26 Month's Old

So all of a sudden you are 26 months old 

(and 18 days at the point of writing this.)

Or depending how you wish to look at it...

115 weeks or 810 days.

Or 19440 hours..

Or 1166400 minutes..

or even...69984000 seconds...

My point is, you are growing up. 

Right before my very eyes.

I haven't thought of your age in months for a while. 

When every anyone asks how old you are my reply is that you are two. 

But I think it is important to remember that you are still a relatively young two.

All of a sudden you are your very own little person with a very distinct personality. 

You tell me all about what you are wanting and how you would like to spend the day ahead.

Ever since your holiday and your very first bus ride, you have been telling me how you want to go on another adventure. But that adventure MUST involve either a train ride, or a bus.

Anywhere you go where we cross paths with a big red bus, you play your face. You want a ride and you want a ride there and then. Who knew that your perfect day out would consist of hopping on a bus?

All of your latest and greatest words seem to have everything to do with transport. You tell me 'Car', 'Choo' 'Wheels' and 'Bus'. 'Choo' of course means train, and maybe for anyone else they may look at you side ways wondering what on earth you are talking about... But those closet to you know exactly what you mean.

You seem to be coming out with new things all of the time these days, some things I know that you certainly haven't picked up at home. Take your first outburst of 'Oh My God' that sprung unexpectedly out of your mouth in front of Granny back in August as she filmed you on your balance bike. I think that has come from the boy next door as he exclaims it frequently as Tigger decides to hop into their garden. It just shows that you are taking in absolutely everything that you hear. Every little thing we think you may not have actually heard. 

You are an all seeing all knowing little guy.

If you do something you shouldn't and I say 'Oh...Leo' you have taken to saying 'Oh... Mumma' back to me. Of course this is dependent on who has frustrated you, you can differ your feelings in this manner to Granny, Dadda or even baby Josh! 

I noticed a few weeks back that you were using your plastic drill in a very strange way, it looked like you were performing stealth moves as you criss crossed around the room, slightly slumped as though you were an under cover secret agent. You looked as though you were pretending your drill was actually a gun! It didn't take me long to piece together the information... You have been sneaking into your Uncle Chris's room to play Xbox... and apparently Call of Duty....

What is really putting a smile on my face these days is everything that you are remembering. You recognise places that you have been. You remember things within those places and cannot wait to go back and tell me all about them. 

You are going through a complete and utter Mummy phase at present, wanting to be with me all the time and saying 'no' when I tell you I have to go to work. You are fine after I do go to work, but when I come back you attach yourself like a lippet and don't want me to put you down again. It's like you know that very soon I have to head back to the office again.  

Your love of vehicles streams right into what you are liking to watch on the television, although you are still loving Timmy Sheep and Mike the Knight... Disney Pixar Car's has stormed into the house and you seem to watch it most days. In fact I have sat and watched it with you so frequently now that I have even found myself wondering how Tow Mator even wrote that letter to Lightning McQueen? Funnily enough... They don't show you this in the film, because how on earth could they get a car to hold a pen!?

All the toys you are playing with at present have wheels! You are just smitten with cars, trucks, busses and trains. You are found each and every day with your favourite cars in hand, pushing them around the television stand or putting them down ramps, all the while perfecting your car noises as they hurtle around.

As for naps you are still so reliant on at least one a day. We seem to be mainly down to one sleep around 11am but you can sleep for hours on end, and if you don't get this nap then we are in for it when dinner time strikes. You don't handle being tired very well at all, and usually will refuse dinner and just head straight to sleep. 

You are at an age now where I can explain why we cannot watch Timmy on the television again, or go and feed the ducks just yet... Because they have 'gone to bed to go to sleep'. This is an explanation you seem to accept and understand. You like to tell me how all these different things have gone to 'bed'...But when you say it little man it really comes across as 'dead'. Which admittedly can be a little awkward when you decide to point at strangers....Thankfully you don't have your drill at this point!

So Leo, this is you at 26 months old. All of the things that have stood out for me at this point in your life. I like to keep everything noted so I can look back at what you liked doing and what you didn't like doing. Everything you do, every little milestone is going to be remembered. Every little thing that may otherwise be forgotten, like your love for trains and bus's, or how you played your face for Disney Car shoes....not forgetting how you had already started taking your shoes off before I had even checked for your size on the rack!

And of course... This means I will never forget any of your latest 'tricks'. So Leo feast your eyes on your latest favourite party gimmick, and please remember that you grunt like a pig at the same time.

My little prince charming hey?

'Yeah' Is the Word!

Leo has always been particularly good at saying 'no'

He could shake his head to tell us he didn't want what we had to offer before he even said his first word.

He has never been particulary good at saying 'yes' for anything. 

Except chocolate of course! 

These days I can ask Leo any number of questions...

'Are you Mummy's friend'?

'Is Daddy Silly'?

'Do you love Mummy'?

And Leo will say 'Yeah'. 

Clear as day.

He just melts my heart as he is such a scrummy little human!

Of course there are a few questions that still get the usual 'no' and shake of a head...

'Have you done a poo'? always gets the usual head bob. He very rarely owns up to the fact that he actually has. 

