Two and a half and Diaper Free!!!

My dearest baby boy,

You are now well over 2 and a half years old and such a little man. You are no longer a baby, but a whole little person with quite the personality, spirit and spunk! We had a fun and very busy summer together. We found a perfect beach for you to frolic in the shallow waters with your cousins and big brother. You love the water and see to have no fears of it. I put your life-jacket on and let you go free with your big brother and cousin Maxwell. Grandpa Don and Grandma Cindy bought a cabin recently and I look forward to teaching you how to swim there when you are a bit older, and perhaps Daddy will teach you to water-ski someday. This cabin will be a wonderful thing for our whole family and I can imagine we will create many precious memories there over the years.

We took many trips to the MN Zoo this summer, you no longer always want to be in your stroller, but you love to run ahead of me with your friend/s or cousin or Calvin. You are such a big boy and growing up so fast. I cannot believe how easy it was to potty-train you! We no longer buy diapers and you are pretty much totally potty-trained. You can "hold it" all night long and have been able to for a long time now. You didn't even ever really use a baby potty-chair, but went right to the big one. We will have an accident every once in awhile, but they are pretty rare. I am so proud of you.

We started our ECFE class this month and you seem to love it and have no problems separating from me. That makes me happy, but also a little bit sad! : ) You are a very independent little person, who just trots off to play with the BIG TRUCKS they have in the classroom. You don't really mind when I leave to go to my discussion group for an hour, you say goodbye, give me a kiss and go back to your trucks. You don't seem to want to participate in the crafts there yet, but you do love to sing with your classmates and listen to the teacher read. She said you get along well with the other children and listen to directions. I think you will be ready for pre-school next fall, but I am not sure I will be!

You have been getting bossier lately as you learn more words and hang out with new kids. You play by yourself a lot but you will play with your big cousin Maxwell when he is around. You aren't very nice to your baby cousin, Jude. You push and hit him when he gets in your way when you are trying to play. I think this will pass as he grows and the two of you will be best friends since you are so close in age. But for now, I am constantly repeating "Be nice to Baby Jude!" to you.

You and your brother are such best buddies, you play so well together but also fight like brothers do. Calvin is an amazing big brother to you and helps you do things you can't quite do on your own yet. He is very responsible with you and I think by the time he is 12 I will trust him to babysit you on his own. You guys wake up on the weekends and sneak downstairs together on your own and just play or snuggle together. I am so glad you love each other so much and wish we could have Calvin around more, because I know it is hard for you when he has to leave. I hope we can give you another brother or sister who will be around all the time for you to boss around and play with. : )

You are now in a big boy bed! We converted your crib to the toddler bed this summer and you were so good about it! After a few months in it, you have just recently learned that you can get out whenever you want! We hope to get you and Calvin bunk beds soon since you seem to be already outgrowing the toddler bed.

We are both sick with colds right now and have been doing a lot of snuggling and laying around together. It is nice to have this time together, but I need you to stick to your nap schedule when I am not feeling well! : ( Today you would NOT NAP and were very determined that you were going to come downstairs. After sitting in your room "trying to sleep" for an hour I let you come out.

Sometimes I feel bad when I have to leave you to go to work, but Mommy needs to work a little bit and it is very good for you to be with other people. You are very attached to both of your Grandmas. They do a lot for us and you and I don't know where we would be without them!

I can't wait to see what the next weeks and months will bring us. Oliver, you amaze me everyday with your thoughtfulness and love. I love you very much my little boy!

Two Years Old!!

Dear Oliver,

You have been 2 years old now for a few weeks and I've been putting off writing this post. I can't believe two years have flown by already, you are definetly not a baby anymore...you are a little boy who is becoming very independent. When I try to help you with something you are very quick to shout "Oliver DO IT!" And then I back off and let you do it. I am very proud of you for demonstrating your independence at such an early age and hope you keep it up....perhaps a bit more politely. You are amazing me everyday with new words, even sentences and interests in new things.

You sledded for the first time this winter with your big brother and dad. Daddy created a little sledding hill for you in our neighborhood and you go down all by yourself in your own sled. You are not afraid to try new things! You love going on rides at the Mall of America. Annie and I took you a couple months ago and you and I rode the mini rollarcoaster...you loved it!! I can't wait to take you to Como Zoo this summer to see the animals AND ride on rides. You love the MN Zoo, we have a membership there and go at least once a month. Your favorite animals there are the bears and the otters. We meet our friends Dasa and Tomas there often and you boys never seem to get tired of it. It is also a great way for your mom to get out of the house during the colder months!

You love love love animals...ALL of them...lions, tigers, cows, ardvarks, armadillos, wolverines, the list is never-ending. Your dad started reading an animal encyclopedia type book to you when you were younger than 18 months and you have many of the animals memorized. Some of them are rare species like Alpaca, Okapi, Sun Bear, and many others. Your favorite toys are little plastic animals we get at toy stores or Target. You have a huge bin full of these animals and play with them or carry a couple around every day.

You received a really cool easel for your birthday and love to stand at it and draw with your markers (washable!). You also love to stand in our kitchen and play play-doh or paint with water colors. Both very messy but fun! I can't wait until someday we have a house and you have a playroom to do these activities in.

In November we started going to an ECFE class and you are really loving it. It started out a little rough but after two classes you were used to going and already bonded with the teachers. We just started spring session and plan to continue until you go to preschool. It is a great way for me to connect with other local moms who have two year olds. It is also a great time for you to spend with people you don't see all the time.

You had surgery this year to have tubes put in your ears. You had many ear infections and we wanted to see if the tubes would work for you. The surgery was a bit traumatic for your mom and dad but a very quick and simple procedure. The tubes seem to be working well. The day after you had surgery you started calling us Mommy and Daddy instead of Mama and Dada so we think it improved your hearing. : )

This month we decided to try selling our two bedroom townhome -hopefully things go well with that. We are ready to have a yard for you boys to run around in and a bit more room so we can all spread out a bit more. As you and Calvin grow bigger we are needing more space!

Oliver, you are a very caring and considerate little boy. You have a very sweet little personality and are very loving to pretty much everyone. You have a comical side and can make us laugh many times a day. We love you so much little Gooch, you are our little bear.
Love,
Mommy