2 1/2 years old!!!

*** I started this post over a month ago - Cort turned 2.5 on July 11th!!! Better late than never. This is really a way for me to keep tabs on these things he's doing at certain times in his life...it's a bit long. Read if you want.

I can not believe we're on the "other side" of 2!! Heading to 3!! That is weird!!!

It is amazing to me how grown up Cort is now. The transition from 2 to 2.5 has been huge but oh so fun. I love the big jump from making sentences to full out communication. His little voice just makes my heart smile and he always says the cutest things. I say everyday that I need to write something down and then always forget. That makes me sad. Some of the things I love aren't even just what he says but more how he says them. I love the way he says "yes." I don't even know how to describe it but he sort of draws it out and has this "of course" sentiment to it. I also think it's cute that he says, "yes, ma'am" even to Chris. We've been working a lot on using "big boy" or "respectful" words to ask for things instead of fussing and it makes me happy to hear his little voice ask for things with a "may I" and a "please."

His imagination runs rampant. He pretend plays all the time now - carrying on conversations and all sorts of scenario's with his toys or with thin air. I love to sit back and watch him do it. He comes up with the best little scenario's. I love it when he randomly runs our of the room only to return to bring me some "cake" or "french fries"..... or to invite me to go into the jungle or swim in the ocean.

He still just gets so excited about life. I pray that he will always keep that spirit. He has such a fun, silly little nature.

He still loves cars, trucks, and trains but has found a new love for animals. He is particularly fond of elephants. We have a mommy, daddy, and 2 baby elephants and they are almost always at arms length and he is very into feeding them. A time or two I have come out from doing something with Cohen and founds piles of raisins or nuts or something he got out of the pantry to feed the elephants. (working on the "not allowed in the pantry" rule) He has been playing with his little people animals a lot recently and particularly the Noah's arc. He likes to take them in the bath tub and for it to flood and then he lets all the animals out after, "God stops the rain." Whenever we ask him if he wants to thank God for something when we say the blessing he always says, "Yes, rain."

His love for books continues to be strong. I think he would read a million at bed time if we let him. He is very into numbers and letters. He'll count to eleven but always skips the number 3. He can say his alphabet but only identifies a few. His favorite letter is W. I have no idea why. He also is still really into crafts - he colors and paints for extended periods of time.

He is also really into singing right now. It isn't unusual to hear him singing or humming as he sings. He picks up on songs pretty quickly. I love driving around town with his little voice singing in the backseat.

He loves to help me cook right now. As soon as I stand at the kitchen counter he runs to get his chair and says, "I'll help you, Mommy." I have to be really careful not to have things to close to his reach or we end up with all sorts of extra ingredients in our dishes!

We have a plum tree and a blackberry bush in our backyard and he LOVES to pick them and eat them. I mean, this boy can pack in some plums. He calls them, clums, which i don't really correct because I think it's super cute. He has almost lost all of those "doesn't say it quite right words" so I cherish the ones that are still there.

He also loves snacks. We play a game some times where for example I'll ask him, "what do you like better... red or green?..... cows or pigs? ....etc. When I asked him if he liked mac n' cheese or potatoes better he thought for a second and answered, "snacks" - I guess he wanted a "none of the above" choice.

I continue to be amazed at how well he has adjusted to Cohen being around especially since we didn't prepare him for it. He is very sweet with him. He loves to run in his room when he hears him waking up and climb up to see him in the crib. He will voluntarily share his toys with Cohen ( I know i need to enjoy this while it lasts!!!) and he loves to try to help him hold things. He also recently has liked to help him roll over - Mommy's not so sure about that one!! I love it when he's playing and he'll include Cohen in whatever he's doing. He'll say things like, "Look ,this car is red, Baby Cohen." Too cute.


Cort remains a Daddy's boy. He just adores his Daddy and I love it. He imitates what we do all day but he really strives to be like his Daddy.

As far at the terrible twos go - they really haven't been so terrible so far. I know we've got years to go!! For the most part our three biggest struggles are fussing, stalling( this is new), and calming down when he's gotten overly hyper.

Cort - I love you more than you could ever know. I feel privileged to be your mother and love watching you grow everyday. I thank God for you.