Oh our sweet, smart, social Beckett boy… where do I even start on these
last few months?!?
It seems like just about everything about him has changed since his
second birthday. I have a vivid picture
of what stage he was in at his birthday party… his hair was short, he wore
diapers, his only obsession was with tractors, and maybe most of all—he was an
only child. But that’s all changed now!
He’s a great big brother. He
isn’t into being helpful and really isn’t all that interested in Samuel in
general, but every week or so there will be a moment where I see a flash of
their relationship building. Beckett
will do something that makes Samuel smile or laugh and he’ll catch on and keep
doing it. Or he’ll show Samuel something
he built or hold his hand (and always tell me, “I hold baby Samuel’s
hand.”). Or asks about him when he hears
him wake up in the morning and wants to be the one to go check on him. Or once we had someone new in our house and I
was about to walk out the door with the boys and the lady was oohing and ahhing
over Samuel in his carseat and getting right up in his face and Beckett walked
over and grabbed the carseat handle and told her emphatically, “Samuel is
toming (coming) with us.” Maybe a
glimpse of a protective big brother?!?
He’s gentle with Samuel and not seemingly jealous of him, and that’s
about all I can ask for at this point!
I’m so excited to see their relationship grow.
As far as interests, Beckett is still very much into tractors but not
as much so for just tractor toys or books—his interest is mainly in the actual
tractor at my parents’ ranch and getting to ride it with Pops. Nothing makes him happier than when he hears
the answer “yes” to getting to go ride it with my dad. He’s developed some other interests as well
now. He loves loves loves to build with
his MegaBlocks set (think huge toddler-sized Legos) and that’s definitely his
favorite toy. He builds houses for his
toy animals then knocks it down and starts over. I could watch him play with blocks for
hours. I love seeing him think and work
and be creative. His baseball obsession
abated during the off season but is back in full swing. His favorite activity is playing baseball
with us, and he’s very specific about it.
“You be the batter and I’ll be the pitcher.” or “You be the pitcher and
I’ll be the catcher.” etc. We have a
tee that we got him last year but he now insists on us pitching it to him and
he is shockingly good at hitting. He’ll
hit it far more often than he misses, and he’s hit some really hard. Just picture the America’s Funniest Home
Video montage of the dad pitching the ball and the kid whacking it straight at
his crotch. That’s a common scene these
days. He looks so old and skilled to be
able to hit it the way he does, but then he flips the bat and takes off running
the “bases” with his goofy little toddler run and he’s right back to looking
like a wee little kid :). He loves to be
read to, and he and Kolby go to the library a couple times a week to get a new
round of books. His favorites are
construction books and he’s also into a book called Trashy Town about a garbage
man named Mr. Gilly. We hear A LOT about
Mr. Gilly. He likes to build Mr. Gilly
with blocks or talk about him or watch for our trash man who he calls Mr. Gilly
too.
Probably the biggest change these last few months is Beckett is now
potty trained! We took the plunge over a
weekend in early February right before my maternity leave ended. He’s so communicative that we figured might
as well try and if it didn’t work we’d try again over the summer. We used the 3-Day Potty Training Method and followed it to the letter and I’m telling you—it worked like a charm! I was so impressed. With the method, with Beckett, with having a
BOY potty trained at barely two years old, with everything. By day 3 he only had one little accident then
went several WEEKS with no accidents or just one or so a week. He went through a spell of #2 accidents and
Kolby and I reached a breaking point (you can only clean a poop mess out of so
many pairs of underwear…) and decided to get serious about pulling him through
it. We found a song on YouTube and
learned it and put some dances with it and bribed him with a toy and lo and
behold he snapped out of it. Nighttime
potty training was a struggle and we tried all the tips in the method but after
several weeks decided to just put him in a pull up at night and it was
definitely the right call and we’re all sleeping much better! Then he had a big regression after about a month
where I think the novelty wore off and he just stopped telling us when he had
to go, but he came through it on his own a couple weeks later (I know this is a
lot of detail but it’s for my own sake when we go to potty train Samuel!). Overall potty training was a big success and
I can proudly say I now only have one kid in diapers! At first it seemed overwhelming to have a
baby AND a newly potty trained kid (always having to know where a potty is
anywhere we went, the logistics of car rides, keeping track of when he went
last, reminding him, etc.) but that all was just for the first month or so and
now he’s great about going before we go places then telling us on his own when
it’s time so it’s seriously no big deal anymore and SO much better than having
two kids in diapers.
