My little boy

Oliver is well into his second month of being two. Since turning the big t-w-o I feel like Oliver has changed dramatically - that he has gone from a baby/toddler to a little boy.

Oliver loves routines. For example - Right now it is difficult to tell our house from the beach as there is so much sand inside - on the floors, in our shoes, in our beds... All of this sand means we've been spending lots of time at the beach. Oliver now knows the drill and hops out of the car at the beach and pushes his big truck down to the beach while I carry the other beach paraphernalia. Once we get down to the beach Oliver will, immediately, sit on the towel and wait while we get his swim diaper, beach clothes and sunscreen on. As soon as that is done - he is off and has selective hearing - but for those few minutes...

He also loves to work. At the beach the other day he spent forever carrying buckets full of water to his "house" and washing shells.


Other favorite activities include mowing the lawn (an activity he would like me to partake in, but since we've been spending our time at the beach and not watering the lawn, our lawn is pretty much non-existent (on the up-side this means no need to mow)), blowing bubbles, and riding his bikes. He alternates between peddling around the block on his trike and racing around the block on his balance bike. While this video shows a relaxed bike ride, this is not the usual. Oliver has figured out the balance bike and careens down the street at high speeds, sometimes narrowly avoiding obstacles, and sometimes crashing. I am seen sprinting along beside him trying to convince him to slow down and trying to catch him before he crashes - the whole time he is just laughing and yelling "Faster! Faster!" and then laughing hysterically when he falls.



Another new favorite activity is jogging. Ah yes, a typical conversation:

Me: "Oliver, what would you like to do this morning?"
Oliver: "Run fast."

He then puts on his sneakers and grabs a water bottle and he runs around the block a few times. I am not kidding, my two year old likes to go for a morning jog. He is definitely building up his endurance because he is now wanting to go on longer and longer runs. As my belly is getting bigger and bigger, I am wanting to go on shorter and shorter runs (and trust me, I do have to run to keep up with the little monster).

"Daddy - D" as Davis is now called is becoming more and more a favorite. Oliver is always asking for Davis when Davis isn't around, and often times refuses to do something (like build with blocks or go to the hardware store) because he wants to do it with daddy and not mommy.


Oliver's vocabulary is also improving. Not only does he repeat and retain almost everything - but in the past few weeks he also has gone from having three word sentences to five word sentences. I am often shocked by what comes out of his mouth.

And last, but certainly not least - Oliver is now primarily sleeping in his room. He naps in his room and he goes to sleep in his room. At about 2:00 I hear his door slam open and before I can even put my feet on the ground he is standing next to the bed and trying to climb in. I don't listen to the part of me that says I should bring him back to his room, instead I pick him up and he snuggles in between Davis and me. I know that sometime he will sleep all night in his room, but for now I am enjoying the few fleeting hours of cuddling my two year old (because lord knows, he never slows down long enough when he is awake for any cuddling).