Nixon {2.5 Years}

+ 30 lbs and an undetermined height, because he wouldn't stand still long enough to measure.
+ Talking up a storm.  He may have had a slow start verbally, but he's more than making up for it now.
+ Is the hugest staller when it comes to nap time and bedtime.
+ The love of trucks, cars, trains, etc. is still going strong.
+ His hair is turning into a big mess, but I can't bring myself to cut off his curls.
+ He's gotten used to Jack, dare I say perhaps even likes him?  He loves to squish him give him hugs and will sometimes lay next to him on the floor during playtime.
+ Doesn't stop moving all day long, but still prefers to snuggle with his mama all night.
+ His current favorite game is filling up his dump truck and garbage truck with blocks (or any small toys) and dumping them back out.  Over and over and over.
+ He has a really creepy fake laugh that he likes to break out pretty often.  Like all day long.  We think it's hilarious.
+ Knows all the colors and most shapes.
+ Can count to the teens, although he usually takes a few creative liberties as far as the correct order.

Five Things

Five things about Nixon:

One.  He is obsessed with burying himself under all the couch cushions and going "nighty night."  If only he was as excited about his real bedtime...
Two.  He's finally started saying his name.  To be fair, it's a little tricky.  It's also really adorable how he can't quite say the "x" yet.
Three.  He usually can't hear me ask him to pick up his toys, but he can hear me open the chocolate chip jar from across the house and come running.
Four.  He picked up the word "cool" somewhere, so now when he sees anything that catches his fancy he exclaims "wow! cool!"
Five.  Anything with wheels is a truck.  Mail truck, bus truck, jeep truck, mixer truck (cement mixer), etc., etc.  Usually followed by a "wow! cool!"

Nixon {Two Years}

Now that Nixon has been two for a few weeks, it's probably time for an update!  He's in a really awesome stage right now and is so much fun (aside from the occasional tantrum, but even those are usually funny/cute enough that it's hard to be mad at him).  He is all boy, he loves trucks more than anything and is happiest when he's outside or wrestling with Daddy.  The highlight of every day is watching the mail truck drive by.  And if we happen to see a mail truck (or bus, or construction truck, or any truck really) while driving around town?  Mind blown.  Needless to say, he keeps Mama on her toes (such as when he locked himself in his bedroom the other day...).

He sleeps about as well as one can expect from a toddler, I guess.  We're in the middle of transitioning him not only from a crib to a toddler bed, but also from our room to his own room.  Up to this point he's been sleeping in his crib in our room, an arrangement he's been pretty happy with, but the time has come to move him out.  So far we've had bad nights and good nights, but the good nights are just possibly starting to outweigh the bad, so there might actually be hope that one day soon we'll all get a good night's sleep.

He's continuing to be an excellent eater, and can put away an impressive amount of food.  He's only 27 pounds, so who knows where exactly he's putting it, but I'm not complaining.  I will say he knows what he likes when it comes to food, but so far we've been lucky in that the list is pretty long and includes some veggies.  Chocolate chips are on the list too, but it's all about balance, right?

In the last couple months, he's really been expanding his vocabulary.  And while he doesn't really have conversations or speak in sentences yet, he knows enough words to get his point across and we rarely have to guess what he wants.  He loves to help, and is adamant we need his assistance anytime we put a lid back on, start the washing machine/dryer/dishwasher, unload the dishwasher, roll the garbage can to the curb, etc.  He's starting to show an interest in helping me in the kitchen, and I love letting him stand on a chair and help mix things, even if stuff ends up on the floor and he does more sampling than mixing.

A few more fun facts about Nixon:

• He's starting to learn his colors!  So far he can identify red and blue...and loves to enthusiastically announce "blue!" at the sight of anything with a speck of blue on it
• Loves having his picture taken, but he gets really angry if you don't show it to him right away
• Waves hello/goodbye to everything

Nixon turns TWO

And just like that, our little guy big boy is two years old.  We had a pretty low-key celebration with cupcakes and a few presents, but special nonetheless.  Happy birthday to our sweet boy, we love you!

Chocolate chip pancakes...the best way to start out a special day

A little unsure about why his cupcake is on fire

Digging in

A couple new books for our truck-obsessed child

And the best gift...

...a helicopter!

Nixon - Eighteen Months

Our little buddy is eighteen months old!  He is in such a fun stage right now and while he certainly keeps us on our toes, we're loving every second of it.

His latest acquired skill is climbing onto chairs (and subsequently tables and counters), and fairly often I'll turn around to find this...

His favorite place to be is standing at the kitchen counter and I love that he wants to help and be in the middle of all the action.  I usually give him a bunch of spoons, spatulas, and other random kitchen utensils and judging by his mixing skills, it shouldn't be too much longer before I can actually put him to work.

He's not saying very many conversational words yet (aside from "wow," which he says many, many times a day) but he can tell you what a kitty, dinosaur, sheep, and snake say.  Pretty much any four-legged animal is considered a kitty and will elicit an enthusiastic "meow!" Squirrel, dog, he's not picky.

Favorite foods: berries, carrots, grapes, tomatoes, cottage cheese, peanut butter toast, and pickles

Least favorite foods: zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, and eggs.

Favorite things to do: play outside, go to the park, help me vacuum, read books (he finally sits still long enough to actually read!), wrestle with Daddy, pull ALL his toys out without actually playing with them, and turn lights on and off.

Nixon: Fifteen Months

Fifteen months!  Nixon continues to be a busy, inquisitive, bright little toddler.  He is happiest when he's outside, picking up leaves and poking the dirt.  His little mind is soaking everything up and it seems like each day he's showing off some new skill he's learned (the latest one is opening flip-top bottles...no more letting him pull the condiments out of the fridge).

