Gus's Grandiose Gabble: August 11th, 2012-- 27 Months Old

Happy 27 Months!!

It's incredible to think that Gus is 27 months already. Part of me has stopped counting the months... but I guess until he's three, it's easier to identify with months; especially since between two and three, each month brings an insane amount of growth and development. A 24 month old is vastly different from a 30 month old.

So what's new with Gus? Well, his language has been slowly increasing. He repeats everything and tries new words all the time. He LOVES his iPad. At first I wasn't sure if it was good to let him use it very often, but I've found some apps that are remarkable and he really loves them and is learning a lot!! He's learning his colors (his favorite one to say is "Blue") and shapes and numbers and of course, his ABCs.

He's a singer too! He loves to sing and wakes up most mornings singing the "ABC" song from Choo Choo Soul (You Tube it if you're not familiar). He really has a great memory and is just an absolutely delightful little man.

To say that my life is filled with joy would be an understatement. Gus is just remarkable. He really has changed my life more than I ever dreamed. Being his mom is the greatest honor and privilege that I've ever had. I never take him for granted and I just thank God daily for bringing him into our family. It makes me all the more grateful to C & H... I don't know if they'll ever know how much their choice to place him into our arms means. We are honestly, forever in their debt.

Gus is just a sweet soul. He loves his pets with all his heart. I never really noticed how much he's attracted to Purry Como until recently. I had always seen him as being partial to his old dog Elphie (no longer with us). He loved her so very much, and then when she went back to the farm with Grandma and Grandpa Walker, I didn't notice him being drawn to another pet like he was to Elphie. However... I was mistaken. My boy absolutely adores Purry Como (I mean, seriously, who doesn't adore Purry????).

Comforting the cats at the SPCA's vaccination clinic

Gus is also such a good boy out in public. I can't even begin to say how many times we get compliments on his behavior. He is pretty content with having his trains. The other day we went to dinner and received a few compliments and I said to Steve, "Who knew that the key to happiness with a toddler would be two travel train sets and an iPad?" He really enjoys his trains and as long as he's got something to play with-- he's happy.

Right now Gus's favorite things to do include his very special sensory table that his Pap built for him. He uses it DAILY and can spend the day just playing with the different textures. Today we added some rice... and Gus got to help me dye it with food coloring. He was such a good helper and really enjoyed being apart of the process to make it change from white to vibrant colors.

Gus doesn't have a favorite parent right now (whoo hoo). He loves us both, but he does different things with each of us. Baths and showers are reserved for daddy, and usually anything with cooking, sensory play, or dough is done with mama. I'm with him all day, so we do playdates and park dates and see things all over Georgia. The other day, Gus and Steve took a bath together in our jacuzzi tub. It was all good until the jets were turned on and then there were bubbles galore! Gus loved it!

Gus has been doing REALLY well in his big boy room. He still goes to the nursery (his old room) for diaper changes and all of his clothes are in there. We'd like to eventually get a bedroom set for him from IKEA, but right now it's not in the budget. We're going to turn his closet into a reading nook/hideout and I think he'll really love it. Tonight we took his circus tent into his room for him... it's the first thing that we've put in there... up until now it's been just a bed. :-)

The eating habits of a toddler are crazy. Some days he doesn't want to eat anything, and it really seems like he eats nothing. And then the last three days, he's been eating like he's being starved. He loves fruit (grapes, strawberries, pears, apples, bananas, and peaches are his favorites) and avoids vegetables (he will occasionally eat peas and carrots). He doesn't like potatoes (not even fries). If he's given the choice between fruit or french fries, he picks fruit every time. :-)