Vernal Equinox Pt. III

Justin Milestones XXV
Grandma asked me a few weeks ago, "Does Justin still get milestone updates on the blog?"...(he hasn't had one since November) to which the answer is, "I guess so"... but as toddlers progress, milestones do get more difficult to document. There are no more big splashes (walking, talking, etc.). Things happen in such a subtle fashion that his progress is easy to overlook. His understanding, for example, has just inched forward every day... to where we finally have to come to grips with the fact that he understands pretty much everything we say around him. And it doesn't help that he's bilingual because we can't even switch languages (we joke about picking up German just so we can talk in code). So he's "all up in the conversation" pretty much everyday. V asked me the other day what we should have for dinner, and Justin responded (in spanish), "yeah I'm hungry." Or I'll say to V, I need to leave for work soon, to which he'll respond "Si, daddy go bye bye now. Adios daddy." Funny stuff... until you're in the drive-thru ordering him a hamburger and he just about has a heart attack because he wants you to change it to chicken nuggets (yep, that was 2 days ago).


One of his first phrases months ago was "no want it!" (more like "nowunnet") but now he can tell you that he doesn't want it and tell you what he wants instead; not to mention what he had for breakfast and what he wants for dinner. Exactly when that change happened, I have no clue.

As for other skills, somewhere between 2 and 2.5, he learned to count to 20 in spanish and english and finally got his primary colors down pat. Since then, he has added spelling to his repertoire (B-A-T, J-U-S-T-I-N, D-O-G, and S-T-O-P), knows our last name (and calls us by it... so now I'm Daddy Reyes) and can follow multi-step instructions pretty well (e.g., go upstairs, put this in the hamper, and turn out the light in your room). Speaking of lights, he is obviously growing because I noticed him turning the light on without his pasito (little step stool) the other day. That caught me off-guard, and was a reminder that it's probably time to take the ruler out and measure him again. As for weight, he now resides somewhere between 27 and 28 pounds. Progress, but definitely still a lightweight.





In other news, he's also getting luke-warm on Elmo (finally) and starting to migrate towards spider-man and mickey mouse. And in the sleep department, he and Jasmine both are down to one nap a day, which lasts anywhere from 1 to 2 hours (3 on a really good day) depending on how much we've worn him out in the morning hours. And 3 out of 7 mornings a week, he's guaranteed to sleepwalk his way into our bed somewhere between 6 and 7 am. At that point he'll sleep for another 2 hours or so. As for bedtime stories, there's the usual Clifford, Curious George, Disney books, etc.; but as of a couple of months ago we also started him on a routine of ending with a book about God. It's incredible how much of that stuff he retains. Ask him about it, and he'll tell you all about how Adam and Eve "got timeout" for eating "la fruta"... or how Daniel prays all the time... or how Noah built a boat and was obedient. In all, I think he may know more bible stories than daddy (but I'm working on it).


Last but not least, V has been quick to point out that sometime over the past 3 months, Justin has become (as she puts it) "all boy." The days of passively playing with toys have quickly turned to a nonstop circus of jumps, stomps, climbs, kicks, rolls, and anything else rambunctious that you can think of. I can see why so many boys are quickly misdiagnosed by woolgathering parents as having ADD and things of the like... because he is just a ball of energy: content to wrestle, romp, and rumble pretty much 24 hours a day. And if you add a little dirt to the mix, you my friend, have made his day. Like I said, all boy.


I'm sure I'm missing about 25 other things, but that's all I can think of for now. In all, as we creep our way towards his 3rd birthday, I can firmly say that his "terrible" twos have been everything but that. What a great year he has had.