Almost 2 and almost 4

Ethan
It seems like Ethan has had a real growth spurt this summer. He's been doing really well and definitely settling into a great sleep/nap cycle. Lately he's been waking up between 7:00-7:30 and it feels like heaven. I can usually tell that he's lost some sleep somewhere along the line because his wake up time will get earlier and earlier. Once he catches up with a great nap or a few earlier bedtimes, he goes back to his usual wake up time. I'm loving that his sleep is now following a more predictable pattern.

Ethan has always enjoyed his food and recently we've noticed a new quirk. He's a 'dipper'. He'll eat anything if you can give him something to dip. He loves raita (garlic, salt, pepper and yogurt) with dahl or palak paneer, anything with ketchup (though we have to limit that one), soy with sushi and most recently we went for Korean food and he was in heaven. He started to dip each grain of rice before popping it in his mouth. Just wait til you try gravy and fries, Ethan, you won't ever go back.

Ethan has many words now. They are still unrecognizable to most people, but we know what he means. Lately Maddy has been telling him to repeat random words and he really likes this game. He's getting better and better at multi-syllable words. He is also beginning to put a few words together to get his point across. You've come a long way Ethan and we're so proud of you.

Today we were at the park and he climbed the wooden ladder all the way to the top and went down the slide by himself. He was so happy about this achievement. He's been dying to climb up there for so long.

Ethan loves all things to do with trucks and is now fully into playing with his trains. There is still a bit of frustration for him when the track comes apart or the trains fall off the track but he can stay and play for a long time.

I can hardly believe that in just a months time Ethan will be 2 years old. This is such a fun age to watch as he learns new things at lightening speed. We love you 'lil man!!



Maddy
Maddy is coming up on 4 years and she's really growing into her own personality. She has so many 'A-ha' moments as she tries to put together the way the world works. She is a great big sister who loves to be the role model and loves to show Ethan 'how to do thing the proper way'. She loves to role play and each morning we play 'dentist' and 'hair dresser' as she gets ready for the day. She is really into choosing EVERYTHING that she wears. Right down to the hair elastics and type of hairstyle.

Maddy is at the age where she places a really high importance on what people say, especially if she considers them the expert. For example the doctor, dentist, eye dentist and teachers are all experts. This works really well in our favour as long as I can get the 'expert' to tell her to do something. After her dentist visit, all I have to do is remind her that the dentist said to brush and floss her teeth every day and that I have to be the one to do it and she'll promptly lay down and open her mouth for me. Gotta love this stage!!

Maddy is getting better and better at initiating friendships with other kids at the park. She is so proud of herself when she 'makes a new friend' and we talk a lot about what she can say to people she wants to play with. She has come out of her shell a lot in this department and it's so nice to see her running off to play with someone new.

A new development happened today and I'm so excited about this one because she can now pump her legs on the swing to keep it going. Less work for me!! Yay! She was on the big girl swing for quite a while and now we're just working on showing her how to put her back into it to get higher and higher.


Both their birthdays are just around the corner and we'll soon have a 2 year old and a 4 year old on our hands. I wish I could just freeze time and hang on to these times a bit longer. We feel so lucky to have our family.