The Terrible Twos.......Meh!

Well we are almost out of the twos and I have to say I loved being the mom of two year olds. What a fun age. Watching you grow and start talking has really taken our relationship to a new level and was so much fun. There isn't much cuter than your 2 year holding your hand or telling you they love you. I hear three is much more difficult and I believe it because for the most part now you listen to what we say and follow our instructions. I know that can't continue to happen.

Hudson
You now prefer to be called Bear. Basically your name has morphed from Huddy Buddy, to Huddy Bear, to Hud Bear, to Bear. It is funny how that kind of thing happens. You are still my little shadow and love your mom. You also have a new best friend Brooke who mommy watches during the day to help supplement our bills. You call her a princess and look out for her. She was sick this week with a double ear infection and woke you up out of your sleep. You called for me to get you and when I got to your room you said "mom, I need to get to Brooke, she needs me, My Brookie needs me". You rubbed her back and cuddled up close to her and told her she was going to be okay. You are the sweetest little guy I know.
You have just started getting a bit naughty though. I guess it is the almost being 3 thing. You tell me know and test my authority. Too bad you are so adorable and I have a hard time not smiling and giving in.
Diapers
The most amazing thing happened last month. A few weeks before Christmas you decided to potty train yourself. I had intended to wait until you were 3, thinking it would be quicker, but you woke up one day and said no more diapers. You meant it when you said no more diapers. You don't nap with them or use them at night. It still amazes me. You have had a handful of poop accidents and maybe 2 or 3 wet pants but I think that is to be expected. Every accident was a mistake, either you couldn't get your pants off, had an accident in your sleep, or had an upset tummy.  It has been over a month and we can go anywhere and not even have to consider bringing a diaper. I don't even carry an extra set of clothing for you. It is remarkable.

Food
Ugh, your eating habits are terrible. You want to eat Nutrigrain bars and drink milk all day. We have to basically force you to eat anything remotely healthy and you will throw yourself down on the ground having a fit when you aren't allowed a prepackaged crappy snack. I am wrong for even having them in the house.
Sleep
You are still a great sleeper and this month you moved to a big boy bed. Mommy found a great deal on a used bunkbed and couldn't resist. I know you are young to be in such a big bed but you love it and you were still in your crib which didn't make sense because you are fully potty trained. There wasn't much of a problem changing you to a big boy bed but you do kick up a bit more of a fuss going to sleep. No big deal we just stay consistent and you don't have a choice but to sleep :)

Speech
Your speech has come a long way. I don't know if anyone else understands you but I do, You are really able to communicate now and I get everything you are saying. For the most part it even makes sense....haha. You speak primarily it 3-5 word sentences now. You also use sentences with 6 to 8 words but not as often. You are still about 6 months behind in speech but progressing daily. Your receptive language is spot on you just seem to get your point across using as few words as possible. Daddy says he appreciates it and there is nothing wrong with a quiet guy. You FINALLY counted to 10. For some reason mommy was focused on this and it drove me crazy that you would just say one and then 3 and no other numbers. You still mix the order sometimes but you know the names of the numbers. You don't recognize written numbers or letters but you will get there. You have started to sing a bit but often get the order of the words backwards and just repeat what your brother is singing.
Development
You have known your colours and shapes for at least 6 months now, you have a word for everything and you communicate your thoughts and feeling pretty well. You have a vivid imagine and like to role play. You also like imaginative play games and talk a lot about monsters. You still aren't interested in dressing yourself but you can get your pjs and clothing off. You also like to put any shoes on you can find. You aren't able to recognize any letters or numbers yet but we just got you a leap pad and you seem to be interested in working on those skills. You have just started to sing a little bit and do sign "abcd" and then kind of repeat Fynn as he sings the song. Like I mentioned you can count to 10 and even know some bigger numbers you just don't always get them in the right order.

Fynn
Fynn you are still my moody guy. You still wake up from naps and often scream and yell at me. It is hard for you to shake it when you are upset and you have had your share of time outs. Luckily you have even more happy moments. You are funny and becoming more social with "the guys". Mommy started doing home daycare to supplement our income and you have really enjoying having the kids around (well 2 of the 3 anyways....haha). It is great to see you come out of your shell and make some new friends. You do not like it when it gets too loud and you prefer to be in small groups. Although you don't mind making lots of noise.
Food
Mommy needs to get better at introducing you to new foods. I think you get bored of what I offer you to eat. I get in a cooking rut and then you get in an eating rut. You love peanut butter on bread (not toasted as you like to remind me). I was shocked and disappointed in myself at everything you ate in Costco the other day. You were testing everything I handed you and loving it. It made me mad at myself for not insisting you eat more than I serve you. I must not push you hard enough because I never imagined you would eat the things you were lapping up. You also like snacks like your brother but also appreciate a meal a lot more than he does. You sit with daddy and I at the table and love impressing us with your "table manners'.
Sleep
I read my sleep post from 6 months ago and I am happy to say you consistently sleep through the night again. I don't even remember the stage when you didn't. Although daddy probably got up with you. You also got a big boy this month although sometimes you chose to sleep in Hudson's room on his new bunk bed. I have been saying it for a few  months but I am really going to have to shorten your nap because bedtime is getting too late.
Speech
You never shut up. That sum it up....haha. You can count up to 40, you know your alphabet and colours and shapes. You sing songs, you can recite pages from your favourite books. You even know phrases and songs from your favourite tv shows (oops that is probably bad parenting, oh well). Your friends who started up ahead of you in speech are pretty much on par with you now. You consistently talk it 5+ word sentences.
General Development
Your brother potty trained himself this month and you refuse. You like your diapers and aren't as interested in change as Hudson. Hudson says diapers are for babies but you truly don't care. Although recently you have been leaving the room to poop and insist on a new diaper as soon as you pee. I think these are very good signs. As I mentioned we bought you leap pads for your birthday (given early so you can use them with ease on our trip to Florida) and you amaze me. It is day one with them and you can pick out certain numbers and letters with no prompting. You can recognize all of the numbers from 1-10 without hesitation and about half of the letters of the alphabet. You are also very good with numbers and shapes.

Well guys, next month you will be turning 3. I am both excited and scared of this next chapter in our lives together :)