Big boy update

I have been wanting to write this for a while now to remember milestones and funny things that Tyler is doing at this age. I have been making notes on my phone for several months so this will be LONG! There are lots of random pictures. So here is what our big boy has been up lately (19-23 months old):

• Tyler has started picking up Bonnie's dog hair he finds on the floor and says "yucky" and "gwoss" (for gross). He then wants to run it to the garbage can to throw it away. He can open and close the garbage can himself, too. I guess this means I need to vacuum more (which I hate!), but since Tyler terrified of it, I use that as my excuse!
• I can tell that Tyler is being taught how to take turns at school because everything is "my turn". He has no patience though and he gets upset if he doesn't get his turn or his way quickly.
• Tyler is still obsessed with basketball and is now consistently making baskets all by himself...even in the playroom goal that is over 4 feet tall.
• He has started saying "oh man" and "oopsie" instead of "uh-oh". It is so cute and funny!
• I have started trying to fit in a workout at home...it is very hit or miss these days. But when Tyler is home while I've been working out, he has wanted to do it with me. When I am doing crunches on the mat, he lays down under my legs to also do crunches...which basically means he lays there and makes it very difficult for me to get my crunches in! Ha! He tries to mimic what I am doing whether it be with  my hand weights that he tries to pick up and says "too heavy" or by jumping when I do jumping jacks.
• Tyler has started pointing out things that he recognizes on TV. Like when HGTV was on the other day, he was constantly screaming "house", "car", "tree". Makes it a little difficult to watch TV with him around.
• He still loves playing with trains on his train table, but also just LOVES matchbox cars. He likes to line them all up, put like ones together and then push them all over the floor.
• He is very into watching Calliou and Curious George on TV and requests them by name. I record episodes from PBS so that we have them ready for him to watch. He also got a Curious George stuffed animal from my mom and just loves him!
• He likes Elmo and will watch Sesame Street every now and then, but his favorite are Elmo and Sesame Street books. He can name almost all the characters now. He had 2 Elmo stuffed animals...one that talks and that he was scared of at first to the point of crying!
• Right around 18 months, the "mine" phase hit our house. Everything was "mine". We got this hilarious video of Tyler and "my chair".
• Tyler is wanting to walk more and will now hold our hand pretty well. This is very much appreciated since holding Caroline is taking precedence.
• His vocabulary is expanding by leaps and bounds every single day! He is constantly talking and his teachers say he is by far the most verbal child in his class...even though he is 3-5 months younger than the other kids. He will repeat anything you say and will work to sound out words to say them correctly. For example, he has said "nana" for the longest time but will now say "BUH-nana" because we put emphasis on the "B". It is so cute to watch him learn. He is talking in phrases and says things like "I go outside", "I do it", "Ok, Mommy", "I get mail". "No" is still a very popular word, too.
• He has recently starting saying "get-na" instead of "get"...like "I get-na down, Mommy". I have no idea where that came from because he used to always say get!! I wonder if he's trying to say "getting" and has the word usage mixed up??
• I feel like Tyler becomes more active with each passing day! He is constantly on the move, climbing on things or running. He is so exhausted by bedtime that sometimes he will chose to go straight to bed with no books! Though that is really rare...he LOVES to read.
• One night before bath, we took off Tyler's diaper and he took off running around naked like he always does. Mom yelled to me from another room and said, I think Bonnie pooped in Caroline's room. I went to investigate and it was Tyler who had pooped and pee'ed! He must've done it in 2.2 seconds because he wasn't on his own for that long! And thankfully he did in on the floor right in front of the window and not on her rug. I totally admitted to doing it and will STILL go in her room and say, "I poop right 'dere" and point to the spot. That was months ago!
• I'm afraid that Tyler has inherited his Daddy's OCD about being neat and tidy...at least where the house is concerned. And I don't think that is a bad thing. He started helping to clean up his toys at a very young age. We always make him put up one thing before he can play with something else and he is mostly really good at doing it. His teachers say he is the best at cleaning up of all his classmates! He gets all distraught when something is out of place. Ha!  His future wife will love us for this one day!
• Tyler knows all of his letters...he is quite obsessed  actually. I think it stems from playing with the foam numbers in the bathtub and his magnet letters in the kitchen. He is even able to recognize most upper and lowercase letters, which is crazy to me because some (like E/e) look so different! He also knows all of his colors...even some random ones like pink, white and brown. He loves to request certain color plates, spoons and even yogurt when he is eating (blue is his favorite). He is really good at counting to 10 unassisted and can count to 20 with help!
• Tyler can sing his ABC's all by himself...though his favorite part is all the letters after "S" and REALLY loves "W, X"...ha! He also loves to start singing the ABC's and then yell "No ABCs!" and "Stop!!" really loudly. He knows other songs like "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" (aka "Little Star"), too. It is so sweet to hear him singing in his tone-deaf voice! 
• He loves to point out everyone and everything in the room. It's like he is quizzing himself! "Mommy, right 'dere. Daddy, right 'dere. Tyler, right 'dere." It is so funny. He also points to a specific spot on the floor and will tell us to "sit down right 'dere". He can be a very demanding little boy!
• For as long as I can remember, we have been talking to Tyler in the car, pointing out things that we pass along the way. He has been obsessed with flags since last July 4th and will always point those out. But a few months ago, he has starting saying "green light go" and "red light stop" when he sees them. He gets so excited when the light turns green. Sometimes he evens sees it before I do! 
• Tyler has started sleeping on his little half-moon shaped doggy pillow at night. He got it as a gift and my friend said that her daughter loved hers and still slept with it years later. This pillow, his blue blankie and paci (his favorite rotates between orange and blue) are his bedtime must haves.
• It is really funny the things Tyler remembers. For example, about a month ago, he saw a blue cup on the hearth that Granna had left from her last trip and said, "Granna's cup". And he noticed a similar cup in our bathroom just yesterday and said, "Granna's cup". It's like his little brain is working all the time. 
• One of the favorite parts of my day is asking Tyler about his day, who he played with and what he did. He will usually say he played on the playground or basketball with John Michael, his BFF. He can name every kid in his class and will even recognize and name their parents. One day, he shouted, "Anna's Daddy" when she was getting picked up! He is also so proud of the artwork that he brings home. He wants to tell me all about it and then run to the spot in the kitchen where we "hang it up".
• He loves to tickle Caroline's toes and will say "tickle, tickle" when he is doing it! 

