The Two's...

We are definitely in the thick of the two's, are they really terrible??? No, I don't think so. In all honesty, he has his moments and we have faced a few challenges, like 20 minutes of screaming at the top of his lungs or telling me he doesn't want to go with us and wants to "stay home". But at the same time there is so much that Ethan is learning and is able to do now that makes this stage so enjoyable.

His communication is amazing and he can pretty much tell us anything he wants to. It's also so fun to have little conversations with him! Recently his favorite words are "actually" and "supposed to be". The other day I was looking for a toy and started to look for it in the wrong direction and Ethan said, "It's actually right there." When we were in Oxnard we would often have to go back upstairs to get something in the middle of his bedtime routine and he would say, "I'm supposed to be sleeping. Supposed to be." It's cute to hear the phrases he picks up. He will also tell us when he doesn't like something, like when he finishes 90% of his yogurt and says, "I don't like it" or when he wants daddy to put him to bed and says, "I don't like her. I don't like mommy." Hearing him say those words were a little sad, but just like the yogurt, I know he does like it/me, just doesn't want the last bite or me at that moment. Oh, my other favorite phrase is "I need something to do." With a few suggestions of things to do, he quickly finds something of interest.

His imagination and pretend play also brings a new perspective on ordinary things. He loves being a cat, although I'm not really sure where he picked this up because we aren't really around cats. He's very into driving, particularly vans, garage doors, and elevators. He will pretend almost anything is a car and drive in it, same goes for elevators. He loves going in the laundry room and "pressing the buttons" to go up and down.

I am also amazed at how quickly he picks up songs and books. I love it when he "reads" an entire book to me during his bedtime routine, I wish I had his memory!

He is a great big brother, even though he is beginning to play a little rough with Katelyn now, probably because he sees that she is growing up and is doing new things too. I love seeing them snuggle together. If Ethan wakes up in a grouchy mood, Katelyn can almost always cheer him up and as soon as we go to get Katelyn from her naps, he jumps up to snuggle with her.

Going out with him and being able to see the world through his curious eyes, even if he's asked me "What's that?" fifty times already, is always an adventure. It's refreshing to experience life through his joy in the simple things, like splashing in a puddle (even if his shoes get wet, much to my dismay) or chasing after a sea gull on the beach.

This stage can definitely be challenging and can take a lot of patience, but it's also very rewarding. Plus, how could you look at this little boy and think of the word terrible? (I know, I'm biased!) There is such a sweetness at this stage, I just love you Ethan!