Happy 2nd Birthday, Elliott!
Stats update after Doctor’s Appointment
Weight: 30 lbs, 3 oz. (75th percentile)
Length: 35.5 inches (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 20.25 inches (95th+ percentile)
Elliott had a fun birthday! It started with breakfast waffles, courtesy of Chef Dad. It was followed by opening up an assortment of truck presents – a mid-size John Deere tractor, a hand-held Fire Engine from the Cars franchise (which results in Elliott’s most syllables ever said – “fire engine truck”), and two truck books, with wheels. Then, we dropped off Natalie at preschool, where he waited quietly to figure out how he could reach his favorite El trains, given that a little boy was blocking the path. Then, we accompanied one of his favorite friends Austin (who we just found out is moving to CA soon! :() to the Nature Museum. I had to go to work after this, so our wonderfully amazing nanny Alison took the kids to the grocery for cake supplies – and Natalie and Alison decorated the house in a truck theme for his Saturday birthday. Finally, Dad grilled steak for dinner (meat is a fav food of E’s) and they opened up a red scooter!!! Natalie taught him how to use it. Upon me getting home, he needed me to sit at the kitchen table and watch them go around. And, he also brought the scooter up to his room and “tucked” it in by putting a blanket over it.
Drive, drive, drive
Elliott is a super fun 2-year-old who can communicate a lot, despite few words.
Vocabulary. Mama, Dada, Nat, Ssss, truck, tar (“guitar”), O’s, god (for dog), fire truck, hat, up, no, mine, car, blue, green, one, two… its late, I’m forgetting the others. He’s supposed to know 80-100 words, with 50% understood by people outside of our immediate family. It’s still in stark contrast to Natalie’s singing her ABCs and half-sentences, but he seriously is adding words (and combination of words) everyday.
Favorite Toys. Trucks and Cars lead the way, followed by dogs and princesses. Nana and Pop got him a Chicago fire engine that plays the theme song from Chicago Fire, a popular TV show that I’ve never seen. He especially likes vehicles where he can open up the doors, so we just brought him a wooden truck from Aruba with 4 doors that open – and a trunk. On the same end, he also likes playing with and taking care of Natalie’s princesses and dolls, as well as dressing up in her hats and a tutu. I suspect that may dissipate over the next year or two. He also loves throwing balls.
Favorite Books. Similar to his favorite toys, his favorite books are about cars and dogs. He loves to read the Disney Car books (we have 2 – one long one, one short one) about Lightening McQueen and seem to particularly like Mater’s wheel. He also loves Biscuit the dog books – Biscuit goes to the Beach, Biscuit’s Valentine’s Day, Biscuit’s Halloween. Oh, and Richard Scary’s book about the Pickles family going on a picnic. He is very good at finding Goldbug!
Favorite Games. His favorite game is a pop-up Princess Castle game, which Natalie got for Christmas. There are 4 princesses – from the start, his favorite has been Aurora. When Natalie and I play the game, he gets the two remaining princesses and often hide them in different areas of the castle. However, he also likes to knock them down, give them a kiss and then start the silly game all over.
Favorite Activities. He loves to draw. Marker is his favorite medium. He likes to swim – he tries really hard at swim class. He likes to go to the Nature Museum and climb around. He really likes sitting in trucks or cars – whether it be on Poppy’s lap in a real car or in a toy car that they gave you for your birthday. He loves to play “Spoonful of Sugar” (the Mary Poppins clean-up song) and run around the living room – but only if Natalie will join him. He gets so upset when she is in a bad mood and won’t. He loves playing a guitar, singing a tune, stomping his feet. Never mind that his guitar is currently his sister’s pink Minnie guitar. He also loves jumping on the bed and rough housing – I love when he runs from far away, full force into me and I tip back with him in my arms and then we rock back up together.
CHEESE!!!
Favorite Friends. When I ask if you want to play with Austin (the little brother of one of Natalie’s classmates), his immediate response is “Trucks”. He plays with Everett, also a little brother, and his cousin Clayton. But his best friend is Natalie – he wakes up asking about her and goes to bed, asking to jump in her bed.
Can I sleep in Natalie's bed tonight?
Favorite Foods. He has a morning concoction of O’s, raisins, craisins, oatmeal squares and crackling oat bran (if I’ll indulge you in filling up your little to-go snack cup with all those) is a favorite. He is a meat lover – steak, chicken, sausage, etc. He also likes strawberries and bread. His palate is broader with Alison – she claims he eats red peppers and maybe even zucchini.
Favorite Sleepy Time Items. It’s really a cadre of bedtime items. The top of the list is RoRo, his lovey that Natalie gave him when he was less than a day old. He also has a leopard lovey. He likes to sleep on top of a Lightening McQueen pillow that Grandma gave him, with his left arm wrapped around a rather large Hello Kitty. There is usually an assortment of other cuddly items in bed, ranging from small Hello Kitties (yes, these are all courtesy of Natalie) to a little boy, which we bought after Elliott took such good care of Natalie’s little girl “Cutie Pie”.
Nicknames: E-Man, Boody, Boody Shaker, El, and Elli-O.
When he was younger, we used to described Elliott as laidback. We have changed our mind on that – he definitely has strong opinions, often when it comes to something he and his sister both want to play with. Instead, I would describe Elliott as: loveable (his hugs and kisses are AMAZING), joyful (he finds happiness in so many things), kind (he puts his cup up when he’s done drinking milk and helps me find my shoes, as well as share kisses when someone is hurt), and humorous (he plays tricks and teases, even though he can only 1-2 words at a time!). Your dad described Elliott as loving, rough and gentle, flirty, mischievous, excitable and helpful.
