2.5 Years

12/12/12 marks Cash's half birthday to a big 2.5 year old.  I like half birthdays - they're a fun little way to celebrate a little milestone especially since almost every day during these toddler years we get another milestone out of Cash.  From 2 to 2.5, Cash has gained a lot of independence, both naturally and by his own making.  He now likes to dress himself right down to his socks and shoes, pull up his own pull-ups, brush his teeth, change out the dvds when he watches movies and the list goes on and on.   Sometimes we still try to do things for him but Cash will quickly let us know that it's "my turn" or that something we're trying to do with him or dress him in is "too baby" and we back off.  He's a big boy now and everyone needs to know it.

We don't have his well check up until tomorrow but I can already tell he's gone through a recent growth spurt as all of his pants are too short.  We're finally solidly in 2T clothes.  He's still skinny and weighs around 26lbs but we recently had a chat with his pediatrician and we think we've finally figured out the root of his non-eating and have a plan to work with it.  Mainly it has to do with his strong-willed little personality so we're learning how to change some of the parenting "techniques" that we thought were fairly universal but never worked for us and are adapting some of the ways we talk to him and discipline him so that he will hear and accept it better.  Overall though, he does seem to eat a little better when we make it less of a battle and more of a laid back experience with some dessert bribery sprinkled in the mix.

Ross and I think that it's awesome that he's strong-willed.  Because on top of that, he's assertive, confident, a daredevil, funny, social, and extremely charismatic.  When he walks into his schoolroom every day, all of this friends turn and yell "Cash" with big smiles on their faces like they've been waiting for him to show up so the party can start.  He's a sweet, sweet boy too - right now his favorite thing to demand is a "hug and a kiss" from daddy and mommy before he leaves for the day and we happily heed to that demand.

We are just weeks away from Cash being our one and only to Cash being a big brother, one of two little boys.  Cash makes our hearts so full that it's hard to imagine that there will be room for another one in the mix.  But just knowing how amazing Cash is and how much he has taught us about being parents and finding the joy and laughter in every situation makes me realize that because we have so much love for Cash that we will have the same for Austin. And Austin will be extra lucky because he'll have all that extra love from such an amazing little boy like his big brother, Cash.