22 Months

We're getting so close to the 2 year mark...and I am so glad. Finally, Ethan will be a kid. I am not a fan of babies...they're too much work and it's hard to see what is it all for...mainly because they don't say "thank you"....but once they get to the full on toddler/kid phase...it's so rewarding to see how they learn, and how they want to be with you and talk to you and pay attention to you. I have really enjoyed seeing my two kids grow up....but now that I have an almost 5 year old (yikes!) it took me a while to realize that it gets SO much better! I love how we can have full on conversations, instead of looking like a nut talking to a baby at the store (anybody do that? haha).....or we talk about feelings, and fears. He asks me if I want to play with him or if he can hug me....it's sweet. I do understand why people have more children....but it's the baby phase I have to get through.....ugh.

Ethan is doing so well. He talks so much. Dom at this point only had "car". Ethan can say "thank you", "please", "mama", "dada", "hello", "hi", "bye bye", "no","uh oh",  nod yes, sign "more"and  "please". He  likes to grab your booty (to make you move) and then your hand and then take you to whatever it is he needs. He likes to point, and he likes to laugh. He loves Dominic because he's so goofy. He's also the reason for most of his tears- Dom doesn't like to share, but Ethan is getting better at fighting too. He will grab the Ipad and run with it. Or if both children are watching it, he's not afraid to hog it and leave Dom out. He's not afraid to tackle Dom nor get on top of him and wrestle. He's also his older brother's shadow. He knows he's safe if Dom is there. Dom likes to comfort him if he's sad (and it was not his fault) and talk to him. He calls him "baby" unless he's mad...then it's "Ethan" haha. 

He loves puzzles and the alphabet. He can recognize of the alphabet thanks to Elmo's ipad app. He's getting so good at puzzles- physical ones and on the iad. Funny how my kids really enjoy puzzles....

He takes really good afternoon naps. I have moved his naps until about 1pm (used to be 11am). And he can sleep from around 1-3 or 4pm if he's really tired. He's a rockstar at napping....and still goes to bed at 8pm...on the dot. He will ask for milk and grab his blanket and move to his room. He goes to bed first, and then Dom goes to bed around 10pm. It's the only way I can get them to sleep in the same room. Ethan usually wakes up first, then wakes up Dom, and then wake ME up. Most of the time I'm lucky to get 6 hours of sleep....interrupted. Each kid will only wake up once. Dom wakes up around 2am to go potty, and Ethan wakes up around 3 am to get a second milk. So, yeah...I'm still waiting for my full 8hrs of uninterrupted sleep to come back. 

He eats like a pro. He had spicy queso dip today and enjoyed it. He just drank a lot of water. Spicy..sweet....charred...haha...whatever...he will try it. He keeps trying kale and spinach, but still spits it out. But if I juice it...he's game for it. He hardly gets sick. He got some bad sniffles this past week...and  mild fever. I'm thinking it was allergies, but I'm not really sure. He likes fruit snacks, any kind of fruit. He eats at least one banana for breakfast every day...and grapes and strawberries are his favorite too. Not a fan of nuts....he will spit them out. No allergies that we know of so far. 

He's such a mama's boy. He likes to just come up to me and press his head against mine and I kiss him and he just loves it. He loves to sit on my lap and finds every excuse to do so...sharing dinner, watching tv, folding laundry...whatever. He loves nursery rhymes so much. Netflix has a babygenius video called "children sing alongs" and "nursery rhymes"...he would watch it all day if I let him.

He still grinds his teeth, but not nearly as much as before. I still squeeze his mouth and he's more conscious of when he's doing it, so some of the time he stops on his own.  I'm not really fully potty training him...'cause lets face it....I got lazy haha. But he's so much better than Dom was at this age. When he watches tv, he knows he needs to sit in the potty. And I figured out his schedule...he pees the most in the morning, and that's when he sits. If i do it all right (and he 's got no diaper on), he will go potty 100% of the time. Sometimes, grandma or dad babysit and they put a diaper on him, so he just lets it go. Just yesterday, he was standing in his room and he felt the liquid running down his legs and said "uh oh" and kept saying it. I touched the carpet below him and it was not wet, so I wasn't sure why he was so worried....until I saw the liquid on his legs...so we ran to the potty...and as soon as he sat down...he peed...A LOT. So I know he can hold it and I know he can go....but when I get lazy...so does he. It's funny...I was talking to some moms about it....and they asked me with disgust almost "why are you training him? he's not even two!"....and I kept thinking...I'm just so done with diapers....all of them! But then I thought about it, and even if he is "potty trained" it still takes a while to master....so I would still have to carry changes of clothes in my bag for a while (which is what I am trying to avoid as well)....so really...what's the rush? I don't like forcing my children. I didn't force Dom to talk until he was ready and now he won't shut up...and  I didn't force him to go potty....and he was just fine. One day when he was three he decided it was time, and he never looked back....so I really don't know why I'm pressuring Ethan. So, we'll just "whatever" it for now....

We are planning on celebrating his birthday a little early this year...we're experimenting this year....we'll see how it goes. Maybe the weather will actually be nice and we can have the party outside. We'll invite some nursery friends over, and we'll have a blast. The weather is still in the high 70s...so I'm hoping in the next month it'll somewhat stay the same, so we can do this. That way, we are only left with the actual holidays to deal with.....