I had to do the math TWICE to make sure 28 months wasn’t 2 and a HALF, but instead only 2 and a THIRD (and I’m still not 100% sure I’m right) because I am clinging to those extra 2 months like my life depends on it. Not that it’s doing me any good – my toddler isn’t even toddling anymore (he hasn’t really toddled in more than a year but whatevs) because he’s too busy running full speed into the deep end of the lake or away from me across the mall. Or into traffic. We’re working on “DANGER! STOP MOVING!” but unfortunately he seem to suffer from temporary hearing loss in parking lots. I suspect it’s a fairly common medical problem among toddlers.

Little Evan’s new obsession is TRUCKS. I am both pleased and saddened – I’m pleased I don’t have to hear about every single basketball net we pass in the car, but do you KNOW how many trucks we see on the way to…anywhere? Trash truck! Box truck! Trailer truck! Dump truck! Tow truck! FIRE TRUCK! FIRE TRUCK MAMA FIRE TRUCK!!!! He also knows where the fire stations are on our regular routes and starts talking about them as soon as we get in the car. I bought him a yellow dump truck toy at Target the other day and he slept with it during nap time. I ALSO bought him a pink baby doll stroller and a baby doll, since he freaked the freak out when he saw the “bebehs!” I hid them in the dining room and he forgot about them, so while I’m gone E can use the promise of brand new shiny toy to keep him in line. I suspect he will end up sleeping with both the stroller and the doll.

Little Evan has an excellent memory and great parroting skills – he’ll repeat anything (note: ANYTHING) you say and he loves to talk about things he did yesterday or last week or a month ago. I can understand his words about 90% of the time, although other people still have trouble. He can identify things by color now (ORANGE digger! BLUE bus!) and by size (BIG boat!) and sometimes brings me letters from his magnet set and tells me what they are. He loves to count “Five, six, GO!” or he says “Eight….nine…” when he’s playing Stroller Strides. I heard him count backwards from 5 to 1 the other day, but he won’t do it on demand. Apparently he doesn’t feel like performing as if he was my trained monkey. How rude.

We’re having a little trouble with his listening skills, but I blame that on being a toddler. The “I’m going to count to three” threat works REALLY WELL, although I’m actually not sure what I would DO if he ever let me get to three. Sometimes he also has trouble apologizing, even when he is literally hiding his face in shame because he know he did something wrong (and I am trying not to laugh because the face hiding is SO CUTE) but he both says and signs sorry and will give hugs and kisses to make it better.

Likes include all kinds of trucks, construction equipment, boats, water, Daddy, giving hugs, reading books, naps, his baby sister, sippy cups of milk, the farm, lollipops, the iPad, Angry Birds, the car carts at the grocery store, his two best toddler friends, running and jokes. Dislikes include holding hands, wearing sandals, sharing toys (unless he’s trying to trade for a better toy), being told he HAS to eat something, the baby touching his blanket, pooping on the potty (blarg) and being tired.

28 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
• Jumps with both feet – He can now jump with both feet INTO something, like a lake or the pool or my lap. That last one isn’t always so fun.
• Opens doors – Yes and loves to do it. If I don’t let him open the back door when we come home I risk A Tantrum.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
• Understands descriptions (e.g., big, soft) – Yes, as long as it’s one he’s heard before, although he remembers most stuff after hearing it JUST ONCE.
• Draws a vertical line – Yes! He has JUST decided he likes drawing and I’m looking forward to his gorgeous, museum quality pieces. He’s currently in his Purple Period, which means he refuses to color with any marker but purple.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
• Starts to recognize ABCs – We’re still working on it, but he’s definitely improved a billion percent since I started worrying about it several months ago. I don’t think I’ve doomed him to a life of illiteracy after all.
• Balances on one foot – Easily. If I ever do end up selling him to the circus, he’s a shoe-in for the tightrope act.

I want to start this post out by telling you that Caroline the best, cutest, smartest, most advanced baby ever in the whole world, but I know you would think I am just saying that because I am her mother and I am SUPPOSED to think she is the best and the cutest etc. And yes, that is true. But she also is a really, really awesome baby and if you were to come spend the afternoon with her you would also agree she is the best – except, of course, for your OWN baby, because obviously you feel the same way about your baby as I do about Caroline.

