Griffin is 2!

Griffin is 2!

As of 2 years old Griffin's little personality is really starting to show itself. He is one independent little guy, and prefers to do most things himself.

So here is what's new with Griffin at 2 years old:

- He has an ever expanding vocabulary, mommy, "nanny"=Daddy, recently started saying Coen and Iffin (Griffin), "motter"= Water, Milk, no, car, Abu (any grandma aged woman), good morning, hi, bye,
- He loves torturing the dogs or "gago" as he calls them and any other dog he sees. He especially loves feeding Titus cheerios
- He loves his "babies" the white and black dog and blue dinosaur and recently his little grey dog also needs to be with him.
- Has no fear, and climbs up on everything including the counter stools, tables, beds, etc.
- Loves anything to do with water, the water table, washing his hands, baths
- Gives the sweetest hugs and kisses and says "mmmmuah" when i ask for a kiss
- Has been the easiest kid to put to bed until a couple months ago when he started crying everytime he was put down. Usually only cries for a few minutes before settling, but also had a phase of only wanting his Dad to put him to bed. Goes to bed around 7pm and is up around 6:30am most days.
- He also recently has been fighting his naps, but we have figured out that he doesn't want to miss out on all the fun so if he see's Coen going into his room at the same time then he will have a good 2 hour nap. Is this bad that i'm tricking him and using his brother as my accomplis? :)
- He can point out most of his body parts
- Loves playing with his brother, cars on the track, coloring, duplo, play dough, running, playing in sand, bubbles, books, trains,
- Refuses to go in a booster or high chair and is becoming a bit more picky with food. It gets a bit tricky because he insists on feeding himself, which makes things ever so messy. Favorites right now are fruit, hamburgers, cheerios, yogurt, smoothies, yams, crackers.

So excited to watch this little man grow up, he continues to be a super chill guy for the most part, with the odd tantrum here and there, but he's 2 now so I use that as an excuse for him :) We love you so much Griffin!

Coen is 2 and half!

So Coen officially became a 2 and a half year old as of Apr. 30th. I figure i'll try to do a semi annual update for now, who knows how long it will last, but I find he has changed so much since he was 2.
So at 2 and a half he
- Has moved to a big boy bed (shortly after his 2nd birthday)
- Has been potty trained since 25 months with the 3 day potty training method, painful 3 days but worth it in the end.
- Has progressed with his words like crazy! Amazing what a difference in communication skills 6 months brings, seems like he has new words everyday, and he understands so much, he repeats everything we say … must be very careful!
- says picky up picky up
- still loves "Manny" and "Bobby" became his 2nd must have stuffy shortly after his 2nd bday
- sleep has become a problem area, tricky to get to bed sometimes, and up multiple times a night for some reason, not sure if he is having nightmares or what, but hopefully this is just a phase. We thought he was done napping, but I don't think he's quite ready to totally drop them yet. He's ok if he misses it once in a while though.
- needs to have a high five, fist bump, hug and kiss before going to bed, and then finish off the routine with "pillow top". For whatever reason he sleeps on his belly with Manny in 1 arm, Bobby in the other and he needs his pillow on top of his head
- has gone from terrified of swimming lessons to LOVING them. He can now doggy paddle without me holding him (with floaties on)
- is obsessed with cars, trains, and balls, he also has recently started playing with duplo
- is the best big brother I ever could have imagined, he always makes Griffin smile or laugh and for the most part is super gentle with him, the best is he has started saying "hi cutie" to him
- if Griffin is upset and I ask Coen to go make him happy he goes over and pets his head or talks to him, which almost always makes Griffin smile
- goes to daycare once a week and kids den for an hour while Griffin and I are at strollersize 3 times a week. Every morning he says mommy play with friends? Play cars? Play thomas?
- Still a pretty good eater most of the time, aba jam is his fav (Peanut butter, he can say it properly but usually says aba jam)
- Loves toopy and beanu, truck town, Harold and the purple crayon
- For some reason constantly says Mommy wake up! or Daddy wake up!
- loves Amma and Abu
- Is so adorable when he pretend plays, he particularly likes to pretend to feed us. I love hearing him playing on his own, he often has high pitched voices for his pretend interactions with his animals/cars I could listen to this all day long.
- is very aware of his clothes, whatever shirt he wears he points out to people if there is a truck on it or motorcyle, or stripes, etc. He also prefers to wear "soft pants" instead of jeans
- hates getting wet or spilling anything on himself, he immediately wants to "change" or gets a towel to wip up his spill (which I LOVE)
- is easily bribed with "gummies" or "bars" to get him to leave something fun

Coen is 2!

Yup it's true … Coen turned 2 on Oct.30th! I can't believe 2 years have flown by already! Seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital! So we had a small, fun little monster themed birthday party for this special boy of ours.

Here's a few fun facts about our 2 year old:

-He loves all his stuffed animals, and in fact sleeps with all of them, but his Manny (stuffed bunny, used to be called Manu) is his best bud.
-He is still sleeping in his crib, and rarely wakes up at night. Our previous early riser has started sleeping until 7/8am, which is glorious (especially with a newborn in the house)
-He loves to color, play with "stickies" (stickers) "bubbies" (bubbles, or bubble guppies), "dungees" (Dinosaurs), cars, choo choo's, boats,
-Loves Manu, which is what he calls Toopie and Beanu, his favorite TV show
-Slightly obsessessed with the moon! He loves to look at the moon, and it's actually the easiest way for us to get him to go to bed (lets go look at the moon!)
-Can identify pretty much every letter of the alphabet. L is the only one he has trouble with
-Recently has developed the skill of being able to jump with both feet
-Loves to "bount" on the bed when he's given a chance
-Gives the best hugs
-Has the cutest pucker, sticking out his bottom lip
-He has a pretty advanced palate, and for the most part eats just about anything, including any ethnic foods (indian, thai, chinese)
-He loves Olives, broccoli, grapes, oranges, cheerios, peanut butter sandwiches, granola bars, and those pureed fruit squeeze packages are still a fav as well.
-He has dealt with the adjustment of becoming a big brother amazingly, we couldn't have asked for it to go much smoother.
-We have been told by numerous people that he is such a good boy, well natured, and a gentle soul.

We love you so much Coen, and can't wait to see what the next year brings ❤
Here are a few photos from the past year.