teds-second-birthday-1334
Theodore John, age 2 years and a few hours

I’m pretty sure Teddy was this little squish yesterday and I blinked and now he’s 2!

IMG_4944
Theodore John only minutes old

Teddy has a whole lot of personality in a tiny body. He’s barely out of 18 month clothes but 24 month/2T are far too big yet. He’s 2 ft 7.5 inches tall (3rd percentile) and weight 22 lb 3 oz (1st %). He may be small but he is a bundle of jokes, sweet gestures, and funny words.

Teddy loves fruit snacks (we call them fruit candies because that’s what they really are), cookies, crackers, freeze dried yogurt drops, dried mango and raisins, yogurt, scrambled eggs, cupcakes and muffins, toast, grilled cheese and tomato soup, pizza, pancakes, sausage, bacon, hot dogs, roasted carrots and sweet potatoes, waffles, and any candy he can see. Basically, he likes all the typical toddler foods but few of the healthy ones. It feels like he got picky far earlier than Ben so we’ve been working on breaking that habit now rather than let him rule over dinner like a tiny dictator.

Teddy loves cars and trucks more than Ben ever has. He’s been making vroom noises since he was 8 months old and will sit and play cars for ages. He also loves things that aren’t toys, like empty children’s vitamin bottles and a PS3 controller. I’ve given up taking away his “mote” at bed anymore because of the meltdown associated with having to leave the controller behind! He’s Ben’s biggest fan and will follow him anywhere. Ben is fairly tolerant of having a little brother with him constantly and loves to have a playmate. They wrestle, play pretend restaurant or kitchen, watch shows, make piles of all the pillows in the house, and play Duplos or little Legos with Brian downstairs. When Ben and Teddy are not best friends, they are worst enemies, like most siblings. Teddy will do anything if it means he can go for a walk in the wagon or stroller and has quickly adapted to accompanying Brian to drop Ben off at school.

Ben has always been one to act first and learn lessons after the fact. Teddy is exactly the opposite. He will wait as long as it takes to study something before moving forward. He didn’t roll, crawl, or walk until later than normal but excelled at all of them right away. He has incredible fine motor skills and will carefully play with small figurines, setting up tiny tea parties so the animals can have a ‘nack. His patience as a tiny person amazes me and nothing illustrates how different our boys are than when asking for help. I attempted to teach Ben how to sign for help before he could speak but he refused to use it. He was capable but preferred throwing a toy or falling to the floor in anguish instead of asking for assistance. Teddy, however, is an expert, even without being prompted. “Hep peas” was one of his first two word phrases and the one that gets the most use. It never fails to amaze me when Teddy walks into the room where I am, hands me something, asks for hep, and responds with “gink oo” (or thank you for those who don’t speak Teds).

https://youtu.be/QEX-I0E2gzQ

Teddy’s vocabulary has exploded in the last few months. He has words for just about everything but our favorites are guckle = buckle, moois = moose (which is pretty much every animal that isn’t a puppy, duck, or horse). He loves to take care of his baby doll, ask for snacks, drink (water, juice, milk), and tell us no at any possible opportunity. Asking him questions almost always generates a “yup” in response except for diaper changes and naps: “No map! No poop!” He loves his kitties: Skints (Squints) and Mogee (Mowgli). He’s been working on names for grandparents and has so far come up with Gramommy for Grammy and Memaw for Grandma.

messages-image1589285795
Teddy is, and always has been, very loud

We’ve been able to control his breathing through two colds with his steroid inhalers so we shouldn’t need to return to the hospital anytime soon. I still get jumpy when I see his nose start to drip because I know a nasty cough isn’t far behind. Thankfully, he puts up with the inhalers fairly well at this point.

Happy birthday Teddy bear! We are so thankful that you’re our #4!