Wells is TWO!

I don't know how we got here, but our big boy is TWO YEARS OLD! Where did all the time go??? Here is what our 2 year-old is up to these days...

Beach snacking. #priorities

Measurements:

At his two year check-up, Wells weighed 31 pounds and was 34.5 inches tall (60th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight). He generally wears 2T clothing but can also wear a few 3T items as well if they run a little on the smaller side. He wears a size 8 shoe and is in a size 5 diaper. 

Someone decided that he needed to wear his beach hat with this outfit :)

Eating Habits:

Still a big eater, this guy. Like all toddlers, he has some days where he doesn't eat as much as normal, but for the most part, he has a huge appetite! He still loves pizza - he can put some slices down! He just recently started eating strawberries (he was not a fan before). He LOVES spicy food. He will sit with Eric and eat "hot chips" without batting an eye, while I have to gulp down water after eating just one. We've celebrated lots of birthdays lately, and Wells is not complaining about all the cakes (as you can see below. ha!)!

What? You don't eat your cake like this?

Sleeping Habits: 

Oh.My.Word. If your toddler never experienced the 2-year sleep regression, please go away and never talk to me again because WHOA. It happened at our house, and it was awful. About a month and a half ago, Wells started refusing to lay down and go to sleep. He would stand in his crib and scream bloody murder until we would go in and stay with him. He had never had any issues going down to sleep alone, and this came out of nowhere! After a couple of weeks, he started to get back to normal (although we aren't totally there yet), and we can usually tell him "I'll be right back" when we lay him down and he will fall asleep. With this regression came waking up in the middle of the night crying and wanting us to come in and stay with him again. This is the part we are still working on getting back to normal. Whew! It was rough for a while there but hopefully the end is near!

Vocabulary: 

His vocabulary gets bigger each and every day. He is stringing words together and singing some lines of songs. Some things of note that I want to remember forever are...

-He uses an "s" in place of "f"...so, we hear cute things like "sog (frog)" and "sall down (fall down), and my personal favorite "sish (fish)"

-His "r" is a "y" sound. So "rain" is "yain" and "red" is "yed."
-He still calls me "Na" like I mentioned in the last post, but he will occasionally call me Mama too. "Dad" is now "Daddy."

-I mentioned last time that Wells can count to 10. He doesn't really do that anymore but would rather call out random numbers. If you ask him how many of something there are, he almost always says "ten, nine" lately.

-He still knows his shapes, and we are working on letters now.
-He now knows colors very well - blue, green, yellow, orange, red, and purple.
-He loves to come up to Grayer and say "hey Dare (Grayer)." It is so sweet to hear every single time.
-Some songs he likes to sing are Twinkle Twinkle, Rain Rain Go Away, Ring around the Rosies, the Alphabet Train song, and Happy Birthday.
-He almost always says "nope" instead of "no."

With the birthday train conductor! 

Quirks & Miscellaneous:

-Wells is (and has been for about 2 months now) OBSESSED with all things trains. I mean, it is insane. He plays with his train table and toy trains all day. If he watches TV in the car, it's Thomas. He watches a few train videos on our phones, too. Everyday, we hear these phrases about 3,472 times: All aboard!, traaaaaaaaain, train tracks, Thomas train, big train, choo choo.
-We had a train-themed party for his 2nd birthday. He had a blast on the train my parents rented for him. We literally had to pull him off to come inside and see the rest of his party. He was in heaven and had so much fun.

-He hates sandals right now. Not great timing to be picky about this type of footwear since it's like 100 degrees outside right now. But nevertheless, he does not want any kind of strappy sandal on his foot. He has a pair like these that he will wear, but other than that, no sandals. 
-Wells' hair continues to get curlier and curlier. We love those curls and always get comments on them, but they can be downright WILD sometimes! I don't even bother to brush his hair anymore unless it's right after a bath or if it's just extra crazy on a particular day :)

-We are officially pacifier-free! Wells had gotten really attached to it in the last couple of months, but last week he went to bed one night without asking for it (he NEVER goes to sleep without it). In the last few days, he has not had it at all and has only asked for it once while we were out (I told him it was at home, and by the time we got back home, he had forgotten about it anyway). 

