24 Months Old

Dear Eli,

The time has come for our monthly updates to end. I have really enjoyed writing about all the things you have done over the past two years, and I still plan on updating your growth and development, just not as often. I feel so blessed to be a part of your life, to be the one who gets to help mold and shape you into the young man you are going to be. You are an absolute treasure. In case you don't know, I LOVE YOU! You are such a gift from God! Your Daddy and I didn't know life could be so much fun before you came. We feel so honored to have been chosen to be your parents. We love your fun-loving independent spirit, your relentless energy, your ear-to-ear smile, your sweet little voice, and everything else that makes you special. I look forward to all the years ahead and all the sweet moments we are going to have together :)

Physically: We went to your 2 year check-up with Dr. R (no pictures because I was trying to contain you in a small waiting room) and everything was great, well, except for the fact that you were scared to death to stand on the big boy scale. I have no idea what was up with that. Then you wouldn't stand next to the wall so the nurse could measure how tall you were. I guess you were just in a bad mood that day. We eventually managed to get your weight and height, but both are probably off just a little. You weighed 26 pounds and you were 34 inches tall, we think. I do know that whatever it is you weigh, after a few minutes of holding you, it feels like A LOT! Your weight still is in the 25th percentile, which is nothing new for you. You've been there ever since you became mobile. Dr. R said your height was normal, so I'm assuming that would be the 5oth percentile. Your head measurement was 50th percentile, as well. You won't go back for another well visit until your 3 years old. WOW! That's a long time away. Hopefully by then you'll have put on a little bit more weight and you won't have issues with the scale or the height chart. We'll see though.... As far as clothes, you are mostly wearing 24 month clothes. You can wear some 2T shirts. You wear a 6 1/2-7 in shoes. One word that would describe you is the word that I have used to describe you since you were inside my tummy...ACTIVE! You aren't wild or crazy, but you are constantly on the go looking for something to do. You barely take the time to sit still. In fact, the only time we CAN get you to sit still is to put on Toy Story or Little Einsteins. That's usually what I do when I need to cook, because otherwise you would be crawling up my leg to "help" me in the kitchen :)

Verbally: Your language has just exploded! You say 4-5 word sentences consistently and most of it is understandable :) You repeat everything we say. You even use the word "too" appropriately. My favorite is when you say, "I wuv you, too, Mama!" It just melts my heart to pieces. You got several LeapFrog Tag Junior books for your birthday and you haven't shown much interest in them yet, but I'm hoping you will soon. I really really want you to become a reader, so I'm doing my best to instill a love of reading in you while I can. You love letting me read to you at night, but you usually pick the same 3 books over and over. You enjoy singing songs-Old McDonald, Twinkle, Twinkle and The Wheels on the Bus are your favorites. You can count to 10. You know all your basic colors-black, white, green, blue, purple, red, yellow, pink, orange, purple, brown. We are working on silver, gold, and gray right now. You know most of your shapes-circle, oval, heart, star, rectangle, square, triangle.

Eating: No change from the previous month. You are still what I would call a picky eater. You don't care that much about food at home, but Mrs. G and your teachers at school always say you eat well there. I guess you need other kids to be around in order for you to eat. You still love snacks more than anything. You have also turned into a big time milk drinker. I know we were supposed to switch you to reduced fat milk, but your Daddy and I figure you can use the extra calories. You like the taste of reduced fat milk though and will drink it just fine, which is the important part. Eventually, we'll switch you over, but just not now. Your favorite foods at this moment would be: yogurt, cheese, mandarin oranges, peaches, cereal, Welch's fruit snacks, popcorn, hotdogs, grapes, spaghetti, chicken pot pie, and most of all PIZZA. You take after your mama there :)

Sleeping: You still do the exact same thing as before. We actually bought you a toddler bed a few months ago, but you never really showed interest in switching to it. In fact when we asked you which one you wanted to go to sleep in, you said "kib" (crib). We figured we'll stick with the crib until you figure out you can climb out of it, which is crazy that you haven't done that yet as much as you climb everything else. You're still sleeping pretty much all night, some nights better than others. You still want a pacifier at night when you are at home, but we found out from Mrs. G that you never use a pacifier at her house. Hmmmm, it might be time for the pacifier to make it's disappearance. I might try that over Christmas break this year. It won't be fun, but it'll be a good thing once you're off it for good, even though that pacifier has been wonderful to have these past 2 years :)

Your favorite toys/things to do:

-Toy Story (1, 2, and 3) You LOVE them all! Buzz Lightyear is your absolute favorite character.

-Cars

-any type of sports ball

-blocks

-playing outside

-any type of art project, especially painting and coloring

-cars

-musical instruments

I'll be posting again at your 26th month. Until then, I can't wait to see all the fun stuff you're going to be doing!