Becoming 3reillys When 2reillys add one to the team.

If I never hear the word “no” again…

My lord, it’s like there was a switch that turned on last week. He is completely and totally TWO. Ak!!!

Two years old!

Yesterday was Jack’s second birthday! I greeted him in the morning with balloons and a silly party hat. He gave me the “you’re silly” smile and was rowdy to see “blue train” (Thomas) on one of the balloons. We went to the New England Aquarium, and he looked at the penguins and a couple fish, but his favorite part was riding a blue (subway line) train. Trains are a big thing these days. His mantra is “purpletrainfasttrainorangetrain” as quickly as he can possibly say it.

While he napped yesterday, I finished frosting his birthday cake. It took me the entire duration of his nap, two and a half hours. After his nap, he checked it out. I asked him if he knew what it was. He said that it was a purple train. I asked him if it looked like a purple train. He gave me a sly smile and said “yes” very slowly. I think he told his first white lie.

He loved the candles on the cake and our singing happy birthday to him. He asked us to do it again and again. I think we lit the candles and sang four times.

His language skills are pretty amazing these days. Tonight he read letters on a bottle of bath soap and remembered that s-l-e-e-p is “sleep.” Jay’s favorite recent story is about Jack reading the license plate on the back of Jay’s recently purchased car. “1-H-P-4-T-5.” He swiped his index finger across the letters and numbers and announced, “New car!”

He counts everything and counts for the sake of counting. He counts in spanish and french. A couple of weeks ago he started noticing punctuation in books and now points out, and announces, question marks and exclamation points. He runs and runs and runs and runs and walks and walks and runs. No jumping yet.

These days he doesn’t like being in close proximity to other people his size. He gets quite upset when he has a close encounter with another toddler on the playground. Everyone assures me that it’s normal that he’s become aware of the unpredictability of small children. And I know it’s a reasonable part of development, but I wish I could help his comfort level. His asthma has flared again thanks to another upper respiratory infection, so we’re doing fishie mask a lot. Though Jack doesn’t mind the mask these days — he likes the chance to watch his favorite video of the moment — Billy Jonas! Jack is definitely in the Bucket Brigade!

Jack is tall and strong and beautiful and brilliant. (Sound like a proud mama, do I? ;) I am so so thankful for him.

Random bits of our day

• Jack is rolling around in his crib right now, saying, “Up, down. Up, down. Up, down.”
• This morning at breakfast, Jack watched me put my breakfast together, yogurt with granola and blueberries. I put his cheerios, prunes, and blueberries in separate piles on his tray. He immediately put the prunes and blueberries on his cheerios.
• Also this morning, Jack drew circles for the first time!

Jack the Snowman

So they (local weather forecasting folk) said we would get 1-3 inches Saturday night into Sunday, and another inch Sunday evening. Heh. More like 8 inches with the first storm and another 7 with the second. Needless to say, the snow blower and shovels (and the saints who use them) have been busy around here.

Jack and I got bundled up and went for a walk around our house and the neighborhood this afternoon. Jack was interested in the snow. He poked at it  and brushed it. He has amazing balance and gets around really well in his little snow boots while all bundled.

We’re all excited about the inauguration here! Hooray!

Jack wins the bowling championship

Jack and his fishing buddies, Mike & Mike

Our little scientist

We went to the Museum of Science yesterday with Jack for the first time. Jack had a great time trotting around and looking at (and touching) things. He especially liked the life-size T-Rex with his winter scarf.

We are amazed with what Jack picks up and stores away in his mind. In the little kids’ area, they had a touch and feel section. Jack picked up a starfish and said, “star.” He picked up a ball and figured out the game by himself. When we were leaving, he saw we were parked on the third floor. “Three!” he announced.

His vocabulary grows every day. He recognizes letters and numbers and wants you to count and spell out everything he sees. He amazes me. I now understand why people say children are like sponges!

Afternoon nap haiku

The baby won’t stop
Crying. The boy loathes his nap.
I just want some peace.

Standing tall in the
Corner, he stares at the door.
Crib is his prison.

Selfish me, I want
Time: for chores, for lists, for play.
Crying freezes me.

A lull from upstairs.
He’s not yet asleep, but just
Put his head down. Peace.

Our little age-appropriate boy

 
Watching for trains near Forest Hills Station

I feel fortunate to have a number of “experts” in my family… the doctor, the dentist, the mom — you get the idea. I LOVE that my next door neighbor is a child development expert.

This afternoon when I saw her car pull up in the driveway, I ran outside to pick her brain. Jack is now scared of everything! Every noise, every sneeze, every time Jay or I are not in his line of sight, he get’s such a concerned/scared/stressed look on his face. Sometimes there’s a shriek or moan to go with it.

My expert assured me that he’s at the age where he’s learning that he is a separate and independent person, and thus can feel scared about the big world around him. It was good to hear that he’s “supposed” to feel like this at this age.

Yesterday Jack also had an evaluation for the Early Intervention services he’s received for the past year. It has been wonderful to have a physical therapist come to our home. It was a great help and comfort especially right after the surgery. Of course, Jack’s come such a long way since then, he won’t qualify for services again, but they (EI) conduct an exit evaluation to see where the child is in his development.

Our PT and a speech therapist came over yesterday to “play” with Jack. He had a good time showing off his toys and playing with their toys. At one point he put a simple puzzle together flawlessly on the first try and both women just looked at each other, surprised and pleased. It’s always nice to hear that your baby’s skills are age-appropriate, and even a little advanced.

March of the Penguin

Halloween came early this year! Meet Jack the Penguin. He didn’t mind the costume and actually enjoyed wearing the hat. He was wonderfully padded and huggable.

So the week before Halloween, our neighborhood has a lantern parade at the pond. Children get dressed up in their Halloween costumes and walk around the pond with homemade lanterns.

We let Jack walk on his own, and he did exactly what we thought he would do: walk 50 yards along the pond and turn and walk back, and turn around and walk the same 50 yards and walk back, and back and forth. He had a blast walking (more like waddling) along with all the bigger kids and adults and getting all the attention of other parents and grandparents cooing over his cuteness. He really was the hit of the party.

Jack’s favorite word these days is “Da-DEE!” He’s happy to oblige with a “Go GEE!” (Go Gators!) and he can moo like a cow and trumpet like an elephant. Now if only he could yelp like a penguin!