Beckett had his adenoids removed in early February. He has always been a mouth breather and we
were referred to an ENT at his two year checkup and he determined that his
adenoids were very enlarged and likely blocking some air passage through his
nose and recommended an adenoidectomy.
Beckett also had an ear infection (only his second one) and it wasn’t
clearing, so he also recommended tubes.
Beckett was so brave and did great during and after the procedure!
Also on the health front, Beckett has had some eczema on his chin and
cheeks since his first birthday and the doctor suspected it was a food allergy
but we couldn’t determine what was causing it and they typically wait to do
allergy testing until kids are at least two years old. We had that testing done in January and it
showed that Beckett has a mild allergy to milk and eggs. We totally cut both from his diet and his
skin cleared up within a week. We took
him to an allergist a couple months later to get more info and they did some
skin testing and the doctor recommended that we reintroduce milk and eggs to
his diet so long as they are cooked. We
did that and Beckett’s skin has stayed pretty clear and it’s a much more
manageable diet restriction than totally avoiding both. He made the switch from cow’s milk to almond
milk without really even noticing. He
can’t have cheese or yogurt which is definitely a bummer because he loves both,
but he understands that “they make me a little bit sick” and is fine not having
them as long as he gets something else he likes if he sees us or other kids
eating things he can’t have. Other than
that, most milk/eggs are cooked and not a problem—like hard-boiled eggs,
pancakes, or packaged snacks.
Another new thing lately is Beckett and I started a Mommy (and Sammy)
and Me gymnastics class. Ashley and Liam
joined too. It’s run by our city and at
a brand new gymnastics center they just built and it’s been awesome. I don’t know what I was expecting really, but
I was taken by surprise by how legit this class is. It’s not some sing little songs and let the
kids bounce on the trampolines type class.
It starts with the kids (who are all just two!) running a couple laps
around the floor mat to warm up, then really stretching, then doing some warm
up exercises (walk to the cone and back on your tip toes, for example) and then
they rotate through the actual gymnastics equipment and learn all sorts of
gymnastics moves. Beckett LOVES it! And I am so impressed with how great he is at
following instructions (thank you, preschool!).
I have loved doing the class with him and seeing him learn new skills
over time and conquer fears (the balance beam isn’t his favorite) and gain
confidence and probably most of all—see him “stick it and finish” like they
taught him, with his arms out like a real gymnast and it’s the cutest thing in
the world.
Beckett is very verbal and understands absolutely anything we say to
him and vice versa. He’ll now tell us
about his day when we ask or has lots of opinions when we ask him what he wants
to do or eat or where he wants to go, etc.
I love hearing what’s going on in his little mind. I have a couple favorite things he says. First, when he hears something that he’s
excited about—whether he asks if he can go play outside or if we tell him that
first we’re going to get dressed then we’re going to play baseball—he’ll say
“OKAY!” but he says it “OTAY!” and with the sweetest little voice. And second, I’m usually feeding Samuel in the
evenings when it’s time for Beckett to go to bed so Kolby lifts him up and
walks over to where I’m sitting and swoops him down for a kiss and hug—and
Beckett always asks me, “You need swoop-es, Mommy?” Just one of those things I don’t want to
forget.
And last I want to write a little about his personality so I can
remember. He’s just the neatest little
kid. Kolby and I talk all the time about
how great he is (biased parent alert) and how much fun he is to be around. I’d say the word that may describe him best
is social. And I don’t mean friendly and
I don’t mean chatty, although he is both of those things. He’s social in the dictionary definition kind
of way: “relating to or involving activities in which people spend time talking
to each other or doing enjoyable things with each other” or “liking to be with and talk to people : happy
to be with people.” He gets that
life is better when it’s a shared experience.
