2 and a 1/2

It's hard to believe Will is two and a half! Our little boy continues to melt our hearts and bring so much joy. Don't get me wrong, he has his moments...maybe even days, but when it's time to tuck that sweet boy into bed and he says "La Loo" (love you) and gives you a big squeeze you forget about when he was jumping up and down on the couch, throwing his food across the table or having a tantrum because he does not want to come inside for a bath and bedtime. I also know what is still to come before the sun rises. He will come to his door some time between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. calling for Mommy. Although I know I won't sleep very well, I take my pillow and am greeted with a small child waiting for me with a blanket in hand saying "Mommy banky". I'm reminded that these late night cuddles won't last forever and so, for now, we snuggle under the "banky" with Elmo, a giraffe and an occassional teddy bear.

His speech continues to be clearer and adds new words to his vocabulary almost daily.
If I were to guess, Daddy's favorite phrase would be: "My pack-pack, my pack-pack" (back pack)
Mommy's favorite phrase: "Mommy carry you" (instead of Mommy carry me)

When asked what his name is, he replies "Me".

He is getting really good at remembering stories. You can pause in many books and he'll fill in the blank. For example, in "Buzzy's Balloon", inside the front cover it says "To Will from___" and he says "Hanta" (Santa) and later in the book when the balloon pops, and the story reads "Mommy, Mommy" he says "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy". He does this for many books often after only reading it a time or two.

More things about Will...

• he loves to play outside
• he loves hitting, kicking and throwing balls and is pretty good for a two year old
• if Curious George is on, chances are he will not make eye contact with you
• he enjoys the library and all the toys they have there
• he likes things in its place (for example if a cell phone is sitting out, he must return it to its owner), however, this does not apply to toys
• he thinks every time we go to Target we need to get a sucker at the pharmacy and a sticker at the checkout
• says funny things...like on a recent Saturday morning when he came into Daddy & Mommy's bed because we weren't ready to get up and he had some gas, he said "poo poo ding dong"
• he uses the potty chair occassionally
• he is very ticklish
• he loves Maggie "puppy" and gives her great hugs and talks to her like she understands

We are also going to start "early preschool" one day a week. A group of moms have gotten together to plan lessons and activities for the kids that are too young for preschool, but would benefit from some form of organized learning in an environment other than home. We're excited to meet new friends and learn from others!

Will definitely keeps us on our toes and always wants to be doing something. What a fun boy!