Brooks King -- 2.5 Years Old

He refused to take a picture unless he could be riding his favorite Lightning McQueen car!

It's all about picking my battles with this little man!

I blinked, and my babies have became little kids. My baby boy, Brooks, is 2.5 years old already! If I had to choose one word to describe him, it would be independent. This guy is strong-willed, persistent, and loves to do things all by himself. He will try almost every task I give him on his own first before asking for help. He walks up and down stairs by himself, sits in an adult chair at the table, and insists on climbing in the car and buckling himself into his car seat (I always fix his initial attempt because it's never quite right). I love this quality about him, and many of these things actually make my life a lot easier, but sometimes it's more challenging. For example, it is a chore to get him to hold on to my hand when we walk through a parking lot. Apparently, he thinks he is old enough to do this by himself as well! He is also extremely loving and loves to give hugs and kisses, as long as he thinks it's his idea. :) He loves to make others laugh, and will do whatever silly thing it is for as long as others are laughing. If I had to guess his primary love language, I would say it's words of affirmation. He lights up when anyone praises him, and responds pretty well to positive reinforcement. He eats up any attention he can get from Kylie, which she gives him, and I love to see! He is SUPER busy, and never stops moving. From the moment he wakes up until he goes to sleep, there is some constant movement even if it's just a finger tap or foot wiggle, it's non-stop!

Brooks is a little more opinionated than his older sister, and so I have a pretty clear idea about the things he likes and dislikes. He still loves cars, trucks, trains, legos and play-doh. He likes running, jumping, gymnastics, riding his bike, playing basketball, wrestling, chasing, going to the park, and watching hockey with daddy. His favorite TV shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Paw Patrol (his favorite dog on the show is Marshall) and his favorite movie is still Cars. His favorite colors are blue and orange. His favorite foods are all fruits, hummus, peanut butter with honey or jelly sandwiches, pizza, milk, water, juice, and fruit snacks. He seems to take more after Jon in the food department. He definitely prefers fruit to vegetables and fruity snacks to chocolate ones. He still loves his pacifier, especially the one he calls, "other paci," and taking baths. He enjoys going to "school," and his best friends are Cristian, Alexander, Annie, and Claire.

He is still a 2 year old, so the things he doesn't like are made pretty obvious by tantrums, screaming, or throwing things. I am happy to say that he has pretty much given up hitting as a means to get attention though! Like Kylie (and probably because of Kylie), Brooks has a strong fear of bugs. There was a bug inside the car on his window yesterday, and he had a major meltdown, and I could see true fear in his eyes. He also had a nightmare last week about bugs. He woke up screaming for me in the middle of the night, and when I went to check on him, his heart was racing and he told me, "There is a bug in my crib." He also doesn't like the wind. He usually wants to be held when we are outside and it's windy. If he has his mind made up about something, and he is told to do something differently, he almost always has a tantrum. He does not like not getting his way, and does not give in easily. Usually it just takes 1 time out to get him to give in, but every now and then it takes multiple time-outs. He doesn't like too many vegetables, but he is getting better in this area. He also refuses to go to the bathroom on the potty, so I'm going to call the potty a dislike too.

His milestones and achievements are still quite obvious as he is still changing and developing rapidly. The best and most obvious is that he is now clearly talking and communicating everything! He can still be hard to understand if you aren't around him all the time, but Kylie, Jon, and I have it all pretty much figured out. Jon's favorite word is, "gaggy," which means daddy, and mine is, "poo-cket," which means pocket. He knows all of his colors, and can count to 15 without help. He has running, jumping, and galloping down. He can walk up and down the stairs all by himself, and climb just about anything he sets his mind to. He can also do forward rolls and appears to be strong. He can listen to and follow directions, and I'm told he does this really well at school. He is wearing all 2T clothes, size 7 shoes, and size 5 diapers. He sleeps from 8:00pm-7:30am, and naps from about 1:30-3:30pm. He is still sleeping in a crib, and he gets his pacifier when he is sleeping. He is also not yet potty trained. So our goals for this summer include *transitioning to a big boy bed, getting rid of the pacifier all together, and getting him potty trained. Hopefully, by his 3 year update, we will have accomplished all of those things! :)

We love our independent little boy more than words can say. He is such a fun kid and we feel extremely blessed to have him in our lives!

*Update: Between writing this post and actually posting it, we did transition Brooks to a big boy bed. It's been a bit of an adventure. He loves to get in and out, hop into bed with Kylie, steal her covers, etc. But we've been working on proper big boy bed etiquette, and he seems to be getting better each day!