But I also don’t remember thinking these things about Little Evan as much. I thought he was the cutest and the best, but I was constantly worried he was behind in his development – not rolling soon enough or catching on in baby sign language class. Some of that was true – he did take longer to roll and crawl – but I suspect a lot of it was first-time mom worry-warting for no reason. In fact, I think I STILL spend a ton of time worrying that Evan might not be hitting his milestones as fast as other kids, while when I think about Caroline’s milestones I think “meh, she’ll get there.”

Wow, that was a lot of words to say what I really mean, which is Caroline is awesome. Other than refusing to take a bottle (ARG BLERG BLAH) she is the perfect baby – easy, predictable, happy, and a good sleeper. She gets up sometime between 5:30 and 7, takes a short nap almost exactly 2 hours later, is awake until around noon when she goes back down for her long afternoon nap (conveniently at the same time as Little Evan!). She wakes up again around 3 and is her happy, playful self when Daddy gets home from work and while I make dinner. We’ve started giving both kids a bath together right around 7 pm and Caroline is asleep before 8. She usually gets up to eat once at around 2 am, but occasionally needs me twice and even more occasionally she’ll sleep straight through. She still sleeps in the swing at night in our room, but it is broken and doesn’t actually swing anymore. I’m just too lazy to set up the pack’n’play. Mother of the year, right here. We run a nightlight and a white noise machine and the classical music on the swing for her to make up for it.

I have no idea how we fell into such a pleasant schedule so easily, but I suspect it had a lot to do with already HAVING a schedule with the toddler and Caroline being easy-going enough to just fit herself in. Sometimes I feel bad for that – I don’t want her to suffer from Second Child Inadequacy Issues – but she is so obviously loved by everyone she meets I think she’ll probably avoid therapy at least a few more years.

She is still kind of a peanut, wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes with an occasional 6-9 month sleeper or dress. I like to think she’s conveniently pocket-sized for those times I need to carry her while chasing a toddler across a playground. It’s nice of her to accommodate me like that.

Caroline’s favorite things include boobs, the dog, the cats, crawling, pulling up on things, eating mulch, swinging, Twinkle Twinkly Little Star, her brother, biting me with her one teeny tiny tooth and nomming on things. Dislikes include bottles, sippy cups, purees, falling on her face, the sun in her eyes and not being able to walk. It fills her with Baby Rage.

Other things that fill her with baby rage: being forced to pose for photo shoots. Although I may have gotten just a FEW shots to post. And by a few I mean a bazillion.

All my tutu pictures are out of focus, because she wanted to eat it.

There was a little girl, who had a little curl

You have a baby...in a camera bag!

7 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual. New chart this month!)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Sits without support – Yes, easily. We’ve reached the “oh just set her anywhere” stage where I don’t worry about putting a pillow behind her.
Drags objects toward herself – Yes, although it’s much more likely she’ll move herself towards an object.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Lunges forward or starts crawling – Crawls like a champ. She can do both a regular baby crawl and a funny half-sitting monkey butt scoot, where she has one leg up.
Jabbers or combines syllables – I swear on a stack of Twilight books she’s started saying “Mama”. I wouldn’t bet any money she actually MEANS mama, but she can say it.
Starts to experience stranger anxiety – My kids have never met a stranger they wouldn’t go home with, although today at the park a friend tried to hold Caroline and she was NOT HAVING IT. So maybe?

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Waves goodbye – No waving, but she can sign milk. Like I said, smartest baby ever.
Stands while holding onto something – Yes. Our hands, my leg, the couch, the bouncy seat. STANDING IS HER FAVORITE.
Bangs objects together – Well, she’s not going to be playing cowbell with the Blue Oyster Cult anytime soon but she could probably whack a couple sticks together if I gave them to her.
Begins to understand object permanence – If I am in a room and she is looking at me and I leave a room, she sometimes gets upset. She will crawl around a corner to look for me. But I don’t think she does that with anyone else, so it’s more likely “Oh no my food is too far away!”

There isn’t any point pretending Little Evan isn’t a full-blown person-type human anymore. There’s almost no trace of baby left on him, as if every night in his bath we wash another layer off, revealing the Big Kid underneath. He carries a (toy) phone in his pocket for goodness sake. Next week he’ll be asking for the keys so he can pick up his friends for a movie. BUT I WILL SAY NO. At least not until he takes out the trash and feeds the dog.

