Carsten is 2.5 years old!

On March 8, Carsten turned 2.5 years old and he's certainly had his fair share of adventure thus far: moving internationally twice, living in a foreign country for 2 years, visiting many different countries, and getting his fair share of jet-lag. He's extremely active and happy almost all the time. We love our little boy and it's hard to believe that he's already 2.5 years old.

2 year old Carsten

2.5 year old Carsten

Sleeping: We've had our fair share of sleep issues the last 6 months, but in all fairness, we've made him do jet-lag 3 times, vacationed for a month in the US, and turned his world upside down several times during moving. We finally have our European kinderbed which is the best crib/bed for Carsten since it's actually quiet when he bounces periodically at night (he's done this every since he was little). This allows everyone to sleep better (not so noisy and he goes back to sleep after only a minute). He still doesn't sleep well like I would expect an active little boy to, but I'm beginning to think that this will never happen for him for whatever reason. He is still napping (1-2.5 hr) on a regular basis which I'm very thankful for and hope will continue for quite a while yet. We still have him sleeping in his crib because a) he hasn't climbed out yet and b) it makes for better sleep for everyone at this point.

Eating: Carsten's tastes seem to change continually and things that were hits two months ago (i.e., grilled cheese and tomato soup) are no longer favorites. In fact, the foods he'll voluntarily eat are quite a bit less varied and we usually have to meter them to get in other nutritious foods (like veggies and meats). His current favorites are: Daddy granola (Oatmeal Squares) and peanut butter bread. He also loves a small piece of chocolate after supper on occasion and I'm sure he'd eat it all the time if we'd let him :). We're still using the sippy cup on a regular basis, but we have tried mixing it up with regular cups occasionally. He still wears bibs and I honestly think he'll need bibs for a LONG time as he's just not a neat eater (see photographic evidence).

He'll definitely need bibs until he's 18.

Playing: He LOVES anything to do with construction, trains, trucks, tractors, and airplanes. You'll often find him playing with his Switzerland diggers, outside diggers, or his train set at home. He definitely loves to have playmates and if we won't play with him because we're doing house tasks he'll come and ask for other favorites: aunts, uncles, grandparents, and babysitters. He loves to play active games with both Daddy and Mommy around the house such as hide and go seek (we call it 'sneaky Daddy' because it usually involves Carsten getting chased back to Mommy) and 'the rescue game' which is essentially a daddy-chases-Carsten-back-to-Mommy game. He also loves to play puzzles and he often reads with Daddy for 45+ min in the morning after he wakes up (while I usually sleep!). Carsten also really likes drawing and craft-time and he often asks for it.

Scholarship: Carsten really enjoys learning and at this point he knows almost all his capital letters by sight so you'll often hear him say: M for Mama and D for digger (at which point Daddy says: D is also for Daddy!). We frequently do number and alphabet flashcards, puzzles, and draw them on the doodler which he really seems to enjoy. He also has an amazing vocabulary (what 2.5 year old knows what 'articulated' means?) and he is often talking in many sentences at once. Now we have to start thinking about whether or not we will send him to 3 year old preschool in the fall (how is he that age already?!).

Media time: Lately I usually cuddle Carsten and watch a tv show with him in the morning (Sesame Street, Bob the Builder, or Thomas the Tank Engine). It's one of the only times he sits still, and I value this snuggly time with him since soon those moments will be harder to come by with a newborn around. I like to think Carsten likes it too :).

Temperament: Carsten is almost always happy which I'm very grateful for. He is rarely whiney and has never thrown what I would call a full-on temper tantrum - I'm sure this is yet to come but it is nice not to have those now. Carsten is often very rational and he usually is very happy to listen. On the occasional instance that he is not listening, we have implemented the 'loss of a priveledge' or 'you have a choice' philosophy which we have found works really well with him (timeouts are rare now). We'll see what happens as he keeps growing up.

Clothes: Carsten is currently in 4t pjs and 3t clothes, but he is transitioning into 4t shirts at the moment. Ever since he was little he has grown out of his pjs first, then shirts, and his pants last. I think this means he has a longer torso section than the average child. This 3t set of clothes is his new current record for longest set that he's been in (about 7-8 months now (hooray!)). He's wearing size 9 shoes (so big!) and I've already bought all his size 10 shoes in preparation for the next growth spurt. We have a 30 month appointment for him next week, so we'll find out how he's stacking up in the percentiles but my feeling is that he's still quite big. Most people who meet him for the first time think he's 3.5 - 4 years old. Carsten is also starting to express preferences in what he wears, and he's started to catch on to how stores work. I took him shopping to a Carter's outlet store last week and while I shopped, he would run around the store and find a digger shirt which he would then bring back to me and say 'want this one.' I usually say things like 'that's not ours, please put it back', so he by the end of our store visit (all of 20 min) he was then bringing shirts and saying 'want to buy it'. In the end, I caved and let him pick out a set of digger jammies (he was VERY excited that he got to choose his very own digger jammies). He spent the rest of the day just waiting for after bathtime so he could put them on. And the next day he did NOT want to take them off during the day. :)

How could I not buy these?! ;)

Some major changes we have to look forward to for Carsten in the next 6 months are potty training and transitioning to a big boy bed. We love our big boy and I'm so glad I've gotten to spend these 2.5 years with him. It's sometimes hard to imagine what changes our next little boy will bring to our everyday life, but I'm looking forward to seeing what life will look like as a family of 4!