Tyler is Two!

Happy happy birthday to Tyler! I can't believe it was just two years ago that Tyler joined our family. He has brought us so much happiness, laughter, frustration, and joy over the past couple years. We celebrated his birthday this weekend (and Kylee's) with a family birthday party and dinner at Red Robin.

Want to see what our little cutie has been up to lately? Get ready for photo overload!

• Tyler doesn't really talk much (as in he doesn't say very many words yet), but he does love to "sing". He especially likes songs with hand motions (The Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Popcorn Popping, etc).

• He also likes to dance!

• Tyler loves the iPad. And honestly, I am happy to let him have it (so much so that I thought about doing an entire post just on this topic). I do try to limit it, but it lets me take a shower, make dinner, or even blog :-) And you know what? He actually learns stuff when he watches the iPad. A couple of his favorite channels on YouTube are the Mother Goose Club and Pancake Manor. These channels are full of nursery rhymes, songs about colors/shapes, songs about animals and animal sounds, etc. I think watching some of these has spurred his love of music and dancing. His most recent YouTube love is Peppa Pig - he will watch those episodes over and over! Daniel Tiger is his favorite show on Netflix/Hulu, and I love it! Each show has a theme, such as sharing or "using your words" or trying new foods or calming down when you're angry, and has a little jingle to help you remember what you've learned. I will sing those jingles every now and then when Tyler needs a little reminder about something. Tyler also likes playing games - the Wombi games are some of his favorites (Wombi Ice Cream, Wombi Toys, and Wombi Detective). I think the Wombi Toys game taught him about matching because one part of it requires you to sort legos into the appropriate color bins. It prompted me to play other sorting games with him, like having him put the Go-Fish cards in stacks according to color. His favorite color is blue. He is becoming a little smarty pants. 

• Tyler also likes my phone, but I never let him play with it since he has been known to send text messages, call people, etc. :-) He did manage to get my phone a few times and take some selfies though (you can take pictures without unlocking the phone).

• His favorite food is pizza, but he also likes berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries), macaroni, chicken nuggets, popcorn, cereal, granola bars, soup (mushroom, cheddar broccoli) and anything sweet. Tyler hates getting his hands dirty, so always wants to eat with a fork or spoon. He has only gained about a pound in the last 6 months and weighs in around 24 pounds. He is tall and skinny making it hard to find pants that fit him. Not many pants at this age have the adjustable waist band, so he has still been wearing 12-18 month pants up until recently when I was tired of it looking like he was wearing capris. Now his pants just always fall down :-) We finally transitioned him off a bottle. He was only getting them when he went to bed, but I knew he didn't need them anymore. I just took them away one day, and he didn't complain at all. He does still like milk at bed, though, so he gets it in a sippy cup.

• Tyler thinks stickers are the greatest thing ever. He also likes to color and play with play dough. I just ordered a paint with water book - I know he'll love that too!

• He recently transitioned to a "big boy bed"... mostly because we needed the crib for Bradley! Tyler does well sleeping in it for naps and at night, but we still struggle with him getting out of bed a dozen times when we first put him down (even after several weeks). It's SO frustrating! 

• Tyler likes playing at the park. No, let me rephrase that... he LOVES playing at the park. I feel like I should take him every day. He would love it and it would be nice for him to get some energy out. Unfortunately, I don't take him super often because I have to deal with his fit throwing when it's time to leave. He has become quite the fit thrower and I don't know what to do about it! He throws fits whenever it's time to leave somewhere he wants to stay (the park, grandma's, etc). It's embarrassing and frustrating. I may have been known to bribe him with M&M's when it's time to leave. I do have hope, though. I remember Kylee used to throw fits when it was time to leave grandma's house, and now she's a little angel :-)

• Tyler loves his dad. One of his favorite songs is "I'm so Glad When Daddy Comes Home." He also thinks it's pretty cool to wear daddy's gloves, daddy's hat, daddy's shoes, etc.

• Tyler also loves Kylee. She is his best friend. He wants to do anything she is doing and have any toy she is playing with :-) He also loves riding in the "cars" at the grocery store!

• Tyler recently went to his first movie... he did really well for the first hour. After that? Well, let's just say I'm glad we were at the dollar theater and there weren't a lot of people there!

• Balls are some of Tyler's favorite toys. He always wants to kick, throw, or shoot a ball. I just have to remind him, when he tries to throw other toys, that "we only throw balls."

• Tyler thinks our new fish are pretty cool.

• Tyler gives the best hugs and kisses. He gives them out freely. He also gives kisses when he knows he has done something wrong. It is his way of saying he is sorry.

• Tyler still loves reading books. He especially loves the Pigeon books by Mo Willems.

I sure love this boy of mine. He is my best buddy and keeps me company during the day. I am looking forward to lots more learning and playing with him.