It's May 23, a day after Stephen's second birthday. I can't believe he's already two, although if you ask him how old he is, he won't let you forget ("TWO!"). The first six months went by so slowly... and the next 18 months just flew.
Stephen's made some linguistic strides, as you can see in his dictionary. He's got over 110 words now, and sometimes strings them together. Mostly, though, I think he's comfortable enough using them one at a time, and doesn't feel the need to make sentences; after all, we understand him when he says "Walk!" or "Hug?" so why change what works? Still, we may look into some kind of language development therapy if he doesn't pick up soon, depending on what his pediatrician says tomorrow for his 2-year well-baby checkup. I think he's grown a lot since the last one; he outgrew all of his size 18-month pants and shirts, and is solidly in the 24-month and 2T sizes now. He looks like a little boy now, not a baby anymore, which is good but saddening to me -- my little baby is all gone!
He's eating a lot better than he used to; favorites include broccoli (yes, bocki!), any kind of pasta but especially tortellini, grapes, apples, crackers, rice, and chicken. I'm sure there's other stuff, but it's escaping me right now. (It's that way with his word list, too -- I was away from it for too long, so I'm sure there are new words I'm missing on the list.) We try not to stress about how much or how little he eats, since he has a city's worth of energy and is very healthy. His whole life, he's had three colds, and each of those was a stuffy nose, while I was completely laid out. He's still nursing, and now will ask for it ("Niss? Niss?") which I find quite endearing. It doesn't touch the enthusiastic "Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!" halfway through a session, though! I feel somewhat badly for mothers who wean before their kids can tell them how much they enjoy nursing :) I know that makes me a weirdo, but hey, we both still enjoy nursing, it's still good for him (and me -- studies have shown greatly reduced risks of breast cancer in women who BF for more than 2 years), so I don't have any plans to wean him until he's good and ready. Same thing with co-sleeping; he's a cuddly little thing, and we both get a good sleep when he's with me. I'm sure he'll want his own bed one of these days, but for now, we're very happy with the way it is.
Current likes not mentioned above: going for walks, on foot or in a stroller, and sometimes in the sling; playing at the library, the park, the bookstores, and at work sometimes; watching PBS Kids television (not too much, of course); being sung to; pushing buttons on my keyboard, and really anywhere else buttons are to be had; playing with his new tent, his little cars, his wood trains, and his animals; reading books, especially the "Happy Baby ___" series; drinking from a cup, having his own bowl, and eating with a fork and spoon; playing with the water in the bathtub; telling me when he needs a diaper change ("Dah-pee? Poop!"); playing with other kids at the train tables in various places around the area (the library, Barnes & Noble, Toys-r-Us, and G-Willakers, a great toy store); riding on the bus, in the car, and in his seat on my bike all over town.
Dislikes: not getting his way; being told to wait a minute before he gets his way; being asked to eat something new; being asked to eat something he liked not 5 minutes ago; going home from the library, bookstore, or toystore before he's ready; sharing with other kids if he doesn't want to (he's fine if it's his idea to share, just not if it's theirs); the start of getting ready for bed, though he's fine once the routine commences. Other than those, he's a generally happy kid.
I promise to be better about updating this page; I know it's been a month since last time, and he changes so quickly! I've been quite caught up in freelance work lately, which is good, for the money, but bad because it seems like I never stop working! Well, that's not true; I spend a lot of time with Stephen, but all my computer time is work lately. I hope all of you are well and enjoying your children/grandchildren/friends' children/each other, as the case may be. And so for now, as Stephen would say, "Bye-eeee!"
Previous updates: April | March | February | November