Before he turns two...

Why does turning two seem like such a huge thing to me?  For some reason I feel like this is a whole new ballgame of things that Buddy Man should be accomplishing.  Forming sentences, learning a gazillion new words a day, riding a bike, blowing bubbles, cleaning up his toys, potty training, eating with silverware, and more.  In so many ways, I feel like he's stunted (enter Mommy Guilt).  When we lived in California, the weather was so crummy that we didn't go outside very often, so he didn't learn to enjoy the outdoors and blow bubbles or color on the driveway with sidewalk chalk or fly kites or any of those things.  When we stopped attending Parents Place after his first birthday, Buddy Man's interaction with other kids was seriously limited so I didn't feel like he was talking like he should, or playing like he should, and I simply didn't know what skills I should be encouraging.  Now I feel like we're playing catch up.  Only now I have a newborn along for the ride, so I feel like I'm hampering Buddy Man even more because I simply don't have the energy or enough hands!

But we're getting there, and it seems like he's coming along in leaps and bounds!  He knows all the parts of his face by sight and can say the names of all those parts.  He can identify Mama, Dada, and Dutch in pictures and sight.  He's learning to pick up his toys.  He's in the beginning stages of potty training, with four out of four successful trips to the potty.  He's learning to use his words instead of just whining some indecipherable noise or pointing to get what he wants.  He's exploring use of a fork, though it still makes me nervous, since eyes tend to be a vital body part, and attempting to feed himself.  He finally got the concept of tipping his sippy cup so we no longer have to hold the cup for him to drink.  He can drink out of a juice cup.  We're working on blowing bubbles when we can get outside.  He loves to hold my hand while we walk through a parking lot or up/down the stairs at home.  

He's turning into a little boy!

And as much as I'm excited to see all these developments, I'm sad to see babyhood moving farther and farther into the past.  Pretty soon we'll be looking into preschools.  We'll be teaching him to tie his shoes, ride his first bike, give himself a bath, ride a school bus, lose his first tooth, puberty, college.  Yeah, I know I'm getting way ahead of myself, but it's so hard to see the little man who made me a mama turn into a little boy.  He's not a baby anymore.  He's a Daddy's Boy.  He doesn't like to snuggle, but he'll run up to me and plant a slobbery kiss on my lips, or pat my back, or try to burp his little brother.  As much as I'm embracing these changes, I'm dreading them too!

But here's a look into another major milestone...and yet more "baby" gear that I thought I was done purchasing!

Yesterday we went to Target and bought Buddy Man a booster seat for the kitchen table. With Dutch almost two months and likely starting on solids in a month, I wanted to be able to dedicate the high chair to him and let Buddy Man feel more like a "big boy" than a baby. I'd been scouring Target for weeks for this particular chair because I didn't want to spend a fortune on a fancy one (seriously, why does a booster chair need to be $30-40?!?) but this one was always out of stock in any color other than pink! From looking online, I knew it was available in teal and white, and I was hoping for a white one, but I never did see it at the store, so I settled for the teal. For $11 I can't be too picky! :-) 

Buddy Man was convinced this was a potty and it took a little while for him to understand the difference between a potty and any old chair! He also thought this was a new toy, so he wasn't too thrilled when I strapped it to a kitchen chair and he couldn't climb on and off as his pleased, nor was I willing to lift him up and down to his heart's content! But he was really excited to sit at the big table at dinner time last night…until he threw his (plastic) plate one too many times so we put him back in the high chair "like a baby" to finish his food. 

Lunch time today went much better! He did pick up his plate and turn it over a few times, but no throwing. And he did take some of his food off the plate and put it on the table. I guess it'll just take time for him to transition and understand the difference between the tray on his high chair and a plate at the table. Probably need to pick up some kid's placemats next time we're out, so save the table from smeared jelly! 

Sitting at the big table!

But the funniest part was that Buddy Man knows about saying meal prayers, as he's been watching Hubs and me for some time and often would crawl up in a chair and fold his hands to pray with us. Well, as he was eating his sandwich today, he'd fold his hands and insist "prayers" with every single bite! So we'd say the meal prayer and make the sign of the cross and then Buddy Man would declare "A-men!" Needless to say, with one PB&J sandwich, we said a lot of "Bless us, oh Lords…." But, I can't complain if he wants to say prayers… 

Saying prayers

And we had two more successful visits to the potty today! Here's hoping we can keep this up!