Helping with laundry.

Practically climbing in to get the last pieces.

Naked big boy! Our nighttime pre-bath ritual.

Jumping naked is super fun!

Laying on a pillow watching Calliou.

Bubble beard!

Eating pizza

And making a HUGE mess!

Climbing up in the big chair to watch cartoons.

Tyler and some of his classmates. 

Posing with little sister.

Aww, what a sweet big brother!

Shooting some hoops with Daddy on a beautiful Spring afternoon.

Checking out the airplane he heard outside.

He has been very into Caroline's swing.

Check out this crazy bedhead!
And Tyler mastered eating yogurt by himself.

Eating corn on the cob for the first time.

He loved it!

Saying goodnight before bed.

Laying around the next morning in the big bed!

He was glued to the cartoons on TV.

Yep, we still love "upside down Tyler"

Cutting his fruit - he loves this set!

Building a tall tower

And then knocking it down!!

As with every age, there are some not-so-fun things! That is no exception with being a toddler who is not quite 2!  Here is what I wish Tyler was NOT doing...

• I hate to say it, but Tyler is a biter!! Ahhhh! You never want your kid to be a biter...I would rather him be bitten! For the past couple months, he has been biting his friends at school. At first they thought it was because he was the youngest in age and in size and he was doing it to hold his own. But he has caught up in size and is WAY more verbal than the other kids, so now it's likely just a temper and behavioral thing. His teachers have been great about it...telling me that there is nothing I can do...that they have to watch him more closely and try to diffuse the situation before he bites, etc. I am so grateful because many schools will suspend a kid for biting more than a couple times and Tyler has bit probably 10+ now including his teacher! Luckily they don't reveal the name of the kid that is biting to the other parents. He goes to timeout when he bites and I pray that he outgrows this phase soon.
• Speaking of timeout, I feel like Tyler LIVES there now. Usually for throwing food, kicking during diaper changes or not listening to us. We usually warn him when he starts acting out and he always responds "no timeout". Timeout at our house is in the den...we move the little rocking chair and he sits and faces the wall. What is so funny is that he will go there now when we tell him and move the chair to sit down. And then he puts the chair back when he's done. We make him come to us and tell us what he did wrong and he almost always can tell us, so I know he's getting it. He has to tell us sorry and give a hug and a kiss, too.
• Tyler can be very whiny, especially when he is impatiently waiting for something, like his milk or food, or when he has to share. We encourage him to talk like a big boy or he won't get what he is wanting. We are working on it and I chalk that up to his age, too.

I simply cannot believe that we almost have a 2 year old! I cannot wait until Tyler's birthday party this year because I think he will really get it. We have been working on him saying "2" when you ask him how old he is...it will be hard to break him from saying 1. He certainly understands opening gifts! Ha! We just love our little guy so much. This age is super fun, despite it's sometimes trying moments!

This is a funny video from several months back...we got the "Mineosaur" book from Books from Birth that same week, so the timing was very good!