I can't believe my little boy is 2 years old! The time has FLOWN by. I love watching him grow, experience new things, and learn.
Jake is a smart little boy- I can see him thinking hard about things, often discovering how objects work. As smart as he is, he's not much of a talker, however. He has been in weekly speech therapy since May. He's making great progress- when he first started, he didn't seem to realize that words meant anything and was pretty far behind for his age. Since he started, I have learned that tons of boys his age also are in, or should be in, speech therapy as well. The therapist explained that extremely active little boys often focus all their attention on physical development rather than building up a strong vocabulary. I believe that- Jake defines active little boy!
Jake's first word was "cheese" and his first sentence was "I pooped." He indeed wanted cheese and a diaper change when he formed those words. What a funny kid!
He is REALLY good at animal noises. Jake knows what all the following animals say: cow, horse, bee, snake, sheep, pig, owl, lion, bear, tiger, cat, dog, Steve (my family's dog that pants), frog, duck, and monkey. He also learned what Santa ("Ta") says for Christmas.
He seems to understand a great deal of what we say now, and his vocabulary is growing by the day. He calls his little sister "Kah" and has "mom" and "dad" down pretty well. His vocabulary is growing really fast; his best words are light, milk, iPad, plane, moon, bath, shoes, outside, ball, car, and of course NO!
My top fews words to describe Jake are strong-willed, adventurous, wild, energetic, destructive, and fun.
Andrew's top few words for Jake are clever, exuberant, sneaky, creative, and fun-loving.
Jake is ALWAYS on the go. Unless he's sleeping, he's running. Or jumping. Or climbing. Or destroying. He's always into something. I can't take a shower unless Andrew is home or he's safely locked in his "Jake-proofed" room. He loves to get on our counter height table, pull everything out of cupboards and drawers, run around with silverware from the dishwasher, and is very interested in the stove. Our current apartment is laid out such that it is impossible to block off the kitchen, but you better believe everywhere else we live, we will be sure a gate can keep him out! We had to take his toy grocery cart away from him after he kept standing in the back and getting stuck, having to tip it over in order to get/fall out. He liked to use it to get into some serious trouble! We also have to be careful with his toy trike, which he likes to muscle onto the couch and ride off our ottoman. Let me tell you, there's never a dull moment with him around!
He's not been a great friend lately, as we can't seem to get him to stop kicking, hitting, and shoving. Time-outs don't seem to change his behavior, but he's making progress when we explain gently how he has to be nice and soft. He's had a few rough moments with McKenna, but for the most part he's treated her great. SO much better than we anticipated, that's for sure! He likes to hold her, rub her hair, and share his toys/food with her. It's not always the best when he tries to shove a spoon in her mouth, but at least he's trying to be a sweet brother.
Jake plays hard, but he also sleeps hard. He sleeps 11 or so hours a night and still takes a 2-4 hour nap every afternoon. He is doing pretty well in his big boy toddler bed. He's regressed a little since McKenna came along, wanting to come sleep with me and Andrew some nights. We are working on getting him to stay in his room all night by himself, but until we get that completely figured out, I am extra grateful for a king-sized bed.
Jake can be quite the little stinker. He is trying to figure out our limits as he grins at us when doing something he knows he's not allowed to do. It's been a battle of wills at our apartment lately. As difficult as he can be at times, he is the most fun little boy. I LOVE his sense of fun and his squeal and giggles when he is uncontrollably happy. His cheesy grin melts my heart, and I love his hugs and kisses more than I ever realized I could.
Jake really likes cars and is into anything that lights up and makes noise. He would play on the iPad for hours at a time if we let him, and he enjoys watching movies. His favorites are Horton Hears a Who, The Lorax, and Monsters Inc. He figured out how to turn on the TV and start his shows, but luckily Andrew outsmarted him and changed TV/blu-ray settings.
Jake loves to dump out his toy box and turn it over to climb in and get himself in trouble. He's also starting to enjoy coloring and only eats the crayons sometimes. He loves chocolate milk and his favorite foods seem to be black bean soup, salsa, ketchup, cheese, baked broccoli, baked beans, m&ms, and chicken nuggets. He won't let us feed him and is usually covered in his meals by the time we get him out of his high-chair. He also refuses to use his spoons and kid-sized bowls. He wants to use the same flatware that he sees us using. That was a problem at first, but he's doing pretty well welding a fork and spoon these days.
Jake has actually been a pretty good helper lately. He loves to move clothes from the laundry basket to the washer, then to the dryer, an back into the laundry basket. He also helps me unload the dishwasher. He surprisingly knows where most items go, and if he doesn't, he hands them to me. He really likes putting dirty dishes in the sink- like McKenna's bottles when she's done. In fact, if he gets ahold of something he shouldn't have, I can usually get him to put it in the sink to get it out of his hands, and out of reach. We end up with some pretty random items in the sink by the end of the day, including lots of pens and outlet covers that he pulls out of the sockets regularly at this point. He also often fills the dishwasher with clean silverware, or really anything he can find.
Jake is usually into trouble and is definitely quite the little hand-full, but I love him like crazy. I love chasing him up and down the hall and playing hide-and-seek. I love reading him stories before going to bed. I love when he'll slow down long enough to give me a hug or kiss. I love his big blue eyes and his sense of adventure. More than anything I love that he is my little boy and that I'll always get to be his mom. That little stinker has stolen my heart!
