Two-year check-up - Charlie passed all of his developmental milestones and was very well behaved for the doctor. He did keep putting his hand over my mouth while I was trying to talk to her, but overall he was cooperative and calm. At two, they start measuring their height against a wall. (Before that, they have been laying him on a table and marking where his head and feet are.) When they took his height against the wall, it was 33 inches, which is 1/4 inch less than he measured at 18 months. Since that didn't seem right, they went ahead and measured him on the table again. That time he measured 35 3/4 inches. Honestly, that doesn't sound right either. The first measurement would place him in the 14th percentile. The second places him in the 81st percentile. The accurate measurement is somewhere in between. The doctors were satisfied with that and it's fine with me. We know he's growing and he's healthy. That's all that matters. He weighed 26.5 pounds (29th percentile). His head circumference was in the 39th percentile.
There are no vaccines at the two-year visit, but Charlie did need his flu shot. He was very brave, but as soon as they stuck him he cried out "OW!" and then cried. It's the first time he has used any words when getting his shots and it was almost harder for me than when he would just cry.
Development - It still amazes me how much Charlie learns each day. He can mimic most things you say (when he wants to). If you ask him to say something, he will often say no. While he talks non-stop, especially in the car, he can be really hard to understand. Kyle and I are like translators between Charlie and the world. Based on the context of the situation, I can understand most of what he says. But there are times, like in the car, when I can't tell what he is talking about. Then we usually have a conversation like this:
Charlie: Mommy! Ahp!
Me: Up? You can't get up, you have to stay in your car seat.
Charlie: Noooo, Ahp!
Me: Hot? Are you hot?
Charlie: No! Ahp!
Me: Oh, Stop? Yes, we are stopped at a light.
Charlie: No, Mommy, Ahp!
Me: Top?
Charlie: Yeah, Ahp.
Me: Oh you want the top for your snack box. Ok, here you go...
With his expanding vocabulary, we are able to see a lot more of his personality. He has a good memory and is great at using the words he knows to communicate. For example, he saw a boat on a trailer hitch yesterday and said, "Mommy, boat!" I said, "that's right! It's a boat!" He then looked at me with a curious look and asked, "Water?". It's fascinating to watch him learn about the world around him one day at a time. Of course he was confused. Boats go on water. Why was this boat going down the road behind a car?
I wish I could think of all the cute things he says and does so I could remember them all later, but it's so hard when I'm sitting here typing. Here are the ones I could come up with.
- He calls the GT Mascot a "Bee", but he knows that his name is Buzz. So when he sees Buzz Lightyear on Toy Story, he calls him Bee.
- When the dogs are barking he yells, "No, no! No bark!"
- When he hears a toilet flush he says "Bye poop. Bye pee."
- When he is hungry, he'll run and climb in his booster seat and say, "Eat! Eat!"
- He calls the refrigerator the "door", like when he wants milk or juice instead of the water I'm getting him out of the sink, he says, "No Mommy, door" and points to the fridge.
- The other day I was making dinner and had the baby gates up to keep him out of the kitchen. He was hungry and kept saying (over and over) "eat? eat? eat?" I kept telling him, "no Charlie, it's not ready yet. Soon." When he heard the microwave ding, he yelled, "YAY! EAT!" I realized that maybe the microwave is involved in way too much meal preparation. :)
- He knows the word "fun" and he'll tell us when he is really enjoying something. It's awesome! The other night we took him to see some Christmas lights. On the way home he said, "Mommy lights fun!"
- He went through a phase where he would always cry "Ow!" when he wanted my attention. I finally realized he was just manipulating me, but it worked for a few days. One day we were at Publix and Charlie had a major tantrum because I buckled him in the seat. (Oh the horror). As I'm ignoring him and going up and down the aisles, he is screaming, "Mommy! Owie!" and bawling. A few people asked me if he was okay and one grocery worker tried to bring him a balloon. I said, no, sorry, he's in trouble - no balloon. She looked at me shocked. And the whole experience was even better since he had a black eye at the time. Good thing I don't embarrass easily. :)
- When he eats chocolate candy, he does what we call the Candy Dance. He literally dances around while he eats it.
- He loves the song "The Wheels on the Bus". He asks for it every time we're in the car and it's the only song he will let me sing. When the radio is on, he hates it if I start singing and he immediately says, "No Mommy, No!"
- He is incredibly loving and gives the best hugs. He loves to snuggle and will sometimes grab my hand and wrap it around him when he's sitting in my lap.
- He is persistent. When he gets stuck on an idea, he will not give it up. Many car rides are spent hearing "Mommy? Mommy. Maaahhhmmmyyyy! Maaahhhmmmyyyy!" over and over and over. He doesn't have anything else to say, so I quit answering after a while. But he never stops. Never. I'm sure much of this is typical two-year-old (maddening) behavior. :)
- He is very independent. I love this about him, even though it can be trying when he doesn't want me to show him how to do something or he wants to do something himself that is just impossible - like buckling his own car seat or cutting his own food. He will say, "Mommy my turn! My turn!"
- School is great! I love his teachers and they love him. He is always in a great mood when I pick him up from school. He still cries a little when I drop him off, but he usually stops once I'm out of sight and his teachers tell me he is very happy throughout the day.
- He is really into his Daddy. He asks me all day long about Daddy. I always ask him, "Where is Daddy?" And he says, "Work." And I tell him, "That's right. Daddy is at work. He'll be home tonight." Kyle puts Charlie to bed every night and that is their special time together. Charlie is also very well behaved for Daddy.
- Charlie and Kyle went Christmas shopping for me and Charlie picked out a necklace that had a "ball" on it (a pearl) and earrings that were stars. He loves it when I wear them. Kyle said Charlie is very indecisive...I think he's just two-years-old.
Overall Charlie is so much fun! It will be very interesting to see how he adjusts to the new baby. I'm terrified. I'll do another post soon about what we have done to prepare him to be a Big Brother.
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