Marino is Two and a Half

Today, Marino is two and a half! He's really transformed from a toddler to a little boy over the past 6 months and continues to be a constant source of joy for our family.

Here's some details on what he's like at 30 months old:

Weight: 28ish pounds (29lbs with clothes and shoes on last week).

Height: not sure, but he is getting too tall for his 2T pants

Clothes Size: he's been in 3T shirts and pjs for a couple months, just outgrowing 2T pants (but can't wear anything without an adjustable waist - he's still a skinny guy). He wears a size 7 shoe and size 5 diaper (no potty training progress).

Health: His health is great, although his asthma continues to be an issue, as do his allergies and atopic dermatitis. All three of these issues tend to ebb and flow and thankfully not at the same time!

He's finally cutting the last of his teeth - the top 2 year molars. As of last week, only one had cut through, so one left and we are done with teething...for now anyway.

Likes: airplanes, cars, trucks, motorcycles, trains, dinosaurs, all the Toy Story characters, Dr. Seuss books, music - hearing and playing it, mac and cheese, anything with butter on it, Popsicles, orange juice, chicken (dark meat especially), most things that have cheese on them (particularly the Quakes cheddar flavor rice cakes), his grandparents, Diego and Dora, Olivia, Lynley Dodd books and all animals.

Dislikes - sleeping (especially by himself), being rushed, large groups of people he doesn't know, total darkness, black beans, foods that look strange to him (guacamole, yogurt covered raisins), wearing clothes (especially socks), getting his diaper changed, blowing his nose.

Personality - Marino is very affectionate still but in a very genuine way - he doesn't give hugs or kisses on demand (except to Mommy) and he takes a while to warm to new people. He's very active and loves to run, jump, somersault and throw, catch, and kick a ball. He is fairly introverted and needs to take quiet breaks if we're around large groups of people.

He sneaks into our bed every night now that he's learned how to open all the doors in the house. We should probably mind this more than we do. He often wakes us up by telling us about his dreams, like last week when he woke up and announced "Mr. Don [Grammy Deb's boyfriend] not listen to me!"

He thinks "big kids" are really cool - he especially likes Sydney's older brother Justin. As active as he is, he can sit through an entire 90 minute movie if he's in the mood. He likes me to read to him but he often uses it as a way to postpone his bedtime. He loves to play with Playdoh and to paint.

Marino loves to talk and sing. His speech continues to amaze us - it seems every day he says something new and in the correct context. Saturday night when I was bathing him, he said "Mommy, I see Sydney yesterday." I had never heard him say "yesterday", let alone use it correctly! He's finally grasping the concept of counting actual objects rather than rote counting. He likes to show off his counting and if you don't immediately respond, he says loudly "I COUNTING" and waits for praise.

I really think Marino will be an actor one day. He LOVES to make us laugh and he remembers things that made me laugh weeks ago and will do them to make me smile. His favorite trick is when I'm on the couch reading, he'll come over and put his mouth on my bare calf, like he's biting me but without pressing his jaw down. This toddler slobber tickles and always makes me laugh/scream. He thinks its hysterical! Often he'll look at you out of the corner of his eye to make sure you're laughing at what he says. He has a whole set of super dramatic emotions he uses at will - faux laugh, faux cry, faux shocked expression, etc. His facial expressions are hysterical. He responds extremely well to positive reinforcement (praise, smiles, laughter, hugs) and asks me to cheer for him all the time.

Here's a quick little video of he and Evan doing a piano/singing duet of the ABCs. He LOVES the piano.


Can't wait to see what this amazing boy will be like at 3!