Happenings in the Stacer Household: Evan

Yesterday, Evan officially turned 2.5 years old. How did it go by so fast?? I look at him and see this sweet, smart, funny little boy when not long ago, he was just a little baby to cuddle and hold. Now, he wants none of that - he wants to run, jump, ride his bike, and does not stop talking!

I figured 2.5 deserved an update so here's my attempt at capturing what's new in Evan's world!

Don't you love this pic? Our photographer Kathy Whittaker took it actually about 3 months ago during one of Caitlin's shoots but I couldn't resist it.

Language: There are too many words to put what he knows! I can't believe how much his language has exploded in just 6 months from when he was two. He speaks in full sentences most of the time. I almost always can tell what he's saying (although others not familiar with 2 year old speak may have a harder time). He communicates what he wants, what he's feeling, what other's are feeling (like "Sister is sad" when she's crying). He has opinions! I give him choices now (like you can wear brown pants or blue pants). He knows all his colors REALLY well. He knows a lot of the alphabet. He can repeat a lot of what he hears and likes to. I can ask him about school and actually get some useful information from him about what he did. It's just so much fun to have a conversation with him!

Motor Skills: He LOVES to run and jump! Nothing new there. He is great at sports (but I'm biased of course). He can kick balls really well, can play baseball, has a pretty good jump shot, and in general loves to play them. I can't wait to start him in a little soccer league or something in a year or two. We got him a balance bike for Christmas and although the weather hasn't been great, we've been out riding it a few times and already he goes pretty fast on it and is starting to actually balance on it. I think he's pretty much right there with all these skills.

Food: Evan still loves fruit although his tastes have changed somewhat. He used to eat any fruit but now he really dislikes melons. He loves berries of any kind - probably his favorite. For other food, it used to be a real challenge to get him to eat but he is doing so much better with sitting at the table and eating whatever we are eating. He likes all your typical toddler food (hot dogs, mac n cheese, chicken nuggets). He loves yogurt, raisins, crackers, and fruit snacks. He drinks mostly milk and water. He is NOT allergic to anything that we know of. I'd say he's a pretty typical 2 year old when it comes to eating.

Play: He loves to play with friends, especially Avery and Leah whom we see a lot. He also loves our nanny Elizabeth and Lucy her daughter and they have lots of fun together. When I ask him about school, he often mentions Alex and Landon as people he plays with. He has started to do pretend play which is fun to watch - he pours me tea and makes me muffins in our play kitchen. His favorite things are cars and trains - all boy here! He LOVES Thomas the Train and Chuggington so we often read those books. He has a new train table that he can play at for quite awhile. He also will just play with his cars all by himself, very contently while I am doing other things. He's not as much into Nemo although his favorite movies are probably Cars, Nemo, and Toy Story (and Thomas of course). He loves to go outside so hopefully we get nicer weather soon.

Sleeping: We usually put him to bed around 8:30pm after reading a few books. Most of the time, he just sits in his bed and talks or sings. He rarely falls asleep right away but I love to sit outside his door and just listen to him talk and sing to himself. So cute. He still takes a nap most days, usually from about 2-5pm although it varies. I'm just thankful he is still napping and hope it continues!! He is still in his crib... he's gotten out just a few times and I don't think he had the most graceful exit so he doesn't do it often. After potty training, we will probably think about transitioning him... it's just so nice to be able to put him in there and not have to worry about him getting up and wondering around or not going to sleep.

Potty Training: This past month, we've really been working at the potty training. At this point, he's doing great. He pretty much wears only underwear at the house and then a pull-up if we go out. I still put him in a diaper for nap and bedtime though. He is doing great with peeing on the big potty. However pooping is another story... we just cannot master that. I've heard it's pretty common so we will just keep working. But I'd love to be diaper free before long!!

I guess that's about all I can think of. He's a pretty good listener although he is familiar with time-out :) He's super sweet to his sister most of the time. Melts my heart! I have a love/hate relationship with growing up. I'll try and get some good videos of him singing or talking to himself in his bedroom if I can get to it. Did I mention he loves to sing?? I catch him singing all the time - especially Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Old Macdonald, Jingle Bells, and random other tunes. Too cute! Anyway, that's my 2.5 year old Evan update! Love you buddy!

Here's just a few pictures I pulled out from the last 2.5 years to see how he's grown!