26 and 27 Months

Dear R,

The last two months have been a whirlwind. You are getting more independent at every moment and this is probably the greatest change we have seen in you as summer has turned into fall. You put on your own shoes, and you insist on choosing the shoes you want to wear (usually a flower pair that Grandma got for you that you love). You also love to take your socks and shoes off, especially in the car when we are on our way somewhere. You're working on being able to pull your pants up and down yourself.

You play independently much more than before. One of the remarkable changes we've seen is that you now read books--aloud--to yourself. The first time I saw you doing this, you chose We're Going on a Bear Hunt from your shelf (this has been a favorite book since we've moved to this new house) and you sat on your little chair from Great-Grandma H. and flipped the pages and read:

"Going on a bear hunt. (flip flip) Gonna get a big one. (flip flip) Swishy swashy. (flip flip) WHATS THAT! (flip flip) it's a BEAR! (flip flip) all done!"

You're also acting out characters from books. We've gone on a bear hunt plenty of times around the house and on the way to the park (Mommy is usually the bear), but you also love to pretend to be the Pigeon from the Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog and Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late. You have Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus nearly memorized and you love to quote random lines from it throughout your day. Your favorite page is when Daddy reads "LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!!!" and shakes the book while he reads it. You demand that the book be shaken every time that page shows up, and often, you quote the line before we even get a chance to read it to you.

One of your favorite phrases this month has been "I did it ALLL-READY!" most often said in response to "let's go sit on the potty" but also said when you don't want to eat something that we're asking you to, when we want you to put some clothes on that you don't feel like putting on, or when there is something needing done that you just plain don't feel like doing. Unfortunately for you, we can usually see through the ruse and are rarely fooled. But I'm sure you'll come up with something else very soon.

You've also been busy helping us get ready for the new baby to arrive. Your biggest contribution so far has been testing out all the old baby toys-- you know, the ones that used to be yours but now are really too small to hold your interest for too long-- and ensuring that they all still work. You loved spending time with me in the baby's room while I worked on organizing and getting all the little newborn baby gear ready, and your favorite thing to do was to turn on the CD player and dance around while getting out every single baby toy. It's been so interesting to see how differently you manipulate the toys and use them now that you're so much older than the last time these toys were out.

You have about five different dolls and you alternate carrying one around and calling it your baby. You love putting blankets on them, laying them down for naps, holding them on your shoulder and patting their backs, rocking them in your arms, wheeling them around the house in your stroller, and giving the babies baby toys to play with. You frequently hand me and Daddy one of the dolls and insist that we hold it a particular way or rock it or pat its back while you handle a different one. I'm so curious and excited to see how you do with your real live little baby brother or sister.

Love,
Mama