Elijah Update: 2.5 years

We have made it halfway through age two!  Here are some things about Elijah at this special age.

In the last six months, Elijah has become such a different kid.  After never separating from his parents without many, many tears being shed, I can now drop him off at the gym nursery with a good-bye wave.  He requests going to the gym everyday, and he has decided he won't go to school next year but will only go to the gym (too bad our membership is over today).  After needing speech therapy to get started, he is finally a chatter-bug, and will repeat any words we use and form his own little sentences and expressions.  He is the only two year old I know that says "excuse me" as he tries to get through people or other kids, and when he coughs, burps or toots.  He even says excuse me to the dog.  Politeness is probably his most adorable trait.  And he'll say "thank you" for every single little thing you do for him.

25 months

 He has taken oven the train obsession from his brother, and almost always chooses train books for his bedtime stories (we posted some of our favorite train books here, he also likes "Shark vs. Train", "I Love Trains", "Sleep Train, Dream Train", and "How to Train a Train").  Other favorite characters include Curious George, Otis the Tractor, and Queen Elsa from Frozen.  And just like Theo, he has a special place in his heart for the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf.

26 months

He's so easily excitable, and ALWAYS wants to help mama out (despite her objections on some tasks). He needs a lot of help himself, though.  He plays well independently and with brother (and tries to do things on his own even when he shouldn't), but spends a lot of his day finding mama and demanding "HELP!"  Things he needs help with include:

Lego pieces need pried apart,
Train books need read in their entirety,
The door to the food needs opened so he can feed the dog,
Juice needs poured,
Negotiations need made when he wants a certain movie and brother puts in another,
The bridge needs built on the train app he plays during brother's swim lessons,
Candy needs opened (even after he has stolen it from the top shelf of the cupboard without asking).

27 months

Elijah is definitely developing his since of self.  He is very specific about what he is.  He would only refer to himself as "baby" for the longest time, but now is Eli, and occasionally when on the phone with his aunt-Queen Elsa.  He won't let me use endearments with him anymore, as he is not a honey bear, sweet-heart, or even an angel in his towel after his bath.  He's very literal in his word choices and won't let us use figurative language.   Occasionally he talks in third person too, which is pretty funny.  "Me nice Eli!"

28 months

Other cute phrases he has said lately:

Me need to blow harder!  (on the traffic lights, to turn them to green)
No school, gym!  (on the prospect of going to pre-school next year)
Baby, in that!  Baby out!  (whenever I play with his tummy, he thinks he's got one in him too)
Not yet, no home, library!  (when not wanting to leave the book store-which he thought was a library)
Love you most! (all the time)
Uh oh, that broken!  (multiple incidences)
No Eli hush, mama hush!  (when trying to hear Theo tell me something over Eli's jabbering in the car)
3...2...1...!  (Eli's favorite part of book club is "Rocket to the Moon" where we count down from 10 to 1 and blastoff.  He loves this part, and will go around the house yelling 3... 2... 1...!)

29 months

And I love this age.  I don't believe in terrible twos (though maybe threes or fours).  But he does have some less cute two year old traits that include:

While big brother is often interested in playing police officer, Elijah tends to be the bad guy who always wants to shoot/assault his brother- with Lego guns, swords that are the wooden riding horse, magical powers that shoot from his hand, or anything shaped like a knife.  Theo never really went through this stage, so it's surprising Eli has such a violent streak and a little creepy.

Unbuckling the top of his car seat harness, constantly.  At a loss for how to stop him and so frustrating by having to stop and re-buckle constantly.

Not wanting changed.  Or to think about potty-training.  Hopefully he'll be like Theo and it will click here in a few months (before he is three and required to be trained to start pre-school) and be 100% trained within a week of starting.

Not eating his crust off toast.  Or potatoes!  But he loves putting honey on anything acceptable, dipping veggies in peanut butter or dip, and anything dipped in ketchup.

Nap time just doesn't happen unless I get him to fall asleep in the car (sometimes I'll just drive around after picking up Theo from school) or I lay with him and nap myself (something I did often in the first trimester of this pregnancy).

And getting into make-up/nail polish/lotion any chance to gets.

30 months

I'm excited to see his little personality keep developing, and even though I could do without the frequent 3 AM visits to our big bed in the middle of the night, wouldn't change him for anything.