Brandon 2.25 Years Summary

Brandon has grown by leaps and bounds these past few months. I feel like he’s turned into a little boy and has truly left his baby days behind. We are so proud of the little man he is becoming. Many of the struggles I mentioned in his last summary have worked themselves out, mainly due to his major increase in vocabulary. His talking has increased 10 fold. We love being able to actually communicate with him and are constantly amused at the things he says. One of the first real sentences he ever said took place after dinner when I was asking him if he wanted a cookie. He quickly and enthusiastically replied, “I LOVE COOKIES!” It was a major turning point for him and now the words just won’t stop coming.

Brandon started school back in September. We were hesitant about it at first, since he was just barely two (only in NYC would 2 days a week for 2.5 hours of school cost as much as most college tuitions – but that’s a whole other topic!), but he absolutely loves it! He asks me daily if he can go back to school. He loves his teachers, classmates, even his puppy backpack. We went through a few days where he would need to be coaxed into the classroom before I left, but now I am totally forgotten once the room/toys/friends are in sight. Why do I have the feeling that he won’t approach high school with the same amount of gusto??

He remains a super sweet kid, and his teachers tell me all the time that he loves to sit in their laps during story time and is giving them hugs and high-fives the whole morning. He does the same with all his friends & family, even Rylan gets hugged before bedtime and naps. Brothers hugging is enough to make my heart melt. I’m so glad he is a cuddler, because every time I get a little sad that he is growing up, he will gladly let me hold and snuggle with him for a few minutes. Again, I don’t really see this lasting into his high school days. On this same note, Brandon has been a really great big brother to Rylan. He actually likes to interact with him now, and when he got a new truck the other day, he immediately ran in to “show RaRa!” These are the sweet moments I want to lock away and remember forever. Rylan, in return, could not possibly idolize his big brother more.

Brandon continues to love and be a total whiz with the ipad. He has a very limited amount of time with it each day (and he has to choose between it and tv), but it’s really amazing to see him work it. He especially loves this Starfall ABC app. You can imagine mine and Brad’s surprise when we were eating dinner the other night and all of a sudden he spouts off all the letters of his name which are written on his place mat (even lowercase). We proceeded to jump over to our foam floor mat that has a bunch of letters on it and he could name all of them too. Guess he’s learning something from the ipad after all!! When he isn’t enthralled in technology, in typical boy fashion, his obsession right now is with anything with wheels. Trucks, cars, choo-choos – he loves it all. There are constantly races going on and many, many crashes. He also loves to cook with me. We got this learning tower not long ago and it’s been the best. He stands on it and holds his elmo spoon and helps me stir, pour, and measure practically any time I bake or am doing something away from the stove.

I can’t wait for the upcoming holidays – he already asks for new toys daily, so I know Christmas this year is going to blow his mind! And maybe Halloween will help him put on a few pounds. We love you sweet boy!

Here’s a typical day for Brandon at 27 months:

7:20 – wake-up, get dressed, play while Mom feeds Rylan
7:45 – breakfast
8:15 – outside!! (School from 8:45-11:30 2 days a week)
9:30 – playtime with mom (learning activities/crafts/baking)
10:30 – independent play
11 – free play with Rylan
11:30 – dvd or Ipad
12 – lunch
12:45-3:15/3:30 – nap
3:30 – snack & play/outing
5 – independent play
5:30 – dvd or Ipad
6 – Dad comes home (highlight of his day!) and dinner
7 – bath with Dad and bottle of pediasure, family reading time, brush teeth
7:30 – Bed!!

All photos courtesy of the amazing Laura Stone of Artstar Photography.