Tiago turns 2

Whoops.  Over a month since last posting...

The girls hit 6 months... Tiago turned 2... and things have been super crazy around here.  Fortunately, it's because we got our furniture and belongings in the middle of the September, so we're getting close to being done organizing/cleaning/unpacking.

But since Tiago has only had 2 birthdays in his whole life, I figured I ought to write down a thing or two about his second birthday.  (Speaking of 'two', the only number he knows in spanish is 'dos'.)

His birthday was on a Sunday.  He woke up to a fun new car ramp thing from Grandma, which elicited a lot of 'wow's.  He danced around to the music it played, and entertained himself with cars for hours.  Then we went to church.  (Where he loves playing in nursery.)  And it was pretty much down hill from there.  It doesn't help that he missed a nap (because he refused to sleep, throwing his body against his door for over 20 minutes.)  We were asking ourselves "What happened?  He turned 2, and sweet Tiago was replaced with a crazy child?"  It lasted a week or two, and I'm happy to report that sweet Tiago has returned.

(I think it was teething.  The last two on the bottom finally broke through.)

Teething issues aside, this age is great.  Every day I'm amazed at how much he understands.  (My expectations are really low.)  I can tell him (in English or Spanish) to put his shoes by the door, close the van door, bring me a bottle, etc, and he actually does it.  It makes him seem like a real person.

His vocabulary is expanding.  Yesterday alone he learned 2 or 3 new words.  Some of them include: monkey, cupcake (yeah, ironic since he doesn't say 'cup' or 'cake'), stuck, sit, zapato ('shoe', and pronounced more like 'zaPAco'), shoes, bus, van, barco (his new favorite, means 'boat'), pan, agua (sounds like 'wawa'), goldfish, thank you (although not used to express thanks), bye, train (pronounced 'dain' and followed by 'choochoo'), bebe, and 'mana' for hermana (sister).  So all in all, they're not very helpful words unless one was trying to identify different modes of transportation, but it's a start.

Also, he says a particular 4-letter word over and over.  It makes Hyrum nervous in public, but I told him no one probably notices. We have no idea what he thinks he's saying, and sometimes it sounds more like 'shut' or 'shat', but I think it's funny.  Particularly when he inserts it in pretty correct circumstances, like when something falls, or he sullenly realizes he forgot something.  Kids!

He loves trains (thanks to discovering "Thomas the Train" 2 weeks ago on Netflix.  Speaking of Netflix, he somehow manages to find the ipad, turn it on, and start a show on Netflix by himself.  When he wants us to turn on something on the TV, he says "much" which is kind of strange, but it gets the job done.

He loves when we acknowledge things he says and does.  On the road, he yells "bus!" at every single bus sighting, even if it's a tiny bus 3 stoplights away.  And he keeps yelling it until we say, "Yes, Tiago, it's a bus."  (Exhausting.)  He loves to bring us things and feed us his food.  He tries to be helpful and loves taking the clothes in and out of the dryer with me.  He also loves to bake, which is why 'cupcake' worked its way into his vocabulary.  I started creaming the butter (without him) because it takes 5 minutes.  He threw a small fit on the kitchen floor, then began dragging the dining room chair into the kitchen to help.  (And by help, I mean lick the batter and dump sugar and flour in the bowl and all over the floor and counter.)  This kid has a sweet tooth!  One more way that he takes after me.

Aside from sweet things, he doesn't eat much.  At his 2 year check-up at the doctor, he weighed 27 lbs which is around the 50th percentile.  I think he only gained a pound in the last 6 months.  He drinks milk, eats goldfish, and supplements that with bread and rice and some fruit.  Textures bother him (apple skin, grape skin, etc.)

He likes his independence and doing things on his own.  One time he pointed at me, then pointed out of the room, basically telling me to get lost.  Sometimes he'll wave "bye bye" to drive the point home.

And he continues to be an observer, keeping quiet in public and watching people carefully.  At his doctor appointment, I don't think he smiled or spoke once during the entire visit.  But once he warms up to people he's a bit of a clown.

I think Hyrum and I would both agree the best part of the day with him is bedtime.  After taking a bath, he brushes his teeth (mostly just sucking on the toothpaste) and then loves to read books.  Hyrum has taught him all the animal sounds proficiently, and he loves pointing at things.  The last book is always "El Libro de Jesus"-- which is the Gospel Art book and he loves pointing at Jesus in all the pictures.  He folds his arms while we pray, and then lays on our shoulder while we turn out the lights, then put him in bed.  (We just bought him a real bed, so he's a big kid now!)

We really like him, which means I could go on and on, but I'll stop at that, and end with a few pictures.

Clockwise: licking the batter in his little chair, making his sister laugh, dressed up like a fireman at the Columbia children's museum, checking out his sisters again, swimming (which he loves), and playing in his 'van'