Will at Age 2

Will turned 2 a month ago and I'm finally getting around to writing his 2-year update! It's kind of hard to believe he's 2. It's been the longest, shortest 2 years. The pandemic has made those years extra squishy in my mind since his early months were so different. But we've made up for lost time since this summer as we've been out and about a ton and he's seen lots of family and friends! 

Growth: He weighs 27 pounds and is 37" tall. Funnily, Paul is about 32 pounds so he is really closing in on him! He wears 24m bottoms and 2T tops, and size 6 shoe. His 3rd 2-year molar is poking through. So we are almost done with teething - yay!!!

Words: He says a lot of words but isn't quite stringing words together yet. He says a mix of Spanish and English words but probably more English than Spanish now. Although he says "Amo" for love you. I say "te amo, I love you" when I put him to bed and he said, "amo, bye." It's really cute! 

He is still a little bit speech delayed. It's not concerning enough to warrant seeing a speech pathologist, though. He's saying more 2 word sentences like "all done" and, funnily, "go away." We think he developed this delay when he got all of those ear infections around 9-13 months. He has made a ton of progress in the last 6 months and I figure he will catch up completely. His doctor isn't worried so we aren't worried. But I do think his inability to really communicate is part of why he's a bit more, um, moody!

Moody even while eating a donut!

Loves:

- Cars. Do you see all the cars behind him in the picture below? He sleeps with cars. He eats with cars. He walks around with cars in his hands. He is OBSESSED. Paul liked cars, too, but not to this extent! 

- His brother! They don't always get along, of course, but in general they play pretty well together and I know Will adores Pablo!

- Being outside! We spent a ton of time at parks this summer and I know we'll do lots of sledding this winter. He still loves riding in his stroller, thank goodness. We can go for long walks by the lake in our neighborhood and he's happy as a clam!

- Carbs!! I mean, who can blame him, right? He loves carbs of all sorts, but chips, donuts, and cookies are his favorite. 

Yes, I let him have his own little bag of cheetos at a party this summer. It kept him happy!

- This last one is a random one, but he is obsessed with closing doors! He has to close all of the doors on the upper level before going to bed. And if we go into the bathroom to brush his teeth, he insists on closing the doors. 

Dislikes: Long car rides are still pretty miserable. He really has stamina when it comes to screaming. Hopefully it will improve when we turn his car seat around but we will keep him rear-facing until we are at least through winter. He also does not like waking up. He's pretty crabby in the morning and when he wakes from his naps. 

Eating: He's a better eater than Paul in general. His favorite foods are blueberries, cottage cheese, yogurt, mac and cheese, and, as mentioned above, carbs. The way I feed my kids does not look like how I pictured it before I had kids. Our pediatrician tells us that it will get better, though. Allegedly he eats very well at school, though! 

Loves blueberries!

He ate spaghetti sauce by the spoonful but was less interested in his pasta.

Sleep: He's a pretty good night sleeper but a not so great napper, at least at home for us. He goes to bed around 7 and usually sleeps until around 6. Naps are maybe 1-1.5 hours? Unless he's at school where he is the best napper in the room, of course! It's pretty easy to put him to sleep - we just read books and I sing "you are my sunshine." If I try to sing something else, he shuts that down with a NO!

Health: He had RSV in October but other than that, he's been pretty healthy. He definitely has the 'daycare runny nose' but overall he hasn't been very sick. He got his covid vaccinations this summer - it's been nice to worry less about covid between him having it in May and being vaccinated. 

Overall, he is a happy, sweet little guy who has the best laugh and smile. He has shown more of a preference for Phil lately. Maybe that is related to all the travel I've done for work? But Phil is seeing what it's like to be the favorite and it's not always the best! He has very strong opinions about things, though. Oof. Paul was pretty easy at 2 - I don't know that we'll say the same about Will... But I know each kid is different and his speech delay is probably not helping matters. My mom reminds me how frustrated my grandfather got after his stroke when he could not communicate. So I sympathize with how challenging it would be to know what you want but not be able to tell people what you want! 

I can't imagine our little family without this sweet, funny little boy!