Dance Master

Padyn had her dance recital last weekend. She clearly loved being up on stage dancing her heart out. She was one of the few performers who actually looked like they were having fun. It was heartwarming to watch her up there, face shining with a huge grin. It literally brought tears to my eyes. Unfortunately she isn't as good at gracefully accepting compliments and congratulations after her performance, but we will continue to work on that... I love her poses...

Photo Friday-2 year old Comparison

I should have done this a month ago...all the kids at 2 years old. All these were taken within days of their two year old birthday, if not on the day itself. Just in case you haven't been paying attention, the order for the pics is Padyn, Robbie, then Kate. I didn't go in birth order because I wanted have Robbie's pics between those of his sisters' so I could get a better look at how he stacks up to them.

I think he clearly resembles Padyn more than Katelyn. In this picture of Padyn where her hair isn't done, she looks so much like Robbie to me. Robbie thinks so, too. He was sitting next to me when I was posting the photos. He kept pointing at the screen and saying, "Bobbie!"

One thing I noticed as I was browsing their photos...they all had extremely runny noses when they turned two!

Happy Friday.

Another Two Year Old

Dear Robbie,

On April 17th of this year, you turned 2. And it was like a switch was flipped. You went from a calm little bundle of cuddles to a tantrum throwing crazy monkey. Though still cuddly, you now love running around kicking balls, jumping in your crib, and trying to ride your sister's scooter. I swear that was not the case two weeks ago.

You are a pretty happy boy. Smiley and chatty until you don't get your way. Then...well, then you scream like your finger is trapped in a door. And you keep screaming. And screaming. Your stamina is quite impressive. Tiring, but impressive. That must be why you like 3 hour naps. I don't know if you actually sleep that long. Just today I came in after you had been in bed for 3 hours, and you were just lying there, happy to play silently with your crib bumper. And you love your bedtime routine. We read a couple books (chosen by you, and you are very picky about it), then we sing you a song. Since Mommy and Daddy takes turns putting you to bed, we sing you different songs. I don't know about Daddy's songs, but you will only let me sing one to you every night. If I try to change it, you lift your head off my shoulder and say, "No, Mommy." I've tried to trick you. I've tried to put you down without singing the whole thing, or stand up to put you down while I'm still singing. You will not have any of it. I have to sing 3 verses of "Come Thou Fount" then you are happy to go into your crib. You aren't a big eater. You love your snacks...the crunchier the better. But you refuse to try most new foods. You really don't even try. You just hand it back to me, shaking your head and saying no. Or, you put things in your mouth, chew them, then spit them out. You would be content to survive on diary products and crackers if I let you. But you know what you do love? Watching TV. You don't love to watch just anything. You love the movie "Cars" and you constantly ask for Veggie Tale videos. Well, actually, you ask for Bob and Larry. You call it "BoBo." You don't like Baby Einstein. As soon as you see the little Disney Tinkler Bell intro, you freak out and start crying. Waving your hands at the TV, you turn away repeating, "NO!NO!" I think a little toy mouse popping out of a fake piece of cheese startled you once and has ruined all the videos for you. Oh well. I was ready to get rid of those anyway.While you have been running around much more lately (and running away from Mommy), you are also happy to sit still. You love coloring. You prefer to use Padyn's felt tip markers, since she doesn't want you to, but you are happy with most writing implements. You also love hanging out in the recliner. You look at books, DVD cases, my iTouch, or just lie there with your hand on your tummy. That is the most soothing thing for you. Once that pacifier goes in your mouth, you stick your hand on your tummy and sometimes, even when it isn't your nap time, you look like you are going to fall asleep. And speaking of my iTouch, you know how to unlock it. And play music. And open up the apps that you like to play. And you can play them. There is this game called Shapebuilders, designed for preschoolers,where you drag shapes over into the right spot until an image is revealed. Up until about 2 weeks ago, you couldn't do it. You pushed too hard, couldn't drag the pieces with your fingers, and always had two fingers on the screen so nothing would move. But now...about 9 times out of 10, you can do it yourself. When you get bored, you skip over to the Dress Chica app from Sprout. You love Chica. That's another word you say. But remember those tantrums I was talking about before? That's what you throw when I make you give up the iTouch. I'm sure you will asking for your own by your 4th birthday.But you do love running. Just a couple days ago you figured how to kick a ball. And you don't just kick the ball...you dribble it. And when that gets tiresome, you line it up on the grass so that when you kick it, it goes right into the street. It doesn't matter where I kick the ball to or how I try to distract you, you pick up that ball, carry it to the bottom of the lawn above the sidewalk and kick as hard as you can into the street. It's lovely. Fortunately, you don't run into the street after it. Then we couldn't have the soccer ball in the front yard anymore.

You like saying "No." Usually you include a hand shake with it, just to emphasize your point. Sometimes you use the word "Go!" interchangeably. You also like saying apple (though don't eat them), uppie,Robbie, Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Paul, Chell (for your babysitter, Michelle), car, go car, all done, puppy, poop, strawberry and BoBo. And just yesterday I noticed that you now say "bee" when referring to any type of insect. You still use a guttural sound for your sisters' names. It sounds the same for Padyn and Katelyn. You don't seem to have words for the things you like the most-paci and milk. Usually you just point in the direction you think it is in. This is what I think of as your "look." It usually means you are not happy with whatever I have just said or am forcing you to do. Lately, you have been putting up a fight whenever I pick you up and try to carry you around in public (like at Padyn or Katelyn's school). You want to walk and explore on your own. Which is funny, because by about 5pm, you become very clingy and won't leave my side. You climb on my feet and bury your head into my legs until I pick you up or peel you off. Usually only a video will change this behavior. You want to be up when I'm cooking and cleaning...always the most inconvenient times. Unless, of course, Daddy is home. Then you whine and cling to Daddy.

You love big boys, especially your cousin Trevor. And you love your momma...and your sisters....but mostly, you are all about Daddy. You adore your Daddy. He calls you his fan. Secretly, he loves it, so don't let him tell you otherwise. You keep hanging out with him while he's trying to work on the truck or on his computer. He may complain, but mostly he's faking it. You are currently his favorite thing ever.

Happy Birthday, Buddy. We love you.