Boys

I am still trying to figure out the mind of the male.  This morning Scrumpy repeatedly banged his eye into my knee.  After I told him to stop he kept telling me "ow" and pointing to his eye.  Then he kept wanting me to kiss his owie.  I mean, if he didn't bang his eye into my knee there would be no owie..right?  Boys are strange.

Weekend in Vegas for Two-Year Olds!

This past weekend, Scrumpy had the ulitmate indulgence, two birthday parties!  He played with sand, climbed playgrounds, rode slides, and basically ran until he could not run no more.  What could be top that?  Hmmmm...chips, peanut butter and jelly and then the contraband.  Party #1 -he honed in on a small kids table with several open juice boxes.  After he was done with his stealth operation, they were just open EMPTY juice boxes.  Party #2- after we broke down and gave him a juice box which he pounded, he found an unsuspecting Gramma (note, he had never seen her before in his life), batted his eyelashes and asked for "juice", which she proceeded to garner for him.  INCREDIBLE! 

After lunch and playing, came cake.  Cupcakes at party #1 and not only cupcakes at party #2 but a slice of chocolate cake on the side.  I think he thought he hit the motherlode, until he got his party favors...sidewalk chalk at party #1 and bubbles and jelly beans at party #2.  I have never seen him more happy, more stimulated and more exhausted that I did this last weekend. 

Oh and just in case anyone wondered or cared...the parents were dog dead tired too!  Thank you Josie, Owen, and Clara for inviting Scrumpy and Possum to celebrate your special days!

Vocab Update

We have had a vocabulary explosion since turning 2.  While he isn't completely clear, the number of words he says is growing leaps and bounds.  What is even more great is that he is actually making sentences.  For posterity sake, I am going to record a few of Scrump-isms:

Belly Button- Bell bell
Pillow- Hill bill
TV- Hee bee
Pablo-Baba
Motorcycle/Bicycle- Bi-i-cle
Daddy- Dah ee
Gilligan (or any dog for that matter) -Geegan
Ethan- Arsh ( WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY)

Time with the cousins

Labor day weekend, we were able to carve out some special time to spend with the cousins.  We spent the day at Casa Avila, playing soccer, blowing bubbles, riding razors and bi-i-cles.  When we tried to get ready to go home, we were given the hand ups..."NO".  Clearly, we are just not as fun as as a 7 year old and 9 year old, even thought both of us took our turn out in the soccer field.

Gilroy Gardens

On the adivce on some mommies, we took our brood to Gilroy Gardens.  This is a great place for toddlers!  Nestled in Gilroy, hidden amongst several micro-gardens are "thrill rides" for the yard apes, playgrounds, and more benches per square foot than I have ever seen at a theme park.  I saw more strollers than any baby store I've ever visited.  Perhaps the best attraction was the gigantic playground covered in the shade.  I think he would have spent hours there if he could have.

If we had any doubt that Scrumpy was a thrill seeker, those days are over.  He loved the rides.  Even when we stopped at the top of the ferris wheel, he was completely thrilled.  He didn't really take to the concept of waiting in line very well.  When the exit gates opened, he wormed his way in.  I can't really blame him though, as to him, this seemed like the route of least congestion so why not take that path?  We just had to keep an extra careful eye on that.  He is also very much programmed to be a boy.  He kept trying to climb the railings, crawl between the railings, etc.  If I could have chased him around with antibacterial gel all I day I would have, but I think Patrick would have thought I was neurotic. 

I cannot wait to take him on his first roller coaster ride.

Two Year Old Stats

We went for our two-year old well baby visit. And we were very proud of the fact that we were only a month late!  August has been busy.  Here's the low down:

Weight- 32 lbs - 85th percentile
Length- 3 ft 2inches- 98th percentile
Weight for length ratio- 50th percentile
Head Circumference- 50.5 cm-90th percentile

Bottom line is that we have a BIG boy.  He is trending to be 6' 4" at final height, however, they told Patrick this as well when he was young and apparently he never hit it so he's a little skeptical.  The good news is that while he is a big boy, his isn't too chunky, yet, if you carry him I would bet my last dollar that you would say you were carrying a tons of bricks!

Some interesting things they ask at the two year mark include:

Does he scribble?  Uh yes
Does he know how to jump? Are you kidding me?!
Does he point to thing he wants you to look at? Too often
Do you feel he attempts to manipulate?  All the time!

So I guess at the end of the day, we are blessed to have a healthy, well developing child.  Thank goodness the next appointment is a year away!