David. Two and a half.

David is two and a half years old now. It’s a great age! He amazes us every day. He’s getting so smart, so funny, so opinionated, so sensitive and so so fun.

He seems to learn a hundred new things a day. Often times he’ll just start spouting things off leaving Zach and I to look at each other and ask “where did he learn that?!” Much like the time I was getting his room ready for bed two months ago only to come out and find him using drumsticks to drum on the couch while saying his entire ABC’s with no help whatsoever. Just started saying the ABC’s like it was no big thing.  He can also count to ten and tries to go higher. He knows most of his colors but is stubborn about telling you what they are. Everything is usually green when you ask him, but if he’s just talking on his own he can usually get them right.  He identifies different shapes including triangles, rectangles and even diamonds.   He makes up songs, but gets embarrassed when I catch him singing. His favorite little kid songs are “Old MacDonald” and “Itsy Bitsy Spider”.  He doesn’t watch a whole lot of TV but his favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Super Why. He’s starting to follow along during the episodes and will try to “figure it out” along with the characters.

He has two most favorite things in life. They are tractors and weed-eaters. Mowers are pretty up there as well. Everything he touches (EVERYTHING) is a weed-eater. He will spend hours upon hours blowing raspberries and weed-eating everything in sight. He’s sure to follow right along the edge of whatever he’s weed-eating too, just like the pros. His favorite tractor is the excavator and he can spot one a mile away. Often times we are driving along and he’ll suddenly exclaim “look at that excavator mom!!” and sure enough, there’s a little speck of an excavator way over in the distance. A few months ago there was one parked behind my parents house so he’s pretty convinced Papa has an excavator. It’s just parked in the barn right now.  His and Zach’s favorite thing to do is ride on the tractor (riding lawn mower). They usually head out for a short ride every night when Zach gets home from work. He’s going to remember those rides for the rest of his life and I kind of love that.

His vocabulary is enormous. It doesn’t take him any time to learn new words and he properly says almost everything. He is definitely a chatter box and loves to have conversations about everything. “whats this mom” is likely his most common phrase. Speaking of mom, he almost always calls me “Mom” and Zach is usually “Daddy”. Mommy only comes out when he’s upset or trying to be funny. Mama is long gone.  He loves helping around the house and especially likes to cook. Using the mixer is always exciting and he is an excellent stirrer. We make pancakes frequently and he knows most of the ingredients and makes sure I don’t forget anything! He also loves to pretend to make “hot coffee” all the time.

He’s very sensitive and has started to show concern for me when he thinks I’m hurt or sick. Once I had a little scrape on my foot and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw it to check on it and ask me if I needed a bandaid, very, very worried that I was truly hurt. He knows that my “bad leg” bothers me a lot right now and once when I was sitting in the chair he came over and said “I’m gonna take off the hurt part” and pretended to pick it off and gently patted my leg before asking “feel better mom?” I almost died.  He’s extremely friendly but shy at the same time. He loves saying “hi” to everyone we walk past but if someone else says hello to him first he totally clams up. He loves being around other kids, but tends to hang back and observe very carefully before jumping in to play.

Along with all the adorableness and cute comes the tantrums. They’ve really picked up in the past couple weeks, but like everything, I know it’s just a phase.  Mostly he wants to do the opposite of everything, all the time. If I ask him what he wants to eat, you can be guaranteed that I will make it and he will immediately cry for the other option.  He’s a picky eater and I literally never know what he will choose to eat on any given day. I’ve stopped making him special meals though. He either eats or doesn’t.  The one thing he will always want is fruit snacks. And apple juice.

He’s still a big sleeper. He goes to bed at 8 and sleeps until 7:30 most days. He will usually still take a 2 hour nap as well. Daycare says he sometimes doesn’t sleep, but will still lie down and rest. We’ve experimented with no naps a couple of times and it always ends in disaster. He needs his sleep. He’s in a big boy bed now and we’ve had exactly zero issues with it. I know it’s only a matter of time before he realizes he can get out at will, but so far he’s perfectly content to stay in there.

As far as the baby goes, I’m just not sure he gets it. I always tell him that the baby is in there and if I’m wearing a tighter shirt he will ask if that’s the baby. The crib is set up in the other room and I frequently tell him the baby will sleep in there. He seems OK with it so far. Whenever I ask him if I’m having a boy or a girl he always says girl but when I ask if he wants a brother or sister he will say “I want a Sam!” (my nephew). Whenever we talk about babies he says “it probably cries”.  Daycare says he is very, very good with the baby there and will frequently bring him toys to play with and will show him how they work and play with him. So, I’ll take that as good sign…

I really love this age though. It is so much fun to see what he does or says next. I can't help but feel a little sad knowing that we only have just a few short months left with him being my only baby. I am trying to soak up every single little second with him this summer, dubbing it "the summer of David". Even though I'd love to park it on the couch and stay there I am doing my best to get up and out with him as much as I can. I was so happy when I got pregnant that I was due at the end of the summer so I can really just enjoy this time with David. I know it's going to be a huge adjustment for all of us when the baby comes, especially David, but as they say - a sibling is the best gift you can give your child, so here goes nothing.

Love that muffin.