Will at 2.5!

Will hit the 2.5 year old mark in early June, so I figured I'd do a little Will-centric post. First things first, you should all know that no one calls him Will... That's how I refer to him on my blog, but everyone calls him Taco. Why Taco? Well that is what Paul named him when I was pregnant and the name stuck. Earlier this spring, I met the mom of his favorite friend at school during pick up and said how much Taco talks about her son, Mack. She asked what my son's name was and I said Will and she was like, 'oh, ok.' (it was evident her son had not talked about his friend Will). Then I said - well, he goes by Taco and her face lit up and she said, 'Oh Taco! Yes, we hear about Taco all of the time!' I will admit I am a little bit insecure about calling him Taco in public - I wonder if people think I'm a monster that named her child Taco! I mean, there are some unique names out there (like Apple??). So I usually say Taco followed by Will or William so it's clear I did not name my child after a food. He's most likely to listen when I say Taco because that is what he will tell you his name is! 

Growth: He seems big to us compared to Paul (they are only about 4 pounds apart) but he's smaller-to-average in terms of weight at 28 pounds but is kind of tallish with a long torso. He wear 18m shirts and all other clothes are 2T. 

Words and phrases: He had a bit of speech delay around 1-1.5 years due to all his ear infections but that has certainly reversed itself! He talks A LOT now. He is my little shadow baby so is always saying, "I come wif?" He used to say "Amo" (Spanish for I love) when I said good night but now he says "I love you." He understands Spanish and speaks some words in Spanish, but if I try to say words in Spanish to him, like the Spanish word for different animals he yells "NO!!!" at me. I don't know what that is all about! While his language has come a long way, he still struggles to communicate, especially when he is frustrated. He can go from perfectly happy to being splayed out face down on the ground screaming over who knows what. It's kind of impressive. 

Likes:

- He is the hugest fan of being outside. He basically wants to be outside from when we wake up to when we go to bed. I love his enthusiasm for the outdoors but sometimes it's a source of conflict/big emotions, like when he needs to eat a meal. Yes, we could eat outdoors, but it's kind of a production to haul everything out to our patio so it's easiest to just eat in our kitchen. Luckily he still loves stroller walks and asks to go for walks in the stroller. 

- He loves the children's museum and in particular, the car wash station. He also went through a phase where he was very into the broom and dust pan. So he seems to kind of like cleaning but it's not like he's gung ho to clean up toys exactly... 

- He is a big fan of Taylor Swift - I have obviously influenced that love. He gets obsessed with songs and asks for the same one over and over. His last favorite was "The Great War" and now he's in love with "Paris." He really liked "Anti-Hero" when it first came out. It was cute to hear him say the "hi" part of the lyric: "It's me, hi, I'm the problem it's me." When he is upset in the car, we listen to "You Need to Calm Down" and it magically seems to help. 

- He loves trucks/cars/things that go and has to sleep with 3 small matchbox-sized trucks - a bus, a pick-up truck, and a steamroller. In general, he has to sleep with a lot - he has a stuffed cat and snowy owl that have to sit-up/stand in the corner of his crib, and then he has a bunch of other lovies (cat, bunny, a pound patrol puppy that belong to daddy when he was a child). 

Dislikes:

- Oof this kid has STRONG opinions about things. He generally will NOT let me sing to him, with the exception of "You are my sunshine" at bedtime. But if I try to sing along to Taylor Swift in the car, he will voice his disapproval! That is one example of things he has strong opinions about. 

- He does not like to have his picture taken, generally speaking. He will say - no picture!! So I have to sneakily take his picture. 

Usual expression when I try to take a photo. 

Eating: He's a better eater than Paul but that isn't saying much... His favorite food is yogurt. He likes lots of different fruits, peanut butter toast with banana, pizza, crackers, chips, etc. So basically give him all the carbs and he is happy. Every night, Phil, Taco and I share an apple while watching Wheel of Fortune. He is very into routines/schedules so he will start asking for wheel and apple after dinner. But in all seasons of the year, even when it is very warm in the house, he insists on sitting on the couch with a blanket over his lap while eating his slices of apples. 

A rare time that he was eating an apple without a blanket in his lap. But he's got a blanket in hand!

School: He moved into the Young Preschool room at school this week! He learned so much in his last room so I know his learning will continue to take off. He knows most of his ABCs but prefers to sing-scream "NOW I KNOW MY ABCS..." He can count to 10 in English and Spanish. We had school pictures recently and he was clearly not a fan. Lol. 

Potty training: Oof, we have not attempted this. They will really focus on potty training in the young preschool room so we'll wait until they have success to focus on this at home. Our biggest challenge with Will is constipation/frequent teeny tiny bowel movements, which then results in a nasty diaper rash, which then makes him try not to poop, and the cycle repeats itself. We've seen his pediatrician for this but we are kind of at a loss for what to do. Paul had trouble with constipation but miralax did the trick. We have his 2.5 year pediatrician appointment tomorrow so hopefully we can figure out a plan/solution. We've been using miralax but can't seem to find the right dose/frequency of dose.

Brother relationship: Paul and Taco are getting better and better at playing together. Taco really WANTS to play with Paul but sometimes Paul has a very defined idea of what he wants to do - like he wants Taco to be a character in the show Wild Kratts... But generally they play well together and get along. Taco insists on hugging everyone before the parent handling bedtime takes him upstairs - he walks around w/ his arms open saying, 'Hugs! Hugs!' I hope their bond continues to strengthen and develop!

Isn't this how you would watch Wheel of Fortune with your brother? 

All in all, he is a sweet, funny, affectionate little guy. I can't imagine our family without him! It appears as though he is going to be the class clown as he loves to make people laugh!