Ian is officially 2!
So much has happened this year, it’s hard to keep it all straight. I feel like he went from baby to little boy overnight. He basically blew right past toddler. He’s a sturdy little boy who can climb anything and loves an adventure. His favorite places to be are outside or on the go. He’s always eager to head out the door to go do something fun.
At the same time, he’s my thoughtful little guy. Pretty much everything he thinks or feels is written all over his face, and his most frequent expression is one of intense studying. He watches, tests, evaluates. Very little gets by him.
I’m relatively certain he’s a type A personality. He remembers where absolutely everything goes and always wants everything to end up back in its place. You rarely have to remind him to pick up after himself. Often times, he reminds us to clean up instead. He likes the world to be neat and orderly and his routine to be predictable. I have to say, it’s nice to have another person in the house who likes order and structure! I can’t wait to teach him about spreadsheets…
I’m also fairly certain he’s going to be an introvert. While he isn’t exactly shy, he’s slow to warm up to new people and cautious until he’s determined they’re alright. Once he’s had his chance to figure them out, he’s as sweet and friendly as they come. It just takes him a little time.
I do think because he’s a little shy, and because he lives with a big sister who rarely lets anyone get in a word edgewise, he’s been a little behind in picking up speech. We’ve noticed some big bursts in word acquisition recently, but as of his 2nd birthday, there’s still a lot of grunting and pointing. For the most part, it works, but we can tell he’s a little frustrated with it, too. Most of his tantrums spring from not being understood…or being hungry
His favorite toys are largely anything that belongs to his sister or boxes. He probably plays with Isla’s dolls more than she does, and he treats them like babies in ways Isla never showed any interest in. Just this morning I walked in on him putting a Barbie into a Barbie bed and covering her up with his own blanket, and giving her a “night night” kiss. He also is really into trucks and tractors. For his birthday, he got a singing garbage truck from his Grammy that he’s quite taken with and he loves his books about trucks. Boxes are his all-time fav though. Fortunately, I order a lot of stuff from Target and Amazon.
He’s also a big Sesame Street fan. Cookie Monster and Elmo are his favorite characters. His first complete sentence was “Elmo’s on!” Followed shortly by “No, don’t want it.” Go figure.
His favorite person is hands down his sister. He absolutely worships Isla and wants to do everything just like her. Whether it’s playing dress-up in her clothes or singing with her on her karaoke machine or running up the tallest slide on the playground, he’s always doing his best to be just like her. And fortunately, Isla loves having a little audience and shadow, and she adores him right back. There are occasional fights, but for the most part, they are constant playmates. It warms my heart to see how much the two of them love each other.
Ian loves music. Old McDonald is a particular favorite. He asks for “ee-i-ee-i-oh” about a hundred times a day. He still will sing and hum to himself. He loves Let It Go from Frozen. Isla has an Elsa doll that sings the whole song, and he will go dig her out of Isla’s room and bring her to me to play the song so he can sing along. When we watched Frozen together for the first time, he held that doll the whole time, and was so excited when the song he loves came on.
Ian has a big, complex personality. He is serious, thoughtful, and extremely persistent. Most of the time, he’s very quiet, because he’s too busy trying to figure everything out. But when he has an opinion about something, he doesn’t hesitate to let you know.
He’s reserved, but once he gets to know you, he has the biggest heart and is so sweet and loving. It’s like he holds in his emotions until they just overwhelm him, and then he lets them out all in one big burst. When he’s happy, he gives the biggest grins, and when he’s feeling affectionate, he’ll run up and give you a huge squeeze.
He also gives the sweetest, mischievous little smiles that almost feel like he’s sharing a secret with you. He loves to snuggle and is often content just to sit and be held. He’s fascinated by babies and is so gentle and sweet with them.
He is my sweet, perfect baby boy. I’m so glad he’s part of our family. Happy birthday, bubbie.
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