TWO YEARS OLD.

OHH EMM GEE.  How is it that my baby boy is TWO years old today?!  I cannot believe it.  Time is officially flying by.

We have Patrick's big 2nd birthday party later today (that I'm sure I'll blog about later this weekend), but I wanted to do a fun little 2 year old update for my little man (especially since I haven't done an update on him since he turned 18 months back in November...and I may have another fun little update next week when we take him for his 2 year check up at the doc) and what he's been up to lately.

First off, I wanted to share some pics we took a few days ago to celebrate Patrick turning two.  I cannot believe how grown up he looks in these pics...and how cooperative he was in us taking them!  He actually followed directions (!!!) and listened when we were getting him to smile and pose.  He truly is growing up.  I remember not long ago when I blogged about how it was impossible to get him to sit still for a picture and now he's this understanding, talking, sweet little boy.  I just can't even.

Patrick weighs 32 pounds even and I have no idea how tall he is (we have his 2 year check up next week, so stay tuned for the official doctor stats).  As one of our friends described him, Patrick is "dense weight."  Oh boy, are they right.  Especially now after primarily picking up a teeny tiny newborn, Patrick feels heavyyyyy.  Ha!

I thought I'd revert to my fave blogging method: the list for the rest of Patrick's milestones/stats he's achieved (or I just want to report on) since he was 18 months old.

• Patrick is in all 3T clothes now, and wears a size 7 shoe.  It wouldn't surprise me if he's in 4T by the time fall comes--some of his 3T clothes are a wittle snug and/or short--dude is a tall fella.  I just hope he makes it through the summer in 3T cause that's the size swim suit and summer clothes I primarily have for him.
• He understands everything.  He follows directions (most of the time :) and knows exactly what you're saying.  He's got an ironclad memory too--he remembers where he puts things, remembers where things are (like Goose's room at the Pond), and remembers where we went with someone (ex: when we drive by the Magic House he says "Emma!" and points--cause that's where we went recently with his friend Emma!)
• His speech is getting better and better every day.  Although he understands everything, he definitely cannot speak everything he wants.  He will point, whine/grunt, and try to muster out words.  Most of the time it's in his own Patrick language, but sometimes we can understand what he wants.  He says a ton of words, and is picking up more and more every day.  His favorite words are: Scooter, wa-wa (water), nigh-night (goodnight), nee-nee (what he calls my mom), papa (grandpa), bye bye, hiiiii, ma (mom), dada (dad), Ro Ro (Rosie), me-meal (cereal), app-pal (apple sauce), poo-poo, and no.
• Little man is still an amazing sleeper and is still taking a 2-3 hour nap each afternoon.  He typically sleeps from 9pm-9am, and then naps from 1pm-3pm.  He still sleeps in his crib (but I think totally could climb out if he wanted to...but he doesn't, I think because he really likes his crib and how "safe" it feels) and he's perfectly content playing/reading in there until we come get him out (which has been enormously helpful with a newborn at home to be able to keep him confined while we tend to Rosie).
• No where close to potty training--and that's totally okay with us.  We're letting him lead the way on that (so it'll hopefully be easier all around for everyone).  He's still rocking his cloth diapers, but will let us know after he's gone poo-poo by pointing to his butt and racing to his room to be changed.
• Still an avid thumb-sucker, but only when he's holding his nappy (blankie)--which his nappy is just a prefold cloth diaper that's super soft because it's been washed so much.  He has to have this with him when he sleeps, in the car, and any other time he can sneak it out of his bed and hang onto it.  Luckily he's not attached to just one of them (thank God) so we rotate them out and wash them ALL THE TIME.  He also likes sleeping with a sleuth of other toys, books, and animals in his bed too.  I joke that he's got everything short of a butcher's knife in his bed!
• Is a tornado ALL THE TIME.  Still runs everywhere and likes to get all of his toys out and spread them all around the house.  However, he recently has started "organizing" his toys--lining up all of his cars on the fireplace (all facing the same direction too), stacking his blocks in the corner of the room, taking our shoes and lining them up in the middle of the carpet, etc... He's quite a hoot.  He's definitely got his dad's messiness but also a bit of his mom's organizing OCD as well.
• LOVES cars, trucks, and trains.  He got a remote controlled car for Easter and LOVES driving that around.  He also got a Brio train set from his cousin Jack and loves playing with that too.  He really enjoys driving his trucks and cars around the house (and then lining them up when he's done).  He likes riding in his police car in the basement and outside, and pulling his wagon as well.  He's definitely all boy!
• Still obsessed with Scooter.  He loves Scooter more than Scooter loves him, I think :)  His first question when he gets up in the morning is "Scooter?" and puts his hands in the air as he shrugs his shoulders, questioning where he is.  He loves that dog.  Loves to cuddle with him, give him hugs, chase him around, and bring him his toys.  Scooter is definitely his bestie.
• Has warmed up A TON to having a sister.  At first, in the hospital and when we first brought Rosie home, he could care less about her (which was good too, he didn't freak out that I was holding/feeding her).  However, since she's been with us almost 4 weeks, Patrick has really taken to his little sister and loves giving her hugs, trying to pick her up (!!! eekkk! we don't let him do this!), bringing her his toys, and holding her on the couch.  He always says "Bye Ro Ro" when he leaves the room, and always questions where she is when he can't find her.  I cannot wait to see how their relationship develops over the next several years and how protective he will be of her--I just know he will.
• Loves watching movies on his iPad.  He's a big Disney/Pixar movie fan, his current favorites are Finding Nemo, Despicable Me, Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., and Cars.  He will sit and watch a movie on his iPad (not so much if the same movie is on the TV, but it's gotta be on his iPad) for a long while, especially if he's in his crib.  His attention span is getting much better!
• Enjoys to read to himself (aka turning pages lightning fast) but also lets us read to him now as well.  Sometimes we don't make it through an entire book, but he still will sit with us and allow us to read to him.
• Has had a lot of playtime with other kids and struggles with sharing (what 2 year old doesn't?!!).  He tends to like to play with whatever the other kid is playing with, and likes to take that from him/her.  We are slowly teaching him about how he needs to take turns and share, but it's gonna be a process I'm sure :)  He does like playing with other kiddos, and does better with some than others, but the sharing thing is something that we are working on and will come--hopefully soon!
• Is obsessed with the park and being outside.  Like he turns into a crazy person when it's time to leave the park or go inside--complete meltdown and lots of crying, screaming, thrashing, and not wanting to leave.  I think he could live outside 24/7 if we'd let him.  And the temper tantrums are something we've seen--not a lot of, but definitely have seen them more now that he's older and has an opinion--when Patrick doesn't want to do something.  He knows how to throw a fit and express what he wants.  We don't want to bribe him to behave, but instead try and divert his attention or do conditional things (like "if you finish your banana you can have more cereal").  This is a work in progress for all of us :)

So that's about it for Patrick's 2 year stats.  I still cannot believe he's TWO.  Timehop reminded me today of all of his newborn pics from TWO years ago when he was born and it feels just like yesterday.  I cannot believe it.  I'm sure it'll just continue to go by even faster--but I'm ready for it.  Ready to capture it on camera, document it on the blog, and hopefully share it with him when he's a bit older.  I can't wait.