I asked Leo this afternoon during my lunch break whether I should go back to work or not, and he suddenly shook his head and gave me the biggest cuddle. When it came to me telling him it was time for me to leave, he started to cry a little and nuzzled his head further into my lap, just like he does when I tell him it is time to go to bed. 

Leo stood in the doorway with Granny while I climbed into my car and wound down the window, and as I shouted 'Bye baba!', Leo shouted 'Bye Baba' right back at me. Before he replaced that with 'Mama'. 

Leo really is coming on, and just yesterday I got a fab little video of Leo 'Quack Quaking' and saying 'Oh Sugar!' 

I just had to share!

19 Months

19 months old is an amazing age, in fact I am loving everything that comes along with toddlerhood. I love that Leo is comprehending the ways of the world and that look that he gives me if I say something foreign to him, a look that says ‘what the hell is she on about!?’

But when Leo is not giving me that one particular look, he is absorbing everything like a little sponge. Taking in everything I tell him and everything I try to teach him.

Recently we have become really good at our animal noises, we can ‘Baa’, ‘Moo’, ‘Oink’, ‘Quack’, ‘Squeak’, ‘Meow’ and of course ‘Woof’. We have been practicing when we go out and about, when we see the animal on the television and it has clicked with my little man. If we so much as see a Dog passing us by he has to say ‘Woof, Woof’ just to let me know, I had never noticed that there were so many dogs down our road!

One subject I have been speaking very passionately about to little Leo recently is cleanliness, and telling him how important it is for him not to play around with the bin because it is ‘dirty’. Dirty is now another word that he tells me whenever he gets into the kitchen and pops the button on the bin to have a little peak inside while telling me ‘bin’ all the while.

With Leo’s understanding of the bin housing rubbish, he will now take any rubbish that he finds around the house (usually ones he has taken and hidden…) and puts it in the bin. He seems to spy it with his curious eyes and then takes it directly into the kitchen and disposes of it in the correct manner. Each time he does it he gets a standing innovation of applause, because he is just too clever for his own good. If I pass him an item of rubbish now and ask him to take it to the bin, he does exactly that!

Although for Leo to get to the bin his has to pass the oven and suffice to say he does get distracted. He opens up my grill and tells me ‘sausages’ like that is the only item of food we ever eat! I can reassure you all now that this is not the case…At this moment in time Leo is just loving the word and he knows that the grill is where we do cook them, if and when we have them. It just demonstrates to me that his memory is coming on in leaps and bounds, expect for when he is supposed to be throwing rubbish in the bin of course!

What’s fascinating is that Leo is still taking everything in even when the conversation is not directed at him, I can be talking away to Luke when Leo will repeat a single word from our conversation back to us, and it really does get me thinking about just how careful I have to be. There have been a few occasions now where Leo has tried to put two words together or repeat longer words back to me, and over the last few weeks his talking has really come on!

Just yesterday I mentioned that I had a message, and my little parrot repeated ‘message’ back to me clear as day. I can’t help feeling really proud of him, and this whole talking lark is one very exciting journey that I am so happy to be a part of.

2013 is already seeing Leo become more vocal with new words coming around daily, his understanding about the things I talk to him about is becoming more apparent and I know that he is going to be a right little chatter box before long!

18 Months Old

My how time is flying Leo, 18 months have now passed since your arrival.

1 whole year and 6 months.

You are learning so much, from simple actions to brand new words and you can make me understand exactly what you want. There are of course moments that you cannot get your view across but it won't be long before you learn more words that will eliminate that budding frustration.

Over the last few weeks you seem to have come out with so many new words, and with these words has come more of an understanding. You have a fascination with 'toast' and it seems that given half the chance you would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

Over Christmas you received so many imaginative toys, one of which was a beautiful wooden kitchen. As expected you loved it straight away and got to cooking me many yummy dinners. You would take the spoon and stir around in one of your pots and when I asked you if you were cooking porridge, you replied 'orridge'. Now you cook me porridge all the time, along with lots of toast of course.

It is lovely watching you play your make believe games and putting all of your plastic food into the oven, the pizza and the cake seem to be firm favourites at present. You bring the pizza over to me to eat and when I ask for more you shake your head from side to side while beaming me a big cheeky grin. Your such a little monkey!

I took you shopping the other day just as the sun was setting, the rest of the sky was dark but there was one big open stretch of red sky that looked beautiful. It certainly captured your attention. I pointed to the sky and so did you, you said 'sky' and then your innocence shone through. You thought the sky was on fire and blew with all your might to try and blow out the sky fire. 

Your innoncence is just beautiful. 

Other words you have been saying over the last few weeks have been:

- Bird

- Car

- Aya (Alice)

- Cha (Chris) 

- Granddad

- Star

- Cheese 

- Juice

At 18 months old you run everywhere instead of walking and you finally seem to have cracked sleeping through the night. This sleep malachy really does put a big smile on my face, but maybe I shouldn't have written this because it usually seems that as soon as I blog my joy at your sleeping, you revert!

I love watching you grow into the little person that you are always becoming, but with only 6 months to go until you turn 2 I am left wondering how my little baby boy got so big. Don't you remember me telling you to slow down over and over again? 

I can promise you that 2013 is going to be full to the brim of fun, we are going to take this year by storm and do so much together. 

Mummy

xx