For those of you who are still counting (aka me. although I think I am starting to finally lose count) Jack Bean is officially 27 months old. I'm totally #sorrynotsorry about this but I need to brag on my kid a little so that's what this post (entire blog? lol!) is all about.
He's so smart it scares me sometimes. Scares me because I worry I am not doing enough to foster his potential. I sound like a pretentious jerk I'm sure, but I also am just a parent who wants the best for her child. I worry sometimes that my lazy days where I park him in front of Little Einsteins on the iPad for an hour so I can get caught up on my most recent episode of iZombie could be causing some sort of delay. The mama guilt....
But really, I think it's fine. Or at least that is what I tell myself so I can sleep at night. lol. By the end of a couple
several episodes of Team UmiZoomi or his most recent favorite: Little Einsteins aka "Rocket Ship Show," he is already talking about something new he's learned or some adventure he wants to go on. So then we go outside and pretend to hike to the stop of a pyramid to see the great sphinx or row our boat to the Golden Gate Bridge. It's pretty fun.
All in moderation, right?
iPad time :)
Really, I just want to make sure I am helping Jack learn and I guess the best way to do that is through play. I mean, he's two. I just love watching him learn and grow. It's fascinating to see. I haven't really ever had the desire to become a professional educator, but being around a toddler with this giant sponge of a mind does make me think it is probably so cool for teachers to watch their students learn and master new concepts.
Mostly I just love this stage of the funny stuff he says. I post probably one funny thing everyday or so to Facebook to share with family and friends, but there are lots more I don't share because I am probably already way oversharing as it is, or what he says is completely inappropriate/gross (did you kids are gross?! LOL)
Plus, I also recognize I'm not the only parent out there who thinks her kid is the coolest thing since sliced bread.
Some of our recent conversations:
Me: "Do you really still need that paci, Jack?"
Jack: "Yes, mommy. I need my paci."
Me: "But big boys don't use paci's and you're a big boy now."
Jack:*Tosses his hands out to the side.* "Of course big boys need a paci's!"
There was definitely an implied "duh" and an eye roll that followed that statement. #toddlerattitude
Another one...
Me: "Jack, how far away is the moon?"
J: "It's way too far away. We need a rocket ship to get to that moon."
Me: "Oh? Where can we find a rocket ship?"
J: "We find one if we become astronauts. I be a tiny astronaut and you be a big astronaut, mommy!"
Problem solved.
And on Tuesday when it was #NationalBestFriendDay, I told Jack:
"Happy Best Friend's Day, Jack!"
Jack: "You my best friend too, mama! I WUV you!" *hug*
The sweetest...:)
And one gross one just because it was really funny.
Jack: "I pooped lots of them poops!"
So proud, son.
He can count to 30 still and recognizes numbers all the way up to 20. He knows all his shapes, colors and animals like the back of his hand. He's really picking up on identifying letters now too. He's definitely always shown more of an interest in numbers and shapes than in comparison to letters though, which is interesting and the complete opposite of me. (probably a good thing. ha.) Maybe one day he'll become a mathematician. :)
Despite the fact that Jack is a little smartie pants, he is still just a two year old, which means we have our tough days too. He's generally in pretty good spirits and is mindful unless he's tired or hungry or teething or didn't get a good nap or woke up on the wrong side of the bed or someone told him no... You know, all the things that make toddlers angry. hahaha.
Potty training is not awesome.
I We just really aren't in the mood. Sounds lazy? Yes, But we also have some major projects/travel going on right now and I am perfectly fine paying a little bit longer to buy diapers/wash cloth diapers until we are both ready to potty train. Jack is ready, but I'm sure not. lol.
I was going through my phone in anticipation of doing this blog post to see if I had any worthy pics of late, but I am taking fewer and fewer pics. It's just so difficult to catch him actually sitting. He's always going and going and playing and learning and it's awesome, but definitely tough to catch with the camera. Blurry photos are the name of the game for sure.
He's still my skinny man with only 27 pounds on him. I actually just found a picture from his nine month well check and he was 19 pounds! He's only gained 8 pounds in the past 18 months!! What?! He is eating better though so that is nice. He's almost weaned from nursing entirely as well. He's finally fitting better into his 2T clothes, but still wears a lot of 24 months. The length on the 2T stuff fits great, it's just too big around the waist. He's about 37 ish inches? I need to double check. ha.
Favorite foods:
*Chicken
*Popcorn
*Celery and peanut butter
*Most fruits
*Watermelon being the most favorite right now.
*Carrots
*Bell peppers
*And Ramen noodles....(we don't do that one much, but he still loves it.)
He has not yet weaned from that paci though (see above mentioned convo)... I know. I need to be more firm, but right now it's not causing a lot of issues, so I am not too worried about it. I think after our trip coming up, I am going to get more serious about it. lol.
A friend and I were just talking the other day about how it is so easy to see a child's personality from a young age and Jack's personality is definitely out there already. I'm interested to see how it changes as he gets older, or if he stays similar to how he is now.
*He's loyal, loves his friends and family. Has his "favorites" for sure.
*He is inquisitive. Always asking me questions about how things work, why things happen the way they do, etc.
*He's all about problem solving. "We have a big problem! I need ___ to fix ___" is a statement I hear A LOT.
*He is sweet. He knows when he hurts me (intentionally or accidentally) and is quick to apologize. He constantly tells people thank you and please without me having to prompt him. He's also started asking me if I'm okay. "You okay, mommy? You sad? You happy?" It's really cute.
*He is sensitive. He gets his feelings hurt really easily.
*He's bossy. Oh boy, is he bossy. "Sit right there, mommy! Not there! There!" omg....
*But at the same time he is pretty laid back. He goes with the flow. He might really think we need to go to the park, but if we can't for whatever reason, he's usually pretty good about accepting a walk around the block or playing in the backyard as a substitute activity.
*He doesn't like being upset. If he gets mad or angry or hurt for whatever reason, he has a small cry about it and then gets over it. He's been like that since he was a baby. One time I remember he hit his head really hard on this trunk I have and he only cried for a few minutes so I didn't think he bonked very hard but a day or so later, there was a huge bump and bruise!
*He's funny. He loves making jokes. He thinks the most random things are funny and loves to giggle. I'll have to post a video of that giggle. Cracks me up.
*He's finally sleeping through the night all of the time... there is occasionally like one night a week maybe that he will wake once, but it's brief and he goes right back to sleep. (out of the times that he awakes enough for me to notice I guess. I think we all tend to wake slightly during our sleep cycles.) He's still in our bed though, so once we get past certain major life events coming up, we are planning on doing the full on transition into his own bed. Getting there...baby
toddler steps! haha. He's doing so much better with naps! He will actually ask to go "nigh night" during the day once he's tired. Yay!
This is my wake up view <3
Napping like a boss.
Everyone keeps asking me if we are experiencing the "terrible twos" yes? and like I mentioned above, there are definitely some days that are filled with more whining and crying than I'd like.
All the pouts.
But for the most part Jack is so good. He really is a good soul and I am so lucky to be his mama. (Please remind me I said all this when he turns 3...I hear that is the real struggle age.)
Hope you all are enjoying these updates. I really do appreciate having such awesome family and friends that are supportive of my family and encourage my constant over share of my kid. ha!
It's mostly just fun to get to share this learning journey about parenthood with all of you, and to have a fun way to be able to look back on all of this later. I just know that I am one lucky mama. :)
