Joel at 2 and 1/2 Years Old

As of yesterday Joel is two and half years old! I just can't believe it! It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that he will be a big 3 year old soon and starting preschool in the fall. He is still such a little guy and feels very much like my baby, not a preschooler! Life with Joel is pretty sweet. He is such a happy, easy going little man and we just have a lot of fun together. Joel is very tender hearted and sensitive which makes discipline easy as well as providing lots of opportunities for snuggles.

Favorite Things:
-watching Curious George or reading one of his many George books
-playing outside or going to the park
-bath time
-eating: especially fruit, bread and meat (unless it's spicy)
-stickers
-dinosaurs (watching Land Before Time, playing with his toy dinos, acting like a dino....)
-playing with Penny (usually involves them chasing each other and both playfully growling)
-his big brother (he thinks Levi is amazing)
-building things with his gears or blocks
-music
-snuggles or being held
-helping me cook

 
 Personality:
-goofy and loves to act silly/laugh
-sensitive: easily gets his feelings hurt, reacts to discipline with big tears, notices when others are sad
-observant: notices and points our tiny details all. day. long.
-loves a routine: Joel likes things to happen in a predictable way and gets grumpy when things are different
-neat: Joel likes things to be orderly- puts away toys very carefully, organizes things and doesn't like to be dirty for long
-affectionate: Joel loves to give and receive "huggars" and kisses

Stats (measured at home):
-weight: 28 pounds (25%)
-height: 34.5 inches (20%)
-size: 7 shoe and 2T clothes
-appearance: his hair is honey brown with sweet curls along his neckline (if we let it grow out), and he has deep dimples (especially on his right cheek) and dark, long lashes that can make you do whatever he wants

utter sadness when told a stern "No!"

 

It is such a privileged to be this little guys Momma! He loves me a lot and the feeling in completely mutual. Not only is he easy going and happy, but he is also a great sleeper. He usually take a 2 hour nap each afternoon and sleeps 11-12 hours almost every night. Joel loves his family and talks often about all his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I'm perpetually surprised at his ability to remember things and especially remember things about his family (even the ones we don't get to see very often). He is a little sponge and picks up alot of the things his big brother is learning. He can count to 10 (usually) and can actually count things in groups of 5 or less. Even though I have spent hardly any time with him learning numbers or letters he can identify several of each. He also knows all his colors and several shapes and shocked me the other day by forming a perfect triangle with his little fingers and proudly announcing, "look Momma I can make a triangle!" When he does things like these my mommy guilt kicks in big time and I feel ashamed that I have spent practically no time with him learning things like shapes and colors (he obviously has the ability to learn well). It is, however, reassuring to know that our regular conversations throughout the day which incorporate things like letters, numbers, colors and shapes are helping him learn, even though I haven't spent any time formally teaching him. I am really looking forward to watching him grow and learn! We all adore our littlest love, our Joel, Joely, Joely poly, Joelster guy!