TJ at 2 Years Old

2 years ago we were so worried about our little boy. The day he was born, we didn't know what to expect. But he was such a little fighter (and I mean LITTLE!) We've always had to "correct" his age on the development scale. TJ never developed as he should for his age...he has always been a few months behind. He didn't sit up until 11 months old, didn't walk until 19 months old...but all the doctors said "hopefully he'll catch up by 2 years old". Well here we are! (drumroll please!)

TJ is a normal little 2 year old boy...all caught up! He finished his Physical Therapy a few months ago, and is finally done with all of the "doctor" stuff he went through for the first 20 months! He loves cars, trucks, and loves playing ball. He knows the difference between a football, soccer ball, and basketball...and he can throw and even catch really well! He runs around like a crazy-man, and he can be super-silly. He LOVES his Daddy (he is totally a Daddy's boy, but that's ok because Kayla is Mommy's girl), and he loves to be chased around the house. He can figure out a puzzle in just a few minutes, and loves to read books.

TJ would be a vegetarian if Mommy would allow it. We generally have to trick him into eating his meat, but he eats any vegetable or fruit we put in front of him. He goes to bed at the same time as his sister, 7:30pm every night, and we don't hear from him until 7am the next morning (we had a few weeks recently when he thought 6am would be fun for a while, but luckily I think he's over that). He wakes up often giggling & playing with his "blankie" (a blue blanket we cover him up with) or pointing out everything in his room (we see him in the monitor pointing at things and saying "bear! door! floor! wall! mickey!" etc. When he's done entertaining himself, he stands up and starts his "DaddyDaddyDaddyDaddyDaddy" chant. He can be a little cranky when he first wakes up, and we find ourselves needing to give TJ about 15 minutes after coming downstairs before he is ready to discuss breakfast. All he wants is his milk when he first comes down (requested as "please milk please"). When he is finally ready for breakfast, he usually eats a waffle & fruit, yogurt & fruit, or oatmeal. He'll eat any vegetable & any fruit at any time...so we never worry about his health! He is catching up a bit in his height (he's finally around the 10th percentile) but he's still super-skinny (not on the chart yet at only 23 lbs)!

Our little boy is super-smart. He can say his ABCs and count to 20 just like his sister, but he also recognizes all 26 letters of the alphabet! He points out letters in books, on signs, and our magnets on the fridge. He can tell you the sound that just about every animal makes, and he likes to sing songs like Baa Baa Black Sheep & Happy Birthday. TJ is even happy playing by himself, and often you can find him just pushing his cars around the floor, sitting & reading a book, drawing on his magnadoodle (he can draw a circle), or running through the house dribbling a soccer ball (he's a great kicker!). He also gives great hugs, wrapping his arms around your neck and putting his head down on your shoulder...and blows kisses with a big "MWAH!" TJ still takes a 2 or 2 1/2 hour nap every afternoon (both of our kids are great sleepers!). He can climb up the stairs at mach-speed, sometimes he's at the top already when Kayla is only on her 2nd or 3rd step. He tries to climb in and out of the bathtub himself, but his little legs are still too short!

Our little boy is still in a tiny body...but he is super strong both physically and mentally! He can melt your heart with his toothy smile or his hearty laugh (especially when being tickled)!

Playing Peek-a-Boo


Being silly with his "Sissy" (as he calls her):


Entertaining himself with bibs...a lot of them!


Showing off his letter recognition skills