Birthday Week: All the things I can do at two

This is really for posterity, so when I look back and am unable to remember what all Zane could do at two, I will have this lovely record of it. Zane is quickly becoming quite independent, able to do many things by himself. This is so helpful and makes our days run smoother. He can take his pants off and sometimes even gets them back one all by himself. Some days he can get his shirt completely off, but most days he only gets it part of the way off before getting frustrated. He gets his shoes for me, always with an opinion of which pair he wants to wear. His rain boots are often his favorite because he can get these on himself.

He is quite the little helper in other ways too, doing his part to help with "chores." And by chores I mean he puts away his dishes out of the dishwasher, takes his sippy cup to the sink, picks up/puts away his toys at night, and helps with doing and putting away laundry. He gets himself and plate an fork for dinner and can get up in his seat unassisted. He is beginning to understand that everything has a home where it should end up at the end of the day. This has lead to him picking up and organizing his toys without me telling him to, which as a slightly OCD person, warms my heart.

Zane's vocabulary is also changing rapidly. He says something new everyday and knows all sorts of words. He has a few sentences, learning more all the time. Most of his sentences include "I want....." fill in the blank, i.e. more, juice, milk, bebe, choo choo, car, outside, and this weeks addition Little Einsteins (his TV show of choice at the moment). He also says "Where it go" and put his little arms out to emphasize his question. Then once we have found whatever it is he was looking for he says, super excitedly, "there it is." He also says "I love......" fill in the blank. However, he does not hand out "I love you" or I love you too" very frequently, only for the most special of occasions. Thank you is a new addition as well, which he continues to use appropriately. He still loves waving/saying bye bye to people and saying hi to everyone. He knows all his body parts, animals and sounds, and so much more. He frequently says words (i.e. bike) that I am not sure where he learned them, but I know he is soaking up everyone we say and read to him.

Last year at this time he was just walking, toddling around the house with his little arms out for balance. Now he is running around like a crazy person. He runs, jumps ( on his bed, on the couch, all the time), and can walk up and down stairs, even using the railings appropriately. His newest trick is summer salts done all by himself. We never really showed him how to do them they just evolved from him trying to stand on his head, then flipping over on his own. He flips onto the couch from the arm wrest and all around the basement. I can't say I am excited about this new trick, as he looks like he might break his neck at anytime, but so far no injuries.

The couch int he basement if perfect for jumping on!

 Dancing and jumping at the sculpture garden.

Just done jumping in his new big boy bed! 

Last spring/summer we had just starting to explore playgrounds with Zane requiring lots of help getting up and around the equipment. Now he runs all over the playground, up and down the slides, and all around the play equipment with no help required. He loves swinging and any sort of riding toys they have. He always heads to the biggest slide when we arrive and usually goes down it head first. He can spot a slide from a mile away, saying "I slide" whenever we drive by.

Lastly, his little boy appetite. This is really a milestone, so much as me wanting to document his favorite foods. He has moved to the booster seat, by his choice, one day he refused to sit in his high chair because he realized he could eat in his booster, not just color sitting in it. He has done great with it, we were really just too lazy to take his chair downstairs. His favorite foods at two are all the usual suspects. Mac and cheese, hot dogs (covered in ketchup) he gets these probably more than he should since we grill a lot and they are his grilling request. He does love veggies though, corn, broccoli, green beans, peas, and cooked carrots being his favorite. Strawberries and watermelon have been his favorite summer foods so far, of course. Breakfasts are usually bananas, cereal, yogurt, eggs and cheese, or if we happen to have muffins. Lunch always involved cheese of some sort, his most favorite food of all usually with some apple sauce to balance it out. There really aren't a lot of things that he won't eat but occasionally we will find ourselves in the classic two year old, not eating anything for dinner stand off, which usually we give up on since I know he will eat when he is hungry.

Here he is after a epic mac and cheese lunch.

 Did I mention his love of popcorn. We frequently get it as a snack/distraction in target. And it quickly has become a favorite snack request.

 And we can't forget popsicles, which he can now say and request.