Our little squishy, as we call him, turns 2 today! I know, I know, I was much better at posting updates about Aiden when he was this age, but let’s face it – 2 kids keeps you a lot busier than one does! So, here is my update on Parker on his 730th day of life:
- He loves to dance, listen to music, and make music – and he actually has pretty good rhythm! When we were in Seattle this summer we would have dance parties every night before bedtime and he would stand in front of the stereo speaker and groove. He also wants everyone else in the room to dance with him and if you aren’t, he’ll run up to you and say “dance!” until you comply. He’s also mastered the air guitar.
- He loves to draw. I don’t remember Aiden being so into art when he turned two and I’m sure it has something to do with Aiden drawing so much now. Parker can sit for a good amount of time with a pencil and piece of paper and draw tiny circles all over it. Sometimes I see all the perfect circles on the paper and wonder if he inherited the type A genes, too.
- He’s talking A LOT. Much of what he says is incoherent, but every day he amazes me with a new word or phrase. This morning he saw me in my running clothes and he said “mommy go for a run.” His favorite thing to say is “Is ___.” He’ll walk around the house pointing to things and say “is book,” “is mommy,” “is elephant,” etc.
- He has no fear. Parker is not afraid to do things than Aiden is still afraid of doing. Many of these things have to do with climbing up to tall areas without even looking down.
- He is my cuddle bug. He is very good at self-soothing himself with his binky and blanket. Every time he starts to cry or get upset, he runs into his room, grabs both, and just curls up on the rocking chair by himself. If I’m close by, he’ll snuggle with me until he feels better, then says “binky away” and runs to put them both in his crib.
- He loves to read – especially Curious George! Sometimes I’ll find him in the playroom by himself “reading” books out loud. Sometimes he’ll be there for over an hour reading different books.
- Aiden is his entire world. He wants to do everything with Aiden, go everywhere Aiden goes, and do everything that Aiden does. So far Aiden loves it and seems to have the same amount of affection for Parker. Hopefully that never goes away. In fact, the other day Parker slipped on a piece of paper and fell down and started to cry. All of a sudden Aiden was hysterical, crying harder than Parker. I asked Aiden what was wrong and he said he didn’t like it when Parker got hurt.
Has it really been 4 months since I last posted an update? Time has gotten away from me and frankly, I’ve just been swamped writing for my two jobs, which has me maxed out and not really motivated to write for leisure. A lot has happened over the past 4 months – here’s a quick run down:
- My about.com site went live – which means I’ve got lots of writing to do (at least 8 articles per month). Check it out – and come back often because I am constantly adding new articles! http://sociology.about.com
- We took a huge road trip this summer. We went to Denver for my cousin’s wedding and decided to stay for a week to see old friends and soak in the beautiful Colorado landscape. We then drove to Seattle and stayed for 6 weeks before driving home through San Francisco and staying with friends for a few days. In Seattle we stayed at Justin’s parents’ condo and got to see a lot of family and friends. Justin and I were both working, so it wasn’t all fun and games, though we did take plenty of time out to play. The kids had a great time and enjoyed the cool weather! I think by the end of the trip, however, everyone was ready to get back home and resume our normally scheduled program.
- Aiden started Kindergarten a month ago. He had a very rough first day and cried hysterically when mom and dad dropped him off. It was heart wrenching, but the teacher assured me that he was fine as soon as we left and class started. The second day there were a few tears, but by the third day he seemed to actually be enjoying himself. He now loves it and is all smiles and excitement when I pick him up every day. He’s got math and writing homework every night and he is usually excited to do it, asking me as soon as we get home to help him with it. It’s so much fun watching him learn so much – Justin and I both feel like his brain has expanded ten fold in the past month. It kind of makes me think he wasn’t pushed enough during pre-school.
- I was forced to take a month off of running due to a hip injury and therefore decided not to do the Chicago marathon. The orthopedic doctor told me it was basically just very inflamed, gave me a prescription for anti-inflammatories, and said not to run for 2-3 months. After about a month I decided to try a different route and went to see an acupuncturist. After one treatment, my hip was totally back to normal and I was able to run the next day. I am now a firm believer in acupuncture!!! I am back to running and have decided to train for the Tucson marathon in December.
- Justin and I both decided to try a paleo diet. This basically means we eat fruit, vegetables, meat, and nuts. No wheat, sugar, dairy, or anything refined. We both feel amazing and plan to keep it up for a long time. To read more about this decision and how we’ve been feeling, please read my She Runs Strong blog here, here, and here.
- Parker turns two in two weeks and I can hardly believe it! He has grown up so much over the past few months and is now starting to talk in 2-3 word sentences. He loves music and loves to dance. He’s also very into drawing and will often sit for long periods of time drawing tiny circles on a piece of paper. He is also obsessed with his big brother and wants to be just like him. He’s a little copycat and gets very upset if Aiden leaves without him (like every morning when Aiden goes to school).
Last night was Aiden’s graduation from Pre-K. The ceremony was pretty elaborate for 4 and 5 year olds, but quite cute! There were 30 kids in all between two classrooms. Each class took turns reciting a bible verse and then singing a song, and then each kid was called up to accept his/her diploma. Below are two videos with these highlights.