I am constantly amazed by how much he takes in and remembers about our days and conversations. It makes me feel like all the shlepping around and packing and planning actually MEANS something to him, even if he is too young to remember it when he’s older. But when he’s still asking about “Farm? Sheep-baa? Go, mama? Friends?” a week after we went to the farm it makes me smile. It also breaks my heart that I promised him a ride on the horse-drawn carriage at Mystic Seaport last weekend but had to cancel due to my foot-sprain and every time we get in the car now he asks about the “horse-boat?” Soon, Buddy! As soon as I can walk I PROMISE.

He has a funny way of saying words that are more than one syllable that is totally adorable but means I have to serve as a translator with most grown-ups. (Kids, on the other hand, understand him even better than I do.) For example, he says “Plees. Car.” for “police car” and “Bass. Ball. Net.” for “basketball net”. He recently learned to love my singing – bless his heart – and will request songs by singing his own mini-version or with hand motions. His favorites are Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Baa Baa Black Sheep, You Are My Sunshine and Happy Birthday.

Little Evan took a four hour nap at some point last week and woke up 2 full inches taller. All the 24 month summer clothes I bought him are too small, and he’s safely in a 2T or even a 3T and a size 6 shoe. He’s still in a size 5 diaper and will probably be in them for a while. We’re taking a casual approach to potty training that’s not stressing anyone out but is also going to take a looooong time. But we’re OK with that.

Favorite things include books, running, pointing out basketball nets, his baby sister, boats, horses, Daddy, his friends, napping with his blankets, taking pictures, splashing and the iPad. Least favorite things include being tired, hearing no, water when he can’t touch the bottom, swallowing strange food (he’ll put it in his mouth and chew it up), and being buckled in the stroller.

Damn those birds! Why are they so angry?!

Eyelashes & rosy cheeks

So much attitude for someone who can't wipe his own butt.

27 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
• Jumps with both feet – Yes, jumping has always been one of his strong points.
• Opens doors – Yes, both the regular doorknob kind and the lever kind. Like, for instance, on our back screen door. Which means he can escape the house.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
• Understands descriptions (e.g., big, soft) – I’d say about 80% of the time yes. He knows a bunch of colors, and big and small, and mama’s vs. dada’s vs. baby’s, and a bunch more. You can say “Evan, go get that round thing over there” and he will go get it.
• Draws a vertical line – He’s not too interested in drawing, but he can use his finger to make a straight line on an iPad (totally counts).

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
• Starts to recognize ABCs – Starts, yes. I’m thrilled to see this on the “advanced” skills for his age, because it seems like TONS of my internet friends have toddlers younger than Evan who already know almost all their letters. I was worried I’d been failing Evan somehow by not doing alphabet drills before and after every nap time. But how do you FORCE a 2 year old to learn his letters when he’s busy kicking balls and playing Angry Birds? Now that he likes playing with his VTech magnet letter thing he recognized a lot more of them.
• Balances on one foot – Yes, and I know this because he puts his pants on like a REAL PERSON now. I almost cried the first time I realized I didn’t have to make him lie down to get dressed.

Happy half-birthday to you
Happy half-birthday to you
Happy half-birthday my darling Caroline
Happy half-birthday to you!

Or if you prefer, the other song I’ve been singing all day

OMG HOW ARE YOU SIX MONTHS OLD ALREADY?
STOP GROWING! STOP TRYING TO CRAWL!
AND WHY WON’T YOU DRINK FROM THIS DAMN BOTTLE?

You are again (still) a delightful baby, who loves smiling and being smiling at. You’ve enjoyed both the aquarium and the seaport this week, plus Stroller Strides and knitting group – it is SO NICE that I can take you places without major meltdowns. Your teeth are still not through so I expect a few more crying fits before we’re through the woods but they don’t seem to be bothering you as much as this time last month. I could really do without the gnawing my nipple raw though. Not cool.

Although I was expecting you to be as chubby as your brother was, instead you’ve turned into a little munchkin, still fitting into your 3 month onesies most of the time. I’m thrilled, since all your cutest summer hand-me-downs are 6 month sized and I was afraid your leg chub would get so out of control I’d have to pack them all away. It’s kind of nice that you’re still small – it’s keeping me from feeling desperate for a teeny tiny baby again too soon. Also, it makes your already HUGE EYES look even huger in your itty bitty face.

