Rule #149: Better WAY late then never

Let's backtrack a few months shall we? Graham turned two. Three months ago. I posted his birthday party but was waiting for his well child visit so I could document his stats.

But I was pregnant. 

Apparently I don't post during my first trimester. :)

So, without further ado, here is the belated information about my THEN two year old.

Weight: 24 lbs 13 oz - 15%
Height: 35 1/4 inches - 70%
OFC: 19.5 inches - 70%

Did you check out his head? It only grew 0.5 cm in a year! Well, really his body has grown into it for the last year ;)

The best way to describe my little toddler is loving, joyful (when he wants to be) and WILLFUL! Holy Cow. Talk about being completely different from your sibling. At this age we were still working with Evan to have any opinion at all, and to express that opinion. Graham does not have that struggle. :) He knows what he wants, and he knows when he wants it. We are finally starting to take back some control with this child. I will freely admit that I let him get away with a lot over the past year, let him run the house if you will. It's because I was so excited he even cared, at all. Well, it's started to get a little out of hand, so we are working on reigning him in. Luckily, he is teachable, so it gets better every day.

Ever since we got a trampoline Graham has been a jumping machine! He jumps on the floor, the couch (grr), on people. He jumps across the room. It is so adorable.

He loves to draw, or have someone draw for him depending on his mood. He is still obsessed with all things animal. Since our trip to San Diego he is now enamored with sea life as well. Whales bringing the biggest excitement.

He talks non stop. It's hard for me to remember how much he was talking three months ago. Which is why I wish I had written this post three months ago. Oh well. I have no idea how many words he says, there are way too many to count. And he speaks more clearly all the time.

He knows all of the alphabet, and most of the numbers 1-10. He knows most of his colors and a lot of shapes. He's a pretty smart kid. It blows me away that he won't be starting preschool in the fall because he won't be "old" enough! The kid will be ready for some type of school, he'll be bored at home for another year! We'll have to come up with something...

Right around the time I got pregnant Graham stopped being a mama's boy. He started wanted daddy, all the time! (It probably had something to do with me not being able to move much, or quickly. And not being able to talk because it made me to nauseous...but that's for another post) I was thrilled for this change in preference. It had been me and nothing but me for two years! Don't get me wrong, I love to be loved...but it was exhausting! His daddy phase lasted solidly for three months. Now it changes from day to day. For the majority, I think he still prefers Alex, but at least he requests me from time to time as well. :)

Graham loves his brother. Every morning when I go into his room he says. "Finda Daddy?" Followed closely by "Finda Evan?" I love to see their brotherly bond grow. And it is very strong. They play so well with each other and seek one another out throughout the day. When Graham stops napping, I think he will be disappointed to realize that Evan is GONE for three hours every day! It warms my heart to see how much they love one another. Every mothers dream.

Evan also had a four year old check up the same day as Graham's appointment. Yeah, I know...super late on this one!

Weight: 32 lbs - 10%
Height: 44.5 inches - 95% (I'm not sure that's correct, now that I'm looking at it. If it's true, he grew 6 inches last year...that's some growth spurt!)

Evan is my darling little boy. Yesterday he told me not to call him "baby" (term of endearment, not mocking) and to call him "kid" He's obviously not a baby anymore. :) Evan is starting to use pretend play, which is amazing! Imagination and pretend play were aspects of childhood he just didn't seem to understand. But he's slowly starting to get it, and it is wonderful to watch. Now, to clarify, when he turned four he still wasn't pretending. But the last month or so we've been seeing it more and more.

For example: Uncle Jeff gave Evan a stuffed dragon for Christmas. Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon. I've never seen him get so attached to a toy before. He tells us that Toothless is his son, and tells us what food/drink toothless needs before bedtime. It's darling. Recently, due to a few power outages last month Evan has been into turning off all the lights, and he and Graham scream and run away from the monster/dragon/etc. I know that to most people who have children, that sounds commonplace. But for MY child, it is new and very exciting to see!

Evan has also become highly interested in clocks/time. He asks me "What number was it when I woke up?" And wants to see what time it is frequently. Last week Evan asked for a clock in his room. (Graham has one, why doesn't he?) So Alex took him to the store and let him pick out a clock. I had worked the night before, so when I woke up that afternoon Evan was very excited to show me his new clock. We had to look at his clock, then Graham's, then Mommy's clock. Then he wondered if his clock said the same time as mommy's clock and ran down stairs to check. We spent 15 minutes or more checking out all the clocks in the house. :)

There are still struggles in significant areas of his life. (dressing self/potty training/sleeping/social) But overall, Evan has made wonderful progress and I have high hopes that he will continue to do so.

My boys are the joy of my life. They make everyday special and exciting. I love to watch them grow and develop. I can't wait to see what remarkable men they become!