Mommy guest blogs: Updates

I've been meaning to write down all of the cute things Nolan has been doing recently so I don't forget them. He's developing such a personality and a wonderful sense of humor and, more importantly, finding so many ways to express himself. Below is just a list of a few of the things he is saying and doing right now (2 years, 1 month old):

• After months of blowing and giving silent kisses, Nolan is finally blowing and giving big, loud, smoochy kisses. It is so adorable.
• Nolan also wants everyone to kiss his "boo boos," and after we do he says "better!" with a huge smile. He also kisses his own boo boos, and has his matchbox cars kiss his boo boos, too.
• Nolan will break out in song just about anywhere. In the car, at home, in the grocery store, it doesn't matter. His favorite song to sing is Old MacDonald or the ABC's. He knows most of the words, too!
• Nolan and Mommy have a song we sing together, which is a variation on "Hush Little Baby." We got it from one of his baby board books, it has the same tune as the old standard but it isn't so, shall we say, weird. No materialism (as in buying gold rings) or outdated mentions of horses and carts. It's all about nature and bedtime rituals. For example, "Hush little baby, don't say a word, Mama's going to look for a hummingbird. If that hummingbird should fly, Mama's going to show you the evening sky ..." Well Nolan LOVES this song and calls it "Hush Baby." I sing the first half of the verse and he finishes with the last half. He knows ALL the words, and it's not a short song!
• "Bed." Sometimes, especially in the evening, Nolan will ask me if we can go to bed. He doesn't mean he's ready to go to sleep, it just means he wants to hang out with Mommy on Mommy and Daddy's bed. We cuddle, sing, and sometimes he does a little (highly supervised) jumping. It's such a fun time.
• Nolan is still a HUGE reader, and it's the only time he sits still all day long. We participated in an early learning study at Georgetown University and a graduate student came out to see how well Nolan learned by having a book read to him. She complimented him on his ability to sit and focus on the book. She said most of the boys his age were more restless and wouldn't sit still.
• Nolan is quite particular and has these cute little phobias. Whereas last summer he wanted to be in the pool every day, he wants nothing to do with being in the water this summer. At the pool, he will only stick his feet in or throw his toys in for Mommy to fetch. And at the beach this weekend, he wouldn't even leave the beach towel. But he wanted regular deliveries of ocean water in his little plastic buckets so he could play with it.
• He is talking up a storm these days. For the most part, other people understand what he says, but sometimes he needs Mommy to translate. For example, motorcycle is pronounced "mono bike el" :)
• Nolan is getting to be a smart cookie. He can count almost to 20 (with one-to-one correspondence up to 10 on good day), knows the entire alphabet, and easily recognizes things in real life that he has only seen in books, and vice versa. On our ride in to work and school in the morning, I've been pointing out the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument, and now he points them out and says their names to me! Recently he built a tower of Legos and told me it was the Jefferson Memorial! It looked a little more like the Washington Monument to me, but I let it slide. He's only 2 after all :)
• Last but not least, Nolan is such a happy kid. He's always smiling from ear to ear and he laughs so easily and often. He's pleasant to be around and always says please and thank you. In fact, when we went for his 2-year checkup, the doctor asked if she could use her stethoscope to listen to his heart. Nolan said "No thank you." The doctor laughed.