Note: I will update this at a later date with more photos...I like to get the blog post up as close to the actual birthday as possible. I took photos today but haven't had time to edit them and we have a crazy weekend coming up, so I'm not sure when I will get that chance! Wanted to go ahead and get the text posted though.
Ren, you are TWO whole years old. That is just craziness!
*You have a ridiculous amount of personality, and it's awesome. As you can see in the photo above. You are funny and stubborn and smart.
*You weigh somewhere between 27 and 30 pounds. I've had you on the scale, but it's been different depending on the day and what you're wearing.
*You still wear size 4 diapers and 18-24 month clothes. 2T is a little big still...especially pants around the waist. You seem to have a long torso and are tall and skinny.
*You go back and forth between being a good eater and not. Mostly not. You will sometimes just eat ketchup for dinner. We are trying to wean you off of squeezies (baby food pouches) bit by bit because they're expensive, but sometimes that's all you want. You love donuts, ketchup, juice, chocolate, blueberries, pretzels, crackers, cereal, cereal milk. You stand 2 inches from us if we're eating cereal and say "DWINK IT? DWINK IT?" until we allow you to drink our cereal milk.
*You go to bed at 8pm and get up anywhere between 5am and 7:15am. Usually around 6:15am. We have really been trying to get you down to one nap lately and you probably do one nap 75% of the time, and 2 naps 25%. You were sick last week, so we had a lot of 2 nap days. It's hard for you to make it til 12:30 or 1pm on the days we just do one nap, but I think it's best for everyone. You sleep later the mornings after those days.
*Your speech has exploded even more since last month. I can't even list your new words because you pretty much say everything now. Or at least try to. It often comes out sounding completely wrong but you try to mimic everything. You are still only talking in one word answers though. But like today, we had a full conversation:
Ren: "Pee? Pee?"
Mommy: "You want to go pee?"
Ren: "Uh huh!"
Mommy: "Okay, go to the bathroom."
Ren: "Okay!!" Walks to bathroom. "Dark! Dark!"
Mommy: "Is it dark in there? Would you like me to turn on the light?"
Ren: "Uh huh!!"
Mommy turns on light.
Ren: "Welcome, momma."
Which brings me to another point, you say "welcome" instead of "thank you." Who knows. It's cute, so we roll with it.
*And that last point brings up another point, which is that you don't actually use the potty. You just think you are. You go up to the potty, stand in front of it, lift your shirt and stick out your belly, pause there for a moment, and then make a big production of pulling down your shirt and announcing "NONE!" (which means DONE).
*You still love your pacifier, which you call your wa-wa, more than most other things.
*Whenever I go to take a picture of you, you say "Cheeeeee" (cheese) once and then you say "See? See? Momma, see?" over and over until I show you the photo.
*Sutton is your idol. You follow him, you do what he does, you say what he says, you get excited to see him more than anyone else, you tell me that you love him. In the mornings, when we wake him up, I ask you if you want to go wake Sutton up, and you say "Uh huh!! Hug? Hug?" So we go in his room and you climb the ladder and I let you get up there. Sutton has usually heard us by this point so he puts his arm in the air so you can crawl under it. He puts his arm around you and you hug each other and it's the sweetest thing ever and I might cry.
*Momma is your safe place. Which I love but sometimes you are clingy. It's okay, I know I will miss this stage. You want to be held all day long (unless you're distracted, so we try to distract you), and if you're scared or sad or tired, you just say "Momma? Momma?" until you find me.
*Bedtime is so sweet with you. We read a book or two, and you usually interact with them. Current favorites are
Pouch, Pete the Cat, and
Monsters Love Underpants. Then I tell you it's time to turn off the light and I carry you over to the light switch. You turn it off and say bye-bye to the light fixture. Then we rock and I hum Amazing Grace and Come Thou Fount. Usually when those two are over you say, "Nap?" and point to your bed. I ask you if you want to go lay down and you nod. I give you a kiss, lay you down, cover you up and get your two favorite stuffed animals (Lambie - a wooly elephant, and Bear - a red bear). You put your arm around them. I ask if you're cozy and you say "Uh huh." And I tell you goodnight and leave. You are so good about going to bed. Usually. :)
*Current favorite shows include Curious George, Handy Manny, Dinotrux, Little Einsteins.
*Every time someone or something leaves, you say it goes to "wuhk" (work). Whenever Daddy is gone, he's at work. If we turn Thomas off the TV, you say he is going to work. When the bathwater goes down the drain, you say it's going to work.
*In the mornings, if you get up really early (which is typical), I usually get you from your crib, give you a squeezie, and put you back in bed with me and Daddy. You watch a show while I either snooze or try to wake up before we both go and have breakfast. Daddy gets up after a while and heads to work. We usually have to wake Sutton up to go to the Y. Or if we let him sleep in, he will sleep til 9am. You two are opposites that way.
*Our go-to with discipline is time outs. It's hit and miss if they work. Sometimes you put yourself in a time out if we just mention the word (like as a threat). But sometimes you can't handle being in one and you cry and cry. Usually when you're in time out, you try to get away with as much as possible. Such as laying down instead of sitting against the wall like you're told.
*You love to dance, you love to hold hands in the car, you love to play with Thomas toys. You love choo choos, diggers, tractors, airplanes, buses, and anything with a motor. You love going to the Y except if Sutton isn't there with you. You love you brother. You love your mommy and daddy and your grandmas and papas. You love hugging. Your love language is physical touch, so sometimes I just have to hold you tight to get you to calm down.
I love you so much Renny Roo! We are done with monthly posts which is kind of a relief but also the end of an era so a little sad. You are the best little brother in the whole world!
