Trayden is a Big boy now!

My not so little boy!

Trayden was the only baby we had ever heard of that passionately hated the car. We are talking every second spent in the car was spent screaming at the top of his lungs. It was a very trying phase that lasted from birth until he was about 18 months. I couldn't go anywhere and if I did we usually pulled over a couple of times for Mom to jump in the back and TRY to settle him. We had some serious angels watching over us...it is a miracle we did not get in several accidents. Yikes! We still, to this day have no idea where it came from and we intend to ask him one day in heaven. What was that all about? But the clouds cleared and the sun now shines and ironically enough he has done a 180 and is OBSESSED with the car. He is a perfect little angle (most of the time) we just load him up with books and snacks and he does just great. But now the struggle is getting him out of the car. He wants to play in the car all the time. He loves the buttons and the steering wheel and the seat belts, and the glove compartment. He loves it all! So when he recognizes that we are nearing home he will look at me with a big smile and squinted eyes and begin to say in a slight whisper, "Mommy play car, play car, I wanna play car?" To which I reply," We will see, can you ask like a big boy?" Then with out missing a beat he very sweetly asks, "Mommy pease play car?" And the times that he does get his way he has the biggest smile on his face and claps his hands and says Yay! It is hard to say no with such a cute reaction. Although at times when I say no it results in a little tantrum- it is so much better than before. We are very grateful that he LOVES the car now, but we still intend to get to the bottom of it someday in the next life.

Tray at his Big Boy Doctor's apt. He was incredible, I couldn't believe it. I was nervous cause Daddy couldn't miss work but it was all in vain. He was an angel. He sat there so politely as the Doc looked him over. He didn't like the tongue depressor down his throat but who can blame him. Still he fussed and didn't cry. He was healthy and strong and she even said he had beautiful teeth and that she could tell someone had been very meticulous with them. I chuckled and said that Daddy was a Dentist. I couldn't wait to tell James. He weighed: 25.6 pounds (25%) and was 34 inches tall (35%) with a head size in the 12%. He sounds like a small boy but the doctor assured me that he was small/medium so I was relieved. Then for the shot, I whipped out my emergency sucker stash and he was fine. He did whimper and cry for about 3 seconds but that was it. He really is a Big Boy! I couldn't be more proud of him.

One of Tray's favorite people, Uncle Mike. He came home to visit from Tennessee and Tray had a blast getting hyper with him. I think every hyper gene comes directly from Uncle Mike or at least Uncle Mike has shown him how it is done. We miss ya Mikey!

I can't believe my little baby boy is not a baby anymore...in fact he is 2!! He is getting so big I look at him at night in his crib and he takes up the whole thing. How did the time go so fast? I guess it's like they say, "time flies when you are having fun" and he has made life so much fun!

Trayden has the funnest, most outgoing, happy personality. Everyone refers to him as the entertainer and the life of the party. He does not mind being in the spotlight or being the center of attention, he loves it! He loves to make people laugh and if he gets a chuckle out of you he will keep doing it until you are full on laughing. One night at Grandma and Grandpa Hillstrom's house he started spinning in circles and we all started laughing so he continued to do so until we were all hysterical. He kept going faster and faster and finally we had to stop him b/c we could tell he was getting sick but he didn't want to stop making us laugh. It was pretty cute. He is very talk-a-tive and already has a sense of humor. I see a lot of my Dad in his fun personality.

I know most 2 year olds have a lot of energy but Trayden has A LOT of energy! I don't think he ever slows down, he is constantly playing, exploring, getting into things, and making messes. He has a very analytical mind, like his Dad, he likes to take things apart and see how it all fits together. He loves to fix things and loves to take batteries out of all the toys. If something does not seem to be working properly he always says, "Daddy fit it." He thinks Daddy can fix anything and everything.

He is also very sensitive and if he sense Mommy or Daddy are not happy about something he is usually very quick to say "Sorry Mommy" which of course melts my heart. He is very in tune with the tones we use. If he can sense he is in trouble he is usually good about apologizing. He doesn't want to make us sad. One time while driving in the car, Mommy and Daddy were discussing driving directions and Trayden sensed things were getting a little tense. So he said "Daddy hug Mommy." LOL. It was very humbling and made us realize he is very aware and a very good listener. There are times we don't even think he is listening and he will repeat something back to us later that night. We have learned to be more careful about what we say :)

He is the happiest little boy with such a big heart. He is definitely two though. He is very independent and wants to do things his way and be a big boy about it. He is much more expressive with his emotions and opinions. He still manages to be such a good little boy and for the most part a very good listener.

