TJ's 23rd Month

TJ is 23 months old! Just one month shy of the dreaded terrible twos. More like- one missed nap shy of the terrible twos. Or one wake-up-before-the-sun morning shy of the terrible twos. TJ is a really good kid. He's sweet and listens well and just goes with the flow. But when he misses his nap, or when he wakes up too early in the morning- forgetaboutit. This kid will be making messes, doing the opposite of what you tell him, hitting his sister, and throwing roll-on-the-floor-kicking-and-screaming tantrums. Over nothing. Combine that madness with the fact that I have zero patience when I don't get my sleep, and you get one super happy savage household. Thankfully, most days he gets plenty of sleep.

TJ started off his 23rd month with some Easter fun- waking up and searching for the hidden Easter basket from the Easter Bunny. Looks like the Easter Bunny hid his basket behind the curtains this year.

He tore open the basket and played with the stickers and toys and candy before heading to the park for his egg hunt.

Trent's friend from dental school has a daughter, Sophia, who is just one month older than TJ. They had a blast finding eggs together and devouring the contents. TJ especially liked finding the football, basketball, and soccer ball eggs from Grandma Doodle. In fact, he would pick up an egg, inspect it, and throw it back down if it wasn't a ball. Picky-picky.

Sophia is the sweetest little girl- she gave TJ a hug when it was time to leave and said, "I love you, TJ"

After church TJ enjoyed an Easter treat- chocolate bird nests. I remember my mom making these growing up, so when I saw them pop up on pinterest I knew I had to carry on the tradition. Except, I should have asked my mom for her recipe, these weren't quite the same.

Speaking of pinterest flops, here are the remains of our "moon sand" mishap. My bricks are still spotted with flour from this two-seconds-of-fun pinterest idea.

For playgroup, some friends and I took the kids to a farm to pick strawberries. Forget the bucket, TJ preferred to pop those strawberries directly in his mouth.

Here he is with Julia and Nicolas. TJ loved sharing with Julia, he would go between putting the strawberries in his mouth and then hers. Silly boy.

 TJ even offered one to Ayla. She wanted nothing to do with the strawberries.

TJ loves going on rides to the library. Here he is just before his very first preschool story time. That lasted about 10 minutes before having to head out because he wanted to wander around the library rather than sit and listen in the circle.

Before bed one night I told TJ we were going to go to the park with Christian and Damon in the morning. When he woke up the next day he kept asking for "Chicken." It wasn't until later, when he said, "Chicken and Damon" that I figured out what he had been asking for.

TJ's favorite thing to do outside is push this wheel barrow. His wheel barrow pushing skills came in handy when we laid sod in the back yard.

TJ and Julian were so good about standing against the wall while we were waiting for our table at Texas Roadhouse. It's a good thing TJ was behaving well that night because Ayla was not.

TJ had a blast at Sophia's Sesame Street themed birthday party. There was Sesame Street stuff everywhere for all the kids to play with and Sophia even let her friends help open her presents! Everyone kept commenting about how well TJ and Sophia played together. They are both so sweet.

TJ is full of smiles all day long, but when I pull out the camera he turns his back and/or frowns. Here he is sporting his jacket from Kaeme.

TJ loved helping me hose off the trash can. One second he's spraying himself in the face...

 and the next he's laying down drinking water from the ground. What a goof ball.

He was in heaven riding in the wheel barrow with all his balls.

Trent kept the kids for two nights all by himself while I enjoyed a weekend at the beach with friends. They had nonstop fun while I was gone- here they are at the golf course.

TJ even got to drive the golf cart. Despite the weird angle of this picture, TJ did not loose an ear while I was gone.

TJ is my self proclaimed "goof ball." He loves to learn new things. He climbs on top of things he shouldn't. He says "yeah" instead of "yes" with a silly Russian accent. He likes to delay nap time and bed time with all sorts of trickery. He has a sweet voice and a really loud screaming voice and he likes to use both. Lately he has been sad when we leave him at kids club at the gym, but always ends up having a blast while he is there. He gets excited over little things. He is full of energy and loves life. He loves his friends and family and we love him.