Logan, 2 years-old

Logan has been two years-old for almost two months now. For his birthday, we did a small family party with a little Blaze theme. It's a monster truck show that he's been obsessed with since last summer, really the first show that he's shown personal interest in. He was so cute opening presents. I had three Blaze monster trucks wrapped separately and gave them to Logan, who sat on top of the dining table (naturally, since the boy will not sit still in a seat!). Immediately, he picked up a present and handed it to Aaron.

"Here go!" he said, then grabbed a second present. "Here go, Aiya." , It was the sweetest thing watching him make sure each of the kids received a present before he'd even opened one! The kids, eager for him to open his gifts, handed them back but we could see the adoration and appreciation in their faces. That's been Logan these days. He loves to make sure his siblings are taken care of, often getting water cups for each of them when he's thirsty or running down the hall to slam into them with a hug.

This last month, he's been screaming more. "Nooo!!!" Or just dropping his jaw and screaming "AHHH!!!" if he doesn't get his way. He will do this scream five or six times, body shaking and eyes bulging. It's obnoxiously loud, but also really cute the way he takes a deep breath, gearing up, and then kind of hunches over like a gorilla and lets it roar! He's definitely got a temper, but he's more similar to Aiya where his reaction is HUGE, but short-lived. He'll adjust and get over it or accept an alternative options with some persuasion (or ignoring him. Ok, and sometimes flicking water on his head as a deterrent. That's been working the most lately! Is that bad?)

Every day, he talks more and more! At his two year check-up, he probably had twenty-five words, about half as much as Aaron, who had fifty words at 18-months. His pediatrician reassured that twenty-five words, with two-word sentences was still above average, not that I was worried about it. Logan has been very good for a long time at communicating his needs, either by pulling my hand or bringing items to me to explain in his baby-ish way.

He expresses himself fantastically now! Some common phrases:

"I wan wah-doo-ah" (I want water.)
"Ah do it!" (I'll do it)
"Cuz..." (I love this one. If I say, "Why not? Why don't you want that?" his responds with the CUTEST lisp, "Cuz..." and kind of scowls, like he doesn't need to explain himself.)
"Teef, teef, teef!" (When he wants to brush is "teeth")
"Hiiiii!" (He often wakes up from naps super happy. Lately, he's been exclaiming a drawn out, "Hiiii!" with a huge, happy grin on his face and waving his hand in my face. "Hiii, Mommy!"
"Thank you, Mommy," said in the sweetest tone when I take the time to help him find his blankie or turn a show on for him. It's spoken slower and just... adorable with how he emphases the phrase.
"What doing?" he often asks, watching me cook or do laundry or anything. He likes to know what's going on and seems curious to either be a part or just aware. I love that he pays attention.
"Cream..." he requests for his "ouchies". He has bad eczema on his ankles that gets dried and cracked, so we keep a ton of lotion or "cream" on them to help them heal in between outbreaks.

He still carries his binky and blankie everywhere. At home, he'll forget about them for a while but he's still very much attached to holding onto both. Unlike Aiya's pink elephant "blankie" and Aaron's white-turned-nasty-grey puppy, Logan has not attached to any stuffed animals. He loves these muslin blankets so I bought three. Oddly, he is satisfied with the grey ones, but there is one white one that he prefers for some reason, even though they are the same material! I'm glad those blankets are replaceable though. We've had too many headaches with Aiya and Aaron's irreplaceable attachments!

Logan has a great relationship with his siblings. It can be love-hate with Aiya, who likes to tease by stealing his blanket and running from him or taking certain toys. But just as often, she plays with him and adorns Logan with attention, and he appreciates it. When she is dropped off at school, Logan always calls out mournfully, "Aiii-yaaa...." He's excited when she's home and loves to play with all the big kids--namely the Haymore kids who live around the corner from us in our neighborhood. We love everyone in the Haymore family! A family of seven, the kids are two years apart, so Brooklyn and Troy often play at our house, and Ella and Alona often stop by to say hi or I use them to babysit. We don't see much of Katelynn or Karine because they're in high school and busy, but we love the entire family and are devastated they are moving to Arizona this summer. Soooo sad.

Aaron and Logan hang out pretty well. They don't play as physically. That's usually Aiya's doing, stirring the group to play at a faster pace. But for the most part, Logan and Aaron will hang out in the playroom together or sit nearby enjoying Team Umi Zoomi. They don't play together quite like Aiya and Aaron do, and I think that's largely because Aiya is really good at getting kids to unite in play.
Aaron and Logan play more independently with their toys, so I have to admit, it's nice to enjoy the calmer energy during the school day!

Logan is a wonderful balance between his fun, high energy and playful nature, and a sweet, thoughtful boy with a zest of temper thrown in there now and then. I do need to add that if Aiya or Aaron bug him, he will not hold back in whacking them five or six times with complete contempt. This usually makes Aiya gleefully run away, finding his reaction hilarious, and Aaron curled on the floor, defenseless and whining for him to stop.

Our kids. We love them and their dynamic! Happy two years-old Logi-Bear.







He still naps for 2.5-3 hours, something I'm so grateful for! He's usually down by 12:30 and wakes up around 3 PM or I have to wake him up on my weeks to do carpool pick-up.