Big T

Our Nate is almost 2, and since the end of May promises to be busy, we got his 2 year pictures done today.

This little boy is such a joy and such a piece of work to have around all the time. I like to call him Big T because he is constantly causing big trouble.

He is getting really verbal, we will walk down the grocery aisles and he will name off all of the things that he sees and that he knows.

His favorite thing in the world right now is trains, and he is always talking about choo-choos. The other day he went to our bookshelf and waited while I pulled out every book that we had about trains. If it only had a truck or a tractor in it, it wasn't good enough, he wanted trains. He loves to watch the Thomas the Train moves while we wait for his siblings in the car.

He is quite an independent little guy. He is always trying to get into the front yard, if one of the kids doesn't close the side gates correctly, he will come to my front door and knock, and he thinks it is SOOO funny. (Me, not so much). If we are out somewhere he will take a few steps to get away from me, make sure he has my attention, and then run as fast as he can away. He is so funny when he runs too, he has a kind of skip run that just warms my heart.

He still looks just like his daddy, and I think he may have some of his personality too. He loves to laugh and has a great sense of humor.

His favorite thing to do is to play in the sandbox, and I have to admit I love it too, especially when it keeps him happy for a while.

He has finally started to watch TV. I know this may not sound like a desirable thing, but he wouldn't so much as glance at the TV until recently, so I couldn't put him in front of it to keep him out of trouble if I needed to get something done before. Now he LOVES Dora. (I hate Dora, that voice just grates on my nerves).
His face and shirt usually look something like this:
There have been many occasions when I have had to change his outfit before we left at 8:45 in the morning, and several times I have had to do it twice. Some days I just give up and decide that he is just going to look dirty for a while.

He has the cutest floppy hair. I have a friend who recently told me that with his hair like that he looks just like Dennis the Menace. He certainly acts like it.

He loves to smile at strangers. People tell me that he must be the happiest kid, but really its just that he knows the importance of a smile and how to use it. (something that I am still learning).

He likes to be "helpful" too. The other day while I was starting the grill, he decided that he needed to help me season the steak:
It actually turned out good, after I dumped all the excess seasoning off, but Ellie said it was too spicy. A couple of weeks ago, we had a sitter when we took the boys to a play. Ellie, Nate and the sitter went outside to play on the trampoline. Nate decided he was done and got down and came inside. After he got inside, he promptly locked the door and the babysitter out. Luckily, she had her cell phone so she could call her mom who came and "broke" back into the house for her. Scary.....

I guess its good to have such fun everyday, he keeps us alert and active!