Twenty-three Months Old

Dear Calvin,

This month has been another incredible month of language development. You’re like a little parrot that copies everything we say. There’s no way to remember everything you’ve learned to say in the past few weeks, but here are a few of them:

animal, alligator, dolphin, bird, turkey, up, down, open, close, eat, drink, hungry, hot, pig, sheep, etc.

My favorite things you say:

• Mommy and Daddy – you’ve never really called us by our names until recently. Now you are very specific about who we are and you say it often. When Daddy is out of town, you’ll roam around the house yelling, “Daddy? Daddy? Daddy?” It breaks my heart, but when I tell your daddy about it, it makes him come home early so it’s all good. I love when you hold my hand or run to me in excitement, calling "mommy!"
• Even more adorable? You say your own name. You point to your chest and say “Cowven”.
• “I did it!” with your hands over your head in a self-congratulating cheer.
• When you drop things or otherwise feel like you’ve messed up, “sorry!”
• When we hand you toys or give you a treat or help you eat dinner, you say “thank you” (dank do). Melts my heart every time. You’ve become very polite.

You jabber constantly, and you especially love singing. For the songs you know, you’ll sing most of it in jibberish and then finish out the final word in each sentence as loud as you can. If you don’t know the words, it’s a lot of melodious nonsense words.

You count anything and everything, and you even recognize most numbers from 1-10 and will point them out in stores, on your toys, and anywhere else you see them. You also know some of your letters – E, R, Y, M, O, and S is a 5.

You love when your daddy takes you across the street to the park. You constantly find abandoned balls and bring them home – we have several baseballs and soccer balls that you refuse to leave the park without. Next to the park is a horse corral, so every time we’re leaving, you go over to the horses and give a huge hug to whichever one comes up to the fence. Super cute, except for the horse snot I’m constantly washing out of your shirts.

Your eating has improved immensely. You’re eating far more than you have in the past – since you’ve been on solids we’ve thought you were going to starve to death since you’re just not interested – and you’ve also become a pro with a spoon or fork. I love that so much less food ends up on the floor, and you love that you can be independent in eating your own meals. If you like something, you always say, "MMM. Yummy!"

You’re still not sleeping great and if possible you’ve become even more annoying about it. You require sleeping with both of your blankets – the blue one on first, and then the brown. They must both be perfectly straight. Your stuffed puppy must be in the corner with his pillow bone. Mobile cranked up, musical jungle crib attachment on just the right volume. You go to bed late, and get up early. You often wake up several times during the night. You are currently a pain in the rear.

I love that once in a while you’ll walk into your playroom, turn on the t.v., close the door, and sit on your blue chair. I guess sometimes you just need a break from your parents. Also adorable is when you are finished. You turn off the t.v., stand on your blue chair to turn off the lights, and leave the room as quietly as you found it.

You do two things that I think are the cutest things I’ve ever seen, and I have no idea where you got either of them:

• When we ask you a question, you’ll tap your index fingers to your lips and say “hmmmmm” while you think about a response.
• You do this whole McCauley Caulkin Home Alone thing where you put your hands on the side of your face, open your mouth and eyes wide, and say “oh no!”

You’re incredibly coordinated. You love to jump, throw, run, kick, and walk backwards.

You are funny, smart, and delightful. You have your own distinct little personality, and besides naptime and bedtime, you’re the most enjoyable and happy child. I love every new thing you learn to do, and I love that your curiosity and enthusiasm never cease. We adore every little thing about you.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy