer is!
• http://youtu.be/olveH0s6R9o (also shows the "hm")
• Kinda - you will use this word now to describe things. The other day you told me your socks were kinda slippery on the floor.
• Ray and Daddy sometimes tell you they have a secret when they want to tell you something, so now you will say this. It's so cute because you will say, "Mommy, I have a secret" and then come over and whisper in my ear your secret!
• I have started saying "otay" just because I am so used to saying it that way and apparently, you want us to be proper because you will say, "no say otay". Guess I need to start talking like an adult around you :).
• What's your name? - I think because we have asked you this a lot to help you learn your name, you now ask this to everyone...and everything, including stuffed animals, etc.
• Last week at gymnastics, I asked you what color ball you had in your hand and you said, "blue, just like your eyes, Mommy". Could you be any cuter?!

I know I am forgetting a lot, but you never cease to amaze me with what you do and say, so it's really hard to keep up with everything! You are an amazing little boy, that's for sure!


More cute videos:

• Need to teach you to keep your eyes on the road! http://youtu.be/dR3BEKDvJCU
• Sleepily singing Bubble Guppies - http://youtu.be/ZaZjZ5o7RCs
• Loving Tigger - http://youtu.be/mdNYKzRCq4E



Eating like a big boy in a regular chair!

Bubbles!



Wanted to be like Mommy :).

Cutest Cat in the Hat!

 

Conga Conga Conga!

Rigatoni fingers!

 

 

Making brownies with Gma Debbie!



Playing with Baby Madison.



Aww!

Pickle Monster! Nothing like ordering a plate of pickles at IHOP!

This is the "pout" face.

Haircut! Before, during and after!

Chuck E Cheese

Cotton candy face

Funny faces!

Snuggling with Gma Debbie!
 

Play date with Cameron, Lucy and Reagan!

 

Just eating with some dinosaur buddies!

Star Wars...and a ball!

Love this picture!

Reading with Daddy.



Coloring Mommy a picture!



Reading Baby Angels.

Sleepy bean.

Playing in the tent at Cub!

Filling up his car with gas!!
 

Asking the lion what his name is, lol!

 

 

 

He is going to be such a good big brother!

Having some Monical's with Braden, Gma and Ray. The window
was decorated courtesy of Jameson!



He wanted to sit on my lap and eat and hold my hand.
Never would have guessed he had a huge tantrum 20 minutes before this!!
 

Enjoying some DQ on the patio after Kindermusik. Love our Wednesdays!

Enjoying some corn on the cob for the first time this season!
 

When playing outside, one must wear 3 hats!

Enjoying his new bike from Gma Kim!

Playing some ball with Daddy!

New undies and fruit snacks for being such a good boy!

Swinging with Bennett!

My little happy shopping buddy - all you need is Target popcorn and a
juice box! And, getting to pick out new undies!

Enjoying our lunch outside!

Loving the Jump Spot as usual!

His army of raccoons had to watch while he ate his ice cream!
 

This makes me laugh - he was resting in Hoyt's bed with Hoyt's blanket!

I will never have enough of these moments. Ever!!!

All About Jameson Weekend!!

We wanted to have a babymoon before we had Jameson and never really ended up doing it because of many factors. So, this time, we wanted to make sure we had a weekend all about Jameson before Baby Peanut arrives (even though, let's face it, most weekends are all about Jameson!!). We decided to get tickets to Sesame Street Live as part of his 2nd birthday present. Once we did that, we thought we should just make a fun weekend out of it, which essentially became the "All About Jameson" weekend! It was a little earlier than planned since we still have about 3 months before his baby sister arrives, but it worked out perfectly!

After buying the tickets, I found out that a fellow March Mommy had bought tickets for her Marchie. So, we decided to arrange a Midwestern meet up! It worked perfectly and we met Jackie and Cordie from WI (and Joe!), Jamie and Shayna from the Suburbs (and Duke!) and Ashley and Audrey from Iowa (and Cory!). We were originally going to go to the zoo and Jameson was so excited about that. But, in the days leading up to it, the weather did not look promising. We decided to have a Plan B, which we ended up needing! After much deliberation, we decided on Yu Kids Island at Woodfield. The kids had a blast! I wish we had one around here because Jameson had a great time! It was so fun to watch him explore and play. At one point, a Tigger character came out and Jameson thought that was the greatest thing ever! The 4 kiddos didn't really interact too much while we were there because there was just so much to do and explore!

After an hour and a half of playing, we decided to head over the Rainforest Cafe. The kids loved all of the decorations and overall, did an amazing job at lunch, considering it was approaching nap time and they all had a very busy morning! Jameson loved wandering around the restaurant, looking at the animals and fish and whatnot. He managed to walk out of the place with two stuffed monkeys (a mommy and a baby monkey according to him!), a centipede figurine, a frog and a parrot (he somehow managed to find the parrot in the restaurant during lunch!). Guess I am just like my parents when it comes to buying stuff for the little man! We tried to get some pictures of all of the Marchies and the Moms, but that proved to be somewhat difficult! We finally left around 2:30ish and headed to the hotel...someone needed a nap (OK, all of us needed a nap!).

