Madden is 2 Years Old

Yes we are entering the two’s with you Madden and I must admit I’m a bit sad.  You have already turned into Mr. Independent that I don’t know I can take you growing up anymore then you already have. 

So speaking of being Mr. Independent you are at the stage where you want to do everything on your own.  We can’t help you with anything.   You get upset even when I sometimes move your chair closer to the dinner table.  You want to do it all on your own.  From buckling yourself in your car seat (which you can’t do), to drinking water out of mom and dad’s cups (which you can do), you want to do every thing on your own.  Putting on your shoes, diaper, and clothes are all tasks you want to do that takes so long for you to realize you need our help.  You want to get into your chair at the table, you want to climb in the bath by yourself, and you want to brush your teeth (which really mean eat the toothpaste off your brush).  You are constantly telling me “No Mama…ME,” always demanding to do it on your own.  For awhile, whenever you would say ME, you would pound on your chest at the same time, but I finally got you to stop that because I didn’t want you to hurt yourself.

 Your vocabulary has improved from your last 18 months update, but it’s definitely not where I was hoping it would be at.  You have your core words like, “mama, dada, no, me, mine, big, and ball”. Those are the words we hear on a normal basis, which are very clear.  You are trying to say new words like “dog” which comes out like “god”, “ph-own,” which means “phone,” and “bib bar,” which is “fig bar,” your favorite snack.  We can’t get you to say “yes,” it’s usually just a node of your head.  Just over the past few months you are putting 2 to 3 words together so you are trying to form some sort of sentences.  We really want you to give your sister a name, but right now you just call her “hmm.”  There is still a lot of pointing and waving when you are trying to express what you need.  But even being a man of few words, your mind is still sharp as a whistle. 

After about 6 months of swim class things drastically went down hill.  You started off so strong by moving up to the intermediate level so quick.  You were the student all the new kids looked up to, but then one week out of nowhere you refused to participate.  You riverted back to crying and screaming and to having a death grip on me during the whole class.  Not too sure what made you flip the switch because whenever we are at our pool you are non-stop in the water.  So I recently stopped tormenting you and we quit swim class and started up Mommy and Me gymnastics.  Gymnastics has been a great experience and you seem to love it.  It only took one week of class for you to warm up to the instructor and now you are running over kids to have your turn on the trampoline with her.  This was how swim started, so I’m hoping you don’t go south anytime soon. 

 Your personality has certainly blossomed.  You still have your lovable, sweet moments with everyone.  You still love to blow kisses goodbye and give big hugs.  At night you pretend like you don’t want a kiss from Dad, but you cry if he doesn’t give you one before bed.   We have also seen a bit of a bully side out of you.  A lot of it has to do with your dislike to share.  It’s begins with you assuming something that isn’t yours, is, and a lot of you shouting “mine, mine!” and usually ends with you pushing someone down.  At one point I was starting to get embarrassed to take you places because no matter where we went you we were putting hands on someone.  We were at the botanical gardens looking at the train and when a little girl went up to push the button that starts the train you ran up to her and shouted “mine” and pushed her down to the ground.  Or the time we were at Pizza Port and you and a bunch of kids were playing in the arcade game.  I turned around to you repetitively pushing a 2 year old boys head into the side of the game.  That time your Dad had to apologize to the boy’s parents who told him “what is your kid, some kind UFC Fighter?!” Thankfully, recently you have cutback a lot of your browbeating.  I’m thinking a lot of it has to do with your friendship with your best buddy Johnny.  You and Johnny are just the sweetest together and seeing you play with him puts a smile on my face.  The two of you love to run muck around the neighborhood.  You can be so sweet to him and are always giving him hugs and kisses.  I think you now having a little friend your size has made you more considerate of others, but don’t get me wrong, you still have your moments of weakness.

After dealing with your sister and her being such a troubled eater, it’s so refreshing to sit down and have a meal with you.  We can’t put a piece of broccoli in front of you and you will eat it, but you are still miles ahead of your sister.  Your favorite fruits are still bananas and strawberries, with the occasional orange.  Since we are hiding vegetables in most of our meals because of you sister, you are getting your veggies from that.  You love fish and chicken, but steak is still a stretch.  If you see a vegetable on one of our plates, you just point at it and say “eeew.” You have a much wider range of options for breakfast than your sister.  You will eat oatmeal, eggs, bacon, and sausage.  The only problem we have at meals with you is that you don’t always like to sit and eat so sometimes breakfast will take forever for you to finish.  We usually try and feed you first since we can get you to eat a bit healthier because we know once you see what Skylar is eating you are going to want whatever she has.  Snack time is your favorite part of the day.  You and Skylar have this game where you like to go into the pantry and pick out a snack.  You put it behind your backs and make us guess what you picked.  99% of the time you choose a fig bar.  You love them and if I don’t bring them with me when we go places where snacks would be involved it usually means meltdown.  I think you would eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if you could and we try and limit you to one pack a day.  When I buy them at Costco in bulk I usually have to buy two boxes because you eat them so quickly.

Your admiration for Skylar is such a charming thing we get to view daily.  Your big sister is your best friend and you love her so much.  You want to do everything she does.  When she is playing board games you want to join, she rides her bike and you beg to ride it next, she is driving her car and you want to drive hers instead of yours.  She loves to give you hugs and lift you off your feet, which you will beg her to do over and over again.  When we drop her off at school she lets you put her name up on the board each day.  It’s been such a great year for you both when it comes to playing and growing together.  Watching the two of you interact together can melt my heart at time.

.  There is so much ahead for you in the next year. We hope to get you potty trained, that you will be talking so much that at times I will look back and treasure the days of only those few words, and as long as the potty training goes well you will be able to start preschool next summer.  Madden you are independent, loving, and impressive… sometimes a little intense, but you have completed our family and have taught us the true meaning of unconditional love

Happy 2nd Birthday Bubbas!