Maybe my memory has just faded since the time Chase was this age, but I don't remember Chase being able to do a lot of the things that Brady makes look so easy. I really want to remember a lot of what Brady is doing at this exact moment in time so this list will probably be a little hard to read for some but will make complete sense to Craig and I as we read back on this in years to come :)
So Brady, here are some of the things that we think are so amazing about you lately:
* You talk sooo well for a brand new 2 year old and you talk ALL THE TIME! You are a jabbermouth...hmmm..who did you get that from? :) I'm not going to write down everything you say because you say almost everything now but I am impressed with how well you say full sentences and your thought process and reasoning behind what you say.
* You always say "Please" and "Thank You" and sometimes it catches us off guard and just warms our hearts. Even for the smallest things you will say it. If we hand you a paper towel you will say in the sweetest voice, "Thank You Mama" or "Thank You Daddy" or even "Thank You Chase"
* You are completely independent and want to do everything yourself. "I get it" "I do it". From getting cheese or waffles or yogurt out of the fridge, getting water out of the door of the fridge into your cup, putting a straw in a juicebox, opening any kind of container or lid, etc, buckling your carseat, turning the water on and off in the bath, turning the water off and on in the sink to wash your hands, getting soap to wash your hands, putting on your beanie in the cold outside, brushing your teeth, and many more things...you want to do it all on your own!
* You play a game called Monkey Lunchbox on the iPad and I'm literally in awe watching you - sometimes I think you're a genious :) The game has different activities and you earn stickers after about 5 screens of completion. There is a matching game that I can't believe you can do, there are screens where you count, there are puzzles you have to put together by dragging the pieces into the right place, some screens have you only touch items that are a certain color and some have you touch the fruit that starts with a certain letter they ask for. You will sit there for a long time and collect like 20 stickers before you stop - it is so cute and I love watching you play :)
* You love the park, especially swings and "big slides". But we are noticing you aren't a huge fan of the cold. The times we have played outside in the snow you are always the first one to say "I go inside" - lol!
* You LOVE water and everything about it. Drinking it, swimming in it, playing in it, putting it in squirtguns and shooting us, etc.
* You are OBSESSED with Mickey Mouse and want to have it on tv all day long. It's a habit we are actually trying to fix, however I think what makes us feel better is you aren't even watching it half of the time. You do request it when you wake up though and you do sit still and watch every single second of it. You have recently gotten into Little Einsteins and Kung Fu Panda (that one is because of Chase).
* You still love love love books! This is one of the only times you sit still and you could read books all day long and be content. Before bedtime, Daddy and I alternate nights sitting in the rocking chair in your room with you on our lap and you have a collection of about 15-20 books that we have to get through every single night. If we miss one, you know it and make us find it :) You even have a few of them memorized and say the words along with us.
* Your favorite song is the "Clap Your Hands" song by The Lumineers. You love when we play it in the car and you clap along with it. You and Chase know the words and it is pretty much the cutest thing ever :)
* You are our early bird! You are sleeping better the last few months, staying in your crib and sleeping through the night most nights, but you still like to get up at either 5am or 6am at the latest. It is super fun for Mom & Dad :) Some early mornings we can get you to lay in bed with us and be quiet but usually you start requesting Mickey Mouse and warm milk as soon as you get up :) During the week you watch Mickey on our bed while we get ready. On the weekend, your angel of a Dad, always gets up early with you and spends the early hours playing and hanging out with you.
* You are starting to eat better!! You are still picky but the last week or so Daddy noticed that you seem to willing to at least try things so he said I should keep trying new things with you. The past few days you have tried pork chops, peas, au gratin potatoes, corn, broccoli, couscous & chow mein noodles. You haven't gobbled everything down but you are at least trying things and it has seriously been such a joy for me!
* You love warm milk in the morning and night out of your sippie cup. You drink cold milk at lunch at school and tons of water out of a normal cup while at home after school/at dinner/etc.
* You love games and puzzles and are so proud of yourself when you figure them out. "I did it!"
* You love hide and seek and it is a regular game in our house :)
* When we ask you what you did at school you always say "Played with Emmy", she is your favorite little buddy...or maybe you just like saying her name - lol!
* You like trying to go potty before bathtime but that is about as far as we have gotten with potty training. We were hoping you would get a little farther at school first before we went gung-ho at home. Chase was about 75% potty trained by daycare and then we finished it off so we are hoping it will be the same with you.
* You love praying at dinner time and you always say "Thank You for Brady staying in his crib." Haha
* You are a tough guy and although you cry like any other toddler, there are many times that you get knocked down, fall etc and you don't even make a peep! Must be second child toughness :)
* You count very well and I have heard you count up to 13 before.
* You know your colors perfectly. I remember thinking Chase was color blind for a long time at your age - lol! You know red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, white & black.
* You always say "Last Time" when you want to do things again and that usually turns into 5 more times. You are totally dramatic in how you say it and we are usually laughing so hard that we can't say no.
* You love to color and lately you have been so proud of your drawings that you want us to hang them on the kitchen cabinets - it is getting full :)
* You don't really have a favorite toy because honestly you don't really sit and play with toys very often - you are always on the move. On a rare occassion you will go over to the toy box and spend about 20 minutes digging through and playing with things. Sometimes you will sit down and build blocks, play with a game or go upstairs to play with your kitchen or tool set but for the most part you just always want to run around, jump on the jump castle and get into trouble :)
There is so much more about you at 2 years and 2 months but I wanted to at least get some of this written down. We love you Brady bear and you amaze us every single day!
Picture courtesy of your daycare teachers :)
