All about my 2 1/2 year old!

There is so much I want to remember about James at this age, but it's just not possible to record everything! James is a big 2 1/2 year old boy now, and he is acting so much more grown up lately. I absolutely adore this age and have never had so much fun staying home with him. He is such a delight and joy to Josh and me. He's got so much personality that just keeps revealing itself more and more with every month. Here's a list of a few things I want to remember about James at this age...

1. I love our conversations. He has a funny/interesting way of expressing himself, and picking his brain is one of my favorite things to do with him! He is also has a very expressive and adorable voice that melts my heart to hear. He's a chatter box so we get lots of opportunities to hear it all throughout the day!

2. He literally listens to every word we say, whether talking to him, talking quietly in his presence, talking in the other room...everything! We really have to watch every word that comes out of our mouths. I will say something so quietly to Josh while he's focused on playing with something, and he will start repeating what we're saying.

3. He is extremely observant. I can't so much as make a face of slight disapproval without him calling me out. Every time I get up and make a face because of back pain, he'll say, "Your back hurtin', Mama?" He takes in everything in his surroundings, too.

4. He is sensitive. He gets really upset when others are upset. This worries me a little about the baby coming, because I know the baby will be crying a lot, and I'm not sure how James will take it. I love this trait of his, though, because he is usually the first to comfort a friend who is crying and is very aware of others' emotional states. He is also aware of his. He will be in a bad mood for a while, and then the second he snaps out of it, he'll say, "I not sad e-more!" or "I not try'n (crying) e-more!", and then he'll be fine!

5. He is really funny and spunky. He loves to make us laugh and is learning how and practicing this more and more now. He's silly and has a huge smile that lights up his face. One thing he says all the time right now that cracks us up is, when we say something like, "Are you hungry?", he say, "I not humbry, I Banes!" (Banes is what he calls himself.) Or he'll do something like growl, and we'll say, "Are you a lion?", and he'll very promptly respond, "I not wion, I Banes!" He says this all day long!

6. He is high energy! He mostly runs everywhere he goes and really fast. I think I get the most comments about this when we're out and about.

7. He is a loud boy, but he also has many different voices for different reasons. He has his super sweet voice to get what he wants, his loud deep voice when he's being bossy or is serious about something, his quiet whiney voice when he's tired (not a fan of this one), and his high-pitched excited voice.

8. He is very social and happiest with a companion. He will not let me do anything, such as talk on the phone, read, computer time, etc., most of the time but focus on him. I got so tickled recently when I picked up the phone to text someone. I was not planning on talking, but James said, "No Mommy, no talk to Amber." (He is bossy, too!) I'm trying my best to prepare him for my attention being divided soon! He talks about his friends and family a lot, and I actually consider it a break when someone else is here to play with him.

Another funny story about this topic...A while back, Josh came home and was sitting on the floor playing with James. I had been in the kitchen and came to sit down with them while dinner was cooking. Josh and I started talking about something, and I guess James didn't like that I took his daddy's attention away. He told me, "Mommy, go sit peeter (computer)". Our mouths dropped open and we couldn't help but laugh. 1) He never tells me to go away and 2) He knows what his Mama well (kinda sadly in this instance!).

9. He is pretty clingy right now. He wants to be held a lot, when we're out and about especially, which is very hard on the back when you're pregnant and your boy weighs 35 lbs!

10. He is a strong-willled/determined/persistent/demanding boy all rolled into one! I love this about him, but it is also challenging to us as his parents! He is testing us more than normal this week and is coming up with more creative ways to manipulate. He keeps us on our toes! Other than that, though, he is happy, happy, happy.

11. He has a memory like an elephant, like his daddy, and will remember small details from months and months ago. Recently I bought some toaster strudells (sp?) for the first time and made one for James. Michael had made one for us when we spent the night with him in a few months ago. He said, "Is that Michael's?"

12. He loves singing. I love that he knows a lot of the songs from the cd's I'm listening to right now...James Taylor, Walk the Line Soundtrack, The Jersey Boys Soundtrack, and a cd of old church hymnals made new. I get sad when I here these songs and he's not in the car with me singing the lyrics in his funny way.
Ex. Carowina for Carolina, and It Ain't me, Bave (Babe).

13. He is more of a daddy's boy right now. He tries to do everything like him and even copies his every movement sometimes. This melts Josh's heart. I just love watching them together.

14. James is obsessed with race cars right now. Every car is a race car. He even called my sister's minivan "Bibi's race car". He sang the Birthday Song yesterday, "Happy Irthday to you, Happy Irthday to you, Happy Irthday Queen and Mator, Happy Irthday to you....FFFFFFF" (Lightening McQueen and Mator are two race cars from the movie "Cars" (he saw this movie with Uncle Bryon back in June, and this is what jump-started his obsession with race cars) and the "FFFFF" part is him blowing out the candles. He does that at the end of that song every time.)

15. He has a very active imagination right now. He likes to pretend he's a race car, different animals, a robot, snake, etc. He will bite his cracker or sandwich and tell us what it looks like, which it always does! He also has conversations with Elmo or other stuffed animals that are word for word conversations that we had earlier with him. He even recently got his horse to "change" his cow's diaper, meanwhile making the two of them talk.