Happy Thanksgiving!

By Mom of TJB and MMB November 28, 2014

Where's Theo?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Things I am thankful for:

1. Mommy
2. Daddy
3. Turkey
4. That my little sister isn't here yet and I still get #1 and #2 to myself
5. iPad (to facetime with all my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends and to watch Thomas the Train movies)

There he is!

We had a cozy Thanksgiving dinner with two of Mommy's friends, Martins and Angela. We ate lots of turkey, chestnut and sausage stuffing, wild rice salad, cranberry relish, candied yams, and apple pie (baked in a paper bag!). There was a notable absence of the Pastorius classics: mashed potatoes, gravy and snickers salad, but I think the replacement dishes were exceptional and I can't really complain.

Our new dining room table and our Thanksgiving feast with Martins and Angela!

My baby sister is due in two weeks from today (scheduled c-section because she's upside down - or right side up - depending on your point of view). I'm excited to meet her and have a new playmate. We've been reading lots of books about becoming a big brother and I think I'm up for the challenge.

28 month development
The so-called "terrible twos"... Theo hasn't been all that terrible for being two. He talks a lot now and has been completing more and more complex sentences. This morning he said, "I'll have some orange juice, too, Dadda...please" First, I didn't know he know how to use the word "too" in that context and second, he typically just says, "Orange juice, please" as a command rather than asking nicely and with a please. I was impressed! He hasn't started asking "Why?" to everything yet, which I am thankful for.
He has a new play room downstairs and he loves to play with play-doh and his legos or draw with finger crayons on this big train I made out of cardboard boxes. We make lots of things out of the play-doh. His favorite is for me to make a train (he asks on his way home from school if we can play play-doh and he demands there be an engine, box car and hopper car with tracks) and then he wants to make a bridge with a river and then we make mini play-doh balls that I roll and he throws these "rocks" in the river (this was his idea, not mine). (This reminds me of the book, "If you give a mouse a cookie" and how he keeps asking for more and more things.) His imagination is taking off and it is fun to get to play along! We've been trying to treasure these last few weeks of alone time with him because we know things are going to get crazy when baby #2 comes along.
He took a good 3 week to adjust to his new day care but now loves going and never puts up a fight. He knows all the other kids' names - Thomas, Grayson, Hudson, Bristol, Delphine, Elliot, and Walter. Most of the kids are between 2 and 3 which is perfect for Theo. He is a good helper and good eater both at school and at home. He's still working on potty training and we had to resort to mostly pull-ups because of accidents at day care however he usually goes when reminded.
He still has his Saturday swim lessons at the Ballard pool that he LOVES! We sing "Motorboat, motorboat," "Wheels on the bus," "Washing machine, washing machine," "I'm a little teapot," "Five little monkeys swinging in a tree," and "Hokey pokey." He also loves reading books and we can frequently find him sitting next to his bookshelf reading "Hungry Little Caterpillar" or "Blue Hat, Green Hat," a.k.a. the oops book, among others. We usually read about 5 books before bed and I've had to make a few trips to the local library to add a little variety since Theo is quite predicable and picks the same books every night: "Llama llama misses momma," by Anna Dewdney, "Good Night Gorilla," by Peggy Rathmann, "Blue Hat, Green Hat," by Sandra Boynton, "A Day at the Market," by Sara Anderson, and "Freight Train," by Donald Crews. I think he has these all memorized by now and can read them to us. He's outgrown most of his 3T footie PJs so we had get him some bigger sizes but he still wears mostly 2T pants and size 8 shoes. He prefers to pick out his own clothes in the morning and is learning how to put on his own socks and shoes. It's amazing to see how independent his is becoming (just when we have it good, we're going to start over with baby #2, oh well).

This is probably the last post on "El Jefecito's" blog as it will get a new name in a few weeks. Stay tuned for more adventures! Thanks for reading!
Love,
Katie