warren's words

(This post should have been published in January)
I love this photo. I think it will forever remind me of this stage of Warren's life. He has become the biggest Momma's boy ever. It's funny because he didn't start out this way. If anything, he was partial to Dameon back in the day. Or, what seemed like "partial" to us since all we had to compare to was Henry and we thought he was stuck on Mommy. Warren blows Henry out of the water! He almost always wants to be held ("Can I hold you?") and often asks to snuggle ("I snuggle you.") To be honest, I fight feelings of frustration pretty regularly because it's really hard to get anything done. But I know, like all moms, this stage won't last forever and I'll miss it when it's gone.

Our almost-two-year-old (how did that happen?!?!) is full of opinions and is fully able to make them known.

warren turns 2

We had a great time celebrating our little guy's second birthday. It fell on Dameon's spring break again this year, so that allowed for two full days of birthday fun! His actual birthday is March 18, which was on Wednesday. We spent that day in Coralville at the Iowa Children's Museum. We also took in the carousel and the Build A Bear workshop. Grandma Joyce, Grandma Paulette, and Grandpa Chris also got in on the action. We did the carousel first, and Warren was very interested in looking at it and noticing all the horses. When it came time to ride, however, he was terrified. We got through it but for the next thirty minutes he repeatedly told me he did not like ponies anymore. oops. Next we ate lunch at the new pizza restaurant by the food court. It was good but took a really long time to get our food, which resulted in a free kids' meal for Henry. We then headed to the museum which both boys absolutely loved. Henry's favorite part was the grocery store and Warren's was probably ImagineAcres. We took a quick break for Whitey's Ice Cream and then headed back in for more fun. After the museum we made our way to Build A Bear. Henry picked out a Dalmatian dog which he named Pongo. Warren had selected a nice (cheap) simple brown bear, but before he was properly stuffed he had been swooned by the Applejack pony standing atop the shelf in all her Western-wear glory. (not cheap.) Dameon and I exchanged a look and both agreed we couldn't tell the boy 'no' on his birthday. But there was no way we were going to pay to accessorize that girl. Enter Grandma Joyce and she now proudly sports boots, bridle, saddle, and hat. Warren couldn't be prouder. After a light supper at Panera and a homemade pony cake (thanks, Grandpa Chris!) with presents, we headed home with two very tired boys. It was a very fun day with many adorable moments, thanks to the two kiddos. Probably the most precious was Warren wishing everyone else a happy birthday all day long. :)
Saturday was his birthday party with family. We met at High Bridge Horse Farm in Boone. Anne, Libby, and their staff provided a great time with horse rides for everyone. We were hoping Warren would forget the carousel incident and ride a horse, but as he was meeting all the ponies one of them sneezed on him and that about sent him over the edge. For the next hour he told us over and over that he 'don't like it when da pony says a-choo.' At one point I forced him to sit on the smallest pony for a quick photo, but that was all he did. The funniest moment was when my mom mounted her horse while telling her guide that she is very comfortable riding because she grew up on horses and then proceeded to lose her balance and face plant into the mane of the horse. Those of us who only caught the end of that whole sequence thought she was giving the horse a hug. Ha! We all got a good laugh out of that one. After the ride, we went to my parents' church for pizza, cupcakes, and presents. Thanks to everyone who made the trip to Boone to help us celebrate our Warren! (Sorry the pictures are all out of order here. They came from dropbox and my phone and I don't know how to sequence stuff.)

Warren's current stats:

• He is teeny tiny. He hasn't had a well-child check up for a long time but we entered his weight and height into an online growth chart calculator and it said he's below the 5th percentile in both categories! I think he's 23 pounds currently.
• He wears size 4 diapers and has for almost a year. He talks about going potty on the potty chair but I'm not in any hurry. We've tried a couple times but he doesn't get it quite yet.
• He takes one afternoon nap each day which usually lasts about two hours. He usually sleeps through the night unless he's sick.
• He has had a few hair cuts by now. His first one was in November and he has had two since then. His hair color is similar to mine and his eye color is Dameon's. (hazelish brownish)
• He says every word and speaks in full sentences with lots of inflection and expression with his eyebrows (which he calls "eyebrowns"...Henry said that too)
• He can identify all 26 capital letters and several numbers. 
• He knows all his colors and 5 shapes (circle, square, triangle, heart, star)
• He's a pretty good eater. Loves fruit and most veggies. Especially broccoli! He's not as much of a sweet tooth as Henry. He also loves milk but can't have it very often because it makes him constipated.
• He is a major cuddle bug and momma's boy. He calls me his best friend.
• He loves ponies more than any other toy. Ever. He likes the My Little Ponies the best but will accept the "boyish" ponies if other options aren't available. He still frequently totes his Blue Horse around.

current obsessions

I must admit the title of this post is a little misleading. Particularly the word "current." This post should have been published about six weeks ago. Oh well. 

For Warren, life is all about horses and Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? Both interests began sometime around late October. The horses with a trip to our friends' house where they have lots of My Little Ponies and the book with a trip to my parents' house where he caught onto that story. He can now recite the whole thing and has named his pony "Blue Horse." He often has difficulty eating or playing with any other toys because one hand is always occupied. And be prepared for battle when dressing him. Trying to pry Blue Horse from his tiny grasp in order to fit his arm through a sleeve is pure torture. He especially likes to take Blue Horse around town and introduce him to anyone who will listen. He will say, "Dis is my horse! It's my PONY! He has a big hoof!" Recently Blue Horse went missing for an entire week. He had a couple meltdowns about it but then seemed to forget a little bit as the days went on. But last Sunday he found him laying in the basket of hats and mittens and, oh my, the look of pride on his face! Nevermind that in the meantime Dameon and I had scoured the internet searching for another one (which we learned has been discontinued). Thirteen dollars later we have a back-up hanging out in the basement.

Henry's latest interest has been writing the alphabet and trying to put words together. (Yes, this makes my teacher heart soar with pride!) He spends lots of time working on his Magna Doodle. In fact, he almost always wakes up before me in the morning and will just find his way to the couch and write on his Doodle until I get up. He has been particularly interested in writing "Disney D" and will take the opportunity to practice on any scrap of paper he finds. We often find them laying all over the house:

The funniest part of Henry's letter learning is when he makes a mistake and doesn't quite form a letter correctly. Then he'll say, "Whoops. I wrote that one in Spanish."