24 Months

Age: 24 months

Adjusted Age: 20 months

Weight: 24 lbs (7th Percentile)

Height:  32.3 in (7th Percentile)
Diapers: Size 3 
Shirts/Onesies: 18-24 mo.

Pants: 12-18 mo.

Shoes: Size 6 

Naps: 1-3 hours (depending on how tired therapy makes him)

Sleeps: 10-11 hours

Communication:  He mostly uses two word sentences but does use three word sentences as well.  The biggest change this month is that he is able to put a string of sentences/words together to make a complete thought.  As in, "Mommy.  Saymool fever.  Hot!"
Loves:  Going for walks, washing his hands, vehicles of any kind, Dora the Explorer, mac n' cheese, green beans, and being outside.
Dislikes: Vacuum cleaners; eating; having his hair brushed, his face wiped, or his teeth brushed.

This post is a few days late (technically he just turned 25 months), but we only had Samuel's two year check-up last week.  In a previous post, I mentioned that he had hit the growth chart for weight.  Well...DUM DUM DUM...he also made it on the growth chart for height!!!  The doctor was very pleased with Samuel's development and with his new found table-food-eating-skills.  His words were, "What an accomplishment for a little boy born so early!"  I love that he celebrated with us.

With all of the progress he has made with eating, he has also learned the power of the word "hungry."  He discovered that he could weasel out of any situation by saying it.  He says it when he's scared, when he's mad, when he's bored, or when he's actually hungry.  Michael thinks he makes a good American.  ;)  Ha!

Samuel is going through an odd stage.  He isn't a baby, but he's not a little boy yet.  He knows what he wants to say, but can't communicate as well as he wants.  He wants to do things, but he can't do them JUST RIGHT.  Honestly, I was a bit blindsided by his resulting frustration.  Thankfully, he is just as easily pleased as he is angered...and boy, do I like it when he gives me that smile of his...

My favorite picture.  Ever.

He is always talking about work or mowing.  He thinks that anytime someone leaves that they are going to work.  He also seems to think that work=mowing.  He has this mental checklist of questions:

Samuel:  "Going?  Work?"
Michael:  "Yes.  I'm going to work."
Samuel:  "MOW!"
Michael:  "No, I'm not going to mow."
Samuel:  "Grass.  Outside?  Daddy's mower."
Michael:  "No, I'm going to work!  The grass doesn't need to be mowed."

He loves mowers.  Watching Michael mow the yard is the highlight of his week.  He's a bit scared of the sound, so he asks me to hold his hand while he moves from window to window, watching the mower go by.

In addition to work and mowing, he is always talking about "NOISE!"  He seems to understand that most toys/vehicles/appliances only make noise when they are on, and he is using "noisy" as an adjective very effectively.  Noisy car.  Noisy toy.  Noisy dump truck.

Samuel and his "noisy dump truck." Yes, I know it's a bulldozer.

We are working on identifying shapes, letters, and numbers...although we haven't had much luck with anything but shapes.  He can usually name a square, triangle, circle, rectangle, star, and a heart.  On the physical side of things, we are working on walking up stairs (like a big boy), kicking a ball, and throwing it correctly.

At the moment, he is struggling with the worst cold he has ever had - fever, congestion, coughing, no sleep, and minimal eating.  Despite our dark circles and sleep deprived brains, we've all managed pretty well.  I have had such a peace about this cold (whereas a couple of months ago, it would have put me in a panic of "Does he have RSV?", "Do we need to take him to the ER?", "WHY, oh WHY did we give back our pulseox monitor?!?")  I feel very strongly that it's time for us to see how his lungs handle a cold.  It will give us an idea of how he is going to deal with the big world of scary germs once RSV isolation ends!  Hopefully he will be back to himself soon...

See those dark circles under his eyes?  Poor little man.

Summer is around the corner and WE CAN'T WAIT!