Shad is two! He had a great birthday and was able to celebrate with both sets of grandparents, all of his local cousins, aunts, uncles as well as Dan's grandparents. It was great to see him enjoy his party. Fortunately, I was actually excited for his party this year. I just wish I hadn't had to work the day before so a little more preparation could have gone in to it. He just had a great time playing with his cousins and running around eating more junk than he should have in a month.
He is still really into the garbage truck so I had planned a great garbage theme, but Dan didn't like that idea so we just did a basic truck party. He didn't really care what it was about, he just had a good time.
The last few months with Shad have been a lot of fun. He is still a little guy at just twenty four pounds, and his 12-18mo coat still fits but he definitely seems like a little boy now. He loves everything boy; trucks, being outside, wrestling, guns ( we try to keep him from playing with even fake ones, but he seems to have been introduced to them from cousins) tools, trains, etc. He still loves animals and says bird, cow, kitty, dog, horse, bear, pig, sheep as well as the sounds they make. Shad is still pretty quiet and doesn't really like to talk. At his two year appointment he was still not saying two words together and I was getting concerned, however in the last two weeks he has really started to branch out it seems and has been putting two words together. Hopefully, it is just a character trait like his dad. He just doesn't talk unless he has something to say, and he knows exactly how he wants to say it. I am still trying to get him saying, "beep beep" on video because it is hilarious. Although he says many more words now this is still my favorite and I laugh every time he says it.
He also still loves his bath and has some pretty crazy swimming moves. Who knew a body that size could still move around that much in a bathtub? He loves to take walks, especially if we go to one of the many playgrounds in the area, and is pretty good about going home if I have a stroller. (I made the mistake of walking up to a park and letting him walk and had to wrestle him the entire way home-lesson learned). He has figured out how to jump and has been caught jumping off the laundry basket onto a stack of pillows, he is pretty fearless.
Since getting a soccer ball for his birthday we have had a few pretty fun evenings of playing soccer him and I. He has figured out how to kick the ball and has way more stamina than I do. Running is probably his favorite thing. Running that involves yelling, balls, other people, or wrestling is even better.
Bedtime is usually pretty simple still although the last week has been a bit rough. Since recovering from an ear infection he hasn't wanted to stay in bed but we are working through it. He is great about picking out his pajamas, helping get his clothes off and in the laundry, brushing his teeth, reading stories, saying prayers and then flipping off the light so he can see the stars on his ceiling (conveniently left by the previous owner of our condo). He wakes up very happy most mornings and absolutely loves any time he gets to spend with his daddy.
He has two friends, both girls named Rian and Katherine that we try to get together with- possibly more for mom's sake than his, but he enjoys playing with other kids most of the time. He loves nursery now although he apparently needs to learn it is not a place for wrestling. Fortunately, his nursery teachers are amazing and we couldn't ask for nicer people to help at church.
Shad inherited a shoe thing from both of is parents and will often try to put his shoes on even before he has any other clothes on. He also gets very specific about which shoes he wants to wear sometimes and can be quite adamant regardless of the weather or if they do or don't match. He loves shoes. Shad can count to three and seems to know the color blue, although green seems to be his favorite. He knows most of the actions to wheels on the bus and sings along to most music, although it is usually in tongues. He also counts to three, usually jumping on something following the three. He is still pretty snuggly and will run up to Solo and give him a hug and kisses, to the point of climbing on top of him from behind and smothering him. Once again, we are lucky to have a great dog to put up with it. This year has been fun to see Shad grow and see more of his personality. We can't wait to see what the next year will bring him.
Other Birthdays
Words Shad says:
mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, solo, dog, woof-woof, taylor, drink, water, milk, please, cracker, snacks, more, eeww, bread, toast, cheese, shirt, shoes, tree, car, truck, beep-beep, wow, uh-oh, no, hurt, hear, oatmeal, hot, puppy, out, down, up, fish, bug, book, bzz, bee, sleep, amen, look, what is it, airplane, whoosh, open, stop, go, train, and more that I am not thinking of right now.
Discovering make-up isn't as fun as it looked.
One day after a walk he refused to take this hat off. He can be such a goof-ball.
Something else him and Solo have in common, they love to play in the snow. Too bad mom doesn't like it as much as they do.
