2.3

So, I decided that once Reives turned 2, that I would update on him every 3 months, instead of every month.  Well, I am a month behind.  So, here is a post about Reives at 2 years and 3/4 months :)

Reives is hilarious!  We just love him to pieces.  When he was a baby, he seemed so shy and serious, so I just assumed that was his personality.  Boy, was I wrong!  He is a character.  He is not shy at all, and he definitely does not seem serious.  He is so friendly to everyone, and he loves to give people fives and hugs.  He loves to make us laugh, and has quite an energetic personality.  He definitely has a stubborn streak, and can be quite opinionated at times.  For example, he sometimes does not want me to look at him, and he will say, "No Mama see Reives."  He also sometimes doesn't want me to sing along to songs, so he will say "No Mama sing!"  It is quite funny.  Reives is such a sweet big brother.  He wants to kiss Brooks every morning and every night before he goes to bed.  He loves to bring Brooks toys and make him laugh.  He is quite rough with Brooks, usually just playing around, so Brooks is constantly getting hurt :(  I guess that is how boys are!

Of course, I am one of those mothers who knows thinks that her child is highly intelligent.  But, he does know and can correctly identify all 8 of the basic colors plus gray and pink.  He can count to 10 by himself and to 20 with some help.  He also can identify all of his letters A to G and then alot of others also.  He is starting to enjoy playing with play dough, crayons, and paint.  He loves books and music.  His favorite songs are "Old McDonald" and some of the lullaby praise songs we sing to him.  His favorite toys are cars, trucks, trains, and anything that he can push around.  In the past few weeks, he has started to play by himself more and doesn't follow me around everywhere.  He has also started pretending, which is so much fun to watch.  About 2 weeks ago, he was eating a saltine.  He bit it a certain way, held it up, and said, "Made a Backhoe."  (He is very into tractors, and calls most of them backhoes.)  Since then, he mainly pretends with his food, but he likes to bite his food into certain things and tell us what they are.  We have dinosaurs, trucks, trains, birds, and lots of other animals.

The main thing that has been going on since Reives turned 2 is his speech.  He is blowing us away with how much more he is talking and communicating.  He is learning new words all of the time and is stringing more and more words together.  It is so fun to hear his funny phrases and perceptions on things.  He is copying alot of what we say still, and his pronunciation is becoming clearer and clearer.

Reives is such a sweet, helpful, and caring child (most of the time), but he is definitely ALL BOY!  He is busy, busy, busy.  The other night Trey commented, "I don't think Reives is ever still."  But, I will say, that it makes me feel good that his Sunday School teachers, and BSF leaders tell me that he has never told them "no," and that he has the best manners and is so compliant!  At least he is that way for other people, even thought that is not always the case at home!!  (From teaching, I have learned that kids usually behave better for others.)

Here are some recent pictures of my big boy (who insists that he is a baby when I tell him he is a big boy):

Love this little man!!!