Nicholas is 2.5!

Let me preface this by saying I don't mean this next statement to sound morbid, but: I was following Nicholas up the stairs the other day, and I thought to myself, if I died tomorrow, I would die happy.

I'm so incredibly lucky to have the life that I do. I have a loving and supportive husband. I have a wonderful son. I have an awesome dog (you all know I had to mention him), an ok cat, a roof over my head, and food on the table at night. I get to pursue a career working with animals. I have time to volunteer and help animals in need. I have a wonderful family and friends that are like family. I am thankful every single day for what I have. Really, every moment.

Ok, enough of that. On to Nicholas:

I don't believe in "terrible two's" or "terrible three's". I think every age has good and bad, and I try to just take it one day at a time. I am watching my friend's daughter Eva for a bit and she is about 4 months old- I remember that stage well and while I may miss the snuggles, I don't miss the crazy (lack of) schedule. She is so sweet though, and a very easy baby (I can say this since I have her one day a week).

Nicholas, for the most part, seems like a pretty good kid to me. He is not overly attached to Nick or I, but still prefers me over Nick. He has no toy attachments which I think is a good thing, and takes naps without a problem (usually anywhere from 3-4 hours a day, and sometimes I have to wake him up). If I can't find a particular toy that he wants in the crib, I tell him we'll look for it later and he's fine with that. He's good at sharing (sometimes has to be reminded of it of course), but in groups he will often share a toy with another child without having to be told to do so. He's good about picking up his toys, so much so that sometimes I don't even have to ask.

My favorite part about the last month or so is that his language has really picked up. I was a bit nervous as he wasn't talking much or putting any sentences together (just one, often unintelligible, word). Now he says fun things like "no mama I want to go in the car" and "let's take a walk and find leaves", and "mama go see brennan and declan? or "quintonteddy" (he considers them one person, haha).

Another fun thing he does- when Nick puts him to bed, he goes down super easy, because, without fail, he is standing up about a minute later calling for me to cuddle him. I happily do so, rocking with him until he gets sleepy again. I know one day he won't want to cuddle anymore so I do it every chance I get. I know I can't control him growing up, so I don't dwell on it- I just enjoy every moment that I can.

He's slowly starting to show interest in the potty, but I don't want to rush it and have to take a lot of steps back. I do think it's going to happen sooner than later though.

He loves trucks, planes, cars, hates getting wet, loves Dexter but is still a bit rough with him at times. He loves animals in general and runs at poor Basha yelling "roar". He likes walks and exploring and finding things. He was terrified when a caterpillar started crawling on him, but loves the book "The Hungry Caterpillar". I also recently got him interested in "Snoonee" (Snoopy) which makes me happy.

He has lots of energy and gets a little crazy hyper at times, but it's so fun to watch (and video when I think of it). He is a fast growing, happy, and cuddly little boy, and I couldn't ask for anything more.

Life is good.

xoxo