Sunday, June 26, 2011

Water!!

Cody loves loves loves playing in water! Whether it is the bathtub, kitchen sick, at a splash park, the kid area at the rec center or our own backyard (basically anything but a big swimming pool...he likes to have his feet touching bottom and doesn't like help)!  We have definately stayed cool by staying wet this summer! One day I was hosing off the porch while he was jumping and it turned into a soggy boy laughing and having fun while jumping.  Now he always wants the hose on while he jumps!






Friday, June 24, 2011

Buddies

One things for sure: Cody loves other kids!  We are trying to teach him the word "friend" but right now he calls everyone (even girls) boys!  He lights up when he sees other kids and it makes his day to get to see and play with his friends!  This is Hudson...he's 9 months older than Cody and they play so well together!  Katie kept Cody for 2 hours for me and sent me this while I was running errands.  Love it!!

"I'm a big kid now"

Cody has picked up on the Toys R US slogan "I'm a big kid now" and when he hears it on a commercial he repeats it.  It's too cute!  We love doing big kid things with Cody!

Cody goes to a Home Depot kids workshop with Jason once a month.  Jason's friends, Sean and Jonathan, go with their boys too and the last time they took the kids to In and Out afterwards.  It's a father/son play date! Ha! Jason took these with his phone...here Cody is placing a nail in the hole.
Using a hammer!


Learning to sit at the table!  We have a higher kitchen table and the booster helps! He knows this is his big boy seat! He had two drinks for this dinner!
Reading instruction manuels. This was so funny.  I was putting together his (new) sandbox (that has a lid!) and he kept copying me looking at the directions.


He's in to bringing us our shoes and trying to put them on! 


Grandpa and Grandma sent Cody this shirt for his birthday. People stop us when they see it and asked where we got it but they had it made. I keep my nativity up all year on the piano and he knows not to touch it....I guess he thought since he had the shirt on he could get away with it!


Playing in the cars at Toys R Us!


Swinging on a big kid swing!


Getting to get ice cream from the ice cream truck!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Carousel Rides

Riding the carousel is now the highlight of going to the mall!  It's 5 minutes (and $2) worth of pure joy and excitement for him.  He knows how to get the coin, give it to the man, and find a horse to ride on. Oh, and he says "wee" the entire time!  He grins from ear to ear but is quickly sad when the fun is over!
Sadly, it's hard to get my phone to capture the true joy and smiles, especially while moving up and down!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Just Relaxing!

Cody loves his little blue chair and knows it's just for him! 

Monday, June 20, 2011

Train Ride

Cody loves trains as much as he loves cars!  So, we took him on a dart train ride right before his 2nd birthday. We rode it for about 30 minutes and got off at Mockingbird Station and had dinner and walked around before riding it back home. Cody loved it!!  Of course, he did not want to sit still but he was so excited!  I didn't get many pictures since he is constantly on the move!


And if he's not playing with his toy vehicles he's asking to play in the water (and asks often to take a bath).  So, finding fountains also was the highlight of his day!

Cody's Presents

Grandpa and Grandma gave Cody this great car ramp and a neat leap frog alphabet sounds toy for the fridge. 



Garbage truck from the Wilborns.


A race track from Bubbie.
Playing with Bubbie's gift...which has since relocated to his train table.
Cody really understood how to open presents...or surprises as he calls them.


We gave Cody a matchbox car garage (and the garbage truck in the background, among other things).
There was definately a theme for this little boy.  He has a fondness for cars and most of his surprises involved a car!

2nd Birthday Celebration

We just had a relaxed casual celebration for Cody's 2nd Birthday.  Cody and I met Mary and her kids for lunch at the mall and then Jason came home from work early and we spent the afternoon just the 3 of us. Later in the afternoon, my mom and one of our students, Richard, came over to have pizza and cake.  Cody definately learned the word "surprise" this day and has been saying it ever since.  We had a little cars theme set up for the day since cars is Cody's favorite thing right now!








































Our sweet, happy 2 year old who definately knew this day was all about him!
It is impossible to get a picture with Cody...who refuses to sit still...so this is the best I got with our birthday boy!
Cody loved having Richard there.  He really likes when the students come over and immediately starts showing off for them.  Richard also brought Cody a monster truck!




Cody opened presents before we did cake which meant that he was not interested in stopping for cake. So, we gathered around where he was playing and sang him happy birthday while Jason held his candle. Then we all ate cake while he played. So typical of our boy that is not interested food.






Pizza for dinner!
Happy 2nd Birthday, Cody!!  We love you!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Cody's Trampoline

The first thing we did on Cody's birthday was go outside and show him his birthday present from us and Bubbie! We opened the blinds on the window and his eyes got big and he said "wow!".  It was so cute! He was so excited! Jason and I stayed up and built it in the dark the night before.  It was not easy but well worth the joy of giving it to Cody for his 2nd birthday! 















Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Two!!

It's hard to believe that Cody is TWO!  The last two years have flown by and we are truly enjoying and loving our life with this little guy and treaure each day! We really try to soak up the memories and remember the funny things he says and does because we now understand the phrase "time is flying by".  Cody is a very independent, go-getter, do-it-himself, no-fear, sweet sweet little boy! We love this about him but also love that he lets us teach him new things or assist in helping him when needed. He's eager to learn!
Cody is still obsessed with anything with wheels!  He loves cars, busses, airplanes, trains, tractors, "big" trucks, bikes, bulldozers, garbage trucks and motorcycles!  Seriously, he loves driving around town and spotting these things and most of the time he sees them before we do.  He gets so excited from the backseat and squeals with delight as we pass something exciting! We have often taken a detour to follow a garbage truck or driven slow to watch an 18 wheeler. We took Cody on the dart train ride the weekend before his birthday and he was so excited to see and ride a "choo choo".   This summer he will get to ride on an airplane (for the 5th time) and a cruise ship! He knows the sounds each vehicle makes too!




