2 and a half, baby!

Parker is 2 and a half... I can't believe how much he's changed since he his birthday even! His personality is really emerging and I get glimpses of who he will become as he gets older. Fascinating to say the least. :)

Since we started a GF diet for him just after his 2nd birthday, his behaviour has really evened out. He's no longer the constantly raging baby. Looking back on his first two years, my heart just breaks for him and all the pain he was in. No wonder he wasn't a happy child. But now even though he has his rough days (don't most of us though?), his happy days are much more regular.

We're thinking that in addition to a gluten intolerance, he has sensory issues as well. Well, I know he has sensory issues. The more I read about sensory processing disorder the more I'm convinced this is what's going on. And you know what? I fully blame the 10 ultrasounds and his 2 month vaccinations for it. There's research out there now that shows that excessive ultrasounds can cause neurological damage, same with vaccines. I feel guilty but more than that, I feel anger that my caregivers during my pregnancy pushed fear on me and used that to bully me into tests and procedures I wouldn't have otherwise agreed to....

But that's all for another post I think.

This post is about my little man turing 2.5 and celebrating all that he has accomplished since his second birthday. :)

At 2.5 years, Parker:
~ is a very affectionate and loving child. Cuddles are always guaranteed when Parky is in the room.

~ still nurses on occasion but I think he'll be done before he's three. And in all honesty, I'm ready for him to be done.

~ uses the toilet when we're at home with very little accidents. Still working on ditching the diaper for naps and public but no rush.

~ His vocabulary keeps exploding but his pronounciation needs some work. Also, he tends to stick with 2 word sentences, sometimes 3 word sentences. We're on the waitlist for speech which he'll hopefully recieve before he's 3.

~ He and I attend a speech focused playgroup on Wednesdays for an hour. He looooves it, especially the circle time.
~ adores his sisters. He often gets annoyed with Sophie bothering him but he's protective of her and enjoys giving hugs as long as it's on his terms. Ally is his best friend for sure... he could spend all day following him if she let him. :)
~ Loves to go on nature walks, leaf picking is his new favourite activity.
~ loves loves loves music. He loves action songs, seeing people play musical instruments and putting on a show for us.

~ He sleeps in his bed in his room for about half the night. Sometime around 2 I find him laying in his makeshift bed (a bunch of blankets and a pillow) on the floor beside me.

~ He naps for about 1.5 hours a day but if I nap with him, he'll nap for 3 hours sometimes more.

~ loves brocolli, nutritional yeast, beans and yogurt.
~ loves to make pretend tea for everyone and insists that we pretend that it's too hot. He loves all imagination type play.
~ loves to be read to. He's really liking Robert Munsch's "I love you forever" and Strega Nona.

~ loves to be around me or his dad. He's a great helper who insists on doing everything by himself. "no me do" is his new favourite phrase.