23

In honor of Dean turning 23 months old (GAH) I thought I'd give you 23 fun facts about my favorite toddler.

1.  Favorite words these days are:  Go, Bubble, Choo Choo, Shoes, Hat, Daddy, and Ho Ho Ho. (We've been learning about Santa.)

2.  Favorite Christmas Carol:  "Deck The Halls" He likes the "Fa la la la la" part.

3.  He's FINALLY moving into some 18 month and a few 24 month clothes.  I can truly say we got our money's worth out of his 12 month stuff--he wore most of it for a full year.

4.  First word when he wakes up each morning:  TREE!!!!!!!!  Through the entire first diaper change of the day, he keeps saying "Tree!" until, finally, we go downstairs, turn on the lights and say good morning to the Christmas tree.

5.  He fake cries.  He'll crinkle his nose and make a "boo hoo hoo" sound.  Sometimes he'll either forget what he's "crying" about or get distracted mid-cry and just kind of trail off.  It usually makes me laugh aloud.

6.  Dean's started genuinely laughing at things that tickle his funny bone.  On Sesame Street, there's a little cartoon called Abby's Flying Fairy School. We have one particular episode on DVR that makes him cackle every time he sees it.  He also laughs aloud when we read about Cookie Monster eating the cookie garland off the Christmas tree in our Sesame Street Christmas book. Some more odd funny things include Marcus replacing the garbage bag in the kitchen trash can and me putting on knee high pantyhose.  (Ok, that last one IS kinda funny.)

7.  He's becoming quite the artist. Instead of just scribbling, he's taking an interest in actually coloring and is doing some very rudimentary line drawings.  He will sit for pretty long periods coloring in a book or drawing on construction paper. This is nice because I can trap him place him in his high chair while I cook and he can entertain himself for a bit.

8.  Loves, loves, LOVES playing in our front yard.  There's a little curly black dog who lives a few doors down. She comes to visit every day when we're in the yard playing and is wonderful with Dean. She's really small, so he can hug her. He has gotten really good about being very gentle with dogs and not pounding on them when he pets them.

9.  Just this week, he's started to take an interest in playing with "babies."  In his room one day, he had drained his sippy cup, so I offered his Ernie doll a drink. Dean thought it was hilarious, so now we have to keep an old cup in the bedroom for Ernie and one downstairs for Grover. Hey, stuffed animals get thirsty, too.

10.  Favorite foods:  Scrambled eggs, hot dogs, peas, all things Italian, cheese, lima beans, red bell peppers, green olives, onions in any shape or form, pears, red grapes, mandarin oranges and pickles.

11.  Newest obsession:  Trains.  His G-Mama got him Toots the Talking Tank Engine and he loves pushing it around going "Choo choo!"  He also has the Little People zoo train, which I highly recommend to anyone with a child this age.  And no, I have not introduced Thomas the Tank Engine yet. I'm sure he'll discover him soon, but right now, it's all I can do to handle all the Elmo around here.

12.  He is quite fond of the stocking hat he picked out himself at Target. It's the first thing he looks for when he wakes up and I usually have to grab it off his head as we put him in the tub at night.

13.  It breaks my heart, but I think our bedtime routine is changing.  After bathtime, he's usually so wiggly that we have to give him his milk to make hm be still.  He leans back and drinks it with his head propped up on pillows while we put his creams and lotions on him and dry him/dress him.  Sometimes he'll let us read all three of our usual bedtime books to him, sometimes he won't even let us get through one.  Along with feeding him bottles, this is the part of his babyhood I'll miss most.  We're already thinking of ways to change it up because it's one of our favorite parts of the day, but he's getting bored with the "little baby" stuff, I think. (cryyyyyyyyyyy)

14.  At his 2 year well-baby appointment next month (Jen breathes into paper bag), we're going to get a referral to a pediatric dermatologist.  The eczema is still there. When we finally get one patch cleared up, another one flares up and gets worse. Right now, his left foot is covered with a giant scab. We've got to get this under control now that he'll be 2 and can get the good meds.

