Category: 2under2

2 Years Old and 4 Months Old

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Last week my sweet boys turned 2 years old, and 4 months old.  Both ages are pretty special right now – they laugh and smile at each other all the time!  It is so cute.  A likes to push C around while C lays in his Rock and Play, and C likes to watch A play while C does tummy time.

I don’t get to say I have #2under2 anymore, and I will miss that – I can’t believe how fast they are growing!  Raising two little ones close in age has been a blessing to me.

Here are a few of my favorite things about my 2 year old 🙂

Every morning during breakfast he looks outside and says “outside, ball” – if he could play outside from sun up until sun down, he would.

He moves non stop during the day, but always finds time to give me hugs and kisses, and to sit on my lap so that we can read books.

When I tell him it is naptime or bedtime, he happily runs up the stairs, turns on his sound machine, and gets ready for storytime.

When J drinks a beer, A gets excited because that means they get to go hang out in the backyard together.

Whether it has been 5 minutes or 5 hours of being away from me, when he sees me he immediately lights up and says “mama”!

He makes running errands easy – whether it is the doctor, the dentist, a haircut, Sephora, my little buddy is always such a good boy and makes friends with everyone he sees.

J is a superhero to him – they are best pals and A copies everything he does; they workout together, go in the jacuzzi or the ocean together, kick the soccer ball together…It is the cutest.

He loves his brother and always asks to see him first thing in the morning.

When he wakes up, he grabs his book and sits in his crib reading.

He eats man-sized portions of food.  When we go out to sushi, he eats all the edamame before anyone else can get some, and then proceeds to shove spicy tuna rolls, philadelphia rolls, he doesn’t care…anything, in his mouth.  When other people see him eat a giant portion of mac and cheese, I can’t tell if they are amused or horrified.  At home, all he asks for are healthy foods – he loves blueberries, apples, bananas, brussel sprouts, avocado, and eggs the most.

When I tell him it is time to go on an adventure (ie anywhere) he grabs a truck and is ready to go.
He loves to learn new words, play with trucks, kick the soccer ball, and look at books.

 

Sample Schedule for 2 Under 2

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Okay so I don’t know how, but we somehow have a schedule down two and a half months in.  This will obviously change over time (A’s nap will get later, C will eventually have 2 naps, etc.) but this is what has been working for us.  I sort of forced a 4 hour schedule on C but he took to it really well and we have all been doing great so it all worked out.  A’s timing is pretty consistent, C’s varies 30 minutes but sometimes more.  Here is what our typical day with 2 Under 2 looks like!

Time Activity
6:30/7am Wake up, both boys get new diapers and dressed and fed
8/8:30am C nap #1, play with A – this is a good time for an outing!
10:30am C bottle, watch A play
10:45/11am A lunch while C hangs out
11am Play with both boys 🙂
11:30am A nap (new diaper, sound machine on, lights off) – put C somewhere safe (crib, playpen, swing)
12pm C nap #2 (new diaper, sound machine on, lights off and swaddle if in crib, or you can put him in swing, pacifier)
1:30/2pm Both boys up from naps (sometimes earlier than 1:30, but try to help them nap until then) – new diapers and everyone comes downstairs
2/2:15pm A snack, C hangs out
2:30pm C bottle, A plays
3/3:30pm C nap #3, play with A – this is a good time for an outing!
5:30pm A dinner while C hangs out
6/6:15pm C bedtime routine (put A in his crib with toys, or in playpen and let him watch Frozen or YouTube video) – bath, night diaper, onesie, swaddle, bottle in rocking chair, pacifier, sound machine on, lights off, kiss and say night night, crib
6:30-7pm Play with A
7:15pm A bedtime routine – bath, pajamas, brush teeth, night diaper, 2 stories in rocking chair, kiss and say night night, crib with blanket

2 Months Groove

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There are of course some days where I am overwhelmed and confused but we have also definitely found a bit of a groove 2 months in.  I am too nervous still to go somewhere where A can run free while I’m also tending to C, but they both love their stroller so we are out and about every single day and pretty much have done so since C was born.  A gets tons of playground time at school, and we take him to the park on the weekends, so I try not to feel guilty for trapping him in the stroller during these early months.  He won’t remember, he has fun anyway, and I feel confident enough to get us all of the house.

Our favorite places to go have been indoor or outdoor malls before they open in the morning; I get coffee and we do laps and talk about the things we see.  Sometimes we go in the afternoon as well but then I am too tempted to shop 😉  We also like to walk around the lake, or go to the zoo.  Target is always an easy outing too – I don’t go with a list of things I need in case things go south, but we just browse around.

So during newborn time, you don’t need to be supermom if you don’t want to – you can stick within your comfort level and ease into the outings 🙂

 

 

Big Sibling Basket

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A coworker who has 3 kids all 22 months apart gave me this idea, and it has been a winner!  I put together a very special basket for A with brand new exciting toys…however, the basket is only able to come out when I am feeding/tending to baby.  I decorated it and made a big deal about it, and A ended up learning that he can get the basket out when he sees me holding C.  Of course it is not perfect, and sometimes no amount of exciting toys can make a young toddler be patient while mom is feeding the baby, but for the most part it is an awesome tool to use!