Hellobee

Charlie turned 26 months old last week! Month 25 was a big month language-wise (month 24 wasn’t nearly as big), and I think it’s safe to say that we’re now having conversations with Charlie. Once your child really starts talking, it feels like they hit mini milestones every day because of all the new things they say each day. I really wish I had purchased one of those books where you can write down funny things your child says because Mr. Bee and I say to each other at least once a day, “Do you know what Charlie said today?” Watching Charlie become his own little person who can express his wants, needs, and feelings is just so incredible!

Sleep

With Charlie’s increasing verbal ability, he’s been able to protest bedtime! His sleep has been rocky the past month, and bedtime was an hours long process for a little while. We thought we might have to transition him to a toddler bed because he had been refusing to wear his sleepsack, and he can climb out of his crib without his sleep sack! But I’m happy to report that he is back in his sleep sack and back in his crib. We’re going to keep him in his crib as long as we can! Mr. Bee now lays on the floor next to Charlie’s bed in the dark each night, and sings to him until he falls asleep (Mr. Bee that is… Charlie only goes to sleep when Mr. Bee is asleep and stops talking to him!)

Talking

Charlie can sing the entire alphabet song — he’s obsessed with it and both Mr. Bee and I have to sing it to him multiple times a day every day. We regularly hear him making up his own songs and singing to himself, like the first time he played in snow. His Thomas obsession hasn’t waned, and he knows the name of every single train by heart (I think there are over 50). Perhaps his strangest quirk is that he almost always refers to himself in the third person.

His increased vocabulary and comprehension also makes him less frustrated. That’s been huge because we can use the “Tina No” and the “Hide and Seek No” to validate his feelings and explain things to him, which has really helped avoid tantrums.

Play

Up until recently, Charlie had been watching more TV (on the computer) than we’d like. He was waking up early for a while plus Mr. Bee was super busy with work, and when you’re tired and busy it’s hard not to fall back on TV. But lately Charlie has been doing tons of art projects, engaging in imaginative play in our teepee and makeshift forts, and playing with sensory boxes instead. He used to run to the computer and say he wanted to watch Thomas every morning. Now he wants to paint! I think all that drawing has had a huge positive effect on his fine motor skills. He loves drawing circles (as you can see in his recent painting), and can now draw a happy face!

Charlie has also become a total homebody. When he was younger, he’d want to go outside as soon as he woke up. Now he almost never wants to go outside. That partly has to do with his disdain for any type of transition (leaving the house, taking a bath, leaving the bath, going to bed), which is pretty typical at this age.

Charlie and Olive

Charlie is such a great big brother. He is constantly talking to Olive, entertaining her, and kissing her. Olive lights up around Charlie and loves him so much. The best part of having two kids is watching them interact together. The downside of having two kids is that I get a lot of Olive time since I’m breastfeeding, but I have so little Charlie time, and I miss him so much! Despite that, Charlie is back on team mom this month (last month it was team dad). I also have no time with Mr. Bee — our “quality time” is dropping Charlie off at daycare and picking him up together each day. But as hard as things are now, our family is full and complete and I can’t imagine life without the four of us together!