Things Nixon has been loving/learning/doing this month:

• We're entering the climbing phase.  Anything he can get his little leg up on (which isn't much...yet) he's on top of.
• When asked, he can show you where his ears, tummy, and tongue are, although most of the time he'll stick his tongue out in response to all three.  It must be more fun than patting his tummy.
• Every time we walk by the front door, we have to wave to Mrs. Birdie, who built a nest just outside the door.  Maybe there will be some baby birdies to wave to soon.
• He's finally starting to enjoy books apart from bedtime, although I'm not sure if he enjoys being read to or just likes turning the pages.

Nixon: 14 Months

Here we are at fourteen months already!  Nixon keeps becoming more of a little boy and less of a baby.  He is constantly on the move and hardly ever slows down, except to eat and nap.  He's got "Mama" and "Dada" down, but no other words yet.  He does "talk" allllll day long though, so I think he's close!  He's still extremely curious and loves helping me around the house, such as turning the vacuum on and off, handing me plates one-by-one from the dishwasher, or watching me cook (the mixer is his favorite).

We've been slooooowly transitioning him from co-sleeping to his crib (which is turning out to be just as hard for me as it is for him) and we have a long ways to go, but I know he'll make the switch when he's ready.  From day one his motto has been "co-sleep or no sleep" and I don't think he's ready to let go of that quite yet.  He's also transitioning from two naps to one.  After a few weeks of fighting naps, I finally gave in and tried dropping the morning nap.  And success!  He still takes a short nap in the morning if he's extra tired, but most days he just goes down right after lunch.  Someday we'll get this sleep thing figured out.

Things Nixon has been loving/learning/doing this month:

• Being chased, although he loves the being caught part the most, so most of the time he turns around or stops and waits until you catch him.  All while laughing hysterically.
• He totally gets the concept of peek-a-boo and "where's Nixon?" and will hide behind things and then peek out with an adorable smile. 
• Now that he's walking, he loves playing outside.  He mostly just walks around and pokes the bushes and picks up leaves, but we have been working on throwing a ball and he is actually getting pretty good at it.  
• Close on the heels of the sippy cup victory of last month, comes victory over the straw cup.  So many drinking options!!

While I was putting the groceries away, he reached into the fridge and helped himself to an apple

Nixon: Thirteen Months

Yes, I realize I'm a bit late posting Nixon's thirteen-month update.  I'll blame it on the fact that I spend all my time chasing after the thirteen-month-old in question and rarely have time to sit down anymore.  This child is BUSY.  He is walking everywhere and getting into everything and exploring anything that he possibly can.  This is such a fun stage he's in right now and I love seeing what new shenanigans he gets into every day.

Things Nixon has been loving/learning/doing this month:

• He has completely embraced walking, and now that he's able to stand up without pulling up on something, he rarely ever crawls.  I fully expect him to start sprinting any day. 
• After months of trying, he has finally mastered the sippy cup.  He only had a bottle a handful of times, which I'm guessing is why it was so tricky for him. 
• He's discovered how to throw things in the trash.  I have to watch him carefully lest his toys, sippy, or random kitchen utensil end up tossed.
• The dishwasher continues to fascinate him and he loves helping me empty it.  And yes, I have to be quick or plates will end up on the floor (so far nothing has broken, so I guess our system is working)

Nixon: Twelve Months

Can we just take a moment to marvel at the fact that this little guy is one year old???  I guess he's not so little anymore.  Each day he looks more like a toddler and less like a little baby, which both hurts my heart and makes me so excited for this next stage.

At his twelve month check-up yesterday, he weighed in at 24 lb, 8 oz and measured 30 inches tall, putting him in the 76th percentile for both weight and height.  His head is still in the 99th percentile.  At least it's still on the charts!

What he's been up to lately:

• Walking!  He took his first steps a couple weeks ago, and has been slowly but surely getting better and more confidant.  Crawling is still his method of choice most of the time, but if we stand him up he'll usually take steps until he loses his balance.  
• Speaking of crawling, he occasionally crawls backwards (which is hilarious) and when he's on a mission to get somewhere he'll put his head down and go full speed ahead.  Yes, he sometimes runs into things when he does this. 
• Seven teeth so far, with an eighth one just starting to peek through.  
• He eats three meals a day, but still nurses quite a bit as well.  He isn't showing any interest in stopping anytime soon, and I'm totally okay with that.
• If he doesn't want a particular food, he will deliberately drop each piece off his highchair.
• He's learned how to turn around and slide feet-first off the couch.  This is a huge improvement from his previous head-first attempts.
• He's learned how to shake his head no, but we're still not sure if he understands what it means.  Occasionally he uses it correctly, but mostly he just does it all the time.

Nixon's faves this month:

• Cheese - he would eat cheese all day long if I let him (for the record, I don't).
• The fridge - the inside of the fridge is a magical and mysterious place, and if he hears the door open, he drops what he's doing and power crawls as fast as he can.  If he makes it before I close the door, he stands there staring at everything until I pull him away so we stop wasting energy.  Perhaps he knows the cheese is in there.  
• The dishwasher - not quite as fascinating as the fridge, but still worth thoroughly inspecting and sometimes attempting to climb in to.
• Roughhousing with Daddy - nothing gets more giggles out of him than wrestling on the floor with Daddy.

Happy Birthday Nixon!

Our precious little boy is one year old!  He is such a joy and we are so blessed to be his parents.

We celebrated over the weekend, nothing fancy, just a smash cake and opening presents.  He was more confused by the cake than anything, but by the end he was getting into it and making a huge mess.

Helping Daddy put together the super cool scooter from Aunt Jessica and Uncle Ralph

New toy from Grandma and Grandpa