24 Months

Words cannot express how much I'm in love with this kid. Even on the "tough" days I find it hard not to laugh at his ingenuity, marvel at his intelligence, and be ever so overwhelmed by how much he means to me. To be honest he has become my Buddy; we chat it up for the length of most car rides and have a short hand when it comes to understanding each other. If I'm driving by myself I often will start to call out when I see a tractor, horse, or fire engine. While I do feel silly for a brief moment I can't help but enjoy the appreciation for these things that Reed has taught me all over again.

I know we have so many adventures and milestones ahead of us, I really can't wait to see what the next year brings us. At the same time I wouldn't mind putting a pause on life and soaking in all that this two year old has to offer.

This last month Reed has started to identify some of the letters of the alphabet (a,b,c,h,j,m,o,p,r,s,x,y,z) and loves reading any book or playing any game that involves letters. He's also really fond of "reading" books, which used to just mean flipping through the pages, but now he'll make up stories to go along with the pictures, or if it is a book we read often, he will regurgitate memorized lines. He does the same with songs - if I say "Ray" he'll follow with "drop of golden sun." He's also taken to concepts like short/tall, near/far, in/out, over/under, etc. in the last few weeks.

Monthly Statistics

Weight: 28 lbs

Height: 35 inches

Clothing Size: 18-24 month bottoms still work well, but his short sleeve shirts are all suddenly belly shirts. The few 2T (and even 3T) tops he has fit him great.

Shoe Size: 6.5 or 7 depending on the brand

 

Teeth:  16  -  8 on the bottom, 8 on the top - I think! He's been working on his two year molars for weeks, but getting to see into that mouth is nearly impossible and some may have come in.

 

Reed likes: Playing dress up with hats, shoes, and sunglasses, Soft Sheep and Pup to sleep with, and all his other stuffed animals to play with, balls, reading books, anything related to farming or cowboys, playing outside, Dodger, blocks, going to gym class, bath time, his Grandma and Nonna, sidewalk chalk and doing "artwork," his tunnel,  watching El Perro y Gato with Dad, cooking with Mom, anything that has to do with water, playing with his Star Wars guys, and listening to music with Dad.

 

Reed dislikes: Still pretty dependent on his level of exhaustion - what's fine one day may just be the end of the world the next!

 

Nicknames: Reedster, Reedcito, Buddy, Monkey, Dictator-tot, Kooky Monster, Dingle Berry Jones, Darlin', and Honey Bear. He knows who calls him each of these names and will tell you what the nickname is if prompted.

Food: His favorites remain the same and he still struggles with veggies, but loves "sauces" (purees that have fruit and veggies in them) and eats those for snacks almost daily. We've tried a few new meals this last month, two surprise hits were dairy free enchiladas with lots of veggies and a grilled eggplant and cabbage wrap from Trader Joes.

Communication: Reed's sentences are getting more and more complete. He has started to use "I" correctly but also likes referring t himself in the third person.

How Reed is sleeping:  He goes to bed around 7:30pm and has been making it to between 5:30 and 6:00 am most mornings. We are still using the toddler night light, the pacifier is still around ( I'm still SLOWLY taking small cuts out of), a sound machine going, his two "guys" Soft Sheep and Pup, but no sleep sack. He goes down for his nap between noon and 1:00pm and sleeps 2-3 hours.

***I know this occurred after he officially hit 24 months, but he now has a twin mattress on the floor in his room and has successfully slept through the night once and taken a nap on it once (both times it took him a while to settle into it, but he LOVES the idea so that is awesome).

 

Favorite Moment:

One morning while Reed was eating breakfast I was on a step stool trying to reach into the cabinet above the refrigerator. I heard Reed say something like "strucklin" and I thought he was asking for something to eat. After a few repeats I realized he was trying to say "struggling." He was right, and I couldn't stop laughing at his comment.

 

Milestones:
Reed pees in the potty one time.
He gives up his sleep sack
Reed blows a bubble out of a wand.

Favorite Photo Shoot Outtake: So I bought this hat last year for Reed's 1st Birthday that is adorable. My plan is/was to use it every year. Even when he gets older. I won't make him wear it at a party or anything, but at least give me a photo op at some point during the day. You can see for yourself what Reed thought of that idea this year: