Two Years of Carter

Once upon a time...we woke up to a two year old. It's wild to think how fast time has gone these past two years, and as we move into the summer months, no doubt it will go even faster. C at two year's old is the most joyful, full-of-life little guy we've could have hoped for, and is so much fun to be around with his bright smiles, belly laughs, and curiosity for the world. He has changed so much over the past year, and has grown into such a little sweetheart. 

13 MONTHS

14 MONTHS

15 MONTHS

16 MONTHS

17 MONTHS

18 MONTHS

C has sooooo many adorable characteristics and such a cute personality at two years old, that I wish we could slow down time and stay in this fun stage for oh, I don't know...maybe the next 16 years or so until he goes out on his own in the world. Some of his most recent antics that I can't get enough of:

1.) Blowing kisses when he gets tired to let us know he is ready for bed. He also blows kisses when saying bye-bye. He's not much of a hugger yet! He also loves to touch foreheads with T at night to tell him night-night, and loves to give mom kisses on the lips.

2.) Saying 'Yes' and 'No'. It's nice to finally have a little bit of an idea of what C is thinking! It particularly cracks me up when we are out on an adventure...usually at the park or breakfast at the coffee shop, and he stops whatever he is doing and exclaims 'YES!' out of the blue, and for no reason other than that he is just so excited to be spending time with T & I, or whatever family we happen to be with doing something fun together.

3.) Waving and saying 'Hi' to everyone we pass while out and about. Typically, C tends to zero in on people who are shopping alone, or are older. He's not nearly so vocal when someone comes up to him to have a conversation afterwards though, and he usually chooses to play the shy card instead.

4.) C is great about holding hands, and loves to grab ahold of the fingers of whoever has come for a visit to drag them around the house to show them ALL of his favorite toys. He is also all about holding hands at the park so that he can make sure that we are seeing all of the amazing things he is. He doesn't want us to miss out on anything! 

5.) When C really likes something he is eating, he loudly exclaims 'Mmmm!' after every bite. He is great about sharing, and when he starts to get full, or if he doesn't necessarily love whatever morsel he has picked up, he is particularly fond of giving a piece to whoever happens to be sitting with him at mealtime.

6.) Favorite activities include; endless hours spent splashing in the water of his water table and pouring water back and forth between buckets or cups; playing with cars and his Little People racetrack; shooting hoops or playing catch; and being chased.

19 MONTHS

20 MONTHS

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

8:30-9:30 a.m. // Wake up and start the day with breakfast. Usually, this means a sippy of milk, some yogurt, fruit, and a muffin/pancake/banana bread/peanut butter toast etc. If it's a hot day, and I have the right groceries on hand, C loves to have a smoothie with breakfast. After breakfast, unless we have someplace to go, we usually play at home inside, and C helps me do the laundry, clean the floors, or play with puzzles, diggers, cars, and read books.

Noon/12:30-3/3:30 p.m. // C's nap schedule is a bit random at two years old, and is really dependent on when he gets up for the day, and what we have going in the morning. He has backed down to one nap a day, and it is usually falls around the noon hour. I'm ok with this since his nap time coincides with the hottest time of day! Depending what time he ate breakfast, he usually has a snack before nap time, and then something more substantial when he wakes up. In the afternoon, we usually venture outside for some fresh air and exercise. Many times, this means a walk to the park, splashing in the water table, or a road trip to the music park. Typically we would include a bike ride in that list, but we've had to take biking off the list lately with baby #2 coming sometime in the next month or so, and biking not exactly being a safe form of exercise for the 3rd trimester. Womp womp...I feel so bad about it when we are out in the garage, and C goes over to the bike trailer and climbs in just hoping we can go for a ride. Maybe if the temps cool off, I can get T to take him for a ride one of these days.

6:30 p.m. // Dinner time. I try to be consistent with dinner time, although many times it means that C ends up eating a boring old sandwich instead of whatever T & I are eating for dinner. With T's work schedule most of the time being all over the place, we can rarely plan on a set dinner time on a daily basis. At the very least, if we don't all get to eat together, I always try to sit down at the table with C during mealtimes.

7:15 p.m. // Get ready for bed. Bath time, teeth-brushing time, PJ time, and story time, then it's night-night time. This routine takes us about 20 minutes, so on a typical day, C is usually firmly established in his crib by 7:30-7:45p.m. Keeping to this schedule during the summer can be pretty difficult, but C is so much happier when he is well rested, that we try our best to stay within or as close to this timeframe for bedtime as we can, otherwise he ends up sleeping until 11a.m. the next morning, and half the day has gone by before we can get going! 

21 MONTHS

22 MONTHS

TWO YEAR FAVORITES:

Blowing kisses

Going out to eat...particularly for breakfast!

Reading

Night-night blanket

Playing in the water (water table/pool/ocean/bath/etc.). He particularly loves pouring water back and forth between cups or buckets.

Trips to the park...especially the music park

Ice cream

TWO YEAR LEAST FAVORITES:

Letting anyone besides mom put him to bed...he's only recently become more accepting of Papa T helping with bath time. I think this spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E for when his new sibling arrives in July!

23 MONTHS

TWO YEARS OLD

...Hold him a little longer,

Rock him a little more.

Tell him another story,

You've only read him four.

Let him sleep on your shoulder,

Rejoice in his happy smile.

He is only a little boy,

for such a little while...

~ Author Unknown