Sweet November: Jace- 23 months

Jace turned 23 months this week... although saying "23 months" sounds a little funny, so when people ask how old he is I just say that he will be 2 next month. Crazy-ness. I think the first year of Jace's life showed such a huge dramatic change, going from a newborn to a walking/running little human being. But for some reason I didn't realize the second year would have just as many changes, albeit more subtle ones. A year ago Jace couldn't follow direction, or speak... his form of communication was whining or crying. Now he can verbalize exactly what he wants (over and over and over...) and usually knows to be polite about it. A year ago Jace didn't understand the difference between right and wrong. He didn't have an attention span to sit and read books or do puzzles or watch tv. He didn't understand humor or games. He also didn't have temper tantrums! ;) He is truly a completely different child. Just as lovable as he was at 1, but in a totally different way.

I think the reason that I've been thinking about all of these changes so much is because we moved shortly after his first birthday, and really haven't seen our loved ones from Minnesota much in the second year of his life. As much as I love living in South Carolina, sometimes I feel guilty that we are so far away from family... kids change so quickly. I guess that's why I try to keep up with this blog, so that all the little changes he goes through are shared. We will be headed back to MN for a visit in a few weeks, and I'm really excited for our families to see all the changes Jace has made in the last few months. And boy have there been alot!

At 23 months, Jace is a talking machine. He repeats everything... he points out everything... he gets excited about everything. It really is such a wonderful phase! For a few months there I struggled with the fact that Jace was so physically active, but didn't listen very well to direction. I don't want to jinx it but I think that phase is behind us. Jace still gets very excitable and will act up occasionally by screaming, or pushing a kid out of his way, or running away from me (and boy that kid is FAST)... but now he stops after being told "no". He will always say sorry, and give a hug after he's done something he shouldn't have... and will say "ok" and "yes mama" usually after I remind him not to do that behavior again. Does that mean it definitely won't happen again? Of course not, he's still a toddler! But this change for the better has made parenting 100 times easier.

Jace has become obsessed with everything. Literally everything. Everything is new to him, and it's all very exciting. Whenever we're out walking, or driving in the car, he's pointing out everything he sees. It never gets old. "Red circle!" (stoplight) "Geese!" "Trees!" "Truck!" "French Fry!" (which he says whenever he sees a fast food restaurant OR a butterfly, lol) "Water!" "Swing!"... you get the idea. Everything is exciting :)

At 23 months Jace is also crazy about trains, trucks, books, puzzles, coloring, and a variety of characters like Winnie the Pooh, Elmo, Busytown, Mickey Mouse, Dr. Suess and Blue's Clues. He loves his stuffed animals and insists on sleeping with at least 8 at night. If he goes to bed with less than that, he'll climb out and grab more after we leave his room.

Jace has been sleeping less lately. He still goes to bed at 8pm but instead of sleeping in, he will wake up at about 6 or 6:30am and turn on his light and play in his bedroom. There are some mornings where I'll wake up at 5 and see his light already on and hear him playing. I can usually convince him to get back into bed for a little while by telling him that it's not morning time yet. Very rarely does he actually open his door and come out of his bedroom though.

At 23 months Jace is still a picky eater, but has found a variety of foods that he likes. He still loves most carbs and fruits, but lately he's also become obsessed with greek yogurt and almonds. I figure if we add just a couple of new favorites each month, he'll be eating a wide variety by the time he's 3... hopefully! :)

Jace went from wearing 18-24 month stuff a month ago, to pretty much exclusively 2T now. I think somewhere in the last month he had a little growth spurt. I'll find out next month exactly how tall he is, but I know he currently weighs about 27-28 pounds. He has a nice big toddler tummy, and still has his long toddler waves. No haircut in his immediate future!

I love watching Jace learn new things at this stage in his life. Sometimes I will just sit and watch his face while he does puzzles and look at the wheels turning in his mind as he finds where each piece should go. He has started counting, out of order... I think just because he likes to say certain numbers and not others! "2...6...9" is usually how he counts. He can identify most colors now too, but his favorites are blue and yellow and he's always pointing those out.

Jace has a second birthday party coming up in less than two weeks. We decided to throw it before we left for Minnesota, because doing it afterwards would collide with other birthdays and Thanksgiving. We're going to have a halloween costume party/birthday party for him at our house. I'm really hoping for good weather because his first birthday party was ruined by a blizzard... although I'm pretty sure that won't happen here in South Carolina!

Last weekend we spent some time walking around downtown as a family and took a few pictures...