Ambling Rileys: Two is Cute!

I know I'll probably want to retract this post as soon as he starts getting tantrum-y and strong willed, but I love this age so far! Yes, he has strong opinions and strong emotions, but he also is so full of personality and fun! Andrew has been an absolute joy lately! He's such a parrot right now, and is picking up new words and phrases so quickly. It's astounding to hear him talk - sometimes I wonder where he picked up the words. He has started using two-word phrases and it's very exciting. The one we hear most of all is "Andrew go", but he doesn't say it correctly so it sounds like "Andrew do". He says this whenever someone is leaving, and he often says it tearfully if he doesn't get to "do". He will also say things like "Andrew done", "Mommy drink", "Daddy eat", "read that", etc. He has also used three word sentences occasionally, like "Andrew eat dat" and "Mommy drink milk". He surprised us all by using polite phrases correctly, like "bless you" and "excuse me". We were shocked the first time we were in the car and Jonathan sneezed and we hear this little "bless you" from the back seat! He also likes to say his name a lot... I guess we call him Andrew Lucas a lot, because he will often point to himself and say "Adroo Lutlas". We have been working on Andrew Lucas Riley, which comes out as "Wiwey".

He's become so helpful lately. I'm really trying to push this! While he's not always efficient, and things aren't always done exactly how I would like them, I love how excited he gets about helping! Since I have nothing to do in the evenings, it's nice to be able to let him help clean up, without worrying about hurrying/getting to bed/grading papers. He puts his toys away (or hands them to me and I put them away) and tells them "night night", and puts his clothes in the hamper and his shoes on the shelf. He opens the back door to let the dogs in and out - we love this one! With two big dogs, it seems like there is always one that is wanting in or out. It's especially handy if we are cooking dinner or doing something in the kitchen, because we'll just ask him and he excitedly goes to the door to open it! I think most 2 year olds probably have this natural inclination to help do things, and I want to encourage it as much as possible!

He's a little singer! This child loves to sing! He is often singing the ABCs or Twinkle, Twinkle. He will sing along with the "Brush Your Teeth" and "Wash Your Hands" songs while he does each activity. He also is really into a song that I sing that uses the letters of his name to the old Mickey Mouse Song (A-N-D...R-E-W...R-I-L-E-Y.... Andrew Riley!). He doesn't necessarily recognize the letters to his name, but he recognizes letters and will start singing this song whenever he sees letters.

With this fun personality comes the typical strong emotions of a two-year-old. He seems to have perfected the "pout pout face" whenever we tell him "no" or take something away. He will squint his eyes and put his hands up to his face and whine whenever he is upset. Although I'm sad that he is upset, it's so hilarious that I can't help laughing sometimes! Luckily he is usually pretty easily distracted by a book or a toy (or an episode of Mouse on TV). I can also already see the signs of a smart teenager who thinks his mom has no clue - the other day he was up on a chair getting into things on the dining room table and I called in there - "Andrew! How did you get up there?". He looked at me like I was a complete idiot and goes "chair!". Haha! I guess he told me!

And now for some cute pictures. These pictures are pretty old (from around his birthday), but they are too cute not to post!