15.  Dean has picked up one of my phrases: There you go.  I guess I say it a lot more that I realized.  Now he says it ALL THE TIME. It sounds like "Der ya go." And it's adorable.

16.  I think he's calling me Jen. I know for a fact he said "Hi, Jen!" on Thursday when I went to get him up from his nap.  Marcus said he calls me Jen all the time. Nice, kid.

17.  He has no idea the magic that awaits him on Christmas morning. NO. IDEA.  Here's a hint: I ordered a sit n spin yesterday. Oh yes, I did.

18.  We're doing a project this month where we learn one fact about Christmastime each day.  We either make a drawing or an easy craft or color a picture about whatever we learn.  Our mantle looks great with all his artwork on it.  Once we've completed our project, we'll share pictures here.

19.  I'm trying to teach Dean that things like unloading the dishwasher and doing laundry are really fun so that when he's a big guy, he'll want to do them.  This morning, he came into the laundry room with me, picked up the Purex 3 in 1, put it in the washer while I loaded the clothes, then closed the door and turned the dial to "normal wash." Then he smiled and applauded for himself. I am a mothering genius.

20.  This child needs a haircut like nobody's business.  Marcus has been saying he's going to take him for about 2 weeks, but then he changes his mind about cutting his OWN hair cut and they end up not going.  I'm calling my own stylist tomorrow to see if I can get him in to see her this week because it's out of hand.  He wore my hair clip around all morning.

21.  He bit me so hard on the neck last Thursday that it drew blood and left a mark that looked exactly like a hickey. I had to wear a turtle neck sweater to work on Friday.  The thing about Dean is that he isn't biting to show anger or aggression--he's kind of showing love.  Sometimes he'll hug us really hard and bite down. It's like he loves you so much he just has to bite you.  It hurts REALLY bad.

22.  We just finished the first bottle of baby shampoo we ever received for Dean.  It was a huge bottle of Johnson's baby shampoo that we received as a shower gift (so big it must have come from Costco or Sam's).  Since we only use a little drop each day, it's lasted nearly 2 years.  Now THAT is getting your money's worth!

23.  He's really going to be 2 in a month.  I'm shocked when I look back over the past year and think about all the new things he's able to do.  This time last year, he was barely eating table food, mostly due to lack of teeth, still drinking formula (gag) and not walking. Now he runs everywhere he goes, eats tater tots dipped in ketchup and talks a blue streak.  One thing's for sure--he's awesome.

Comments

[eva]

Tater tots = great idea on so so many levels. I had totally forgotten about tater tots. Yay - something new to try with Megan!

Lima beans? GAG. How do you cook them so that they make the Favourite Foods list?!

[J]

Yes, he is totally awesome! Can't wait to get a hug.

[Meredith]

Yep, he's totally awesome and we love him!!!

[Elisa]

Christmas is so much fun with little ones. here's to dean enjoying all the magic Christmas has to offer, and to add some of his own with the glee and the excitement that only comes from little ones :-)

[Kat]

Paige just lost her first tooth on Friday. It hit me way harder than I thought it would mostly because it really symbolizes I don't have a baby anymore.

*sniff*

[Molly]

You're one in a million, buddy boy! I laughed out loud when I read about the bite on your neck. Bet your students loved that!

I've also been trying to get back here for days to say I loved your life list. It was so beautifully written, and I wished I said half of it in my own list. :)

[Frema]

I'm jealous that Dean stayed in one size for so long. And BOO for changing bedtime routines!

[rkmama]

Can I just say I love his hat?
I LOVE HIS HAT.
Dean will rock two- it's not so scary. Well, at least not when you refer to it as 24 months.
Baby steps.

[AJU5's Mom]

Hey Dean! It's AJU5 here. Can you believe we are almost 2? Soon we will be able to cause even more stress for our mommies and daddies. Luckily for them we are good kids and don't do too many bad things :)

Oh, and I love the hair! Getting your hair cut isn't too bad, but the biggest issue is that you have to keep getting it done! I got mine cut about a month ago and mommy is already hinting that I have to get my bangs cut again soon...