Cody talks all the time and really clearly!  He is able to communitcate his wants and needs and we are enjoying watching him learn.  If he sees a number he starts counting and if he sees words or letters he says "A".  He can count to 7 but skips 4.  He counts everything. He also is learning the letter sounds and the alphabet.  We have started to work on colors using his match box cars.  Now he says "blue" for any car.  When we are driving he will say "go that way" and point in whatever direction he wants us to go.  He says mommy (monny) and daddy all day long!


Cody would rather walk (or should I say run) everywhere (and he has the calves to prove it) instead of sitting in a stroller or shopping cart.  He's really good at staying close to us...but now we are teaching him how not to touch things while shopping.  He loves to be out and about which make his homebody mommy and daddy have to get a little creative. If we ask him if he wants to go to the store he says "see cars".  Which either means he wants to see cars on the road or go to the toy isle and look at cars.  He understands that he doesn't always go home with a car but definately enjoys looking.  His eyes light up when he sees the toy isle and he said "there it is" as we approach as if the whole time we've been shopping he's been looking for the toys.


He has some really cute phrases.  Some of our favorites are "where'd _____ go?" while holding up his hand in a curious pose, "there it/she/he is!", "there you go", "I'm gonna get you", "do you see/hear that", "oh, no!" and many others that are just too stinking cute to hear every day!  He is really in to asking us to "play" and will often place a car in our hands and say "daddy/mommy, play?"  He's learned how to say "that's mine" and we are working on how to say it politely. He enjoys reading books and naming every object on the page. 


Cody loves to watch the garbage truck come pick up the trash and can hear it way before we do.  It's the highlight of his Friday sometimes!  He has several toy garbage trucks and trash cans and these are his favorite right now!  Most of the "trash" that he puts in the garbage trucks are his matchbox cars! He has learned out to jump and wants to jump off curbs and down the stairs!  He uses his whole body and it's so funny to watch. He likes to jump "like tigger".


Cody loves loves loves to be outside!  He enjoys playing at the park, in the backyard, walking around the neighborhood and feeding the ducks at the pond in our neighborhood. We here the phrase "go outside" a lot and often have to explain that it's dark or raining and teaching him that he has to wait sometimes.  Cody calls all other kids "boys" whether they are little kids like him or teenagers like our students....and whether they are girls or boys.  We are trying to teach him to say "girls" and learn that there are girls and boys. 


Cody is still our picky little eater!  I haven't quite decided if picky is the right word or just that he isn't interested in food that much.  He is not a big eater or into snacks or treats that much at all.  He is definately not motivated by food. It's rare, although we try, to get him to eat new things.  Sometimes I wonder if he has a texture issue but I haven't quite figured it out.  He definately has a sweet tooth but unless he's has a good "meal" then he doesn't get sweet treats! I'm trying to get better at going with the flow on what he eats but some days I do get frustrated.  He is not a big breakfast eater for sure and is better at lunch or dinner. He's learning to sit at the table and not in a high chair and how to stay at the table until everyone is done...a hard task for our boy that doesn't sit still.


Cody LOVES music!  He has started singing along with songs...especially in the car or if he's watching a show or video and he recognizes the tune. At church he's the highlight of the JAM time that his little class goes to and is in constant motion the whole time.  He loves to dance or shake the instruments and run in circles. He does not sit still for long at all!  He loves church and will run straight into his class.  Cody is extroverted and LOVES to play with other kids.  He says his to kids in stores and playgrounds.  It's not fun for him if he's the only kid somewhere and lights up as soon as another kid comes to wherever he's playing. He loves when we have friends over or he gets to go to their house!  He often asks for his friends!


Cody is a great napper and sleeps well!  We have started to wake him up from his afternoon naps so that he'll go to bed at night!  He's definately a morning person and wakes up perky, happy and ready to start the day.  Although, I can get him to snuggle while drinking milk and watching Micky Mouse for a bit.  We end our day snuggling with him too!


Cody smiles and laughs all the time!  We love having a silly little boy and the joy that he has about life!  He loves to wrestle and for us to chase him.  After every bath he likes to run naked down the hall while we chase him with a towel.  He thinks this is hilarious and if we put the towel down, thinking we are done and ready to get him dressed, he brings us the towel and says chase!  Although we can't get him to pose for a picture very well he will say "cheese" when he sees a camera.


He says please and thank you really well.  He will often still use his sign language for more, please and eat.  He loves to help us in the kitchen and has recently learned how to crack an egg!  He wants to help stir and even taste whatever we are making.  He often will stand at the pantry and ask for an oreo.  That is probably his favorite "sweet treat" but he only eats the inside.  He also likes to only eat the inside of cheese or peanut butter crackers and sandwhiches.  He will eventually he the cracker/bread but usually eats the inside first. He loves animals and can name most animals...even a Moose!  He has started being interested in watching bugs! 




Cody is wearing 18 or 24 month short/pants and 24 month, 2T or 3T shirts.  He wears size 6 diapers.

Weight: 24 pounds 14 ounces (10-25%)
Height: 34.5 inches (50-75 %)
Head: 19.5 Inches (75 -90%)

Train Number 19 for May 19th being Cody's 2nd birthday! We can't believe our boy is TWO but we are having a blast with him and being able to do "big boy" things with him!!