James Younger Update

I decided to stop doing monthly updates at 2 years, but there is still so much I want to remember as my boys grow!  So I'll pop in with random updates on James (and hope to continue monthly updates for Samuel).

Favorite foods (this week at least... I believe there are no true favorites for a toddler!)

Cheese - cheddar only

Grilled cheese

Cream cheese

Blueberries (probably fleeting)

Black beans (but no other kind of bean)

Coconut

Cantaloupe

Honeydew

Graham crackers

Carrots

Our pediatrician heard a new heart murmur at James' 2 year check up, and then again 6 weeks later when we checked in about his weight and verbal development, so she sent us that same day for a cardiac echo.  Above is a photo of James having his echo done (just like an ultrasound - totally non-invasive).  He had a blast!  The tech was a pediatric specialist, so she made glove balloons and had stickers and even Thomas the Train playing on the TV (though he couldn't care less about that surprisingly).  It was actually quite fun.  And Stuart was able to join us for a bit, so it was just like a fun field trip for James.  Thankfully his echo looked rather normal, so the murmur is likely just a normal "growth" murmur and it should go away.

Fun words/phrases (shortly after he turned 2, James suddenly started talking up a storm, stringing two and three words together at a time.  He wasn't doing this right at 24 months, but our ped was willing to give him a little time, and sure enough by our 6 week follow up he had no problem)

Hippo (it's just a really cute word when he says it!)

God shut door (in the story of Noah and the ark)

SamSam (a little lisp - "tham tham")

Weepies ("eepies") - his favorite band right now 

I love you ("luff" or sometimes just "I you")

Favorite home activities

Playing cook (his new toy kitchen)

Reading

Playing in the garage (balls, Cozy Coupe car, balance bike, broom and dust pan)

Crafts: paint, markers, crayons, stickers, glue stick

Snuggling Samuel on the couch or in one of their cribs

Building with Duplo blocks

Drilling all.the.things. with his toy drill

Favorite books

1,2,3 To the Zoo (and most other Eric Carl books)

Before We Eat: From Farm to Table (Pat Brisson)

You Can Go to the Potty (Dr. Sears)

Read-Aloud Bible Stories (Ella Lindvall - especially volume 3 - Noah, Moses, and The Good News)

The Day the Crayons Quit (Drew Daywalt)

Snowmen at Work (Carolyn Buehner)

Favorite outings

-Sunday school/church (by far the outing he gets most excited about)

-Story time, music class or just a general trip to the library (they have a train table, coloring and puzzles)

-Lunch at Whole Foods or Foster's Market (I've started letting him pick and he always chooses one of these two)

-Indoor playground at Southpoint mall, though we haven't gone recently because it seems like flu central to me

- Grocery stores, Target or Lowes (all of these stores have pictures of dogs and cats that he likes to visit... He is also starting to tell me what food to buy when we grocery shop ☺️ thankfully so far it's only fruits and cheeses that he's requested)