these kids of mine! :: lawson

I really don't think that this kid needs an introduction.

He is crazy and happy and lights up the room with his dimply grin.

Right now the biggest thing going on with Mister Lawson James is his ever expanding vocabulary.

It really seems like he is learning new words daily.

And I (not so) secretly love the fact that he still uses a lot of proto-words that only I can understand.

Of course, being that he is rounding the corner towards turning two, his favorite word seems to be NO. Often followed by or done simultaneously with a head shake.

He knows a bunch of different parts of the body, including where his doo-das (dimples for those not hip to the Lawson lingo) are.

He often sits in my lap and points out the different parts of my face, and without fail, every time he gets to my hair he makes me bend my head down so that he can kiss the top of my head.

 Lawson has never been too big on baby sign language.

In fact, the only one he's ever used on a regular basis is the sign for "more".

He actually uses this one quite often.

Then, all of the sudden, a couple of days ago he has started throwing the sign for "please" into the mix.

Of course, he actually uses his signs in conjunction with actually saying the words,

but I still think it's pretty cool.

This kid also has his bedtime routine down pat.

A couple of months ago I decided to gender neutralize his and Audrey's room a bit, so I hung some cutouts of Dr. Seuss characters on the wall.

Randomly one night he wanted to kiss the Cat in the Hat before bed, and then the next day he wanted to do the same before nap, and so on and so forth.

For awhile now his routine is (after dressing for bed) kiss Audrey, kiss Daddy, kiss the cutout of the Cat in the Hat, kiss the cutout of the Lorax, kiss the cutout of Yertle the Turtle, blow a kiss to the cutout of Fox in Socks (it's too high up to reach), kiss Mommy, sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Lullaby and finally be put into bed to fall asleep.

We do all of this, in this order, before both naptime and bedtime, without fail.

Another thing that I've noticed him doing lately, both at home and when he's at work with me, is lining up toy cars and push toys all in a row like a train.

He is also a whiz when it comes to technology.

Baby can play on an iPad and open any phone with the best of them.

I'm thinking the time to start potty training is fast approaching, as he tells me when he has gone number two 99% of the time.

Also, he is becoming more and more interested in the bathroom, commenting "Potty!" whenever people go in, and if you ask him what you do in the potty he'll answer, "pee peeeeee!".

Lawson is a very finicky eater, loving something one day and hating it the next, but I suppose most toddlers are this way.

His current favorites are :: arroz con pollo  or cerdo (rice and chicken or pork), fruit and yogurt smoothies, yogurt, string cheese, clementines, apples, macaroni & cheese and goldfish (among others).

The way he tells you that he is hungry is to say, "Ahmama". 

It's a very distinctive "phrase" and is widely used in our house.

He also LOVES his big sister.

And he LOVES to torment her.

Poor Audrey has been the target of many a hair pullings and bites and scratches.

For the record, he doesn't do this type of stuff with other kids, just his Audrey.

But as much as he does to irritate her, he also loves to love her and play with her.

They often dance together and whenever she's gone to school, he asks about her a minimum of five times.

I know that I'm leaving out a lot of his crazy antics right now, but I'm hoping that these little updates will become a regular feature around these parts.

peace, love, and all things sparkly.