28 Month Update

Another month has come and gone. A few random pictures I've taken recently...

Dylan likes to wear Autrey and I's shoes:He likes to play in dirt and puddles while helping daddy in the yard. He was soaked:

He also gets a kick out of walking around in a towel with his hands on his hips after his baths or showers, just like daddy:

Last week I started my 3rd trimester (yay!) and we have been busy getting Dylan ready to be a big brother, doing all sorts of big boy things:

*Dylan is a potty training rock star. Since we started 1 month ago on Day 1, I've only had to clean up 11 wet accidents, all conveniently on wood or tile floor. I only had to set the timer every 15 minutes for about 2 weeks and since then he has been the one to tell me on his own when he needs to go potty. He has been comfortable going poop in the potty since March 5 and doesn't have a problem using public restrooms (Walmart, Hobby Lobby, restaurants, even a porta-potty at the St. Patrick's Day parade), or have a problem holding it from the time he asks to go until we get to the restroom usually located at the other end of the building. I'm not brave enough to leave him in his underwear when we run errands, but his diaper has stayed dry with only a few exceptions.

*Even though I don't set the microwave timer for Dylan to try to go potty anymore, or even have to give him a potty treat, when he hears the beeper go off he has been conditioned with the Pavlovian response, "Time for an M&M!" and will sometimes march in the bathroom to go potty. Pretty funny.

*On March 6 was his 1st night in his twin size big boy bed. He has loved it from the 1st night. (The only hiccup we had was Autrey decided to lay down with him for a few minutes the 2nd night to sing to him and Dylan thought daddy was going to sleep with him in his bed. He was upset when Autrey left the room. But that was quickly nipped in the bud since he's used to sleeping by himself in his own room.) He still doesn't realize he can get out of the bed himself, so escaping hasn't been an issue. I still put up the baby gate at his door, just in case, so I know he's not going to wander out. He slept his 1st night until 7:15 am, when he woke up with a dry diaper calling for me to take him to go potty. Since then he has also woken up in the middle of the night to go potty, then he goes right back to sleep in his bed. The first 5 nights he was in the new bed he woke up with a dry diaper. This week he woke up with a wet diaper 4 nights, but I've only had to change the sheets once because it was so full it leaked. I'm pretty sure I've had one of the easiest potty training/transition to a big boy bed experiences ever. I count my blessings that Dylan is generally such an easy, happy, independent, and self-motivated little boy. Let's see if I can win the lottery twice with Colton...

*He is pretty easy going, but he does have his opinions. He doesn't always want to eat or drink what I give him, he likes to have a say in what he wears (including his underwear), and he always gets to choose the books we read and the songs we sing. His favorite accessories are his sunglasses, his Polar Express bell necklace, and his sun hat that's now too small for him.

*He is easy going, but also very energetic. Sometimes when he gets all wound up he will ram a toy truck and himself into a door/wall and laugh hysterically.

*He doesn't have a problem getting dirty outside, but he really does not like when food spills or gets on his hands and clothes. I usually have a napkin next to him so he can wipe up little spills. For bigger ones he will say something like "Please wipe it up" or the other day it was "I made a mess with my fingers, mom."

*I made a color sorting game with 10 colors for Dylan where he has to place objects on top of the piece of paper of the same color (ex: "Does Lightning McQueen go on the blue paper or the red paper? Good job, he's red."). Right now we are doing 2 colors at a time but I will increase that later. We are also talking about shapes, big/medium/small, and counting the objects of each color. He just thinks it's a game, but he's retaining some stuff.

*He loves the "Freight Train" book we checked out from the library. I think it's funny that he learned the names of the different types of train cars (boxcar, hopper car, cattle car, etc) better than the colors.

*While sorting where the big, medium, and small blue stars go, he sings every word of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" perfectly.

*Dylan picked a yellow dandelion and tried to blow the seeds out. Obviously he couldn't since it wasn't white anymore. He looked at me and said, "This one doesn't 'fuff'" making the blowing sound.

*Autrey will say, "You like apples?" to cue Dylan to say, "How 'bout them apples?" Matt and Papa thought that was hilarious.

*I got dressed and walked out of the closet. Dylan looked at me and said, "Mama, you look so good!" So cute. Sometimes after I get him dressed he will say, "I look so good!"

*He was calling "Mommy, I'm awake!" when he woke up from his nap. Autrey got home early that day and when he went in to get him Dylan was surprised and said, "Oh, daddy's home. Daddy's home to Dylan's house."

*The other day I asked Dylan, "Would you like a banana?" Instead of simply saying 'yes' he pointed at the counter and said, "It's over there by the box" because I had put a box in front of the bananas. I guess he was worried I would forget where they were if I couldn't see them.

*I was wearing my Duke basketball shirt and Dylan was fascinated with the Blue Devil mascot on the sleeve. He calls it a "debil blue Duke" as if Duke is its last name.

*At the end of the book "Peep, Peep, I Love You!" Dylan says "Y-O-U-excited mark!" spelling out the word 'you' and pointing at the exclamation mark. He will say you have to "say it excited." I don't think he really grasps that concept, but he makes it sound like he does by repeating what I told him about it before.