If he does something fun or sees something cool, he wants to make sure
that anyone nearby gets to experience it too.
An exaggerated example is at the zoo he sets up shop at the elephant
exhibit (his favorite) and ANYONE who passes by he yells and points,
“Look! An elephant!” and waits on them
to acknowledge it and if they respond he gets the biggest look of satisfaction. But in everyday life it’s just little things
like always wanting to make new friends at the park so they can play together
or work on something in the sandbox together, or at church wanting to sit with
us for a while but then also wanting to stand and sing with his older kid
friends or be held by his adult friends, or how at preschool his best friends
are his teachers, I think because they are able to talk with him the most.
He’s good about playing by himself for longer periods of time now (15
mins?) but of course much prefers when we play with him. He generally doesn’t get into mischief (he’s
not the kid I worry walking in on him painting the walls with mascara or
anything) and is pretty easy, but he of course has his moments and moods where
it’s very obvious he’s a stubborn and moody two-year-old. And the worst is when he won’t make up his
mind about something and freaks out about both options. But overall he’s great and makes it easy to
enjoy his company, and we do!
Another thing that is worth mentioning is that Beckett is a PHENOMENAL
eater. Which is definitely not always
the case for toddlers. The kid will eat
absolutely anything we put in front of him with very few exceptions (like white
potatoes…but does like french fries, ha).
And he eats a ton. I’m so
thankful he’s such a good eater because it makes life so much easier on us to
not have to fight a battle at every mean.
He also really loves to help in the kitchen and always insists on
cooking dinner with us. He’s a pretty
good little sous chef and usually eats a meal’s worth of ingredients before all
is said and done.
We’re in an interesting phase of playing with friends where he’s old
enough to know better but not really ready to do better, ha. He likes to tackle for some reason and
sometimes randomly tackles his friends and they don’t always love it so we’re
working on that. He’s okay at sharing
but it usually requires me telling him it can be his turn for one more minute
then when the timer goes off he needs to hand it over. If he does something that makes a friend mad
he’ll for sure keep it up to illicit the reaction as much as possible. It can be disheartening as a parent but I
know it’s just normal toddler stuff as he learns social skills. And of course there are bright spots where he’s
happy to share and everyone plays great together. I’ll give him credit for his honesty,
too. He and a friend (usually his second
cousin Liam who lives down the street so we get together most days) will be
playing and Liam will cry and I’ll ask Beckett what happened and here’s just a
peek at things I’ve heard recently:
“I tackled Liam.”
“I tackled Liam.”
“I pushed Liam.”
“I took that from Liam.”
And my personal favorite… “I hit Liam with the bat.” Where? “In the
face.”
This is such a great phase and he just gets more fun every day! There are some "terrible two" lows but the highs are high and he's an absolute blast to be around.
And of course, some pictures...
Giant baby pushing a baby (and a peek at what our life looks like at home...)
I think Beckett may have had his first date?!? He saw this (older) girl reading at the library and RAN to go get some books so he could join her. He couldn't get up on the couch by himself so she helped him, and after he didn't let go of her hand and it was hilariously awkward. He slowly won her over and she ended up following him everywhere and playing with him and trying to pick him up.
Family popcorn & game night!
Goofy kid...
We had our patio area redone and Beckett really loved the dirt pile that appeared in the yard.
Sparklers!
He gets left alone for a few moments here and there while I tend to Samuel. Sometimes he's more responsible than others...
Crazy hair don't care.
Getting ready for his adenoidectemy. The loopy juice made him even funnier than usual.
First visit it Chuck E. Cheese. He loved it!
Beautiful boy
Worshiping with his best pal, Haley, at church.
These two went on their first bike ride of the year.
Getting dirt all over himself and "playing soccer" with his dinosaurs.
Kicking off potty training with enthusiasm!
Popping some popcorn.
Helping Daddy cook dinner.
Playing with my old horses at my parents' house.
Someone's gotta stay on top of all this work around the house.
My sweet boy.
