Carter: 2.5 years

Stats:


Weight: 30.4 pounds per our home scale

Length: 35.25 inches

Diapers: Size 5 in disposables & highest rise, 3rd snap setting on our cloth diapers. Fortunately, we are getting closer & closer to potty training all of the time.

Clothing: Most 2T & 24 month stuff is fitting okay, some is still WAY too big (mostly Cherokee brand). He will likely be transitioning into 3T sleepers soon as his current pjs are getting too tight on his feet. (28 Months)
He is fully into his 2T sized clothing & most things are fitting him well with the exception of his pants. He still has quite a few pairs that are still too big around the waist (but that's nothing new for my skinny, no butt kiddo). He's made the move into 3T size sleepers full-time, but is mostly wearing two piece pjs for right now. (30 Months)

Shoes: Size 7

Milestones: 

11/30: First time having Hot Chocolate. He actually does not like it. I'm not sad about that. The longer I can keep him on just regular milk & water, the better.

11/2013: Started saying Blessings for people along with his nightly prayers. So cute the things that he wants to say a blessing for. Ex: Thomas the train, Sponge Bob, ceiling fans. lol

12/2013: First time wearing mittens & he LOVES them. I thought he would just take them right off, but he actually wants me to help him put them on & then will keep them on. He also will ask me before he takes them off. 

12/11: The end of naps. =(

12/22: First REAL train ride.

12/28: First time going pee in the potty.

02/06: First BIG snow! He loved it & playing in it.

02/07: First time going sledding. He was brave enough to go down the hill alone & even said "That WAS AWESOME!" after wiping out.

02/14: First time celebrating Valentine's day with brother. =)

In Other News:

Sleep:

Is great now that we are done with naps! We have a pretty set bedtime routine down & on non-bath nights it starts at 7PM. C is usually down for the night by 7:30PM after diaper, pjs, brushing teeth, two books, prayers, & singing/rocking. C is still in his crib at this time & likely won't transition to a big boy bed for a few more months (although we do have one). He always sleeps through the night & usually wakes for the day around 8/8:30AM. C was pretty grumpy/sleepy for the first few weeks after giving up naps & you can tell some days that he could still use one, but most days he does fine without it.

Eating Habits:

He's still your typical picky-butt toddler. We haven't been trying to force things on him too much since it's difficult enforcing good habits while we are living with family. He is going to have a rude wake-up call here when we move & other people aren't readily available to say yes to his food whims. He eats better on some days then others as per the usual. Some days I have no idea how he survives & other days he eats everything in sight. He is always given a spoon/fork when eating now, but only uses it about 75% of the time. He still likes to eat with his hands & I don't have a big issue with that at this point. We've been practicing a bit more with drinking from a regular cup, but he still doesn't have it down. Yes, we are terrible STILL, I know. I really need to just suck it up & deal with the messes while he learns. He is also still sitting his high chair, but we plan to move him to a booster soon as his brother will take over the high chair here shortly.

Activity/Play/Learning:

-Has learned the sounds for several letters including B, M, S, Z, F & K.
-Finally knows his colors! Or the majority of them anyway. He always gets stuck on yellow for some reason.
-Has his bedtime prayers memorized & will say them with little prompting.
-Loves to paint, color & play with playdoh.
-His new favorite game is spinning in circles & dancing. He loves to make himself dizzy.
-Is amazing at matching games & loves doing puzzles.
-He is finally both throwing & jumping well.
-He has gone to the bathroom on his potty 3 times. We aren't pushing potty training just yet, but he is showing more readiness so VERY soon.
-His vocabulary & sentence structure continue to amaze me. I'm so used to him being able to communicate so well that it's weird being around other toddlers who don't talk as much as he does. People still can't believe he's only 2 & speaks so well.
-His imaginative play is getting so much more realistic. I can't believe some of the scenarios he comes up with for his trains & cars. It is the cutest! 

Favorites:

Books: He is back to loving his Thomas books again mostly & doesn't often ask to read one particular book more then others.

Movies: Day of the Diesels (Thomas movie)

Shows: Thomas the train & Angry Bird toons

Songs: Christmas songs recently (Silent Night, First Noel, Away in a Manager, ect.), Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star & the Thomas theme song

Foods: Peanut butter toast, pears, cereal, chicken nuggets & milk

Toys: All of his trains & tracks, Playdoh, crayons/markers, matchbox cars & the marble run

Non-toys: The telephone, Grandpa's kindle, ceiling fans