Guess It's Been A While

Hmmm...I guess it's been a while. I have a list of excuses--final exams, doctoral applications, a crashed hard drive, and an adorable little boy who I would much rather be playing with than sitting in front of the computer! haha

Ollie's been a two year old for almost two months now, and we're still waiting for the "terrible twos." He's such a sweet little boy and WAY too easy for a toddler. Every once in a while, he'll wake up in the middle of the night...but when we go to him, he will simply tell us what is wrong. A few weeks ago when he woke up, he told us his mouth and ear hurt. So, we figured it was new molars coming in...and we were able to respond appropriately. He loves to be our "helper" and is a good sport about tidying up, running errands, preparing meals, and going to school with Mama. He LOVES puzzles right now and continues with his pretend play, especially in his little kitchen. He's also started "reading" us stories. They're awesome. They usually begin with "Once upon a time..." and almost always involve food. My favorite is a story he tells about a bowl of oatmeal that melts and turns into a bowl of suckers. If only that could really happen!

He's still a super sleeper--taking a two hour nap every afternoon and sleeping twelve hours at night. He got a "big boy" bed this week, and we turned our study/storage/multi-purpose room into his own bedroom. He's done great with the transition. His first night in the bed, he slept until around 4:30 and then crawled into bed with us. Last night, he made it until 6. I think it's been a more difficult transition for us. It was really weird going to sleep the first night without him in the room. I'm so used to just being able to look over at him in the middle of the night. It felt lonely not being able to do that...but both of us found ourselves sneaking into his room throughout the night just to make sure he was okay!

He asks TONS of questions. If one of us coughs or sneezes, he'll call out, "Mama (or Daddy), you okay?" Or, when one of us gets ready to head out, we hear, "Mama, you goin' to school?" or "Daddy, you goin' to work?" Or, if one of us is in the bathroom, he'll knock on the door and ask, "Anybody in there? Is anybody home? I'm here! Ollie come in please!" My favorite is when he asks, "Mama, what shall we do? Shall we play?" So cute!!

Today, he made up a new game which he called, "Humidifiering." (A pretty cool word). I discovered the game consists of finding toys that are small enough to be crammed inside of the water tank of our humidifier. It's actually pretty fun! He also likes to dress up in Mama and Daddy shoes and clothes and pretend like he's leaving. He'll say, "Bye! I'm leaving! I'm gonna go study!" Other super fun games he's created involve salad spinning pretend salads, passing around pretend offering bowls, making pretend pudding in his kitchen, and playing in his tent. He also still likes to pretend he's different animals and has started "hibernating" behind our curtains. He's really into hibernation right now.

Our biggest debate these days is whether or not he's a "grown-up." Ollie insists he is...but we aren't convinced. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to convince him he's a toddler. According to Ollie, he's "not a toddler! I'm a grown-up!"

Anyway, I'll try to post pictures soon. He got his hair cut shortly before Christmas, and I desperately miss his little curls...but he looks quite handsome.

One more little story. A few weeks ago, he saw me cry for the first time. He came over to me and asked, "Mama, you crying?" To which I replied, "Yes, Ollie, I'm sad." He thought for a minute and then pressed his cheek against mine, wiping the tears onto his cheek with his chubby little fingers and then said, "No...I'm sad. I'm crying." Then, he crawled into my lap and cuddled with me until we both started giggling. What a sweetie.

The three of us have so much fun together. I hope it stays this way for a long time!