Wade is 23 months!

Our little conductor is already 23 months and will soon be a big 2 year old!!! I have enjoyed every single month with Wade, but Beau and I both agree that this month of development has been especially fun. We're able to enjoy him so much as a person with his own sense of humor, likes, dislikes, and moods....instead of just as our son that we love unconditionally.

He's grown much more attached to family members, friends, and toys. His heartbreaks if I don't have the right toy with us, or his turtle to cuddle with, or the right books to read at bed time. When Daddy leaves for a run, he's devastated and cries by the door until he comes back. It's so sweet, but so sad! He's also giving out a lot more kisses. Most of them still go to the dogs, his stuffed animals, and the baby in mommy's tummy...but he's more open to the idea of kissing people. Avery got her first real kiss the other day at school, Aunt Nicci got a full blown nose licking, Nonna got some butterfly kisses, and G.G. even got a modified head butt! Progress!

His language has really picked up and I feel like he's talking so much more these days. It may be that I can just now understand more of what he's saying?? But he'll repeat everything you say, call his trains by their name, tell you exactly what he wants to play or eat, and what he wants from you. I used to wake-up to sweet baby babble in the monitor each morning with a soft "mama?" when he was really ready for me to get him. Now I hear orders being barked, "MAMA down", "MAMA trains", "Oh no! Night night down. MAMA!!!". And if I take too long he gives up on me and moves on to "DADDDY!!".

He's exceptionally interested in talking about his lovely body functions. He wants to tell me all about his toots, burps, poops, pee pee, etc. I appreciate the language development, but I'm still not used to having every toot announced, laughed at, and then repeated because he gets a kick out of it. "Toot! Ha ha Funny!"


Even though we are light years away from actually potty training, he is having a blast practicing. Every diaper change must also include a naked sprint to the bathroom, a quick sit on his potty, and then a 10 minute hand washing. I'm no dummy. I realize this "game" has less to do with the potty and much more to do with the splashfest. I go along with it though, because any practice is better than no practice, right? Or am I just training my toddler to become a future streaker or nudist colony resident?

Wade wants to do everything like a big boy. Gone are the days of cutting up his food into toddler appropriate sizes....no no no. He wants to eat everything in whole. The phrase I hear most everyday is "I try". It's so adorable to see him take interest in something (from eating an apple whole to putting the marker caps on himself) and give me this very serious look and say "I try Mama". I graciously step aside and let him give it a try all by himself, then just make a mental note to go back and recheck the markers later :)

My iphone (and Beau's too!) has become Wade's personal entertainment device and he couldn't be happier. He wants to play his games, watch his tv shows, and his new favorite is to scroll through my pictures and videos. He has no problem sliding and selecting exactly what he wants. It blows my mind that he can do what he does on there. But I'm still very fearful he's going to break it, so I invested in the ultra tough Otterbox to try and protect it. I don't think I can stomach having to purchase a 3rd iphone....

We are madly in love with this little boy. He's growing up more and more everyday and while I'd love to freeze him and keep him exactly the way he is, I'm excited to see him grow up. With every new step he takes towards independence, it gives me hope that I can handle a newborn with a helpful big brother!