This was Jameson's first time staying in a hotel and he was very excited when we got to the room. We tried to get him to nap, which failed. But, we did get him to rest for an hour and a half or so, which was good enough. After we rested, we decided to go swimming! He had a great time running around and splashing. We figured with the busy day he had, plus no nap, that we would just go back to the room, order pizza and watch a movie. Of course, we watched Lion King and had a little picnic on the floor while we watched. We watched a little Tom and Jerry after that and then crawled into bed and read a few stories. Surprisingly, he did not put up a fight and about 15 seconds after the lights went out, Jameson was sound asleep. He is quite the squirmer, so we snuggled rather closely all night! Baby sister got kicked a handful of times and I had about a foot of room the whole night! But, I love getting to sleep next to him and we don't really ever get the chance since he is such a good sleeper on his own.

He ended up sleeping for almost 12 hours, but was a little out of sorts after he woke up. We kept talking about Elmo, which helped. We had a few very minor fits before we were able to get out of the door, but once we started walking over to the Rosemont Theater, he was super excited! And, once we walked in, all we heard was, "oooooh" and "Elmo!". It was adorable. We ran into Ashley, Cory and Audrey too, which was fun. We got a few cute pics with the kiddos. Since we had some time to kill, I let Jameson pick out a souvenir (Big Bird stuffed animal!) and a shirt and then we got some popcorn while we waited. He was fabulous the whole time and once the show started, he was the happiest kid!

I have to admit that I actually got teary when the show started and I looked over at his excited, sweet little face! OK, I actually didn't get teary - I full on had tears flowing down my cheeks! I had to wipe them away quickly so that Darin wouldn't see me! I just can't describe how happy it made me to see him so happy! He danced, sang along, and clapped and it was so fun to watch. During Intermission, we got up and ran around and went potty and I could tell he was starting to get tired. I was a little worried he wouldn't make it through the rest of the show, but once it started again, he was captivated. He kept wanting to "go see em!', but didn't get upset when I said we had to wait until the show was over. He did manage to maneuver himself so that he was in the aisle though and I was a bit nervous that he would just take off, but he never did. He would inch closer and closer, but would giggle as I pulled him back. The characters came down the aisles a few times and he got a hug and a pat on the head two different times and that was so fun for him!

After the show was over, we walked back to the hotel and the whole time we walked, he had his head on my shoulder and I thought for sure he would pass out as soon as we got on the road...nope! He stayed awake the whole drive home! We stopped once to get some lunch and go potty. We got home around 3 and went up to our bed to watch some cartoons and hopefully get him to take a nap...nope! He would not fall asleep! So, we went back downstairs and played for awhile. At about 5:30, we put in Wreck It Ralph and Darin started dinner while Jameson and I snuggled. After about 10 minutes, I looked down because his breathing seemed heavy and sure enough, he was sound asleep on me!

We let him sleep for about a half hour and then decided we would just put him in bed and if he woke up in the middle of the night, so be it! But, he woke up during the transition and was NOT happy. Had a good meltdown, but once he was over that, he ate some dinner and was an angel, albeit tired angel, the rest of the night. We watched some Bubble Guppies in bed and read a book per our usual routine and got him down by 8. He was one tired little man and rightfully so. We had quite the adventurous weekend! I am just so glad that he had a blast AND I got to meet some of my March Moms and kids! What a great weekend - I was sad to see it end, but I know this will not be our last "All About Jameson" weekend!

Having a blast at Yu Kids Island!



Goofy!



He was so excited. I think we need to go to Disney!



Can we go here, Mom and Dad?!



Marchies! (sans Cordie because she was scared of the Crocodile
behind them!)



Watching the crocodile!



Enjoying his hot dog!



New toys!



All the March Moms and Marchies!

Shopping!

LOVES his new monkeys!



Attempting to nap at the hotel.



Napping didn't work, so let's swim!!

Splish Splash!!

All done swimming! Love that sweet face!



Hotel baths are so much fun!

Time for Lion King!



Pizza Party!

This was the most room I had all night!



My snuggle bean!



Eating some breakfast before Elmo!



So excited for Elmo!!



Minor meltdown!

Hanging with his new Big Bird!



Audrey and Jameson. They are way too cute!



Getting ready to take our seats!



Cheeeeeese!



Waiting patiently for the show to start...
and stuffing his face!



Showtime!



This is when my tears started!



Singing and dancing along (while stuffing his face still!).



Taking up residence in the aisle now.



LOL!  Keeping one arm on him so he doesn't make a run for the stage!



Grabbed his popcorn and made himself comfy!



Sleepy bean!



He just got a hug!



Back at the hotel waiting for Daddy to pick us up...
he was so tired!

And, delirious!!!

And, then grumpy!

Interesting place to take a rest!

Watching his Leap Pad, refusing to just fall asleep
on the way home!



We tried to get him to nap for over an hour when we got home...no luck.
Then, as soon as we start getting dinner ready, this happens! What a fun weekend!!!