The Big TWO

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a big TWO year old on our hands! Little bit turned two last Friday.

For my almost middle-aged memory, it's time to record some of the things that he's doing right now:

-language is starting to explode! says single words all the time, and I'm always amazed when he says something without prompting from mom. He put together four words the other night at dinner (we were having breakfast for dinner): I want biscuit please. Of course it sounded more like, "I unt bi-kit peese," but it was still four words! He does a lot of jargon-ing now too.

-we do counting a lot, but I only hear him say numbers occassionally.

-he's starting to tell me that he has poop. I feel so clueless about toilet training and when we want to really start, but I'm thinking we will be starting sooner than later.

-he loves to imitate - imitates us, and his friends, and sometimes what he sees on t.v. He will imitate people playing tennis on t.v., which is pretty hysterical. He includes the grunting noises as they hit the ball.

-will do pretend play, feeding the stuffed animals or giving them a drink. At his grandparent's house, he was saying, "I want cracker" and then pretending to eat a cracker.

-Doug and Eli have a special night time routine. After Doug puts him in bed, he will lay on the floor and they will whisper to each other. Doug will whisper, I'm going to go now!, and Eli will whisper back, "ok," or "allright." They whisper good night, and love you. It's sooooooo sweet.

-Eli LOVES his trains and cars, and will play with those almost exclusively. Running a close second are the things he can push around the house, like his toy lawn mowers, block bucket, and shopping cart. Playing in water is a tie for second as a favorite activity.

-He is starting to say friend's names and show preferences for playing with friends and being social. He really likes playing with Brandon - they both share the same love of trains!

-Still loves to go for walks outside.

-Understands to help "clean up," and will go put his plate in the sink once he's finished dinner.

-Still likes to snuggle with mommy on the couch.

-Tells us to "sit!" when he wants mommy or daddy to play with him. It's so cute to watch him tug on Doug's shirt and say "sit! Daddy! sit!" when Doug comes home from work.

-I love watching him try to figure things out, such as putting in puzzle pieces, or putting his train tracks together, or figuring out which magnetic end of the trains go together.

-Likes to color with markers, but prefers to watch mommy draw items for him. Doesn't play with playdough that much.

That is all I can think of for now! Since this post was a long writing post, I will put pictures of the birthday party on the next post!