Happy TWO YEARS OLD, Aaron!

My two-year-old! Sometimes it's weird to think Aaron is only two because of how well he communicates! He's been using 3-4 word sentences since he was around 20-months-old, and lately, he has developed 5-word sentences. He's even really good at using pronouns appropriately, although I still love when he reprimands Aiya by repeating what I say. Aiya loves to tease to get a reaction from Aaron, which is easy to do because his reactions are HUGE. If I call out, "Aiya, give it back to him!" Aaron, with his face scrunched in anger and his voice big and cranky will repeat, "Give it him, Aiya!!" Makes me laugh.

As cute as he is when he's feisty, he could turn it down a notch or two. He seriously has the worst tantrums ever. Sometimes he has these night terrors where he wakes up in a screaming fit that carries on from ten minutes to as long as thirty or forty. He can become violent, throwing himself onto the floor, into the wall and dangerously close to the corner of the banister... It has really concerned Dan and me! We have learned through research and experience that it's best just to let his night terrors run his course and leave him in his crib because he only escalates with us as his audience.

His day-time tantrums aren't much better. Often times, it's like walking around a ticking time-bomb. One wrong move, such as choosing the wrong snack, and he flips out! He has turned into such a screamer, which is often because like I said, Aiya likes to tease and the second I step into another room, he is often screaming at her for one thing or another. It's so ear-piercing and probably the thing I struggle with most with staying home with them. Both of my kids have over-the-top reactions and it just blows my nerves, especially when the two of them do it at the same time! It's hard because when he gets into these screaming fits, I would love to just hold him and love him, but he often doesn't want to be touched or coddled, yet will continue to throw himself around on the floor and scream for ten or fifteen minutes, and I have to just ignore him. It's hard to see him so distraught, and then I often need to take a time-out myself in my room to get away from the noise.

Despite the hard times with the tantrums, when he's happy he is so adorable. Bath time is his favorite because he absolutely loves any activity that involves water. He also likes to play rough with Aiya, wrapping his arms around her to tackle her to the ground, which Aiya whines about, but she always has a smile forming to where I know she loves it. Aaron also has the cutest grin and a soft, higher voice to mach when he's smiling and snuggling that raggedy white puppy of his. And when I say white, I mean grey and so dingy that everyone cringes a little when Aaron's beloved puppy doll gets close to them! Puppy and binky go hand-in-hand to where his request is, "I want binky-puppy!" I tried so hard to wean him from his binky before Logan was born, but we ended up giving up a week or two beforehand. His personality is too fiery when he's upset and nothing else can calm him down most of the time. (We did make major headway with "operation binky-removal" for a week or so. He suddenly was saying "yucky binky" and throwing them away, though he wasn't sleeping as well and was cranky without it. Come to find out, he'd bitten holes into most of his binkies so they weren't "working" anymore. He happened to find an old one and latched right back to it with such comfort that I decided not to fight him on it until he calms down a little!)

Some of my favorite phrases these days:
"Take a turn, get it back!" (Thank you, Daniel Tiger and teaching about taking turns!)
"Mommy, can I play in your bed?" (With not sleeping well at night lately, one night he looked up to me from his crib as I tried to console him back to sleep and he said this so sweetly... So I had to let him sleep with us! I love when he wants to snuggle.)
"No close it!"(This is in reference to the bedroom door, which he insists on keeping open at night now.)
"This SPECIAL..." (He likes to say that about favorite toys, or his binky-puppy combo.)
"Mommy... you fudder-tated?" (Another Daniel Tiger lesson about being frustrated. I've tried to tell Aiya and Aaron when I'm feeling upset, and I'll use the word "frustrated". "You guys, Mommy feels frustrated!" When I have become visibly upset, Aaron likes to say that sentence to me, which does take away some of my frustrations because he's so cute about it.)
"Stop it talk"--something he said to Dan when Dan was telling him not to hit the TV with a pool noodle. Basically telling Daddy to shut up!

Right now, Aaron's favorite toys involve pirates, cars, trains, dinosaurs, and a new family game, Hide 'n Seek" (although he gets spooked when we're searching for Dan and Aiya, so he likes me to hold him.) He plays really well on his own and is pretty independent. In fact, he's a pretty easy kid when Aiya isn't in the same room as him. The two of them can play so cutely together, but lately, there's just been an overload of teasing and screaming from both. Drives me up the wall!

We managed to celebrate Aaron's 2nd birthday the day before Logan was born. I really wanted Aaron and Logan to have separate birthdays, but with them being a day apart, I guess it doesn't really make a difference at this point! He had a great party though, celebrated just with family since I wasn't sure if I'd be going into labor. No friends this year but next year for sure!

He was such a cutie during his party. He knew it was all about him and he was so happy and in a fantastic mood the entire time! I love looking at these photos. Such a handsome, fun boy!

Aaron, even though I complain and struggle with your temperament, I love you so much! You keep life fun and entertaining, and your strong-will will carry you far in life!