From NC to PA...: 24 Month Recap

Woo hoo! I made it through 2 years of monthly updates! I'm not sure if I'll stick to the same format moving forward, but I will at least have a "photo dump" of photos taken from my iPhone from time to time since they are the best at capturing "everyday life" as seen through my eyes.

April was a great month! Of course the highlight was Nolan turning 2 and his birthday party along with all the Easter festivities (egg dyeing and easter egg hunt)! Busy month! Plus, spring finally came bringing some gorgeous weather and more outdoor time - I appreciate it SO much more after the winter we lived through this year.

First sign of SPRING! New crocus in our yard that I planted last fall.

Nolan Lucas - 24 Months

Nolan Stats - 24 Months

Language

This is such a fun time. I know I'm repeating myself, but I'm just absolutely astounded how much Nolan is learning each and every day. I find myself asking Joe constantly, "Did you hear what he just SAID?!" This is definitely the prime time to watch what you say as it will get parroted right back at us. We've had a couple of slips with horrifying results, so we're working on it! :)

Some funny "Toddler Pronunciations"/favorite phrases:
I DO IT!
Yike it (don't like it)
no want to (don't want to)
Orner (orange)
Up in da SKY!
Knockaober! (knock it over)
Mommy/Daddy - "Nolan, how does it taste?" Nolan - "It's NUMMY!" (or It's good!)
Bankent (blanket)
Espeese (puzzle piece)
Moke (milk)
Moke and a caillou (his favorite combo before bed)
beeseball (baseball)
baskentball (basketball)
Not This One!

Favorites

Color = Yellow (he is getting more and more obsessed!)

PJs = Planes or Santa. He gets upset if he has to wear anything else. Which is bad news because those are fleece ones for winter, so i just purchased new ones in hopes he'll latch on to something more weather appropriate!

Toys = BALLS! Soccer ball, beach ball, basketball, bouncy ball, beach ball - he loves them all (and wants to punt them!) He also loves his mega blocks and wants to build the "big tower" and "knockadown!", train set, puzzles, helicopter and "guys" (action figures - from his bday)

A boy and his helicopter (and a pretzel stick)

Look of concentration while building "the big tower!"

He loves stringing the single blocks together

Master Stacker

Songs = Baa baa black sheep, Bumblebee, Wheels on the bus, I'm a little teapot, Ring around the rosie, Old MacDonald. I love hearing him singing to himself throughout the day. It doesn't get much more adorable than that.

Show = Caillou. Gone are the days where we could substitute any other show (yo gabba gabba, super why, thomas). Nope - just caillou and only caillou! He could watch for hours and be perfectly content! Tempting....

Books = Planes by Byron Barton (new from his birthday and he is obsessed!), Trucks (lift the flap book - also new), Red Truck, Cat in the Hat, Daddy Hugs. He's getting very picky/particular about which books to read (and in all other parts of his life!)

Food = Pasta, Pizza, Bagels, Fruit cups, Bananas, Plum pouches, Fruit snacks, cheese sticks, hot dog, sausage, meatballs, deli turkey/ham, rice, beans. He's always been picky, but now he has the awareness to systematically pick out things he doesn't like when I mix in veggies/etc into pasta/rice. Stinker!

Mac n Cheese!

Future chef!

Things to remember at this age

Nolan loves standing at the bottom of the stairs and throwing bouncy balls up and watching them fall down.
Nolan is a great punter! He can punt many different kinds of balls (including a real soccer ball!) higher than his head! I cannot wait to sign this kid up for soccer - maybe as early as next year!

Look at that form!

He plays goalie too :)

His brain moves faster than his feet (which still move very fast!) he's constantly tripping over his own feet because he's not watching where he's going!
Kate Woo came to visit again! We took advantage of one of the most perfect weather weekends to meet her in Philly and just hang out in Rittenhouse square. Nolan had a great time playing with his ball and loved seeing all the transportation/hustle and bustle of the city. Such a fun time!

Nolan in Rittenhouse park

He loves JUMPING! and skips with just one foot forward :)

Jump!

So high!

He has been sleeping amazingly! He reliably goes to bed ~8:30am and sleeps until 10am on the weekends (I wake him up around 8am on the week days). Here's hoping he's a late riser like his mom!

The one night he ended up in our bed when he was sick

The sweetest boy

His favorite before bed routine is to snuggle up under the blanket (only the one that Grace knitted for our wedding that resembles the nittany lion scarf!) with mommy and his milk sippy cup watching caillou. It calms him down! We then take him upstairs and read a few books together in his room before bed.

Watching Caillou under his favorite "blankent"

Mommy and Nolan snuggles before bed

Bathtime is turning the corner! New bath toys really helped (transportation-themed foam pieces, boats, and bath-friendly mega blocks). Now the tears are getting out of the tub!

crying because he didn't want to get out

The tantrums are getting more frequent. It's almost at the point where we can't do REALLY fun stuff unless we have unlimited time to do it because it's almost certain that a tantrum will occur when it's time to finish up. This goes for the end of Caillou shows, going indoors after playing outside, taking away any balls he's playing with, swings, etc.
He's getting a stronger opinion! When in the car, he only wants to listen to kid songs, and if I put anything else on he says "not this one!"
The swings are his happy place! (and he never wants to leave)

Daddy pushing!

Big boy swing!

Changing him is getting harder and harder! He hates getting his diaper changed and/or clothing changes. Each morning he pulls his sleeper closed and says "ON ON!" or "Dinours/Santa (whatever he is wearing) ON!".
Getting sick makes a clingy boy even MORE clingy!

trapped under Nolan during naptime. He would not let go of mommy

Sick baby!

Want a way to keep a toddler busy? Fill the sink with soapy water and give him some containers :) We will be getting a water table for outside this summer!