29 months

Dear Keaton,

Wow, this month.  This month was full of ups and downs.  You are truly an indecisive two year old that doesn't quite know what he needs or wants.  The very frustrated to very happy in less than 15 seconds routine became common.  You are like a little bomb - sometimes full of growls, other times full of giggles.  We prefer the giggle bombs, and we will take the risk that we get growls instead.  You are at the age where you are in on every joke - You laugh along and yelp "I get it, hahaha!"

We became new members at your favorite new spot P B & Jack, which lucky for us in right around the corner from our new neighborhood.  It's a fun kid play area with really fun babysitters that play games with you.  You love to tell me, "We are being friends" when you make a new friend.  They host different activities each day, and one day there was a very excited storyteller for the French immersion story time.  She was inviting you to participate by speaking all French, your response was to growl and run away.  You could've been more polite, but your point was clear.  

You now anticipate things that we are planning to do.  You will ask "When is it? Famorrow? Amorrow? Tooomorra?"  When you knew you were going to get new Chima lion and crocodile guys, you woke up talking about it.  This understanding helps us plan for the upcoming activities, but it means that you are more opinionated about what you get to do.  We told you we were going to go see Great Falls.  You asked, "Can we dance at the waterfall because it makes us happy like Minnie?!"  You made me laugh even more when you found drippy gutter and a puddle near the parking lot and thought that was the waterfall.

On our long car rides this month, you insisted "I want to drive!" which may be a symptom of reading the pigeon books by Mo Willems. You liked to sing the Yellow Submarine song as you search out the window for moo cows and horsey friends.  The long arm pincher robot hand still is the best purchase we ever made to keep everyone happy in the car.  Although you figured out the one spot it can't reach when you just want to fuss for the sake of fussing.

You sometimes just wander around randomly throwing things over your shoulder.  You play nonchalant really well.  You have these big round eyes that seem to say, I'm not up to anything much, just quietly pulling apart all my brother's legos.  There is usually some mischievous tricky business going on when you are quiet.  

You love playing marble race as much as your brother.  You keep those marbles going and going.  Both you and your brother can literally break a sweat with all the jumping excitement.  My favorite is when you are playing and you say "this is as fun as a rolla coasta you tink?!"  You compared your first roller coaster ride (this month!) on the water log plume with the way the marbles race down the track.

You loved the Bob Staake seek and find cutout books the minute we spotted them at the library.  Your favorite story in the Sneeches book is what you call "Ghost Pants" (actual title: What was I scared of).  Fox in Socks was another favorite both at bedtime and in the book bin at P B & Jack.  

Around bed time your cuddle mode sets in - "I'm a cuddle bug, come cuddle me!"  "I want to cuddle Dalmy!"  You named your stuffed Dalmation, Dalmy.  He's buddies with your brother's Golden Retriever, Daniel. Those guys, along with the teddy bear that was a prize from the arcade game at Waldameer Park, are mainstays in the big brother bed.  Your shared room setup is working out really well, especially with the two twin beds pushed together into a giant king size bed.

You like to pretend to do magic just like your brother.  "Look I turned it into chocolatey bit!" is your favorite trick.  This started on our Hershey trip which was full of chocolate.  You were convinced that even breakfast should include kisses candies, but you settled for chocolate waffles.  You stared down the giant costumed characters of Hershey bars and Kisses.  You were playing shy in front of such big stars or maybe you were just interested in eating them.

You liked it when your brother called you the "bug hunter guy!"  You can track down well hidden buggies hiding on the path or the door frame.  Your brother was disappointed that you didn't find the slimy caterpillar that cozied up in his shoe, before he put his shoe on!  While riding in the wagon, you found a big bug.  It was probably bigger than your little hand.  You grabbed a stick and you bravely nudged the giant blue winged, blue eyed, cicada like bug when it flew up into our faces.  I think you were the only one that didn't screech, you just giggled.

There is a lot of leaf blowing around here with four hands on the blower.  You guys just love to waddle around the yard together blowing leaves and sticks back and forth.  You guys are funny when you break out your secret spy mode because your whispers are very loud.  Not sure it is much of a secret.  

For all the calm brotherly moments we've had this summer, we also had more and more visits from what Aiden dubbed the "terror town bros!"  Yep, you guys were having such a grand start to the summer and then you learned how to use hammer hands if Aiden was doing something you didn't like.  There was an entire dragon ride at Hershey were you spent it wacking your brother while I yelled for you to stop and the other parents around the ride laughed.  I never thought I'd say keep your [blank] to yourself so many times in one month.  You name it you've tried to use it as an attack instrument.  Even the fun fort building pillows become attack pillows!

You sure are testing out your independence.  "I don't hold hands - it's my hand!"  But you are beginning to stick to the consistent rules.  But you have the influence of your brother.  Parenting a second born child is so different, especially since you are home with me versus a nanny.  You are getting more and more comfortable climbing and jumping off things at the playground.  Things that Aiden would've never tried at your age, but I think it's good for you to learn.  

You love singing "spider-Man spidermaaaan doing what a Spider-Man can!" It's usually when you are set on doing something challenging.  I'm fairly certain Aiden had no idea who spiderman was at your age. You keep up with all of your brother's silly games like the hand puppets meep meep and moop moop.  You love legos about as much as your brother.  You got a new Chima lion and crocodile set.  My favorite is when you say crystal because it sounds like you are saying kisses.  "Cheeeema krises!"

You have an old man voice you pull out when you are mad.  If something is frustrating you when you are playing, like you can't get a piece together, you are sure that we know it.  The other day I heard you telling froggy friend he needed to eat some spicy meatballs so he wouldn't get hungry.  Then when froggy friend didn't listen you gave him a countdown.

You love counting eggs just like your brother although some crazy grocery store employee was not a fan of this little ritual we do.  She can just relax because we've never harmed a single egg in our counting pointing game.  You also love singing a silly version of the alphabet song where you add in verses of the Yellow Submarine song - "TUV in a yellow submarine!"

You were pretty pumped for fresh peach season, and you picked peaches over donuts at the farmer's market.  You finished off almost a whole watermelon in a few days.  You crack me up when you say "Let's eat it like a hambugger!" and then you make a big munching mouth.  You recently discovered tic tacs which you can't get enough of on car rides.

You can sometimes be pretty savvy.  Like when some workmen showed up very early one morning to start some work on an attic fan.  They were stomping around on the roof while you were still asleep, and I heard you sit up and bed and say "It's Santa!"  You are also a pretty saavy shopper and when you see something you like you say "I need dat pease!" You were especially excited by the little kids selling rubber band bracelets at the playground.  As they explained you shook your head and said "oh yes, I need dat!"

You made me smile while spinning a globe at Aiden's school, pointing and saying "Daddy is there" - It was a much more exotic spot than Chicago, but it's all the same to you.  You miss your daddy when he's away, but it's easier for you to understand now.  You get so excited when he comes home even from a regular day at work.  You love to point out versions of his "fast car" on the road.  Here was a recent conversation: "Daddy look at all those pictures of you on the computer. They say hi my name is daddy!"

This was a month where I look back over photos and can't believe that it was all packed into one month.  It's a good way to finish out the summer.  You want to keep going even when you get sick or tired, so this month marked the true end to any sort of consistent nap.  The road is a bit rocky when nap time ends (which I remember with your brother when I was pregnant with you and I'd just left my job - ug), but you've been happy to keep moving and it helps you sleep well at night.  

You love to say, "We must go there!  I must!"  You see something you like, and exclaim "I must get it!"  Your determined little voice saying 'must' will be etched in my memory.  We must have a good start to the school year, ok!  


Love, Mommy