He is a good sleeper and sleeps every night from 8:30-7:30 with a nap from 2-5:00. He still sleeps with his blue zippy that he has had since he was about 6 months old. He also sleeps with his little blue bear/blanket. He has now learned how to unzip the zippy and prefers to sleep with it and not in it. He carries it around the house and loves it so much! We read a couple of books before bed and still rock him to sleep and sing to him. He is so happy in the morning when we go get him. He will usually hang out in his crib for 30 min singing and talking to himself. It is my favorite! He is such a singer. He is singing all day long, in the car and I can't get enough of it. It reminds me that I am so blessed and what an good example he is to me. I think I need to sing more :) His favorite songs lately have been, Twinkle Twinkle little Star, I am a child of God, Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree, and the ABC's. He loves the songs from nursery with their accompanying signs.

Just the other day I was in the kitchen and he went into play the piano. I snuck in there to see him and he had opened my piano book and was playing and singing. It was so precious. He had been sick and sad all day but for those 5 moments he was as happy as can be. He was singing I am a child of God from the top of his lungs. It was priceless. I think he really thought he was reading the music. He has always been a big fan of music. He loves the guitar and still plays it with Daddy and he is my little singer. When we go for car rides he is in the back just having a grand ole time singing songs. It is another one of my favorite things.

He is a very picky eater. He doesn't like to do anything that takes away from his play time so eating is always tough. He of course has developed a monstrous sweet tooth encouraged by his father :) He loves Chocolate milk like Daddy and just about anything sweet. James will be sneaky and buy him a chocolate milk cause he thinks it is so cute that he loves them so much and the next day Tray will totally bust him and say, "Daddy buy chocolate milk, I like chocolate milk." Ha ha. I guess it is a good thing we know a good dentist. His favorite foods are Mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, green beans, deli turkey, and he loves cheese! I would say his most favorite food is cereal. He is just like his mom. He asks for cereal all day. Currently he is a big fan of Honey Combs and Life but always tries to get the good stuff like Coco Pebbles. He loves his apple juice and his cranapple juice. He likes wheat thins, goldfish, dried apples, fresh apples, dried mangoes, and soup too.

Tray also likes to brush his teeth and has 5 different tooth brushes to chose from each day. Every morning when I get him up he likes to tell me that, "Daddy at work, fix it teeth, Daddy Dentist, be home soon." I say yep. He also likes to point to my teeth and say" Daddy fix it teeth, braces on" It makes me giggle. He is still Daddy's biggest fan and his new thing is running to the phone when it rings and if he sees Daddy's picture come up answering it and saying, "Hi dad". The second Daddy gets home it's nothing but rough housing, tickle tortures, and laughter. It is so fun to see how excited he is to see Daddy walk in the door. He loves to hide and will tell me all throughout the day in a whisper, "Hide Daddy".

He loves being chased and playing hide and seek. He loves to take everything out of every cupboard, especially the measuring cups and fill them with water from the bathtub. He is OBSESSED with water! He is always filling things up from the tub and consequently making messes for Mommy. He loves to play outside in the dirt and the water.He loves to do anything that involves being a typical boy. It cracks me up, I can't tell you how many times a day I find myself thinking, "He is such a boy, I would never think to do that." It just makes me smile. He always makes me smile. And speaking of smiles, his is adorable. The biggest grin with his cute little under bite and dimples. I can't get enough of it. In fact whenever we put him down to bed James and I miss it terribly.

Tray is a very smart little boy. He has always been leaps and bounds ahead. I get to brag a little, It is a motherly right. LOL. I think it is because while all the other babies were sleeping he was wide awake observing things or screaming. He was a very alert baby, very sleep deprived (well at least we were sleep deprived) baby. He know his first and last name and how old he is. He also know his birthday. We are working on his address and social security number. JK. He know all his letters and their sounds. He can count from 1-10 and can point them out on paper. He knows all his colors and shapes. He knows the President but we are still working on the VP. He is talking like a little man with sentences and everything. He has also memorized what some words look like. He knows his name, Mommy, and Daddy. He is one smart little cookie. I am very proud of him and what a quick learner he is. He also has the most amazing memory. Yesterday out of now where he recounted our trip to San Diego in April. He said, "Grandma Grandpa airplane" (since they took us to the airport)" Ride airplane, fly high, San Diego, Shaking house (we were in an Earthquake) I wake up, shaking house (with sound effect and shaking his hands)Mommy wake up too, Sorry house (he apologized to the house for all the shaking) got new car (we were in a rental car), I play water, I play ocean." I was like- Wow! I barely remember that trip. Grandma told me the other day she was playing the piano and was showing him pictures of all the composers. Minutes later he was pointing to them and repeating some of their names. Of course they all have fancy foreign names so he did his best. She was so impressed and so was I. He is just always listening, he is my little sponge.

