Riley turns 2

And the catch up blogging begins. Craig finally bought me a new computer! One of my arguments for needing it was to blog and document our family, so I must keep up my end! I'm going to try to backdate my posts and get them in the correct order as I go, we shall see if I can figure it out.

January 29, 2012 Riley turned 2. I once feared the Terrible Two's, until they approached me. I doubt they can be much more difficult than 18 months- 2 years. If there is one thing Riley has been consistent with- it's being a challenge! This kid is stubborn, particular, feisty, and determined. And everything that drives us crazy about him is exactly what we love about him! Some highlights (good and bad) at 2....
- We went through a very difficult phase of hitting and pushing other kids (but at 2 years, 1 month it seems to be fading). This caused a lot of apologies, embarrassment, and avoiding other people. It was NOT a fun time. Thankfully we never had the biting problem.
- Bed time continues to be a challenge and seems to get worse and worse. I'm beginning to have very little hope of this kid ever going to bed happy.
- Tantrums. He's actually become an easier kid at home, but has become harder to take places. I've pretty much quit cooking because it's too difficult to take him to the grocery store!
- He's learning to clean up after himself. He goes and throws things in the trash on his own and with some encouragement cleans up his toys. He's never liked a "mess" and has been using that word for some time. Unfortunately, he sometimes uses it in other people's homes.
- He talks and talks and talks. He has so much to say and for the most part he and I understand each other, though i'm not sure everyone knows what he is saying. He's using sentences and putting ideas together and it's so exciting to watch! I'm pretty sure I hear momma or mommy a thousand times a day.
- Despite my above description, he's overall a happy boy. He laughs and melts us with his smiles daily.
- He's become more fond of his Da-da recently and often cries when he leaves for work. One morning he even exclaimed, "Da-da, don't go to work!" I think it was the longest sentence he'd said up to that point. I"m hoping he transitions to wanting Da-da to put him to bed and give his bath and all those other things he only lets me do soon!
- Riley continues to be a good eater and I'm grateful for an easy kid in that department.
- His favorite toys are choo choo trains, cars, dinosaurs, and stuffed animals (particularly Baby Giraffe).
- He sleeps about 10 hours a night and takes a 1.5 hour nap, although I'm afraid he's wanting to give that nap up. I'm not quite ready for that. I pray if we have another kid, it's a sleeper!

To sum it up, this kid is a handful and drives me crazy a lot of days, but I wouldn't change him for the world. He is certainly our world, around which everything we do revolves.
Happy 2 years Riley boy.