You still don’t like bottles but you did eat some rice cereal so I’m hopeful you’ll like solids better than your brother did. The avocado didn’t go over very well – WHY don’t my babies like avocado?! – but I’ve got a bowl full of fruit to try out this week.

Some of your new favorite things include riding in the big girl seat of the stroller, being worn half on my hip in the Ergo (I should really figure out the RIGHT way to do a hip carry), stealing toys from your brother and play with the dog’s tail. You dislike the sun in your eyes, shoes, bottles, 7:30 pm and getting stuck under the couch.

Mobile baby is hard to keep in the picture

Look, I'm sitting up! Such a big girl!

Whoops. Fell down.

This picture is straight out of the camera, no touch ups at all

6 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usually)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Turns toward sounds and voices – Sounds, voices, music, everything. And half the time she tries to take my nipple with her.
Imitates sounds – I guess? She babbles a lot but I’m not sure if I would say she’s IMITATING anything.
Rolls over in both directions – CAN roll over in both directions, but prefers to just hang out on her belly although JUST TODAY she started barrel rolling to get across the room

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Is ready for solid foods – I dunno. Maybe. She sort of gummed an animal cracker the other day. I’m going to start offering stuff this week.
Sits without support – Yes, although she’s still a little unpredictable with the falling over.
Mouths objects – HAHAHAHAHAHA Yes.
Passes objects from hand to hand – Yes, but I’m not sure it’s exactly on purpose.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Lunges forward or starts crawling – Lunges and faceplants, although she is getting SUPER close to crawling and can get both knees under herself for several seconds.
Jabbers or combines syllables – Coos like crazy but nothing that I would call syllables.
Drags objects toward himself – Yes, she spins herself around on her stomach then reaches for her toys. I can scatter them around the floor and it keeps her entertained for close to an hour.

Those skills seem sort of weird, right? How is “drags objects” a MORE advances skill that sitting up? Sitting up is HARD.

This is the first month I actually had to count on my fingers to figure out how old Little Evan is, which then sent me into all sorts of fits of emotion. He is officially old enough that I just say “He’s two” when people ask his age – and more importantly, HE can say “TWO!” when people ask his age. And then I die a little from the cuteness.

I have already forgotten why I even MENTIONED seeing a speech therapist to the pediatrician. Evan is talking constantly now, with new words every single day. Some times he still needs a little mommy translation when he’s talking to strangers, but after just a few days with him my parents understood 90% of his speech. He also has a really good memory, which is something I guess I didn’t know about toddlers. He talks about things that happened days or even weeks ago – and is going to be heartbroken EVERY MORNING for the next few weeks when Mormor and Bamba and Hersh (their dog) aren’t here to play with. So I guess his memory isn’t exactly perfect.

Little Evan is now MORE of everything. He is more fun and more loving but also more trouble and more tantrumy. He wants things but then he DOESN’T want them. He loves things but then he HATES things and then he LOVES THEM SO MUCH HE HATES THEM. It’s a little bit exhausting, the mood swings, but I’m getting used to them. It’s good practice for when he’s a teenager.

Favorite things include: sippy cups of milk, his blue blankets (which he calls buh-byee), talking to his sister, hockey, bubbles, his grandparents, dancing, pretending to drive the car, sleeping (SERIOUSLY. HE LOVES TO SLEEP) and helping daddy get a beer. Least favorite things include: being told no, being tired, sitting in the shopping cart, boo boos (especially on his feet), and seeing either of us leave the house.

Look at those eyelashes!

26 Month Milestones (if you’re super perceptive, you’ll notice these are the SAME milestones as 25 months – apparently BabyCenter got lazy after 2 years old. WTF BABYCENTER?)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
• Stacks six blocks – Do Legos count?
• Walks with smooth heel-to-toe motion – Yes. And he runs in a smooth motion too, instead of the crazy high-knees march, which makes him look SO MUCH OLDER.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
• Uses pronouns (e.g., I, me, you) – I’ve never heard “you”, but he uses names (mama, baby, Mormor, dog) combined with another word. And he identifies himself as “I”, his things as “mine”, and uses his own name “Ef-ahn”.
• Washes and dries own hands – He can wash and dry his own SELF, including emptying the tub, putting away his bath toys, and drying his hair.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
• Speaks clearly most of the time – A lot more that he used to, but not “most of the time.”
• Draws a vertical line – He doesn’t really like drawing, unless it’s on the walls. But some of the lines are pretty straight.