Happy Birthday John!

John is officially 2 years old. We celebrated his birthday by taking the kids to the Children's Museum. The kids love the museum. John was particularly in love with the fire truck, and the pit of shredded tires and dump trucks. He would run back and forth from one area to the fire truck. The fire truck was definitely his home base.

For dinner we did waffles, yogurt and strawberries, since he prefers all carbs to anything else.  We also had cake an ice cream. I have evolved as a mother. It didn't occur to me to give Emma cake and ice cream for her birthday. We did Happy Birthday Guacamole. Lest I evolve too much, John got secretly healthy cake with zucchini and apple sauce and whole wheat flour. He was quite excited about the cake and ice cream. He did not however finish all of his ice cream. Nor did Emma. Nor did I give them Aunt Mary portions. I was shocked. As a kid, I would stuff myself full of junk food until it hurt. All in the name of treats. Glad my posterity has more self control than I did as a kid.

We got him a monster truck and a sandbox dump truck. He was in love. Emma was very sweet and wanted to wrap up gifts to give John. So she found a book and a toy to give to him. Once she realized how fun it was to cut wrapping paper and use tape without my supervision, she was feeling very generous. She kept finding toys until she had exhausted our wrapping paper supply. She was quite proud of herself. John on the other hand was confused as to why he was unwrapping toys that he already had. It was cute though to watch Emma enjoy giving presents.

John at two is a funny kid. He has a lot of personality oozing out of that little body. He tried to tell jokes and just laughs and laughs. He lives for trucks, trains, and anything with wheels. If he meets someone new, he isn't all that shy and just starts to tell the person all about trucks. Trucks are always a relevant conversation topic. John wants to drive just about anything he can see.

Sometimes when he talks he uses a growl to talk. He has essentially done this since he was a little baby. He has the communication skills of a teenage boy.

John loves to eat carbs, carrots, apples, and he has a 6th sense for junk food. At the grocery store I was purchasing Carnation Instant Breakfast for him. He is a little guy and the doctor recommended getting him some extra calories. He saw the box and knew he wanted it. How I will never know. He held that box throughout our grocery store trip. He held it as soon as we got home. He could hardly stand the anticipation of drinking it. I thought he would take off in flight because his arms were flapping and he was jumping as he was saying, "Drink it! Drink it!" Sure enough he was in love. Emma on the other hand saw the box and asked what it was. She was satisfied with the explanation that it was for John since he needed more food. She hasn't asked for any.

John is a picky eater. He doesn't like pizza (except the crust). We offered him a McDonalds hamburger and he looked at it and wouldn't touch it. The only thing I know he will eat is junk food and carbs. Since there isn't much junk food in our house, it is really carbs. And if John doensn't like a meal that he is offered (think every meal except breakfast) he can wait for the next meal.

John also loves books. He will sit for 20 minutes by himself looking at books. Then he will come to me and say, "Read it! Read it!" He could sit on my lap reading books for at least an hour at a time.

He is just starting into the "I do it" phase. The one exception is walking down the stairs. He wants to be carried.

John wants family and friends with him at all times. However it is insufficient to have just one person. He wants the entire family. If someone is missing he keeps asking for that person. He particularly loves Emma. They play very well together, except when they don't.

John is quite snuggly, particularly when reading books.  He does say, "No Hugs, no kisses, no zurberts!" He hasn't figured out kissing yet though. If you ask him for a kiss he will put his cheek up to yours. He will out of the blue say, "Mommy cute!" or "Emma cute!" 

John also likes animals and the sounds they make. He knows quite a few bizarre animal sounds like a macaw and a sloth. He is afraid of flies and bees. He isn't all that found of petting dogs and cats due to fear as well.

Overall, John is a funny kid. Very sweet, very interested in trucks and reading. Glad you are in our family John! Happy Birthday!