He just got a new truck with a trailer that tows a dump truck on it and he has not let it go since. We have never seen him so attached to a toy before. He has to take it everywhere we go. In the car, in the store, it is really cute! Once again I find myself saying, "you are such a boy." It is cute to see him so in love with a toy, he has never really been so into one toy before. I have been weak lately and every time we go somewhere I buy him something. Bad I know. It is just so hard when you see how excited they get. Now I can see how you end up with a spoiled kid so easily. The other day we bought a big cement truck and I would say that is his 2nd most favorite toy. He is all boy- trucks, cars, airplanes, and trains are his favorite things.

We are also working on discipline which I think has been one of the most difficult things as a parent. It is so HARD! I don't like it one bit. I hate constantly having to be the bad guy...but there ya go. I better just suck it up cause I have a long road ahead of me. Tray, is a really good kid but he is testing his limits. Sometimes it is quite comical, other times not so much. He is into this changing his mind on thing all of a sudden. He will ask for something then when I go to give it to him he says he doesn't want it. I take it away and he freaks out so I give it back and he doesn't want it. WHAT??? I think he might like having the power to say yes or no. He recently became very picky. He comes up with all sorts of reason why whatever I give him is not good or he needs a new one. He says," Mommy this too old, this too yucky, this too hot, this too big, this too tight, this too sticky." It cracks me up. He really dislikes diaper changes and eating. He somehow learned to hit...I honestly don't know where he learned it. They are always soft hits but still a hit is a hit. So we have been using the good old time out chair. He actually does really well with it. He doesn't like it but will usually stay there and say sorry. He is such a sweetie, just a curious little 2 year old.

Last but not least an update on the potty training. We started a couple of months ago and I made a cute little guitar sticker chart and got a little potty. He has done really well and filled up an entire poster worth of stickers. For every 8 times he gets to pick out a prize. Now we have transferred to the real potty with his little potty on top. He likes to climb up on it with his step stool and wipe too. The flush is the biggest highlight besides the stickers and prize of course. We also started pull ups which he likes but are still a little hard to do on his own but he is progressing. I have pulled back a little, I was all excited when he was showing so much interest and was determined to have him out of diapers before the next baby came....I don't see that happening. So I decided to pull back and let him take the reigns. Hopefully it will be sooner than later but I don't want to force him. As long as we don't regress I am fine with slowing down. So far he is perfectly content with going in the big boy potty a couple of times a day and the diaper works just fine too. So we will see...

In closing, I love this little kid more than I ever thought possible. Each day I love him more and more. He has taught me so much about myself, about perspective, about priorities, about happiness. Motherhood is the most selfless thing we can do but with all the sacrifices, you become truly, really happy and you learn a whole lot about who you are too. You grow so much and all the little things that don't really matter fade away. Family is the most important thing. He is such an example to me. He is always happy , always singing, always playing. When do we stop playing and singing for that matter? He has taught me to let loose and have fun! Get dirty, make messes, act like a goofball. I cherish our time together everyday. I am so blessed to be at home with him. He is my little buddy, my little shadow. I can see why I always had that special bond with my mom. You never leave their side, they are your world. I am just so honored and feel so undeserving to be his sidekick. Hopefully he will always think I am this cool. I love my little Tray-bug and I don't think he will ever know just how much. Perhaps one day many many years from now when he is a Daddy he will get an idea of just how much I love him. He is my world, my everything, my purpose, and my joy, he is and will always be my little buddy! I love you Tray, you are such a fun 2 year old!

We are really excited to welcome Baby Brother and he has been very cute with my belly. He gives it soft pats and Eskimo kisses and says "Hi Baby Brother." I know he is going to be a very loving, gentle, and playful big brother.