Transitions

There are lots of big changes going on in our house right now.  Both kiddos are going through huge development transitions, and Aaron and I are having a great time watching.

E is transitioning from toddler to little kid,

And K is going from baby to toddler. 

They both are laughing, moving, playing, speaking, and eating different. They are changing in just about everything they do.

E turned two and a half recently and one of the most fun changes we are seeing is his sense of humor.  He understands more mature jokes and loves being silly all the time.  

He has this cute little face he makes when he teases me and you can see how clever he thinks he is.  

His laugh is changing from the toddler giggle to the little kid laugh.  And best of all, he is laughing most of the time. 

 He problem solving is jumping up another level as he needs less and less help from Mom to get through his day.  

Our man LOVES puzzles.  Every night after dinner he yells 'Daddy mix' and runs and grabs his truck puzzles (one of which is a cement mixer...).  Puzzles are easily his most played with toy, as he does them after breakfast, lunch and dinner!

He knows and recognizes all the letters of the alphabet, can count to 5 and sometimes higher, knows his colors and is working on his shapes and writing letters. 

He loves to learn new things and read books.  

Throughout the day, E is now a dinosaur.  Or an airplane. Or a rabbit.  Or some other animal.  

His imagination has kicked in and he loves to be something other than his cute little self.  One day he was a frog hopping all the way through Target...the whole way.   

His favorite thing to be is a roaring dinosaur and his favorite game to play is chase.  This means we spend a lot of our days being chased around the house by a little roaring dino.  

He moves and plays so much different now- his actions are faster, more purposeful and he is just always moving.  He doesn't just run, he does spin moves as he runs,  or runs backward, or gallops.  As he goes he is jumping on EVERYTHING.   

He loves to play hide and seek ('hidey'), he loves trampoline time at gym class, he loves the swings at the park, he loves to play kick the ball in the driveway and he loves to climb up and jump off.    

The most exciting part of E's development right now is that his language skills are taking off.  For the last few weeks, there has been an explosion of new words. He repeats everything we say and if its a hard word he repeats it several times, almost like he's practicing it.  

His pronunciation is getting a little better as words that he has been saying for a while now are becoming more clear. 

 He has been a delayed talker, which is interesting to watch as a parent.  We've known that other parts of his brain have been accelerating faster than his verbal skills, but as he begins talking more and more, it is fascinating to discover what all has been going on in that little head of his.   

One of the best parts of being a parent is witnessing the development of little minds and bodies, which makes these periods of explosive growth so exciting!  

E is turning into a silly, smart, active and incredibly good looking little kiddo.  :)