the big 3-0.

no, not me. sadly, i reached that milestone a while ago.

but this little dude?

is officially 30 months today! or in regular people (aka, non-crazy-momma) terms, choi boy is 2 and a half today!

whatcha think about that, cb?

i know, me too! :)

and here are some things our 2 and a half year-old is up to...or in other words, here is a shamelessly braggy milestone post about my little man. ;)


thankfully, cb continues to eat well and has discovered a crazy love for kimchi. he can't get enough! some of his other current random favorites include: guacamole, hard boiled eggs, tofu, soybean stew (dwen jang jji-gae), black beans, and chili. cb also continues to sleep pretty well and we are grateful that he is still napping, too. he is still in his crib and we haven't seen the need to transition him out of it quite yet, so he may remain in there until he leaves for college. we'll see.


cb is all about referring to himself as a "big boy" and doing big boy things. though he is still quite smallish (about 34.5" and 29lbs) and can't reach the pedals on his little bike, he is adamant about scooting himself around on it. his determination is incredible, but it also makes me a wee bit sad to see him growing into such a boy! so, i tell him, "no, you're not a big boy!" and cb replies, "okay, mommy's yittle boy." :)

(even though he looks like a teenager here!)

his determination is fiercest when it comes to sports. cb still absolutely loves all sports and it is not uncommon for him to "play" basketball, football, soccer, baseball, and golf in a single day. he has gotten really good at throwing around and playing catch with a football, which makes his appa's heart soar. and his kicking skills are really quite impressive. i know, i know, i'm his mom, but for real, he kicks far and with crazy accuracy! in fact, our childcare provider's teenage son, who plays on an advanced travel soccer team, commented on cb's skillz and his focus and concentration (read: obsessive manner) when he plays. it's a lot of fun to watch, but sometimes exhausting for this out-of-shape umma to play with him!

cb also loves to watch sports. his current favorite sporting event to watch?

watching the big boys play basketball. he could watch them for hours!
other favorite activities include drawing (he is especially excited about finally getting to use markers), playdoh, reading, playing with his trains, and building. and taking baths. that child could take baths for hours and the first time i let him stay in the tub for nearly an hour, he was quite alarmed at his wrinkly fingers and toes! :)

choi boy also continues to be quite the ham.


he regularly cracks up himself and those around him and delights in having an audience. cb recently mastered some songs that he has been working on for a while and he is quite proud of himself. singing them to someone who will listen brings cb great joy. his favorite is "twinkle, twinkle," and he loves to sing it at the top his lungs and super fast, and sounds a little like this: "twackle, twackle yittle STAAAAR!!!..." the alphabet song; the hot dog song; Jesus loves me; you are my sunshine; and happy birthday are others in his repertoire that he enjoys. and for the record, though he can tell you the month and date of his birthday, every day is his birthday when he's singing. ;)

choi boy loves his friends and can be quite the charmer.


{toddler GQ, here we come! :) }
we've always thought that one of cb's greatest strengths is the way he interacts with others. if there really is such a thing as emotional intelligence, cb's seems strong. he has this incredible ability to shift his mood or the way he plays based on the personality of the person with whom he is interacting. he also has high empathy and tries to do whatever he can to help someone feel better when they are upset or crying. it's very sweet to see. the way he reads people is amazing, but he certainly doesn't always use his powers for good. being good at reading people can also equal being good at manipulating people...just sayin' ;)


since choi boy turned two, he has really taken off in learning lots of early concepts. he quickly learned his colors and recently learned to distinguish between pink and purple, bringing his color total to 12. he also understands the concepts of dark and light when describing colors and it's fun to hear him clarify using those concepts -- "no, dark blue shirt, mommy!". he also knows some shapes: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, diamond, heart, and star. and suddenly, cb seems to know all the uppercase letters and loves to point them out EVERYwhere we go. it's so neat to watch him because it's as though you can actually *see* him learn. my favorite example of this is a month ago when we were driving into wegmans and cb pointed to the sign and said, "look, mommy, upside down M!" i said, "you're right! it does look like an upside-down M! that's called a W." then cb quietly repeated to himself, "W, W, W...W." and when we came back out of wegman's, he pointed up and said with glee and pride, "mommy, W!!" and though cb can usually count to 12-ish, he has no interest in learning numbers. aside from number 1, of course, because thomas the tank engine proudly bears a 1.


one thing cb is reeeeally not interested in?
that would be potty training.
when asked if he wants to go pee on the potty, he nonchalantly replies, "tomorrow." which is fine by me, since potty training scares me to no end. we're going to make an attempt at potty-training boot camp during spring break, but if leading up to that point there continues to be no interest, we'll just wait 'til summer. NBD. right?


cb is chatty little fellow and is learning lots of new words. he strings his words together and it's fun to have little conversations with him. we're still working on some of his pronounciation/articulation so he is understandable to people other than just me ;), but most of it seems to be developmental, so we're not too concerned right now. however, part of me wishes he would hold on to the /y/ for /l/ substitutions a yittle yonger. ;)

we often call cb "curious c" because like curious george, he is very curious and also more than a wee bit mischievious...and also like george, if he is curious about something he *has* to check it out himself. the other day we were out at the local school playground, and upon seeing this shed, cb insisted it was a "yittle farm".

and though i tried to explain that yes, it did, indeed look like a barn, it was a shed. but he persisted and walked all around, knocking on it and saying, "knock, knock...where animals go? hello?" (really, it was very cute...)


as i said at the start of this post, this one is shamelessly braggy, but don't get me wrong, it's not all sunshine and rainbows and unicorns around here. we definitely have our share of toddler behavior that we deal with, especially since cb is stubborn with a capital S! he is the kid that makes you count to three, will count with you, and then, upon getting to 3, gets up right away and does whatever it was you were warning him to hurry up and do! (usually. the other alternative is to have a tantrum on the floor in hopes of mommy and daddy forgetting about what they asked you to do or not do...) if it wasn't the slightest bit funny, it would be very, very infuriating instead of just mildly infuriating. ;) we are also dealing with lots of things being "scary," and we hear "i scared!" a lot lately. we're learning how best to deal with this, especially since we're not sure how much really is scary and how much is cb joking or just reading and playing us. ;)

but, overall, cb is just delightful and we are really, really enjoying this age. two has been so fun and it is just incredible to see how much he is learning and growing and changing almost daily! and we are going to enjoy and soak up every remaining minute of 2 because we're kinda afraid of 3...we've heard stories.

:)

besides, this face makes it easy to soak up every moment.



happy 2.5, CB!!!