2 1/2 Years

Ahh, how is my little baby two and a half years old?  I've been wanting to do a little update on him for awhile but haven't been getting around to it.  He was 2 1/2 as of February 4th.

Asher is definitely the highlight of our days.  He is happy and constantly keeping us laughing.  He is really sweet and such a fun boy.  Some things I want to remember about him:

And this is long, but I don't record things other places than here right now...so I want to remember this.

-He is always talking.  He loves to talk and talk and talk.  He asks questions, he talks about everything he sees, he is just a constant jabber jaw.  People are often amazed by all of the words coming out of his cute little mouth.

-One thing I love that he says:  If you give him a compliment, or someone says to him that he is cute, he always responds with a cute little 'thanks.'

-He loves singing.  He knows so many primary songs and other short songs.  Some of his current favorites are: Away in a manger, I am a child of God, You are my Sunshine, the Rainbow Song, Angels We Have Heard on High, the ABC's, and Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam.

-He is obsessed with the music from Frozen.  He always asks for the Reindeer song, the Olaf song, and the Build a Snowman song.  He knows so many of the words and sings in the sweetest, quiet little voice.

-He can count to 12 but always skips 7. :)

-His favorites things to play with right now: playdoh, puzzles, and books.  He also likes balls, cars, and his legos, but those are after he has already done the first three.

-He is BEYOND OBSESSED with Daniel Tiger.  He asks for it anytime he sees an iPad or iPhone, whenever he wakes up, and other times randomly throughout the day.  He will never choose to watch something else over Daniel Tiger.  I try not to let him watch it too often, but he loves it and while he's watching, he giggles and giggles.

-He is a pretty good eater.  He still loves fruit, anything with cheese (pizza, mac & cheese, quesadilla, grilled cheese), hummus, sandwiches, oatmeal, cereal, and some vegetables.  He'll usually eat whatever we are eating, but sometimes it takes some coaxing.  There are a few things I can NEVER get him to eat though - any kind of beans.  He takes one look and says, 'I don't like beans.'  Whether it is black beans, kidney beans, green beans, he just doesn't like beans.  

-He loves milk.

-He has a pretty set bedtime routine these days.  He likes to sit on his chair and have us tell him one story and then one song.  Then he lays in his crib and gets one more story and one more song.  He wishes he could have unlimited stories and songs.

-The other night he wanted to put me to bed.  He told me to lay in my bed and he climbed up with me.  He told me he would lay on my bed since I don't have a chair to sit on.  Then he told me one story - starting with 'once upon a time...' and going on for a good 30 seconds or so.  After that he sang me a song, told another story, and finally one last song.

-He has to sleep with his blanket, pillow and teddy bear.

-He loves nursery. He loves his cousins.  He loves his grandparents.  

-He loves to be held.  He holds onto me so tight and wraps both arms close around my neck.  He even likes to keep his cheeks pressed up against my cheeks when I'm holding him.  It is really sweet and I am loving that he is such a cuddly little guy right now.

-He still naps every day and usually sleeps around 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

-He loves dad SO much.  He would want dad to do everything for him.  He prefers dad to give him a bath, change his diaper, feed him, etc.  He especially wants dad to put him to bed every night.  Every single night after prayers he quickly says, 'Ok, dad's turn!'  Marcus is so sweet and usually says ok, even though he's done it for so many nights in a row it is definitely not his turn.  

-He always wipes off my kisses.  He has done this for the longest time now, it's like it is just subconscious.  He doesn't seem to mind the kisses, just quickly swipes his hand down his cheek after I kiss him.

-His kisses are the best.  He still doesn't pucker up his lips, he just touches his cheek to yours and says 'MUAH!'   

-When we say, 'I love you Asher' he always says 'I love you too.' 

-Whenever it is sunny or warm outside, he turns to me and says, 'mom, is it summer?'

-He always asks to go on bike rides to the park.  

-He is really particular about things.  He doesn't like specks or seeds or crumbs on any of his food. If it does, he won't eat it until he has picked it off.  He doesn't eat a piece of cereal if it is broken.  He can get pretty crazy about this kind of stuff and really will stress about it.

-He likes to be clean and always asks for a napkin during dinner.  Only he calls them 'apkins' which is pretty adorable.

-His understanding and vocabulary always amaze me.  The other day I said I was starving and then asked him if he knew what starving meant.  He thought for a minute, and then said 'like hungry?'  Another day I asked him what empty meant and he said 'all gone.' It's fun to me to see him understanding and answering these kinds of questions. 

-He can be quite stingy with his hugs or high fives.  He rarely will give a stranger or someone at church high five (and it seems that people ask all the time?).  When we are leaving our families he is willing to hug some but others he says no.  Then he usually laughs like he is teasing and knows that they really want that hug.  

-He still sits in his high chair and does at restaurants too.  He is starting to resist and wants to sit in a normal chair.  We are trying to prolong this as long as possible just because he is usually so good to sit and eat with us and let us enjoy our meals.

-He's also still in his crib and has never once attempted to crawl out.  He calls for us in the morning, saying, 'mom, dad, I'm awake.  mom, dad, come get me!'

We love this Asher boy!