Jasey is getting SO BIG

Jase found my cowgirl hat and was running around with it sitting sideways on his head. It was so funny!
I love this picture of him. He looks more like a boy than a toddler in it. And he is definitely all boy! Look at those dirty hands!
Jase has been surprising both of us lately with his vocabulary and speaking in mini sentences. He says things like "I got it," "Pippie barking (haha our dog barks a lot)," etc. One of my favorite things he says is "hamburger." He says it so cute! And he's learned that if we go to Walmart during lunch time I will get him a cheeseburger to eat while I shop. It's great b/c I can do 2 things at once. He is really starting to associate things with places we go--he recognizes when we are close to Grandpa's house, our house, the store, grandma's house, etc. When I take him to the local market by my house, he starts asking for a succer (they give dum dum's to the little kids). The other day he was running down the driveway and yelling "slow down, too fast" at the top of his lungs. I was cracking up (that is what I normally say when he runs bc he trips a lot)!

He has learned what "heavy" means. He says it whenever he carries things around. However, he has somehow associated "heavy" with "exertion" bc when he climbs up the stairs he'll say "heavy heavy" and we just laugh.

I weighed him the other day--he's 32 pounds. I think he's about 36" tall. I'm guessing. He's still in a size 4 diaper and wears 2T shirts and 24 month pants. However it does depend on the brand. Oh and his shoe size is about 6.5 - 7. He has a really long, big toe!

He has pretty much mastered eating with a fork & spoon. He will still drip a bit if it's something runny, but he does great with things like beans or grits. One thing he still hasn't figured out well is how to bite food. I still have to cut it into 1" pieces. I think it might be bc his front teeth are still a bit high and might be making it difficult to cut all the way through a piece of food.

Lately we've been singing him lots of songs and he loves that. We've started a little tradition of singing a few to him before we put him to bed. He's getting good at picking up on the words and trying to sing along. He does really well with "Twinkle Little Star" and also loves to sing the end of the "Moon Song" that goes "oh yes he does!" (but Jase just sings "oh does!!!") It's our favorite. He is also liking songs that have hand motions, like "Itsy bitsy Spider." He will do them with us.

I just can't believe how grown up my little boy is! He will be 2 years old in less than 3 months! I am planning on doing a "Veggie Tales" themed party for him since he LOOOVES those shows. If you're not familiar, they are animated vegetables that have funny voices and they teach some sort of principle like handling peer pressure, how to be confident with bullies, patience, self-esteem, etc. They are super cute & funny and filled with silly songs. I love them, too. Some of the longer films are loosely based on Bible stories, but done in a funny way. Anyways, the main characters are Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber. He'll run around the house saying "Bob & Larry! Bob & Larry!"

Jase has gotten really good at going down slides, swinging, and climbing things at the park. He is way more brave than I'd prefer! Sometimes the lil' daredevil trys climbing up the monkey bars or other "big boy" things and I'm afraid he'll fall and break something. He can even climb up a ladder to go down one of those old metal slides. We have a great park just a few blocks from our house. If I drive by anywhere close he'll say "park! slide! swings!" and want me to take him there. It's cute.

He also LOVES to go on bike rides with us. We have a bike trailer that we pull behind one of the bikes and we strap him in and go. He also loves to ride on the lawnmower when dad cuts the grass. As soon as he hears it, he'll run to the door and say "lawnmower. ride!" so I'll take him outside to ride.

He's pretty good at following basic things I ask him to do like "throw this in the garbage," or "throw that diaper away," "put your toy back," etc. I have been trying to teach him how to "help" do things as much as he can. When I mop he'll grab the mop and push it around the floor. Same with the broom. He even had a paper towel and was pretending to wipe counters when I was cleaning them. Ha ha. And everyday he repeats/says a few new words. He can really repeat almost anything you say! (Time to watch what I say around here). It's so fun to hear him talk. I love it. I really love the stage he's in right now. I love laughing at all the cute things he will say and do. It's so awesome.

Well, if you read all this you deserve an award. I have just been lamenting how much I've slacked on his baby book--so this is my way of trying to catch up!