Two Years Old!

Happy Birthday Kellen!

Playing at the Botanic Gardens last weekend

Kellen is two years old today and turning into such a big toddler. We will be going to dinner tonight and having his big birthday party Sunday. He will see the doctor on the 1st so we will see then how big he really is!

Kellen is still pretty easy going especially outside of the house and around others. He is perfectly happy sitting in his stroller while I run/walk the dogs, workout, or take the dogs to agility. If you play a Chuggington on the ipad and give him some finger foods he will sit still indefinitely.  His teachers at daycare comment that he is very polite and laid back. He is passive with other kids and lets them have their way. We see him play well with the kids we are around often. He is doing very well at saying "pease" and "tank you." Kellen puts up a fight when we try to change his diaper at home, get him up in the morning to go to school, and he whines alot when he is hungry.

Kellen's favorite toys are his kitchen/pots/shopping cart, tricycle, bubbles, sand table, puzzles, and swing. Since the weather has been nice, he would prefer to be outside than anywhere else. He has formed an attachment to a blanket. He needs it to sleep and will ask for it if he doesn't feel well. I'm glad it doesn't have to go everywhere with us but I like that he has something that will help him calm down and sleep. Kellen loves all of the animals: "Inity," "Ona," "Higgs," "Idney," "Geeko," and "Ceesco." He calls the dogs and says "Hi" and "bye" to them. He loves to throw the toys for them and have Trinity chase him. He gives the cats hugs and uses Sydney as a pillow. The gecko and Cisco are fun to watch and feed.

Kellen talks more and more everyday. We saw a huge jump in his vocabulary over spring break. Now, he likes to mimic what we say. He can read along to some of his books and/or predict what comes next. Kellen can sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and parts of "Old McDonald." He loves hearing the ABCs being sung. In the mornings though if I sing to him he puts his finger infront of his mouth and shhhhes me.  Kellen still calls me "Mimi" with some "Mama" thrown in and calls Steve "Dada."  

Kellen is a great eater. He is a little picky but if he likes something and is hungry, has no problem eating an adult sized portion. His favorite things are yogurt, cheese, milk, applesauce (and babyfood pouches), goldfish, anything in a tortilla, beans, pasta, bananas, pizza (sometimes with sausage), PB & Jelly. He will eat dried fruit or fruit leather but will not eat any fresh fruit or veggies besides bananas and is not a huge fan of eggs (unless they are from starbucks).  He is of course way less picky at school and will eat peaches, pineapple, chicken nuggets, chili, fish sticks, etc.

I believe Kellen has some 2 year molars coming through. There have been a few nights where they seem to bother him or we notice him chewing on things and he won't let us brush his teeth anymore. We usually have pretty good luck putting him to sleep and having him sleep through the night. He goes through phases where he fights going to bed but once asleep, he sleeps well. He can climb (or fall, depending on the situation) out of his crib. I think coverting it to a toddler bed will be on the horizon but I'm not sure how we will keep him in it when he is crying himself to sleep. He is hard to get out of bed during the week when we all need to go to work/school but on the weekends or on my days off, he is happy to wake up at 6.

Kellen's 2 year interview.