Hayden at 17 months (oops, I mean 29 months!)

As of yesterday, Hayden is now 17 months old. Can I just start saying two and a half? I think so. He is such a fun little boy with an easy smile and friendly personality. His favorite pasttime at home is racing around on his farm truck. He banks the corners, catching a little drift and even gets some speed wobble down the hall. He rarely tags Logan, having finally learned that even "accidentally" running into his brother gets his license immediately revoked for the remainder of the day, farm truck put out of reach. On weekends he loves the beach, having gotten braver about it with each trip. He now likes the water in addition to playing in the sand. He is such a joy at the beach, really good company, staying nearby and looking out for Logan with me. He equally loves going swimming, fearlessly jumping in from the side, getting dunked and learning to shoot the crazy hydraulic water gun at Tami's house. The green one. Samantha likes the blue one.

Since he switched classes at school, life there is much improved. He is more likely to take a nap, and rarely acts aggressively toward his classmates. He is starting to tell us about his day. "I did art. I read stories." I love this. I can usually ask some pretty good leading questions about what supplies he used based on what is on his shirt. Yesterday he looked at me in amazement when I asked if he used glitter and orange paint. Recently, his class decorated sun visors. He proudly wears this all the time. It is so cute to see him take pride in it. He is now obsessed with birthdays. He knows for birthdays you get to blow, and is crushed when it isn't his turn. When my FIl and MIL blew out their candles last week, he immediately burst into tears as if someone had just dropped something on his foot. We looked on in wonder until he said "I wanted to bloooooowww!!!" Oh. Sorry kid. He loves to help us bake and cook, and it makes me equally happy. Now and then, Fillip takes Logan out with him, and I keep Hayden up late in the kitchen. His teachers have just brought to light a new issue. The lunchbox request revisited. Hayden knows everyone keeps their lunchboxes in their cubbies, and that the lunchboxes contain treats. He systematically retrieves the treats (an Andes mint, a cookie, a piece of fruit), kindly leaving the actual sandwich undisturbed. He then takes his loot to a couch in the classroom, and quietly eats it while the other kids play. Now, I do know this isn't right, and Fillip dutifully told the teacher we would talk to him about it, but the image just cracks me up. My little scrounger. I guess I really need to get him that lunchbox after all. We will fill it with the best treats!!

Potty training ebbs and flows, so to speak. Since we are The Worst Potty Trainers Ever, he started to backslide, and we are now encouraging him more. He is good about it, but does forget when he gets involved with something. He can now count to 13 very easily, 20 with little prompting, and is very familiar with the numbers through 40. He constantly sings new songs and uses new phrases. It seems that the tune to Twinkle Twinkle gets stuck in his head, and he ends up just singing jibberish to that tune. He is very aware of his brother, trying to boss him around, wrestle hm down, have Logan walk holding his hands, gives him lots of kisses, and imitates Logan's new baby talk. He gets strongly corrected when calling Fillip Dada. He calls me Mama, but I figure he'll get over it and it doesn't bother me. Lately, he definitely is challenging me. He acts as if I hadn't even spoken, or tells me he doesn't want to. Grr. He also generally says no to everything we ask, then tells us he really wants it. I've started warning him that his next answer is his final answer, and the offer won't be made again. I did not get a kiss goodnight last night :( Overall, he is such a cutie and I got to see him with two other boys around his age this week. The difference was astounding. The other boys were raucous, crazy and completely out of control. Although my boys definitely challenge me, their behavior in comparison was exemplary. I was so proud of them! It is amazing to see this little boy of mine as he is building relationships at school, and becoming his own person. I am so proud of him and hope he always knows that.