James at 23 Months...

My sweet, sweet baby turned 23 months old Tuesday. 23 months. In just one month he'll be two years old. That's hard to wrap my mind around.

He weighs around 28 pounds and wears a 2T and a size 8 shoe (in his newest tennis shoes). He's in a size 5 diaper.

This afternoon we made a pallet on the den floor. He thought it was amazing but, of course, he only stayed there for two seconds.

He goes to bed around 9pm and usually sleeps until 5 or 6. He gets in the bed with us and we might get him to sleep until 7. Maybe. Sometimes. Not sure why this is going on, but it's life. He is only sleeping 1-2 hours in the afternoon now. He's dropped a morning nap completely and seems to be trying to drop the afternoon nap. (Can you hear the pain in my voice???)

I was talking to a friend the other day and I said "When I was pregnant with James yada yada yada." Her husband looked at me and said, "How do you remember that?" They're expecting their second child within the next few weeks and their first baby is four-and-a-half. I laughed and said, "Well, it wasn't that long ago." Two years isn't that long ago. But it sure seemed a lot longer before he was here!

James is saying and doing so many things now that I cannot keep up. He's dropped his paci and started sleeping in a "big boy bed" in the past month. Before he's two he'll be moved into a real big boy bedroom.

For his birthday, we got him a table and chairs set. He LOVES them. (Can you tell what's above the fireplace??? He doesn't usually have to strain this much to watch. The table was pushed too close.)

Some of the funny things he's saying these days:

* Da-Dee! (Emphasis on the Da when he thinks Eddie is being silly!)

* I nee {fill in the blank} - he needs something.

* My, mine, me. {All the time. He establishes his authority over all of his things. He does, however, know what stuff is mama's or daddy's and he gives us credit. We doubt this stage will end before Baby Brubber arrives.}

* Uh-oh! Uh-oh! {If something spills, if something is out of place, if he can't reach something, if someone is doing something they shouldn't be!}

* He counts "4, 5, 8, 9, {waits for me to say 10 and then cheers} YEA!!!!!" (We're working on 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 10.)

* His favorite letters are still A, I, and Y. Go figure. Similar sounds, I guess.

James has a very busy social life. On Tuesdays and Thursdays he's in school from 9 to 1. He comes home, has a nap, has a snack, and then anxiously awaits Daddy's arrival. On Wednesdays we go to Bible Study where he gets to see Ms. Tissy (Ms. Krissy) and play with Khloe, Rooks, and Preston. We're there until just before lunch and then we either meet Daddy at home for lunch or go to his office and out to eat with him. Repeat the nap, snack, wait for Daddy business.

He LOVES to ride in his Cozy Coupe, put puzzles together, make animal sounds (he knows LOTS now), play outside, color, and read books!

He has gotten great at cleaning up after himself - when he wants to. He almost always puts his cup in the sink (we go through about four a day because of this sometimes!) and his trash in the trashcan. He loves to push the Swiffer mop and he has his very own broom (thanks, Grandmama!). If only I could get him to clean up his toys and not smash goldfish on the floor.

He is SO head-strong and independent. I have to remind myself over, and over, and over that he's still very little because he acts so much older {and sassier} than he actually is. {Speaking of this, any parenting books you all would like to recommend? Ha! No, really...}

He is lots of fun, keeps us on our toes, keeps us VERY busy, and we love him SO much!