Graham at 24 Months

Sigh. This will be my last "monthly update" for Graham. It really happened. He turned two. He's not a baby anymore. It's funny how all those sayings are so true but you just don't get it until it's you: it feels like he was born yesterday, the time goes so fast, if you blink you'll miss it, and the one that seems most true to me, the days drag but the years fly by. I hope I am appreciating this time with my sweet little ones as much as possible even on those "dragging" days that are trying and difficult. They are so precious to me and I just want to cherish this time!

Graham has grown so much this month! I think he went through a growth spurt. He is such a tall guy, people are usually surprised when I tell them how old he is. He's grown in other ways this month as well. He is doing very well with giving up the binkie. He still likes to have it at night but is not using it at nap or any other time during the day. I am very excited about this!

He's also doing much better behaviorally than last month. He still has tantrums here and there but they are becoming shorter and less frequent. He could still improve of course, but we are thrilled that he seems to be responding to our efforts to encourage him to use words and discourage fits. In fact, over the past two days the word NO has fallen down on the list of "most often used words" and has been replaced with the word SURE! "Want to go to the doctor, Graham?" "Sure!" "Want to brush your teeth, Graham?" "Sure!" "Want to get a root canal, Graham?" Well, you get the point... It's very cute! The doctor even referred to him as "happy" and "agreeable." Yay!

Other tidbits and milestones from this month:
- Of course, he's added lots of new words and phrases. Along with sure, some other new words and phrases include: football (which used to be B ball), jump, outside, I watch show, juice peeeez, water peeeez, ouside peeeez, Thomas, Mommy I got __________ (blankie!, binkie!, juice! He likes to brag about what "he got.")
- He's singing more and more. Some new favorite songs are, "Praise Him, Praise Him," "Baa, baa, black sheep," "Rainbow," the Veggie Tales theme song, and a silly counting song I sing.
- Speaking of counting, Graham can count to 20! He has also been able to say his ABC's for awhile now. He really enjoys working on numbers and letters. Now if we could only get him to work on colors!
- He is really enjoying his play group that meets every other week. He is really doing well with sharing and playing with his friends (Stephen, Michael, Berkely, Sophia, Bricen, and Brantley).
- He built his first block tower. This may not seem like much of a milestone for a two year old but up until recently, he was solely interested in knocking blocks down and kicking them around (hence the nickname Destructor). Now he is building and is pretty good at it!
- Along those lines, he has also stopped throwing trains at the train table and is now playing with them like a normal child. :)
- He climbed out of a pack 'n play while staying at Mumo and Papo's house! I know now that it's only a matter of time before he climbs out of the crib!
- Graham has learned to sing the prayer song that Jack says as a blessing each night at dinner. It is so very sweet to hear them singing it together.
- His favorite things include his fire truck, the movie Finding Nemo, Jack, playing at the park, jumping on the trampoline, and giving big hugs.

I'm sure I've forgotten many things, but those are some highlights. We just love our Graham and can't wait to see how he grows and changes throughout the next year!