Becoming a little person

Nicholas has crawled, crab walked, and toddled into toddler hood full tilt. It's amazing how quickly he is changing and learning new things. I have always heard that newborns change the fastest and the first year of life is the most amazing thing to witness. I respectfully beg to differ. The second year so far has been WAY more exciting than the first and we are only two months in. Of course the first smile and the first laugh, and the first time he rolled over or played with a toy will forever warm my heart but frankly toddlers are just more fun! People have cautioned me to "watch out" and used phrases like "oh boy, you're in for it now!!" whenever I've spoken about things like Nicholas learning to walk. Puhhh- leease!! That's a bunch of nonsense. He started walking independently about two and a half weeks ago (he's been walking holding onto things since October I think) and since then he's been tons of fun and a lot less trouble. He can get from point A to point B faster, is more keen to follow me when I need him to, and I can now let him play in the yard without having to worry as much about what he may eat. Fact of the matter is when you're standing up you are to busy to try and stuff handfuls of grass into your face or grab teeny twigs and try and jab your eye. We did have a dirt eating (please god I hope it was just dirt) incident last week. I think that was a special case though. He is happy to run around the backyard exploring and no doubt learning tons about the world. Not to mention walking is cleaner than crawling. Only his feet get dirty now, at least until he learns to make mud pies ;)

Walking isn't the only change we've seen in the last few weeks. Little things like picking up an object and handing it to mommy or daddy have become some of our favorite games. It was ultra adorable the first time he did it. He would hand first to daddy, take it back, then hand it to mommy and take it back and so on. Minutes (which in toddler time equates to hours) of entertainment for him and for us. Earlier this week he started pointing to himself in the mirror in imitation of what we do when we point to the mirror. I should probably explain that every time we pass a mirror we point and say things like, "look, look, there's a baby" or "Look Nicholas, it's the baby in the mirror". Recently we've begun naming the baby in the mirror Nicholas since that is who it is. He LOVES the baby in the mirror and will grin his biggest grin and wave and sometimes clap and now he will also point at the baby as soon as he seems him. Super cute! Yesterday we started learning to turn the light to the nursery on and off :) As soon as the light goes on (or off) he smiles and might even giggle He is really into cause and effect type games right now. We spent a good 10 minutes yesterday standing next to wall pressing the light switch and watching what happens. He doesn't always push it hard enough to turn it on but he's showing that he understands how it works at least a little bit. Our new routine is to have him turn the light on when we head in for a diaper change and to turn it off when we leave. He loves it! Today's big accomplishments were climbing up onto his toy train by himself and learning to kick a little foam basket ball that he got for Christmas. I was showing him how it could roll and he could chase it when by a lucky chance his foot connected with the ball and sent it across the living room. He was fascinated and we played that game for a good long while until something on the bookcase caught his attention. Gotta love how quickly a toddler can shift his focus.

We also have a favorite book all of a sudden. I believe he got it for his birthday though I have no idea who gave it to him. It's called Where's My Puppy and it's a little peek-a-boo book and it has a hole in the middle of a lot of the pages. Nicholas is fascinated with holes for some reason. If he can poke his finger in it he certainly will !!! This applies to noses, mouths, eyes, water bottles, soda cans.... you get the idea. He sits in your lap and lets you read the book while he jams his little toddler fingers into the books holes on each page. It's one of the few times he is stationary while awake.

soooooo big!

Honestly when babies are first born they are really more like high maintenance pets. You have to keep them clean, feed them, provide stimulation and love. Even when they start crawling they are still kind of like a very very involved and demanding pet. With the coming of toddler hood Nicholas has begun to blossom into a little person who each and every day acts more and more like a little kid. He laughs and smiles and shows what he likes and dislikes. Tantrums aside (which we really haven't gotten into yet) I think toddler hood is awesome and way more fun than having a newborn/infant. Sure it's a little more work but it's fun work and watching him learn and figure things out is a way better pay off than I got when he was an infant. Not to mention that after a year of practice I am much much better at dealing with him in my own way.  I kind of wish other people would see that  and understand that I've got this (for the moment) instead of telling me that I was "really in for it now!" That sort of statement just isn't helpful or appreciated. Haha, it was more appropriate when I first found out I was expecting. :P