I Can't Believe I Have TWO Year Olds!

Ethan and Jane are TWO! The realization of this has not fully set in yet.  When I close my eyes and think of them, they are 15 months old.  Just starting to walk.  Saying mama and dada and maybe Elmo, but not much else.

All I know, is that these vivacious, curious, smart, crazy kids are only getting more cute as time goes by.  I am sad they have lost their baby chub (or most of it) but they still have those beautiful big eyes and lips just like they did on day 1.

They are smart, too smart.  More about that later...

Here is my 2 year old Ethan:

And my 2 Year old Jane:

 

Dave's mom Pattie made these banners for E and J and sent it with their birthday package.  I still have them up, I think I might put them in their room and leave them there for a long time.

My parents were in town and we had a little family birthday party.

 

Semi-Homemade Cupcakes (that's how I roll these days):

We got Ethan and Jane a train table for their Birthday.  From the moment we gave it to them, Ethan played with it for 45 minutes straight.  Jane thought it was easier to reach everything by sitting right on top.

The bounce house was a huge hit until it deflated about half way and Jane freeeaaaaked out.  I blew it up the other day again and she wouldn't go in for even a second.  But I'll have these pictures as reminders that they did have fun at one point!

Bubble Machine

Sneaking bites of berries...

My parents brought Jane and Ethan 4-Wheelers for their birthday!  Jane hopped right on hers and took off.  Ethan will sit on his for a few seconds but that's it so far!

 

 It was such a fun day, the babies loved all the attention! They ran around the backyard playing with all their toys, getting kisses from grandma and grandpa, and eating all the yummy food they wanted.

A Little About Ethan at Age 2
Obsessions: TRAINS and cars.  He still calls them "car cars" ever since my parents taught him to call them that when he was first learning to talk.  His favorite train is (of course) Thomas.  Which he called "Baudus" for a few solid months.  I kinda reinforced it because I thought it was so cute, but a few weeks ago he switched to "tome-is."

Another obsession - letters and numbers.  He can identify at least 15 letters on the computer keyboard all by himself.  He can count to 10 and when he get to 10, he says it really loud and claps for himself.  He loves watching this TV show called Leap Frog where they count to 10 in a song.  When the song is over, he says "again!" over and over and over.  At night before bed, he always wants to read the books that have numbers and letters for him to shout out.  There's a framed picture of the ABCs above the changing table in his room and he hops up after diaper changes and wants us to sing the ABCs to him.  He points to it and says, "ABCs!!"

Favorite Foods:  Everything.  He eats 500 calories regularly for breakfast alone.  A typical breakfast for him can be 2 packets of Quaker Maple and Brown Sugar oatmeal made with whole milk, a whole banana, and apple juice.  And be hungry 2 hours later.  Favorites would be, "mac-an-cheeeeeez" "a oinge" (clementines) "Oh-mea" (oatmeal) "a appol!"

Personality: He is still my sweet boy with a heart of gold.  Sometimes when I'm getting ready in the mornings, he'll run from the living room, to my bathroom yelling "mama kiss!" the whole way. Then kiss me and run back to the living room and repeat. That's a sweet boy right there. Today at church, he had to be sitting on my lap the whole time or at least laying in my lap.  His demeanor is mostly like Dave, but his cuddly-ness is all me.

He is easy going and entertains himself with cars, trucks, or puzzles really well.  But this boy does NOT want his freedom taken away.  If I lay him down for a diaper change or try to change him out of his pjs, and he's not ready or busy with something else, he will scream "NO! NO!" cry real tears and resist until I either have to physically restrain him, or give up and let him be in his diaper all morning.  It's about a 50/50 chance for either right now.

Favorite Books & Songs:  Favorite books are One Green Frog, Goodnight Gorilla (which he calls nigh go-lala), 5 Little Ducks and Peek a Who.  His favorite songs right now are I am Child of God (we sing it before bed every night - he sings it with me) ABCs, and Popcorn Popping. He also sings along to a few of the Thomas and Friends songs (adorable to hear him saying "they're a really useful crew" like he knows what that means).  He likes Twinkole Twinkole and repeats "up above" through the whole song because it's his favorite part.

A Little About Jane at Age 2
Obsessions: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse especially the character Pete (which is so hilarious to Dave and I because he is always the villain or most unlikeable character in every cartoon he's in).  She wakes up now and the very first word she says in a tiny crackly voice is, "Peeeeete?" Meaning that she either wants to read, color, or watch Mickey Mouse - specifically one with Pete as the star.  She can name every character from the show, "Donuck, Daysee, Mickay, Minnee, Puto, Goo-hee, and (of course) Pete."

Another obsession - girly things.  She wants me to swaddle her baby doll in her favorite blanket and then she holds the baby over her shoulder, pats her back, and says "shh shh shh."  It's probably the cutest thing I've ever seen.  She pretends to put on make up with my make up brushes, combs her hair and wants to pick out her outfits some days.  She is a total girl.  When I put on a cute outfit, she'll run to find Dave and walk up to him with a big smile on, wanting him to notice.  He usually says, "Oh Janey, you look so pretty."  Everything is "cute" these days.  Including (you guessed it) Pete.

Favorite Foods: Jane doesn't get excited about many foods.  She is too busy thinking about how to socialize to eat.  But when she does get excited, most of the time it's over refried beans, mandarin oranges, or fruit snacks.  When we go out to eat at a restaurant (whether or not it's for mexican food) she'll yell "BEANS!" when we sit down in the booth.  Since she's a little on the pickier side when it comes to food, we fill in with applesauce squeezies a lot right now.  Hoping it doesn't last too long (I think she had 4 today and those things are not cheap).

 Personality: She is still my little firecracker.  She wakes up with an agenda and goes to sleep at night with an agenda.  She is so smart and can talk so well, but can't express all the ideas that her mind comes up with, so a lot of the day we spend guessing what she's trying to ask/tell us.  And when we get it right, she says, "ya" and skips in the direction of the desired item (kitchen, family room, etc). If (heaven forbid) we don't understand or guess right, we have a tantrum on our hands.  Full fledged, on the ground, legs kicking, screaming, tantrum.  

She is such a sweetie though and can sit in your lap and cuddle you (while holding her puppy) and watch shows or reads books with you.  She's very social. Instead of playing with toys, her preference 9 times out of 10 would be to walk, talk, or help you with anything and everything.  She's been helping me load the dishwasher lately.  She's strong willed, she knows what she wants, and although it can be trying at times, I'd rather have her this way than any other way.

Favorite Books & Songs: Her favorite books right now are Goodnight Moon, Who's Hiding (lift the flap book about finding an owl), My Goodnight Book (an adorable book my grandma gave me in 1987), and a Sesame Street book about cuddling your favorite stuffed animal for bedtime.  Her favorite songs are If You're Happy and you Know It (we sing it before bed time) and London Bridges.  She only wants to sing those songs and if I start to sing a different song she usually says, "No, fall down" or "happee."