-Wells still loves to be the center of attention and make everyone laugh. He is such a little performer.
-So we gave potty training a go a few weeks ago. He did well with actually sitting and going. But he was not at the point where he would tell us if he needed to go. He would say "Oh no" after the fact :) ...so, I think we will try again soon. He did well, but I just think he needs a little more time to get it down. 
-He is not as stingy as he once was with giving kisses ("sugars"). When we leave a family get-together, he almost always gives them out generously. And he always says "mmmmmm" when going in for a kiss.
-He hates having his hair brushed, teeth brushed, and hair washed. As if we don't do these things on a regular basis day in and day out, he still acts like a maniac most of the time it's happening. 
-We went on a beach vacation with Eric's family a few weeks ago. He was not a fan of the water but played well in the sand and picked some seashells too. He also liked snacking in his little beach chair (can't blame him). We'll see if he warms up to the water as the summer progresses. My favorite part of the trip was when he learned the word "ocean" ...he says it with a French accent: "O-Shone."



Favorites:

Show - Thomas (or, as he calls it, "Tom Train")

Snack - Fruit snacks, yogurt covered raisins, veggie straws, cheese

Food - I don't think any food could replace his beloved pizza. He really seems to like rice lately (specifically spanish rice and fried rice).

Book - Railroad Hank. This book is too cute, and I think I love it as much as he does :)

Security Item - He still loves his muslin blankets, but he has never had to have one with him at all times. He just wants it if he sees it. And the paci is gone!

Toy/Activity - All trains all the time :) He is still an outdoor fella, which is rough during the summer and it is so hot out! He loves wrestling/chasing Daddy. 

Goodness gracious, we love this boy so much. I hate that he is growing up, but I love it at the same time! He is so much fun to be around and keeps us laughing, keeps us tired, and keeps us feeling blessed. I think 2 is going to be the most fun age yet! Love you, Wellsie-Man!

Grayer is FOUR Months!

So, I think that this month has been the shortest since little man has been born. Seriously, it flew by! Now our sweet Grayer is four months old - that just sounds so big! Here's how things are going for our second baby boy:

Weighs: At his 4-month appointment Grayer weighed 15 lbs and 2 oz and was a little over 25" long. He definitely has got some serious chunk going on!
Sleeps: Grayer is still doing well in his crib at night. I was fearing that he may go through the dreaded 4-month sleep regression that many babies experience (Wells was one of them). So far, nothing. Praise the Lord! And let's hope he avoids it altogether. He usually sleeps a good 5 hour stretch after going down for bed and will then wake up about 3 hours later to eat again. Then he's back to sleep for another hour or two before waking for the day. His napping has gotten more routine this month. He takes a morning nap about an hour or two after waking up in the morning. He takes a long early/mid afternoon nap, and then he usually takes a short cat nap sometime around dinner. I used to hate that and think it would affect his night sleeping, but it hasn't so far and he seems to need it.
Eats: I think he has started eating more this month (nursing). He gets a little bit of cereal at night, usually with a fruit or veggie. Like we did with Wells, we started Grayer on food about two weeks before he turned 4 months old (the pediatrician gave us the go-ahead with Wells, and we decided to do the same this time around as well). So far he has had bananas, peas, peaches, and apples. I have been making his food and loving it just like I enjoyed doing for Wells.
Wears: He can still (barely) fit in his 3-month clothes. He is mostly wearing 3-6 month clothes and is starting to wear some 6-month outfits now. He is still in a size 2 diaper.
Plays: Grayer is so fun right now! He is such a smiley baby. If you talk to him or smile at him, he will almost always give you a smile. And he laughs quite a bit now, too, which is just adorable. He is starting to grab some toys and his blanket/burp cloth/whatever is near him. I tried him in the doorway jumper the other day and he seemed to like it. He didn't really jump, but I think he liked just being up in that position. He loves to stand when you are holding him (and sometimes even jump), so I thought he may enjoy it. I foresee lots of doorway-jumping this month :). He still loves the bath and loves when we go on walks, as well. He is enamored when watching Wells play. Anytime Wells is near, Grayer's eyes are glued on him, and many times he just smiles the sweetest smile. It is the sweetest!

Our boy has a few quirks of his own: he sticks his tongue out all the time and will mimic you if you stick yours out at him; he has an incredible talent of spitting up all over anyone/anything but completely missing himself; and he does the cutest, most dramatic little cough when he cries :) Grayer really has had a good month. We are FINALLY completely out of the colic stage. The last few weeks have been so much better for him (and us, ha!), and we are so thankful that the crying stage is over!!! This new, happier Grayer is a pretty chill guy. He is very go-with-the flow and just likes to take it all in. He still loves being held, especially by me, but I can't complain about it! Love those sweet snuggles. Happy 4 months, Grayer-Bear!