The Terrific Twos!!!

As my mommy friends Kristin and Beth (and countless other mommy bloggers) share all of the wonderful things their little kiddos are doing as they grow, I've decided to get in on the act and write down some little tidbits about our son, so I can remember them when he's a rebelling teenager. He's been two years old for almost an entire month, and it's amazing how much he's changed even in just the last few weeks. Here are some of the things he says and does that I just love:
--Every time he plays or hears music from a toy or the TV, he starts dancing. It's that wonderful "bouncing baby" kind of dancing, where his legs move his whole body up and down and side to side. He also has a great twist going on with his arms, sometimes!
--He sings now too, which brings joy to my heart, since I've loved to sing my whole life and wanted to pass that love on to him. He doesn't have a lot of words right now, but if you listen closely enough, you can make out "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and the "A, B, C" song through all of the great gibberish. Also, the theme song to "Blues Clues" is a favorite of his, complete with sign language. If he's watching the show, he'll even get into his "thinking chair" (the couch) at the right point in the song. He'll do most of the signs to "The Wheels On The Bus" when I sing it with him. He likes to sing with the "Yo Gabba Gabba" guitar we gave him for his birthday.
--The park is his favorite place to play. There's a great playground for 2-5 year olds close to our house. He's finally comfortable with going down the slides on his bottom AND all by himself! He also likes to play in the little house, dig in the sand and wood chips, and bounce on the "bumblebee", a riding toy.
--He likes to walk up and down stairs like a big boy, instead of crawling up and down them. Sometimes, he waits at the top or bottom, so he can ask for "helppee" (help, please) and take my hand. He would rather hold our hands and walk around while we're out shopping than sit in a cart. However, I'm not comfortable with that when it's just me and him, right now.
--V loves to have his daddy chase him around the island in the kitchen or around the larger circle of our foyer, living room, dining room, and kitchen. If B hides behind a corner and catches V off guard when he gets close, V jumps and laughs and laughs!
--V's favorite things to do at home are build with blocks, play basketball, color with crayons, play with trucks and trains, play with his Mr. Potato Head, and watch most everything on the Noggin channel (besides singing and dancing).
--He's starting to show a little pretend play ability, now. I caught him riding on one of his trucks yesterday and saying "vroom, vroom" as he pushed himself around the kitchen floor. If he picks up a baby doll or stuffed animal, he rocks it as if it were a real baby. Also, he likes to pull my wooden and plastic spoons out of drawers in the kitchen and "drum" on things like the oven!
--He loves for me to read to him, and I've caught him reading to himself a few times, too.
--He's starting to torment our cat now (like when he tries to sit on her), but for a while, he would go up to her, put his hands in her fur, and say "Ickle, ickle, ickle". At first, we thought he was saying her name, Julie. It took me a little while to figure out that he was actually trying to tickle her! He'll still try to tickle us, occasionally, and he loves to be tickled himself.
--He knows how to count to the number 2 (and possibly higher, though some of the numbers are still gibberish to me), and he will point to numbers and letters in books or on objects, like when he pointed to the letter "A" on our toothpaste tube, this morning. He can point to all of his facial features as well as his belly button, fingers, and toes when prompted. He knows the sounds some animals make, especially ducks, frogs, cows, dogs, sheep, and horses. He'll say the word "No", but he'll nod for "Yes". Also, he'll show you where he wants you, himself, or other things to be by tapping on something. For example, if he wants me to sit on the couch rather than in the chair, he'll go to the couch and slap the cushions until I get up and switch locations.
Here are his more recognizable words and phrases:
Mommy, Momma, or sometimes just, "MOM!"
Daddy (for a while, he would say something like "cacky")
Baby
Papaw and Nana (when prompted)
Up ("uppee", which I think means "up, please")
Help ("helppee", again, meaning "help, please")
More (with the sign for it)
Grapes ("bapes")
Apple
"Oh, man!" (I love this one. I'm sure he got it from me.)
"Wheee!"
"Jump!"
"One...Two...Go!" (He said this today before going down a slide at the park.)
Strawberries ("stawbees", one of his first harder words)
Cake! (There's no questioning this one!) ;)
Cookie
Chips
Quack (more like "cack, cack"), moo, ribbit (more like "ruh, ruh", like he's grunting), oink (sounds like his "ribbit"), woof (more like "woo, woo"), and neigh
"Choo, choo!" (for both the sound and the word "train")
"Vroom, vroom!"
"Chee!!!" ("Cheese!", every time the camera's turned on him, which is a lot!)
"Bye!"
If I say "Hello, Baby," sometimes he'll reply with something that sounds like "Hello, Momma." It melts my heart every time.
"Blues Clues" ("Bues Coos")
"Yo Gabba Gabba" ("Gabba")
And, finally, the dreaded "Why?". I don't know if he's just saying the word to hear it or actually asking the question. He does tend to say it a lot when he's told not to do something.
I'm sure that's not a comprehensive list, but it's what I can remember right now. I'll try to post more of his changes as they come to me and as he grows. Oh, and it's definitely not been all terrific. We've seen the "terrible twos" numerous times, already! I just hope by writing down all of these wonderful things about him, I'll kind of forget about the other stuff. ;)
Best to you all,
Amanda